Ch 123: You Can’t Find It in the Pharmacy!
In the afternoon, the Sky Screen Live Stream Room.
“…So, according to my calculations, this group of Geniuses should have been ambushed by another Family. As for whether they can successfully reach the Clarity Spirit Mother Tree, I believe we will know the result soon.”
After listening to Qi Xuan’s explanation, the netizens in the Live Stream Room also began to discuss:
“Having already guessed that they might encounter an ambush, why didn’t Nangong Wuji directly escort them?”
“What a joke, wasn’t the ambush caused by someone in the family leaking the information? Nangong Wuji, as the Family’s only Land Immortal-level combat strength, didn’t stay to guard the Family but instead went to escort the Geniuses. When he returns, his Hometown might be ransacked. Maybe it was even done by his own people.”
“Maybe Nangong Wuji’s condition wasn’t very good at that time, half-mad. If he had an episode while escorting the Geniuses, he might not even need others to act, he would have ruined those Geniuses himself.”
“Alas, it was a terrifying Family with several Land Immortals in charge, but the outcome was so tragic under the impact of the 【Bone-Spur Disease】. Just thinking about how this disease might have already spread globally, I feel a chill down my spine.”
“Don’t be afraid, with Qi God’s continuous in-depth exploration, we will definitely be able to find a solution. At least now we already know that three Spiritual Items, including Tranquility Pill, Clarity Spirit Jade Dew, and Ghost Cicada Spirit Liquid, can help to slow down the disease.”
“Actually, I’m very curious about the situation of other Families. According to the information provided by the Illusionary Body Demon Vine, the 【Bone-Spur Disease】 is a widespread Illness in the Dueling Heaven Sect lineage. So, those who have been affected are probably not just the Nangong Family. Other Families are very likely to have contracted the same Illness. They will never sit idly by and will definitely try to find ways to cure or at least slow down the disease.
If we go to the other Families’ territories, we might be able to find a cure for the 【Bone-Spur Disease】.”
“How can it be that simple? If the 【Bone-Spur Disease】 was so easy to cure, how could the Dueling Heaven Sect have closed its mountain gates? They are the upper sect of many Families. Not to mention Land Immortals, there should be quite a few Great Beings even stronger than Land Immortals. Yet, they still can’t do anything about the 【Bone-Spur Disease】?”
“Do you think it’s possible that the 【Bone-Spur Disease】 was actually caused by the Dueling Heaven Sect, and those Families below are just victims?”
“Exaggerated, right? Why would they cause such a terrifying Illness for no reason? Those people in the Dueling Heaven Sect aren’t all fools. In my opinion, it’s very likely that something caused a large-scale spread of a pathogenic factor in the Dueling Heaven Sect’s controlled area, which led to almost all of the Cultivators in this lineage contracting the 【Bone-Spur Disease】.”
“Maybe it was a meteorite from outside the Sky Screen that fell, bringing many foreign germs and causing this difficult-to-solve special Illness.”
“I’m more inclined to a locally-outbreak Illness, such as the Dueling Heaven Sect digging up the tomb of a certain ancient Great Being, which accidentally caused a large-scale spread of a certain terrible pathogenic bacteria.”
“Regardless, the Dueling Heaven Sect’s research on the 【Bone-Spur Disease】 should be very in-depth, otherwise, they wouldn’t supply the lower Families with Tranquility Pill, which can alleviate the Illness. Including the Clarity Spirit Mother Tree, the Mother Tree’s Tree Seed might have been given by the Dueling Heaven Sect.”
“As the upper sect that many Families offer to, the Dueling Heaven Sect must actively respond to the Illness. Otherwise, if the people’s hearts scatter and many Families fall apart, they won’t even be able to properly offer to the upper sect. In the face of a great crisis of life and death, who would care so much?”
“Alas, if Qi God could go to the Dueling Heaven Sect, he might be able to unravel the mystery of the 【Bone-Spur Disease】.”
“Take it easy, think about how Nangong Wuji has been transformed into that kind of terrifying Monster. Heaven knows what the situation is like in the Dueling Heaven Sect now? Maybe it has long become a paradise for Monsters, and there are many Monsters like Nangong Wuji.”
“Don’t say it anymore, the more you say it, the more I feel scared. What if the Land Chunk where the Dueling Heaven Sect is located suddenly falls down…”
“Damn! Shut up!”
…
The Live Stream Room was in an uproar, and Qi Xuan was also thinking about things related to the Dueling Heaven Sect.
In the morning, he found that the two words on the Heaven-Seizing Hand Ring had changed to twelve words at some point.
This made him think of a frequently-appearing joke on Blue Star, which said that a young lady found that the two words 【Mò Zāi】 were tattooed on a guest’s DingTalk, and she didn’t know what it meant.
The guest smiled evilly and immediately opened DingTalk—【Mò ér shí zhī, xué ér bù yàn, huì rén bù juàn, hé yǒu yú wǒ zāi】.
But unlike the joke, 【Dueling Heaven】 was not the first two words, but the starting two words.
He thought it was some kind of title, but now it might be a maxim, a password, or the beginning of a Cultivation Technique.
So, does this hand ring have a relationship with the Dueling Heaven Sect?
Qi Xuan was more inclined to believe that there was a relationship.
After all, this hand ring was not damaged by the impact of the Sun Collapse, and it still didn’t change much after absorbing a large amount of Spiritual Energy, which was enough to prove that its quality was far above ordinary Magic Artifacts.
It might be a treasure that only Golden Core high Cultivators could use, or a Magic Treasure that only Nascent Soul Great Beings could equip.
This was definitely not a treasure that ordinary Cultivators could possess. Even the Nangong Family, as strong as they were, might not be able to get involved.
And above the Nangong Family, there was only the Dueling Heaven Sect, this behemoth.
So the question is, why would such a treasure be lost in the wilderness?
He didn’t find any relics or remains related to it on the mountain.
Could it be that in the territory of the Serrated Tyrant Yuan, there was a skeleton of a Golden Core Real Person or a Nascent Soul True Monarch?
Thinking of this possibility, Qi Xuan couldn’t help but sigh.
After all, he had been so close to the territory of the Serrated Tyrant Yuan, but now he couldn’t go back and dig anymore.
Not to mention going back and digging, under the drastic changes in the Terrain, he might not even be able to find that place.
Furthermore, it might not necessarily be related to the territory.
Maybe the hand ring was brought up by the Monster that crawled up from the mountain.
Thinking of those countless Bloody Handprints, even though he had already experienced many Calamities, Qi Xuan still felt a chill in his heart.
He always felt that the symptoms of those handprints should be another Illness, not quite the same as the 【Bone-Spur Disease】.
Could it be that more than one Illness broke out within the Dueling Heaven Sect’s controlled area?
Just thinking about it, Qi Xuan felt a headache.
“Forget it, let’s figure out the 【Bone-Spur Disease】 first.”
“It’s best to get the Clarity Spirit Jade Dew, so we can be prepared.”
“Anything else, thinking too much is useless.”
Qi Xuan put away his distracting thoughts and rode Sunday to continue forward.
The journey was quite peaceful, at least he didn’t see any battle relics or the remains of Cultivators.
This proved that the Nangong Family’s Geniuses might have only experienced that ambush. Of course, it was also possible that they ran too fast, and the attackers didn’t have time to surround them.
Before long, Qi Xuan finally arrived at his destination, the Clarity Spirit Mother Tree.
It was a huge tree, with a trunk that was almost twenty meters thick, requiring more than a dozen people to embrace it. If only the area occupied by the trunk was calculated, it would be more than three hundred square meters, and many middle-class families might not be able to live in a house of such a large area.
Including the spread of the crown, the actual area occupied might be two or three thousand square meters, a proper giant tree.
But it was very unfortunate that this Clarity Spirit Mother Tree was not as green and crystal clear as described, but rather withered on the surface, with bare branches and leaves. The tree trunk even had many thick and long cracks, obviously having been dead for a long time.
The moment he saw the Mother Tree, Qi Xuan’s long-hanging heart finally died.
The Live Stream Room was filled with sighs:
“It’s actually dead.”
“This is so disappointing.”
“I thought I could get the Clarity Spirit Jade Dew, but now it seems that I can’t get the Jade Dew either.”
“Then what about the 【Bone-Spur Disease】? Without the Clarity Spirit Jade Dew, what if we get sick and have no cure?”
“We can only try to go to other Families. After all, it’s a widespread disease, and other Families might still have some medicine.”
“Damn, won’t we meet a Four-Armed Monster like Nangong Wuji again?”
“Fighting a Monster is better than being in pain from the disease. Moreover, the Nangong Family should be the strongest Family nearby. The other Families’ strength can’t compare to them. Even if they transform into Four-Armed Monsters, they shouldn’t be as terrifying as Nangong Wuji.”
“I’m afraid that something unexpected will happen again.”
“Being timid and hesitant, nothing can be done! We must not stay in place and wait for death!”
…
The netizens were still discussing, but Qi Xuan didn’t have time to think so much.
Because a new opponent had appeared.
On the withered branches of the Clarity Spirit Mother Tree, lived a large group of Tea-backed Red-winged Stink Bugs.
This is a type of Demon Bugs that feeds on the sap of various Spiritual Plants, generally found on various Spiritual Flowers and Spiritual Trees.
Although the Clarity Spirit Mother Tree has extremely strong defense, after it dies and withers, its defensive outer shell will also gradually disintegrate, and then it will be invaded by foreign species.
That is, because it is so large, it will not decay and collapse under the long-term erosion of the Tea-backed Red-winged Stink Bugs.
But it’s not far from complete collapse.
Thinking of this, Qi Xuan couldn’t help but feel anger rising in his heart.
If there were no Tea-backed Red-winged Stink Bugs, the speed of the Clarity Spirit Mother Tree’s collapse would definitely be greatly reduced. Perhaps there would still be a few Fruits left, or even a few drops of Clarity Spirit Jade Dew.
But it’s all over.
“Damn insects!”
Qi Xuan’s eyes were cold.
Facing the large group of Tea-backed Red-winged Stink Bugs with sharp, needle-like Mouths rushing towards him, Qi Xuan suddenly opened his Mouth and burst out a thunderous sound.
The explosive sound waves instantly covered a large area of the front, and countless rushing Tea-backed Red-winged Stink Bugs burst apart, and the sky was filled with juice.
Many Tea-backed Red-winged Stink Bugs that were slightly behind were also affected by the impact of the sound waves and fell to the ground in a flurry of uncontrolled falls.
The scene was like a large rain of insects.
“War Stomp!”
Sunday charged back and forth on the scene, and the dizzy skill directly hard-controlled these weak Insects on the spot.
And Sunday’s repeated charges trampled the ground full of Tea-backed Red-winged Stink Bugs into a meat paste on the spot.
Before long, a large group of harmful insects that had originally occupied the tree were killed.
The remaining ones, seeing that they couldn’t defeat their opponents, scattered and fled in panic.
Qi Xuan looked at those Tea-backed Red-winged Stink Bugs that were fleeing everywhere, and he finally managed to suppress the idea of using the Lightness Talisman to chase and kill them.
He got off Sunday’s sturdy back and walked towards the tall Clarity Spirit Mother Tree.
A part of the exposed tree roots below the Mother Tree were engraved with many twisted and complex Spiritual Patterns, and many places had been damaged and broken.
When he got closer, the Jade Void Token immediately lit up, and the incomplete Spiritual Patterns also lit up.
Obviously, if these Spiritual Patterns were not damaged, only by holding the Jade Void Token, could one successfully pass through the checkpoint set up by the Nangong Family and enter the Mother Tree.
It’s a pity that he came too late.
Entering the interior of the Mother Tree along the cracks between the tree roots, it was a slightly spacious space.
The tall Mother Tree stood overhead, surrounded by tough and strong dense Root system, which was simply a naturally formed living place.
It seems that the Sub-tree’s form should be similar to it, and those Foundation Stage Cultivators guarding the Sub-tree might also live in the Root system’s internal space.
Looking around, there were nine Skeletons scattered around, with different causes of death.
Some killed each other.
Some ended their own lives.
There were also those who died stacked together, well, they were all male.
Except for the two stacked together, the other Skeletons should have died earlier.
Some had even been buried in the pit, and then dug out later.
Some Skeletons even had Tooth Marks on them.
If nothing unexpected happened, in the later stages, after consuming the Clarity Spirit Jade Dew produced by the Mother Tree, the remaining Qi Condensation Geniuses should have been driven mad by the 【Bone-Spur Disease】.
It’s not surprising what a mad person would do.
For example, he saw a dozen or so Bone Spurs of different sizes scattered next to a corpse nearby, and the cuts were very smooth.
And on this corpse, he saw that the thigh bone, ribs, mandible, nasal bone, and other parts all had traces of being cut, and the cutting time was not the same.
Thinking about it, a Qi Condensation Genius couldn’t bear the pain of the disease and chose to cut off the Bone Spurs on his body with a weapon.
First, the thigh bone, cut open the flesh, and cut off the Bone Spurs.
Then the ribs, cut off the flesh along with the Bone Spurs.
Then the mandible…
He cut it more than a dozen times.
The last time was on the cervical spine.
He didn’t know if he used too much force, or if he didn’t want to live at all.
That cut, in addition to cutting off the Bone Spurs, he also cut off his own cervical spine.
He must have felt relieved when he died, right?
Seeing this scene, not to mention that Qi Xuan’s mood became unprecedentedly heavy, the countless netizens in the Live Stream Room were shocked to the point of their scalps going numb:
“What to do? Just looking at the remains, I feel phantom pains.”
“For the first time, I have a very direct understanding of the pain when the 【Bone-Spur Disease】 strikes.”
“Being so cruel to yourself, but still couldn’t make it through. If we get sick…”
“Someone used to say not to worry too much about the 【Bone-Spur Disease】, can you not worry when you see this scene?!”
“Clarity Spirit Jade Dew! Quickly find the Clarity Spirit Jade Dew! Without the Clarity Spirit Jade Dew, I’m afraid we won’t even be able to wait for the disease to strike before being in excruciating pain!”
“How can we not find the Clarity Spirit Jade Dew in the big pharmacy? Can the Clarity Spirit Jade Dew work??”
…
Qi Xuan continued to search the relics of these corpses in the internal space.
Although he no longer had any hope of finding the Clarity Spirit Jade Dew, even if he found some information related to the 【Bone-Spur Disease】, the Dueling Heaven Sect, or the nearby Families, that would be excellent.
He also found many small objects, including Talismans.
Unfortunately, because too much time had passed, the Spiritual Seals of many Talismans had been damaged, and the Talismans could no longer be used.
He could barely use two Vine Technique Talismans, and he put them into his Personal Space.
There were also some Spirit Stones, Spirit Ore, and other materials, which were not damaged due to the passage of time, and he also put them away.
But what Qi Xuan valued more was the three Jade Slips found in the relics. Unfortunately, two of them had been damaged. The owner of the last one was named Nangong Nan, who recorded his insights during his Cultivation, as well as some of his experiences after leaving the Family:
“…The Fourth Elder suppressed all opposing opinions and let sixteen Family Geniuses enter the Mother Tree, which had been sealed, for cultivation. I was fortunate enough to be one of them.”
“…That kid A Xin said he heard a cry for help and rushed to save people. I couldn’t stop him. When I returned to the camp to tell Big Brother Yaohua and the others, it was already too late…”
“…Sure enough, just as the Fourth Elder had predicted, we were ambushed on the way. It’s just that I didn’t expect it to be the Zhang Family. The one leading the team was Zhang Yongze, who had always been respectful to us! How hateful! Really hateful!
But I don’t hate the Zhang Family. If others knew that we were entering the Mother Tree for cultivation, other Families might be eager to try. What I hate is the traitors in the Family! If they hadn’t colluded with outsiders, how could there have been this killing?”
“…Using the Hundred Feather Universe Map to resist the attack, as well as the Minor Teleportation Talisman for long-distance teleportation, we ten people finally escaped the Zhang Family’s ambush and successfully arrived at the Clarity Spirit Mother Tree. Relying on the Mother Tree and the top-level defense of the array, it’s difficult to break through without a Golden Core. Our lives should be better from now on, right?”
“…The Mother Tree’s decline was unexpected. In less than three years, the Clarity Spirit Jade Dew produced dropped to one-third of the original. In contrast, because our Cultivation kept improving, the disease became more and more frequent, and the symptoms became more and more serious. Can we still hold on like this?”
“…A Xin screamed all night, which seemed to be a symbol. Before this, if anyone among us got sick, even if his Clarity Spirit Jade Dew was used up, the others would try to supply it, helping each other and barely maintaining.
But now A Xin’s screams told me that everyone no longer had that energy. It’s not that everyone became indifferent, but because no one knew if they would be the one to get sick tomorrow.”
“…Brother Wei died, died before A Xin. His Illness was the lightest among us, and he was also the most generous, often taking out his Clarity Spirit Jade Dew.
Everyone had received his kindness, and no one thought that he would be the first to die, and it was suicide.
Brother Wei left a last word, saying that he knew he could still struggle to live for a while, maybe a few months, maybe a few years, but even if he could survive, he would eventually be unable to avoid the outcome of death, and he would have to endure suffering all day long. In the future, in order to snatch the Clarity Spirit Jade Dew, he might even attack his own people.
He didn’t want to go down that road, and he didn’t want to see that scene, so he decided to end his own life in advance. At least the portion he saved should be able to help everyone.
After reading the last words, everyone was silent. In the end, we buried Brother Wei under the tree root he liked the most.”
“…The Clarity Spirit Jade Dew is close to being out of production, and the atmosphere in the cave is getting more and more wrong. Everyone’s eyes on others seem to have changed their taste. The people who were once as close as a family, will they really, as Brother Wei predicted, turn against each other?”
“…A Xin died, was killed by someone, and the Clarity Spirit Jade Dew he had left was also gone, but no one admitted that they did it, and no one cared about his corpse. In the end, I couldn’t bear it, and I buried A Xin next to Brother Wei, hoping that this was the last corpse I buried.”
“…A battle suddenly broke out at night, and screams and curses came. Everyone was on guard against each other, and the resting places were far apart. When we rushed over, we saw that Peng Yu and his wife, the Dao Companion, had both died, all in each other’s hands.
Seeing this scene, I couldn’t help but feel sad. Nangong Peng was a top Genius of the younger generation, and Nangong Yu, as the most beautiful woman in the clan, was also talented. Their union had once made so many people feel envious from the bottom of their hearts. Who could have imagined that they would eventually turn against each other because of the Clarity Spirit Jade Dew.
Even the closest Dao Companion had come to this step. Is there still a way out for us ordinary Cultivators in this world?”
“…After Nangong Peng and Nangong Yu, the one I buried with my own hands was Nangong Xiaoqi.
I had loved her, and I had confessed to her, but she said that she liked Big Brother Yaohua.
Big Brother Yaohua is a real Foundation Stage seed, and he has been at the Qi Condensation stage for many years and may break through at any time. I am naturally no match for him.
But what I didn’t expect was that Xiaoqi had come to me before she died, saying that Nangong Fan and Nangong Yang’s eyes on her were not right, and they might attack her, and she wanted to sleep near me, so she could be taken care of.
But I think she was overthinking it. After all, Brother Fan and Brother Yang had already gone together, and now they were all day long indulging in the obscene, trying to resist the 【Bone-Spur Disease】, how could they pay attention to others?
But looking at Xiaoqi’s corpse, I couldn’t help but think of what she had said before.
At the same time, I also regretted it a little.
Because when I rejected her, I didn’t feel that she was trying to plot against me.
Did years of love finally fail to withstand the suspicion between life and death?
In the final analysis, I’m just an ordinary person.”
“…Big Brother Yaohua is preparing to go into closed-door cultivation to break through to Foundation Stage, Brother Fan and Brother Yang are still sticking together and flirting, and Brother Feng is still doing it to himself.
I watched him cut off the Bone Spur protruding from his mandible with his own hands. This was not the first time he had done it, and after he was done, he smiled at me and said that he felt much better.
But I know that this is useless. The clan had studied it long ago, and cutting off the Bone Spurs can’t stop the disease. The subsequent Bone Spurs will grow faster and more violently, making it even more painful.
Brother Feng didn’t know these things, but he still did it.
I don’t know how long he can hold on, but there’s no need to think so much. Maybe I’ll go before him.”
“…Brother Feng is crazy, he dug out the corpse and hugged it and gnawed on it. Brother Wei’s corpse was gnawed beyond recognition by him, and he told me that this could relieve the pain.
I saw his crazy appearance and didn’t dare to fight him, so I had to guard the remaining graves.
I don’t know how long I can guard.”
“…Brother Feng died, was killed by me, ambushed and killed. I took advantage of the fact that he was cutting the Bone Spurs on his cervical spine and suddenly exerted force, twisting his action.
Before he died, Brother Feng’s eyes looking at me didn’t have any blame, but were filled with relief. I can probably remember this look for a lifetime.
I buried Brother Feng next to Brother Wei’s grave.
After thinking about it, I dug a pit next to it, which was the grave I prepared for myself.”
The record in the Jade Slip stopped here, and I don’t know what happened afterwards.
Maybe Nangong Nan was killed, maybe he had gone mad. Anyway, the record ended here.
In total, Nangong Nan buried six people with his own hands. The remaining ones were Nangong Fan and Nangong Yang, and Nangong Yaohua.
But that’s not right.
There are only nine Skeletons at the scene.
Almost at the moment he realized it, a sharp gust of wind suddenly burst out from the tree roots on the left.
