Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Tremor of the Green Sphere

"Only a few cubic meters?" Ghost Venom was surprised as well. Generally, even storage demon tools without quality grades have at least ten cubic meters, but this one didn't even reach that. He couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder those demons disdain using this tool—not only does it lack quality, but it also requires so much fresh blood! Still, it's enough for you, at least for now."

Lei Yan nodded with difficulty. From the moment he fused with the demon tool, he had sensed its internal size and understood how to control it. With a casual sweep of his right hand across the stone table, half of the dazzling array of pills vanished mysteriously. He then used the same technique on the ground, collecting the mid-grade spirit tools scattered there into the demon tool.

"Immortal cultivators are truly unfathomable!" Although he'd always known this, now that he possessed such ability, Lei Yan found himself yearning even more for the innate advantages of cultivators.

"You need not envy them; your path is still long! Enough, leave the pills and spirit tools behind and come with me," Ghost Venom said, heading toward the door.

"Grandmaster, wouldn't it be wasteful not to use these pills and spirit tools?" Lei Yan's meaning was clear; he had intentionally stored them away.

Ghost Venom clearly hadn't expected Lei Yan to pull such a trick. These pills and spirit tools had been prepared for Lei Yan, but it wasn't yet time. His expression shifted several times. "Do you know why I called you here today?"

Lei Yan shook his head, genuinely unsure of Ghost Venom's intentions.

"I founded the Ghost Venom Sect myself. Do you know why it is called Ghost Venom?" Ghost Venom sighed deeply, as if recalling unpleasant memories. "Never mind, let it be!"

"You may take these pills and spirit tools, but you must promise me one thing. If you can't accomplish it, then you must return everything!" Ghost Venom's gaze hardened.

"This old man surely has a story," Lei Yan mused silently. "Tell me."

"I want you to win the contest five days from now!" Ghost Venom declared sternly.

"Five days from now?" Lei Yan immediately recalled what Xue Dan had said before his death—the once-a-decade contest for sect master. Lei Yan had already devised a strategy for the competition and felt confident. "Victory is no trouble! Only..."

"Only, you wonder why the position of sect master isn't passed to your uncle, right?" Ghost Venom seemed to read Lei Yan's mind, smiling. "'Medical Poison Sutra' is divided into three realms: the first is the 'Separation' realm, mastering either medicine or poison in application; the second is the 'Union' realm, combining medicine and poison to reach the realm of the elixir; the third is the 'Transformation' realm. No one has ever comprehended this last realm, so it need not be mentioned. The first realm traps countless practitioners—your master and uncle are stuck there. They have never grasped the elixir realm. Even I needed a hundred years to comprehend it. From my observation and inquiries, you seem to have already reached the elixir realm. And the sect master of Ghost Venom Sect must attain the elixir realm!"

"A hundred years to comprehend the elixir realm? Is such a simple question really that hard?" Lei Yan puzzled aloud, "Medicine, when used properly, heals; if misused, it becomes poison!"

Ghost Venom burst into laughter. "Excellent! I did not mistake you! Though the principle is simple, those obsessed with either medicine or poison can never see it. That is why so many are trapped in the first realm!"

Lei Yan nodded. He finally understood why such an obvious truth could confound so many. It was obsession—those fixated on medicine would never accept that it could be poison, and those entrenched in poison would never admit poison could be medicine; if you told them so, they might try to 'medicate' you when your guard was down.

"I trust you'll win, having grasped the second realm of 'Union.' Take the pills and spirit tools; they were always meant for you," Ghost Venom beamed.

"Meant for me...?" Lei Yan was stunned. The sheer amount—how much time and effort it must have taken! A touch of gratitude stirred in his heart.

"Don't just stand there, they're yours to keep for now. If you lose, I will reclaim them! Go, prepare yourself," Ghost Venom said, lightly slapping Lei Yan's shoulder.

"Alright." Lei Yan nodded, sweeping up the remaining pills and spirit tools. Feeling the demon tool now packed full, he left the Ghost Venom Sect with a smile.

The following morning, Lei Yan emerged from the secret chamber. The courtyard was as usual, ** still cleaning, fetching and handing over medicine, while several people awaited Sun Ji's diagnosis. Without greeting anyone, Lei Yan departed; after a night's rest, his spirits had clearly recovered. Four days remained before the contest. He still needed a medicinal ingredient—Yin-Yang Grass—for his preparation. This herb was special and not found in the Ghost Doctor Sect's pharmacy, so he had to gather it himself.

Unable to cultivate inner strength, Lei Yan exercised his body while gathering herbs. Besides his usual sandbags, he carried a heavy iron sickle and a three-foot-square iron basket. About half an hour later, he found himself walking a narrow mountain path. To his left towered a sheer cliff, and to his right a bottomless abyss, shrouded in mist that concealed whatever lay beyond. Only occasional roars from the depths reminded him that fierce beasts lurked below.

Lei Yan trudged on, gasping for breath. Climbing was exhausting, especially with the iron sickle and basket; after only a few miles, he was struggling for air.

With a squeal, spring dew made the path slick. Burdened as he was, Lei Yan stepped on a patch of moss at a bend and slipped, flying out into the air.

Wind howled past his ears. Lei Yan reacted instantly, swinging the iron sickle he gripped, striking the cliff wall. With a crash, shards of stone flew, most falling into the abyss, some pelting his head. The blow did not halt his fall. The sickle scraped along the cliff, grating loudly, until finally it caught a protruding rock, leaving Lei Yan hanging over the abyss.

He glanced down—the depths still unfathomable. Sweat broke out on his brow. If he fell, even his control over ** would not save him. Gripping the sickle with one hand, he quickly discarded the iron basket to lighten himself; the protruding rock above was cracking. As soon as he shed the basket, the rock shattered, and he lost his grip on the sickle, plunging downward.

A cloud of dust rose. Lei Yan heard his bones break, coughed violently, blood spewing forth, and darkness claimed him. His last thought before losing consciousness was, "This is the end!"

An hour passed.

Coughing, Lei Yan slowly opened his eyes. "I'm not dead?" He scanned his surroundings—a stone platform about two meters wide, three sides open to the air, one side attached to the cliff. At the junction, a huge crevice yawned, and around it grew strange grass with two leaves, one white, one black.

"Yin-Yang Grass!" Joy surged in Lei Yan's heart. He had come seeking this herb, never expecting to find it so easily. But when he examined the grass with his powers, he was stunned. Yin-Yang Grass usually grew in extreme heat or cold, divided into two types: Yang grass in heat, Yin grass in cold. Here, however, the grass had both black and white leaves on one plant—and there were many of them, clearly unusual.

As Lei Yan pondered, a cold wind blew from the crevice, making him shiver. The chilling sensation was like being doused with icy water in winter, his teeth clattering uncontrollably.

"What kind of wind is this? So cold," Lei Yan muttered, but only the wind howled in reply.

The cold wind lasted half an hour before finally subsiding. His eyebrows, lips, and face were frosted. Shivering, Lei Yan discovered he could move again—just his fingers, but it was a good sign; soon, he might be able to take medicine. If the wind continued, it would strip him to the bone if not kill him outright.

As time passed and the cold faded, a warm wind began to blow from the crevice. It was like soaking in a hot spring on a freezing day—an indescribable comfort. But gradually, the temperature kept rising. The comfort disappeared, replaced only by heat. Sweat beaded on his face, and even the moisture in the air seemed to evaporate, making it hard to breathe.

Just as Lei Yan was about to faint, the hot wind receded. He jumped to his feet, cursing, "What the hell is this damn..." He hadn't finished before realizing he was able to stand. Though his bones hadn't fully healed, he could at least move.

With a flick of his wrist, several pills appeared in his right hand. After taking them, Lei Yan approached the crevice, wanting to see what lay within. It was too deep to see from outside, so he used his powers. He discovered the crevice led to a spacious cave, adorned with countless multicolored stalactites hanging from the high ceiling. The stalactites emitted a faint white vapor, with crystalline droplets gathering in dozens of small puddles on the ground.

"What is that? I can't sense it!" Beneath the stalactites, a green-glowing object floated, and Lei Yan was unable to perceive its nature, surprising him.

While he pondered the green glow, a drop of purple-black liquid fell from a stalactite above, landing on the green light. The green glow rippled like waves, sending circles of energy through the air. As the ripples reached the crevice Lei Yan occupied, another cold wind blew out, identical to before. The chill made him instinctively tighten his clothes and withdraw his powers.

Strangely, after several cycles of cold and heat, Lei Yan's broken bones had miraculously healed, and his body brimmed with strength. Examining the grass by the crevice, Lei Yan realized it must be a mutated form of Yin-Yang Grass, its medicinal properties enhanced by alternating extremes. Without hesitation, he drew a dagger from the demon tool and harvested all the mutated grass.

Finished, Lei Yan squeezed into the crevice. It was tight, but his build allowed him to manage. After only a few dozen steps, darkness enveloped him, broken occasionally by falling stones from above. After a hundred steps, his vision brightened, and a cave opened before him. Though he had sensed it with his powers earlier, seeing it firsthand inspired awe at nature's marvels.

It was a dazzling world: multicolored stalactites, vibrant energy clouds, and shimmering liquid. It was also a treasure trove. The colorful liquid was the essence of rainbow stone—a coveted prize among warriors, for a single draught of properly blended essence could push one straight into the innate realm. Its value was immeasurable.

Lei Yan did not rush to collect the essence but approached the green glow, curious about the object his powers couldn't sense. Standing beneath it, he saw that it was a sphere, identical to the four he had obtained from the Hongyuan Escort Agency, except that this one was activated. Whenever a purple-black drop fell from above, it emitted cold, and when a red drop fell, it radiated heat. Gathering the drops took time, hence the alternating cold and hot phenomena.

Fascinated, Lei Yan instinctively reached out and grabbed the glowing sphere. He had worried something might happen once he took it, but nothing changed. His anxiety eased.

"Zhen," Lei Yan read the character on the sphere. "Could these spheres relate to the Eight Trigrams? Qian, Kan, Dui, Xun—and now Zhen, that's five. Must they be assembled to reveal their purpose...?" He pondered for a long while, but found no answer, so he stowed the sphere away.

"These stone essences can't be collected!" After storing the sphere, Lei Yan examined the essence. There were many puddles, all full. If he used only the medicine bottles he carried, he could fill just one puddle. But doing so would leave no room for his pills, and even he might not distinguish the mixed medicines afterward. Helpless, he decided to leave them for now—this place was concealed enough, and he could return when needed.