"I... I'm sorry for my recklessness earlier," the young woman said with a bitter voice under the gaze of everyone.
It was the first time she had lowered her head and apologized like this. Amidst the complexity in her heart, she couldn't help but feel a sense of confusion.
Is this the price one has to pay for growing up?
Seeing this, Yong Shu breathed a sigh of relief, and a faint sense of satisfaction appeared on his brow.
He respectfully addressed Su Yi, "Immortal Master, my young miss has been indulged by our clan since childhood and has never experienced the storms of life. She may be a bit rash in her actions. Please forgive her!"
The other guards also quickly bowed, begging for Su Yi's forgiveness.
Su Yi glanced at the young woman without saying much, then turned to the six Yin Corpse in front of him, carefully examining it.
He had no intention of arguing with a young girl.
As he had previously stated, killing the six Yin Corpse was his purpose for this trip. Saving these people was just an incidental act.
He didn't even care if they felt grateful or not.
Upon witnessing this scene, Yong Shu and the others finally felt relieved, realizing that Su Yi would no longer hold the young woman's previous offense against her.
The pouring rain had quietly ceased at some point, and the thick clouds in the sky dispersed, restoring the brightness to the previously darkened world.
Faint hues of colorful clouds emerged on the horizon.
It was dusk.
The dilapidated courtyard of the ruined temple was in a mess, yet wild grasses sprouted and thrived from the soil, creating a desolate and wanton scene of life and death.
Yong Shu and his companions returned to the main hall to recuperate with the young woman.
Meanwhile, Su Yi stood in the courtyard, examining a broken folding fan he had picked up from the ground.
The fan was made of the spiritual material "Inky Spirit Iron," while the fan surface was woven from Blood Yin Silkworm silk. Crude talismanic cloud patterns depicting the totems of the eighteen mountain ghosts were drawn on it.
"This should have been crafted by someone from the Yin Shad Sect. The workmanship is rough and unsightly, wasting such a spiritual material," Su Yi lamented.
The folding fan was severely damaged, almost beyond repair. Otherwise, if he could dismantle its spiritual material, he could have crafted a decent sword.
He casually discarded the fan and shifted his gaze back to the six Yin Corpse.
In the end, he gained nothing.
He couldn't help but frown. This abomination had awakened its spiritual intelligence and was now serving the descendant of the Yin Shad Sect. It was highly likely that it had already taken the Six Yin Grass, Extreme Yang Flower, and even the segment of Yin Shad Spiritual Vein, without excluding the possibility that it had a hidden lair where it had hidden all these treasures.
"Could it be that this abomination still has a secret hideout where it has stashed away all the treasures?"
While Su Yi pondered, he took out a tinderbox and flicked it gently, causing the flames to burst forth and instantly set the remains of the six Yin Corpse on fire.
Thick black smoke billowed into the air.
Until the remains turned into ashes completely, Su Yi was about to turn back to the main hall when his eyes suddenly lit up.
He saw a jade pendant lying on the ground amidst the accumulated ashes. It was only the size of a child's palm, jet black and dull, making it extremely difficult to notice unless examined closely.
Su Yi immediately picked it up and took a quick look, a hint of a smile appearing on his face.
The jade pendant had a delicate touch, engraved with landscape patterns and a deep, elegant simplicity in its ink-like color.
Most importantly, it was a storage treasure!
According to Su Yi's memories in this world, storage treasures were extremely rare within the Great Zhou Dynasty, even rare enough for some martial masters to not possess one.
It wasn't that such treasures held great value, but rather, they were incredibly scarce.
Su Yi never expected that this six Yin Corpse would possess such a treasure.
After a brief inspection, Su Yi applied a bit of force with his palm, lightly wiping away a faint restriction that was attached to the black jade pendant, causing it to instantly crumble and dissipate.
As his consciousness sensed it, he saw that the inner space was extremely narrow, barely three feet in size, just enough to accommodate a large wooden box.
At this moment, the storage space contained quite a few items, such as scattered jade bottles, spiritual medicines, spiritual stones, and books.
Undoubtedly, the six Yin Corpse had hidden all of its treasures within this jade pendant.
The Six Yin Grass and Extreme Yang Flower that Su Yi had come to Ghost Mother Peak to find were among them.
However, he couldn't find the segment of the Yin Shad Spiritual Vein. It was unknown whether it had already been refined by the six Yin Corpse or if it was still hidden somewhere in Ghost Mother Peak, undiscovered.
Soon, Su Yi finished sorting through the spoils.
Nine spiritual medicines, five of the first grade, two of the second grade, and two of the third grade.
It is worth mentioning that both the Six Yin Grass and the Extreme Yang Flower, although they were both third-grade spiritual medicines, had a significant benefit for the cultivation of Martial Furnace Stage Grandmasters and were far more precious than ordinary third-grade spiritual medicines.
When the Martial Master Xiao Tianque came to Ghost Mother Peak, his purpose was to collect Six Yin Grass to temper his own cultivation.
In addition to the spiritual medicines, there were also fifty-five first-grade spiritual stones, as well as over ten bottles of various types of Yin Cold Pills. These items were all useful for cultivating the power of Ghost Cultivators and had no value for Su Yi, but they could be used for Qian Wan's cultivation.
Finally, there was a book, made of tanned animal hide, old and yellowed with age.
The book recorded a cultivation technique called the "Nine Killing Profound Yin Art."
The name seemed intimidating, but when Su Yi skimmed through it, he couldn't help but shake his head in disappointment.
It was nothing more than a method of "corpse refinement," a branch of Ghost Cultivation.
At most, one could cultivate to the stage of "borrowing a corpse and solidifying the body, transforming into a human," barely comparable to an Elemental Dao cultivator.
Compared to the "Ten-Fold Asura Scripture" he had imparted to Qian Wan, it was a difference of heaven and earth.
It was simply not worth it.
"With my current cultivation, just practicing it daily would consume a first-grade spiritual medicine. Even with the spiritual medicines I collected this time, it would only be enough for half a month of cultivation..."
"And if I want to cultivate 'Bone Refinement' to the consummate stage, half a month might not be enough."
"Next, I still have to continue searching for spiritual medicines..."
Su Yi thought to himself, "However, with this Ink Jade Pendant, this trip is not in vain."
He collected his thoughts and hung the jade pendant at his waist.
With a storage treasure, he no longer needed to carry a heavy burden when traveling the world.
That was what pleased Su Yi the most.
In terms of cultivation, he was confident that he could work harder and be more diligent than anyone else.
But when he wasn't cultivating, he was an extremely lazy person. If someone else could do something for him, he wouldn't even bother lifting a finger.
The evening sky grew dim, and night was approaching.
The bonfire was lit again in the main hall.
When Su Yi entered the hall, Uncle Yong and the others quickly stood up to greet him.
"Master Su, it's getting late now. We have prepared some light wine to express our gratitude. Please have a seat."
Uncle Yong smiled and invited him.
Beside the bonfire, a sumptuous spread of food and drinks was already prepared, and a spacious and bright spot had been set aside, obviously for Su Yi.
"Then I won't be polite."
Su Yi wasn't one to fuss around. He sat on the ground, comfortably stretching his body.
Seeing that everyone was still standing, he casually instructed, "Please sit down, no need to be so formal. I never pay attention to these details."
Uncle Yong and the others then laughed and took their seats one by one.
Throughout the meal, the girl in military attire appeared absent-minded, keeping her head down, her face pale, and remaining silent. It seemed she hadn't recovered from the heavy blow she received earlier.
However, she no longer had the arrogant and domineering demeanor she had before.
Su Yi didn't care about what she was thinking and simply enjoyed his food and drink.
Seeing Su Yi's casual attitude, Uncle Yong and the others gradually relaxed and started to offer him toasts and engage in conversation.
Su Yi didn't refuse, but he hardly spoke.
Even so, his gentle attitude brought great relief and reassurance to Uncle Yong and the others.
They were truly afraid of attracting the attention of this terrifying existence, who could slay the Six Extremes Yin Corpse. If that happened, it would be an unbearable nightmare for anyone.
Guo Bing was also very happy.
The scenes today had broadened his horizons and further convinced him that with Su Yi's abilities, he could easily cure the yin poison in his body.
In their conversation, Uncle Yong no longer concealed anything and intentionally or unintentionally introduced their identities one by one, even revealing the purpose of their journey.
Su Yi then learned that they were from the Yuan Clan, one of the top four forces in Yunhe County.
The girl in military attire was named Yuan Luo Xi, the youngest daughter of Yuan Wu Tong, the patriarch of the Yuan Clan. She was regarded as the pearl in the palm of the Yuan Clan and was highly doted on.
Uncle Yong's full name was Cheng Wu Yong. He was an elder of an external clan in the Yuan Clan and currently served as Yuan Luo Xi's chief bodyguard.
The guards accompanying them were all elite warriors of the Yuan Clan, possessing martial strength at the Blood Moving Realm and Bone Refinement Realm levels. They were fierce and skilled in combat.
Their purpose for coming to Guimu Ridge this time was to search for the "Six Yin Grass." Yuan Luo Xi wanted to use this spiritual medicine as a birthday gift for her father, Yuan Wu Tong.
Upon hearing this, Su Yi raised an eyebrow and asked, "How did you come to know that Guimu Ridge has the Six Yin Grass?"
Previously, he had heard from Princess Ling Yao, Zi Jin, that very few people in the entire Yunhe County knew about the existence of the Six Yin Grass in Guimu Ridge.
Yuan Luo Xi, who had remained silent all along, spoke up, saying, "It was mentioned by Elder Xiao when he visited my home some time ago. It came up in conversation with my father, and I discreetly remembered it."
As she spoke, she still kept her head lowered, her tone filled with melancholy.
"Elder Xiao Tianque?" Su Yi asked.
Yuan Luo Xi was taken aback and finally raised her head. Her beautiful eyes widened as she said, "You... Master Su, you know Elder Xiao Tianque too?"
Even her way of addressing him had changed.
This implied that her attitude towards Su Yi had undergone a tremendous change.
"Naturally, I know him. Not long ago, he came to Guimu Ridge with his granddaughter and was injured by the Six Extremes Yin Corpse. If it weren't for me, he would have lost his life," Su Yi casually remarked.
Cheng Wu Yong and the guards were all shocked.
They were well aware of the esteemed status of Elder Xiao Tianque. When he visited the Yuan Clan, it required the patriarch himself to personally receive such an honored guest!
Yuan Luo Xi seemed to recall something and blurted out, "Master Su, could it be that you are the esteemed expert mentioned by Elder Xiao?"
Her gaze towards Su Yi changed, filled with astonishment, disbelief, realization, and a hint of reverence.
"If we're talking about the person who saved his life, then it's me," Su Yi replied absentmindedly.
He had already figured it out. The news about the Six Yin Grass must have come from Xiao Tianque, which led to Yuan Luo Xi and the others taking this action.