As night fell, after the Sky Shepherd Grass was dug up by Lu Yang, the Golden Elixir cultivators lost control and lay quietly in the swamp.

Occasionally, someone would stumble upon this scene of corpses strewn about and, fearing something strange was afoot, would turn and run.

A grey figure descended, taking in the chaotic scene. He picked up the useless roots of the Sky Shepherd Grass, his brows furrowing.

“Who did this!”

Anger surged in his heart. Years of preparation ruined in an instant, he was determined to find out who was responsible.

He had been far away in the demon realm when he suddenly lost sense of the Sky Shepherd Grass and rushed over immediately.

Unfortunately, he was too late. The Sky Shepherd Grass had already been taken.

“Rewind!”

He formed a complex and ancient seal with his hands, moving so quickly that afterimages were produced.

This was a powerful divine ability he had mastered, capable of rewinding time to observe past events.

A light screen appeared before him. Within it, a Golden Elixir cultivator was seen uprooting the Sky Shepherd Grass. This was the limit of what he could rewind.

“How dare you, a mere Golden Elixir junior, ruin my plans!”

“I’ll remember your face!”

The grey figure gritted his teeth, staring intently at Lu Yang. He was determined to find Lu Yang, retrieve the Sky Shepherd Grass, and tear Lu Yang to pieces!

“Why would you remember a small fry like me?” A lazy voice sounded from the side.

“Who’s there!” The grey figure was startled. The disappearance of the Sky Shepherd Grass had thrown him into disarray, and in his haste, he hadn’t noticed someone nearby.

“It’s you, you dare to show your face!” The grey figure’s eyes hardened upon seeing Lu Yang. He had ruined his plans, taken the Sky Shepherd Grass, and even dared to show up. Did he think he was made of clay and wouldn’t get angry?

No, he was just a Golden Elixir cultivator. No matter how flustered he was, he shouldn’t have failed to notice a Golden Elixir cultivator hiding nearby.

It was a trap!

He shot towards the sky, attempting to escape, but a large net descended from the heavens, trapping the grey figure.

“Cultivating the Sky Shepherd Grass in secret, harming living beings, either face justice here or come with me to face judgement!” Zeng Zhenzhu, who had been guarding the area, slowly emerged from another space, standing next to Lu Yang, his pupils filled with anger.

Ten Void Refinement cultivators controlled the Heavenly Net, and the grey figure was unable to escape despite his best efforts.

Zeng Zhenzhu squinted his eyes. The methods used by the grey figure were quite ancient, not something a Body Fusion cultivator of this era would use.

“It seems he’s an ancient Body Fusion cultivator, secretly cultivating the Sky Shepherd Grass to refine pills and increase his cultivation level.”

Void Refinement cultivators’ cultivation levels fluctuated greatly, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t take action.

The cultivation levels of these ten Void Refinement cultivators were also changing, but they could ensure that at least two of them were at the Body Fusion stage at all times.

Together with Zeng Zhenzhu, who remained on the ground, they had three Body Fusion cultivators, enough to operate the Heavenly Net.

The Heavenly Net was a secret treasure from the treasury of the Great Xia Dynasty, one of the trump cards kept at the Demon Suppression Pass to guard against demon invasions.

As long as it wasn’t a Body Fusion cultivator like the elders of the Seek Tao Sect, the Heavenly Net could suppress them.

The grey figure clearly wasn’t at the level of the elders of the Seek Tao Sect, otherwise he wouldn’t have needed to cultivate the Sky Shepherd Grass.

“Take him away!” At Zeng Zhenzhu’s command, the ten Void Refinement cultivators dragged the grey figure back to the Demon Suppression Pass.

“How did you know someone was behind the Sky Shepherd Grass?” Zeng Zhenzhu asked curiously on the way back.

“Even the Sky Shepherd Grass itself didn’t know it was being cultivated by someone.” This was the result of Zeng Zhenzhu’s personal interrogation of the Sky Shepherd Grass.

“The Sky Shepherd Grass didn’t know, it’s possible that the person behind it altered its memory.”

“I suspected someone was behind the Sky Shepherd Grass for two reasons.”

“Firstly, the location of the Sky Shepherd Grass was too coincidental. The Sky Shepherd Grass has the ability to control Golden Elixir cultivators, and it just so happened to appear in the dense forest where Golden Elixir demons and cultivators were most abundant. It was as if someone had deliberately planted it there for it to feed.”

“I’ve thought about this too, but it could just be a coincidence, couldn’t it?”

“That brings me to the second reason. Zeng Zhenzhu may not know this, but during my battle with the Sky Shepherd Grass, it first used a formation to interrupt my directional teleportation talisman. The talisman was made by an Elemental Infant cultivator, and the Sky Shepherd Grass only controlled Golden Elixir cultivators, so it couldn’t have learned how to interrupt the talisman from them.”

“Moreover, it used a Mountain Moving Formation to shift the location of the swamp. This is also not a formation that the Sky Shepherd Grass should know.”

“Someone must have taught the Sky Shepherd Grass these techniques to save its life, and that person, fearing that the Sky Shepherd Grass would expose his existence, altered its memory.”

“The Sky Shepherd Grass can help a Body Fusion cultivator advance a minor realm, which means the person behind it must be a Body Fusion cultivator.”

“He must have left a mark on something as important as the Sky Shepherd Grass. When the mark disappeared, he would definitely come over. That’s why I asked Zeng Zhenzhu to take action and lay an ambush here.”

Zeng Zhenzhu waved his hand: “It’s not like you asked me to take action, it’s my duty as a guardian. I should be thanking you. Without you, who knows how long the Sky Shepherd Grass and the person behind it would have remained hidden, causing harm to who knows how many people.”

As they spoke, they returned to the Demon Suppression Pass.

Zeng Zhenzhu had to interrogate the grey figure overnight, so he parted ways with Lu Yang.

Lu Yang returned to the inn, where Meng Jingzhou and the others had already bought good food to celebrate Lu Yang’s advancement to the Golden Elixir stage.

“Come on, let’s toast to Lu Yang’s advancement to the Golden Elixir stage!” The four of them raised their drinks and downed them in one gulp.

“Now that Lu Yang has advanced to the Golden Elixir stage, we three need to speed up our progress too. I’ve got some ideas, what about you two?” Meng Jingzhou asked.

“I’m considering forming a Golden Elixir related to illusions, but I still need to research how to do it.” Tao Yaoye said.

“I haven’t decided what kind of Golden Elixir I want to form yet.” Man Gu scratched his head, smiling somewhat sheepishly.

“Don’t rush, we have plenty of time. At our age, apart from Lu Yang, we three are the fastest cultivators. There’s no need to hurry.” Meng Jingzhou advised Man Gu not to be impatient. Man Gu nodded, indicating that he understood.

“I need to return to the sect to consolidate my cultivation. There’s a flying boat leaving tomorrow, so I won’t be going to the dense forest with you.”All three of them understood. Lu Yang was already at the Golden Elixir stage. If he continued to go into the dense forest to fight demonic beasts with them, they would have no sense of danger, and the effect of their training would be greatly reduced.

Early the next morning, Lu Yang bought some local specialties from the Demon Suppression Pass, took the Sky Shepherd Grass, bid farewell to Meng Jingzhou and the others, and boarded the flying boat.

Lu Yang did not choose to fly back to the Seek Tao Sect for two reasons. Firstly, the Demon Suppression Pass was too far away from the Seek Tao Sect. The spiritual power reserve of the Golden Elixir stage was not enough, and he would have to stop and rest for a long time, which was not worth it.

Secondly, Lu Yang was afraid of heights.

Of course, the main reason was the first one.

Inside the cabin of the flying boat, Lu Yang prepared to study this shiny invincible elixir, so he entered the spiritual space and saw the Immortal Maiden who was sleeping.

She seemed to have no concept of day and night.

“Hmm, Lu Yang, you’re here?” The Immortal Maiden rubbed her eyes and greeted Lu Yang in a daze.

Originally, Lu Yang was going to ask the Immortal Maiden what the invincible elixir was for, but when the words reached his mouth, they changed: “Maiden, why don’t you sleep a little longer?”

“Okay.” The Immortal Maiden fell back asleep.

Lu Yang: “……”

I was just being polite.

(End of the chapter)