Chapter 55

The inside of the cave was slightly cool, but its size was not small. Xiao Yan living alone here was clearly more than enough.

His gaze carefully scanned the ground inside the cave a few times. Not finding anything left behind by beasts, he was somewhat relieved. He took out the outdoor supplies prepared by Xiao Long from the storage ring and set up a soft and dry bed in the cave.

After setting up some essential living supplies, Xiao Yan blocked the cave entrance with large rocks, leaving only a passage for one person. He would spend a considerable amount of time here, and safety was the most important.

After doing these things, Xiao Yan patted the dust off his hands, looked at the somewhat dim cave, and pondered for a moment. Then he took out three moonlight stones from the storage ring and placed them in the recesses on the surrounding stone walls. Instantly, the gentle light illuminated the cave.

Seeing the newly refreshed cave, Xiao Yan smiled, sat down on the soft bed, and let out a long breath. He then crossed his legs, placed his hands in front of him in a meditative gesture, and slowly restored the fighting spirit consumed from a day of travel.

As Xiao Yan fell into a meditative state, his breathing gradually stabilized. With each breath, a perfect cycle was formed. With each breath, a faint stream of imperial source energy would emanate from the surrounding space and enter his body through his breathing. After being refined by his meridians, it was stored in the meridian network in his lower abdomen.

In the quiet meditation, Xiao Yan's mind delved into his body. The strange inner vision allowed him to clearly see the fighting spirit flowing steadily.

His mind passed through several main meridians and finally arrived at his lower abdomen. The qi vortex, as the base of fighting spirit, slowly rotated, appearing in Xiao Yan's line of sight.

Seeing the pale red fighting spirit continuously input into the meridian network from the meridians, Xiao Yan smiled slightly. His mind slowly withdrew from his body and opened his eyes after his fighting spirit was fully restored.

"Hehe, the complete version of the Flame Decree is indeed extraordinary." Xiao Yan felt the fighting spirit recovering at a speed many times faster than before, and he felt a great sense of relief. After recovery, Xiao Yan contacted Elder Zhan again.

"Elder Zhan, the place to stay is ready. What should I do next?" Xiao Yan asked softly in his mind.

"Don't rush. To enter the Demon Domain Cemetery, you need to prepare some things. Your current strength is not enough to enter the medicinal layer, so these things must be obtained in the Heavenly Demon Mountain Range." Elder Zhan answered from inside the Zichen Spirit Tower.

After Elder Zhan finished speaking, three unfamiliar medicinal names appeared in Xiao Yan's mind.

"Blood Shadow Grass, Spirit Gathering Branch, Demon Transforming Fruit."

Blood Shadow Grass can resist blood energy attacks and protect the body and mind, making it extremely important for entering the Demon Domain Cemetery. The Spirit Gathering Branch is also essential, as it can instantly restore depleted fighting spirit to its peak state, potentially saving a life in emergencies. The Demon Transforming Fruit, a very rare herb, is even rarer than the already scarce Blood Shadow Grass, but its effects are the most powerful. It has the ability to transform demons, and in some cemeteries, it can easily dissolve evil spirits into a pool of blood. The Demon Transforming Fruit is a must-have for entering the cemetery.

The herbs Elder Zhan asked Xiao Yan to find are all very practical, but they are also extremely rare and valuable. For example, Blood Shadow Grass can fetch a high price of 5,000 gold coins per plant in the auction, showing how rare it is. However, any rare herb is almost always guarded by powerful beasts, making it difficult to obtain.

Xiao Yan slowly walked out of the cave, looking at the vast Heavenly Demon Mountain Range, and couldn't help but smack his lips. His figure suddenly rushed into the distance, and his soul power spread out, making it much easier to find these herbs with high spiritual energy.

However, after searching the outer areas of the Heavenly Demon Mountain Range for a long time, Xiao Yan still did not find the herbs he needed, and he could only smile bitterly. It seemed that only the deeper parts of the Heavenly Demon Mountain Range might have such precious herbs, but Xiao Yan was also very wary of the deeper areas.

Xiao Yan felt that there was another place with a dense concentration of medicinal energy. He had searched many places with dense medicinal energy but found none of the herbs Elder Zhan mentioned. If he couldn't find them here, Xiao Yan would have to venture deeper into the Heavenly Demon Mountain Range.

Relying on his excellent soul perception, Xiao Yan could vaguely sense the general direction of the surrounding energy. He was now heading towards the place with the densest energy. Along the way, although he found many herbs he didn't need, he still picked them and stored them in his storage ring, as they might be useful.

Midday was the time when beasts were least active during the day. Xiao Yan was aware of this, so he chose this time to search for herbs. On his way, he rarely encountered beasts out hunting, and when he did, he detected them in advance and avoided them.

His figure quickly darted through the underbrush, and a small pile of blood-red stones came into view. Behind the stone pile, a mountain wall was covered with blood-red vines.

Looking at the blood-red stone pile, Xiao Yan rubbed his hands. This place had the densest energy concentration he could sense within a few miles.

His sharp gaze slowly scanned the blood-red stone pile. After a moment, his gaze stopped on a small blood-red herb growing on the mountain wall behind the stone pile. The herb extended from the chaotic stone pile, faintly emitting a trace of blood energy.

"Blood Shadow Grass!?" Xiao Yan exclaimed in surprise. He carefully examined the surroundings but found no traces of beasts. After observing for a while, Xiao Yan's hands trembled, and the Eternal Fire Ruler appeared in his hand. With the Eternal Fire Ruler, Xiao Yan's combat strength increased significantly.

Xiao Yan's mind was highly focused, and he could detect any movement around him. He didn't believe that such a precious herb would not be guarded by a beast, which didn't make sense. Although Xiao Yan had the soul power of an imperial realm, he couldn't detect the existence of beings much stronger than himself in this space.

As he got closer to the Blood Shadow Grass, a chill suddenly rose in Xiao Yan's heart. He abruptly stopped, frowned, and quickly turned to run.

"Bang!"

Just as Xiao Yan turned, a huge purple shadow, like a mountain, crashed down from the top of the mountain wall, completely blocking his escape route.