He reached out and lightly touched the vine, and a dense wave of Qi Refinement energy surged over his fingertips, startling him. His brows slightly raised, "This concentration of Qi Refinement… could it be the legendary Heaven and Earth Spirit Root?"
The Blood Ginseng suddenly poked out from his sleeve, leaning obsessively close to the vine and taking a deep breath. "So fragrant, it's like returning to the maternal origin."
Faint dark-gold patterns subtly flowed within the vine's veins, which reminded Qing Feng of the Blood Bodhi recorded in ancient texts.
He gathered a soft light in his palm and covered the vine. A violent energy surged beneath the surface, suddenly activating a hidden Teleportation Formation.
The Blood Vine, suspended in the dark space, was like a living creature, and the Vermilion Fruits on its branches glowed with an alluring light.
Qing Feng was about to investigate when the Vermilion Fruits suddenly bloomed into blood-colored demonic flowers, and black mist condensed into a withered old man.
The phantom let out a piercing, strange laugh: "I am Chen Shanyu, the Ninth Elder of the Demon Sect. I once roamed the Thousand Moon Realm for seven hundred years."
Qing Feng, with great interest, reached out and poked the black mist. His fingertip passed directly through the phantom, revealing it to be merely a remnant of a communication message.
He listened with folded arms as the old man boasted, secretly thinking to himself: Since this remnant soul of the Demon Sect is hidden here, the Blood Vine outside must have a deep connection with the Demon Dao. The secret of the conflict between good and evil is actually buried with such a clue in the Thousand Moon Realm.
The Demon Dao and the Righteous Dao are diametrically opposed. They believe in the three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance, and take slaughter and plunder as the foundation of their cultivation.
Unlike the hypocritical 'Saint Sects' in novels from his previous life, this group openly called themselves the Demon Sect, propagating the evil doctrine of 'the devil is one foot tall, but the dao is ten feet tall,' advocating that only through inherent human evil can supreme divine abilities be achieved.
The original intention of the alliance formed by the five Immortal Dao Sects was precisely to eliminate these demonic cultivators who wreaked havoc in the world.
Under the world's rules where killing could lead to breakthroughs, the Demon Sect was once unstoppable.
In the early stages of the Heaven and Earth anomaly, when various Sects were still confused by the celestial dao laws, the Demon Sect had already soared ninety thousand li, openly shouting the slogan 'Heaven is dead, Demon Heaven shall rise,' proclaiming that only by becoming a demon could one conform to the celestial dao.
Within just a hundred years, countless rogue cultivators who were stuck at bottlenecks defected to the Demon Sect, and even many Righteous Dao Elders secretly colluded with them.
That was a dark age where mortals were like ants. Cultivators would often perform blood sacrifices on cities, paving their path to heaven with millions of lives.
It wasn't until a large-scale invasion by the Demon Clan that the demonic cultivators who had broken through by slaughtering on the battlefield ascended and left, leaving humanity on the brink of extinction due to a lack of successors.
The five great Sects, having survived the catastrophe, reflected deeply and jointly annihilated the remaining Demon Sect members, establishing the iron rule that 'cultivators shall not slaughter mortals.' Unexpectedly, today, he would find the last words of Chen Shanyu, a remnant of the Demon Sect, here.
"When I entered the Dao at thirty, everyone laughed at my dull aptitude. Who knew the marvel of the Blood Demon Great Law, which devours all spirits?"
Blood characters on the stone wall were ferocious, "I infiltrated the Wind Thunder Sect in disguise, assassinated the Sect Leader, and took his Dao Companion. By the age of three hundred, I had slaughtered cities, destroyed nations, and rampaged across the world."
Qing Feng stared at the frenzied writing, his knuckles turning white. He hated this kind of boastful nonsense the most, but Chen Shanyu had already turned to dust.
This blood-written message was clearly the demonic cultivator's final boast before death. After all, how could someone greedy for fame and profit be willing to die in obscurity?
It wasn't until the blood characters mentioned the Kirin Blood Vine that Qing Feng finally straightened his back.
This Heaven and Earth Spirit Root was formed from the essence blood of an ancient auspicious beast. It bore fruit only once every three thousand years. Mortals who consumed it could extend their lifespan by three hundred years, and cultivators could use it to break through their shackles.
It was for this precious treasure that Chen Shanyu met his demise back then.
"It bears one fruit every three thousand years, changing fate and reversing destiny." Qing Feng caressed the blood-jade-like vine, feeling a burning pulse at his fingertips.
The legend of the Kirin Blood Vine has always circulated in the cultivation world. In this era of slaughter, where mountains of corpses and seas of blood abound, the words 'luck' and 'destiny' weigh more than a thousand jun.
He looked at the branches full of scarlet spirit fruits, numbering over a hundred.
Ordinary cultivators often developed resistance to medicinal pills, but this miraculous item, nurtured by Heaven and Earth, was different.
Although Qing Feng's cultivation could increase even while he slept, he always needed some external means to conceal his true realm.
A cold wind suddenly arose in the underground palace, and wisps of black smoke rose from the niches, condensing into a rampant human figure.
Chen Shanyu's remnant soul babbled incessantly, recounting events from seven thousand years ago: how he slaughtered the Beast Taming Sect to set up a formation, feeding the vine with resentful souls, but was then besieged and killed by a powerful cultivator of the Beast Taming Sect for the 'great righteousness of humanity.'
"When evil was rampant, you only knew how to harm your own kind." Qing Feng sneered, three jade talismans already secretly clasped in his sleeve. He had long seen through this demonic cultivator's trick; the so-called inheritance and legacy were clearly meant to lure people into breaking the formation and releasing the sealed evil spirits.
The moment the ground cracked, his sleeve robes billowed like clouds, and he swept the entire Blood Vine, along with the Qiankun Bag, into his possession. A blood-colored mist shot into the sky, and twelve Golden Core peak blood demons burst out of the ground, their scarlet eyes locking onto the scent of living beings.
Qing Feng did not retreat but advanced, his Green Edge sword unsheathed, reflecting the Cold Pond. Where the sword light passed, the first blood demon to be struck was split in half, its foul blood evaporating into mist before it even hit the ground.
However, more distorted figures had already surrounded him from all directions, their sharp claws tearing through the air with a piercing shriek.
The dome of the underground palace rattled, dropping gravel, and the fierce winds stirred up by the melee carved deep marks into the rock walls.
Qing Feng fought and retreated, his boots crushing bones scattered across the ground—all the remains of cultivators who had coveted secret treasures in the past. The blood mist grew thicker, and he suddenly felt his true essence circulation becoming sluggish, only then realizing that these evil creatures could actually pollute a cultivator's meridians.
Qing Feng swept his sword, repelling more than ten yin spirits without effort. But looking at the ghost shadows continuously emerging from the darkness, cold sweat had already broken out on his back; who knew how many evil spirits were still hidden in this ghostly place?
He suddenly activated a secret technique from his dreams, and waves of energy surged around him like a tide. A cry pierced the sky, and the phantom of a Golden-Winged Great Peng tore through the long sky, enveloping him and transforming into a streak of light that shot straight towards the heavens.
"Damn it."
When the golden light dissipated, the young man was already slumped in a mountain hollow a thousand li away.
He clutched his wildly beating heart and cursed inwardly: Demonic cultivators are truly insane, even after death they leave such sinister traps. If not for the Great Peng's escape technique being three times faster than the Beast Taming Sect's sword flight, he would probably have been torn to shreds by ten thousand ghosts by now.
However, causing such a commotion would surely prompt the two Golden Core Elders to open the Thousand Moon Realm early.
When the Sect's experts arrived, these yin spirits would be nothing but chickens and dogs. For now, he just needed to find a hidden place to hide and wait for the trial to end.
Qing Feng lay on the hillside with his arm as a pillow, a smile playing on his lips. This trial had not only completed the mission perfectly but also brought unexpected opportunities.
Just as he was calculating his gains, a sharp eagle cry suddenly exploded in the sky.
Looking up, a thirty-foot black eagle blotted out the sky. Its steel feathers gleamed with a cold light, and its sharp claws shimmered with a green glow; it was clearly a Golden Core Demon. The young man's pupils constricted. How could a Golden Core demon beast appear in the Thousand Moon Realm?
"Wind Thunder Edict."
A clear shout fell from the clouds. The female cultivator in green robes threw out seven purple talismans, which transformed into lightning snakes and pounced on the giant eagle. The demon beast flapped its wings, stirring up fierce winds, and hundreds of wind blades shredded the lightning, their remaining force striking directly at the cultivator's face.
"Break Evil."
The sword cultivator in black robes blocked with his sword, and a green rainbow sword qi shattered the wind blades. Before he could catch his breath, the black eagle had already crashed into him like a meteor. Sparks flew as their blades clashed, and the man holding the sword's tiger mouth cracked, blood spurting three feet.
The female cultivator in green robes quickly formed a hand seal, and the talisman paper tore in response. Instantly, lightning like a flood dragon emerging from its abyss, surged towards the black eagle with world-destroying momentum.
The demon bird's golden pupils constricted, and its wings suddenly folded. A dark red demonic light emanated from its body, and hundreds of iron feathers transformed into a blade formation to meet the lightning dragon.