Chapter 1175 - The Desolate Valley Ruins
Chapter 1175: The Desolate Valley Ruins
There were only 1,000 types of spiritual herbs here, but one needed to grasp far more than that.
These spiritual herbs were selected from over 300,000 types of spiritual herbs. If one wanted to identify them, one had to memorize all the ones recorded in the manual.
Ou Yangming was not worried, but it did not mean that the others were not worried. Many people looked at the bamboo racks, but the spiritual herbs on them were blocked, so they could not see clearly.
Afterward, everyone was given a quill pen and a white rice paper. The answers had to be written on paper.
Steward Mo looked at the list in his hand and said, “He Cong, you’re first.”
A youth walked out of the crowd. He held a pen and paper in his hand and walked toward the bamboo racks. He wrote the names of the spiritual herbs on the rice paper in order.
The rules were very strict. If one did not know the name of a herb, one had to draw a circle instead to indicate that. There must also be no mistake in the order of the names.
He Cong looked pretty good. In just a short while, he had written down the names of hundreds of spirit herbs. Steward Mo called out another person’s name.
The assessment time was limited. There were only 4 hours. If the time was up and one did not finish writing, it would be assumed that one could not recognize the rest of the herbs.
Under such a system, everyone was very fast. Even if they did not know the herbs, they did not dare to hesitate and directly skipped to the next one.
Steward Mo called out the names one by one. There were already more than 10 people at the long bamboo racks.
Each person was separated by a certain distance and carefully identified the spiritual medicine in front of them. No one dared to think of cheating. Their every move was under the surveillance of the Law Enforcement Department. If they were discovered, the consequence would be unimaginable.
Outside the 100,000 Big Mountains of the Mystic Sky Sect.
A flying boat flashed quickly and arrived in front of the mountain gate. A young man got off the flying boat.
“Who is it!” A cold shout came from the gate. At the same time, more than a dozen people flew out.
The man was in extreme pain. His white robe had turned into a bloody robe. His hair was messy, and his eyes were bloodshot.
Seeing the disciples flying over, he said anxiously, “I’m Chu Jingyun, the direct disciple of the Sword School!”
“It’s Senior Brother Chu!” The disciples were shocked. They stared at Chu Jingyun, who was on the ground.
The Alchemy School and the Sword School of the Mystic Sky Sect were the most famous. As the direct disciple of the Sword School and the first disciple of Great Elder Wang, Chu Jingyun was very famous in the sect. Many people knew him.
A few of the disciples stared at Chu Jingyun, who was covered in blood, and said anxiously, “It’s really Senior Brother Chu!”
They quickly ran to Chu Jingyun’s side. After saying what he did just now, Chu Jingyun was already on his last breath and fainted.
“Senior Brother Chu’s heavily injured. Quickly tell the brothers of the Sword School!”
Several people carried Chu Jingyun’s body and flew toward the direction of the Sword School.
A leader-level figure among the direct disciples of the Sword School, who was also a God-favored one of the Humans, actually appeared in front of the front gate of the Mystic Sky Sect covered in blood.
This news spread throughout the sect in the blink of an eye. Many elders, stewards, and even the high-ups of the sect sent people to the Sword School to inquire about the news.
Chu Jingyun’s accident caused many people to be furious. Everyone wanted to know why he was injured. Who had the guts to hurt a God-favored one of their sect?’
After Chu Jingyun took a Healing Golden Core, he slowly raised his eyelids. The first thing he said when he opened his eyes was…
“Zhongzhou’s in danger!”
A sharp gaze flashed across Great Elder Wang’s eyes. Among the people present, only he knew what this meant.
The emergence of Ancient Demons and Zhongzhou’s emergency. It was clear what was happening once these 2 matters were associated together. The ruins in Zhongzhou might really be in big trouble.
“Everyone…”
Great Elder Wang swept his gaze across the people in the room and then said, “Jingyun’s seriously injured. Let’s not disturb him for now. As for why he’s injured, I think I know something.”
“Please, Great Elder Wang.” The people followed him out of the room and asked.
Great Elder Wang’s eyes were like stars. He responded solemnly, “If I’m not wrong, the Desolate Ancient Ruins in Zhongzhou are about to open.”
“The Desolate Ancient Ruins!”
Hearing this name, everyone was shocked. Those who were qualified to come here had high statuses in the Mystic Sky Sect. Naturally, they knew about the Desolate Ancient Ruins.
The Desolate Ancient Ruins were the place where Ancient Demons were sealed. During the great war between the Shamans and the Demons in ancient times, the 2 races had both declined. The once weak Humans had also quietly risen in this era.
After the great war, the Ancient Shamans were almost extinct, but there were still many Ancient Demons left. Faced with the rapidly rising human race, the Ancient Demons were very unwilling. They had been forcefully suppressed by the Humans in several great wars.
The Ancient Demons had once used humans as their food. How could they be willing to become the vassals of the Humans? After many great wars between the Humans and the Ancient Demons, the former finally relied on the heavenly path’s luck and exuberant vitality to completely suppress the latter.
Most of the Ancient Demons were exterminated, and a small portion was sealed in every corner of the Great Wide World. There were also some scattered in desolate lands.
Zhongzhou was originally the battlefield between the Humans and the Ancient Demons, and many Ancient Demons had been sealed. The place where the Ancient Demons were sealed was called the Desolate Ancient Ruins.
“There’s actually such a thing!”
Everyone looked solemn. They all understood that if the Desolate Ancient Ruins were to be opened, it would be bad news for the Humans.
The Ancient Demons were incredibly powerful. Every one of them had a special ability. If the Humans could not completely exterminate them, they would be a great threat to the Humans.
There were many formidable human powerhouses, but that was because of their large base. The vast majority of the Humans were weak and could not contend against the Ancient Demons.
Wang Changfeng slowly said, “There’s a 90% chance of that happening. Half a month ago, my granddaughter came from the Heavenly Star Mansion. When she passed through Zhongzhou, she encountered Ancient Demons that harmed people. The guards by my granddaughter’s side even killed a few Ancient Demons over there. It was because of that that I asked Chu Jingyun to go and investigate. If there really is a loosening of the Desolate Ancient Ruins, we can also make plans early on.”
“This is a matter of great importance regarding the ruins. It’s no longer something that can be decided by one of our branches. We must report this to the sect leader and listen to his instructions…”
“Zhongzhou’s in imminent danger. We must decide this matter as soon as possible.” A long-eyebrowed elder cupped his hands and said, “Time is of the essence. I’ll take my leave first, and I’ll inform the sect leader about this matter.”
“Let’s go back and make preparations.”
The important figures left one by one. The small courtyard once again regained its peace. The appearance of Ancient Demons and the disturbance of the ruins were important matters for the Mystic Sky Sect and the Humans.
No matter how turbulent it was in the various branches of the sect, the outer sect was still calm. Even when winds howled at the core, there would only be light breezes and rains when they reached the outer sect after being blocked by numerous mountains. It was the same case for news.
The assessment was still going on nervously. The disciples beside the bamboo racks identified the spiritual medicines seriously and wrote their names on the rice paper in their hands.
“He Cong, a total of 932 types of spiritual medicines were written, 867 of them are correct. Given the good results, 10 middle-grade spirit coins and 10 Qi-replenishing Pills will be awarded to you.”
He Cong was the first to complete the assessment. After hearing the results, his eyes were filled with surprise. He was satisfied with getting 867 types of spiritual medicines right.
“Go and receive your rewards,” Steward Mo said.
He Cong hurriedly cupped his hands. “Thank you, Steward.”
He walked to the side, received his rewards, and put them into his interspatial bag. After passing the assessment, he could leave. Even so, he did not leave because he still wanted to see the situation of the others.
“Qiu Shan, a total of 822 types of spiritual herbs have been written, 701 of them are correct. Pass!”
701 types…
After hearing this number, the young man named Qiu Shan secretly wiped the sweat off his head. He did not have much confidence in himself, but he was lucky enough to pass. If he made 2 more mistakes, he would have to accept the punishment. He was lucky…
“You’ve passed this time, but you might not be so lucky next time. You still need to work hard,” Steward Mo said coldly.
“Yes… Yes, I understand.”
“Go.”
Qiu Shan hurriedly left. There was no reward for passing and of course, there would be no punishment.
After Qiu Shan, the next person did not pass. He only wrote about 700 types of spiritual herbs, and there were many mistakes. In the end, only 500 types of them were correct.
“Take him and whip him 200 times!” Steward Mo said with a cold gaze.
A few disciples from the Law Enforcement Department walked over and forcefully carried the young man to the side. Next, loud whipping sounds were heard and were accompanied by miserable screams.
The young man had thought that even if he did not pass, there would not be any major problems, so he did not put in any effort this month. He had never thought that the consequences of failure would be so tragic. One less spiritual herb answered was a heavy whip.
It was worth noting that the whip in the hands of the disciples from the Law Enforcement Department was made of special rattan. The pain from the strike penetrated into the young man’s bone marrow. The young man kept screaming, and his voice became softer.
His screams put a lot of pressure on those who came later. Those who had originally thought that they were lucky turned pale as if they had lost their vitality.
The outer sect disciple quickly fainted, but this was not the end. A disciple of the Law Enforcement Department brought over a basin of cold water and poured it down his body. The sounds of whips were heard once again.
200 whips were neither too much nor too little. After the beating, the outer sect disciple fainted. The bloody scars on his body swelled up as if there were ferocious centipedes crawling on him.
The people behind him were even more cautious.
300,000 types of spirit herbs were a lot, but these outer sect disciples were Spiritualists. Their mental powers were much stronger than that of ordinary people. If they spent some effort, they would not fail. After all, they were allowed to make 30% mistakes.
Most of the people passed, and a few who did not pass were also whipped. However, they were about the same, and none of them were as miserable as the first person.
This also reminded everyone that the rules were not to be violated. The whipping sounds also let these new outer sect disciples see the cruelty of the sect.
Soon, it was Ou Yangming and the others’ turns. The Bai family’s brothers were the first, but they did not seem to be worried. After all, they had been with alchemists for half a month, so they were very familiar with spiritual herbs. It was not to the extent that they would not pass.
After a while, Ou Yangming also walked up.