Fortunately, Elder Du was in a soul state and had nothing to vomit. Otherwise, he might have coughed up his gall.
Zi Linling, however, was prepared. Before taking out the Ailanthus vine, she had held her breath.
"Why is this Ailanthus vine so smelly? Smellier than a latrine!"
Elder Du, finally suppressing the urge to vomit, said with a pale face.
"Not smelly? How can it restrain the Tongtian grass? It's precisely because it's smelly that the Tongtian grass shies away from it like a venomous snake."
Zi Linling retorted irritably and quickly brought the Ailanthus vine closer to the Tongtian grass.
The leaves of the Tongtian grass, which had been unfurling, quickly curled up.
Seizing the opportunity, Zi Linling collected it into the Divine Maiden's Palace.
Of course, it was together with the Ailanthus vine.
The spirit of the Divine Maiden's Palace remained intact and naturally separated a space to isolate the Tongtian grass, placing the Ailanthus vine inside to prevent the Tongtian grass from going berserk.
Elder Du watched Zi Linling collect the Tongtian grass and asked doubtfully, "Girl, didn't you say that grass eats people? Why did you collect it?"
Zi Linling smiled and said, "Everything has two sides. The Tongtian grass does eat people, but it has the effect of nourishing the body and soul. Of course, special processing is required to use it for nourishing the body and soul."
"There is an ancient elixir called the Tongtian Elixir. After taking it, both the physical body and the soul can cultivate autonomously. One of the main ingredients for refining this elixir is Tongtian grass."
"Tongtian Elixir? Autonomous cultivation?"
Elder Du was greatly shocked.
One must know that cultivating the physical body and divine consciousness is extremely difficult, more than ten times harder than cultivating spiritual energy.
And the tempering of the physical body and divine consciousness must rely on certain heavenly treasures.
For example, the body can be tempered with high-level beast blood, magical artifacts, medicinal herbs, and cultivation techniques.
The soul requires some special magical artifacts, herbs, and cultivation techniques.
Even so, the physical body and divine consciousness are strengthened as you cultivate them, and they remain stagnant if you don't.
Of course, there is no one else like Zi Linling, who has a cheat like the Heavenly Ascending Ladder.
Autonomous cultivation of the physical body and soul means that the body and divine consciousness are constantly becoming stronger.
This is an effect that those beast blood, magical artifacts, herbs, and cultivation techniques cannot achieve.
Zi Linling nodded and said, "Yes, but the other main ingredients for the Tongtian Elixir are also extremely precious herbs that are rarely encountered, some of which have even become extinct."
"Therefore, the hope of refining it is very slim. But since I encountered the Tongtian grass, there's no harm in keeping it. Perhaps I'll be lucky enough to refine the Tongtian Elixir."
Her seemingly joking words, however, gave Elder Du a vague premonition.
The premonition was that Zi Linling's joke would indeed come true.
It was precisely because of this that he blurted out, "Perhaps, it really can!"
Zi Linling smiled and said, "I hope so!"
With one eye of the Sky Punishing Array broken, the light instantly dimmed by a third.
After Zi Linling had dealt with the Tongtian grass, she asked, "Elder Du, what do we do next?"
Elder Du closed his eyes and extended his soul power.
This Sky Punishing Array was his experimental product from back then, so it naturally showed closeness to his soul power.
Soon, Elder Du opened his eyes and said, "Retreat five steps, advance eight steps to the front left, step sideways three steps to the right, advance nine steps, retreat seven steps to the rear right, and then advance another nine steps!"
As Elder Du spoke, Zi Linling walked.
By the time Elder Du uttered his last word, Zi Linling had already reached the second array eye.
The second array eye was a dark ruler.
Although this ruler was not large, only half a meter long, it exuded a terrifying aura that made Zi Linling's heart palpitate.
One must know that Zi Linling was now a late-stage Huayuan realm cultivator, and a late-stage Huayuan realm cultivator comparable to a late-stage Emperor realm cultivator.
If it could make her feel a palpitation, one could imagine how powerful the energy contained within the ruler was.
Zi Linling exclaimed, "Elder Du, what kind of ruler is this?"
"The ruler is named Xuanming, and it is entirely crafted from obsidian."
Elder Du looked at the small ruler, his gaze seeming to pierce through a thousand years, and a trace of sadness colored his soul's aura.
Past events surfaced in Elder Du's heart, causing him to show a sweet yet bitter smile.
A thousand years ago, Elder Du was still a dashing young man.
Elder Du was ordered by his master to set up a protective clan array for his master's friend, Xuan Ce, the head of the Xuan family.
Because of the arduous journey, Elder Du was travel-worn.
As the sun set, a weary Elder Du happened to spot a small river.
Elder Du intended to wash his face by the river, rest for a while, and then continue his journey.
Who knew that as soon as Elder Du reached the riverbank, he saw a pale body emerge from the water.
The voluptuous figure was clearly that of a woman.
Elder Du's breath hitched, and he thought to himself, "Not good," and was about to retreat.
If he were discovered by the woman, even if Elder Du's intentions were unintentional, he would inevitably run into trouble.
However, because he turned too quickly, Elder Du kicked a pebble away.
"Who?"
The woman cried out in surprise.
At the same time, a fiery spiritual palm strike swept towards Elder Du.
Elder Du hurriedly dodged and also sent out a spiritual force, colliding with the palm strike, creating a loud noise.
The woman seized the opportunity to grab her clothes nearby and wrap herself, covering her exposed skin.
Elder Du knew he was in the wrong, and after blocking the palm strike, he did not linger but only wanted to escape.
But how could the woman let him off just like that?
"Pervert, where are you running?"
The woman shouted, and a "splash" sound came from the river.
This sound reminded Elder Du of the scene in the water just now, and he instinctively looked back.
He saw the woman lightly touch the water with her feet, and she was already standing on the riverbank.
However, her clothes were soaked, and clinging to her body, they instead accentuated her graceful figure.
Elder Du couldn't help but look again.
But this one look was disastrous!
Receiving Elder Du's undisguised gaze, the woman's anger, as if doused with oil, became even more intense.
"Pervert, where are you looking, take this palm!"
As the woman spoke, she unleashed another fiery spiritual palm strike.
This palm strike, because it was delivered in anger, was even more fierce and sharp than the previous one.
Elder Du snapped back to his senses, dodged, and explained, "Miss, I did not intend to offend. Please do not be angry!"
The maiden's pure body had been seen, how could she listen to Elder Du's explanation?
The moves in her hands became more vicious and sharp, and she angrily said, "Hmph! If you offended, you offended. Who cares if you meant to or not? If you want me to calm down, then pay with your life!"
Although Elder Du was angry, he was still in the wrong, so he could only patiently continue to explain.
"Miss, I just wanted to wash my face. I never expected anyone to be bathing in the river. Therefore, I did not intend to offend. Please do not be so aggressive."