"Qing Zhu is actually your maid?"
Ye Ling looked at the bronze coffin with a shocked expression. "Then how strong must you be?"
Zhou Wen smiled and said, "It's not that exaggerated. It's just that Qing Zhu has extraordinary talent and has surpassed her master, successfully cultivating to the peak. In my prime... I wasn't much stronger than Qing Zhu."
"Then Senior, you are truly terrifying. I was disrespectful." Ye Ling bowed to Zhou Wen, showing him due respect.
If Qing Zhu was truly Zhou Wen's maid, then Zhou Wen would have a deep enmity with Ji Ning and Jian Shi San.
In this way, Ye Ling understood why Zhou Wen was interested in Dao Sect.
Zhou Wen then said, "Kid, we've only been talking about me. You still haven't told me your plan."
Ye Ling bowed slightly and said to Zhou Wen, "Senior, do you know of a life-bound contract?"
"What is that?" Zhou Wen asked curiously.
Ye Ling replied, "Simply put, it's a contract that allows two people to share life and death, and share vitality."
"And now Ji Ning and Qing Zhu have signed a life-bound contract. They are now bound by life and death."
"Qing Zhu is not dead yet?" Zhou Wen exclaimed in surprise.
Ye Ling said, "It seems that Qing Zhu's grandfather used some method to save her life, but it's useless to talk about it now. Qing Zhu is currently in Ji Ning's hands. As long as Ji Ning dissolves the life-bound contract, Qing Zhu will surely die!"
"Indeed, Ji Ning colluded with Jian Shi San to steal Qing Zhu's original inheritance. If Qing Zhu is still alive, Ji Ning will kill her at all costs!"
Zhou Wen agreed, then asked Ye Ling, "Kid, you mentioned this life-bound contract. Do you have a way to deal with Qing Zhu?"
"That's right." Ye Ling chuckled. "To be honest, Senior, I am quite familiar with the life-bound contract. I can completely transfer Qing Zhu's contract to someone else. Then, it will be as easy as pie to kill Ji Ning."
"After Ji Ning is dealt with, Dao Sect will belong to you, Senior."
Zhou Wen asked, "Then what do you need me to do?"
Ye Ling replied, "I need the Wan You Grass, and Jian San Liu cannot leave the Tian You Ancient Realm alive."
Zhou Wen said, "Jian San Liu can't get out alive anymore, but it might be a bit troublesome for you to get the Wan You Grass."
"What trouble?" Ye Ling frowned. "Didn't you say there was a Wan You Grass medicinal field in the secret realm?"
Zhou Wen replied, "There is indeed a medicinal field, but it is guarded by a Ten Thousand Poison Beast that feeds on Wan You Grass. My clone cannot deal with that poisonous beast."
Ye Ling asked, "How strong is that poisonous beast?"
Zhou Wen said, "Its strength should be slightly less than yours, but the key is that its potent poison ranks among the top ten on the entire Origin Continent. Even a peak expert might lose their life if they get contaminated."
"If you go to get the Wan You Grass and get entangled by the Ten Thousand Poison Beast, you'll be dead for sure."
Ye Ling frowned, "Is there no other way? I must get the Wan You Grass."
Zhou Wen said, "There is a way. The Ten Thousand Poison Beast takes a short nap for a quarter of an hour every midnight. During that time, its attention will not be fully focused on the medicinal field. If you can get the Wan You Grass within that quarter of an hour, that would also work."
"Hmm... This is a viable plan." Ye Ling nodded slightly. "Can you also tell Jian San Liu this news?"
"Why tell him?" Zhou Wen was taken aback. "Don't you want him dead?"
Ye Ling said, "He entered the Tian You Ancient Realm this time to help me find the Wan You Grass. If he succeeds, then I don't need to take the risk."
"You want him to be a scapegoat?"
Zhou Wen pondered for a moment, then said, "Alright, make the best use of everything. I'll send you directly to the third level. Just wait for Jian San Liu to find you."
Ye Ling clasped his fists. "Thank you."
"No need to thank me. We are just doing business. I helped you... and you naturally have to help me." Zhou Wen said, opening a teleportation array at Ye Ling's feet.
"Good luck, and don't die there."
As Zhou Wen finished speaking, the teleportation array flashed, and Ye Ling appeared in a tropical rainforest.
"Is this the third level of the Tian You Ancient Realm?"
Ye Ling scanned his surroundings and found that the spiritual energy seal on his body had also been lifted.
"Kid, the medicinal field is to your northeast. You will encounter three mechanical traps on your way, and there are poisonous insects lurking along the path. I'll give you the map. Be careful."
Zhou Wen's voice sounded in Ye Ling's mind again, and then a detailed map of the third level fell into Ye Ling's hands.
Ye Ling opened the map and saw the densely marked traps. He couldn't help but ask Zhou Wen, "Your secret realm has so many mechanisms, why are there still alien creatures invading?"
Zhou Wen replied, "It was my enemies who let them in. Since they couldn't get my original inheritance, they wanted to make things difficult for me even after my death."
"Since I have already lost control of this secret realm, even those wandering souls born from my Dao essence, don't consider them allies. Act when you need to."
"Alright, I've said enough. If I say more, I'll be exposed. The rest is up to you."
With that, Zhou Wen severed contact with Ye Ling.
"Okay, now it's my solo adventure."
Ye Ling muttered to himself, then followed the markings on the map towards the medicinal field.
With Zhou Wen's map, Ye Ling moved quickly through the primeval forest and soon found the medicinal field.
Before Ye Ling even approached the medicinal field, the surrounding air had already turned purple, and there were no trees around the medicinal field, only bare ground!
"As expected of a poisonous beast whose toxicity ranks in the top ten. Even without seeing its form, the toxicity is already this strong."
Ye Ling looked at the purple poisonous mist ahead, cast a protective barrier around himself with runes to conceal his aura, and then hid nearby, waiting for Jian San Liu to arrive.
Two days later...
Ye Ling hid in the shadow of a giant tree, concealed by vines, motionless.
The battered Jian San Liu finally arrived.
Jian San Liu was holding the inferior map given by Zhou Wen. He had stepped on many traps along the way. If his own strength wasn't strong enough, he would have died on the road long ago and wouldn't have been able to reach this place!
"There's still one day left... If I get the Wan You Grass tonight, I can still be saved!"
Jian San Liu took a healing elixir and meditated on the spot.
"He's finally here. I thought you would have died on the way." Ye Ling breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Jian San Liu appear.
During these two days, Ye Ling had not been idle. He had scouted the medicinal field at night and seen the poisonous beast.
There were only a few Wan You Grass left in the medicinal field, and the Ten Thousand Poison Beast guarded them even when it was napping. He did not have absolute confidence in taking the Wan You Grass without waking the beast.
And if he was entangled by the beast, even a trace of its potent poison would be fatal.
Therefore, Ye Ling desperately needed Jian San Liu to retrieve the Wan You Grass.
If Jian San Liu succeeded, then it would be perfect, and he wouldn't have to take the risk.
And if Jian San Liu was discovered, he could also help attract the Ten Thousand Poison Beast's attention, creating an opportunity for him.
Thus... Ye Ling continued to wait patiently until Jian San Liu finished his recuperation.
Night fell.