Qiu Zu: From an apprentice in a medicine shop to an immortal ancestor.

Chapter 172: 【Crimson Emperor Essence】

The next day.

Clouds and mist billowed, and the sky turned a fish-belly white.

Qiu Zhen sat in a cross-legged position, cultivating and refining "Purple Qi."

After a night of internal healing and refining, he exhausted all the spirit crystals containing "twenty strands of spiritual essence," and the "injuries" suffered by his Yin spirit were completely healed.

In just one night, he, who had been seriously injured, was full of vigor again.

There was no trace of his seriously injured and dying appearance from yesterday.

This was the power of comprehending 【Vacuum Wonderful Existence】.

As long as the original nature of the Yuan spirit remained true and unmoved, no matter how much damage the Yin spirit suffered, it could be recovered later.

It's just that...

No matter how powerful the 【Vacuum Wonderful Existence】 realm was, he did not plan to explore the palace in the "Peak Forest Cloud Sea" in the short term.

With a great demon sitting there, it basically cut off his idea of "stealing a chicken."

Of course, this exploration of the "Water Serpent Cave" was not without its gains.

At least, it could be basically determined that the legendary Dragon Lord's palace was likely located in the "Peak Forest Cloud Sea" of the Water Serpent Cave's ancestral land.

With his current strength, it was basically difficult to obtain this opportunity.

However, he was not in a hurry.

Just because he couldn't obtain it now didn't mean he couldn't in the future.

The "Dragon Lord's Palace" was there, it wouldn't grow legs and run away.

He possessed the 【Jade Dragon Treasure Seal】, and when his strength improved in the future, he could fight with the giant python demon and easily seize this opportunity.

This could also be considered a gain.

——

Qiu Residence backyard.

As soon as Qiu Zhen left the valley and entered his own courtyard, he heard his elder brother Qiu Qing's "hey ha" practice sounds.

Perhaps stimulated by the "marriage" matter, Qiu Qing had been working hard these past two weeks, practicing diligently every day, showing great progress.

Qiu Zhen looked over from a distance.

He saw white mist rising from Qiu Qing's head, his whole body like a furnace, exuding true yang and scorching Qi.

This was clearly the result of martial arts practice reaching a certain level, only a step away from "Qi and blood eruption."

Speaking of which, Qiu Qing had been stuck in this state for many days.

Qiu Zhen had been observing, waiting for his elder brother to break through on his own.

It was a pity that Qiu Qing's comprehension was a little lacking, and his understanding of 【Pure Yang Eight-Section Brocade】 was not thorough enough, and he had not been able to break through this thin layer of window paper.

"Forget it, he's always thinking about marrying a wife, and his martial arts heart is messed up."

Qiu Zhen shook his head. With Qiu Qing's aptitude and his aspirations, he had no chance of becoming an innate martial artist.

In that case, there was no point in forcing himself.

With this thought in mind, Qiu Zhen flicked his finger, and a ray of spiritual light flew from his fingertip and entered Qiu Qing's body.

After doing this, he flashed and disappeared.

That ray of spiritual light was none other than a strand of "spiritual essence." With it, Qiu Qing would probably break through in the next two days.

Last night, he consumed all the "spirit crystals" to heal and nourish the "Yin spirit."

However, in recent days, the "Mind Monkey Divine Generals" of the Mind Master lineage had brought him six clusters of spiritual essence one after another.

Some came from Jade Cicada, and some from Vacuum Monk.

Currently, these were only three "talisman seeds." As the Mind Master lineage grew stronger and the "talisman seeds" spread, he would probably gain more and more.

After leaving the Qiu Residence, Qiu Zhen did not stay in Qiu Family Village for long and went straight to Qingmu County Town.

An Residence, reception hall.

"Little Zhen, thank you so much last time. If it weren't for you..."

Madam Nan Zhiyi had returned to Qingmu County from the prefectural city some time ago. When she saw Qiu Zhen today, her face was full of love and gratitude.

She couldn't imagine what would have happened if her youngest son, Hua Yu, had suffered any misfortune.

"Madam, you're too kind. We're fellow disciples, there's no need for so much formality."

Qiu Zhen smiled, feeling a little embarrassed:

"Madam, the Mountain God Dharma Seal you gave me last time, I lost it."

"I heard it from your master."

Nan Zhiyi waved her hand:

"External possessions, if they're gone, they're gone. Besides, it was originally a gift to you."

As they were talking, someone walked in from outside the hall.

It was An Jishi and his son, An Huayu.

"Master, Huayu."

An Huayu was very happy to see Qiu Zhen.

Compared to other fellow disciples, the pressure from his youngest junior brother, Qiu Zhen, was the least—anyway, he couldn't catch up, so there was no need to compete, so naturally there was no pressure.

Not to mention, his youngest junior brother understood him best and spoke pleasingly.

"Junior brother, why haven't you been to Guangling Pharmacy these past few days?"

"Little Zhen is cultivating diligently at home every day. Look at him, he has high talent and is so hardworking. You're always unreliable..."

The person who spoke was not Master An Jishi, but Madam Nan Zhiyi.

In the past, An Jishi had always been strict with his own children, and Madam Nan Zhiyi was more indulgent.

But since the "Guangling City Demon Disaster," Nan Zhiyi's attitude towards An Huayu had changed greatly, especially in terms of martial arts practice, and she was much stricter.

An Huayu's face collapsed, and he looked at Qiu Zhen with an innocent expression, as if begging for help.

Qiu Zhen secretly found it amusing and immediately interjected:

"These past few days, I went to the mountains to exorcise evil spirits for the demons and monsters in the mountains."

An Jishi and Nan Zhiyi were slightly surprised when they heard this.

An Huayu, who was on the side, opened his mouth even wider, very surprised:

"Little junior brother, you went to the mountains to exorcise evil spirits for demons? When did you have such wild connections that you even know the demons in the mountains?"

"They're friends made by my Bai Shu."

Qiu Zhen's purpose in coming to the An Residence was to ask his master and madam for advice, so he didn't hide anything and told the truth:

"I've been exorcising evil spirits for the mountain spirits for some time. A few days ago, I exorcised evil spirits for a demon that was about to transform into a dragon and advance to a great demon. Afterward, it gave me a treasure. I can't see through its details, so I came here specifically to ask my master and madam for advice."

"There's such a thing."

An Jishi clicked his tongue in wonder when he heard this.

Exorcising evil spirits for demons was not the same as helping humans exorcise evil spirits. The issue of trust was the biggest obstacle.

Not everyone could gain the trust of demons.

"Quick, take it out and let us see."

"Master, Madam, please help me take a look, what kind of treasure is this!"

As he spoke, Qiu Zhen took out a piece of irregular red spiritual ore from his sleeve that faintly emitted a faint spiritual light and placed it on the table.

Upon seeing the red spiritual ore, the two were immediately attracted to it.

An Jishi even stood up from his seat and observed it closely.

"This is..."

Nan Zhiyi felt surprised and couldn't help but look at An Jishi:

"Jishi, could this be..."

"That's right!"

An Jishi nodded slightly, his face full of certainty:

"It's 【Crimson Emperor Essence】."

Crimson Emperor Essence?

Qiu Zhen couldn't help but feel curious after hearing the conversation between his master and madam.

His master and madam came from wealthy families, and they had rich experience and knowledge. They had seen many treasures, but now, they had such a big reaction when they saw this piece of red spiritual ore.

"Master, what is 【Crimson Emperor Essence】? Isn't this cinnabar spiritual ore?"

"It is indeed cinnabar."

An Jishi nodded slightly and looked at Qiu Zhen, his eyes faintly showing a hint of envy:

"Little Zhen, this is not ordinary cinnabar. This thing is formed by the essence of heaven and earth, created by nature, a natural elixir, rarely found in the world."

A natural elixir?

Qiu Zhen's heart stirred:

"Master, what is the wonderful use of this thing?"