"You're the crazy one!"
Yang Chen glared at Bai Jing irritably.
He took out his dual axes, his excitement causing them to tremble slightly.
The owner of the secret realm was called the Axe Lord, and his weapons were the black and white dual axes, also known as the Divine Demon Dual Axes.
This was all information he had just received during his inheritance.
In addition to this, the inheritance also imparted the Axe Lord's cultivation techniques, three of his signature moves, and one special ability.
"These moves are quite powerful, but they require a significant amount of time to cultivate. Even if I knew them now, I wouldn't be able to unleash much of their power."
"Oh, and he has a demonic transformation ability that can unleash his full potential, greatly increasing his strength for a short period, but it has a time limit!"
"I think this demonic transformation ability is rather useless! Once the time is up, you become extremely weak, at risk of losing your life at any moment."
Yang Chen explained, a hint of regret in his voice.
While the demonic transformation could boost his strength temporarily, if he became vulnerable in combat after the time limit, any enemy could easily finish him off. Wasn't that a useless ability?
"You ungrateful brat!"
"This demonic transformation, if used at the right moment, gives you the possibility of challenging opponents of a higher tier!"
Ye Cangtian glared at Yang Chen, not caring much for the axe techniques or cultivation methods. What truly captivated him was this demonic transformation.
If he had mastered it, he would have absolute confidence in facing even Earth-level powerhouses.
"Alright, alright."
"Regardless, I'm sticking with you from now on!"
Yang Chen shrugged. He didn't care much about these details; all he knew was that Ye Cangtian had provided him with all of this.
"What about me then?"
Bai Jing's expression turned a little grim. Yang Chen was his brother; what did it mean for him to go off and follow someone else?
Yang Chen chuckled, slinging an arm around Bai Jing's shoulder. "We're all brothers. Just follow Big Brother. Look, we've managed to get some meat. Are you worried about not having meat to eat in the future?"
"..."
Bai Jing was taken aback. Truthfully, after spending a few days with Ye Cangtian, he found him to be a man of good character.
He had even saved him, and the fact that he had given the Sky Shattering Dual Axes to Yang Chen showed he wasn't driven solely by profit.
Bai Jing did have intentions of befriending him.
However, he still had grievances with the Bai family. Until he received his family's stance on the matter, he had to maintain some distance from Ye Cangtian.
"Are these medicinal pills? Let me see."
Yang Chen's gaze fell upon the porcelain bottle in Ye Cangtian's hand, and he inquired.
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian didn't think much of it. He didn't recognize any of these pills anyway, so giving them to Yang Chen was fine.
The next moment, Yang Chen took the small porcelain bottle and sniffed it. "These should all be edible. They're not poisons anyway."
"Huh? How do you know?"
Ye Cangtian was baffled. These were ancient medicinal pills, with no known records, and it was unlikely anyone would recognize them. How did Yang Chen know they weren't poisonous?
And even if they weren't poisonous, didn't they have an expiration date?
Countless years had passed since ancient times; even with a ten-thousand-year shelf life, they would have long expired!
"Haha, I grew up in the forests. I naturally know what's edible and what isn't."
"And I can also roughly discern their ingredients. It's probably due to my talent..."
Ye Cangtian was speechless at Yang Chen's explanation.
This was not something he could envy; it was an ability that people who grew up in the wild forests of ancient ruins might possess.
However, listening to Yang Chen, Ye Cangtian began to hesitate.
He still had some significant injuries, and perhaps these pills would be useful to him. But these pills were all unknown, and Yang Chen wasn't a complete expert on medicinal pills either.
What if his analysis was wrong? Not only would his injuries not heal, but he might also perish.
After pondering for a long time, Ye Cangtian decided to ask Jian Wusheng first.
The latter had spent a considerable amount of time in the ruins and was quite knowledgeable.
"Are these Foundation Building Pills? And also Beauty Pills and Minor Revitalization Pills?"
When Ye Cangtian presented the pills to Jian Wusheng, Jian Wusheng seemed somewhat surprised.
He recognized these medicinal pills, having identified many ancient pills during his explorations in the ruins.
Through continuous experimentation and by studying their different medicinal properties, he had given them distinct names.
However, the pills were too precious and difficult to find, so not many people of the younger generation recognized them.
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian understood the medicinal effects of the pills and his eyes lit up with surprise. He then took out a Minor Revitalization Pill and popped it into his mouth.
The pill dissolved instantly upon entering his mouth, filling it with a fragrant aroma that was quite intoxicating.
As the pill entered his abdomen, it transformed into a warm current that spread through his limbs, bones, and organs.
In an instant, his burning internal organs felt as if they had encountered a clear spring. The pain significantly lessened, and his injuries were already more than halfway healed.
And this was not the end of it.
The remaining medicinal effects continued to repair his injuries. Essentially, with one Minor Revitalization Pill, his injuries were about seventy to eighty percent healed.
This was too miraculous!
Ye Cangtian was stunned by the medicinal efficacy and couldn't snap out of it for a long time.
"Alright, no need to be so astonished."
"The Minor Revitalization Pill is very potent. Your injuries are nothing compared to the Minor Revitalization Pill."
Jian Wusheng glanced at the stunned Ye Cangtian and then urged him on.
Everything that could be searched in the secret realm had been searched, with no oversights. It was time to leave.
Their exploration of the entire forest was not yet complete; they still had more to do!
...
Several days later.
Ye Cangtian and the other three returned to Hidden City and proceeded to the Hidden Group's guesthouse to submit their mission.
Since all benefits obtained during the exploration mission belonged to the individual, there were no material rewards, only contribution points.
The purpose of these contribution points was to enjoy the benefits within the ruins; the more contribution points one had, the more they could enjoy.
For example, improving one's quality of life here or establishing a sect required reaching a certain number of contribution points.
Besides earning contribution points, Ye Cangtian also received an additional small token, which, though seemingly small, was the Hidden Group's emblem, entirely black.
After submitting the mission and dividing the spoils,
Bai Jing returned to the Bai family, and Yang Chen accompanied him. However, he had made arrangements with Ye Cangtian to return soon and reunite with him.
On the other side, after completing his Hidden Group mission, Ye Cangtian found a restaurant and had a few drinks with Jian Wusheng.
"By the way, I've always had a question I wanted to ask you."
"Why was Sui Tian's attack effective the first two times, but ineffective later on?"
In the restaurant, with only the two of them left, Jian Wusheng could no longer suppress his curiosity and asked.
"If I said I saw through his attacks, would you believe me?"
Ye Cangtian chuckled sheepishly, knowing that eventually, someone would be unable to resist asking him about this.
"What do you think?"
Jian Wusheng glared at him, annoyed. "What? Are you still keeping secrets from me? Do you think I would harm you!"
"Senior, everyone has secrets. Please don't put me in a difficult position."
Ye Cangtian said helplessly. He truly didn't want to reveal that it was all due to the Golden Leaf, the Heart of the Ruins!
Initially, he had thought even the Golden Leaf couldn't withstand the attacks, which was why he was injured.
But just as Jian Wusheng was about to intervene, a disdainful female voice echoed in his mind.
"Useless! Without my help, you wouldn't even be able to block attacks of this magnitude!"
After berating Ye Cangtian, the woman seemed to have calmed down and decided to help him, which resulted in Ye Cangtian becoming impervious to blades and spears.
In reality, it was the Golden Leaf blocking all the attacks for him.
What made Ye Cangtian depressed was that the Golden Leaf had only agreed to act once; whether it would help again depended entirely on its mood...
This was one of the reasons Ye Cangtian hadn't intended to reveal anything.
He had found the Heart of the Ruins, yet it hadn't recognized him as its master, and it even acted based on its mood. This made Ye Cangtian, as its owner, feel utterly humiliated.