Chapter 92: Main Herb

**Chapter 92: The Main Ingredient**

Elder Han showed no anger, remaining utterly calm. He poured himself a cup of tea, swept aside the white hair that obscured his face, and took a slow sip.

At that moment, Ye Fan felt a chill run down his spine.

Elder Han's fingers were like withered iron rods, each one bone-dry with only a thin layer of old skin covering the knuckles. When he pushed aside his facial hair, his exposed jawline sent shivers down Ye Fan's spine; it was as if a crumpled piece of waste paper, devoid of luster and heavily wrinkled. Most unsettling were the sight of his shriveled lips revealing gums and teeth that were entirely pitch-black, lacking any trace of blood or vitality. Even his tongue had atrophied.

"It's time for us to go," Elder Han said unhurriedly after taking a sip of tea and gently setting down his cup. His voice was utterly devoid of life.

Ye Fan longed to unleash the Golden Scroll, but he dared not make a rash move. He knew deep down that the power gap between cultivators of different realms was immense.

"Elder Han, aren't you afraid of divine retribution for doing this? Refining living people into medicine... even your own sect members would likely disown you," Ye Fan said, simultaneously trying to devise a plan. Falling into this person's hands would be far worse than death.

"I've made preparations; no one will know any of this," Elder Han replied, sitting motionless like a piece of deadwood across the table. His calmness only made him seem more sinister and terrifying.

Ye Fan took out the jade pendant Elder Wu Qingfeng had given him and said, "If you kill me, Elder Wu Qingfeng will know."

Elder Han gently pointed a finger, and a chilling aura pressed forward. With a crack, the jade pendant shattered, and an icy coldness lingered in the air.

Elder Han spoke indifferently, "This place is over a thousand li from Spirit Void Holy Land. Even if I shatter the jade pendant right in front of you, Wu Qingfeng won't sense a thing." He then gave a sinister chuckle. "Speaking of which, you're quite a clever boy. That day in the ruins, I subtly marked you when I lightly patted you, intending to capture you later. But you slipped away beyond my detection range. It wasn't until today that I finally found you."

"You old geezer..."

"It's time for us to go," Elder Han said, standing up. People in the building scattered as if avoiding a malevolent spirit, clearing a path for him.

Ye Fan, agile as a leopard, attempted to escape through a window.

"Why bother with such useless efforts?" Elder Han extended his withered hand, seizing Ye Fan and pulling him back with immense force, dragging him downstairs.

The disparity between different cultivation realms was like an unbridgeable chasm. Ye Fan's heart sank instantly; the opponent had confined him, rendering him utterly powerless.

Once outside the city, Elder Han murmured to himself, "First, I'll visit an old friend. He promised to collect a certain spiritual herb for me, and the time should be about right. Now that the main ingredient has been found, I can start refining the medicine later."

Ye Fan subtly gazed at the sky, searching for the Jiang family's riders. He would rather be killed by the Jiang family than be refined alive into medicine.

More than half a day passed. As the sun began to set, Elder Han and Ye Fan appeared in a mountain range, nearing their destination.

"Why aren't the Jiang family's riders here yet..." Ye Fan grew anxious.

"An old friend visits..." Elder Han projected his voice loudly towards a valley ahead. Rolling sound waves reverberated through the mountains.

Just then, a silhouette appeared in the sky, rapidly approaching. The Jiang family's rider, who had been searching the surrounding area, was drawn by the sound and finally appeared.

The rider was incredibly powerful, exuding terrifying killing intent and battle spirit. Fully covered in armor, he rode a fierce beast that swooped down, stirring up a gale that broke the surrounding vegetation.

"Who's there?" Elder Han pulled Ye Fan back.

At the same time, a white-haired, grim-faced old man emerged from the valley. He clearly did not seem like a benevolent person.

"Leave that young man here!" the Jiang family rider's voice was utterly cold as he scanned Elder Han and the old man who had emerged from the valley.

Elder Han sensed the opponent's power, but he absolutely could not abandon Ye Fan. He shouted to the old man at the valley entrance, "Quickly, help me!"

Swish!

The Jiang family rider struck decisively. A bloody gleam streaked across the sky and descended. It was a crimson iron halberd, radiating blood-red light, obviously having drunk the blood of countless cultivators, and exuding terrifying energy fluctuations.

Clang!

Elder Han conjured a green wooden ruler. It shimmered with emerald light as it met the attack, but it was immediately sent flying. He trembled violently, pulling Ye Fan back at high speed and rushing towards the valley entrance.

At that moment, the old man at the valley entrance also made his move, conjuring a bronze mirror that shone forward. Brilliant light erupted from the mirror's surface, shooting towards the Jiang family rider.

Swish, swish, swish!

Concurrently, Elder Han summoned twelve green wooden swords, which carved out profound trajectories, sealing off the surroundings and trapping the rider within.

"Child's play!" The rider showed no fear. He urged his exotic beast to soar skyward, evading the bronze mirror's beam, and his crimson iron halberd swept aside the twelve green wooden swords.

"This person is too strong! Don't hold back, find a way to eliminate him!" Elder Han yelled anxiously. At the same time, he sealed Ye Fan and threw him into the valley.

Thud!

Ye Fan landed with a thud. Without daring to waste a single moment, he quickly circulated the profound techniques recorded in the Dao Scripture, attacking the seals. Fortunately, Elder Han had acted in haste and was unaware of Ye Fan's true capabilities, so his sealing technique was quite simple. It didn't take long for the Dao Scripture's profound techniques to completely break through the seals.

"Fight to the death, both of you! Preferably until you're both ruined!" Ye Fan reached the deepest part of the valley and climbed up the cliff face, leaving the area. He quickly burst out of the mountain range, and upon seeing a surging river, he dove in without hesitation.

He sank into the river, swept for an unknown number of miles, and only emerged when the stars began to appear in the sky. In the deserted wilderness, with no sign of human habitation, he rested for a moment before striding away into the distance.

Half an hour later, lights appeared ahead, indicating a town was not too far away.

"Hee hee hee..." Suddenly, a chilling, sinister laugh echoed from behind him.

Ye Fan's heart leaped. Without looking back, he sprinted forward. Yet, the sinister laughter seemed to float in and out, like a wailing night owl, constantly circling him.

"You old monster, you're truly tenacious!" Ye Fan stopped, realizing he couldn't escape.

In the darkness, Elder Han's emaciated figure appeared like a ghost, floating above the ground. His left arm had been severed, and his hair was disheveled, his body covered in bloodstains, making him look like a vengeful spirit in the night.

Ye Fan felt a cold dread from head to toe, chills spreading throughout his body. This old monster hadn't been killed by the Jiang family's rider. Now, he was completely trapped in a desperate situation!

"My poor old friend was minced into paste. I used every trick I knew just to escape..." Elder Han's voice was incredibly chilling, like a vengeful spirit gnashing its teeth.

"It's a pity he didn't end your life," Ye Fan retorted mockingly.

Two cold beams shot from Elder Han's eyes as he silently floated forward, his withered body radiating an horrible aura of death.

Ye Fan wanted to wait until the distance was sufficient to unleash the Golden Scroll and make a desperate attack, but he had no chance. A green light illuminated the night sky, enveloping and sealing him like a ghostly fire. In the darkness, Elder Han's cadaverous body closed in. His white hair billowed, revealing a shriveled face that looked incredibly ferocious and terrifying, with an eerie glow emanating from his eye sockets.

"I prefer fresh, vibrant life. Your body is full of vigor; I imagine your blood must be quite sweet..." Elder Han seized Ye Fan's arm and soared into the sky with him.

Ye Fan's heart turned completely cold. After days of strenuous effort and desperate escape, he still couldn't avoid death.

"I left a mark on you; you can't escape!" A greenish light burst from Elder Han's body, enveloping Ye Fan, and they vanished instantly into the horizon.

He did not return to Spirit Void Holy Land. Instead, he took Ye Fan to a desolate wilderness in Yan State, entering a stone cave on a cliff that led deep into the mountain's interior.

"Don't be afraid, death isn't painful..." Elder Han's eyes gleamed with a terrifying light.

The cave dwelling deep within the mountain was extremely profound, illuminated by glowing pearls embedded along the path, so it wasn't dark. Elder Han quickly carried Ye Fan to a spacious stone chamber filled with the scent of herbs. Inside were over a dozen large medicinal cauldrons, all over a meter tall, intricately carved with complex, ancient patterns.

"Finally, all the spiritual herbs are gathered, ha ha ha..." Elder Han burst into laughter, a sound so grating it was like a wailing ghost, making one's scalp tingle.

Besides the cauldrons, the stone chamber also contained over a dozen medicinal cabinets. Elder Han opened them one by one, releasing waves of fragrant herbal scents.

"Look what I've prepared for you – these are spiritual herbs that money can't buy!" He opened a wooden box, revealing a lotus seed the size of a pigeon's egg, transparently black as if carved from dark jade. A rich fragrance assailed them, seemingly permeating one's very bones.

"Do you know what this is? This is a lotus seed from the Black Jade Divine Lotus. It takes five hundred years to produce just one such seed. Its precious value is unimaginable, containing endless vital essence."

Elder Han set down the wooden box and opened an ancient-looking jade box. A brilliant green radiance immediately flowed out, revealing an egg-sized green fruit, resembling carved emerald, shimmering with a soft, translucent glow.

"Do you know what this is? This is the fruit of the legendary Azure Jade Snow Lotus, which grows on snow-capped mountains tens of thousands of meters high. It doesn't see sunlight for a thousand years and is guarded by powerful demonic creatures. It took me eight years just to fortunately gather this one."

All these items contained extremely potent life essence. If Ye Fan were to consume them, he would certainly be able to greatly expand his golden bitter sea.

Elder Han continued walking, picking up another wooden box. When he opened it, a faint red light immediately shone out, revealing a nine-leaved wonder-grass, entirely like carved red jade, shimmering brightly. A unique herbal fragrance permeated the air.

"Do you know what this is? The legendary Nine-Leaf Phoenix Grass!" Elder Han seemed greatly excited. "Legend has it that this divine herb can only grow in land touched by phoenix blood. I spent over a decade, traveling far from Yan State, exploring countless ancient lands and ruins, just to find this single stalk. It's truly priceless, a rare spiritual treasure!"

Elder Han continuously opened the boxes, displaying over a dozen types of spiritual herbs. Each one was incredibly precious, rarely seen in the world, and of inestimable value!

Inside the cave dwelling, brilliant lights shimmered. Various spiritual herbs emanated colorful glows of different hues, releasing waves of refreshing fragrance.

Even under such circumstances, Ye Fan felt a dizzying awe. These rare spiritual herbs were simply too precious; if he could consume them, his cultivation would surely advance by leaps and bounds.

Elder Han chuckled sinisterly. "No need to be jealous or envious. All of you will be boiled together in the same cauldron when the time comes. They will be with you."

"You've gathered so many spiritual herbs, enough to extend your lifespan. Why did you still capture me?"

"If I were only refining a Revival Pill, yes, it would be enough. But now that I know you've consumed the legendary Holy Fruit and Divine Spring, my requirements have naturally increased."