When Ji You entered the front hall of the Master's Courtyard, the dim hall was already full of people.
There were team leaders who had gone out to search, Instructors who had participated in the search, as well as Ban Yangshu with his arm in a sling, and Ji Qirui on the left, stripped to the waist with his chest tightly bandaged.
Ban Yangshu's shoulder was injured by an iron fist, damaging the bone, and Ji Qirui's left chest was grazed by lightning magic, scorching his arm.
Seeing Ji You walk in, both of them had complex expressions.
It was clearly the same battle, yet he seemed as if he hadn't participated at all, still dressed so handsomely…
However, after muttering to themselves in secret, both of them stood up simultaneously and solemnly thanked Ji You.
The three Masters-in-charge also stood up upon seeing this, expressing sincere concern, as if Ji You's injuries were as severe as Ban Yangshu's and Ji Qirui's.
“Where were you just now?”
Ban Yangshu spoke upon seeing him: “We were talking about Evil Seeds.”
Ji You was slightly stunned: “Yesterday I heard you shouting about Evil Seeds, what exactly are they?”
“In the Ancient period, the Qingyun World was not controlled by the Human Race, but by a race later called the Ancient Remnant Race. This race had powerful Physical Bodies, were naturally proficient in magic, fed on humans, and enslaved all living things, eventually angering the Heavenly Dao.”
“The Heavenly Dao then bestowed seven Dao Artifacts, wielded by the seven Sages of the Human Race, and the Ancient Remnant Race was thus exterminated.”
“These Evil Seeds are what the Ancient Remnant Race became after dying and falling into evil.”
Ji Qirui added upon hearing this: “After the Ancient War, there were many Ancient Remnant Race ruins left in the Qingyun World, distributed everywhere. Some were vast and immense, even the Upper Five Realms dared not enter, while others were as small as abandoned houses, called 'remnant temples' by the common folk. Evil Seeds would appear around them, eating passing woodcutters and scholars alive.”
Ji You's eyes widened upon hearing this, thinking, so that's how it is.
No wonder Kuang Cheng said that if those going to Shengjing City for the imperial examination traveled by land, only two out of five would survive; it wasn't an exaggeration.
There weren't any 'Xiao Qian' in those temples, but rather a whole house full of 'Grandma Demons'.
With things like that around, it would be hard for Old Kuang not to die on the road.
After pondering for a moment, Ji You frowned again: “You said Evil Seeds like to eat the Human Race alive, but why did the people found turn into mummies?”
Qin Zhangshi listened to Ban Yangshu and Ji Qirui finish the story and nodded: “Ji Gongzi is indeed perceptive. This is one of the suspicious points we need to investigate. Do you have any clues?”
“That ghostly thing had a lot of strength.”
“The Ancient Remnant Race had a different physique from the Human Race and were naturally immensely strong. Even after death, their Physical Body strength did not diminish, so that's not new.”
Ji You pondered for a moment before looking up: “Only Physical Body, but did it have thoughts?”
Qin Zhangshi shook his head: “A Physical Body that has fallen into evil is extremely bloodthirsty, but as for thinking, there is no such precedent yet.”
“No, that ghostly thing was afraid of death when it fought me. After I delivered the second sword, it kept trying to evade, and its eyes were full of fear.”
“?”
Upon hearing this, the Master's Courtyard discussed animatedly.
The reason why Evil Seeds, formed from the corpses of the Ancient Remnant Race, were not considered terrifying and why no Immortal Sects went to clear them out, was precisely because they had no consciousness.
Even if they ate some passing woodcutters or scholars, it wasn't worth an Immortal Sect's intervention.
But Ji You actually said that the one he fought understood fear, and an ominous feeling began to spread within the courtyard.
Master Ji interrupted everyone's remarks: “Putting aside that Evil Seed, Ji Gongzi, do you have any clues about that swordsman and the black-clad Rongdao Realm expert?”
Ji You pondered for a moment and said: “That swordsman is a master at killing, he must often fight with people, unlike Immortal Sect Disciples who cultivate in seclusion in the mountains.”
“What about that Rongdao Realm expert?”
“I fought him indirectly, so I have no information to provide.”
Master Ji nodded: “Does Yangshu or Qirui have anything to add?”
Ban Yangshu cupped his hands: “That person only used basic lightning magic, clearly intending to hide his identity, leaving no clues.”
Ji Qirui, after listening to everyone's discussion, suddenly interjected: “I have something to add.”
“Tell me.”
“When a few of us left the building, we stopped because we felt Evil Qi, but at that time, the Evil Qi first passed by, and then suddenly returned after going far away. I suspect their attack on us was a spur of the moment.”
Ban Yangshu's eyes also lit up when he heard Ji Qirui's words: “That's right, that Rongdao Realm expert also arrived only after the Evil Seed.”
Qin Zhangshi's brow furrowed slightly: “So that means they didn't conspire to attack you? Was it the Evil Seed losing control?”
“It should be so.”
Upon hearing this, Ji You couldn't help but frown.
That Evil Seed lunged forward, seemingly trying to grab Lu Qingqiu, but as the person involved, Ji You knew it wanted to kill him.
If Ji Qirui was correct, then the attackers originally intended to bypass them and leave, but for some reason, the Evil Seed lost control and targeted him.
Ji You's brow relaxed.
That Evil Seed was a woman, fond of beauty.
Case closed!
No, that's not right. If it was fond of beauty, its claws wouldn't have kept scratching at his face.
Ji You looked up at the three Masters-in-charge sitting above, and saw them exchange glances, nodding profoundly, as if they already had clues.
But in reality, they had no idea.
When they first received the news, they thought it was a certain Immortal Sect secretly targeting Tianshu Academy.
But after finding the bodies, they discovered that the deceased were not just Tianshu Academy Disciples; among them were also two imperial relatives with decent cultivation talent, and the identity of the other person was currently unknown.
Finding clues requires finding commonalities. Currently, the only commonality among the five victims was that they were cultivators, and that's all.
After all the information was cleared, everyone dispersed, and the three Masters-in-charge moved to the back hall.
The back hall had only one small window, and the environment was dim. At this time, the tables and chairs had been removed, and five mummified corpses were placed in the empty hall. A Daoist in a long robe was carefully examining them, his brow deeply furrowed.
“Zuoqiuyang Hall Master.”
Zuoqiuyang turned and looked at them: “Any findings?”
Qin Zhangshi cupped his hands: “It's very difficult for private cultivators to reach the Rongdao Realm, so that person must be on the immortal registry, while the swordsman might be a private cultivator. The strangest thing is that Evil Seed.”
“How strange?”
Qin Zhangshi lowered his voice: “Everyone knows that Evil Seeds cannot leave Ancient Remnant Race ruins by more than ten li, yet it appeared in Shengjing City, that's one. Second, Ji You, who fought it, said it could feel fear, which is even stranger.”
Ji Jingyao now looked at the five corpses: “I wonder if Zuoqiuyang Hall Master has found any clues?”
“This Qingyun World, I'm afraid, is about to face great chaos.”
Zuoqiuyang looked at the five corpses, and his words made the three Masters-in-charge look astonished.
These bodies were indeed drained, not eaten alive by an Evil Seed, but that wasn't the main point.
The main point was that all five were cultivators, and all had reached the step of condensing Spirit Origin, but their Spirit Origin had now been completely dug out.
Just killing people is not a big problem, but the appearance of things beyond comprehension foreshadows greater disaster.
More importantly, when you notice this, it means this matter is no longer afraid of being noticed.