Regarding Ding Yu's matter, it has basically been confirmed that it's a phenomenon similar to the inheritance of a zombie bloodline.

Zhang Rongfang's first thought was about the characteristic talent influenced by the blood god.

If it's confirmed to be influenced by the blood god, then the second characteristic talent is highly likely related to the Wish Girl.

These deities might consider him as their last hope for survival, indirectly forming a symbiotic relationship.

Having determined Ding Yu's situation, Zhang Rongfang had accomplished half of his tasks in Dan Province.

The other half involved going to find the botanical gardens of the Five Cauldrons Sect.

Luckily, the treasure hunt doesn't always encounter problems; this time went quite smoothly.

The Five Cauldrons Sect people seemed not to care about the plantation at all; when the people from Treasure Harmony Pavilion went to check, there was simply no one guarding it.

It was so easy that... they ended up poisoning ten or so people to death.

On the morning of January 1, inside a hidden valley somewhere in Dan Province.

Bang!

A massive rock blocking the path is cracked open at its center.

Soon, the entire rock showed cracks, and with a crash, it shattered to the ground.

Behind the rock, a sturdy humanoid figure, measuring two and a half meters tall, slowly walked in.

Just as he entered, a faint gray mist surged towards him.

The mist was pungent and unpleasant, but when deeply inhaled, it had a unique rich feel.

As the figure walked into the light, his face was illuminated.

It was none other than Zhang Rongfang, who had just rushed over from Treasure Harmony Pavilion.

"No wonder there aren't any guards here; the poison miasma itself is the most natural guardian. Ordinary people wouldn't even dare to approach."

He lightly exhaled; the gas here was highly toxic, causing him only a slight dizziness.

But even this was quite impressive.

One should know that the average poison capable of killing people was, to him, merely like a regular hot pepper.

The valley was filled with various colorful medicinal herbs and plants, blooming with different flowers and fruits.

Amid them were poisonous insects, palm-sized spiders, forearm-long centipedes, they were everywhere.

A centipede quickly crawled across the ground, seeming to catch Zhang Rongfang's scent. It turned abruptly, climbed up Zhang Rongfang's boot, and bit through his pants at the skin.

Crunch. A slight sound followed.

The centipede's body stiffened, fell to the ground, and quickly burrowed into the grass, leaving only a bit of severed mandible fragment on the spot.

Zhang Rongfang did not pay attention to this little creature.

He raised his hand to motion the people behind him not to follow, and stepped forward quickly into the valley.

Passing through the patches of grass, he soon saw the fence-enclosed vegetable garden areas marked out by humans.

Each area had different soil and plants.

Three Sects Enchanting Fragrance!

Zhang Rongfang immediately spotted the treasure herbs inside one of the gardens.

He walked quickly towards it, just about to open the fence to enter.

Suddenly, his peripheral vision caught something.

Zhang Rongfang paused his steps, scanning the area with his dark vision.

Outside the mist, on a valley stone wall, a relief sculpture suddenly appeared.

Vaguely, the relief seemed to be a humanoid figure.

Zhang Rongfang's heart skipped a beat, suddenly remembering that the Five Cauldrons Sect was also part of the Sensing Sect, it should also have its own deity worship.

The deities of the Sensing Sect, mainly comprised a pantheon led by the Moon God.

And here... perhaps.

He hesitated a moment and walked a few steps towards it.

As the mist cleared, the relief on the stone wall gradually became clear.

It was a dragon-headed human holding a lotus flower in one hand and a jade pestle in the other.

The relief was intricately carved, with dense dragon scales covering the dragon-headed human, detailed dragon horns, facial whiskers, and emerald green color, all depicted realistically.

Standing some distance away, it seemed the relief was like a real living creature.

"Huh?" Suddenly, Zhang Rongfang's brow furrowed.

He closed his eyes, walked forward, and reached out to touch the relief.

But something strange happened.

The relief appeared uneven, yet it felt flat to the touch.

Some parts that should have been steep were smooth to the touch.

He opened his eyes again; the dragon-headed human deity remained there.

But... observing up close, it gave an inexplicable sense of unreality.

"Using poison as a lead... interesting." Zhang Rongfang suddenly recalled the old trick of the blood god, similarly. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Boom!

He suddenly punched out, forcibly shattered the wall in front into a pile of fragmented stones, which fell to the ground.

Yet the relief still remained!

Determining that this thing seemed to work in conjunction with the light, poison gas here, creating an inevitable phenomenon.

Zhang Rongfang quickly scanned around, uninterested in dealing with it any further, using a prepared jade box to collect the treasure herb Three Sects Enchanting Fragrance, along with some soil.

After circling around the valley, he quickly found two other kinds, Pi Rhinoceros Horn and Blood Coagulation Grass.

With that, all the missing treasure herbs were located.

Zhang Rongfang didn't damage the remaining herbs and quickly turned to leave.

And just as he departed.

The special dragon-headed human relief on the stone wall slowly dissipated.

*

*

*

In the depths of another forest in Dan Province.

A white waterfall cascades down from a height, splashing delicate water mist with a crashing sound.

Beneath the waterfall is a spacious lake, with a wooden cabin on its edge, entirely dark green, its surface covered with various vines and leaves.

If you don't look carefully, you'd never realize there's a cabin here.

Inside the cabin, a young man with clear, bright eyebrows, a Daoist, carefully crushes some herbs with a pestle, his expression focused and serious.

The Daoist is thin and appears not to know much about martial arts. His eyes are slightly dark, obviously not having slept well recently.

"Brother Xiaozhi... is the medicine... is it ready?" A weak female voice came from inside the mosquito net on the wooden bed in the cabin.

"Coming, it's almost done, almost ready." Zhang Qingzhi quickly turned his head to respond.

Soon, he processed the herbs, pouring the extracted juice into a small bowl.

Using the hot water prepared in advance, he poured it from the bottle into the bowl.

After checking the temperature, Zhang Qingzhi carefully carried the bowl and walked to the bedside.

"Xiaohao, it's ready, the medicine is ready."

He held the medicine in one hand and helped the woman in the bed sit up with the other.

The woman's face was flushed, and her originally fair skin looked faintly pale from illness.

Her delicate face was no longer as pure as before.

"Brother Xiaozhi... am I... am I not going to make it?" The woman, who was Lin Qianhe, had been sent to this place in Dan Province to live in seclusion with Zhang Qingzhi.

Upon arriving here, she fell ill due to the harsh environment, unable to recover.

Alarmed, Zhang Qingzhi meticulously cared for her.

To his shock... Lin Qianhe was discovered... to be pregnant!

And judging by her pulse, it's very likely twins!

This revelation hit Zhang Qingzhi like a bolt of lightning.

According to the timeline, he had never been intimate with Xiaohao during that period, so how could she suddenly become pregnant??

If it's not his, then... the only answer was to ask Lin Qianhe.

But what struck him further was that even Lin Qianhe didn't know who the father was.

Because... before the upheaval at the Celestial Treasure Palace, she frequently attended various banquets and parties in the Great Capital.

Her close acquaintances numbered seven or eight per event, and over time were countless....

That was when Zhang Qingzhi finally broke down.

"Brother Xiaozhi..." After drinking the medicine, Lin Qianhe looked at Zhang Qingzhi with watery eyes filled with pity.

"I am like this now... do you... do you still love me?"

"I..." A trace of pain flashed in Zhang Qingzhi's eyes. "What I love is your heart! Not your body!" He took a deep breath.

"No matter what you were like before... here, everything is in the past... we can start afresh..."

Tears finally couldn't be held back in Lin Qianhe's eyes, streaming down her cheeks like broken threads.

"I'm sorry... Brother Xiaozhi.... I'm sorry..... but... what about the child?"

"Don't worry, the child is innocent! We'll raise them together!" Zhang Qingzhi said resolutely.

"Thank you... Brother Xiaozhi... you.. really...." Lin Qianhe trembled all over, finally understanding who truly cared for her in this world.

Even her father...

Had severed ties with her entirely because of the previous scandal.

Only Brother Xiaozhi...

At this moment, Lin Qianhe's heart was filled with endless regret.

She realized that she had indeed indulged herself too much in the past, leading to her present situation.

But now... it's all too late...

Recalling all the joys of the past, Lin Qianhe closed her eyes, gently resting her head against Zhang Qingzhi.

"It's okay.... don't worry, I'm here. I've always been here." Zhang Qingzhi held her hand tightly, saying with conviction.

Even though at this moment, Lin Qianhe was no longer as pure as she once was.

But in his heart, she was still that innocent and adorable girl with a charm.

"Brother Qingzhi, are you there?"

Suddenly, a slightly naive girl's voice came from outside.

"I've brought the medicine you asked for." The girl called out loudly.

"Coming, coming." Zhang Qingzhi quickly hugged Lin Qianhe, then let her go and went out the door.

Outside stood a girl with two small braids of black hair.

The girl had delicate features, except for a large dark birthmark on the left side of her cheek, which was quite unattractive.

She held a small basket covered with white cloth, containing some dried herbs.

"It's Xin'Er, thank you for coming such a long way to bring me the medicine!" Zhang Qingzhi quickly went forward, looking at the dried herbs in the basket, a genuine smile appeared on his face.

Xiaohao's illness was stabilized, all thanks to Xin'Er occasionally going into town to help buy some ingredients.

Otherwise, even if he collected herbs around, he couldn't gather all the prescriptions.

The girl named Xin'Er appeared to be about fourteen or fifteen years old. At his words, she shyly lowered her head, her gaze wandering, her cheeks slightly reddening.

"It's really nothing... it's just that Brother Qingzhi, you needed it urgently to save someone, so I asked a few pharmacies, luckily found it..."

She didn't mention that in order to find these herbs, she had practically gone around the entire Yuan Mountain City.

Even had several blisters on her small feet.

"Thank you, Sister Xin'Er!" Zhang Qingzhi took out silver coins from his sleeve, placing them in her hand, then took the basket to carefully inspect the herbs.

"By the way, Brother Qingzhi, while I was at home with nothing better to do, I made some small snacks for you to eat with the missus." Xin'Er then took out a bag of pastries from her backpack.

They were red bean cakes she had made herself. The red beans were also grown by her, and even her parents weren't willing to part with them.

But this time she brought them all over.