"Bang!!"

Faced with the werewolf corpse that sought its own demise, Mu Jinyu naturally fulfilled its wish.

In the end, he reduced it to ashes, turning into a tiny particle of a gray light, which surged into the Ghost Gate.

"So there really is something..."

Mu Jinyu said with a smile on his face as he watched this scene.

Although he didn't know what that gray light was.

But since it made the Ghost Gate slightly stronger, it was a good thing, and he would naturally seize any opportunity to collect it.

The question was whether this gray substance was exclusive to ancient corpses in this Secret Realm, or did external ancient corpses possess it as well?

He hadn't had the Earth Emperor's Tome for long and had never encountered any ancient corpses outside, so he wasn't sure if there was a difference.

Then, Mu Jinyu killed several more ancient corpses nearby. After obtaining these gray substances, he felt it was too time-consuming.

He suspected that perhaps external ancient corpses did not have this gray substance.

And the reason the ancient corpses here possessed this gray substance was likely because they had lived in this Secret Realm for an extended period and had absorbed too much ominous aura, gradually condensing this material.

The gray substance that truly enhanced the Ghost Gate and even the Earth Emperor's Tome should still be at the source of that foul stench.

He shouldn't reverse the order, wasting time hunting these ancient corpses on the periphery for tiny amounts of gray substance.

Hence, Mu Jinyu decided not to bother with these ancient corpses anymore.

He focused all his efforts on heading towards the source of the stench.

Even when he encountered strong and robust ancient corpses along the way, he wasn't tempted to stop and hunt them.

A few hours later.

Mu Jinyu slightly paused, looking nauseated and on the verge of vomiting.

He was very close to the source of the stench now.

Upon reaching this point, he could no longer tolerate the stench like he could when he first entered the Secret Realm, even with his five senses sealed, he couldn't block out the stench.

It seemed to permeate from the very depths of his soul.

Completely undefeatable.

"It's unbearable; no wonder Xuu Changqing's parents couldn't endure it and returned covered in the stench!"

Mu Jinyu thought to himself in frustration.

He felt he had practically been marinated in the stench, his entire body reeking unbearably.

"There's no other way, I have to let the Divine Plant try..."

Mu Jinyu discovered that neither the Earth Emperor Bone Qi nor the Earth Emperor's Tome seemed able to deal with the stench.

Thus, he thought of releasing his restraint on the Divine Plant, to see if it could solve the problem of the stench.

Even if it couldn't eliminate the stench completely, at least make it so he couldn't smell it!

Mu Jinyu first released the Mystical Little Tree.

Under his urging, the Mystical Little Tree joyfully spread its roots, extending outside Mu Jinyu's Sea of Consciousness, eager to breathe the fresh air outside.

However, it didn't smell fresh air.

Instead, it was met with the despairing stench of corpses.

Swoosh! Without any hesitation, the Mystical Little Tree immediately retracted its roots, unwilling to linger outside.

"Damn, even you're afraid?"

Mu Jinyu was quite helpless when he saw this.

But he couldn't force the Mystical Little Tree, so he turned his attention to the Three-Leaf Youlian rooted in his Dantian.

Hmm...

The phrase 'emerge unstained from the mud, unpretentious in its purity', this Three-Leaf Youlian should be able to withstand the stench, right?

Mu Jinyu tried to activate the Three-Leaf Youlian.

"Hey!"

"Sigh..."

Indeed, it was effective.

As the Three-Leaf Youlian's roots extended, the terrifying stench surrounding Mu Jinyu vanished entirely.

Though the Three-Leaf Youlian didn't instantly devour the stench throughout the Secret Realm.

At least, the stench around Mu Jinyu disappeared, allowing him to finally breathe fresh air.

"It really works..."

Mu Jinyu was immediately relieved and began greedily inhaling the surrounding fresh air.

Then, Mu Jinyu thought about how to find the source of the stench now that he couldn't smell it anymore.

Stop using the Three-Leaf Youlian and follow the stench to trace its source?

Mu Jinyu shivered at this thought, terrified, and immediately rejected the idea. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Do I have to search slowly then?"

"What if I don't have enough time and miss the assessment for the students' advancement?"

Mu Jinyu considered wandering around inside, but worried about wasting time, ultimately missing Chu Huannian's Intermediate Student advancement assessment.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh..."

At this moment, Mu Jinyu suddenly noticed that the stench around him disappeared not because he moved, and the Three-Leaf Youlian, with its roots, expressed a sense of dissatisfaction, greedily absorbing the stench ahead.

Though it couldn't absorb much, it indicated that there was something it desired in front!

Could that be the source of the stench?

Mu Jinyu pondered.

"Great, now I don't need to wander aimlessly, and I don't have to subject myself to this stench to find it."

Mu Jinyu noticed this change, and his smile almost couldn't be contained.

Anyone who hasn't smelled this stench wouldn't understand how much he dreaded encountering it again!

It was enough to make one question life itself, wishing to smash their head against a piece of tofu!

With the help of the Three-Leaf Youlian, Mu Jinyu quickly followed its guidance forward.

Frequently changing directions, he continued onward.

Finally, after another hour had passed.

At this point, the desire from the Three-Leaf Youlian intensified immensely.

Mu Jinyu was truly relieved, yet fearful.

This must be incredibly close to the source of the stench, right?

If he hadn't had the help of the Three-Leaf Youlian, the stench alone would likely have suffocated him!

"Swoosh!!"

Just then, a creature with a sheen like steel rushed out.

Flashing blades, it lunged at Mu Jinyu to strike!

"Die!"

Mu Jinyu's eyes narrowed when he saw that it was a bizarre entity, resembling both a mantis and a spider, launching an attack.

"Boom!!"

Under the impact of the Ghost Gate, this entity wasn't instantly smashed to death!

It took a full nine hits to finally destroy it.

"Bang!"

As the entity turned to ash, a fist-sized gray substance flew out and surged into the Ghost Gate.

Making the solidity of the Ghost Gate even firmer.

"It's so large?!"

"Indeed, I'm close to the source of the stench. It seems these gray substances aren't possessed by Millennium Corpses from outside, but are formed from prolonged proximity to the stench source."

Mu Jinyu realized, his heart was finally at ease.

He understood he truly didn't need to search those ancient corpses at the Secret Realm's periphery for tiny gray substances.

By finding the source of the stench directly, the rewards would be enormous!

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Mu Jinyu continued to step forward.

Suddenly, countless ancient corpses and entities appeared, attacking him.

But Mu Jinyu unfolded the full view of the Ghost City in the Earth Emperor's Tome.

Road to the Netherworld, Naihe Bridge, River of Oblivion, Homeward-Viewing Platform, Three Life Stone...

In no time, all these entities were obliterated.

With this mighty path of destruction, Mu Jinyu finally reached an utterly dark and barren land.

At the center of this desolate place, a rotten coffin lay quietly.