Chapter 238: Wood Spiritual Root Unsealed

Mei Xiaowu, Long Time No See

Lian Mu cautiously slashed toward the black mist. From within, an unknown demonic creature let out a hoarse growl, sensing the threat.

A wave of oppressive spiritual energy rippled out from the mist, carrying an angry warning. As the pressure swept over her, Lian Mu was suddenly struck by a strange sense of familiarity.

This spiritual fluctuation felt so familiar, as if she had encountered the same oppressive force somewhere before.

Without hesitation, Lian Mu seized the initiative before the creature could act. She unleashed a burst of Moonlight sword qi, and a sudden chill erupted. Under the impact of the sword light, the black mist in front of her instantly dispersed.

A mournful wail echoed from within the mist, and the path ahead cleared in an instant.

A centipede made of human bones collapsed with a crash. Its body was composed of rotting skulls, now split cleanly in half. Even the severed parts continued to twitch.

Lian Mu’s eyes lit up. This sword qi was incredibly powerful.

That demonic creature had at least five hundred years of cultivation, yet the Moonlight sword qi had slain it in a single effortless strike.

She couldn’t even imagine how terrifying the true Moonlight sword must be.

Stepping over the segmented corpse of the bone centipede, she searched for a while. Each sectioned skull contained something, like trophies to show off its strength.

Lian Mu pried open the skulls one by one, hoping to find something useful. After opening a pile of them, she found only strange fragments of bone and tufts of hair—none of it human, by the looks of it.

When she reached the skull at the very top of the centipede, the sense of familiarity grew even stronger.

She shattered the skullcap, and looking down from above, she saw a ball of golden light flickering within the white bone. With its container destroyed, the spiritual energy began to leak out.

Lian Mu’s pupils contracted. She finally remembered where the feeling came from.

The spiritual fluctuation was identical to that of Elder Murong.

She recalled the rumors she had heard before, her emotions suddenly a tangled mess.

If this really was the demonic creature that had attacked Murong Yi all those years ago, then this golden light might be…

There was no time to think. Dozens of ideas flashed through her mind on how to preserve the golden light. She quickly pulled out a treasure box—a Stone Storage Gold Case given to her by Bai Su.

The case was made from Ten-Thousand-Tassel Wood, which naturally blocked external interference. Inside its layered structure flowed a spiritual ore liquid that wrapped around whatever was stored inside like a stone shell, minimizing spiritual energy loss.

If it could preserve the spiritual energy of Refined Jade, perhaps it could work for this golden light too.

Lian Mu guided the golden light into the case, sealed the lid, and tucked it deep into her spatial pouch.

She didn’t know what a Sword Core was supposed to look like, but this golden light clearly came from a cultivator. A demonic creature’s spiritual energy would be tainted with murky demonic qi—it couldn’t possibly be this pure.

Whether this was the Sword Core Murong Yi had lost remained to be confirmed, but one thing was certain: she couldn’t leave it here.

After the bone centipede died, the surrounding rock walls rapidly heated up. She had no choice but to activate the Jiao Pearl, forming a thin water shield around her.

With no path forward, she could only break upward.

Lian Mu shattered the rock ceiling above her. In the next moment, flames rained down from the upper layers. She immediately poured more spiritual energy into the Jiao Pearl, which flared with a brilliant blue light.

The Spirit Water Membrane blocked the flames, but she could only sigh at her misfortune.

This path really did connect to the Red Lotus Fire Cavern.

When the cave collapsed, the self-igniting layer above also caved in, nearly burying her alive.

Protected by the Jiao Pearl’s water shield, Lian Mu pushed upward through the flames. But the falling rocks were too heavy, and her fire spiritual energy alone wasn’t enough to hold them back.

In desperation, she pulled out a pill and chewed it down.

Gritting her teeth, she forced her spiritual energy into her dantian.

The pill’s power broke through the seal on her Wood Spiritual Root. A sharp pain spread from her lower back through her entire body.

Lian Mu pivoted on her toes, and pale green wood spiritual energy burst beneath her feet, forming a thick vine as wide as an arm.

The vine carried her upward, smashing through the rocks like a battering ram, swelling and expanding as it went.

When she opened her eyes again, Lian Mu was already above ground, suspended in midair by the vine.

The part of the vine still underground was being scorched by flames and wouldn’t last long.

She withdrew her spiritual energy and leapt down to solid ground. Then she swallowed two spirit replenishing pills to recover her lost energy.

Cracks ran across the ground around her, and fire was erupting from the fissures in full force.

She had entered the flame ore layer of the Red Lotus Fire Cavern.

Though this wasn’t the main chamber, the ore layer beneath the surface was connected to it.

Lian Mu looked around. The area was silent and desolate, with nothing in sight but scorched earth stretching endlessly into the distance.

Was this the legendary Red Scorched Circle?

It wasn’t quite what she had imagined.

She had only been walking in the cave for about an hour, yet she had already traveled from Mist Sea Cliff to the Red Scorched Circle. That cave might have been a special passage.

As she pondered her next move, the Thousand Mechanisms Pagoda stirred again. A wisp of black mist climbed onto her shoulder.

“You’re awake?” Lian Mu said. “I’ve reached the Red Scorched Circle.”

Xuan Che’s voice was weary. “Yeah. I know. Now turn around and head east, toward the highest point in the Red Scorched Circle.”

“Where is that?”

“Walk a few steps and you’ll see it.”

Lian Mu followed his instructions. Sure enough, after a short walk, she saw the peak of a mountain in the distance. In the dim night, only a vague outline was visible.

Her heart sank. As far as she knew, there was only one mountain in the Red Scorched Circle.

The closer she got, the stronger her unease became.

“You’re walking so slowly. What’s wrong, scared?”

Lian Mu replied, “I have a bad feeling. It’s like something is watching me.”

She had felt this way ever since entering the Red Scorched Circle, but no matter how she probed with her spiritual sense, she found nothing.

“That fox-fur cloak can no longer hide your presence. The moment you used Moonlight sword qi, you were exposed. To be precise, the cloak can only mask your aura, not mine. Naturally, something out there is watching. But luckily, it’s only watching me. They won’t dare act rashly.”

Most of the demonic creatures in the Red Scorched Circle possessed intelligence. When faced with a difficult opponent, they behaved much like humans—waiting and watching.

But Lian Mu shook her head. “It’s not just that.”

It wasn’t only demonic creatures. There was another strange gaze fixed on her. She couldn’t describe it exactly, only that it made her skin crawl, like being tangled in a spider’s web.

Xuan Che paused for a moment, then said, “You’re on my turf. Are you really worried someone’s going to bully you? You had the guts to fight an Extreme-Grade Flame Beast with a crippled dantian, but now you’re scared of a pile of corpses?”

“You don’t get it,” Lian Mu said.

It was easy for a max-level boss to talk tough. If she had her cultivation from her past life, she could strut through the Shifang Nether Soil too. But right now, she hadn’t even made it out of the newbie village.

At a time like this, caution was the only option.

Lian Mu ignored him and continued forward at her own pace.

But after she walked off into the distance, a single eye emerged from a fissure in the fiery ground, staring in her direction.

At the same time, in front of the Corpse Mountain Scorched Forest, the same scene appeared in the image projection of the Raven-Black Orb.

“Well, well. I didn’t expect you to deliver yourself to me. Saves me the trouble of hunting you down.”

In front of the Image Projection, a bony hand brushed across the figure of a green-robed silhouette on the screen.

“Moonlight sword qi… so it really is you. Looks like the rumors about the Immortal Sects losing the Thousand Mechanisms Pagoda weren’t false. Still, so what if it’s you? Even if your divine sense can briefly leave the Thousand Mechanisms Pagoda, your physical body is still trapped by the killing formation inside the tower, with less than a tenth of your strength remaining.”

“As for the Immortal Sects cultivator you brought along, they’re nothing more than an ant.” The White-Robed Leader murmured to himself.

“Master, she’s heading our way. Why not take this chance to capture her?”

The White-Robed Leader paused to think, then looked up. “No need. Let her come. That person brought her here for one reason—to return to the Heavenly Return Palace. Once she reaches the Heavenly Return Palace, he’ll be able to break the seal on the Thousand Mechanisms Pagoda and return to the mortal world. Perfect. The access barrier to the Heavenly Return Palace hasn’t been opened in a thousand years. We’ll hide for now. Once she opens the barrier, we can capture her then.”

“Yes, sir.”

“By the way, how are things going in the other locations?”

“Other than the Blood Pool being disturbed, everything else is proceeding as planned. The Thousand-Eyed Fish Demon has been reborn, and things at the Withered Bone Marsh are nearly complete as well.”

“What about the Heavenly Spiritual Root cultivators who entered the Red Scorched Circle? Have they been captured?”

“All of them, except for that wood spiritual root alchemy cultivator. There are two more who just arrived at the edge of the Red Scorched Circle, but they haven’t entered yet.”

“Lure them in. Don’t let a single one escape. The Immortal Sects have been arrogant for far too long. It’s time they tasted the sting of failure. No better time than the present—let it begin with this generation.”

A trace of pleasure crept into the White-Robed Leader’s voice. Even through the hood, it felt as though he was smiling.

His gaze shifted to another Image Projection screen.

At the location shown on that screen, a fierce confrontation was already underway.

Beside the Demon Nurturing River, a white-clad figure blocked the path to Mist Sea Cliff.

“Are you out of your mind? What’s happening with the Thousand-Eyed Fish Demon is clearly a trap set by the demon race. If you go, you’ll be walking right into it.”

Shang Liu stood with his sword drawn in front of Mei Chengyu, brows tightly furrowed.

Mei Chengyu said coldly, “Move.”

“Do you even understand what kind of Demonic Creature the Thousand-Eyed Fish Demon is? Even Sect Master Fu could barely…”

Mei Chengyu interrupted, “It’s nothing but a corpse.”

Shang Liu frowned. “You’re going just to save her? Shen Wuxie might not even be with her.”

“Whether she is or not, I have to go. The Shen Family’s secret techniques come at a heavy cost. If Shen Wuxie used one to send me a message, it means he’s been pushed to the brink and is in grave danger. As his elder, it’s my duty to help.” Mei Chengyu continued, “Besides, if the Thousand-Eyed Fish Demon is manipulated into leaving Mist Sea Cliff, it could threaten disciples in other regions.”

“Shang Liu, are you blocking me because you think you can beat me now? Half of your sword techniques were taught by me. I suggest you step aside.”

Mei Chengyu gripped his sword tightly. The crimson blade gleamed with a chilling light.

Shang Liu replied, “Do you really not understand why I’m stopping you? With your current state of mind, you’re in no condition to face the Black Abyss. You’ve clearly had too much to drink and are completely out of it.”

Mei Chengyu’s expression darkened. Just as she was about to raise her sword, a sudden surge of waves erupted from the Demon Nurturing River behind her. From the black waters came a silvery, bell-like laugh.

Sharp spider legs clawed at the riverbank as a small figure slowly climbed ashore.

Hearing that laugh, Mei Chengyu’s pupils contracted, and her spine went rigid.

A girl clinging to the spider’s back brushed aside her wet, black hair, revealing a face that looked innocent and harmless. She grinned widely.

“Mei Xiaowu, long time no see.”