Chapter 259 Spirit Detonation, Wood Spirit Tree

The gigantic tree radiated a verdant glow. Like a pillar propping up the heavens, it pierced straight into the clouds.

This was the Wood Spirit Tree she had condensed by exhausting all of her spiritual power. The Wood Spirit Tree was a full grade higher than the Wood Spirit Vine. At their current level of cultivation, only someone with a Heavenly Spiritual Root could summon it. Below the Heavenly Spiritual Root, one would need at least two hundred years of cultivation.

This was a pure-lineage technique of the seven-element Spiritual Roots. As long as one possessed a wood Spiritual Root, they could use it, regardless of what type of cultivator they were.

Wood Spiritual Roots resonated with plants. Spirit vines and spirit trees did not just come from the cultivator’s spiritual power, they also needed the cooperation of nearby vegetation resonating with them. There were few plants in this stretch of land, so she had expanded the range several times over. Only then had she been able to condense such a colossal Wood Spirit Tree.

At this moment, there was hardly any spiritual power left in her body. She had no intention of fighting these Demonic Creatures in a prolonged battle. That would only cause her to gradually fall into a disadvantage. While she still had enough spiritual power, she might as well unleash it all in one burst.

Once the enormous Wood Spirit Tree broke through the ground, the surrounding Demonic Creatures smelled the aura of that pure spiritual power, and the greed in their eyes deepened. The branches and leaves of the Wood Spirit Tree swayed, its edges blurring, as if it had merged into heaven and earth.

Lian Mu’s head was spinning. Without the protection of the Blood Coagulation Pearl, she would already have died from ruptured meridians and blood loss. The Blood Coagulation Pearl was forcefully dragging her life back from the brink.

However, she did not intend to directly use the Wood Spirit Tree to attack. Instead, she moved to the edge of the fissure in the earth.

Sparks burst from the ore vein and leapt onto the hem of her robe. This fire was different from ordinary flames. Within the dark red glow, Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy churned and roiled.

Lian Mu tore off that corner of her robe to prevent the fire from climbing up her body, then, just as the flames were about to burn her hand, she flicked the fireseed away.

The fireseed landed precisely at the roots of the Wood Spirit Tree. In the instant it touched, flames roared skyward and, surging with the momentum of a volcanic eruption, ignited the entire Wood Spirit Tree.

Dry tinder meeting raging fire could no longer be contained.

Lian Mu immediately steadied her footing. Her remaining spiritual power turned into a weight of a thousand catties, pinning her firmly where she stood.

The next moment, the flames exploded, and a deafening roar shook the sky.

The eruption of spiritual power as the burning Wood Spirit Tree detonated sent tremors through the entire space. The Demonic Creatures closest to it were instantly burned to ash by the Red Lotus Fire.

A fierce wave of heat spread out from the Wood Spirit Tree as its center. The Demonic Creatures that had been besieging Lian Mu had not expected her to dare to perform a spirit detonation so directly.

If it had been an ordinary wood spiritual flame, they could still have taken it head-on with ease. But the fireseed she had drawn was Red Lotus Fire.

The Demonic Creatures in their masses were all wounded by the flames. Their bodies were consumed by fire as they howled and were swallowed by the sea of flames.

At the same time, Lian Mu, who was standing at the heart of the explosion, was not having an easy time either. Although she had a Fire Spirit Root, she still took a tremendous blow. The last of her spiritual power was used to hold herself in place, keeping her from being flung away by the violent spiritual shockwaves.

This spirit detonation had borrowed external power and did not completely belong to her. The flames were also harmful to her.

Lian Mu had already braced herself for her entire body to be burned to a crisp. Yet when the blazing heat engulfed her, a pure water glow rose up to block the heatwave. The fire burned against her skin, but did not leave a single mark. At the same time, the Blood Coagulation Pearl in her mouth grew even colder, as if it was about to freeze her blood solid.

One cold and one hot, they cancelled each other out perfectly.

The Jiao Pearl and the Blood Coagulation Pearl exerted their power together, forcibly stabilizing her body at a precarious equilibrium.

Though her body was unharmed, the sensation of being burned was all too real. The Red Lotus Fire made her head grow more and more dizzy.

Amid the sea of red flames, she saw a wisp of flame drill into her wrist. Then the surrounding flames surged toward her from all directions, pouring into her body and gathering in her dantian.

She did not know how much time passed before her body gradually adapted to that heat. Once her spiritual power was completely exhausted, she could no longer control herself and pitched forward.

Her vision blurred, but Lian Mu let out a breath of relief.

She might be in quite a sorry state, but at least she had survived. However… if no one came looking for her, she would not be able to get out of here on her own for a while.

Fortunately, that earlier spirit detonation had already cowed the nearby Demonic Creatures. Even if new Demonic Creatures arrived, they would not dare approach her for the time being.

As she was now, she no longer had the strength to stand. All she could do was lie there and wait for her spiritual power to recover.

Just before her consciousness faded, Lian Mu thought she was hallucinating. A strand of black mist drifted past her vision, with a faintly familiar aura.

What… was that?

There was actually something that could emerge from the Red Lotus Fire?

Lian Mu did not manage to see clearly what it was. Her vision went black, and she fainted on the spot.

…

…

When the Returning Immortal Sect’s chief team emerged from the main command tent, the mood within the group was rather heavy.

They had just gone to meet that legendary sect master. Yet they had not actually seen him in person. The sect master remained behind a brocade curtain the entire time. He asked them a few questions, then dismissed them.

The members of the Returning Immortal Sect chief team did not quite understand what their sect master meant by this. Even so, they did not dwell on it. The fact that the sect master had come at all was already a good thing. Their Returning Immortal Sect finally had someone powerful backing them up.

As they came out, they saw a row of people standing by the teleportation point. Their faces were unfamiliar, but from their bearing alone, each one was clearly extraordinary.

Hua Qiuxin stood on a high platform and looked down over them. “Everyone, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to come aid us. On behalf of the disciples currently in danger, I offer you my thanks. As you can see, demonic remnants have uncovered information related to the Immortal Sects and have taken this opportunity to sow chaos. As cultivators with the ability to act, we cannot allow them to run rampant.”

Yin Chongyang’s voice was edged with barbs. “Sect Master Hua, spare us the nonsense. The missing disciples inside the exploration domain are still waiting for rescue.”

Hua Qiuxin pressed her lips together and ignored him. “The teleportation barrier to the exploration domain is a dead-type boundary. It cannot be opened before its time. But on my way back, I requested Master Yuan’s assistance and borrowed a Tongzhuan Spirit Artifact that can temporarily open an extra entrance. Please step forward and use a drop of blood to activate it.”

Everyone knew there was only one person Hua Qiuxin would address as “Master”: the world’s number one artifact refiner who had long since withdrawn from public view, Yuan Gui, who was also Hua Qiuxin’s master.

She had even gone so far as to invite Yuan Gui to intervene. It showed just how seriously she was taking this matter.

This operation had originally been the responsibility of the Azure Profound Sect. The demon race choosing this moment to stir up trouble was not only a provocation toward the Immortal Sects, it was also an implicit refusal to acknowledge her authority as a sect master. This was not only a rescue mission for the disciples, it was also a show of force against the demon race.

On her way back, Hua Qiuxin had already noticed that the Black Moon was dissipating. Once the Eroding Moon Mist receded to the half-moon stage, the Demonic Creatures would lose the Black Moon’s protection, and their strength would be greatly diminished.

She still did not know the reason for this, but sending people in now was the best possible timing.

“Those people are…?” Ji Mingyue gazed at them from afar, her face puzzled.

Wen Yun recognized them at a glance and guessed, “They’re probably the reinforcements Sect Master Hua invited. They’re from the major aristocratic clans.”

“The one standing furthest to the right is from the Shen Family. Second from the right belongs to the Baili Family. The one in blue is from the Jiang Family… As for the one on the far left, that should be the Tang Family’s young mistress, Tang Wuxun’s eldest sister. As for that masked one, it probably isn’t human.”

Ji Mingyue: “?”

Wen Yun said, “The current head of the Yuan Family likes to play with ingenious puppets. That’s most likely a puppet person the Yuan Family sent.”

The reinforcements from the aristocratic families went up onto the platform to drip blood and activate the artifact. Hua Qiuxin prepared to open the passage.

During this time, the disciples of the Four Great Sects all remained nearby. They would be the ones to watch these people head in.

Wen Yun introduced them all to Ji Mingyue, leaving out only the man in black. That man stepped down from the platform, saw Wen Yun, and called out to him from a distance, “Young Master.”

Wen Yun completely ignored him. Ji Mingyue could tell this was someone from the Wen Family, but for some reason Wen Yun clearly did not like him. He was probably from Ji Xiuyuan’s side.

Among those present, many were the families of various sects’ Chief Disciples. Only the Tang Family’s representative was the youngest, looking hardly any different from the new disciples.

When Tang Wuxun saw her, he jumped in fright. “Sis, why are you the one who came?”

Tang Qingning finished dripping her blood, then leapt down from the platform in one smooth motion, as agile as a jungle cat. She walked over and smacked the back of Tang Wuxun’s head. “Obviously I was afraid you would die in this cursed place. The family specially sent me.”

Tang Wuxun saw stars. “…Seriously?”

“I lied, haha.” Tang Qingning pinched the back of his neck and smiled. “For a wastrel like you, the family does not care if you live or die. The Immortal Sects didn’t pay enough to invite our father, so I came instead.”

Tang Wuxun: “…I knew it.”

Tang Qingning said, “I heard there are quite a few young masters from noble families in your batch, and even a little young master from a very rich mining clan. You had better seize the opportunity, make more friends, expand the family’s network. When you go back, Father might look at you a little more favorably.”

Tang Wuxun covered his forehead and fell into helpless silence. “…”

The two of them were very close to Returning Immortal Sect’s group, so Ji Mingyue heard their conversation and said, “This Tang Family young master is a bit unusual.”

Baili Que said, “That is normal. Their family is like this. You could call it a family tradition. The Tang Family’s ancestor, Tang Xuhui, was a merchant to begin with. It is said she chose to become an artifact refiner just to make money, and accidentally became a master. Only then did the Tang Family gain its reputation as an artifact refiner clan.”

“But they have never forgotten their original intention. They only associate with people who can help them make money. The Tang Family chooses its young master not by Spiritual Root, but by business acumen.”

For the last sentence, Baili Que lowered his voice. “I heard that as long as you pay enough, the Tang Family will help you handle anything. They even have a bounty wall, set up specifically to provide money-making opportunities for the clan’s disciples.”

Of course, that included a number of shady deals.

Ji Mingyue asked, “Is the Tang Family’s young master very capable? Should we ask her to help us keep an eye on Lian Mu?”

Baili Que said, “Single Spiritual Root, her strength is quite formidable. But she might be a bit expensive.”

Wen Yun said, “We can pay a deposit first, and put the rest on Xu Xianxing’s tab. He is the richest anyway.”

The few of them exchanged looks and were still thinking it over when Hua Qiuxin had already opened the additional passage. The Image Projection of the teleportation gate showed everyone the changes at the entrance, to prevent Demonic Creatures from ambushing them there.

The moment the Image Projection resonated with the teleportation barrier and the image appeared, a thunderous explosion rang out. Right after that, the sky blazed with sudden light that illuminated the entire exploration field for an instant, as bright as day.

A wave of scorching heat surged out from the newly opened barrier entrance, throwing the disciples into panic.

Everyone noticed the disturbance at the teleportation gate and turned to look. Even the big shots from the noble families who had been invited here glanced over.

Standing near the teleportation gate, Hua Qiuxin’s gaze sharpened. This is…

She gauged the reach of that spiritual power’s oppressive force. It was coming from within the Red Scorched Circle.

A look of astonishment appeared on Hua Qiuxin’s face. Such a powerful surge of spiritual power, it actually traveled all the way from the Red Scorched Circle to here… Who was it?