Swish, swish, swish
Li Ye raised his hand, and strands of verdant spiritual light emerged at his fingertips. With a quick hand seal, the light split into several streams, following mysterious trajectories as they landed throughout the cave.
In the next instant, a flickering, unstable glow began to shimmer, revealing the presence of a previously hidden formation.
"A quasi-Tier-3 protective array… but it only gathers spiritual energy by borrowing the terrain here. It won't hold up for long barely stronger than a Tier-2."
"Now that a few of its nodes have been damaged, its presence has become obvious. It poses no real threat."
Li Ye's gaze remained calm as he offered a quiet analysis.
With his refined and resilient Verdant Spirit Light guided by divine sense, he swiftly navigated through the array, targeting its weak points and striking at the core nodes.
Before long, cracks appeared throughout the formation. It quickly collapsed in on itself, and with a rush of dispersing spiritual energy, it became completely ineffective.
Only then was the hidden object behind the formation revealed.
Deep within the cave stood a small spirit tree, about the size of an ornamental shrub. Its trunk was a deep yellow, and its diamond-shaped leaves looked like pieces of white jade, delicate and endearing.
Tiny points of spiritual light gently flickered around it, pulsing as if with breath, slowly absorbing and converting the ambient spiritual energy into itself.
Li Ye's eyes widened slightly, a mix of surprise and amusement flickering across his face.
"So that explains it… I was wondering why Jiudingzi, of all people, would treat a spirit plant so carefully. Turns out it's a Yuanhua Fruit Tree."
The Yuanhua Fruit Tree, a Tier-3 spirit plant, was known for its gentle medicinal properties and its ability to nourish and strengthen one's physical foundation. Its fruit was the main ingredient in Tier-2 Longevity Pills!
Li Ye had acquired the recipe for such pills long ago from another cultivator's treasured collection in a trade.
But because the main ingredient the Yuanhua fruit was so rare, he had never been able to refine it.
For someone like Jiudingzi, a false Golden Core cultivator whose natural lifespan was significantly shorter than that of true Golden Core experts, this kind of spirit plant was of incredible value.
Li Ye stepped lightly toward the Yuanhua Tree, violet and blue light flickering in his eyes as he carefully examined it.
"Judging by its condition, it's barely ten years old practically still a sapling. Even with Tier-3 spirit planting skills, trying to uproot and transplant it now would likely kill it. A classic case of trying to steal the chicken and ending up losing the rice."
"No wonder he put so many layers of protection around it."
In truth, it would take at least a hundred years for the Yuanhua Tree to mature and bear fruit suitable for alchemical use and even then, the medicinal potency might still fall short.
Even if Jiudingzi hadn't died by Li Ye's hand, it was uncertain whether he would have lived long enough to harvest and use the fruit.
Still, he had pinned great hopes on it when he set all this up.
But now, it was Li Ye who would benefit.
A smile appeared on Li Ye's face. "You didn't dare try digging it up but for me, that's not a problem. I didn't train in the Wood God Arts for nothing."
Just as he was about to dig up the tree with his Verdant Spirit Light, his expression suddenly sharpened, a hint of danger flashing through his eyes.
Without hesitation, he straightened up, summoned his life-bound puppet to guard the area, and with a flash of spiritual light, he shot out of the cave.
.........
"Who sent you? How dare you spy on the spirit plant our Jiuding Valley set up in secret!"
"If you don't stop immediately, don't blame me for taking your life!"
The voice came not from the figure darting through the air, cloaked in a breeze and forming a streak of green light, but from the Foundation Establishment cultivator Zhuang He, who was chasing behind.
Trailing the silent Qi Refining cultivator, Zhuang He grew more and more convinced of his assumptions.
After Jiuding Valley's devastating defeat, the surviving cultivators scattered like stray dogs, fleeing from Jing Nation. Many didn't even stop in Wu Nation but retreated to the sect grounds and shut their gates, activating the protective formation in fear that the black flood dragon from Thousand Island Water City would come knocking at any moment.
Even those stationed here to guard the Yuanhua Fruit Tree, tasked with ensuring it wasn't discovered or stolen, abandoned their post in the night, terrified of being found alone and slaughtered.
But now, some time has passed. After reclaiming their territory and quelling internal rebellions, Thousand Island Water City had surprisingly halted their advance, showing no signs of pressing the offensive.
That emboldened many cultivators.
Although the sect remained sealed off, many Jiuding Valley disciples, like Zhuang He, hadn't made it back.
As one of the sect's stewards who knew the secret of the Yuanhua Fruit Tree, Zhuang He saw an opportunity: dig up the primary ingredient of the Tier-2 Longevity Pill and use it as leverage to defect to another sect.
Without Jiudingzi and having completely offended Thousand Island Water City, Jiuding Valley was a sinking ship it was only a matter of time. Rather than go down with it, better to seek a new future while Thousand Island was still regrouping.
But to his surprise, he arrived only to find a Qi Refining cultivator loitering near the site and there were faint surges of spiritual energy from within the cave, hinting that a Foundation Establishment cultivator might have already gotten there first!
Shock and fury welled up in Zhuang He.
As someone only in the early stages of Foundation Establishment, with average power and spells, he knew from past encounters with the cave's formation that he could never have broken through it himself.
If it turned out to be a fellow disciple, perhaps something could be negotiated. But if it was a stranger… the situation could become dangerous fast.
Zhuang He's plan was simple: capture this Qi Refining cultivator, interrogate him for information, and set an ambush accordingly.
But the moment the Qi Refining cultivator spotted him, he slapped on a Windwalk Talisman and bolted toward the cave without hesitation.
Zhuang He wasn't fast enough to catch him immediately and now the man was even closer to the cave!
Such behavior practically confirmed it: this guy was highly suspicious, and the Foundation cultivator in the cave wasn't from Jiuding Valley.
This meant this loose end had to be dealt with, fast, before he alerted the intruder!
A flash of killing intent gleamed in Zhuang He's eyes. He threw out a low-grade spirit tool a spinning ring hurtling toward the Qi Refining cultivator's back.
Clang!
A flash of dazzling green light burst forth. Just as the ring was about to strike, it abruptly reversed direction and flew back.
But before he could recall it, under Zhuang He's shocked gaze, that condensed green light split into two, then four, transforming from rigid to fluid, effortlessly wrapping around and binding the spirit ring. The ring's glow turned completely green.
Even as he poured all his spiritual power into it, he couldn't shake off the green light or retrieve his weapon!
He could only watch in horror as the ring was subdued by some secret art and gracefully flew into the hand of a tall, jade-like youth, handsome and poised, whose demeanor radiated effortless strength.
His casual actions hinted at unfathomable mastery…
And the spiritual pressure he exuded unintentionally was that of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator!
I'm dead! I'm dead! I'm dead!
Zhuang He knew he had kicked an iron wall. Though he wanted to flee, he also knew full well that with his abilities, escape was impossible.
He didn't dare hesitate even for a second. Abruptly halting mid-flight, he maintained a cautious distance and shouted at the top of his lungs,
"Fellow Daoist, wait! This is all just a misunderstanding an honest mistake!"
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