Chapter 627: The Spirit Eye Tree

"Alright, the matter is settled. You three, go do what you need to do. Don't bother me, this old corpse. I still need to thoroughly analyze the gains and losses of this game." The boy waved his hand at the other cultivators, shaking his head as he spoke. Then he truly bent low, studying the chessboard before him.

Upon hearing this, the gray-robed elder and others dared not delay, bowing and responding, "Yes."

Then, led by the yellow-robed cultivator, they exited the hall through another side door.

"I never expected Bai friend to be… Brother Yue! Did you know about this beforehand?" The middle-aged cultivator from Baiqiao Academy couldn't help sighing as soon as they stepped out of the stone hall.

"I didn't know. Elder Lan only said he needed to handle some business here—how could I dare ask further?" The yellow-robed cultivator's expression was also less than pleasant.

Hearing this, the middle-aged cultivator fell silent and asked no more.

The young disciples behind them, having just witnessed what transpired, dared not speak freely at all.

Amid a somewhat somber atmosphere, Han Li and the others passed through a long corridor, turned a corner, and were led to a pale yellow stone door.

Before this door sat a disheveled figure, motionless in meditation.

Though his wild hair obscured his face, his hair was gray-white, clearly indicating he was no young man.

Upon seeing this figure, the yellow-robed cultivator's face showed a hint of respect.

"Brother Wei, I've brought the disciples for the Sword Trial. Shall we let them enter now?"

"Since you've arrived here, then enter. The pure liquid is flowing even later than expected—these disciples will have to wait a while longer." The disheveled man spoke calmly, his voice unexpectedly deep and steady.

Han Li's gaze swept over the man swiftly, a flash of cold light in his eyes, gone in an instant.

This disheveled cultivator was a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, already at the peak of the False Nascent Soul realm.

This made Han Li pay him extra attention!

Upon hearing the disheveled man's voice, the gray-robed elder's face lit up with excitement. He stepped forward several paces, his voice trembling slightly.

"Brother Wei… are you well?"

This man was a cultivator of Luoyun Sect!

"Young Master Yu. After so many years, you've grown a bit aged." The disheveled cultivator sighed softly, speaking slowly.

"Brother, why…?"

"Enough. For us brothers to meet again here is fate still lingering. Let's speak no more of what happened back then. When I entered this place, I swore a solemn vow: until I form a Nascent Soul, I will never leave the mountain. Besides, I've already learned from the two elder uncles that everything in the sect is managed perfectly by Brother Feng. I have no reason to worry." The elder brother spoke calmly.

Hearing this, the gray-robed elder's expression darkened. The words he had nearly blurted out vanished back into his throat.

"Wait a moment, brothers. I'll open the sealing array so you may lead your disciples into the Sacred Ground." The elder brother rose, flicked a spell from his sleeve, and struck the yellow stone door. Instantly, the door split silently into two halves.

Before Han Li could clearly see what lay inside, a pure stream of spiritual energy rushed toward him from within.

Indeed, this was where the Spirit Eye Tree resided.

Yet, upon slight comparison, the purity of this spiritual energy was no less than that of his own Spirit Eye Jade—perhaps even slightly superior. Truly worthy of the title of supreme Spirit Eye artifact.

Under the lead of the disheveled elder, Han Li and the others entered the doorway. Before them suddenly appeared a vast stalactite cavern.

The cavern stretched hundreds of zhang in length and width, and stood twenty to thirty zhang high—upon first glance, it felt as if one had stepped into an underground world.

More astonishingly, stalactite pillars of varying sizes grew from the ground, forming a natural stone forest that densely surrounded most of the cavern, resembling a miniature labyrinth.

As Han Li carefully observed, he noticed faint white spiritual light flickering between the pillars—clearly, some sealing array had been cast within.

While Han Li was silently pondering, the disheveled elder led them to the edge of the stone forest, flipped his palm, and produced a white ancient mirror, palm-sized.

Without a word, the elder chanted incantations, raised his hand, and a beam of white mist shot from the mirror, striking the stone forest ahead.

A soft "puff" echoed—the beam vanished into the forest like a mud ox sinking into the sea.

The elder then retrieved the small mirror, stood still with hands clasped behind his back, and said nothing.

As the young disciples wondered what was happening, the ground began to tremble slightly. Then, a sight left the low-level cultivators utterly stunned.

All the stone pillars simultaneously emitted milky-white luminescence, followed by a vast surge of golden light rising from within the forest. Some pillars, before their very eyes, began to shift and teleport in dizzying patterns. By the time the young disciples recovered from their shock, a straight, narrow path had opened through the stone forest.

Seeing this, Han Li's expression subtly shifted, but his face quickly returned to calm.

The group walked easily along the path to the center of the stone forest, where they finally saw the legendary Spirit Eye Tree.

"Is this really the Spirit Eye Tree?" Han Li stared at the thing before him, barely able to speak.

The straight, arm-thick, pale green object looked more like a stone pillar than a tree—most people would believe it was nothing more than rock.

Yet, the astonishing spiritual energy filling the entire cavern undeniably emanated from this knotted "pillar." Moreover, a pale golden light shield enveloped it completely, from top to root. Given such careful protection, the Spirit Eye Tree must indeed be genuine.

Though Han Li harbored silent doubts, the gray-robed elders and other cultivators gazed at the tree with burning eyes. If a cultivator could train directly beneath this tree, barring a bottleneck, their cultivation time could be halved.

Han Li paid little attention to the Spirit Eye Tree. His gaze swept past it and landed on a jade vial beneath the tree.

The vial stood half a foot tall, narrow at the top, wider at the base, and faintly emitted a familiar medicinal fragrance.

Could this be the nearly completed "Mingqing Spirit Water"? Han Li mused.

Everyone else halted several zhang away from the Spirit Eye Tree.

Only the disheveled elder advanced without hesitation. The pale golden light shield had no effect on him—he passed through it as if it were nothing.

The elder stepped up to the Spirit Eye Tree, circled it twice, then raised one hand and placed his palm against its midsection. He gently activated his spiritual power, and green light flickered at the tips of his five fingers.

Outside the shield, others, though unaware of what he was doing, involuntarily held their breath, afraid of disturbing the disheveled cultivator.

After a long while, the disheveled elder slowly withdrew his fingers. The green light vanished instantly.

"The pure liquid within the Spirit Tree has not yet reached its optimal extraction time. Wait another three or four hours. Until then, sit and rest nearby. I'll complete the final step of the Mingqing Spirit Water—only then will I need to drip in the pure liquid." The elder turned, speaking calmly and firmly.

"We follow Brother Wei's words!" The middle-aged and yellow-robed cultivators nodded in agreement. The elder surnamed Yu had no objections.

Thus, under the instructions of the Foundation Establishment cultivators, Han Li and the young disciples sat cross-legged around the center of the stone forest—some closed their eyes to rest, others practiced breath cultivation.

The disheveled elder bent down, picked up the jade vial beneath the tree, and casually flicked his sleeve. Instantly, the pale golden shield blazed with blinding light, obscuring all view of what lay within.

Others showed no reaction, but Han Li frowned slightly and silently called upon the spirit of Silver Moon.

"Brother Han, you called me? What is it?" Silver Moon's voice drifted softly.

"I recall you excel at Earth Submersion. Can you secretly tunnel underground into that shield? Don't do anything else—just take me a small section of the Spirit Tree's root." Han Li spoke calmly.

"Wait a moment, Brother Han. I'll use my spirit form and return shortly."

As soon as he spoke, Silver Moon transformed into a miniature wolf, no larger than a fist, and silently burrowed beneath Han Li's feet.

Han Li's expression remained unchanged, his eyes half-closed, appearing to be in deep meditation.

Suddenly, Han Li's brow twitched. His half-closed eyes subtly shifted, their gaze falling imperceptibly upon the giant Du Dong.

The man sat in a corner of the group, head bowed, hands forming seals, as if deeply absorbed in breath cultivation.

Seeing this, Han Li's lips curled slightly, revealing a faint, almost invisible sneer.

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