Chapter 631: Acquiring the Spiritual Root

"Bold!" The boy, seeing that the intruder—a mere spirit-possessed vessel—dared kill right before his eyes, furrowed his brows sharply; a streak of shocking crimson light before him shuddered and transformed into countless glistening red threads, lashing toward the True Lord of Carnage.

The old man surnamed Jiang also turned pale, hastily spitting out a yellow flying sword to shield his entire body, then tapped his feet and retreated hastily backward.

He dared not directly withstand the furious strike of a sect master.

The True Lord of Carnage's face twisted into a sly smile; his body suddenly shifted direction, vanishing in a flash to reappear beside the white-robed woman, his purple claw reaching out without hesitation to grasp her arm.

The white-robed woman, still dazed from the revelation that the Confucian scholar had been a traitor, was caught off guard by this sudden ambush; her face paled instantly. Without time to think, she hurled the long-faced old man to the ground, clasped her hands into a seal, and shot out a streak of blue light from her sleeve, preparing to fight desperately against the attack.

But amid a burst of wild laughter, the True Lord of Carnage feinted again, his giant hand sweeping down to snatch the long-faced old man from the ground, pulling him effortlessly into his grasp. Then, clenching his fist, purple light flickering wildly, he swung backward in a single blow—directly meeting the incoming crimson sword threads.

A muffled groan echoed; the old devil staggered two steps back, yet used the impact to land lightly back where he had stood, still clutching the long-faced old man.

As for the long-faced old man, no one knew what tricks had been played on him—he suddenly leapt to his feet and bowed deeply to the True Lord of Carnage.

"Thank you, True Lord, for saving me!"

"Hmph! If I weren't short-handed here and feared delaying the grand plan, I'd never bother saving a mere junior disciple of the orthodox path. Whether you live or die depends entirely on your own ability." The True Lord of Carnage sneered, then moved instantly, charging once more toward the blue-robed boy.

This time, he truly intended to pin the boy down, giving Du Dong and the others a chance to escape.

"Go! I've tampered with the outer barriers—their power is less than one-tenth of normal; we can break through easily." The long-faced old man, clearly a ruthless and decisive man, shouted to Du Dong and the other two, then charged ahead toward the group near the stone door.

Hearing this, Du Dong and the Confucian scholar rejoiced; one released two white flying swords, the other enveloped himself in black aura, and the three surged forward as one.

The group led by the man surnamed Fu refused to let them escape so easily, unleashing all their magic treasures to meet them head-on.

Instantly, the cultivators within the cave split into two groups and clashed together.

Roars and explosions erupted amid a blaze of radiant light.

Seeing this, Han Li, standing nearby, judged the moment ripe and acted without further hesitation.

He shook his Wolf-Head Jade Ruyi, a flash of yellow light enveloped him, and he swiftly activated Earth Submersion, silently slipping toward the roots of the Spirit Eye Tree.

With all the cultivators in the cave fully occupied in battle, none suspected another was playing the role of a vulture waiting to steal the spoils.

Before anyone noticed, Han Li reached the base of the Spirit Eye Tree—only to find a faint golden barrier blocking his path.

His eyes flashed with sharp light; he raised both hands, ten fingers blazing with intense blue light, pressing silently against the barrier's surface.

Instantly, golden and blue light interwove, causing the entire barrier to tremble slightly.

Under normal circumstances, such an anomaly in the metallic barrier would have been instantly detected by the cultivators guarding the tree. But now, in the midst of fierce combat, no one noticed the subtle disturbance.

Moments later, seeing his hands had forcibly penetrated the golden light, Han Li's face lit up with triumph; his blue light surged violently, and he suddenly tore his hands apart.

The barrier split open with a long, thin crack.

"Whoosh!"

Han Li's body stretched unnaturally, flickered once, and slipped through the barrier—the golden light sealed itself silently behind him.

Gazing at the roots of the Spirit Tree, Han Li's face revealed a rare hint of delight.

Though the main trunk of the Spirit Eye Tree looked nothing like a tree, its spiritual roots resembled those of an ordinary tree—except their color was an unusually vibrant green.

A tremendous explosion echoed from aboveground, followed by a cascade of falling rocks; even the ground around Han Li shuddered violently—someone had unleashed a devastating technique.

At that moment, the man surnamed Fu's furious voice rang out from above.

"Chase after them! Don't let them escape!"

The sound of aerial flight pierced the air, followed by the True Lord of Carnage's booming laughter.

"Blue friend, how is the power of my Purple Luo Divine Art? Even though I'm using a borrowed vessel, as long as I'm willing to sacrifice this body's essence, holding you off for a moment or two is effortless."

"You old devil of Carnage! You don't even care about your own disciples! If you do this, even if your beloved disciple survives, his cultivation will be ruined beyond repair." The boy's voice remained cold and emotionless, yet Han Li detected a trace of furious rage beneath it.

"My disciple? Does that traitor still consider himself a disciple of the Carnage Sect? From his words, he sounds more like a disciple of the Mount Yunmeng Sect. Very well—I'm done with unnecessary restraint. Huh! Blue old ghost, where are you going?" The True Lord of Carnage's calm demeanor shattered; his voice suddenly rose in shock.

"Hmph! I have no interest in wasting time with a mere phantom. Those demon brats won't leave Mount Yunmeng Mountain with the pure essence." The boy's voice drifted faintly from afar—he had already fled beyond the cave entrance.

"You think you can leave so easily!" The True Lord of Carnage growled, and seemed to chase after him out of the cave.

In an instant, the place was empty—except for Han Li.

Han Li finally relaxed completely.

He no longer hesitated; he flicked his finger, and a blue light several inches long shot out, flickering and undulating.

With a flash of blue, a small section of the spiritual root was cleanly severed; several drops of milky-white spiritual fluid oozed from the cut.

A fragrant aroma spread through the air!

Han Li ignored it, his body glowing bright yellow; he seized the root and emerged from underground, appearing within the outer barrier of the cave.

He glanced around—on one wall, a hole several zhang wide had been blasted open, surrounded by shards of stone shimmering with spiritual light.

Clearly, this was the damage caused by the True Lord of Carnage's strike. Even the stone walls, hardened by barriers and as tough as iron, had been shattered by a single blow—his power was truly formidable. That was precisely why Du Dong and the others had managed to escape!

Han Li wasted no time; he slapped his waist pouch, and a jade box, exquisitely carved, appeared in his hand.

He carefully placed the severed root inside the jade box, then solemnly stored it away.

Having completed this, Han Li's face showed satisfaction. He prepared to break through the barrier and see if he could catch up with the fleeing, long-haired cultivators.

After all, he now had the spiritual root—but to refine the Mingqing Spirit Water and the Dingling Pill, he still needed to obtain their formulas.

Although the True Lord of Carnage had temporarily possessed the long-haired elder, this possession could not last—he would inevitably be defeated by the boy and wouldn't escape far.

Just as Han Li's fingers glowed blue again, pressing against the barrier, his expression subtly changed—he frowned in surprise.

He turned sharply, stepping behind the Spirit Tree.

A yellow cushion, a square stone tablet about a chi long, and on it, a jade slip glowing faintly green.

Han Li paused, carefully scanning the items with his spiritual sense—no hidden barriers lurked on them.

He raised his hand; a streak of blue mist shot from his palm, wrapping the green jade slip and drawing it back into his fingers.

Han Li stared at the jade slip, motionless, his spiritual sense probing its contents.

Moments later, he withdrew his spiritual sense, his face filled with astonishment—the jade slip contained the cultivation method and medicinal insights of the long-haired cultivator, including the precise formulas for the Dingling Pill and Mingqing Spirit Water.

Han Li held the jade slip, puzzled.

Had the man surnamed Wei sensed his impending death and left this jade slip for someone? But why was it so openly placed behind the Spirit Tree? It clearly seemed meant for a Mount Yunmeng Sect disciple—what special meaning did that imply?

Han Li glanced at the jade slip, thought for a moment, then pulled another blank jade slip from his pouch and swiftly copied its contents.

With his current cultivation level, the copying was complete in moments.

Han Li returned the original green jade slip to its place, tucked the copy into his pouch, and strode toward the golden barrier.

Who knew when the three sects' cultivators might return? Best to leave quickly. His mission here was already accomplished!

With no need to worry about witnesses, Han Li unleashed all his spiritual power; blue light flashed, and the barrier split open with a single slash of his Blue Yuan Sword Light.

Han Li instantly vanished beyond the barrier, shooting away as a streak of blue light.

WM