Chapter 320: Long Xuan, the Old Sixth

320. Chapter 320: Long Xuan, the Old Sixth

Long Xuan gazed solemnly at the little girl; judging by her appearance, she was not yet ten years old, yet she had already reached Marrow Cleansing Peak—what on earth had she been eating to grow like this?

"Stop staring; that little girl is a monster. Her cultivation speed is unmatched anywhere in Central Earth; she is heaven's favorite child."

"According to the original plan, I will search the east, and you search the west; whoever discovers the location of the Earth Spirit Tree first must immediately notify the other using a Communication Talisman."

"Do not even think about finding the Earth Spirit Tree first and swallowing it whole; the tree's location is protected by an Array Formation, and only a specific key can open the Barrier, and only I can find that key."

"Furthermore, since the Earth Spirit Tree grows underground, it must be hidden within some Secret Chamber; inspect every room carefully."

After notifying Long Xuan via Soul Transmission, Shui Juanyun walked toward the west.

Once Shui Juanyun's figure disappeared into the crowd, Long Xuan withdrew his gaze.

He did not act immediately.

If he wanted to find something, why would he need to search room by room?

Long Xuan activated his Golden Finger to scan the ground and soon discovered an "Infinite Progress" marker at a certain spot, confirming beyond doubt that this was the location of the Earth Spirit Tree.

He did not head there immediately; finding the Earth Spirit Tree's location so quickly was far too exaggerated, and besides, he needed to make some preparations first.

However, just as Long Xuan was about to withdraw his gaze, his pupils suddenly contracted.

He had actually seen a progress value with four decimal places above the head of an old man.

This meant the man's Lifespan exceeded a thousand years, and once a Gu Cultivator's Lifespan surpasses a thousand years, they are usually a Gu King.

Long Xuan immediately sucked in a cold breath.

Good heavens, the intelligence was actually wrong.

It was said that the Teng Family no longer had any Gu Kings, yet unexpectedly, the Teng Family was still hiding a Great Gu King.

Long Xuan's eyes darted around, but in the end, he still chose not to abandon this operation.

At worst, if this Gu King charged over, he could immediately tear up a Hundred Li Talisman to escape; he had a way out.

He had already checked earlier; there were no space-restricting Array Formations here, so the Hundred Li Talisman would absolutely not fail in this place.

Next, Long Xuan began preparing for his upcoming escape plan.

It would be best to leave silently, of course, but in case something unexpected happened and he found himself being hunted down by Teng Clan Gu Cultivators, he needed to have a backup plan to shake off his pursuers.

Although he possessed a Hundred Li Talisman that could instantly whisk him away, the time cost to craft such a talisman was simply too high; he should avoid using it if possible.

The first thing Long Xuan thought of was acquiring the ability to transform into a Teng Clan Gu Cultivator at any time.

Once the Teng Family fell into chaos, transforming into a Teng Clan Gu Cultivator would undoubtedly make escape easier.

He could change his appearance and body shape at will; what he lacked was the exclusive clothing of the Teng Clan Gu Cultivators.

The clothing of the Teng Clan Gu Cultivators was uniform and could not be purchased externally.

But everyone wearing the same clothes was, in a way, even easier for someone to use as cover to fish in troubled waters.

Long Xuan quickly devised a plan; pretending to be careless, he bumped into a Teng Clan Spirit Sea Stage Gu Cultivator.

"Rip!"

He accidentally tore off a corner of this Teng Clan Spirit Sea Stage Gu Cultivator's garment.

"You!"

This Teng Clan Spirit Sea Stage Gu Cultivator was about to fly into a rage, but upon seeing that the person was one of those two from the Shui Clan, he immediately swallowed his words and forced out a kind smile.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" Long Xuan waved his hand. "I drank too much just now; truly my apologies. Is your clothes damaged? Shall I compensate you with a new one?"

"Forget it; it's just a piece of clothing, not worth much. Where is your companion?" the Teng Clan Spirit Sea Stage Gu Cultivator asked again.

"He has diarrhea!"

"I'm going to the toilet to look for him; I won't chat with you anymore!"

Making up some excuse on the spot, Long Xuan immediately withdrew.

That Teng Clan Spirit Sea Stage Gu Cultivator did not say much more and turned to leave.

He had merely been making casual conversation on a whim; how could he possibly be curious about where some stranger was?

After walking to a corner, Long Xuan threw the torn garment corner into his Insect Breeding Bag and ordered that Repair Gu to quickly fix it.

Clothing was an utterly ordinary item; surely the Repair Gu would not take long to mend a piece of clothes.

Matters proceeded exactly as he had expected; repairing such a common item as clothing took the Repair Gu very little time.

Before long, the Repair Gu had restored for him a garment specifically worn by Teng Clan Spirit Sea Stage Gu Cultivators, identical to the one worn by that person just moments ago; even the oil stains stuck to the clothes were perfectly restored—it was nothing short of a miracle.

After eating and drinking recklessly at the banquet for a while longer, Long Xuan finally wiped his mouth and sneaked off in the direction where the "Infinite Progress" marker had appeared.

With such a conspicuous coordinate in his line of sight, if he still could not find the location of the Secret Chamber, he would truly be a fool.

Searching the rooms around the coordinate, it did not take long before he discovered a Secret Passage in one of them.

This Secret Passage was hidden behind a painting on the wall; it was indeed well-concealed, but ultimately it could not deceive his fiery golden eyes.

Barring any accidents, walking down this Secret Passage would soon lead to that Earth Spirit Tree hidden underground.

A slight smile curled Long Xuan's lips; he did not immediately enter this secret tunnel, for without needing to think, he knew that a crucial area of the Tribe would surely be guarded.

The Secret Chamber definitely hid more than just one Teng Clan Gu Cultivator.

Long Xuan did not act rashly; he immediately sent a Communication Talisman to Shui Juanyun.

While Long Xuan was outside eating and drinking recklessly, Shui Juanyun was suffering.

He had already searched countless rooms, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead from exhaustion, yet he still had not found the location of the Earth Spirit Tree.

At this moment, just as he was growing secretly anxious, he suddenly noticed a disturbance in his Storage Bag; his expression instantly brightened, and he hurriedly transformed into a patch of water to sneak toward Long Xuan's location.

Following the hints in the Communication Talisman, he soon located the room where Long Xuan was currently hiding.

After shifting from his liquid form back into human form, he immediately asked via Soul Transmission with ecstatic joy: "Have you found the Secret Chamber hiding the Earth Spirit Tree?"

Long Xuan nodded and likewise replied via Soul Transmission: "The Secret Passage is right behind that painting on the wall."

"But once the door to that Secret Passage opens, there will likely be a sound; I fear it might alert the people inside."

"Moreover, I am uncertain whether among the Gu Cultivators guarding the Earth Spirit Tree inside there are any Spirit Sea Stage Gu Cultivators, so I did not dare act rashly."

After Shui Juanyun lifted the painting on the wall, he indeed discovered a hidden door, and his eyes immediately brightened.

"You can rest entirely assured; I have long since investigated exactly how many Spirit Sea Stage Gu Cultivators and how many Gu Kings the Teng Family possesses, and I remember the faces of every single one of them."

"The Teng Family has just had five Spirit Sea Stage Gu Cultivators lured away by the strategy of 'Lure the Tiger from the Mountain,' and the remaining Spirit Sea Stage Gu Cultivators at the banquet have all shown themselves; it is absolutely impossible for there to be any extra Spirit Sea Stage Gu Cultivators guarding here."

Hearing this, Long Xuan did not become careless.

According to the plan, the Teng Family could absolutely not have any Gu Kings remaining behind, yet what was the result?

No matter how well Shui Juanyun understood matters in Central Earth, there were always oversights.

"You wait here for now; dealing with the people guarding the Earth Spirit Tree is not difficult; the difficulty lies in preventing them from having any opportunity to warn those outside, for their warning would take only an instant."

"Leave all these people to me; I have a way to deal with them silently and without a trace."

At this moment, Shui Juanyun actually feared that Long Xuan might act recklessly and ruin the great undertaking, so he intended to act alone.

Yet, at this moment, how could Long Xuan not also be worried about him?

Even if there were many more people inside, once he released the poisonous qi of his Calamity Poison Gu, everyone would die silently without a trace, leaving absolutely no opportunity to raise an alarm.

But Shui Juanyun was only one person; could he truly be certain that he could simultaneously deal with so many people and prevent them from having even a single chance to send a warning?

However, before Long Xuan could speak, Shui Juanyun had already transformed into liquid, flowed into the crack of the Secret Passage door, and vanished without a trace.

Long Xuan had initially been pondering how to open this door without making a sound, yet the other man had resolved it so easily.

Long Xuan could not help but marvel at how monstrous this ability was; whether for stealing things or gathering intelligence, such a capability was truly too convenient.

Not long after, Long Xuan used his Soul Power to perceive that the auras of all the guardians below had already vanished, and no chaos had appeared outside.

He then knew that Shui Juanyun had succeeded; Shui Juanyun had truly relied on his own strength to silently eliminate everyone.

Long Xuan immediately hesitated no longer; he instantly employed his Ice Cold Divine Flame to burn a hole through the door of the Secret Chamber, then quickly rushed in as well.

After passing through a narrow corridor, he soon arrived in a huge Secret Chamber.

Lying within the Secret Chamber were four corpses of Teng Clan Gu Cultivators at the Cultivation Stage: Essence Refining; each corpse had turned into a dried mummy, as if all moisture in their bodies had been instantly sucked dry, which was clearly Shui Juanyun's handiwork.

At this moment, although he clearly did not have many Extreme Grade Gu Worms left, he could still instantly kill four Gu Cultivators of the same realm, which was somewhat beyond Long Xuan's expectations.

In the center of the four dried corpses, an earth-brown Spirit Tree stood out conspicuously.

The three fruits growing on the Spirit Tree instantly captured all of Long Xuan's attention.

Clearly, they had ultimately arrived one step too late.

Most of the Earth Spirit Fruits on the tree had long since been picked by the Teng Clan; at this moment, only three Earth Spirit Fruits remained on the tree.

"Damn it! How could they be so fast!"

Shui Juanyun cursed angrily; with only three Earth Spirit Fruits remaining, after splitting them between the two of them, nothing would be left; how could he possibly be satisfied with that?

But since matters had come to this, he could only accept his bad luck; taking a jade pendant carved with the character 'Teng' from his bosom, he placed it into a groove, and the Barrier trapping the Earth Spirit Tree finally vanished.

Long Xuan curiously glanced at the jade pendant, secretly wondering where the other man had stolen it from.

With his ability to transform into water at any time, seeping into every place without leaving a gap, stealing the key to open the Barrier seemed truly not difficult.

"There are a total of three Earth Spirit Fruits here, and we are only two people; after splitting them equally, one remains; how do you intend to divide them?"

Shui Juanyun turned to look at Long Xuan, narrowing his eyes slightly, and did not immediately pick the fruits from the tree.

At this moment, the situation had easily become one where the spoils might be divided unevenly.

According to their previous agreement, the Earth Spirit Fruits obtained were to be split equally between the two of them.

But now an unexpected complication had arisen; a large number of Earth Spirit Fruits had been picked by the Teng Clan Gu Cultivators, and now only three Earth Spirit Fruits remained.

If there had been many Earth Spirit Fruits, even if the quantity was an odd number, Shui Juanyun would not have minded giving up one.

But now there were only three Earth Spirit Fruits; if he gave up one, he would be left with only one in his hand; who could have the confidence to achieve a Breakthrough using just one Earth Spirit Fruit?

Shui Juanyun simply did not dare to gamble, so no matter what, he did not wish to easily give up that third Earth Spirit Fruit.

Long Xuan saw the meaning in Shui Juanyun's eyes and knew that he absolutely did not intend to yield the third Earth Spirit Fruit.

If this matter was not negotiated properly, the two of them might well come into conflict right here.

Just as Long Xuan was formulating his words, he was suddenly startled; in his line of sight, he actually saw a large group of Progress markers heading this way, approaching at an extremely rapid speed.

Long Xuan immediately broke out in a cold sweat of fright, thinking inwardly that this was bad; another group of people aiming for the Earth Spirit Fruits had already entered.

This group was likely the very batch that had employed the strategy of 'Lure the Tiger from the Mountain' against the Teng Family.

The reason he believed this group was another party preparing to steal the Earth Spirit Fruits, rather than Teng Clan Gu Cultivators who had noticed something amiss and rushed down, was simple.

The method of judgment was very simple: because the Progress displayed by this group was all above ninety-five percent, they were already close to death.

A group of people whose Lifespan was nearing its end feared no death; in order to Breakthrough and increase their Lifespan, they naturally dared to take risks by coming here.

Long Xuan sighed inwardly that surprises were everywhere; there was only one path leading outside, and once this group entered, he and Shui Juanyun would be completely trapped inside, with nowhere to run.

Clashing with this group was a minor concern; what he feared was that once a melee broke out between the two sides, the commotion generated would draw in a large number of Teng Clan Gu Cultivators, and that would be fatal.

At this moment, as this group surged into the Secret Passage, Long Xuan had no time to think deeply; in his urgency, a flash of inspiration struck, and a nasty idea popped into his mind, so he immediately shouted loudly:

"All the Earth Spirit Fruits belong to you; I only want one!"

As soon as the words fell, Long Xuan beckoned toward one of the Earth Spirit Fruits.

Under the guidance of his Soul Power, this Earth Spirit Fruit fell from the tree and flew rapidly toward him.

Shui Juanyun looked at him in surprise, wondering why he had suddenly shouted so loudly and what madness had possessed him.

But at least he was sensible.

If he had not intended to yield that one Earth Spirit Fruit, Shui Juanyun would not have minded adding another dried corpse to the ground.

Shui Juanyun sneered inwardly, immediately walked to the front of the Earth Spirit Tree, and smilingly picked the last two Earth Spirit Fruits.

It was precisely at this moment that a group of old men rushed in in a frantic hurry.

Seeing the uninvited guests who had suddenly burst in, Shui Juanyun froze on the spot.

At this moment, he was still maintaining the posture of picking fruit.

Long Xuan immediately shouted, "Who are you people! What are you doing here!"

The old man at the head glanced at Long Xuan; he had just heard someone inside shout that all the Earth Spirit Fruits belonged to him, and he only wanted one!

Judging by the tone of voice, the person who had just spoken those words was clearly this one.

That is to say, he only held one Earth Spirit Fruit in his hand, while all the other Earth Spirit Fruits were in another person's possession, right?

He then looked toward Shui Juanyun, who was still maintaining the posture of picking fruit, and revealed an ugly smile:

"There are thirty-six broken ends on the branches, which surely means thirty-six Earth Spirit Fruits grew in total; for you alone to take thirty-five of them is a bit excessive, since one person simply cannot use that many."

"Those who see it get a share; we brothers number thirty in total, so how about giving us one each? The rest will all belong to you!"

Shui Juanyun's expression froze, and he thought secretly, This is bad.

At this moment, he had already realized the severity of the problem; these people clearly did not know that the Earth Spirit Tree had only three Earth Spirit Fruits left, and still believed he had picked all the Earth Spirit Fruits, which was a massive misunderstanding.

He hurriedly explained, "Everyone, do not misunderstand; when I arrived, there were only three Earth Spirit Fruits here, and the rest had long since been taken away by the Teng Clan."

"Even if you kill me, it is impossible for me to conjure up more than thirty Earth Spirit Fruits for you."

However, who would believe his explanation?

The old man at the head revealed a gloomy expression and said sternly, "Who do you think you're fooling, a Ghost! Do you think I am stupid!"

"Just now, only the two of you were here; you can claim however many fruits you wish, do you think I will believe that?"

"There are thirty-six broken ends on the tree, so there must undoubtedly be thirty-six Earth Spirit Fruits."

"One cannot be too greedy; if you do not hand over the extra Earth Spirit Fruits today, do not even think about walking out of here."

"I do not mind making the commotion a bit louder, letting the people outside hear it."

"At worst, we perish together; anyway, we are all old bones nearly entering the grave, and without Earth Spirit Fruits we will surely die, so what do we have left to fear?"

The old man at the head revealed a mad look, showing a stance of vowing not to stop unless Shui Juanyun handed over the thirty Earth Spirit Fruits.

Shui Juanyun immediately felt his head swelling; where could he possibly get thirty Earth Spirit Fruits for them?

The threat from the old man at the head was very clear: if no Earth Spirit Fruits were given, they would fight, with absolutely no possibility of concession.

Yet he happened to be vulnerable to this threat; he did not fear conflict with this group, but only feared that the commotion of the battle would be too great and draw the people from above down, which would be fatal.

By then, no one here would be able to escape.

Now, these people facing death would never compromise under any circumstances, yet he himself could not possibly produce that many Earth Spirit Fruits; this had become an unsolvable deadlock.

Shui Juanyun was greatly anxious. (End of Chapter)