Chapter 172: Divine Tree

Baili Changfeng seemed very familiar with the military formation; each time the stone soldier figurines changed formation, he managed to lead his two disciples away from their blocking attacks.

After noticing this, Hua Changxi decisively moved closer and followed behind the three while remaining hidden.

Just as Hua Changxi entered the military formation, within the fire lotus, Master Lu was completely engulfed by flames, at the end of his rope. At this moment, he looked at the distant high platform, his eyes filled with unwillingness.

He was so close to obtaining the divine hammer, to becoming the master of the Artifact Sage Palace.

"Ah~"

Accompanied by a piercing scream, Master Lu was entirely swallowed by the flames and quickly burned to ashes.

After hearing the scream, Baili Changfeng glanced back, his expression somewhat complicated.

Lu Yan's talent for artifact refining was extremely high. If he hadn't taken the wrong path, once the Artifact Sage Palace was revealed, he would surely have become a master refiner.

What a pity...

Baili Changfeng lamented Lu Yan's artifact-refining talent, but Liu Chengxiong and the others, watching Lu Yan's death, felt a deep wariness toward the hidden Nascent Soul cultivator.

"So this is the strength of a Nascent Soul cultivator!"

The young Marquis Gu's expression was equally grave. The Xinguo Duke's residence had dealt with the Eastern Depot before; he knew Eunuch Lin and Master Lu, and knew that Master Lu, like him, was at the late Core Formation stage. Yet against a Nascent Soul cultivator, he couldn't even withstand a single blow.

Moreover, the fire lotus had not only killed one Core Formation cultivator. He looked around: among Master Lu's men, there were a total of five Core Formation cultivators. Apart from Eunuch Lin, who was far away and not caught by the fire lotus, the other four Core Formation cultivators hadn't managed to break out of the fire lotus's encirclement, utterly unable to defend themselves.

Jin Fan was right. The gap between each realm was like a chasm. Before a Nascent Soul cultivator, a Core Formation cultivator was merely a slightly larger ant.

"General, they've entered the formation, what do we do now?"

Liu Chengxiong knew that anyone who had already cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage at this point couldn't be an ordinary person, but he hadn't expected the one they encountered to be this troublesome. That man's fire lotus was a powerful divine ability—not only could it burn the physical body, but it could also severely damage the primordial spirit.

Realizing that the fire lotus could injure the primordial spirit, Liu Chengxiong, fearing injury, no longer wanted to act personally.

But what kind of place was this?

This was the jurisdiction of Qianmen Fort's garrison. Without his permission, not even a bird could leave this place.

He hadn't thought about seizing a Nascent Soul cultivator's body before, but now that the thought had arisen, it took root in Liu Chengxiong's heart. He didn't want to miss the opportunity to take that Nascent Soul cultivator's body.

With so many Zhenyao Guards, he didn't believe they could let the man escape.

Liu Chengxiong's gaze fell on the seven men led by the effeminate man, as well as Eunuch Lin and his few people who had narrowly escaped death.

Previously, those who had charged forward fastest with Master Lu were mostly cultivators learning artifact refining from him. Now, standing beside Eunuch Lin were mostly people from the Eastern Depot.

"Force out the hidden cultivator, and I'll spare your lives."

After hearing this, the effeminate man said nothing and directly led his six subordinates into the military formation.

He didn't believe Liu Chengxiong's words; rather, he knew that if they didn't do this, they would be immediately executed by the Zhenyao Guards. Moreover, their original purpose was to infiltrate and destroy the formation eyes. Even if they weren't dealing with the hidden cultivator, they still needed to enter the formation.

Seeing this, Eunuch Lin hesitated for a moment, then prepared to lead the Eastern Depot personnel into the formation.

"Eunuch, entering the formation is too dangerous."

"Do you think staying outside gives us a chance to survive? Go find Baili Changfeng. For the sake of being fellow disciples, maybe we can still find a sliver of hope."

Seeing that all the intruders had entered the formation, Liu Chengxiong said to the Zhenyao Guards behind him, "Blockade the area around the formation. If anyone tries to escape, capture them immediately."

With the recovery of spiritual energy, the seal of the Demon Prison was also loosening. The four formation eyes were all somewhat unstable. Over the past two years, more and more demonic energy had been leaking out, already spreading to the military formation area. For those who entered the formation, just resisting the corrosion of demonic energy would be enough trouble.

Although that Nascent Soul cultivator was powerful, having to resist the formation, prevent demonic energy erosion, and face pursuit from those cultivators behind him, without a supply of spiritual energy, once his internal spiritual power was mostly depleted, he could come out and capture him.

At the same time, within the formation, Baili Changfeng's two disciples dodged just in time but were nearly struck by the spears of the soldier figurines. Seeing this, Hua Changxi, who was following behind them, waved out spiritual power and gave them a hand.

"Thank you, fellow Daoist."

Because Hua Changxi was hidden, Baili Changfeng wasn't sure if she had kept up, but now he was certain.

Although he had seen the layout of the military formation in the inheritance, this was still his first time facing it directly, and he was somewhat uncertain. Having a Nascent Soul cultivator following along to lend a hand in times of crisis allowed him to breathe a little easier.

"Xia Yang, Xia Xue, hurry and thank the senior for saving your lives."

The two young cultivators immediately complied: "Thank you, senior, for saving our lives."

No one responded.

Seeing this, Baili Changfeng said nothing and continued leading the people through the formation.

"Master, the Demon Suppression Guard is stationed outside the army formation and won't leave. Are we going to be trapped inside the formation forever?"

"The Five Sacred Lands connect the mortal world and the Netherworld through the Divine Tree. If we find the Divine Tree, we can return to the mortal world through it."

"What Divine Tree?"

"The reason the Sacred Lands are sacred is that they are where the Divine Tree grows. Later, when the Sacred Lands became the eye of the demon prison formation, it was also because the Divine Tree connects the mortal world and the Netherworld. The Divine Tree of the Artifact Saint Palace is the Fusang Tree."

Hua Changxi listened to the conversation between Bai Li Changfeng and his disciple, and her heart was greatly shaken—none of this information was known to her before.

At the same time, her mind recalled the faint vision of a palace and a towering giant tree she had glimpsed earlier when she opened the old courtyard of the Medical Department Square.

That giant tree must be the Divine Tree of the Alchemy Saint Hall.

'The Divine Tree connects the mortal world and the Netherworld...'

'The mortal world, the Netherworld...'

Since the Netherworld is mentioned on par with the mortal world, it really does seem to be an independent realm.

"Master, the demon clan people have caught up."

Xia Xue's voice interrupted Hua Changxi's thoughts. Hua Changxi turned her head and indeed saw that the effeminate man and six others were moving quickly through the army formation, even faster than their group, but they showed no intention of engaging in combat.

Bai Li Changfeng's face darkened: "They want to destroy the formation eye." Then, speaking to the air, he said, "Fellow Daoist, could you please stop them? If the demon clan destroys the formation eye, demonic energy will spread into the mortal world, and the mortal world will fall into chaos."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi did not hesitate and swept her spiritual power toward the effeminate man and his six companions.

As the spiritual power struck, the seven of them were immediately besieged by the terracotta warriors.

Seeing that although the seven were in a very difficult situation under the assault of the terracotta warriors, they still had the strength to fight back, Xia Yang could not help but say, "Senior, use the Fire Lotus to trap them. That way, they won't be able to escape."

Hua Changxi did not move.

Seeing this, Bai Li Changfeng glared at Xia Yang and said, "Does a junior like you need to teach someone how to do things? Forgive me, fellow Daoist, my disciple was out of line."

Hua Changxi still did not respond. She did not use the Fire Lotus because it had the power to burn mountains and boil seas, and she feared that if she unleashed it, all these terracotta warriors would be incinerated.

"Woo—"

The effeminate man and his six companions suddenly let out a long howl toward the night sky. Then, an illusory white tail emerged from one of them. The tail grew longer and larger, flying straight toward the giant platform.

The next moment, the other six simultaneously leaped onto the tail, using it as a springboard to rush swiftly toward the opening of the giant platform.