Chapter 172: Divine Tree

Baili Changfeng seemed very familiar with military formations; whenever the stone soldier puppets changed their array, he always managed to lead his two disciples away from the puppets' blocking attacks.

After noticing this, Hua Changxi decisively moved closer, turning invisible to follow behind the three.

Just as Hua Changxi entered the military formation, within the Fire Lotus, Master Lu was completely engulfed by flames, reaching his end; at this moment, looking at the distant high platform, his eyes were filled with unwillingness.

He had been merely a hair's breadth away from obtaining the Divine Hammer and becoming the master of the Artifact Saint Palace.

"Ah~"

Accompanied by a mournful, piercing scream, Master Lu was completely swallowed by the flames, quickly burning into ash.

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

Lu Yan's talent for artifact refinement was extremely high; had he not taken the wrong path, once the Artifact Saint Palace appeared in the world, he would surely have become a great artifact refinement master.

What a pity...

While Baili Changfeng lamented Lu Yan's talent for artifact refinement, Liu Chengxiong and the others, watching Lu Yan's death, felt deep dread toward the invisible Nascent Soul cultivator.

"This is the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator!"

Young Master Gu's expression was equally grave; the Duke Prefecture had dealt with the Eastern Depot before, so he recognized Eunuch Lin and knew Master Lu, understanding that like himself, they were both late-stage Golden Core cultivators, yet against a Nascent Soul cultivator, they could not even withstand a single move.

Moreover, the Fire Lotus had not merely incinerated one Golden Core cultivator; he checked and saw that among those Master Lu brought, there were five Golden Core cultivators in total, and apart from Eunuch Lin, who was far away and not covered by the Fire Lotus, none of the other four Golden Core cultivators managed to break out of the Fire Lotus's encirclement, possessing no power to resist.

Jinfan was right; the gap between every realm is like a vast chasm; before a Nascent Soul cultivator, Golden Core cultivators are merely slightly larger ants.

"General, they have entered the military formation; what should we do now?"

Liu Chengxiong knew that anyone who had cultivated to the Nascent Soul realm at this stage would certainly not be an ordinary person, but he had not expected the one they encountered to be so troublesome; the Fire Lotus technique that person unleashed was a powerful divine ability, capable not only of burning the flesh but also of severely injuring the primordial spirit.

Realizing the Fire Lotus could harm the primordial spirit, Liu Chengxiong, fearing injury, no longer wished to act personally.

But where was this place?

This was the jurisdiction guarded by Qianmen Fortress; without his permission, not even a bird could leave here.

Previously, he had not considered seizing the Nascent Soul cultivator's body, but once this thought arose, it took root in Liu Chengxiong's heart; he did not want to miss the chance to claim that Nascent Soul cultivator's body.

With so many Demon-Suppressing Guards here, he refused to believe anyone could escape.

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

Those who had rushed forward fastest alongside Master Lu earlier were mostly cultivators who learned artifact refinement from him, while those now standing beside Eunuch Lin were mostly members of the Eastern Depot.

"Force the invisible cultivator out, and I will spare your lives."

Hearing this, the effeminate man said nothing more, leading his six subordinates directly into the military formation.

It was not that he believed Liu Chengxiong's words, but rather that he knew if they did not do so, they would be immediately executed by the Demon-Suppressing Guards; moreover, their original purpose had been to infiltrate and destroy the array eye, so even without dealing with the invisible cultivator, they would have entered the military formation anyway.

Seeing this, Eunuch Lin hesitated for a moment, then also intended to lead the Eastern Depot members into the military formation.

"Eunuch, entering the military 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, perhaps we might still have a sliver of hope."

Seeing that all the intruders had entered the military formation, Liu Chengxiong ordered the Demon-Suppressing Guards behind him: "Seal off the area around the military formation; anyone who tries to escape is to be captured immediately."

With the recovery of spiritual energy, the seal of the Demon Prison was also loosening; the four major array eyes were somewhat unstable, and over the past two years, the leaking demon qi had grown increasingly abundant, already spreading to the side of the military formation; for those who had entered the formation, merely resisting the erosion of demon qi would be enough to give them a severe headache.

Although that Nascent Soul cultivator possessed great strength, having to resist the military formation, prevent demon qi erosion, and face the pursuit of those cultivators behind, without any replenishment of spiritual energy, once the spiritual power within his body was nearly exhausted, he could step forward to capture him.

Meanwhile, within the military formation, Baili Changfeng's two disciples failed to dodge in time and were nearly pierced by the long spears held by the soldier puppets; Hua Changxi, following behind them, saw this and struck out with spiritual energy to aid the two.

"Thank you, fellow cultivator."

Because Hua Changxi was invisible, Baili Changfeng had not been certain whether she was following, but at this moment, he was sure.

Although he had seen the layout of the military formation in the inheritance, this was ultimately his first time facing it directly, so he felt somewhat uncertain in his heart; having a Nascent Soul realm cultivator following to lend a hand in critical moments allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Xia Yang, Xia Xue, hurry up 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 more and continued leading his people through the military formation.

"Master, the Demon-Suppressing Guards are guarding outside the military formation and refusing to leave; aren't we going to be trapped inside the formation forever?"

"The Five Great Sacred Lands connect the human world and the Nine Netherworlds through the Divine Tree; if we find the Divine Tree, we can return to the human world through it."

"What Divine Tree?"

"The reason the Sacred Lands are called Sacred Lands is because they are the growing places of the Divine Tree; later, the Sacred Lands became the array eyes of the Demon Prison also because the Divine Tree connects the human world and the Nine Netherworlds; the Divine Tree of the Artifact Saint Palace is the Fusang Tree."

Listening to the conversation between Baili Changfeng and his disciples, Hua Changxi was greatly shocked in her heart, as this information was unknown to her.

At the same time, in her mind, she recalled the palace and the towering giant tree she had vaguely seen when she previously opened the old courtyard of the Medical Bureau Square.

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

'The Divine Tree connects the human world and the Nine Netherworlds...'

'Human world, Nine Netherworlds...'

Placing the Nine Netherworlds on equal footing with the human world suggested it was indeed an independent realm.

"Master, people from the Demon Race are catching up."

Xia Xue's voice interrupted Hua Changxi's thoughts; Hua Changxi looked back and indeed saw the effeminate man leading six others moving swiftly through the military formation, their speed slightly faster than theirs, yet showing no intention of engaging them in battle.

Baili Changfeng's expression sank: "They intend to destroy the array eye." Then, speaking to the empty air, he said, "Fellow cultivator, could you please act to stop them? If the people of the Demon Race destroy the array eye, demon qi will spread throughout the human world, causing great chaos."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi did not hesitate and struck out with spiritual energy toward the seven people led by the effeminate man.

As the spiritual energy attacked, the seven were immediately surrounded and besieged by the soldier puppets.

Seeing that although the seven were being besieged by the soldier puppets in a very wretched state, they still had the strength to resist, Xia Yang could not help but say, "Senior, please cover them with the Fire Lotus; that way, they won't be able to escape."

Hua Changxi did not move.

Seeing this, Baili Changfeng glared at Xia Yang: "What need is there for a junior like you to teach someone how to act? Fellow cultivator, please forgive us; my disciple has offended you."

Hua Changxi still did not respond; she did not unleash the Fire Lotus because it possessed the power to burn mountains and boil seas, and she feared that if she summoned the Fire Lotus, these soldier puppets would all be destroyed.

"Wu~"

The seven yin-soft men suddenly let out long howls at the night sky in unison; then, an illusory white tail manifested on one of them, growing longer and larger until it shot straight toward the giant platform.

In the next instant, the other six leaped onto the tail, using it as a stepping stone to dash rapidly toward the entrance of the giant platform.