Chapter 172: Divine Tree

Baili Changfeng seemed very familiar with the military formation, and every time the stone-carved soldiers changed their formation, he could lead his two disciples to avoid the soldiers' blocking and killing.

Hua Changxi noticed this and decisively moved closer, following the three of them while remaining invisible.

Just as Hua Changxi entered the military formation, inside the fire lotus, Master Lu's whole body was submerged in flames, and he was at the end of his rope. At this moment, he looked at the high platform in the distance, his eyes full of unwillingness.

He was only a step away from obtaining the Divine Hammer and becoming the master of the Artifact Saint Palace.

"Ah—"

Accompanied by a shrill scream, Master Lu was completely swallowed by the flames and quickly burned to ash.

After hearing the scream, Baili Changfeng turned his head and looked back, his expression somewhat complex.

Lu Yan's talent for artifact refining was extremely high. If he hadn't taken the wrong path, he would certainly have become a master artifact refiner once the Artifact Saint Palace appeared in the world.

It was a pity...

Baili Changfeng felt sorry for Lu Yan's artifact-refining talent, while Liu Chengxiong and the others, watching Lu Yan's death, felt a deep dread toward the hidden Nascent Soul cultivator.

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

Young Master Gu's expression was also quite grave. The Duke of Xin's Prefecture had dealt with people from the Eastern Depot; he knew Eunuch Lin and also knew Master Lu. He knew that Master Lu was the same as him, both in the late Golden Core stage, yet when facing a Nascent Soul cultivator, he couldn't even take a single move.

Moreover, the fire lotus didn't just burn one Golden Core cultivator to death. He checked, and among the people Master Lu brought, there were a total of five Golden Core cultivators. Excluding Eunuch Lin, who was far away and not covered by the fire lotus, the other four Golden Core cultivators didn't have a single one who could rush out of the fire lotus's encirclement; they had no power to parry.

Jinfan was right; the gap between every realm was separated by a chasm. In front of a Nascent Soul cultivator, a Golden Core cultivator was just a slightly larger ant.

"General, they have entered the military formation. What should we do now?"

Liu Chengxiong knew that anyone who had cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage at the current stage would certainly not be an ordinary person, but he didn't expect the one he encountered to be so tricky. The fire lotus that person used was a powerful divine ability, which could not only burn the physical body but also severely damage the primordial spirit.

Discovering that the fire lotus could hurt the primordial spirit, Liu Chengxiong was worried about getting hurt and didn't want to take action himself.

However, what kind of place was this?

This was the jurisdiction guarded by Qianmen Fort. Without his permission, not even a bird could leave this place.

It didn't matter if he hadn't thought about seizing the Nascent Soul cultivator's physical body before, but once this thought arose, it took root in Liu Chengxiong's heart. He didn't want to miss out on that Nascent Soul cultivator's physical body.

With so many Demon-Suppressing Guards, he didn't believe he couldn't let someone escape.

Liu Chengxiong's gaze fell on the seven people of the feminine man, as well as Eunuch Lin's group who had luckily escaped a disaster.

Previously, those who rushed the fastest with Master Lu were some cultivators who followed him to learn artifact refining. At this moment, most of those standing beside Eunuch Lin were people from the Eastern Depot.

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

Hearing this, the feminine man didn't say a word and led his six subordinates directly into the military formation.

He didn't believe Liu Chengxiong's words, but he knew that if they didn't do this, they would be immediately executed by the Demon-Suppressing Guards. Moreover, their original goal was to sneak in and destroy the array eye, so even if they didn't deal with the hidden cultivator, they still had to enter the military formation.

Seeing this, Eunuch Lin hesitated for a moment and also wanted to lead the people from the Eastern Depot into the military formation.

"Eunuch, entering the military formation is too dangerous."

"Do you think we have a chance of survival if we stay outside? Go find Baili Changfeng; for the sake of being fellow disciples, perhaps we might have a glimmer of survival."

Seeing that the intruders had all entered the military formation, Liu Chengxiong said to the Demon-Suppressing Guards behind him: "Block the surroundings of the military formation. If anyone escapes, capture them immediately."

With the recovery of spiritual energy, the seal of the Demon Prison was also loosening, and the four great array eyes were all somewhat unstable. In the past two years, more and more demonic energy had leaked out, and it had already spread to the military formation side. Those people had entered the military formation; just resisting the erosion of demonic energy would be enough for them to drink a pot.

Although that Nascent Soul cultivator had powerful strength, they had to resist the military formation, prevent the erosion of demonic energy, and face the pursuit of the cultivators behind them. Without the replenishment of spiritual energy, once the spiritual power in their body was almost consumed, he could come out to capture them.

At the same time, in the military formation, Baili Changfeng's two disciples didn't dodge in time and were almost pierced by the long spears in the hands of the soldiers. Hua Changxi, who was following behind them, saw this, waved her spiritual power, and helped the two.

"Many thanks, fellow Daoist."

Because Hua Changxi was invisible, Baili Changfeng wasn't sure if she had followed, but at this moment, he was certain.

Although he had seen the layout of the military formation in the inheritance, it was his first time facing the military formation directly, so he was somewhat unsure in his heart. Having a Nascent Soul stage cultivator following and helping out in times of crisis allowed him to relax.

"Xia Yang, Xia Xue, why don't you hurry up and thank the senior for saving your lives?"

The two young cultivators immediately followed suit: "Many thanks to the senior for saving our lives."

No one responded.

Seeing this, Baili Changfeng didn't say anything and continued to lead people through the military formation.

"Master, the Demon-Suppressing Guards are guarding outside the military formation and won't leave. Are we going to be trapped in the military formation forever?"

"The five great sacred sites connect the human world and Jiuyou through the Divine Tree. Once we find the Divine Tree, we can return to the human world through it."

"What Divine Tree?"

"The reason the sacred sites are sacred sites is because they are the growth places of the Divine Tree. Later, the sacred sites became the array eyes of the Demon Prison, also because the Divine Tree connects the human world and Jiuyou. The Divine Tree of the Artifact Saint Palace is the Fusang Tree."

Hua Changxi listened to the conversation between Baili Changfeng and his disciples, her heart greatly shocked. These messages were all things she didn't know.

At the same time, the palaces and towering giant trees she had vaguely seen when she opened the old courtyard of the Medical Department square previously came to her mind.

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

"The Divine Tree connects the human world and Jiuyou..."

"Human world, Jiuyou..."

Jiuyou and the human world were mentioned in the same breath; it seemed it really was an independent interface.

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

Xia Xue's voice interrupted Hua Changxi's thoughts. Hua Changxi turned her head and saw that the feminine man was indeed leading the other six people moving rapidly through the military formation, faster than them, but they had no intention of fighting them.

Baili Changfeng's expression sank: "They want to destroy the array eye." As he spoke, he said to the air, "Fellow Daoist, can you take action to stop them? If the people from the Demon Clan destroy the array eye, demonic energy will permeate the human world, and the human world will fall into chaos."

Hua Changxi listened and didn't hesitate, waving her spiritual power toward the seven people of the feminine man.

Spiritual power struck, immediately causing the seven people to be besieged by the soldiers.

Seeing that the seven people were still able to resist despite being besieged by the soldiers in a very sorry state, Xia Yang couldn't help but say: "Senior, use the fire lotus to cover them up, so they can't escape."

Hua Changxi didn't move.

Seeing this, Baili Changfeng glared at Xia Yang: "Does it need a junior like you to teach people how to do things? Fellow Daoist, please forgive me; my disciple was offensive."

Hua Changxi still didn't respond. She didn't use the fire lotus because the fire lotus had the power to burn mountains and boil seas; she was afraid that if she unleashed the fire lotus, all these soldiers would be burned down.

"Woo—"

The seven people of the feminine man suddenly howled at the night sky simultaneously. Then, an illusory white tail emerged from one of them. The tail grew longer and larger, flying directly toward the giant platform.

The next moment, the other six people flew onto the tail simultaneously, using the tail as a stepping stone, and ran rapidly toward the entrance of the giant platform. ===== CHAPTER 173 =====