Chapter 482: The Pill Spring

Within the space of the Undying Divine Tree, Hua Changxi was completely unaware of the uproar caused by the closure of the Old Academy's main gate; at this moment, her entire consciousness was occupied by the towering emerald tree before her.

With every breath, a dense, almost liquefied surge of vast vitality rushed toward her face; each inhalation and exhalation felt as though countless tiny jade-green light points penetrated her pores, seeping into her limbs and bones like sweet rain, meticulously cleansing every inch of flesh, blood, sinew, and bone.

If, within the space of the Fusang Divine Tree, every cell in her body had been arrogantly ignited, boiling and burning like fire cooking oil, then now, under the canopy of the Undying Divine Tree, every cell resembled a seed fully saturated by spring rain—no longer restless, but filled with a warm, vibrant energy and a surging power poised to erupt.

At this moment, Hua Changxi felt as though her body had undergone a baptism of rebirth, glowing with a crystal-clear, jade-like luster from within, while her entire being felt so light she seemed ready to shed her mortal coil and ascend as an immortal.

Simultaneously, the space of the Undying Divine Tree was permeated by an indescribable pressure—not the suffocating kind, but one stemming from an awe toward the very source of life itself.

This was the second divine tree space Hua Changxi had entered; having already witnessed and experienced the strangeness and splendor of such realms, the initial shock and comfort did not intoxicate her for long, and her mind quickly returned to clarity.

"Where is the Soul River?"

The primary purpose of entering the space of the Undying Divine Tree was to obtain water from the Soul River; once her mind regained clarity, Hua Changxi immediately began searching for it.

She raised her head to gaze upon the canopy that obscured the sky, yet her vision vanished like mud entering the sea, dissolving into the endless emerald depths, utterly unable to reach the end.

With her line of sight blocked by layers of leaves and branches that obscured the sun and sky, she had no choice but to attempt flying upward.

Initially, her flight proceeded smoothly, but once she passed the thick main trunk and ventured into that vast domain of branches and leaves, an invisible heavy pressure rushed toward her.

The higher she ascended, the greater the resistance became.

Gritting her teeth, Hua Changxi struggled to penetrate the first layer of leaves, which stood like overlapping mountain ranges.

The instant she broke through the leaf barrier, her视野 suddenly opened wide—there, at the peak of the苍穹, a long river flowing with brilliant white light stretched across the sky, resembling a white silk ribbon formed from a fallen galaxy, or perhaps a divine sash left behind by a god, floating silently above the divine tree and emitting a pure radiance that stirred the heart.

The Soul River!

Unable to conceal her excitement, Hua Changxi circulated the spiritual energy throughout her body frantically; her form shot forward like an arrow leaving the bow, speeding toward the heights.

However, when she penetrated the fourth layer of leaf barriers, which overlapped like mountain ranges, an unprecedented heaviness pressed down upon her; feeling her strength failing, Hua Changxi could only lie prone on a leaf of the divine tree, gasping heavily—at this point, circulating spiritual energy was no longer sufficient to resist the heavy pressure emanating from the divine tree.

Fortunately, the Soul River was now within arm's reach; if she could leap over the fifth layer of overlapping divine tree leaves, she would be able to touch it.

After regulating her breath for a moment, Hua Changxi flew upward again, but this time, no matter how she urged her spiritual energy, that invisible barrier stood like a wall of bronze and iron, firmly blocking her beneath the fifth layer of leaves.

After several failed attempts, she steeled her resolve; no longer relying on spiritual energy, she suddenly erupted the qi and blood within her body!

Boom!

The surging, boiling power of qi and blood swept through her entire body, allowing her to forcibly tear open that barrier which spiritual energy could not cross, bursting out through the fifth layer of leaf obstacles.

"Spiritual energy is blocked, yet qi and blood can pass through?"

Standing atop the fifth layer of leaf barriers, lost in thought, Hua Changxi discovered with astonishment that as her qi and blood circulated, the oppressive pressure that had previously left her gasping for air receded like a retreating tide.

"Could crossing the leaf barriers be related to one's cultivation realm?"

She was only at the Infant Transformation Realm; when circulating spiritual energy, she could only sustain crossing four layers. However, her physical body had been cultivated to the seventh stage of Body Refinement and had even touched the threshold of the eighth; thus, after erupting her qi and blood power, she could not only break through the fifth layer but also experienced reduced oppressive pressure.

Thinking thus, Hua Changxi immediately began to verify her hypothesis.

Indeed, relying purely on the strength of her physical body, she advanced with irresistible force, charging all the way up to the seventh layer of leaf barriers!

However, when she attempted to cross the eighth layer, the resistance increased sharply, becoming like an impassable moat.

Even after employing the divine ability "Law of Heaven and Earth," transforming herself into a giant, she was still mercilessly repelled by that vast force.

"In the end, I still fell short by a hair."

Hua Changxi felt some regret, yet her heart was clear.

Her eighth stage of Body Refinement had only just entered the first phase—opening seven meridians wheels—and there was still a long distance to reach perfection; thus, being unable to shake the eighth layer of leaf barriers was only reasonable.

Although she had not leaped over the eighth layer of leaf barriers, she was not overly disappointed.

It was merely that, during those few moments of dizziness while attempting to charge the eighth layer, she had vaguely glimpsed that the scenery above the eighth layer seemed different—immortal mists swirled, thousands of auspicious qi streams flowed, and the ethereal clouds and fog appeared as solid and flat as the earth that bears all things.

Though Hua Changxi was extremely curious about the scenery above the eighth layer of leaf barriers, she knew her current abilities could not reach it; reining in her thoughts, she took out the Night-Glowing Cup and began to collect water from the Soul River.

"The Night-Glowing Cup is still too small!"

However, having found the method to enter the space of the Undying Divine Tree, she did not worry too much; once used up, she could simply return another day to collect more.

Putting away the Night-Glowing Cup, Hua Changxi fixed her gaze on the edge of a divine tree leaf—there, dots of emerald flowing light were condensing, representing the overflowing vitality spiritual liquid.

Without delay, she quickly took out porcelain bottles and carefully collected several dozen jars of it.

Previously, the explosion of the Artifact Saint Palace's formation barrier had caused severe injuries, and the branch obtained from the divine tree, used to treat the wounded, had exhausted all its vitality.

Now, this spiritual liquid was precisely the best substance to nourish the branch and restore its vitality.

After securing the spiritual liquid, Hua Changxi stood at the outermost edge of a divine tree leaf on the seventh layer of barriers; first, she raised her head to gaze at the eighth layer of impassable moat still far above, and only after acknowledging that she could not yet fathom the mysteries higher up did she slowly lower her eyes to look down below.

At this moment, the majestic entirety of the Undying Divine Tree gradually took clear shape in her mind.

Roots thick as dragon pillars plunged deep into the void, supporting the sky-piercing giant trunk; upon the trunk, layer upon layer of leaf barriers resembled continuous mountain ranges, stacking upward.

The higher one went, the more the scope of the leaf barriers converged, shrinking toward that unknown peak of the sky.

The entire divine tree resembled a green tower reaching the heavens.

Hua Changxi did not linger too long in the heights of the divine tree; turning her form, she leaped down through the layers of leaf barriers, plummeting toward the roots like a meteor.

In an instant, she landed steadily upon those huge, intertwined tree roots.

Below that lay an endless abyss of nothingness, dark and profound, as if capable of swallowing everything in the world.

"The divine tree connects the utmost nine heavens above and reaches the bottom of the nine netherworlds below..."

Gazing at the bottomless black abyss beneath the tree roots, a desire to explore surged within Hua Changxi's heart.

The Fusang Divine Tree took root in Tang Gu to connect with the Nine Netherworlds; then what place did the deep roots of this Undying Divine Tree connect to?

"Should I jump down and take a look?"

Gazing into the abyss, Hua Changxi wore an expression of deep thought.

The Pill Saint Hall was one of the four formation eyes suppressing the Demon Prison; according to the layout of the Artifact Saint Palace, the formation eye should be located at the source where the Undying Divine Tree took root in the Nine Netherworlds.

The divine tree space was safe, and the Nine Netherworlds formation eye was guarded by the Demon-Suppressing Guards; feeling that jumping down posed no danger, Hua Changxi hesitated no longer. Her form suddenly soared, and without hesitation, she leaped down those tree roots thick as mountain ranges, plunging straight into the bottomless darkness.

This fall felt as though it crossed the long river of time.

She sped through the endless darkness, where the concept of time became blurred—it seemed like an instant, yet also like ten thousand years—until the surrounding darkness began to twist, and a streak of extremely brilliant light pierced through the chaos.

As the light blazed forth, the sensation of weightlessness abruptly halted.

Hua Changxi lightly tapped the tip of her foot and landed as gracefully as a feather. When she focused her gaze to look around, her breath involuntarily hitched.

As far as the eye could see, there was not a trace of the gloomy terror associated with the Nine Netherworlds.

Beneath her feet lay rare spiritual herbs spread out like brocade, their leaf veins flowing with a faint luminescence; all around, myriad flowers bloomed in brilliant competition, filling the air with an intoxicating, rich fragrance.

Looking up, spiritual mist permeated the sky; looking down, a jade-green spiritual spring meandered through the land.

And in the center of this scene of supreme splendor, an ancient and vigorous stone stele stood silently.

Upon the stele, two large characters struck the eye immediately—Dan Spring.