Chapter 801: Taking the Tree of Attaining the Dao

From the moment they entered the depths of the cave, they had been walking for a full three days and three nights, and the cave passage grew wider and wider.

By now, the surroundings had long since turned into an endless rocky plain!

The ground was as hard as iron, the ceiling was an unseeable expanse of molten rock, and they still could not see the destination, as if walking across a sea of stone!

The biting cold wind howled, like countless invisible ice blades, blowing straight into their faces and stinging their entire bodies!

This was a stinging pain that even Dharma Spells could not block, like an illusion, yet utterly real!

However, for someone of Xu Que and Jiang Hongyan's strength, this ordinary stinging sensation brought only discomfort and could not cause any injury.

But strangely, after being blown by the cold wind, the True Essence Power within their bodies was also slowly being eroded!

"Awo! This Divine Venerable can't take it anymore! How much longer do we have to walk!" Er Gouzi looked utterly annoyed, deeply regretting that he hadn't resisted more before entering; perhaps then he wouldn't have had to come in!

"What's the panic? I don't believe we can't finish the walk!" Xu Que laughed, actually feeling it was fine.

At least for now, his heart was still full of motivation and anticipation; he looked around, searching for Zhang Tiandao's location, all for the sake of those two Sky-Breaking Talismans!

Jiang Hongyan was as calm as ever, dignified and graceful; she nodded and said softly, "This place must have been artificially carved out; only through the accumulation of time could it become so vast, yet there must be an end. It's just that this cold wind is strange!"

"Hmm, this seems to be an Illusion Array set up according to the terrain. I feel these cold winds originate from countless small Illusion Arrays; otherwise, even Dharma Spells wouldn't be able to block them!" Xu Que replied, his gaze sweeping around.

Although he possessed the Zhu Huan Seal, specifically designed to counter Illusion Arrays and Illusions, facing this cold wind left him quite helpless, because there was simply no object to attack!

"Although these winds won't affect us in the short term, they are still silently consuming our True Essence! Little one, we must speed up our advance!" Jiang Hongyan spoke softly.

Er Gouzi immediately objected, "No, no! Speeding up will consume True Essence even faster! This Divine Venerable strongly suggests stopping, digging a hole in the ground to hide inside and rest, then coming out after recovering our state!"

Xu Que nodded slightly; he possessed the System Auto-Recovery Function, which could continuously restore lost True Essence, but Jiang Hongyan had no such ability. If they didn't stop to rest, encountering danger later would be troublesome!

"Hmm?" Suddenly, Xu Que seemed to think of something, and his eyes lit up.

"Hehe, how about it? Don't you think this Divine Venerable's suggestion is brilliant and majestic?" Er Gouzi, seeing Xu Que's expression, immediately became smug.

"Not at all. Your suggestion is stupid! Hiding is fine, but why dig a hole in the ground? Look at this ground, it's as hard as anything. By the time you finish digging, you'll probably be exhausted!" Xu Que shook his head and laughed.

Er Gouzi immediately became displeased, looking defiant as he said, "Kid, you're just arguing! If we don't dig a hole, where else can we hide?"

"Then naturally, we hide inside a house!" Xu Que blinked his eyes, smiling as he summoned the System Interface.

Immediately, with a thought, he flicked his fingertips forward lightly!

Whoosh!

A beam of white light suddenly flashed out, rapidly expanding in the air, swelling with the wind.

Boom!

Accompanied by a deafening roar, the white light instantly manifested its original form in the vast sky, transforming into a massive Palace, precisely the Imperial Palace Xu Que had snatched back!

The entire Imperial Palace was enormous, made entirely of translucent white jade, resembling an Immortal Palace, floating in the air!

Fortunately, this place was high enough and vast enough; otherwise, the Imperial Palace would probably have burst it open!

"Holy crap, holy crap!"

Er Gouzi immediately shouted out in utter shock, completely dumbfounded.

He never expected that Xu Que could carry such a massive Imperial Palace with him, pulling it out whenever he wanted.

"Kid, what is this? Is this this Divine Venerable's wolf hollow?" Er Gouzi exclaimed.

"No, this is called the Imperial Palace. Duan Jiude and dogs are not allowed inside!" Xu Que replied with a smile, then immediately soared through the air with Jiang Hongyan, floating into the Imperial Palace.

"Well done! This Divine Venerable is a wolf!" Er Gouzi cheered and jumped for joy, then bolted straight into the Imperial Palace!

This was the first time Xu Que had entered the Imperial Palace since obtaining it.

Much like the imagined Immortal Palace, all the buildings inside were constructed from special white jade, crystal clear and dazzling, like a fairyland!

After the group entered, they immediately felt no more assault from the cold wind, and the True Essence within their bodies began to recover rapidly.

"Hongyan, go find the Tree of Attaining the Dao!" Xu Que immediately headed for the Medicine Garden behind the Great Hall. After seizing the Imperial Palace, he had never had the chance to retrieve the Tree of Attaining the Dao; now was the perfect opportunity!

Jiang Hongyan nodded slightly and walked alongside him.

Er Gouzi, however, had no interest in the Tree of Attaining the Dao or anything like that; he bolted toward a remote corner, seemingly in the direction of the kitchen, obviously going to find something to eat!

Xu Que didn't bother to pay attention and arrived at the Medicine Garden behind the Great Hall with Jiang Hongyan.

The Medicine Garden was filled with all kinds of Spirit Grass, with a faint herbal fragrance permeating the surroundings.

However, in the very center of the Medicine Garden, Spiritual Energy gathered into a cluster. A tiny sapling was breathing in Spiritual Mist, and hanging from the tree was a fruit that was entirely red, with runes swirling around it, looking quite strange.

"This is the Tree of Attaining the Dao?" Xu Que was stunned; this was very different from the Tree of Attaining the Dao he had imagined.

But on this small sapling, he indeed sensed a familiar aura, precisely the soul of Jiang Hongyan.

"The Tree of Attaining the Dao starts as just a small blade of grass. If it can grow into a tree and bear fruit, it is already considered to be in its mature stage!" Jiang Hongyan nodded and replied, looking at the tree with complex eyes, as if looking at another version of herself.

"Go quickly, retrieve your soul, and become a perfect woman!" Xu Que said jokingly, trying to ease Jiang Hongyan's mood.

Jiang Hongyan, however, sighed, "The Tree of Attaining the Dao is very difficult to mature. To reach this level is already a miracle. If I retrieve my soul, both the Tree of Attaining the Dao and the Dao Fruit will be in vain."

"Dizzy, what's the big deal? Does it have to be left for that old guy?" Xu Que said bitterly, quite surprised that Jiang Hongyan would feel reluctant.

But suddenly, Jiang Hongyan's eyes shifted, landing on Xu Que's face, and she said softly, "I want to leave it for you!"

Leave it for me?

Xu Que was instantly stunned, followed by a wave of warmth enveloping his heart.

He smiled, reached out, and gently flicked Jiang Hongyan's delicate nose.

"Little girl, you underestimate me. This thing is useless to me. As long as I wish, I can enter the Mahayana Stage in a few years, and achieving the Immortal Realm would be even easier!" After Xu Que finished speaking, he waved his large hand and clenched his five fingers in mid-air!

Bang!

Instantly, the entire Tree of Attaining the Dao was uprooted and suspended in the air.

The Dao Fruit on the tree also instantly dimmed, and the runes swirling around the fruit completely receded inside, as if a sensitive plant had been touched.

"This..."

Jiang Hongyan was slightly stunned, clearly not expecting Xu Que to be so decisive, directly rejecting the Dao Fruit and unwilling to consume her soul!

"Here, little girl, put it away first. We can merge the soul later. For now, let's go try to master this Imperial Palace!" Xu Que, grinning, handed the Tree of Attaining the Dao to Jiang Hongyan, then eagerly headed toward the Great Hall.

A beautiful smile bloomed on Jiang Hongyan's face; she nodded gently and stepped forward to walk alongside him.

Holding your hand, I walk with you through life after life, world after world!

……

……

【Sigh, you don't understand me. The name 'The Strongest Anti-Trope System' isn't meant literally! The correct interpretation of 'Anti-Trope' is: I'll just slap a trope right back at them! Alright, continuing to write now; I'll make up tonight's missed chapters while cultivating!】