Chapter 1 Hitting the Rock

Boom!

Boom!

Amidst the mountains, the giant tree demon disintegrated, large swathes of roots and vines falling away, crashing into the forest amidst the rising dust, creating rumbling sounds.

A desperate technique from a fourth-realm tree demon was on the verge of collapsing under a light rebuke.

Far away, the fleeing Fox Taoist prostrated himself in the mud, an indescribable pressure weighing on his heart, causing him to tremble and struggle to breathe.

A powerhouse at the Yuanshen level!

A top figure of the time, such as Abbot Ruyi of the Tathagata Monastery.

He never dreamed that such a figure would appear here. Even a pendant casually inscribed by him was enough to crush the sky.

Even a transformed great demon equivalent to a Real Man realm would flee in terror, right?

How could he not be afraid?

"The Ancestor's divine might!"

"The Ancestor's divine might!"

The monks in Jiaoyuan Temple all prostrated themselves on the ground in worship, their faces filled with fanaticism.

The old monk Dexing, coughing blood amidst the ruins, also breathed a sigh of relief, even as his heart bled.

This pendant was a protective item that many direct disciples of the Tathagata Monastery possessed, enough to repel Real Men of the sixth realm. Even great Real Men undergoing thunder tribulations would often avoid confrontation to avoid offending a Yuanshen Real Man.

How precious was this object?

To waste it on a mere tree demon, how could he not feel heartache, how could he not be angry?

Unfortunately, what was done was done, and there was nothing to be done about it.

Buzz~

But at this moment, he suddenly heard the sound of a sword in his ear.

The sound of this sword, at first like the chirping of a small bird, like the wind blowing through trees, like the gurgling of a spring, like pearls falling on a jade plate, then, the sound of gold and jade clashing became louder.

Dexing couldn't help but look.

He saw that under the interplay of the night and Buddha's light, a simple black and white scroll suddenly lit up on the distant mountaintop.

The scroll was only about ten feet in size at first, but it suddenly expanded in all directions.

As it spread, it rose into the air, and as it slowly rotated, the Daoist aura flowed, as if resonating with the surrounding world. In an instant, it had spread ten feet, a hundred feet, and even further.

"Is that the Dao Diagram from that night?"

Dexing was shocked and remembered the Dao Diagram he had seen in Anuo County that night, which seemed to be exactly the same as this one.

Then, he saw a sword.

An ordinary, seemingly mundane sword worn by martial artists.

The sword was now lying across the lap of a man.

The man was sitting in the center of the Dao Diagram, black and white dividing with him as the center, slowly rotating, chasing and evolving each other, as if endless Daoist mysteries were with him.

Even more, an ancient and desolate aura flowed out, proclaiming and publicizing unspeakable truths.

Although he could not see his face clearly, one could tell that this person must be an old Taoist who had experienced the vicissitudes of the world.

It was just that as the Dao Diagram spread, the surrounding world shook, but the aura spreading from him was not immortal spiritual energy, nor Buddhist power, nor demonic power, nor demonic energy, nor yin and evil ghost energy, nor corpse stiffness and violent energy...

What was this person cultivating?

In the sky above, the Buddha's face seemed to sense something and looked down:

"Amitabha! May I ask, which Daoist friend is this?"

The moment his gaze fell, it was also the moment when the Taoist sitting cross-legged in the Dao Diagram on the mountaintop plucked his sword.

The Taoist pressed his finger on the sword and sighed leisurely:

"This poor Taoist is Wang Quan, asking the Master to borrow this tree demon for a moment!"

The Buddha's face responded indifferently:

"A mere tree demon is not worth mentioning, but on what grounds do you borrow it, Daoist friend?"

Buzz~

A finger plucked the sword, and the sound of the sword rang out, accompanied by a clear, moon-like sword light soaring into the sky.

The sword light, nimble as a dragon, wriggled and rose, like a golden dragon, separating the dark night, pulling the scorching air waves, and in an instant, it had passed a hundred feet, separating the Buddha's light and the night wherever it passed.

Like the clear division of black and white on the Taiji diagram.

It pierced directly at the giant Buddha's face:

"How about this sword?"

First, the sword light soared into the sky, and then the people in the mountains heard the voice of the Taoist who called himself 'Wang Quan'.

Wang Quan Taoist?

Who is this sacred being?

Dexing, the Fox Taoist, and even Pei Yuanhua, who was watching this scene through the incense mirror, were all shocked.

This sword light contained deep Daoist mysteries, and in their view, it was extremely pure, as if it merged with the heaven and earth, but it did not touch or trigger the slightest spiritual energy of the heaven and earth. Such a method was something they had never seen or heard of.

Although this sword seemed to be less powerful than the Buddha's face in the sky, it shocked them even more.

Buzz buzz buzz~

In the night sky, in an instant, it seemed as if thousands of swords were ringing in unison, and the divided night Buddha light was replaced by black and white.

In an instant, under the gaze of many people.

The hundreds of feet of void from the Buddha's face in mid-air to the Taoist on the mountaintop had been penetrated by a clear sword light that divided yin and yang!

"Wang Quan Taoist..."

The Buddha's face in the sky seemed unmoved, allowing the sword light to break through the air, just muttering to himself:

"This sword, acceptable!"

As the voice flowed down, the Buddha's face woven from golden light in the night sky had slowly dimmed.

This sword seemed to not contain the slightest bit of heaven and earth essence, but it was pulling the veins of heaven and earth. The destiny of heaven and earth was all in this sword. The moment it was released, it had already cut off the boiling heaven and earth essence in the mountains.

In the end, it was just a pendant, like a Taoist talisman, not even a wisp of divine will.

Since the fight had failed, it was better to retreat calmly.

Even Ruyi Seng had retreated!

Everyone's hearts were shaken.

Looking at the disappearing pendant in his palm, Dexing's face was extremely ugly.

But even his trump card had been revealed, and he was helpless. He took a deep look at the white-clothed Taoist on the mountaintop, whose appearance he still couldn't see clearly, and turned around and staggered away.

"This person, this person..."

In the City God's Mansion, Pei Yuanhua muttered to himself, subconsciously zooming in on the image.

But before he could see the appearance of the white-clothed Taoist clearly, he only felt a pain in his eyes, and his body swayed. The incense mirror made an unbearable groan, and with a snap, it broke in half.

Whoosh~~~

The night slowly calmed down, and the long sword in mid-air flowed back, falling in front of An Qisheng like a swallow returning to its nest.

But in just an instant, the long sword was covered with cracks, and then it turned into green smoke inch by inch and dissipated in mid-air.

Only a wisp of golden light disappeared into An Qisheng's fingers.

This long sword could be considered a fine product in the human world, worth a hundred taels of silver, but it could not bear the power of the Wang Quan sword.

"This old monk is quite decisive."

An Qisheng looked into the distance, his eyes deep.

He knew that thousands of miles away in Qingwang Capital, there was also a monk sitting on a lotus platform, looking at this place from afar.

This Buddha's face, of course, was not even a wisp of divine will, but the Yuanshen was unfathomable and might not be able to attack from afar. However, he would not attack for a trivial tree demon.

The day of the National Teacher's competition was approaching, and he would not allow the True Master of Heaven's Will to see through his true strength.

An Qisheng, who had already sorted out the situation in Daqing, could naturally deduce this. As a matter of fact, his deduction was accurate.

It was just that the power of the Yuanshen was still beyond his imagination.

A pendant casually carved by him already had the power to move mountains and seas. If he really attacked, it would be earth-shattering.

Whoosh whoosh~

Rumble~

At this time, the tree demon, which was hundreds of feet tall, also completely disintegrated, and countless tree roots and vines crashed down like rain, stirring up large swathes of smoke and dust.

After completely disintegrating, it revealed the original appearance of the tree demon.

An old woman with wrinkled skin and white hair.

However, tree demons have no distinction between male and female, and their appearance has no meaning at all.

"Cough cough!"

Mother Tree coughed blood repeatedly, and she was no longer able to move at all.

Tree demons rely on the spiritual energy of wood. At this moment, the spiritual energy of wood in the mountains had almost disappeared. It was already a fluke that she had not died.

"Mother Tree!"

The Fox Taoist moved over and helped the old tree demon, sighing in his heart.

After this action, Mother Tree's years of cultivation had completely collapsed. Even if no one killed her, she would probably not survive.

"Help me, help me go see that Real Man."

Mother Tree said, holding her breath.

The Fox Taoist's expression was complicated, and he could only nod, helping the trembling old tree demon towards the distant mountaintop.

The tree demon was seriously injured and dying, but the Fox Taoist was not seriously injured. Before long, he had arrived at the mountaintop.

He saw the white-clothed Taoist sitting quietly on the mountaintop, whose appearance he still couldn't see clearly from such a distance.

"Thank you for saving me, Real Man..."

Mother Tree's expression was complicated, and she trembled as she bowed.

"No need to thank me. You should have died. I saved you, also to kill you."

An Qisheng replied indifferently.

He made a move to test the strength of the Yuanshen. Secondly, it was also because the collection of the spiritual imprint of this tree demon had not yet been completed. He, of course, had no interest in the life or death of this tree demon.

"I won't trouble you, Real Man. I can't live anymore anyway."

Mother Tree coughed repeatedly, but she was not surprised.

The Fox Taoist couldn't help but say:

"This Real Man, even if Mother Tree doesn't die this time, she will no longer have the power to do evil. Please spare her..."

"You came to the human world from the netherworld, what is your purpose?"

An Qisheng ignored the Fox Taoist's words and looked at Mother Tree:

"The secret technique you used tonight is not of a low level. It's not something you can comprehend. I guess you learned it from the netherworld?"

Tree demons can travel through the mountains and forests and manipulate the vegetation in the mountains, but they cannot instantly squeeze the essence of vegetation in the entire mountain range.

Otherwise, every tree demon in the mountains would have this method, and Dexing would be crazy to risk his life.

At the very least, he would set fire to the mountain.

"...Real Man's eyes are correct. This secret technique does come from the netherworld. It's true that I came from the netherworld, but I became a demon in this human world."

Mother Tree swayed and said with difficulty:

"As for the purpose of that adult behind me, please forgive me for not being able to say it..."

Not saying it and not being able to say it, the difference between the two is too great.

The former is loyalty, and the latter is deep fear. Even with a world separating them, she doesn't dare to say it. It can be seen how afraid this tree demon is of the person behind her.

"Real Man, I suddenly remembered that I still have something to do, so I'll take my leave now..."

The Fox Taoist's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately got up to say goodbye.

What does he rely on to live such a long life? It's not just cherishing his life. This time, he almost lost himself for this tree demon, which was enough. How dare he stay any longer?

Listening to some things can be fatal.

Sure enough, An Qisheng raised his eyebrows slightly, and Mother Tree was already in a trance, involuntarily opening her mouth:

"That adult wants me to come to the human world to wait for someone..."