Yun Shan Gnawed on Tree Bark

"Yowza, I'm furious!"

Upon hearing Xie Biyan's shameless words, Iron Protector spat out a mouthful of blood.

The world knew the Hall of Souls was despicable, but who knew there were plenty of people even more shameless than them.

Seeing he was about to be defeated by Saber, Iron Protector decided on a mutual destruction. He slapped the black cloth bag at his waist, releasing countless vengeful spirits. These were souls he had captured over the years.

"Absorb all souls, Myriad Souls Dharma Body."

A look of determination flashed across Iron Protector's face. He opened his gaping maw and absorbed the undead into his body, transforming into a large, dark, chubby figure whose power grew continuously.

Five-star Dou Ancestor, six-star Dou Ancestor, seven-star Dou Ancestor, eight-star Dou Ancestor, nine-star Dou Ancestor, until he reached the peak of the Dou Ancestor realm, matching Saber's current level, before stopping.

Everyone's eyes narrowed. They hadn't expected the Hall of Souls' secret technique to be so astonishing.

"Ah hahaha, you will all die here today!" With his newfound power, Iron Protector cast all caution aside. He gathered all his Dou Qi into his right hand and unleashed a Black Fiend Palm Print.

"Fiend Soul Devouring God Palm, the world is filled with sorrow."

After leaving his palm, the black palm print grew larger and larger, reaching ten zhang in height. Countless ghastly faces appeared on its palm, their tongues sticking out over a meter long, howling ferociously as they slammed down towards everyone.

At this moment, both Yun Shan and his disciple, as well as Xie Biyan and Xie Shan, felt a jolt of fear at the sight. They each released their Dou Qi to protect themselves, knowing they could hardly withstand such a powerful Dou Skill!

However, facing such a formidable attack, Saber finally got a little serious. The two hands holding the vacuum longsword began to twist slightly. Instantly, a torrential gale erupted from her hands, kicking up sand and stones and changing the wind and clouds.

As the Wind King Barrier was unleashed, a dazzling longsword was held by Saber.

The sword was forged with a golden blade and a silver hilt, emitting a vast pressure from top to bottom that blinded everyone.

"Pledge, Sword of Victory."

Saber swung her sword fiercely, cleaving towards the Black Fiend Palm Print that Iron Protector had sent.

"Rumble..."

A beam of golden sword energy, like the dawn breaking through the night, brought new hope to the people. It crushed everything in its path towards Iron Protector, shattering his giant palm print and continuing with residual force straight towards his chest.

"No..."

Iron Protector felt his body rapidly disintegrating under the golden sword energy. With a final cry of unwillingness, he completely vanished from the space.

The battle ended. Xie Biyan and the others breathed a sigh of relief, their hearts still pounding. Then they saw that a small mountain in the distance had been blasted into a chasm by the sword energy, and cold sweat broke out on their foreheads again.

Xie Biyan was truly grateful he had chosen the right side, siding with Ye Qianqian. Otherwise, he might have ended up like Iron Protector, dying without even a complete corpse.

"Little Scorpion, give me your thoughts!" Ye Qianqian said with a triumphant smile.

"Astonishing power, majestic and imposing, incredibly mighty," Xie Biyan said, trembling, and flattered her profusely.

"This is the most unique and captivating battle I have ever witnessed. Its significance is profound and everlasting, truly extraordinary. The Dou Skills this adult displayed were like flowing water, the entire battle executed flawlessly, leaving one in awe.

Junior has also gained much valuable experience from this battle, which I still savor. It feels impossibly out of reach and unsurpassed. Judging by the characteristics of the battle, it can already be listed as a classic achievement on the Dou Qi Continent.

Honestly, junior believes this adult's Dou Skills can truly be said to shake the past and present, like a rolling waterfall and a mighty river, stirring the hearts of all. Junior is simply unable to describe it; this is simply... too, too, too... too brilliant!"

Yun Shan and Yun Yun's mouths twitched. When it came to flattery, Xie Biyan was undoubtedly number one on the Dou Qi Continent!

"What about joining my Misty Cloud Sect?" Ye Qianqian asked again.

"Absolutely agree, full support, unwavering loyalty!" Xie Biyan didn't even know what he was saying anymore. Perhaps he was so terrified by the recent battle that he spoke incoherently, shouting to everyone, "Listen up, from now on, Senior's enemy is my Xie Biyan's enemy. Anyone who dares to disagree with Senior's opinion, I, Xie Biyan, will be the first to object!"

After delivering such a touching and heartfelt declaration of loyalty, even Ye Qianqian was impressed. How did this guy turn into this?

"Good," Ye Qianqian nodded with satisfaction. "Since you've expressed yourself so clearly, I am naturally very pleased. Today, I shall grant you an opportunity!"

Saying this, she glanced into the distance and saw a disciple of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate urinating against a large tree. She immediately pointed and said with feigned regret, "Such a heavenly treasure, and no one has discovered it. What a pity."

The three-star Dou Practitioner, who was urinating against the tree, looked bewildered. He quickly pulled up his pants. I'm just peeing, why is everyone looking at me?

Seeing Xie Biyan and the others looking confused, Ye Qianqian began to spout nonsense again. "That was originally an Eternal Evergreen Tree!"

"Eternal Evergreen Tree?" everyone asked, confused. Isn't that just a small birch tree?

"That's right," Ye Qianqian nodded with her eyes closed. "It was a divine tree that all the Dou Gods fought over a thousand years ago. Its fame was even greater than the Bodhi Tree that achieved sainthood. For some unknown reason, it has become like this now, with less than one percent of its essence remaining.

It's laughable that you mortals, fighting over low-grade medicinal herbs, don't realize the true treasure is right beside you."

Seeing their disbelief, Ye Qianqian immediately ordered Na Lan Yan Ran to take people to the tree and retrieve a piece of bark.

Na Lan Yan Ran's small face wrinkled. Covering her nose with one hand, she endured the unpleasant smell of urine and used her sword to shave off a piece of bark, then handed it to Ye Qianqian.

Ye Qianqian, like an old charlatan, made gestures over the bark more than a dozen times, forming dozens of hand seals. Then she chanted an incantation.

"Little Swallow flies, Fifth Prince chases, Er Kang stays home with Zi Wei, poor Jin Suo has no one, the Emperor rides to chase Concubine Xiang, stops halfway to snatch Noble Consort Yang, Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Blessing of Respect, Hurry, as ordered!"

After a while, she finally stopped her erratic movements.

"Alright, I have stimulated the medicinal properties of this tree," Ye Qianqian said, handing the piece of broken bark to Xie Biyan. "Do you want to break through your realm again? Then eat it."

"What?"

Xie Biyan's expression was hilarious. This ancestor of the Misty Cloud Sect was asking him to eat bark?

Are you kidding me!

"Are you doubting my words?" A hint of anger flashed in Ye Qianqian's eyes.

"No, no, no, how could junior doubt Senior's golden words? It's just... this..." Xie Biyan's old face was contorted, and he seemed unsure of what to do.

That's just a piece of rotten bark. How did it become an Eternal Evergreen Tree? And they say its medicinal properties have been activated, but I don't feel any change at all.

Could it be that this old ancestor of the Misty Cloud Sect is deliberately humiliating me!

"Sigh!" Ye Qianqian gave a wry smile. "Heavenly treasures truly go to those destined for them. For those without destiny, even if someone points them out, they will still be out of reach."

She casually tossed the piece of rotten bark to Yun Shan behind her.

Yun Shan was slightly stunned. He held the bark in his aged hands as if it were a priceless treasure. As if brainwashed, he excitedly said, "Many thanks for the ancestor's bestowal!"

Without another word, in front of everyone, he endured the foul smell of urine and bit into the rotten bark.

"Teacher!"

Yun Yun couldn't bear to watch. She never expected her teacher to eat tree bark raw. This... was too unbelievable.

Xie Biyan and the others' faces twitched. They were equally stunned by Yun Shan's actions.

"How does it feel?" Ye Qianqian asked, seeing Yun Shan swallow the rotten bark.

Yun Shan suppressed his nausea and stomach discomfort, using his Dou Qi to forcefully refine the bark in his body. He quickly put on a fawning expression and shouted, "It's so fragrant!"

"System, upgrade Yun Shan's realm by two stars."

"Ding."

Upgrade complete. 20,000 Shock Points consumed.

As the system operated, something soul-stirring happened.

Yun Shan's body suddenly underwent a transformation. A surging wave of Dou Qi erupted from his body. He, who was originally only a one-star Dou Ancestor, instantly advanced to three-star Dou Ancestor.

"Ding."

Congratulations to the host for obtaining 3,000 Shock Points from Yun Shan.

Congratulations to the host for obtaining 6,000 Shock Points from Xie Biyan.

Congratulations to the host for obtaining 4,000 Shock Points from Yun Shan.

Congratulations to the host for obtaining from Na Lan Yan Ran...

"My heavens, what is going on?"

Xie Biyan's beard trembled in fear. He quickly looked at the waist-thick birch tree, feeling as if he had found a priceless treasure.

This tree truly possessed magical properties, just as the Misty Cloud Sect ancestor had said. It was infuriating that he had never noticed it all these years. Damn it!

"Congratulations, Teacher, on reaching new heights in strength!"

"Congratulations, Grand-Ancestor, on your rapid advancement!"

"Congratulations, Old Sect Master, on your improved strength!"

Yun Yun, Na Lan Yan Ran, and the others were extremely excited and congratulated Yun Shan on his surge in power.

One side rejoiced, while the other was in sorrow. Xie Biyan now felt that he had missed a tremendous opportunity and was filled with regret. He decided to embrace his thick-skinned nature and pointed an angry finger at the smug Yun Shan.

"Brother Yun, you have no shame! That was a fortuitous encounter that the senior just bestowed upon me. How dare you forcibly devour it!" Then, with a mournful expression, he turned to Ye Qianqian and said, "I implore senior to bestow another opportunity upon this junior!"

Yun Shan was displeased upon hearing this. His strength had now reached three-star Dou Ancestor, making him on par with Xie Biyan. He no longer feared the other party.

"Brother Xie, your words are unfair. The ancestor asked you to eat the bark just now, and you hesitated. Now you're blaming me, why?

Besides, your Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate has just pledged allegiance to our Misty Cloud Sect. We are all one family now, so why distinguish between us!

I believe this Eternal Evergreen Tree should be under my management, making unified distribution more convenient in the future."

"You're spouting nonsense!" Xie Biyan's face turned red with anger, and he immediately started arguing with Yun Shan.

Thus, two old men in their fifties argued heatedly over a small birch tree, almost making Ye Qianqian burst into laughter.

"Who dares to spy here!"

Just then, Yun Yun, who was standing nearby, suddenly sensed something was wrong. She flicked her sword and thrust it directly at a black shadow behind them.

"Hmph ╭(╯^╰)╮" The black shadow snorted coldly, not taking Yun Yun seriously. It immediately unleashed a stream of poison, corroding Yun Yun's sword. Then, it moved towards the small birch tree, plucked off a piece of bark with its hand, and prepared to flee.

"Calamity Poison Body, she's the Heavenly Poison Girl! Don't let her escape!"

Xie Biyan, who had extensive knowledge of poisons, immediately identified the intruder's constitution. He hastily mobilized his sect's forces and surrounded her.

"Calamity Poison Body?" Ye Qianqian glanced at the black shadow entangled with Yun Yun, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly. She had a new plan in mind.

She intended to trick Xiao Yi Xian into becoming her fanatical follower.

With this thought, she shouted.

"Stop fighting! This person is a descendant of my old friend."