Secret History of the Emperor Tree

After Yun Tingxiao died, the remaining Divine Firmament Sect disciples naturally stood no chance against Ye Xiu.

Even with every method at their disposal, under the crushing suppression of an absolute difference in realms, they still could not escape death.

In less than half an incense stick's time, the air outside the secret chamber was thick with the stench of blood.

Ye Xiu coldly surveyed the corpses before him. At his side lay a heap of storage bags.

After confirming that nothing had been overlooked, he endured the pain of backlash caused by excessive spiritual power consumption and pulled out a talisman, tossing it onto the bodies.

A mass of green flame burst into existence with a bang.

Born in a demonic sect, Ye Xiu naturally had specialized methods for disposing of corpses.

Yin Soul Fire—its flames were sinister and strange, feeding specifically on cultivators' souls. It was often used to erase all traces of a body.

To cultivators, the body was merely a shell. Only when both body and soul were destroyed could one truly ensure that person posed no further threat.

The moment the eerie green flames touched the corpses, they swelled with a bang.

As the green fire spread over the Divine Firmament Sect disciples' bodies, the souls that had not yet dispersed could clearly be heard wailing without end.

They glared resentfully at Ye Xiu, their gazes seeming ready to devour him whole.

They had died with resentment in their hearts, and their souls were protected by spiritual power. If Ye Xiu had left without dealing with them, the remnants of these Divine Firmament Sect disciples' souls might well have evolved into vengeful spirits.

If people from the Divine Firmament Sect came to investigate then, all it would take was a cultivator skilled in souls communicating with them a little for Ye Xiu's identity to be exposed.

"What a pity. If I had learned soul-controlling arts, these souls would have been no small fortune."

Faced with this grim scene, Ye Xiu instead revealed a somewhat regretful expression.

The Yin Harmony Sect had no shortage of such cultivation arts, but they were not something an outer sect disciple like him could access.

Still, his cultivation had reached the ninth level of Qi Condensation during this journey. It was time to put Foundation Establishment and entering the inner sect on the agenda.

Ye Xiu thought to himself.

Yin Soul Fire burned quickly. As the wails gradually faded, Ye Xiu felt somewhat relieved.

But at that moment, a sudden change erupted in the sky.

A scarlet bolt of lightning appeared out of thin air and violently struck downward.

"Not good!"

Ye Xiu's expression changed as he hastily retreated.

Fortunately, he had not stood too close in the first place, wary that these people might have hidden contingencies.

Coupled with a physique far surpassing cultivators of the same realm, he narrowly evaded it.

The scarlet lightning continued for nearly half an incense stick's time as though venting its fury before finally stopping.

Looking at the ruins before him, Ye Xiu broke out in a cold sweat.

Clearly, Yun Tingxiao had been left with a contingency by an elder of his sect.

Though Ye Xiu had escaped the scarlet lightning's bombardment, he felt as if something had fixed its gaze upon him in the unseen darkness.

This was not over yet!

His heart sinking, Ye Xiu no longer hesitated. After gathering his spoils, he immediately circulated his spiritual power and headed out...

At Tingyun Peak, the forbidden ground of the Divine Firmament Sect.

A violent gale suddenly swept across the cloud-wreathed mountain peak, and the sky darkened in an instant.

An angry voice exploded like muffled thunder.

"Bastard! Who dared kill the personal disciple of me, Lei Xiao?"

Along with that thunderous roar, bolts of lightning crashed down from the sky.

In an instant, mountains split apart and rivers flowed backward.

All the disciples throughout the Divine Firmament Sect looked upon the apocalyptic scene in terror, prostrating themselves on the ground without daring to raise their heads.

"Master, what happened? Why did Junior Brother's life lamp suddenly go out?"

A man dressed in white sped through the air and knelt before the grand hall atop the mountain.

"Those demon whelps from the Yin Harmony Sect dared lay hands on this venerable one's disciple. It seems they have forgotten the agony of lightning punishment."

The voice from within the hall carried barely restrained fury.

"If this venerable one were not focused on comprehending what was gained from the Emperor Tree, I would make the entire Yin Harmony Sect perish today!"

"Luoyang, that thief has already been marked by your master's technique. Take my token and go to the Yin Harmony Sect to demand that person."

A streak of lightning shot to Zhou Luoyang's side.

"I obey Master's command."

Zhou Luoyang bowed and accepted the order. Only then did the lightning within the grand hall subside...

Far away, thousands of miles from there, Ye Xiu naturally did not know that the people of the Divine Firmament Sect had already set their sights on him.

After disposing of the Divine Firmament Sect disciples' corpses, he circulated his spiritual power and hurried all the way back toward his sect.

He returned to the sect without pause. Only after setting up an alert formation near his residence did Ye Xiu finally have the leisure to properly inspect his gains.

It had to be said that, as the leading force of the righteous path in the Tianhe Domain, the benefits granted to Divine Firmament Sect disciples were truly beyond anything demonic cultivators could hope to match, even on horseback.

From the ordinary disciples alone, Ye Xiu had obtained more than five hundred spirit stones.

These were hard currency in the cultivation world, useful anywhere.

The various spirit herbs, minerals, talismans, and the like were roughly worth another three hundred spirit stones.

A full eight hundred spirit stones—this was an enormous sum.

Outer sect disciples of the Yin Harmony Sect received only ten spirit stones' worth of cultivation resources each month.

If one relied solely on saving, eight hundred spirit stones would take seven or eight years to accumulate.

And cultivation required spirit stones at every turn. Ordinary disciples did not even have enough for their own expenses, so how could they possibly save any?

Ye Xiu sighed inwardly.

Wasn't that why they said murder and arson brought a golden belt?

Why rack one's brains doing missions to scrape together a surplus when killing people and seizing treasures was so much faster?

And this time, those things could only be considered extras.

Ye Xiu looked at Yun Tingxiao's storage bag before him, his breathing growing heavier.

A Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator—and one who clearly had powerful backing at that—what benefits could he bring Ye Xiu?

The storage bag opened, revealing spirit stones and assorted pills piled nearest the outside.

As an inner sect personal disciple of the Divine Firmament Sect, Yun Tingxiao's savings were even more astonishing.

Nearly a thousand spirit stones and several specially made pills raised Ye Xiu's wealth by another level.

But Ye Xiu did not remain excited for long.

As a personal disciple of the Divine Firmament Sect, Yun Tingxiao surely possessed things even more precious.

Continuing deeper inside, just as expected, Ye Xiu found categorized heavenly treasures before him.

Molten Fire Grass, the core herb for the Lihuo Pill; lightning-struck wood, which could be used as material for evil-warding magical artifacts... and even a pile of things Ye Xiu had never seen before.

These were all fine treasures that could not be bought even with spirit stones, obtainable only through barter.

Added to that was the divine sword seized from Yun Tingxiao. He could also find someone to trade it for a magical artifact that suited him.

This time, he had truly reaped a bountiful harvest.

However, these items were mostly used by righteous-path cultivators. They would likely be difficult to sell within the Yin Harmony Sect, so he would need to find an opportunity to go outside.

As he pondered this, Ye Xiu suddenly noticed that, among the heap of heavenly treasures, a jade slip abruptly began to shine brilliantly.

He tried infusing it with spiritual power, and a phantom image suddenly appeared.

"Xiao'er, the mist around the divine tree has dispersed. The sect's advance party has returned, yet they say this is a great upheaval unseen in the Tianhe Domain for centuries..."