Thousand-Year Tree Heart

Yan Chixia's aura continued to rise.

His eyes held a weary, world-weary depth as he looked up at the Ghost King Seal.

"Black Mountain Old Demon..."

His voice was hoarse and unfamiliar, utterly mismatched with his black beard.

Yan Chixia stepped onto empty air and reached out a hand.

"Sword, come!"

The Xuanyuan Sword flew into his grasp, the fortune of the human realm surging high, as if one could hear the prayers of countless people.

"Ten Thousand Swords Return to One!"

The Xuanyuan Sword split into infinite sword lights, a river of sword qi, then converged into a single point.

A beam of sword light rose into the sky, like a cold star above, seemingly fragile yet eternal and impossible to ignore.

Ding!

The cold star broke through the Ghost King Seal's blockade and struck the rift in the void.

A crisp sound, like jade striking jade, or pearls falling onto a jade plate.

The Ghost King Seal was knocked flying, turning into a shooting star that vanished somewhere unknown, while the void rift rapidly healed.

Through the rift, Black Mountain Old Demon's eyes glared as he roared, "When you die and enter the Netherworld, This Seat will torment your soul for ten thousand years!"

"Heh..."

Yan Chixia let out a light laugh, dismissing Black Mountain Old Demon's threat with contempt.

Then his overwhelming aura vanished instantly, and he fell from the sky. Fortunately, Zhou Yi caught him just in time.

Probing with his true essence, Zhou Yi found that Yan Chixia's entire body was riddled with injuries, his spirit seemed heavily damaged, and he was unconscious.

"Tree Demon, look what you've done!"

With a thought from Zhou Yi, the Purple Lightning Sword pinned itself into Tree Demon Granny's main body, annihilating her origin spirit.

In the mountain hollow, flames raged without dying, and sword qi ravaged further, the tree demon's aura steadily weakening.

"Stinking Daoist, sooner or later your lifespan will run out and you'll enter the Netherworld. The Black Mountain Ghost King will avenge me..."

Before dying, Tree Demon Granny still managed a threat.

The exorcising power of the Purple Sun Sword Qi erupted, and in an instant, the tree demon's soul was scattered to the winds.

After the great battle, Black Mountain was reduced to ashes, leaving only a Ghost King Arm and the thousand-year-old demon body of Tree Demon Granny on the battlefield.

The tree demon's main trunk, unlike its roots and branches, had been tempered by a millennium of spiritual energy and was now impervious to fire.

As for the Ghost King Arm, it had turned into a stone ridge. Zhou Yi's knowledge was shallow, and he had no idea what use it might serve.

Back at Lanruo Temple.

Zhou Yi fetched Yan Chixia's wine gourd and lifted the lid. A rich fragrance wafted out.

The gourd was only a little over three feet long, yet it held several hundred catties of Immortal's Brew—a peculiar treasure.

Yan Chixia had used Immortal's Brew as a base, adding dozens of Spirit Medicines to brew this spiritual wine, which contained abundant and gentle Five Elements Spiritual Energy.

The spiritual wine flowed into Yan Chixia's body, continuously nourishing it, and his once chaotic aura gradually steadied.

Zhou Yi sat cross-legged in meditation, recovering his true essence.

Witnessing the might of the Netherworld Ghost King tonight—a single hand freezing the void—had shattered Zhou Yi's earlier smugness.

Martial artists err, cultivators engage in Magical Combat—this is what tempers will and Dao heart.

After this battle, Zhou Yi's mind had made considerable progress.

The next morning.

Yan Chixia slowly awoke, sunlight streaming through the broken window lattice.

Tree Demon Granny had occupied Black Mountain for years, controlling hundreds of thousands of restless souls who could not reincarnate, and even during the day, ghostly winds had once howled.

Now, aside from the pungent smell of burnt tar, the dark clouds that had shrouded Black Mountain were gone.

Zhou Yi entered from outside and, seeing Yan Chixia awake, his face lit up with joy.

"Senior Brother, how are your injuries?"

"Nothing serious. Ancestral Possession just cost me a dozen or so years of lifespan."

Yan Chixia said it lightly, but even for an Innate Grandmaster whose lifespan could reach 150 years, a dozen years was a tenth of that.

The path of a cultivator is endless—not just every year, but every single day is precious.

Zhou Yi asked in confusion, "Ancestor? Senior Brother, didn't you say the Kunlun Sect was founded by you?"

Yan Chixia chuckled. "Not our ancestor. Once, I took shelter from rain in a broken temple. That night, the wind was so strong it blew the temple down. A statue inside cracked open, and inside was a jade pendant."

"That jade pendant contained a technique and a wisp of a soul, allowing me to connect with an ancestor for possession—invoking the spirit."

"As for which sect's ancestor it is, I don't know either. It just comes at a heavy cost."

Zhou Yi was stunned. Truly, as a protagonist of this world, his trump cards seemed endless.

"Senior Brother, why is that Netherworld Ghost King so determined to break through the realm? With a Ghost King's power, what could the Human Realm possibly have worth coveting?"

Zhou Yi pondered all night but still couldn't understand why the Black Mountain Ghost King was so fixated on crossing over, and what he sought.

The exact strength of a Ghost King was unclear, but even if the Netherworld wasn't on par with the Immortal Realm, it wasn't far off. A Ghost King rivaled immortals and gods.

"Naturally, for Blood Food! The Human Realm may lack other things, but it still has millions of people."

Yan Chixia said gravely, "Rumor has it that the Netherworld has Ten Ghost Kings, each ruling a domain as Netherworld Dignitaries. Every Ghost King has existed for countless millennia. At their level, even the slightest progress is excruciatingly difficult."

"Yet the Human Realm holds a method that can drastically boost a Ghost King's power in a short time."

Zhou Yi guessed, "Could it be devouring humans?"

"Partially right, partially wrong."

Yan Chixia explained, "The Human Realm is extremely fragile. A Ghost King cannot descend in person. They usually send their underlings to invade, slaughtering humans for Blood Sacrifices. According to records, a Heretical Demonic Path once summoned the Asura Ghost King, along with countless Nether Soldiers and Ghost Generals, wreaking havoc in the Human Realm for over a decade, killing millions."

The Netherworld was perfectly suited for ghostly beings. The Ghost Generals under a Ghost King were at least as powerful as the Tree Demon Granny.

The Tree Demon Granny was bound by her true form, unable to leave the Black Mountain, but the Nether Soldiers and Ghost Generals could rampage across the land.

"Fortunately, Senior Brother acted decisively, turning the tide and sparing the world from catastrophe."

Zhou Yi sighed, then asked, "The Tree Demon's remains and the Ghost King Arm—do you know what use they have, Senior Brother?"

"The Tree Demon was a Plant Spirit, tempered for a thousand years. Its trunk can be refined into a flying sword, perfect since you lack a suitable magic tool. Most importantly, the Thousand-Year Tree Heart is condensed from pure spiritual energy. Swallowing it directly extends your Lifespan by fifty years."

Yan Chixia continued, "As for the Ghost King Arm... the Black Mountain Ghost King is a mountain spirit. That severed arm contains pure Earth Elemental Spiritual Energy. If you cultivate on it, it's as good as a spiritual land."

Compared to Zhou Yi, who had just begun his path, Yan Chixia, with decades of cultivation, was far more knowledgeable. In a few words, he allocated the spoils.

Zhou Yi felt a bit embarrassed. Of the two prizes, he was taking more than half.

"Senior Brother, you've damaged your Lifespan. Use the Thousand-Year Tree Heart to make up for it. My cultivation is still shallow, and the Purple Lightning Sword suits me well. I'll just take the Ghost King Arm."

Strictly speaking, the Purple Lightning Sword wasn't graded as a magic tool; it was a mortal divine weapon.

Zhou Yi had been nurturing and tempering it day and night with his true essence, making it attuned to his will, allowing him to use the Sword Control Technique.

Yan Chixia waved his hand dismissively. "No need to be polite, Junior Brother. With the Tree Demon gone, there's nothing left to linger for in Jiangzhe. Demons run rampant across the land. I hear there's a Corpse King in Xiangfu that's harmed many people. I'll go check it out."

"When you've cultivated enough in the future, remember to slay demons and exorcise evil—that will be my greatest comfort."

Zhou Yi frowned slightly. He caught a tone of final farewell in Yan Chixia's words.

"Senior Brother, your injury?"

"Don't worry. I'm blessed with good fortune. It's nothing."