Innate Spiritual Root, Yellow Middle Plum!

Before long.

Qin Mu and Duobao had reached the depths of the valley.

From up close, they could see the Innate Formation shrouding the cliff face far more clearly.

The sword qi Qin Mu had unleashed earlier had already activated the Innate Formation.

One had to know that Innate Formations were naturally formed when Heaven and Earth first opened, far beyond anything later cultivators could arrange.

Within an Innate Formation lay manifestations of the Great Dao and condensed laws.

Some powerful Innate Formations even contained the might of the Creation of Heaven and Earth.

As Qin Mu and Duobao drew closer,

they saw a Yin Yang symbol slowly revolving at the center of the Innate Formation.

Yin Qi sank to become earth, while yang qi rose to become heaven, the clear and turbid distinctly divided between them.

Within the formation, the scene of Heaven and Earth's birth was actually unfolding.

"Hmm?"

Qin Mu frowned slightly at the sight.

He vaguely felt that this Innate Formation seemed even more powerful than the one that had appeared when the Fire Spirit Pearl emerged.

"Such an Innate Formation stands guard here."

"There must be some precious treasure within!"

The longer Qin Mu looked, the more he marveled.

Duobao, standing nearby, nodded noncommittally at his words.

"Fellow Daoist Qin Mu, that may be true."

"But this Innate Formation is clearly extraordinary."

"Can we truly break it with our strength?"

Duobao hesitated as he spoke.

Although Qin Mu was no weakling and possessed the cultivation of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal,

in Duobao's view, the Innate Formation before them was anything but ordinary.

Even Qin Mu's power as a Grand Unity Golden Immortal might not necessarily be enough to break it.

Boom!

Before Qin Mu could reply, a series of humming sounds suddenly arose from within the Innate Formation.

Then, a terrifying pressure instantly swept outward.

Under the assault of that pressure, Duobao could not help frowning deeply, pain appearing on his face.

"Hmm?"

Qin Mu was likewise enveloped by the formation's pressure. His expression turned grave as he said in a low voice,

"Duobao, fall back!"

Hearing Qin Mu's words, Duobao hurriedly nodded and retreated a hundred zhang, watching the scene ahead anxiously.

Once Duobao had withdrawn, Qin Mu did not delay. He held two fingers together like a sword.

Boom! Boom!

The next instant, vast sword intent erupted from around him.

The sword intent shot into the sky, directly shattering the pressure bearing down from the formation.

At the same time, the phantom of the green lotus within Qin Mu's body swayed faintly.

Then, Qin Mu pointed a finger at the Innate Formation on the cliff face.

In an instant, a strand of Chaos sword qi burst from his fingertips.

"Grass Sword Art!!"

To break this Innate Formation, Qin Mu did not hold back and directly unleashed his inherited sword art.

Boom!

As the sword art emerged, sword light streaked forth like a rainbow, tearing through the Void.

Wherever it passed, space shattered inch by inch!

Though the Innate Formation was powerful, its Formation Patterns cracked inch by inch beneath Qin Mu's sword, revealing the hidden entrance to a cave-heaven within.

"Ah?"

At the sight, Duobao was utterly dumbfounded, his face full of disbelief.

"This?"

"The power of Fellow Daoist Qin Mu's sword... even an ordinary Grand Luo Golden Immortal would likely be unable to withstand it, wouldn't they?"

The more Duobao spoke, the more shaken he became.

Just moments ago, he had thought this Innate Formation incredibly formidable.

Even with Qin Mu's cultivation as a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, he had not believed Qin Mu could necessarily break it.

Who would have thought that Qin Mu would pierce straight through the Innate Formation with a single sword formed from two fingers?

As Duobao stood stunned, Qin Mu's voice reached him.

"Go!"

The moment he spoke, Qin Mu flashed forward and flew first toward the entrance in the cliff face.

Seeing this, Duobao steadied himself and hurriedly followed Qin Mu.

Before long, the two had flown through the entrance and arrived in a small world.

This was an independent Small World, filled with incredibly dense Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth.

Merely taking a few breaths here left one feeling refreshed and clear-minded.

At the very center of the small world stood a towering ancient tree.

Its trunk coiled like a Dragon, while golden, radiant Fruit hung among its branches and leaves. Every Fruit emitted Dao Resonance that made one's heart tremble.

Qin Mu and Duobao merely caught the scent of the Fruit, yet the mana within their bodies began to boil, and even the bottlenecks in their cultivation faintly loosened!

"Could this be..."

"Yellow Middle Plum?"

Qin Mu's heart shook violently as he suddenly recognized the spiritual root.

One had to know that the Yellow Middle Plum was one of the ten great Innate Spiritual Roots.

Legend had it that this tree blossomed once every ten thousand years, bore Fruit after another ten thousand years, and only matured after yet another ten thousand years.

Its flowers resembled Lotus flowers, while its Fruit resembled pearl stamens.

Both the flowers and Fruit bore the two characters "Yellow Middle."

A single Fruit could allow a mortal to become a Golden Immortal on the spot, and it was of immense benefit even to Grand Luo Golden Immortals.

"Fellow Daoist Qin Mu."

"We've struck it rich this time!"

Duobao cried out excitedly. Though he did not know what the Yellow Middle Plum was, merely smelling the golden Fruit on the tree told him it was extraordinary.

Qin Mu nodded and said,

"Duobao, this is the Yellow Middle Plum!"

"A top-grade Innate Spiritual Root!"

"Its Fruit is naturally far from ordinary!"

"And from the looks of it, they have just reached the point where they can be harvested."

Upon hearing this, Duobao grew even more excited and quickly said,

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Qin Mu and Duobao immediately prepared to step forward.

But at that moment, a sudden change occurred.

Boom!

A figure abruptly descended into this small world, and a terrifying aura of pressure instantly blanketed the area.

The newcomer was a Middle-aged Taoist with a sinister face. His aura surged around him, and his cultivation had actually reached the late stage of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm.

After appearing, he stared greedily at the Yellow Middle Plum, his face filled with shock as he said,

"I never expected such an Ultimate Treasure to exist here!"

"Two ants, get lost at once! I am a member of the Immortal Court. This item belongs to the Immortal Court!"

The Middle-aged Taoist was overjoyed and did not take Qin Mu or Duobao seriously at all.

One was an early-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal, while the other was a Mystic Immortal. Neither was a match for him.

"The Immortal Court?"

Duobao's expression changed upon hearing the newcomer's words.

He naturally knew that the Immortal Court was East King Duke's faction.

After pausing briefly, Duobao hurriedly looked at Qin Mu and said in a low voice,

"Fellow Daoist Qin Mu, perhaps we should... avoid their edge and leave for now?"

In Duobao's view, the Immortal Court was powerful, and East King Duke was a Quasi-Saint Mighty One, someone they absolutely could not afford to provoke lightly.

Moreover, the newcomer's strength was not weak. He was a late-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal.

Although Qin Mu was also a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, he was only at the early stage.

Yet what Duobao had not expected was

that Qin Mu paid no heed to his words. Instead, he looked at the Grand Unity Golden Immortal and sneered.

"Just a Grand Unity Golden Immortal."

"Not to mention you—even if East King Duke of the Immortal Court came in person today, he still would not be able to take this item!"

The instant Duobao heard Qin Mu's words, his heart jolted, and he became somewhat flustered.

Fellow Daoist Qin Mu's words are far too bold, aren't they?

Duobao silently sighed.

At the same time, the Grand Unity Golden Immortal from the Immortal Court flew into a furious rage upon hearing this and shouted,

"You arrogant brat!"

"You are... courting death!"