Lushwood.
Pitch-black dead trees covered the ground. Roots gleaming like metal broke through the earth, locking in the spiritual energy here. Below, numerous Daoists in green robes came and went, wielding water and fire to wear away the dead wood bit by bit.
Above the clouds, Xu Xuan stood on silver lightning, with Liu Xingfang behind him. On their way to the Plainlands, they passed this place and could not help stopping to survey the situation below.
"The changes in the [Rigid Branch Golden Flow Formation] linked all the spirit trees in Lushwood together, sealing off the spiritual veins. We've sent people to wear them down with water and fire and cut them with blades, but after all these years, we've only cleared a tenth of the area."
"And that's only the outer perimeter. There are foundation establishment spirit trees in the inner region. If they're dead trees formed from [Martial Rite Golden Wood], qi refining cultivators can't budge them at all. Even asking Protector Liang to come has done very little."
Liu Xingfang spoke slowly. It would be a pity to abandon Lushwood, but restoring it to a Spirit Land would cost far too much.
"What level has Wu Qinghe's cultivation reached?"
Xu Xuan thought of the Wu Clan's sole surviving scion. The man cultivated the Heaven-Repairing Divine Broad Scripture. Once he reached foundation establishment, he would attain [Meticulous Preparation], which could dispel the stagnant deathly energy here.
"He's already reached the ninth level, but Vast Wood is difficult to cultivate. He's still stabilizing his qi sea. Whether he can reach foundation establishment remains uncertain."
Liu Xingfang shook his head and said quietly:
"I've heard that Li burns Vast Wood. If we had a foundation establishment cultivator or an artifact of Li Fire, we could burn this entire forest