"Senior Feng... Feng! Save me!"
Seeing Zhang Junbao easily defeat the guards on the outer perimeter of the magic array, Qing Yan, who was still trapped in the spacetime magic array, managed to call out.
Zhang Junbao glanced back at him and sighed softly. He had to admit that Qing Yan was incredibly lucky. He had gone through so many crises with him, including battles between billions of geniuses, battles World Lord, and even battles between Immortal, and he had managed to hold on until now.
Since Qing Yan didn't choose to attack Zhang Junbao when he was at his weakest, and still chose to stand by his side under the threat of Flame God, Zhang Junbao wouldn't just give up on him like that. After all, the two of them had gone through a lot of hardships together.
After some searching, Zhang Junbao finally found the core of the spacetime control array and released Qing Yan.
"Thank you, Senior. If it weren't for you, Senior Feng, I would have died countless times already." After being rescued, Qing Yan expressed his gratitude respectfully. The terrifying feeling of being completely suppressed was still unforgettable to this day, as if the entire space-time around him was against him, restricting him to the spot.
Despite his mastery of the Flame Law, he couldn't even budge the magic array in the slightest. Such terrifying suppressive power was something he had never seen before.
"You're lucky. If I'm not mistaken, this should be the headquarters of the Ancestral God Religion you've been looking for. I just don't know if your teacher is still here," Zhang Junbao said.
"This is where the teacher is being held? Teacher!" Qing Yan became excited. He desperately wanted to rescue his teacher, and his purpose in following Zhang Junbao was to find an opportunity to become stronger.
Unexpectedly, the two of them were tricked by the Ancestral God Religion Ancestral God Hall. If Zhang Junbao hadn't killed the Flame God, Qing Yan would have already become a sacrifice to Exquisite Jade and returned to the embrace of the Ancestral God.
However, his crucial choice to side with Zhang Junbao allowed Qing Yan to survive to this day.
Although his strength improvement was limited, he unexpectedly acquired a huge fortune from countless geniuses during the battle of Divine Bone Mountain. That fortune alone would definitely allow Qing Yan's strength to improve rapidly in a short period of time.
Before he could even react, the two had already arrived at the headquarters of the Ancestral God Religion, where his teacher was likely being imprisoned.
"I can sense that the teacher's soul is still there, but it's very weak!" Qing Yan said anxiously after concentrating her senses.
Clearly, there is some special connection between Qing Yan and his teacher.
"So they really are here. In that case, lead the way. According to the Flame God, the leader and protectors of the Ancestral God Religion are probably not here right now. We must act quickly, as we don't know when they will return."
"Follow me!" Qing Yan nodded and quickly got to work.
The entire Ancestral God Religion was currently vulnerable in its defenses. Apart from the old man who had just been killed by Zhang Junbao, the rest of the people were just a group of Domain Lord, or even Universe Level beings.
Who are you people?
The two had barely stepped out of the teleportation hall when they encountered two patrolling Domain Lord Level guards.
"Tell me, where are the souls you snatched from the outside stored?" Qing Yan grabbed two guards, and a burst of flames sealed them firmly within the fire.
All that could be heard was the hissing sound of the two guards' bodies emerging from the flames, their flesh already beginning to char. Clearly, these two guards, who had just entered the Domain Lord Level, were utterly powerless against Qing Yan.
Qing Yan was desperate to save his master, and Zhang Junbao didn't care about his methods. The Ancestral God Religion was full of people trying to re-enter the universe, and Zhang Junbao had no sympathy for them. That's how the universe is; where there are interests, there will be conflicts. Once a choice is made, one must bear the consequences.
"Ah! Let me go! I'll talk, I'll talk..." one of the guards screamed.
"It's right there in the treasure vault!"
"Where is the treasure vault? Take us there!"
"At the end of this passage, only those with the tokens of the Dharma Protector and the Sect Leader can enter."
"A token?" Zhang Junbao frowned slightly, but then he remembered that he still had the Flame God's storage ring in his hand, and he used his Spiritual Force to search it.
Is this it?
"This... this is the token of the Flame God Protector, how did it end up with you?" the guard exclaimed in horror.
"Kill him, and we'll have it!" Zhang Junbao smiled slightly, which startled the guard.
The Flame God is the Divine Talisman Emperor; anyone capable of killing him must be incredibly powerful!
"Lead the way. You'd better not try anything funny. I can even kill the Flame God. You think you can escape from me? Try it."
"No, no!" The two guards were so frightened that they begged for mercy repeatedly. Even the Divine Talisman Emperor had been killed, so what were the two of them?
Zhang Junbao and Qing Yan followed the guards and soon arrived outside the treasure vault. All the guards they encountered along the way were killed by Qing Yan.
Zhang Junbao took out the token and successfully opened the door to the treasure vault.
Behind the main gate was a strange hall, with two treasure vaults on each side.
"This is the treasure vault. All we know is that the souls brought back by the envoys are kept here. We don't know anything else, since only the sect leader and the protectors are qualified to enter."
"Then what use are you!" Qing Yan's hand burst into flames, instantly turning the two guards in front of him into ashes. Two Domain Lord Level were mercilessly killed like chickens.
The people of the Ancestral God Religion wanted to hunt him down, which ultimately led to the arrest of his teacher. To Qing Yan, any member of the Ancestral God Religion is an enemy!
"Take a look at the left side first," Zhang Junbao said.
Zhang Junbao once again used the Flame God's Token to open the door to the left treasure vault, and the treasures that came into view almost blinded him.
"This is... Star Mark Stone, a metal containing the power of the Time Law. One Star Mark Stone is worth one Hunyuan Unit. There are so many of these, it weighs three or four tons!" Feitian's excited voice rang in Zhang Junbao's mind.
Now that Zhang Junbao's identity no longer needed to be concealed, Feitian quickly scanned everything inside the treasure vault as he opened it.
"The value of this Star Mark Stone alone is three to four million Hunyuan Unit!"
"And there's Blood Blue Crystal, one meter square. In my estimation, it's worth at least 30 million Hunyuan Unit! We've struck it rich, Master! We're rich!" Feitian exclaimed in surprise!
Zhang Junbao also very excited. He hadn't expected that being unexpectedly transported to the Ancestral God Religion would bring him such a gain.
Anything that can be collected by the Ancestral God Religion must be extremely precious on Viska Star.
Blood Blue Crystal is an extremely special Stone, containing endless vitality. It is a precious material for refining Heavy Treasure among soul-type artifacts and is extremely rare.
"As expected of the Ancestral God Religion, this collection is truly exceptional!"
Without hesitation or paying attention to Feitian's excited shouts, Zhang Junbao directly packed up all the treasures in the entire vault and stored them in his World Ring, letting Feitian slowly inventory them. They were still within the Ancestral God Religion and didn't know when the church's leader would return; they needed to find Qing Yan's teacher as soon as possible and then leave.
After looting the treasure vault, Zhang Junbao picked out two not-so-precious items and tossed them to Qing Yan, as if sharing were a given. However, Qing Yan was more eager to find his teacher at the moment. He understood that it was already quite generous of Zhang Junbao to give him two treasures, since he wouldn't have been able to find this place without Zhang Junbao.
The two arrived at another treasure vault. As soon as they opened the door, they saw a gigantic, translucent ancient tree radiating golden light, its roots intertwined and spreading throughout the entire hall. Hanging from the leaves of this ancient tree were not leaves, but souls attached to Innate Rune.
"This is... the Ancient Soul Tree?"
Zhang Junbao recognized the ancient tree at a glance; it was the Ancient Soul Tree, Special Lifeform from the universe. As a plant-based life form, the Ancient Soul Tree's attack power wasn't particularly strong, but its characteristics were extremely unique.
" The Ancient Soul Tree can absorb the essence of the soul's origin, nurturing top-tier Soul Origin Golden Fruit, which possess the miraculous effect of transforming the soul!"
Zhang Junbao was already very familiar with all kinds of treasures in the universe, so he naturally knew the true purpose of the Ancient Soul Tree in front of him: to nurture the Soul Origin Golden Fruit and strengthen the soul of the user.
Upon seeing the Ancient Soul Tree before him, Zhang Junbao's eyes lit up completely. The Ancient Soul Tree could absorb the primal essence of numerous souls, ultimately giving birth to the Soul Origin Golden Fruit. The effects of the Soul Origin Golden Fruit were enough to make countless Immortal Expert fight to the death for it.
" The Soul Origin Golden Fruit can enhance the Soul Amplitude, and it has a miraculous effect even on Peak King Level beings!"
There are many treasures in the universe that can strengthen the soul, such as the Golden Soul Fruit, which can transform the entire soul and make it more in line with the Universe Origin Law.
However, the effects of this Soul Origin Golden Fruit are even more domineering than the Golden Soul Fruit. It can directly enhance the strength of the soul and strengthen the Mental Power Amplitude, reaching a level comparable to that of Universe Venerable.
Therefore, the Ancient Soul Tree and the Soul Origin Golden Fruit have become treasures that countless Immortal Expert and even Universe Venerable in the universe desire.
After all, no one would complain about their Mental Power Amplitude being too high. It's just unexpected that the Ancestral God Religion could even find such a rare and special cosmic plant life Ancient Soul Tree. It truly lives up to its reputation as the planet where the Ancestral God resides. I'm afraid there are still many secrets on Viska Star that haven't been uncovered yet.
The Soul Origin Golden Fruit on this Ancient Soul Tree souls is ripe and ready to be picked at any time. No wonder the Ancestral God Religion chose this moment to formally confront the Ancestral God Hall.
It's likely that the leader of the Ancestral God Religion intends to use this Soul Origin Golden Fruit to directly break through to Immortal and advance to become Universe Venerable. At that time, his strength will probably be even more terrifying than that of Universe Venerable level.
If combined with the Exquisite Jade, one could quickly attain the combat power of Intermediate Universe Venerable. Is this the source of the Ancestral God Religion Leader's confidence in confronting the Golden Crow Hall?
Looking at the Ancient Soul Tree before him, Zhang Junbao immediately understood the plan of the Ancestral God Religion leader.
At this moment, Qing Yan also shouted.
Teacher, teacher!
I am Qing Yan!
Within a leaf of the Ancient Soul Tree, the phantom of an old man, possessed by Innate Rune, flickered in and out of existence, seemingly about to vanish.
Seemingly hearing a call, the old man slowly opened his eyes, and what came into view was the figure of a young man calling out anxiously.
" Yan'er?"
The old man's illusory figure slowly raised his head and spoke in an extremely weak voice.
"Teacher, it's me, Qing Yan!"
"I'll find a way to get you out right away!" Qing Yan said.
"Senior Feng, I've found my teacher! He's here!"
Zhang Junbao looked up and saw the old man trapped among the leaves.
"It's no use doing this. Your teacher, like the other souls residing in the Innate Rune, is nourishment for this Ancient Soul Tree of souls."
Trying to forcibly remove him would likely provoke an attack from the Ancient Soul Tree.
Zhang Junbao wasn't worried about the attack from the Ancient Soul Tree. Although the Ancient Soul Tree was not weak, its combat power was only comparable to that of Ordinary Immortal.
However, once a battle breaks out, the Ancient Soul Tree will absorb all the power of souls without hesitation and use it for the battle. As a result, Qing Yan's teacher will have his soul power drained by the Ancient Soul Tree in the first instant and will dissipate directly.
"Then what should we do?" Qing Yan knew that he could only rely on Zhang Junbao at the moment, otherwise his teacher's fate would be sealed when Zhang Junbao attacked.
"As long as the Ancient Soul Tree is not threatened, it will peacefully nurture the Soul Origin Golden Fruit. To save your teacher, you must make the Ancient Soul Tree willingly shed the leaf that is enveloping him!"
"What should I do, Senior Feng?" Qing Yan asked anxiously. He could see that his teacher was extremely weak, and if he continued to have his energy absorbed by the Ancient Soul Tree, he would soon completely dissipate.
I'll give it a try, though.