Lin Xiao, the Spectator

Perhaps because the concentration of Spiritual Qi is higher than that of the South Spirit Domain and North Spirit Domain, the further you go into the Mysterious Extreme Domain, the denser the Spirit Plant and Demon Beast become.

It's not just that they're denser; there are also more varieties, and the quality is higher.

That's why the cultivation expenses are higher here; after all, the range of resources available here is also much wider.

Lin Xiao was busy collecting various map resources and information, and he would grab as much as he could find something good, since he had plenty of storage space.

So engrossed in collecting these wild resources, Lin Xiao completely forgot his earlier idea of finding a city to explore, and sped through the desolate wilderness.

Two days after entering the Mysterious Extreme Domain, on the morning of the 1st, Lin Xiao, who was in the air, suddenly sensed that something was happening on the ground not far ahead.

After briefly scanning the area with his Divine Sense and discovering that the humans and demons below seemed to be only at the Qi Refining Stage, he became extremely bored and immediately stopped his sword, deciding to quietly go down and observe.

He didn't intend to get involved; he just wanted to be an onlooker in the world of the Immortal Cultivation Realm.

If a Nascent Soul Cultivator intentionally conceals his existence, a group of Qi Refining Stage humans and demons would have absolutely no chance of discovering his arrival.

Below is a dense forest in the mountains.

The resources here seem abundant, with many traces of Spirit Plant being harvested.

Five Qi Refining Stage cultivators dressed in matching light yellow robes were confronting a group of rather unkempt tree spirits.

The five people appeared to be disciples of some sect.

There were more than thirty tree demons in the group, but their cultivation levels were all very low, all at the first or second level of Qi Refining. Each tree demon was only about the thickness of two adult palms and not very tall. It was impossible to find any tree that was taller than those cultivators. Most of their branches were sparse and withered, and they looked quite malnourished.

Although there were only five human cultivators, they were all at the eighth or ninth level of Qi Refining.

Judging from their cultivation levels alone, their combat strength seems unequal. A group of tree demons at the first or second level of Qi Refining are no different from chives in a vegetable garden that can be harvested at will when facing a cultivator at the Qi Refining Late Stage.

But perhaps these tree demons possess something special that gives them the confidence to surround Qi Refining Late Stage cultivator? Lin Xiao wondered.

Then, one of the tree demons, whose head appeared to have the thickest branches and leaves, shouted loudly at the five cultivators, "Give us back our leader!"

"Yes!" "Yes!"

"Give it back!"

"Give our boss back!"

The other little tree spirits chimed in agreement.

None of the cultivators uttered a word in response; they all looked helpless.

Only one disciple, who looked the youngest, appeared impatient and on the verge of exploding. He shouted angrily, "Are you ever going to stop? If you're so capable, go find it yourselves and see if it'll follow you. Why do you keep coming to us?"

A cultivator beside him tugged at his sleeve, shook his head with a disapproving expression, and gestured for him not to say that.

The lush little tree spirit, upon hearing his words, became so agitated that its roots jumped up. "If you're so capable, then remove the barrier! Blocking us from seeing our boss, you're obviously hiding something!"

"Bullshit! It was clearly its own choice!" The young cultivator was furious, ignoring the gesturings of his senior brothers and sisters. He flung aside his tugged sleeve, took two steps forward, and roared, "You harass us every few days! We tolerated you before, but do you really think our Zhenyang Sect is a pushover? Today, I'll teach you ungrateful bastards a lesson!"

As he spoke, he raised his hand and hurled a fireball the size of a human face at the densely packed group of tree demons.

With a loud "boom," the fireball struck, sending up a cloud of dust. Many tree spirits were caught off guard and were blasted away, leaving behind a trail of broken branches and charred leaves.

As the dust settled, a large pit, about four or five meters in diameter, appeared on the once flat ground.

Although the fireball's power wasn't considered particularly strong by Lin Xiao for a Qi Refining Late Stage cultivator, and he guessed that the cultivator wasn't skilled in fire control, fire always counters wood. Not to mention that the opponents were just a group of small tree demons at the first or second level of Qi Refining. If a fireball of that magnitude were to hit these small tree demons directly, it would probably burn them to ashes on the spot.

Fortunately, although their cultivation level was not high, their evasion ability was quite good, and they basically avoided vital points and were not hit in the bullseye.

The lush little tree spirit that had been leading the conversation was blasted to the side and lay on the ground. It staggered to its feet, its once lush upper body now mostly bare.

It was about to speak again when it saw the young cultivator opposite it conjure another large fireball, even bigger than the previous one.

Upon seeing this, the other, relatively healthy tree spirits nearby immediately lifted up the dense tree spirit, turned around, and fled in panic, shouting as they ran, "Help! The Zhenyang Sect people are killing trees!"

The other little tree spirits also scattered in all directions.

Several tree roots beneath him tumbled and left afterimages.

A senior disciple beside the young disciple pressed down on his hand, which was about to throw a fireball, and advised, "Alright, junior brother, these tree demons haven't done anything wrong, nor have they attacked us. They've only been showing off their verbal skills; they don't deserve to die."

Seeing that the tree demons had vanished in the blink of an eye, the young disciple had no choice but to stop, complaining, "Why don't we just have a proper fight instead of this constant harassment? A bunch of useless, incompetent good-for-nothings!"

The senior brother sighed, "After all, our sect does rely heavily on Elder Dan Ling... these tree demons are ultimately its kin."

"They've been causing trouble outside for so many years, has Elder Dan Ling ever paid them any attention? And they call themselves our kind? Humph!"

The other cultivators sighed helplessly and offered him a few words of advice. The five of them then continued their harvesting tasks in the surrounding area.

Seeing this, Lin Xiao, who was enjoying the spectacle, felt quite regretful.

Is that all?

He thought there was going to be some good show to watch.

But judging from their conversation with the tree spirits just now, there seems to be more to the story?

This group of tree spirits has a leader of their own kind, but he doesn't acknowledge them and instead becomes an elder of this Zhenyang Sect? However, the tree spirits don't seem to see it that way.

Seeing that the harvesting task here was rather boring and not interesting for the time being, Lin Xiao then used his Divine Sense to probe the dense little tree spirit that had just escaped.

The lush little tree spirit had many branches blasted off its body by the fireball, and many leaves were also scorched. It felt a lot of pain all over its body.

The few little tree spirits who had carried it away brought it to a clear pool in the mountains and carefully placed it on the edge of the pool.

"Dayi, are you in pain?" a little tree spirit asked it softly.

The lush little tree spirit, called Dayi, struggled to sit up by the pool, plunging its painfully burned side into the water, and nodded pitifully, "It hurts so much."