Chapter 637: Ling Eye Tree

VIP Volume 5: Renowned in All Directions

"Alright, that's settled," the boy said, waving a hand at the other cultivators and shaking his head. "The three of you, go do what you need to do. Don't mind this old man. I still need to thoroughly analyze the gains and losses of this game." He then truly lowered his head, intently scrutinizing the chessboard before him.

Hearing this, the gray-robed old man and the others immediately assented, not daring to delay.

Led by the yellow-robed cultivator, they then exited the main hall through a side door.

"I never expected Fellow Daoist Bai to be..." the middle-aged cultivator from Hundred Refinements Sect sighed, unable to hold back, not long after exiting the stone hall. "Senior Martial Brother Yue! Did you know about this beforehand?"

"No, I didn't," the yellow-robed cultivator replied, his expression somewhat troubled. "Senior Lan merely said he had some matters to attend to here; how could I dare to ask more?"

Hearing this, the middle-aged cultivator fell silent, asking no further questions.

The younger disciples, having just witnessed the events, were even more hesitant to speak freely.

In a somewhat somber atmosphere, Han Li and the others passed through a long corridor. After turning a corner, they were led to a pale yellow stone door.

In front of the door, a person with disheveled hair sat motionless in a cross-legged position.

Although their face was obscured by their messy hair, making it impossible to discern their features, their gray hair suggested they were certainly not young.

As soon as the yellow-robed cultivator saw this person, a respectful expression appeared on his face.

"Brother Wei, I've brought the disciples for the Sword Trial Assembly," he said. "Should I let them in now?"

"Since you've arrived, go ahead and enter," the disheveled person said indifferently, their voice surprisingly steady and profound. "It seems the spirit essence will flow out a bit later than expected, so these disciples will have to wait a little longer."

Han Li's gaze quickly swept over the person, a cold glint flashing momentarily in his eyes.

This disheveled cultivator was actually a late-Core Formation cultivator, and had even reached the peak Pseudo-Nascent Soul stage.

This couldn't help but make him pay more attention to the person.

Upon hearing the disheveled person's voice, the gray-robed old man showed a hint of excitement on his face. He took a few steps forward and spoke with a slight tremor in his voice.

"Senior Martial Brother Wei," he stammered, "Are... are you well?"

This person was actually a cultivator from the Falling Cloud Sect!

"Junior Martial Brother Yu," the disheveled cultivator said with a light sigh, "After so many years, you've aged quite a bit."

"Senior Martial Brother, why did you..."

"Alright, it's fate that we, fellow martial brothers, can reunite here," Senior Martial Brother Wei said calmly. "Let's not speak of the past. When I entered this place, I swore a solemn oath: I would not leave this mountain until I formed a Nascent Soul. Moreover, I learned from my two martial uncles that Junior Martial Brother Feng has managed everything in the sect perfectly. I have nothing to worry about."

Upon hearing this, the gray-robed old man looked somewhat dejected and swallowed back the words he had originally intended to blurt out.

"Please wait a moment, Junior Martial Brothers. I will now open the restriction to allow you to lead your teams into the Sacred Land." Senior Martial Brother Wei stood up and shot a magic spell from his sleeve, hitting the yellow stone door. Instantly, the stone door silently split into two.

Before Han Li could clearly see what was inside, he felt a surge of pure spiritual energy wash over him from within the door.

Indeed, inside was the location of the Spirit Eye Tree.

However, after a brief comparison in his mind, he realized the purity of this spiritual energy was definitely not inferior to that of his Spirit Eye Jade. It might even be slightly superior, truly worthy of being a top-tier Spirit Eye item.

Led by the disheveled old man, Han Li and the others stepped inside. Before their eyes, a massive stalactite cave suddenly appeared.

This grotto was hundreds of zhang long and wide, and twenty to thirty zhang high. At first glance, it was as if they had entered an underground world.

What was even more surprising was that stalactite pillars of varying sizes grew from the ground, forming a natural stone forest. It densely covered most of the grotto, resembling a small maze.

Upon closer inspection, Han Li saw white spiritual light flickering faintly between the stone pillars. It was clear that some restriction had been cast within.

While Han Li was secretly pondering, the disheveled old man had already led them to the edge of the stone forest. With a flip of his hand, a palm-sized white ancient mirror appeared.

Without a word, the old man began to chant, and with a raised hand, a white beam of light shot out from the mirror, directly towards the stone forest in front of them.

A soft 'whoosh' sound was heard as the light beam, like a clay ox entering the sea, vanished into the forest in an instant.

The old man then put away the small mirror and stood silently in place with his hands clasped behind his back.

As some young disciples wondered what was happening, the ground began to tremble slightly. Then, a scene that left the low-level cultivators dumbfounded unfolded.

The stone pillars, large and small, simultaneously emitted milky white glows. Subsequently, large swathes of yellow light rose from the forest, and some pillars, before everyone's eyes, began to shift bewilderingly. By the time the young disciples recovered from their stupor, the stone forest had parted, revealing a straight path.

Seeing this scene, Han Li's expression subtly changed, but then returned to normal.

Everyone followed this path and easily reached the center of the stone forest, where they finally saw the legendary Spirit Eye Tree.

"Is this really the Spirit Eye Tree?" Han Li wondered, somewhat speechless, as he looked at the object about a zhang tall in front of him.

This straight, arm-thick, pale green object, if called a green stone pillar, most people would likely believe it. It was impossible to associate it with a tree at all.

However, the astonishing spiritual energy throughout the cave indeed emanated from this gnarled "stone pillar." Furthermore, a layer of pale golden light enveloped the pillar tightly from top to root. Just by observing such careful protection, this must truly be the Spirit Eye Tree!

Although Han Li was full of silent complaints, the gray-robed old man and other cultivators, upon seeing the tree, all revealed eager gazes. If a cultivator could directly cultivate under this tree, as long as they didn't encounter a bottleneck, they could probably shorten their cultivation time by a good half.

Han Li, however, didn't pay attention to the Spirit Eye Tree for long. His gaze swept over it and landed on a jade bottle beneath the spirit tree.

This bottle was about half a chi tall, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. Inside, a faint, familiar medicinal fragrance wafted out.

*Could this be the 'Brightening Spirit Water' that was mostly prepared?* Han Li mused.

The others instinctively stopped when they were several zhang away from the Spirit Eye Tree.

Only the disheveled old man quickly stepped forward without hesitation. The layer of pale golden light seemed to have no effect on him whatsoever, allowing him to pass through as if it were nothing.

The old man walked a few steps to the Spirit Eye Tree, circled it twice, then raised one hand and placed his palm on the middle section of the spirit tree. With a slight activation of spiritual power, green light flickered at the tips of his five fingers.

The others outside the light barrier saw this. Although most didn't know what the man was doing, they couldn't help but hold their breath, fearing they might disturb the disheveled cultivator.

After a while, the disheveled old man slightly shook his head and withdrew his fingers, the green light flickering once before disappearing.

"The spirit essence within the spirit tree has not yet reached the optimal time for extraction," the disheveled old man said calmly after turning his head. "We'll have to wait about three or four more hours. Before then, the rest of you can sit cross-legged nearby and rest. I will first complete the final step of preparing the Brightening Spirit Water, waiting only for the essence to be added."

"Everything will be as Brother Wei says!" the middle-aged cultivator and the yellow-robed cultivator affirmed with nods. Elder Yu, even more so, had no other opinions.

Thus, Han Li and the younger disciples, at the instruction of the Core Formation cultivators, one by one sat cross-legged in the center of the stone forest. Some closed their eyes to rest, while others practiced cultivation.

Meanwhile, the disheveled old man lowered himself and reached for the jade bottle beneath the spirit tree. Then, with a casual flick of his sleeve, the pale golden light barrier suddenly emitted a dazzling glow, making it impossible to see anything inside.

Upon seeing this, the others naturally appeared unconcerned, but Han Li frowned and suddenly secretly summoned the spirit artifact, Silvermoon.

"Brother Han, you called me? Is something the matter?" Silvermoon's voice came leisurely.

"I remember you are skilled in Earth Escape techniques," Han Li said indifferently. "Can you secretly burrow underground and enter that light barrier? I don't need you to do anything else, just retrieve a section of this Spirit Eye Tree's spiritual root for me."

"Brother Han, please wait a moment. I'll use my spirit artifact form, try it, and return," Silvermoon replied.

As soon as these words were spoken, Silvermoon immediately transformed into a mini wolf the size of a fist and burrowed into the ground beneath Han Li without anyone noticing.

Han Li's expression remained unchanged, his eyes slightly narrowed, as if he was cultivating or meditating.

Suddenly, Han Li's eyebrow twitched. His narrowed eyes subtly shifted their gaze, imperceptibly falling upon the burly man, Du Dong.

This person was sitting cross-legged in a corner of the crowd, motionless with his head bowed and hand seals formed, as if he was cultivating.

Seeing this, Han Li's mouth curled into a slight smile, implying a faint, almost imperceptible hint of sarcasm.