Chapter 1561: Day-After-Tomorrow Wooden Man Stele

"Wood spirit aura?" Qin Sang's expression darkened.

Having known Lu Zhang for decades, Qin Sang had some understanding of his strength. Facing a Grand Cultivator, Lu Zhang should at least be able to hold his own for a while; it was inconceivable that he would be completely helpless. Qin Sang never expected the opponent's poison to be so ruthless, leaving Lu Zhang unable to withstand even a single blow. Nor did he expect that the opponent's target was himself.

He was filled with questions. What kind of "wood spirit aura" was this person talking about? Bai had clearly stated that while the Dao Tree was a spiritual tree, it was an immaculate and extremely pure entity. Even Qin Sang himself hadn't sensed any unusual aura from his external incarnation, which was refined from the Dao Tree. Before this, no one had ever seen through the Dao Tree's true nature. Especially after his void nascent soul transformed into a true nascent soul, he could even conceal the identity of his external incarnation. His true self and the incarnation played two different roles, keeping Lu Zhang completely in the dark until now.

Of course, this also had to do with Qin Sang's cautious nature. He tried to avoid having his incarnation directly confront Grand Cultivators. When he visited Mount Bunian, he deliberately chose times to avoid its sect master. He never expected such an unexpected turn of events.

The strange-faced man scrutinized Qin Sang from head to toe, his greed undisguised. His gaze seemed to strip Qin Sang bare. He took a deep breath, revealing an intoxicated expression, his features twisting and making him appear even more terrifying. "Such purity is something I've never seen in my life. Could it be one of the legendary Ten Divine Woods? Heaven is truly kind to me! I was just planning to cultivate the Post-Heaven Wooden Man Stele, and fate delivers you right to me..."

'Whoosh!' The jade beetle flew back into the strange-faced man's hand. Playing with the beetle, the strange-faced man said lightly, "Hand it over, and I can give you a chance for a fair trade: one treasure for both your lives!" His tone was filled with confidence.

In fact, he had reason to be confident. Although he hadn't managed to directly poison Lu Zhang to death as he'd intended, his achievement was still astonishing enough. The esteemed Enforcement Elder of Mount Bunian had been severely wounded in a single encounter, forcing him to hide inside the Azure Bell, his fate unknown. From that initial test, the strange-faced man discerned that the Azure Bell was extraordinary, likely Lu Zhang's strongest life-saving artifact, and would be difficult to break in a short time. It would have been strange if Lu Zhang, coming from a renowned sect, didn't possess such a life-saving method.

However, the strange-faced man was certain that with the Gu King poison in his system, it wouldn't be easy for Lu Zhang to recover his combat strength. So, the opponent hadn't seen through the Dao Tree after all. Qin Sang suddenly realized, gazing at the strange-faced man's vine-like arm and branch-shaped hand. He faintly guessed that this might be related to the man's cultivation technique and divine abilities, granting him a special spiritual sense.

The opponent was after his true body; how could he hand it over? Just now, Lu Zhang, using his last remaining strength, had broken free from the strange-faced man's grip and landed near Qin Sang. At the last moment, he transmitted a message, his voice very weak, like a whisper. "I have a way to suppress the potent poison in my body. The Meditation Bell can help us escape. I hope Daoist priest can buy us more time..."

Qin Sang subtly glanced at the Meditation Bell. With a thought, he said coldly, "First you ambush and steal treasure, then you poison and harm people, and you still dare to speak of fair trade? Don't you find it ridiculous?" As he spoke, the Divine Snow-Treading Saber flew back. Qin Sang swept up the Meditation Bell and made to leave.

"Stubborn fool!" the strange-faced man snorted coldly. "Kill him!" Without needing a reminder, the grey-robed man had already made his move. He was more interested in Lu Zhang inside the Meditation Bell. After all, any treasure obtained from Qin Sang would belong to his master, but the stone toad was his.

The five-colored whip crackled, and phantom images of poisonous whips exploded in the void, like blooming, poisonous flowers—ubiquitous, vibrant, yet dangerous. The strange-faced man's right hand remained vine-like, his rough palm wide open. He flipped his hand and grabbed the wooden bead, and a dense green light suddenly erupted from his palm. Wherever the light shone, vitality spread over the smooth, mirror-like stones and rock walls, causing a layer of tender green grass shoots to sprout, brimming with life. The grass shoots grew rapidly, forming patches of grassland, and the wild grass proliferated wildly, transforming into countless thorny vines. These vines were more agile than venomous snakes, darting forth. In an instant, the entire space became a web of intertwining vines.

Qin Sang's vision was consumed by the dense green, with clusters of poisonous flowers blooming around him, putting him in an extremely perilous situation. Yet, there was no anxiety on his face. One hand gripped the Meditation Bell. The Meditation Bell was very light; he couldn't feel its weight in his hand. As he held it, Qin Sang sensed that the Meditation Bell's power was rapidly draining, an alarming realization.

Lu Zhang had nearly lost his life this time. Though he had temporarily saved it, he would pay a heavy price, and the Meditation Bell was likely to be destroyed as a result. After transmitting his message, Lu Zhang fled into the Meditation Bell and fell silent. Qin Sang now had to face two opponents alone, one of whom was a Grand Cultivator. He sighed inwardly, thinking, 'It's a pity my true self isn't here, otherwise, how could I let them be so arrogant!' He then dismissed these distracting thoughts, and his Profound Qi Great Hand burst forth from the top of his head.

The great hand loosely clenched, causing the surrounding vines to freeze. Seizing this opportunity, Qin Sang activated the Divine Snow-Treading Saber, turned, and slashed behind him, forcibly carving a path through the countless vines. He rapidly retreated outward, unable to retrieve the Precious Color Bell, and had to abandon it. Saber aura surged like a tide.

Stone wall after stone wall collapsed. The underground was in ruins. The low-level cultivators searching for treasures in the basin also felt frequent tremors, believing an earthquake was occurring in the center of the basin.

Qin Sang fled quickly, but the vines pursued just as fast. The strange-faced man held the wooden bead in his hand, his feet unmoving. Countless vines undulated like waves, pushing him forward and flattening everything in their path. The green light moved with his figure. Once the green light shifted away, the wild grass and vines withered at a visible rate, eventually disappearing completely, while new vines grew in front of him.

As for the poisonous flowers, Qin Sang crashed directly into them without hesitation. Some toxins penetrated his protective true essence and entered his body. Qin Sang discovered that this toxin's effect was similar to miasma; it primarily threatened the physical body and had limited impact on him, so he ignored it. Had it been the strange-faced man's Gu King poison, he certainly wouldn't have dared to be so reckless, but there was no sign that the strange-faced man was using the Gu King.

Seeing his carefully cultivated poison arts were ineffective, the grey-robed man was both shocked and enraged. He quickly put away his five-colored whip, whistled, and summoned his five-colored venomous spider to chase after Qin Sang.

Behind him, waves of vines rolled, and the strange-faced man appeared and disappeared intermittently. Qin Sang kept the Four-Sect Tengshe Seal hidden in his sleeve, not rushing to use it. Deploying a spiritual treasure would certainly improve his situation. However, spiritual treasures consumed a great deal of true essence, and the strange-faced man wouldn't stand there taking hits. Qin Sang had to consider how to escape if the spiritual treasure couldn't force his opponents back. Lu Zhang claimed to have a method of escape, but Qin Sang would never fully entrust his life and fortune to others.

After a moment of thought, Qin Sang suddenly changed direction. Instead of heading upwards, he uncharacteristically plunged deeper underground. The further down he went, the denser the miasma became, which could obscure vision and blur his opponents' perceptions. He could allow the poisonous miasma to completely envelop his body without any resistance, suppressing his own fluctuations to the minimum to hide his tracks. The prerequisite was being able to temporarily shake off his opponents.