Chapter 2832: Nine Primordial Mysterious Wood

Outside the secret realm, Wang Changsheng, Wang Ruyan, Liao Zhongyan, Guo Yulin, and True Monarch Jinfeng gathered on a hilltop, chatting about matters related to the Beiming family.

"Do you think the Beiming family's clan-guarding treasure might be inside the secret realm?" True Monarch Jinfeng asked, his face full of curiosity.

Liao Zhongyan disagreed, saying, "Who would put their clan-guarding treasure in a secret realm? At most, it would be used to store some materials. Secret realms are primarily for cultivating spiritual medicines. However, after so many years, I'm afraid the restrictions on the spiritual medicine garden have already been broken by demonic beasts. I just wonder if there will be seventh-tier demonic beasts in the secret realm."

Generally, secret realms are used to train disciples or cultivate spiritual medicines. Major powers would store certain items in them, so that if they declined, their descendants could use the items within the realm to rise again.

"It's unlikely there are seventh-tier demonic beasts, right? Otherwise, the secret realm would have appeared long ago, and those Void-refining juniors wouldn't have attacked for so long without being able to break open the entrance," Wang Changsheng analyzed.

"That's true, but after so many years, who knows if something unusual has appeared in the secret realm? Even without seventh-tier demonic beasts, mutated beasts are quite troublesome. Madam Liao sent Junior Sun to search for treasures, so she must have high expectations for him. Fellow Daoist Wang, why didn't you bring your nephew this time?" Guo Yulin said meaningfully. Junior Sun referred to True Monarch Bingfeng, a devotee of the Liao family who had served them faithfully for years, earning considerable merit and renown. Wang Changsheng's nephew was Wang Qingshan, renowned as the Green Lotus Sword Sovereign.

"Qingshan is in seclusion for cultivation and found it inconvenient to come," Wang Changsheng casually offered an excuse.

"Fellow Daoist Guo, aren't you worried about sending your descendant in?" Liao Zhongyan asked with a smile. True Monarch Bingchan possessed considerable divine abilities and had earned significant merit leading the charge for the Liao family. She was surely expected to achieve great success in this treasure hunt.

"Flowers grown in a greenhouse don't grow large. This is a form of tempering for her," Guo Yulin said calmly, as if discussing a trivial matter.

"By the way, I presume all of you know about the situation with the Lizard race, right? It seems a full-scale racial war will erupt soon, and we will certainly be conscripted to fight them." Guo Yulin shifted the topic. The Human, Yaksha, and Fiery Spirit races had reached an understanding and were besieging the Lizard race, gradually occupying their territory and eliminating several of their affiliated forces. Under these circumstances, even if a Lizard Race Grand Ascension cultivator appeared, the three races would not easily withdraw their troops. The Lizard race was bound to suffer severe losses, and in a dire scenario, could even face annihilation. Over the past hundred thousand years, conflicts between the Human, Fiery Spirit, and Yaksha races had been constant, with racial wars erupting every tens of thousands of years. However, these were typically localized conflicts that ended quickly, resulting in some casualties among experts but no major territorial changes. In contrast, the Lizard race had been in decline for the past hundred thousand years, becoming increasingly low-key and having little presence. The Lizard race had already lost considerable territory, and several of their affiliated forces had been destroyed. Rumors circulated that a Lizard Race Grand Ascension cultivator had died, but the Lizard race vehemently denied it.

"I heard that a Lizard Race Grand Ascension cultivator has died. If we can annihilate the Lizard race, it would be a good thing. By expanding our territory, our Human race might become even stronger. The Lizard race's concealment ability is extremely difficult to guard against. A friend of mine went to the Ten Thousand Volcano Mountain Range to search for treasures and was ambushed by the Lizard race, suffering severe injuries." Liao Zhongyan didn't mind campaigning. While racial wars were dangerous, they also presented opportunities for the strong to emerge and advance to higher realms. Back then, the Fiery Spirit race rose to prominence by taking advantage of the destruction of the Void Heaven race and occupying much of their territory.

"Even if a Lizard Race Grand Ascension cultivator isn't dead, given the three races' offensive posture, the Lizard race will be severely weakened, even if not annihilated," Wang Ruyan shared her opinion. The three races were slowly carving away at the Lizard race, and the longer it continued, the greater the Lizard race's losses would be.

"I heard that Immortal Maiden Yuqing, one of the Nine Sons of Xuanqing, possesses a special spiritual eye that can see through concealment and illusion techniques. If Immortal Maiden Yuqing participates in the battle, she will surely deliver a crushing blow to the Lizard race," Guo Yulin said with a smile, his face showing admiration.

He seemed to recall something and said, "I heard that Immortal Maiden Chen of Zhenhai Palace is also a spiritual body cultivator, proficient in earth-attributed divine abilities, giving her a great advantage in land combat. And Fellow Daoist Lin, during the last racial war, Fellow Daoist Lin single-handedly annihilated several Integration-stage foreign cultivators. Madam Wang's divine abilities are vast, so I imagine Fellow Daoist Wang is also not weak. When the war starts, we'll give the Lizard race a taste of their own medicine. I, Guo, am not talented enough and can only refine some treasures."

"Senior Sister Chen and Senior Brother Lin's divine abilities are indeed very strong; we are far from comparable," Wang Changsheng said modestly, not wanting to elaborate further on the topic.

Seeing that Wang Changsheng was unwilling to say more, Guo Yulin changed the subject and started discussing matters related to cultivation.

Inside the secret realm, in a small valley surrounded by mountains on three sides, a large amount of black mist permeated the air above. From within the valley, an ear-splitting roar occasionally erupted, causing the ground to tremble slightly. A cave, over a hundred zhang wide, stretched deep underground, dark and damp. At its end was an underground grotto, five mu in size, with stalactites of varying lengths hanging from the ceiling.

Guo Xuefei was panting, her face pale. A small, shimmering white umbrella floated in mid-air. Beside her stood a tall, thin middle-aged man, his left arm missing, bleeding profusely. Not far away, on the ground, lay a demonic beast covered in red fur. Its head was unusually small, and its body bore over a dozen charred bloody holes, indicating it was lifeless. Numerous motionless, lifeless Frost Crystal Ants were scattered on the ground.

In the lower-left corner of the grotto stood a black tree over ten zhang tall, with sparse leaves and no fruit. Beneath the tree were four black spiritual ganoderma mushrooms, each the size of a millstone, with some natural silver patterns on their surfaces.

"A Profound Soul Wood over sixty thousand years old! This is an excellent material for setting up ghostly formations and refining ghostly treasures. And there are also four thirty-thousand-year-old Profound Soul Jade Ganoderma mushrooms!" the middle-aged man said with an excited smile. The Guo family specialized in artifact refining, and this Profound Soul Wood could be used to refine several sets of ghostly treasures. Profound Soul Jade Ganoderma, like Heaven Soul Fruit, could strengthen a cultivator's divine soul.

"This beast likely devoured multiple Profound Soul Jade Ganoderma mushrooms. If we hadn't killed it, it might have had a chance to advance to the seventh tier someday. What a pity about my Frost Crystal Ants," Guo Xuefei said with a regretful tone. To eliminate the demonic beast guarding the Profound Soul Jade Ganoderma, more than half of her Frost Crystal Ants had perished, including the sixth-tier queen, resulting in significant losses.

"With the Profound Soul Jade Ganoderma, once you reach the great perfection of Void Refinement, you can start refining your spiritual power and soul, preparing to attempt the Integration stage," the middle-aged man said with a smile.

The middle-aged man carefully dug out the four Profound Soul Jade Ganoderma mushrooms and placed them into four jade boxes. The Profound Soul Wood, naturally, was not overlooked. He carefully excavated it, though some roots broke off. Upon returning to the Guo family, it would need meticulous care from a spiritual plant cultivator.

Outside the cave, Guo Xuefei seemed to sense something. She took out a shimmering red formation disc, which had a golden pointer on its surface. She cast a magic spell into it, and the golden pointer spun rapidly before finally pointing northwest. "Some clan members are approaching. Let's go and meet them," Guo Xuefei said. Guo Xuefei and the middle-aged man flew northwest. After covering over a hundred thousand li, a green streak of light flew toward them. It was a handsome young man in a green shirt, with a sturdy build. This was Guo Xueqing, an early Void Refinement stage cultivator, and Guo Xuefei's clan brother.

"Why are you alone? Haven't you met other clan members?" Guo Xuefei asked, puzzled. "Yes, we did. We found a Nine-Origin Profound Wood, but it was guarded by a sixth-tier demonic ape. Seventh Uncle was no match and was killed by the ape," Guo Xueqing explained.

"What? Nine-Origin Profound Wood?" Guo Xuefei's breathing quickened. The Nine-Origin Profound Wood was one of the Ten Great Divine Woods, capable of gathering spiritual energy from heaven and earth, making it even more advanced than a Spirit Eye Tree.