Chapter 4342: Tianhe Sword Sect

A narrow valley echoed with deafening roars. Thick black lightning bolts streaked across the sky, striking the valley and sending shockwaves billowing.

Soon after, three streaks of light flew out, revealing two men and one woman. Leading them was a beautiful woman in a golden dress, her hair styled in a spirit snake bun and adorned with a golden jade hairpin.

The woman in the golden dress possessed a cultivation of mid-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal. The two men, whose facial features were quite similar, were early-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortals.

"Damn it, when the puppet beast scouted ahead, it clearly didn't trigger any restrictions. Why did they appear once we entered?" a tall man in a purple robe frowned as he spoke, a delicate purple sword-box on his back.

Chen Lei, an early-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal from the Heavenly River Sword Sect.

"The restrictions in the Immortal Spirit Tomb are inherently variable; there's nothing strange about it. Otherwise, the Blood Infant Jade Apricot Fruit would have been picked long ago," said a young man of medium build in a red shirt.

Yang Yan, an early-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal from the Heavenly River Sword Sect.

"It's a pity about Junior Nephew Sun and the others; they were killed by the restrictions. If we obtain the Blood Infant Jade Apricot Fruit, we will generously reward their relatives and disciples upon our return," said the woman in the golden dress.

Chen Ying, a mid-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal from the Heavenly River Sword Sect.

Disciples of the Heavenly River Sword Sect had slain a group of evil cultivators and, through soul-searching, learned that they had discovered a Blood Infant Jade Apricot Fruit tree in the Immortal Spirit Tomb. Greedy, these disciples ventured alone to the Immortal Spirit Tomb to seek treasure, but triggered restrictions, suffering heavy casualties. Only then did they report to their elders. Chen Ying and the other two, upon hearing the news, decided to take action personally.

Even consumed raw, the Blood Infant Jade Apricot Fruit could strengthen a cultivator's vital energy and blood, greatly aiding them in cultivating an immortal physique.

"Let's get the Blood Infant Jade Apricot Fruit as soon as possible! Xu Di sold the information to the Wang family, so their Grand Unity Golden Immortals might already be on their way. Other Grand Unity Golden Immortals are fine, but we fear the Azure Lotus Immortals themselves might come," Yang Yan urged, a look of apprehension filling his eyes as he finished speaking.

The Azure Lotus Immortals had both mastered the Laws of Soul and had even been summoned by a Dao Ancestor. If this incident hadn't involved the Blood Infant Jade Apricot Fruit, they truly wouldn't want to conflict with the Wang family.

"I heard the Azure Lotus Immortals were injured by a Nine-Colored Chaos Beast and are in seclusion healing, so they shouldn't be coming. The Wang family has many Grand Unity Golden Immortals, but as long as it's not Azure Lotus Sword Sovereign, True Man Zixiao, or True Monarch Tyrant Blade! Other Grand Unity Golden Immortals won't be our match," Chen Lei said.

"The Wang family's Grand Unity Golden Immortals might be on their way. Let's get the Blood Infant Jade Apricot Fruit as soon as possible, to avoid any further complications," Chen Ying said, walking towards a nearby purple bamboo forest, with Chen Lei and Yang Yan quickly following.

In a vast, dense black forest, loud explosions echoed, shaking the ground and raising clouds of dust.

Deep within the forest, Ye Haitang, Wang Yingjie, Wang Yier, and Wang Yunyue stood in an open area, being attacked by tall black trees.

The black trees were lush with foliage; numerous branches intertwined, forming large black hands that swatted at them. With a slight shake, the black trees shed many black leaves, which transformed into sharp black blades, flying directly towards the four of them.

As the black leaves approached within a hundred feet, dazzling white spiritual light burst forth from Wang Yunyue's body. The black leaves that touched the white spiritual light instantly froze.

Wang Yier formed a sword-chant, and five golden-glowing flying daggers shot out, striking the attacking black trees. These black trees shattered into splinters, but soon, black saplings broke through the ground, rapidly grew, and transformed into towering black trees.

"We need to find the formation's core, or we'll be trapped here indefinitely," Wang Yingjie said, frowning.

Ye Haitang's right index finger glowed intensely with black light. She gently pointed at the void, and a black beam shot out, striking a specific spot on the ground. The ground exploded, leaving a large crater. Ripples spread above a black tree, and a black ghostly claw appeared, sweeping down and crushing the black tree to dust.

The black trees immediately ceased their attack and stood motionless.

"We finally broke the formation," Wang Yier breathed a sigh of relief.

"We haven't broken the formation; we've only temporarily halted its operation. Let's leave quickly! The immortal formation master who set this up is quite formidable; they modified the formation, making it highly versatile," Ye Haitang said.

They quickly left the dense forest, and a long, narrow valley appeared before them.

The valley had sparse vegetation, and its rocky walls were uneven, appearing unremarkable.

Wang Yunyue conjured a True Immortal-stage talisman soldier and sent it into the valley. It did not trigger any restrictions. Ye Haitang activated the black orb in her hand but also found no abnormalities, so they proceeded inside.

"According to the map, we're almost at our destination. Thanks to Ancestor Haitang for breaking that restriction, we saved a lot of travel time," Wang Yunyue said with a smile.

No sooner had she spoken than a golden light burst from the ground, shooting directly towards the talisman soldier. The talisman soldier had no time to dodge and was pierced by the golden light, splitting into two. Its body transformed into a shimmering yellow talisman. With a muffled thud, the yellow talisman spontaneously ignited, burning into ashes.

Almost simultaneously, golden lights burst from the ground, striking at the four of them from all directions, as if to turn them into sieves. Wang Yingjie reacted swiftly, spitting out five differently colored orbs from his mouth—the Five Spirits Pearls. After circling them once, the Five Spirits Pearls conjured a dense, five-colored light barrier that closely enveloped their bodies, protecting all four.

Golden lights struck the five-colored light barrier one after another, emitting muffled thuds, but the light barrier remained completely still.

"What's going on?! There was no anomaly during the reconnaissance!" Wang Yunyue exclaimed in surprise.

"The restrictions in the Immortal Spirit Tomb are quite tricky. Back then, two Immortal Formation Masters at the Grand Unity Golden Immortal stage were stationed here. One of them was a disciple of the Myriad Immortals Sect's Vice Sect Master and highly skilled in formations. The Immortal Spirit Tomb's restrictions are highly variable, so let's leave quickly!" Ye Haitang said.

They flew towards the valley exit, not at high speed. Dense, thin golden lights struck the five-colored light barrier, emitting muffled thuds. The light barrier remained unmoving, its defense astonishing. Ye Haitang was secretly astonished, her face filled with envy.

Soon after, they passed through the valley, and the golden lights vanished. In the distance, a steep, towering peak stood, and the sky above was blood-red.

"This is it! We're finally here. The Blood Infant Jade Apricot Fruit is in the cave at the foot of the mountain," Wang Yier said excitedly, his eyes gleaming.

Following his gaze, a massive cave could be seen.

"No need to waste time. The Five Spirits Pearls' defense is strong; let's just go directly!" Wang Yingjie said, conjuring a small golden umbrella. He held it above their heads, and it lowered a dense golden light barrier, protecting them.

As they walked towards the peak, a loud thunderclap resonated from high above. A thick, blood-red lightning bolt streaked across the sky, striking the golden light barrier. The golden light barrier trembled slightly, and its spiritual light dimmed. Not long after, the golden light barrier shattered. The blood-red lightning then struck the five-colored light barrier, but the five-colored light barrier remained completely still.

They entered the cave smoothly, and the blood-red lightning ceased striking.

The cave was not large; after walking about a hundred steps, they reached its end, arriving in a cavern approximately an *mu* in size. In the lower-left corner stood a blood-red fruit tree over two *zhang* tall. Its trunk was covered with mysterious patterns, and it bore more than twenty blood-red fruits, each shaped like a miniature infant.

"The Blood Infant Jade Apricot Fruit!" Wang Yier exclaimed excitedly, his eyes gleaming.