Swing the sword at the future female devil

Chapter 467 The Strange Stone Tablet
"A divine tree that originated at the beginning of the chaotic era." Taiqing seemed to be in a good mood, offering a rare explanation, his tone carrying an indifferent detachment that seemed to have seen through the ages.

"It survives amidst the ebb and flow of spiritual energy. When spiritual energy revives, it is a source of spiritual energy, hence the name 'Spirit-Nourishing Tree'; when spiritual energy dries up, it becomes a 'black hole' that devours all spiritual energy in preparation for the next era. Hence the name 'Spirit-Breaking Tree'."

Commander Zhang felt another heart attack upon hearing this. Such a treasure would be a wonder even for the ancient witch Taiqing. It's all that damned old Taoist priest's fault! He didn't have the skills to do the job!
She slightly raised her eyes, her gaze seemingly piercing through thick layers of rock, seeing the speeding Yaochi chariot, Duan Huaige inside, and the young divine tree within his Mountain and River Map, greedily absorbing the essence of Kunlun Ruins. The mocking smile on her lips deepened.

"Let them be," Taiqing said calmly, closing his eyes again.

"Let...let them go?!" Zhang Dingyuan thought he had misheard and said urgently, "Fairy! Duan Huaige has become a great threat! He has the Spirit Wood and has stolen the chariot. If he is allowed to penetrate deep into Kunlun Ruins and find other exits or opportunities...the consequences will be endless! We must send people to intercept and kill him immediately!"

"Intercept and kill?" Taiqing's eyes were closed, his voice carrying a lazy mockery. "Who can you send? Send him a few more Golden Cores as nourishment? Or will you go yourself?"

Zhang Dingyuan was speechless, cold sweat pouring down his face.

"The appearance of the Tree of Life, though unexpected, is also a part of fate." Taiqing's voice carried a hint of mockery. "It was able to grow among Duan Huai's singers... Heh, it might not be a bad thing."

"Perhaps this is a seed carefully planted by someone at some point in the future? Let it... continue to grow vigorously."

Her words were full of cryptic meaning, leaving Zhang Dingyuan completely bewildered and terrified. He could only glean a few words like "future," "plan," and "seed," which reminded him of Duan Huaige's inexplicable rise and luck... Could there really be an even more terrifying force behind all of this?

"Then... then we just leave him alone? Let him run away with the divine tree?" Zhang Dingyuan asked unwillingly, even more worried that he would be unable to complete Taiqing's mission and would be devoured by the demonic seed.

Taiqing finally opened his eyes again, his icy gaze falling on Zhang Dingyuan, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

"You're asking me? Finding him is your problem, not mine," Taiqing's voice was resolute. "If you can't solve this problem, then I'll have to solve you."

Zhang Dingyuan's face turned ashen. He silently turned and left. He was always the one giving orders to others; he was never the one being forced to leave like this.

This demoness is capricious. If this continues, she'll probably really throw him into the Soul Banner to be refined.

No, it's probably too late to catch up... I can only try to get him to come back on his own.

As Commander Zhang walked back, the image of Qin Shuangjiang, who had come under the guise of an imperial inspector, flashed through his mind, and suddenly his eyes lit up.

That little girl from the Qin family seems to have a deep entanglement with Duan Huaige... otherwise, she wouldn't have risked coming to Kunlun Ruins to save people.

All they need to do is 'invite' her to the vicinity of the Guixu Altar. Then, they can spread the word that if he doesn't want to see this successor of the Holy Land, his confidante, become the first sacrifice to open the Heavenly Road... he should obediently bring the Breath of Spirit Wood to the Guixu Altar to exchange for her.

He'll trade Qin Shuangjiang's life for his tree. He'll definitely come to this deal!
He suddenly had an idea, and hurriedly left, leaving the secret room silent once more.

Taiqing sat alone, her fingertips lightly tracing the shattered landscape depicted on the fragments of the "Map of Mountains and Rivers." An invisible flame burned silently in her eyes, reflecting a cold and profound calculation. "The Tree of Life… the Altar of Return to the Ruins… the Map of Mountains and Rivers… the Key…" she murmured, as if weaving an invisible giant net. "Yan Qiuxi… is this the final trump card you prepared for him, the one you reversed time for? It's a pity you calculated everything, yet you couldn't foresee… who this tree would ultimately serve…"

A hint of mocking laughter, as if she controlled the whole situation and knew the future, slowly bloomed on her bewitchingly beautiful lips.

"I've said it before, if you want to use me as a pawn, you'd better be prepared to be crushed by me on the chessboard!"

……

The Yaochi chariot, like a lone boat, sped through the shattered, dark depths of the Kunlun Ruins, filled with an aura of destruction. Yan Qiuxi steered the chariot to its maximum speed, attempting to shake off the pursuers behind her while searching for a possible escape route.

There were two obvious bruises on his face. One was from Xiao Jiang, who had practiced the Red Lotus Body Tempering Technique and used heavy blows. Yan Qiuxi had no foundation in body cultivation, so she could only bite him.

"You two, you're just joking with Ah Cao, look what you've done to me!"

"Hmph, you deserve it!" Xiao Jiang said with an unfriendly expression, "Who told you and Cang Ling to hide in the Landscape Painting and do it, and let others see!"

"Exactly! It's one thing for you and Ah Jiang to be like this, but you don't even know how to keep a distance from people!"

Duan Huaige was momentarily speechless and could only silently observe his surroundings. Relying on the map left behind by the military, they moved swiftly.

The ominous atmosphere outside grew increasingly intense. After driving for an unknown amount of time, Yan Qiuxi's expression suddenly changed, and she said, "Huaige, something's not right..."

"The surrounding spiritual energy... is getting more and more chaotic! And... it seems like something is... 'breathing'?"

Duan Huaige fell silent; he felt it too. It wasn't just chaos, but a... profound pulse! It was as if the entire earth, the whole shattered world, was slowly pulsating according to some kind of rhythm.

The throbbing sensation carried a suffocating sense of oppression, which intensified the deeper one went.

Suddenly, the sight before them made their pupils shrink!
It was an indescribably huge crater! It was as if an invisible giant fist had smashed a bottomless pit into the entire Kunlun Ruins!

The pit walls were steep and jagged, covered with dark red veins that undulated like blood vessels. Inside, there was also a broken stele with faint inscriptions, emanating a faint pressure of mountain and river magic, and a black substance like viscous petroleum gushed out from the cracks in the stele.

This pitch-black substance churned and boiled like a living thing, emitting an extremely dense aura of annihilation! And on the surface of this churning pitch-black "oil pool," countless distorted and varying-sized nightmares were being "born" one after another!
"My God..." Yan Qiuxi covered her mouth, her eyes filled with horror. Jiang Xiyu's face also turned pale instantly; she could clearly feel the terrifying power contained within that dark substance, a power capable of annihilating everything.

What alarmed Duan Huaige even more was that the spirit-nurturing wood within his Mountain and River Map space, A Cao, went completely mad after sensing this immense and pure power of annihilation of the Kunlun Ruins' origin!
Dad, let me go downstairs and take one last puff! Just one puff, please! I'll do anything you ask, anything you want, just one puff, I really can't hold back anymore.
(End of this chapter)