At the beginning, I cleaned the Sutra Library and completed the incomplete skills.

Some rejoiced while others worried.

Seeing the ancient Sandalwood tree in such a state, the three Foundation Establishment cultivators were naturally overjoyed.

After all, they were about to harvest a complete five-hundred-year-old spiritual plant. If they were lucky, they might even obtain one or two lost complete ancient techniques.

Such a great opportunity would be hard for any cultivator, regardless of their realm, to resist.

Under the combined efforts of the three Foundation Establishment powerhouses, the dark green spiritual energy shield became increasingly dim, quickly reaching a nearly transparent state.

Finally, with a 'pop', it completely shattered.

Hearing this sound, the Elder of Huoling Peak immediately perked up, eager to rush forward.

At this moment, the Grand Elder's reminder came again.

"Be careful, don't damage the spiritual plant's roots."

At this time, the ancient Sandalwood tree had stopped in place, and the dark mystical vines no longer grew, as if it had completely given up resisting.

"Don't worry, Grand Elder, I know what I'm doing," the Elder of Huoling Peak casually replied, stepping onto his golden round wheel artifact and flying towards the ancient Sandalwood tree in a hurry.

It was not his fault for being so excited; since stepping into the cultivation world until now, he had never seen a spiritual plant of such ancient age.

Naturally, he was eager to observe it carefully at this moment.

In fact, it wasn't just him; the Grand Elder and Jian Chen were not much different.

Although they had seen five-hundred-year-old spiritual plants in their previous lives, they had never heard of ancient trees that could cultivate to the Foundation Establishment realm and even spontaneously comprehend lost techniques.

The Grand Elder had been thinking and searching for the reason for this for many years.

She had also conducted many experiments for this purpose.

Ordinary Sandalwood spiritual trees planted near spiritual stone mines did not show any reaction.

As for other three or four-hundred-year-old Sandalwood trees, she had not yet tried them as she did not have any ready-made spiritual plants.

But regardless of whether the miracle of this Sandalwood spiritual tree could be replicated, the value of this ancient tree in front of them was immeasurable.

At this moment, in the face of this immense benefit, the Grand Elder and Jian Chen also abandoned their airs of powerhouses.

The three cultivators approached almost simultaneously, observing the spiritual plant up close.

The Sandalwood spiritual tree seemed to have completely lost its ability to resist, all its vines and roots lying limply on the ground, motionless, like a dead object.

The Elder of Huoling Peak became more and more delighted the more he looked, wishing he could take the tree away right now.

But considering that there were still two fellow disciples beside him and that the Grand Elder's strength was far superior to his, he forcefully suppressed his ill-intentioned thoughts.

After pondering for a moment, he put on a smiling face and said in a rather flattering tone, "Grand Elder, this tree was originally yours. How do you think we should divide it?"

The young woman did not speak.

Because she hadn't thought about how to divide this tree either.

According to common sense, the best effect of such an extremely magical and rare spiritual plant of such ancient age would naturally be achieved by refining and using the entire tree.

Therefore, she had originally intended to keep the tree for herself.

However, the soul-searching technique mentioned by the Elder of Huoling Peak earlier made her hesitate.

It was not a good time to fall out.

Thinking of this, the young woman said calmly, "Now is not the time to discuss these things.

That soul-searching technique of yours must be used while the target is still alive, right?

This spiritual plant can no longer resist and may die soon.

You should first use the soul-searching technique to extract the complete 'Falling Leaves Take Root' technique, and then we can discuss other matters."

The Elder of Huoling Peak had no objection to this.

He rolled up his sleeves, extended his thin and wrinkled palm, and said with a chuckle, "It seems the Grand Elder is quite knowledgeable about soul-searching techniques.

That's right, this technique is indeed most effective when used before the target's consciousness has completely dissipated.

Although I have never used this technique on a spiritual plant, since ancient times, things have spirits. I presume this ancient tree that has become a spirit is no different from a cultivator.

Then, as the Grand Elder said, I'll give it a try first."

After speaking, the Elder of Huoling Peak floated forward, stepping onto a thicker branch of the ancient Sandalwood tree, and reached out to touch it.

But after a moment, he withdrew his hand and shook his head.

"This technique needs to be close to the target's memory storage location to be successfully performed.

A cultivator's memories are stored in their head, and I really don't know where the memories of this spiritual plant are hidden."

"It should be in the core of the tree," the young woman suggested after a moment of thought.

"A spiritual plant that has become a spirit like this will likely cultivate a tree core within its body, just like a demonic beast forms an inner core.

Try breaking open the top and entering the trunk.

Be careful not to damage the roots of this tree."

The Elder of Huoling Peak followed her instructions and went to the crown of the Sandalwood spiritual tree.

Jian Chen and the other person floated above his head, watching his every move.

This spiritual tree was so rare that they had to be this cautious.

If the lost technique was not obtained and the roots of the spiritual plant were damaged, it would be a little more loss than gain.

At this moment, just as the Elder of Huoling Peak was about to use his artifact to cut open the tree crown, the ancient Sandalwood tree, which had been silent for a while, suddenly moved again.

One by one, bare branches began to extend outwards, and the scene at the center of the entire trunk was gradually revealed.

Circles of concentric rings of different colors were inscribed within, and upon closer inspection, there were exactly five hundred of them.

These were the annual rings of this ancient Sandalwood tree.

These circles of annual rings were not static; they began to rotate slowly.

The knowledgeable Grand Elder was the most powerful of the three, and she was the first to sense that something was wrong.

She quickly turned her head away and warned, "Be careful, don't keep staring at those annual rings!"

Although her reaction was already very fast, it was still a little late.

Even though she had turned her head, those circles of annual rings still did not disappear; they were still swirling in her vision.

The Grand Elder was startled and cried out inwardly, 'Not good.'

She quickly closed her eyes, and at the same time reached for her storage bag, preparing to take out some talismans to deal with the strange scene before her.

However, at this moment, the distance to the storage bag seemed to become infinitely far away. The Grand Elder waited for a long time, but her hand still did not feel anything.

In the darkness, the annual rings became larger and larger, spinning faster and faster, eventually completely occupying her entire world.

When she opened her eyes again, the scene before her had completely changed.

Jian Chen, the Elder of Huoling Peak, and the ancient Sandalwood tree were all gone.

Looking around, there was a scene of deathly silent ruins.

The Grand Elder became vigilant and wanted to call out to Jian Chen and the other person.

But as soon as she opened her mouth, she suddenly realized that she could not make any sound no matter what.

She subconsciously wanted to reach out and touch her storage bag, but found that she seemed to have lost her hands, unable to complete this simple action.

Not just her hands, the Grand Elder found that besides still being able to think, she had completely lost control of her body.

She could not speak, could not turn her head, could not move, and could not even close her eyes again.

The Grand Elder could not do anything now; she could only watch the deathly silent ruins with her eyes wide open.