Only three seconds? He's already the Lord of All Realms, so it doesn't matter.

On the lakeside, the light patterns of the Spirit Gathering Array had already intertwined into a net in mid-air.

The five royal retainers, with solemn expressions, continuously poured their spiritual power into the array's core. The white jade bottle suspended in the center of the array began to tremble slightly, and a pale golden vortex appeared at the bottle's mouth, from which an invisible suction force spread out.

Li Chong stood outside the formation, his gaze fixed on the immortal willow.

The willow trees still stand quietly by the lake, their emerald green branches swaying gently in the wind. Everything seems so ordinary.

But Li Chong could sense that the concentration of spiritual energy around the willow tree was slowly decreasing...

"It's done."

Li Chong's eyes were filled with joy. He stared blankly at the white jade bottle at the center of the formation. It seemed that what was inside was not spiritual energy, but the lofty ambition he had been plotting for years.

One of the white-haired elders, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, exclaimed, "My King, the spiritual energy of this tree is far too overwhelming!"

Even with the help of the spirit-gathering array, it will still take quite some time to draw it all out…

Li Chong didn't care about this at all. He just wished that time would slow down. When people are getting closer and closer to their goal, they always want to freeze time at this moment.

However, just as the white-haired monk finished speaking, ripples suddenly appeared on the originally calm lake surface.

The sudden change caused the willow branches on the tree to sway wildly, with thick, emerald-green branches flying into the air and striking towards the location of the five worshippers.

"What happened?"

One of the worshippers frowned, distracted by drawing out a stream of spiritual energy to block the incoming willow branch.

Its own spiritual power collided with the willow branches, but it ended up being reduced to ashes.

That's right, it was reduced to ashes!

The worshipper's pupils contracted instantly as he watched his spiritual power turn to ashes the moment it touched the willow branch, as if he had encountered something extremely terrifying, and then returned to the world.

"What are you all standing there for? Get rid of this willow tree!"

Several of the worshippers encountered this strange phenomenon. The guardians who had been surrounding the villagers of Shuitian Village on the ground had no intention of lingering and flew to the willow tree one by one.

"Since it's a willow tree, it must be afraid of fire!"

One of the guardians spoke with absolute certainty and immediately pulled out several firebird talismans, which were used exclusively by the ancestral hall, from his robes.

Several yellow paper talismans engraved with spiritual patterns were detonated in front of the willow tree, and several crimson firebirds appeared out of thin air. The firebirds, their wings burning, fluttered and flew towards the swaying willow branches.

But when the firebird encountered the willow branch, just like the one that had just been worshipped, it instantly turned into an extremely fine wisp of light, which gradually dissipated into the world...

"Can it still be fire-resistant?"

"That's obvious! Otherwise, why would the legend call it the Immortal Willow?"

The one who appeared to be the most powerful among the guardians stepped forward, intending to use brute force to uproot the willow tree that was over twenty meters tall.

All eyes were on the protector who possessed the cultivation level of the fourth level of Foundation Establishment. However, no matter how strong he was, even when he used his innate brute force and even the One Code One Combination technique, he could not shake the thick willow tree in front of him.

"If you ask me, we should just cut this willow tree down."

No sooner had someone in the crowd said that than Li Chong's angry curses rang out from behind, "Bastard!"

Anyone who dares to damage the Immortal Willow, I will surely cut off their head and hang it high on the gates of the capital one day!

At the same time, in addition to Li Chong's angry curses, the willow branches that were originally offered to the sky turned around and came towards them, the group of protectors.

Having witnessed the terrifying power of this willow branch, no one dared to take it head-on with their own body, and could only keep dodging.

"Quickly, accelerate the gathering of spiritual energy while we have the chance."

Just as one of the worshippers was about to make a decision, he saw countless willow branches flying towards him.

These willow branches, like unawakened infants, lashed wildly in the air, but the emerald-green light that gradually shone from them made the five worshippers dare not underestimate them or act rashly.

Seeing the situation change drastically, Li Chong pointed his finger into the air and pulled the white jade bottle from the eye of the formation back.

He looked at the bottle, which was filled with more than half a bottle of spiritual liquid, and immediately gave the order:

"The Immortal Willow is weakening; trap it first!"

Upon hearing this, the five elders instantly left their original positions. Just as they were about to show off their skills, they saw the willow branches in mid-air writhing as if they were alive, and then they transformed into dozens of long whips, which fiercely lashed at the five elders who were maintaining the spirit-gathering array!

"Has the willow tree truly declined?!"

The white-haired deity shouted loudly, conjuring a pale golden protective shield around his body in an attempt to resist the willow branches.

However, each lash of the willow branches struck the protective shield, causing it to tremble violently and the light patterns to flicker erratically. The white-haired worshipper's face immediately turned red.

Seeing how formidable the willow tree was, the group tried to join forces, but were scattered by several flying willow branches, completely dashing their hopes. Now they could only deal with it individually...

Doesn't it mean that if anything is divided into two, its power will inevitably be dispersed?

Li Chong and the other worshippers who were under the greatest pressure were numb. Even though the willow tree had gone through the spirit-gathering array and had most of its spiritual energy drained, it was still so powerful. What would it have been like in its prime?

What's even more unsettling is that the willow branches that launched their counterattack did not stop.

While attacking the offerings, more than ten willow branches, like serpentine snakes, snaked down towards the fallen villagers of Shuitian Village.

Chen Hong struggled to lift his head and saw a bright green willow branch stretching out in front of him, its tip gently touching the wound on his chest.

In an instant, a refreshing vitality flowed into my body.

The excruciating pain from the burning magic quickly subsided, and the charred marks on the skin healed at a visible speed, replaced by new, tender flesh.

In just a few breaths, Chen Hong felt that the injury on his chest had healed by more than half!

The same scene played out in various places along the lake.

All the injured worshippers in Shuitian Village were gently touched by willow branches, and their wounds healed quickly. Even those who were unconscious slowly awoke under the nourishment of life.

But that wasn't the end of it. The willow branches then set their sights on the more than thirty guardians who were standing there in a daze, and a point of extremely green light appeared at the tip of the willow branch.

"A Celestial Seed!"

He was so excited by the blue light emanating from the willow branches that he was speechless. Compared to the white light used by Ye Xuan, the willow tree form was the true immortal seed technique...

The guardians were completely unaware that their own deaths were imminent, and some even considered using their own magic to fight against the immortal seed.

Their fate was naturally to become nourishment for the willow seedlings, leaving only withered corpses that crashed to the ground. The willow seedlings that had sprouted from their chests were transferring all their life force and cultivation back to the willow tree...

As more and more protectors fell, Li Chong panicked, and even his most resolute heart began to waver.

Countless rays of light converged on the willow tree, and the entire immortal willow suddenly burst forth with an unprecedented emerald green.

When the light faded and everyone opened their eyes again, the sight that greeted them left them completely stunned—

The willow trees by the lake still stand, but their shape has undergone subtle changes.

The trunk is thicker, the branches are more lush, and every willow leaf is crystal clear, as if carved from jade.

Most stunningly, a pure white flower slowly bloomed at the top of the tree canopy.

On the petals, pure blue and white air circulates.

The moment this white flower bloomed, the concentration of spiritual energy in the entire lake, the entire back mountain, and even the entire Shuitian Village suddenly increased several times!

A faint fragrance permeated the air; just one breath was enough to make one feel refreshed and invigorated, and even one's cultivation level showed signs of subtle improvement.

"Has this willow tree perhaps undergone a transformation?"

Several worshippers spoke in unison, and Li Chong staggered back a step, his face ashen.

Only now did he realize how foolish he had been, for the immortal willow tree before him was not something a mortal could touch.