Starting as a spiritual plant master, may I eventually become the master of all lands.

Chapter 118 Mu Xin

Three days later.

The Flying Cloud Vine has already left Boqiu County and entered the continuous mountains.

This place should still belong to the State of Qi, but it has long been deserted.

The number of monsters in the mountains gradually increased, ranging from the Demon Transformation stage to the first rank, and even occasionally there were second-rank monsters.

Cui Wang skillfully maneuvered his magical artifact, avoiding the areas where demonic beasts roamed, and headed straight for the deeper Emerald Mist Mountains.

Upon reaching a grove of trees, Cui Wang suddenly stopped using his magical artifact and said, "There are two groups of Foundation Establishment cultivators fighting ahead."

Zhuo Juntao's expression changed: "Are they also heading to the Wood Clan's territory? Why are they fighting here?"

Dai Lingjun raised her head, as if she wanted to speak, but then closed her mouth.

With the help of Qian Huangzhu, Song Chuan actually discovered it at almost the same time as Cui Wang, or even a little faster, but he didn't say anything.

Moreover, Song Chuan discovered more information than Cui Wang. One of the two groups was human, with six Foundation Establishment cultivators: three in the early Foundation Establishment stage, one in the middle Foundation Establishment stage, and two in the late Foundation Establishment stage!

The other group consisted of four woodcutters, all of whom were tall and covered in green fur.

Three wooden figures were sitting cross-legged, doing their best to support a green defensive shield, while the remaining one, who was smaller in stature, was lying on the ground and appeared to be a corpse.

At this moment, a wooden craftsman placed his hand on the ground, seemingly sensing something, and looked towards Song Chuan.

Two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators from the human race also arrived at the same time.

"Let's go around it," Cui Wang said, patting the Flying Cloud Vine and intending to change direction.

Just then, a voice suddenly came from a nearby tree: "Are you with them?" The tree then conjured up a human face.

After a quick look, Song Chuan recognized him as the wooden man who had placed his hand on the ground.

Cui Wang hurriedly took out the Vine Flower Valley token and said, "May I ask which member of the Wood Clan you are? We are cultivators from Vine Flower Valley, here to trade spirit plant seeds. My name is Cui Wang, and I am acquainted with the nobleman Bai Sanye."

"Hmph, from Vine Flower Valley, then they're not on the same side as us. We're being besieged, but with your help, we'll surely escape." With that, the face on the tree disappeared.

The group exchanged glances, and Zhuo Juntao frowned, saying, "We can't meddle in this, can we?"

Cui Wang, however, said coldly, "That was Mu Ke's Wood and Stone Stealth Spell. Since they've discovered us, let's go take a look. There are five or six of them attacking us, so we don't need to be afraid. If we just leave, the transaction of spirit plant seeds might get into trouble."

Zhuo Juntao glanced at Song Chuan and Dai Lingjun. Song Chuan chuckled and said, "It's good to go and take a look." Dai Lingjun remained silent.

Zhuo Juntao's face darkened: "Then let's go!"

In the blink of an eye, Feiyun Teng arrived at a distance of about a hundred feet. There were six human Foundation Establishment cultivators in the field, all wearing black robes and special masks, whose faces could not be detected by divine sense.

The three wooden men were furious, their green fur standing on end.

"Two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators!" Zhuo Juntao glanced at the human cultivators and his expression changed.

Song Chuan stared intently at the two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, his eyes flashing.

One of the late-stage Foundation Establishment human cultivators, upon recognizing Song Chuan and his companions, seemed quite surprised. He gave another cultivator a wink and, in a altered voice, said, "This is hopeless, retreat!"

After speaking, the six of them summoned their magical artifacts and flew away without hesitation. The late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator glanced back at the four of them.

Zhuo Juntao breathed a sigh of relief. He was joking. The two opponents were at the late Foundation Establishment stage, and they even said that if they came to help them, they would definitely be able to escape their predicament.

If a real fight breaks out, and these two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators are powerful, even if they have the numerical advantage, someone might still die here.

Song Chuan was surprised. The two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators looked exactly like the two people he had killed and who had fled from the Jing Kingdom after that day at the foot of Mount Dai. The reason he had come with Cui Wang was that he wanted to see it for himself.

As for whether a fight would break out, he wasn't worried. This place wasn't far from the Emerald Mist Mountains, and with the addition of his four people, it would inevitably become a protracted battle. Those people who weren't smart enough wouldn't waste their time here.

"Leave Mu Xin behind! You damned bastards! Stop them now!" A mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, seeing the six people escape, cursed angrily and shouted at Song Chuan and the other three.

Song Chuan and his companions remained unmoved. They were already doing well enough to scare away the human cultivators; did they really expect them to risk their lives for them? They were dreaming.

The late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator waved his hand at the cursing fellow cultivator, glanced at Song Chuan and the others, and said stiffly, "I am Bai Sandong. Thank you, fellow Daoists of Teng Hua Valley." Clearly, being surrounded and killed by humans, and then rescued by them, made it difficult for him to adjust his attitude.

Song Chuan discovered that these wooden creatures were slightly taller than humans and covered in green fur. Their eyes and fingernails were also emerald green, and their fingernails were long and sharp, seemingly capable of splitting gold and cracking stone!

"Fellow Daoist Bai, there's no need for such formalities. Our Teng Hua Valley has always maintained good relations with your Mu Ke. Why were these people fighting with you here just now?" Cui Wang asked.

Before Bai Dong could say anything, Mu Ke, who had spoken earlier, said angrily, "You humans, open your eyes and see!"

He pointed to the corpse beside him, then slowly walked to the other side, where there lay another, smaller corpse of a wooden puppeteer. This corpse had a large hole in its chest; its heart had clearly been ripped out!

As Mu Ke walked toward the corpse, green, tear-like liquid suddenly flowed from his eyes.

"My child!" He knelt beside the corpse, stroking the green fur on it as he cried out in anguish.

Bai Sandong sighed and said to Song Chuan and the others, "This is Bai Sanzhu. The child's heartwood was dug out by those people just now."

"Wooden heartwood? This item wasn't mentioned in the information about Vine Flower Valley," Song Chuan wondered.

"What is this wood heart?" Zhuo Juntao asked curiously.

Song Chuan glanced at him. Although he was also curious, he wondered if asking at this moment was inappropriate.

"Naturally, it's the heart of a woodcutter. After each woodcutter dies, their heart is buried in the mountains and forests, where it will grow into a spirit tree. Now, fellow Daoist, do you know what a heart of wood is?" another woodcutter said calmly.

Zhuo Juntao chuckled awkwardly, "I see. Those people deserved to die. Let's return to Vine Flower Valley and report this to the sect."

.

"This is Chai Xiong, a timber merchant who moved from Jing State," Bai Sandong introduced.

Song Chuan and the other three also reported their names one by one. Cui Wang asked, "Fellow Daoist Chai, have all the woodcutters from the State of Jing moved to the State of Qi?"

"Hey! That happened years ago. Luckily, some of them were moved here; the rest are probably all dead." Chai Xiong said, half-sarcastically and half-self-deprecatingly. At this moment, Bai Sandong glanced at the corpse of the wooden man beside him, suddenly stretched out his hands, a flash of green light, and his fingernails dug into the wooden man's chest, tearing out his heart.

The heart was entirely emerald green, radiating pure wood elemental energy.

Song Chuan and his three companions were greatly shocked, wondering why he was acting this way!