Stop pretending, the seemingly useless junior sister is the real boss.

Bai Xiaobai was extremely annoyed; she was certain that she had been tricked by Chang Ling.

If she had known that there was a powerful being in this mountain who was no weaker than a Nascent Soul cultivator, she would have preferred to heat bathwater for her master every day rather than come here to die.

But it's too late to say anything now.

At this moment, the mountains were deathly silent. The dense forest blocked out all the light, and the only things that could be felt were the eerie atmosphere and the overwhelming stench of blood.

Bai Xiaobai sensed no living beings, not even the slightest trace of her senior brothers and sisters.

However, given the strength of her master and senior brothers and sisters, she wasn't too worried about them encountering danger.

She had only planned to explore this strange mountain first, and also let Changling devour some vengeful spirits, but she never expected to be discovered as soon as she entered.

Although no vengeful spirits have been seen yet, the sheer terror of the bone-chilling cold seeping into one's veins without a sound or a roar is far more terrifying than seeing a vengeful spirit directly.

"Hey, why are you shaking like that? Are you really scared?"

Hearing Chang Ling's slightly teasing voice, Bai Xiaobai stubbornly stuck out her tongue.

"Who's afraid? They're just some vengeful spirits. It's not like those scary beings are coming here in person. Anyway, you're the one who's going to devour the vengeful spirits, so just go ahead and eat them all. Of course, if there's any danger, you'll have to deal with it yourself. In short, I'm only a Qi Refining Realm cultivator right now, and a weakened one at that, so don't count on me too much."

Even so, although Bai Xiaobai was scared at the moment, she thought that she still had the powerful sword Changling with her, so she wouldn't really be unable to handle it.

Changling was able to suppress powerful vengeful spirits whose strength was comparable to that of a Nascent Soul cultivator in their previous life, so he was naturally confident in dealing with the vengeful spirits here.

After this analysis, Bai Xiaobai finally calmed down.

As her strength increased, her ability to understand all languages ​​also improved considerably.

Previously, she could only communicate with monsters, but now she can communicate with even small animals that haven't developed intelligence.

Now, it's certain that no living creatures can be sensed in this mountain, but all things have a spirit, and in principle, we should be able to communicate with even the grass and trees in the mountains.

Although she had never tried it before, given the current situation, she had no choice but to give it a shot.

While using the Universal Language, Bai Xiaobai also used his spiritual sense to explore the surrounding situation.

However, even with the ability to communicate with all things, nothing was gained.

Of course, it wasn't all for naught, because the spiritual sense did detect some rather terrifying things.

Her voice trembled, and she kept swallowing.

"They're here, they're here! The vengeful spirits have really arrived, but there are far too many of them."

As soon as Bai Xiaobai finished speaking, a series of roars, accompanied by gusts of eerie wind, rushed towards the direction where she and Changling were.

The attacking vengeful spirits had no complete human form; their bodies were shrouded in a chaotic black mist. Countless distorted, pained faces emerged from within, countless hands reached out from the mist, and mouths roared silently.

This thing is far more terrifying than the vengeful spirit trapped in the bone whip that day.

She was terrified and tried to escape on her sword without thinking.

But the red-clad sword spirit was already impatient, and things couldn't go as she wished.

The sword beneath his feet remained firmly in place, even seeming to surge towards the direction from which the vengeful spirit was attacking.

Bai Xiaobai was angry at herself for not fighting back, and even angrier at Changling for going too far in her efforts.

"This isn't how you send yourself to your death. This thing is definitely no weaker than the vengeful spirit inside the bone whip. I only have three-tenths of my strength left, and you'll be affected too. Let's go back and get reinforcements; we really can't beat this."

"What's there to be afraid of? They're just the vengeful spirits of those who died unjustly. Let this sword devour them, and they'll be free too."

"Of course you're not afraid, but I am. I'm just a mere Qi Refining Realm cultivator; how can I possibly contend with such a powerful vengeful spirit? Let's go!"

"We can't leave. These vengeful spirits suffered greatly in life and died with their resentment. Even after death, they are driven by the culprits who killed them. Their resentment is the strongest and most suitable for this sword."

"..."

Just as the two were locked in a fierce struggle, the sleeping divine beast cubs in Bai Xiaobai's sea of ​​consciousness awoke.

"Huh? Such a rich wood element! My god, it's actually the Heart of a Divine Wood! Master, hurry, hurry, if you can absorb this Heart of a Divine Wood, you can definitely establish your foundation within half a year."

Xiao Hei's reminder made Bai Xiaobai stop struggling with Chang Ling.

"The Heart of the Divine Tree? Foundation Establishment within six months? Little Black, you're not kidding me?"

"You don't even know about the Heart of the Divine Tree? How could we have such a foolish master like you? The so-called Heart of the Divine Tree is a wood-attribute spiritual core formed by a ten-thousand-year-old divine tree after countless years of tempering. If you can absorb this Heart of the Divine Tree, not only will you be able to establish your foundation in no time, but your sea of ​​consciousness will also advance accordingly. At that time, you will also be able to use the abilities of us ancient divine beasts."

As soon as Xiao Hong uttered her proud and charming voice, Bai Xiaobai was instantly smitten and hurriedly asked her more questions.

"Then can you sense where this Heart of the Sacred Tree is located? How can I obtain it?"

Little Red, inside the sea of ​​consciousness, proudly flapped her shimmering little wings and calmly answered Bai Xiaobai's question.

"Nature is somewhere in this mountain, but I must warn you, the being in this mountain is not easy to deal with. Only by defeating and killing that thing can you obtain the Heart of the Divine Tree."

Xiao Hong's answer made Bai Xiaobai instantly realize that he had been happy for nothing.

In short, we now not only have to deal with the vengeful spirits, but also get rid of the thing causing trouble in these eerie mountains.

But as long as she obtains the Heart of the Divine Tree, she can establish her foundation within half a year. This is indeed a considerable temptation for her.

Not to mention that after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, one can directly use the abilities of the five little divine beasts in one's sea of ​​consciousness.

Furthermore, if Changling were to devour these vengeful spirits, its strength would certainly increase significantly.

What to do? The temptation seems even greater.

We have to take the plunge. We can't expect to comfortably cultivate immortality while hiding under the protection of our sect, and at the same time, we want to become powerful quickly.

It seems impossible to have both.

Moreover, the attacking vengeful spirits were already very close, and even if she wanted to escape now, she wouldn't be able to get rid of them in a short time.

Changling couldn't wait any longer; the humming and trembling of the sword made Bai Xiaobai make up her mind.

"Let's do it. All those lifeless villages we've encountered along the way must be the work of that strange being in these mountains. I, Bai Xiaobai, want to see what it is. Sister Changling, swallow it. This princess grants my permission."

As soon as Bai Xiaobai gave the order, the red-clad sword spirit smiled lazily, and his tone became much more serious.

"A coward who fears death is unworthy to be the master of this sword. Seeing that although you are timid and cowardly, you are not useless, this sword will take pity on you and join you in slaying evil spirits."

"Master, go ahead and draw your sword."