The verdant domain, blooming with glazed lotuses, each petal shimmering with a tempting and dangerous radiance.
Everyone was shocked. They hadn't expected Tree Dweller's killing intent to be so strong, unleashing his supernatural abilities right at the start. Did he want Xu Mu dead that badly?
"Withdraw quickly!"
Fearing they would be affected, Wu Ye and a group of other supernaturals quickly gathered, forming a defensive space with their abilities, preparing to retreat together.
"Whether Xu Mu has colluded with Veritann, the imperial court will investigate. Senior Tree Dweller, please retract your divine powers and do not stray from the right path!"
Liang Shanping shouted loudly, for he saw that Yue Hua was already dripping from Yin Zhongxiu's spear tip. He hadn't taken a step back, clearly preparing to fight to the death!
...
"Stop shouting, it's useless."
Within a few seconds, the group, working in unison, narrowly crossed countless blooming lotuses and retreated to a street a kilometer away, where fleeing civilians were everywhere.
Wu Ye's expression was grim. They had agreed to sign a waiver, and neither party would pursue further consequences. How could this old scoundrel not even abide by his own rules!
"I'm very curious, what did the Wang family offer to get the old man Tree Dweller to act? Hasn't he not made a move in five years?" a supernatural asked, still trembling.
"It's not really surprising," Lin Yan pondered for a moment, then frowned and said, "Five years ago, Senior Tree Dweller went to Xishan to collect herbs and returned three months later. You should all know about this, right?"
"Of course."
"And I also remember that Senior Tree Dweller caused quite a stir in Xishan back then, with countless great demons chasing him."
Reminded by Lin Yan, someone immediately recalled the events of that year. Tree Dweller had ventured alone into Xishan, entering the core area to collect herbs, causing a commotion for three months before returning safely, which had shocked the entire Gui Ye.
Lin Yan nodded:
"Senior Tree Dweller shook Gui Ye, but what you don't know is that he was actually injured then."
"Staying in Xishan for three months, it's normal to get injured, isn't he? He's not an immortal," Yin Jiao, who had been grazed by a lotus, replied impatiently, his mood already sour.
"Getting injured is normal, but what if it was a fatal injury?" Lin Yan's expression was subtle and intriguing as he said, "Why did he only focus on the art of alchemy after returning from Xishan? Why would he stay out for three to five months at a time, only venturing out of his tree house to collect herbs?"
Yin Jiao frowned, "Just say what you want to say."
Lin Yan nodded, his expression sharpening:
"I'm certain that Senior Tree Dweller suffered a very serious injury."
"This injury has threatened his life, and it cannot be healed or reversed."
"That's why he uses the excuse of refining pills and stays in his clinic all day, fearing that others will see through his disguise!"
Rumble!
Lin Yan's words struck the hearts of everyone like thunderbolts from a clear sky.
Even Wu Ye quickly waved his hands:
"This is no small matter, Brother Lin. You can't just say things like that!"
Wu Ye's expression was grave. Although he disliked Tree Dweller's petty behavior, this person was, after all, the sole lord of the Gui Ye domain.
Even though he didn't serve the imperial court, the pills he refined had genuinely saved many lives.
If something happened to him, the entire Gui Ye would tremble.
"Otherwise, can you find another reason for his seclusion?" Lin Yan said mockingly, "Although he used to practice Buddhism, I never thought he was a moral sage who saved all living beings. Tree Dweller's clinic can treat all illnesses in the world, but it doesn't treat poverty."
"Something happened to his body, and he doesn't want others to know, so he can only use the excuse of developing pills to quietly recuperate, but he can't cure himself."
"The key issue is, don't forget what the Wang family built their empire on!"
Lin Yan's words trailed off, his eyes fixed in the distance, leaving only one answer.
"It's blood coral!"
Someone exclaimed.
"That's right, it's blood coral."
"Apart from the Peaceful Sea Area, the Wang family is the only family on the continent with mature blood coral."
"That's a sixth-stage spiritual medicine. Even a tiny pinch of its powder can make an elderly person with depleted qi and blood feel vigorous again!"
Mentioning this name, the atmosphere immediately became lively, as it was clear they had some research on blood coral.
Wu Ye was also shocked. Could things really be like this?
Hearing the discussions, Jin Jiao, who had been dejected, finally rallied.
Regarding the trade of the merchant guild's pills, he thought for a moment and then questioned, "If Senior Tree Dweller was indeed seriously injured, given his age, it's understandable that he would desire blood coral to replenish his essence and blood. However, the Wang family's blood coral is not readily available even to the Summer Emperor. Would they be willing to part with it for the sake of Wang Jue?"
Everyone nodded at this.
Given the value of blood coral, even a small piece was far beyond comparable to ordinary spiritual medicines. This was something that, when consumed, could genuinely extend life.
Lin Yan shook his head, "Blood coral is indeed precious, but it is ultimately just a spiritual medicine." His expression was serious, "As long as it is medicine, it is meant to be consumed by people."
"Whether it's for the Summer Emperor or for Wang Jue, it doesn't make much difference. It only depends on whether it can generate profit."
"Wang Jue might not be worth as much as a piece of blood coral now, but in the long run, that might not be the case. The Grand Governor of the Three Bureaus is here, so you should know this better than I do."
As he spoke, everyone looked at a burly man in a red robe, who was the Grand Governor of the Three Bureaus.
The man nodded upon hearing this:
"Wang Jue's talent is indeed excellent, and the Wang family cherishes him greatly. They say he will definitely enter the Huacai realm within three years."
Everyone was surprised to hear this. Such certainty meant his talent was indeed extraordinary.
However, he was dead now.
"If he could enter the Huacai realm in three years, and then even if it took him thirty years to enter the Lord realm, the value of the blood coral could have been earned back. But now that he is dead, Senior Tree Dweller has essentially received the Wang family's offering for nothing."
The matter had now become clear.
Wu Ye's eyebrows twitched, and he gasped:
"So, he was afraid that the Wang family's ancestor would consider him incompetent and take back the blood coral, which is why he acted this way, to make things difficult for Xu Mu?"
Jin Jiao, however, shook his head, "That's impossible. He would have certainly consumed such a thing immediately; it wouldn't be taken back."
"I guess he is working so hard this time to establish a connection with the main Wang family and seek more blood coral."
"After all, without this thing, Senior Tree Dweller's life must be nearing its end, right?"
He said with a sigh, and the room erupted in a commotion before falling silent.
The current situation was very clear.
Senior Tree Dweller was advanced in age, with no possibility of further breakthroughs. Therefore, his life depended entirely on blood coral. And with Wang Jue dead, he had to do something to compensate.
Otherwise, he might never get another piece of blood coral!
"Then Governor Yin..." everyone exchanged glances, their expressions complicated.
Yin Zhongxiu was unaware of this matter. Even if he had known, with his benefactor before him, he would never watch Xu Mu die like this. He would definitely choose to fight to the death!
When two people have a reason to fight to the death, the battle will determine life and death.
One of them, Yin Zhongxiu and Senior Tree Dweller, would die.
- Naturally, the one with the lower cultivation level would die.
...
Unlike Wu Ye and the others' imaginings, no battle occurred within the verdant lotus domain. Yin Zhongxiu simply stood in place silently.
Because he could see that standing beside Senior Tree Dweller was an old man.
He had never met this person before, but Xu Mu and Ji Chang seemed to know him.
"Is this your trump card?" the man murmured, looking at Xu Mu.
He had already prepared himself for a desperate fight, but unexpectedly, there was a twist. An old man suddenly stepped forward and subdued the lord of Buliucheng with just one finger.
Who was this old man, and what was his cultivation level?
- This was a question Tree Dweller also wanted to know.
Just as Jin Jiao had experienced.
It wasn't until that ancient finger touched his body that he realized someone had appeared beside him without him noticing.
Thus, he could only stand frozen, motionless.
It wasn't that he couldn't, but that he dared not.
A drop of sweat silently trickled down Senior Tree Dweller's forehead. He could sense the incredibly violent supernatural energy contained within that finger, like a ferocious flood, seemingly capable of destroying him at any moment!
This feeling reminded him of that night five years ago when he was inadvertently targeted by something in Xishan and was severely injured with a single glance.
He and the owner of this finger were not on the same level.
"Senior, if you have something to say, please say it nicely. I have no ill intentions."
Senior Tree Dweller, being a man who had experienced great storms, quickly calmed himself down and asked, "Who am I?" Nangong Maoguan chuckled, "I am the wind, the clouds, the lightning that struck and killed that tiger. Didn't that boy tell you?"
Hearing this, a trace of fear reappeared on Tree Dweller's face.
He was now certain that the other party was not on his level; he was a Domain Lord!
"I did not offend Senior. It was my lack of foresight."
"How about this, Senior, spare my life, and I will compensate you with a fifth-stage pill and a hundred thousand gold ingots. What do you say?"
As he spoke, Senior Tree Dweller attempted to turn around, reaching into his chest as if to retrieve something, but Nangong Maoguan immediately stopped him:
"Don't move."
The offer was tempting, but the old man's expression remained unchanged, and he gently shook his head:
"Talking conditions with me is useless, because I am only acting on behalf of others."
"If it's useful, you can try begging that boy."
As he spoke, Nangong Maoguan pointed with his other hand at Xu Mu in the distance.
The latter still wore a smile.
Senior Tree Dweller's face twitched. A Domain Lord was just acting on behalf of someone else?
What kind of existence had he provoked? Could this boy be the illegitimate son of the Summer Emperor?
"Young Brother Xu, I have offended you before."
"I won't say any more pleasantries. One fifth-grade pill and a hundred thousand taels of gold, to settle our grievances. I will never trouble you again in the future, how about it?"
Xu Mu's face showed mockery upon hearing this. Their feud had been forged. If he didn't kill him now, wouldn't he be at the mercy of others once Nangong Maoguan left?
Would he not trouble him in the future? Did he think he was an idiot?
"To be honest, there is no real grievance between us," Xu Mu said calmly, shaking his head, his gaze hardening. "But unfortunately, I cannot gamble with my own life."
"So, I can only ask you to die..."
"Wait a moment!"
Before Xu Mu could finish the word "die," Senior Tree Dweller felt a numbness in his arm, as if electricity had entered his body. His soul nearly fled his body, and he immediately cried out:
"I can make you believe that I am absolutely trustworthy!"
Saying this, the old man no longer cared if Nangong Maoguan would attack. He directly reached into his inner robe, and after a frantic search for a while, he took out a black and purple scroll.
Xu Mu frowned. What was this?
"This is a partial map of the core area of Xishan. I risked my life to obtain it. If you give it to me, I can have a chance to obtain a holy relic. Let me go, how about it?"
"Map?" Nangong Maoguan's eyebrows shot up. He then took the item, opened it, and looked it over. His eyes lit up, "Tsk, it does have some merit, but I've been to these places already."
"This item is useless to me, and to him..."
"I don't need it either."
Xu Mu shrugged. With Charles around, he didn't need a map at all, and that guy had also said that he considered Xishan his home, moving freely in and out. Why would he need a map?
"This... this..."
Senior Tree Dweller was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected that the intelligence he risked his life for would be of no use in the eyes of these two.
He had no idea that Nangong Maoguan had also been to Xishan and had nearly lost his life. This map was indeed very valuable, but since he had already experienced it once, it was meaningless to him.
"It can't be helped, it's really not needed."
Xu Mu shrugged, then his expression turned fierce, as if he were about to pronounce his death sentence.
"Wait!"
"I still have something else!"
- These two sentences came from two people.
The first sentence was spoken by Charles, who asked Xu Mu to wait.
Xu Mu's words got stuck in his throat. Nangong Maoguan also stopped, and the lightning ceased to surge.
He looked at the young man in confusion. Why had he suddenly stopped talking?
...
"You cannot kill this person," Charles's voice sounded in Xu Mu's mind, followed by a string of text that appeared before Xu Mu.
The young man froze, then began to read carefully:
"The Gui Ye domain, as one of the eight polluted lands of the Great Xia Dynasty, has a very special natural law that prevents supernaturals from grasping its patterns, thus they cannot become lords.
"As for external lords, their strength will be greatly reduced due to the difference in the laws of this place compared to the outside world. If they stay too long, they may even be in danger of their cultivation regressing. The same applies to domain lords.
"We have been researching Gui Ye for a long time. Perhaps only by combining the Heavenly Book can we quickly decipher the mysteries of these laws. However, Veritann is gone, so we can only rely on Senior Tree Dweller.
"He is the only one who has successfully advanced in the Gui Ye domain, so you cannot kill him."
After reading this, Xu Mu fell into silence.
He had previously wondered why there were no lords in the Gui Ye domain. Even powerful individuals like Yin Zhongxiu, or the being within his body, were only third-stage. The reason was here.
Then, he turned his head to look at Senior Tree Dweller, his gaze suddenly sharpening.
He couldn't be killed, so how should he deal with this person?
- In fact, Senior Tree Dweller had already thought of it for him.
He saw the old man, trembling, take out another scroll from his inner robe. It was black and yellow, exuding an extremely evil aura from its surface.
"This is a master-servant scroll," the old man said, his face ashen, as if he had lost his parents. "Sign it, and you will never have to worry about me rebelling against you."
"From now on, I will be your slave!"
...