At the break of dawn.
The last remnants of the Xuanmen's power also began to enter Daqing Mountain.
Everyone's expressions were solemn, ready to face death.
In the sky, Yan Shouyi sat on Sanyuan's back, the Zanpaktō by his side. Sanyuan was carrying him deeper into Daqing Mountain.
Looking down from the sky, the people entering Daqing Mountain were as insignificant as ants.
Long Feicheng's voice came from within the Zanpaktō:
"Yan Ge, I still don't know Sanyuan's origin."
Yan Shouyi smiled slightly, reached out to stroke Sanyuan's head, and said, "After the great battle, I'll tell you."
"Damn it, Yan Ge, you're too unethical, keeping secrets from me!" Long Feicheng was extremely depressed. "I'm your brother who would go through thick and thin with you!"
"More than going through thick and thin, you're a blade now!" Yan Shouyi chuckled. "Following me into Daqing Mountain, do you regret it?"
"Heh, what's there to regret? Jiang Wuya is a common enemy for us brothers. I have a feeling my mission is to split Jiang Wuya in half with one blow and send him to his demise." Long Feicheng was as arrogant as ever, not taking Jiang Wuya seriously at all.
Yan Shouyi rubbed his nose. "To be honest, I will indeed need your help later."
"Huh? I was just kidding. If you can use the Zulong Sword, don't use the Zanpaktō. The Zulong Sword is better than me." Long Feicheng immediately caved.
"You..."
If the Zulong Sword had a spirit, it would probably be itching to hack at Long Feicheng right about now.
Yan Shouyi was helpless and explained, "I don't need you to kill Jiang Wuya, but to curse him."
"Curse people? I'm good at that, but..."
"Daqing Mountain is Jiang Wuya's home turf. Once we find his location, we can't go deep into enemy territory, so we'll rely on you to curse him out."
"I see!" Long Feicheng was still a bit confused. "But Jiang Wuya is an ancient monster who has lived for a thousand years. His will must be incredibly strong. Just a few curses... he probably won't fall for it, right?"
"That will depend on your skill. Go for it, I believe in you."
Because Abbot Ben Heng had informed them in advance, everyone had now completely pinpointed the location of the Qingjiang Kingdom ruins.
With Sanyuan's flight speed, it would take less than half an hour to reach above the valley.
It was just a shame that Yu Luming and others were still in the valley. Otherwise, Yan Shouyi could have found every possible way to obtain military consent and simply carpet-bombed the valley.
No matter how strong Jiang Wuya was, he couldn't withstand a nuclear bomb, right?
Unfortunately, Jiang Wuya held hostages, so Yan Shouyi had to resort to the most primitive method to deal with him.
Half an hour later, Sanyuan brought Yan Shouyi to the Qingjiang Kingdom ruins.
From afar, Yan Shouyi couldn't see the divine tree. But as Sanyuan passed through a barrier, the immensely huge divine tree suddenly blocked Yan Shouyi's path. Due to its sheer size, it even gave Yan Shouyi a feeling of being extremely close, even though he was actually still a hundred meters away.
"We're here."
Yan Shouyi took a deep breath. He could already smell a strong scent of blood.
He didn't know if the smell of blood belonged to Yu Luming and the others, or if it was emitted by the evil divine tree.
Long Feicheng, who was usually talkative, also fell silent for a moment. "After becoming a blade soul, my senses have become much stronger. The smell emanating from this divine tree is very unpleasant."
"Is the smell of blood coming from the divine tree?" Yan Shouyi asked Long Feicheng in surprise.
Long Feicheng nodded. "That's right."
Yan Shouyi nodded slightly. It seemed that Jiang Wuya wasn't the only troublesome one; this divine tree was also a huge hidden danger.
However, the true purpose of Yan Shouyi's excursion into the mountains this time was to seal Jiang Wuya and rescue Yu Luming and the others. Therefore, he didn't particularly want to provoke this strange divine tree.
Yan Shouyi took out his phone, checked the time, and then took out a small wooden carved insect from his satchel.
These small wooden insects contained special蛊虫 (gǔchóng - poisonous worms used in witchcraft), placed by Tian Jue'er, which could strengthen their connection with Yan Shouyi.
After scattering the small wooden insects, they flew off in different directions, like miniature drones, scouting the situation within the Qingjiang Kingdom ruins for Yan Shouyi.
Yan Shouyi's consciousness connected to these small wooden insects, easily obtaining information from the valley. He saw the true appearance of the divine tree, saw Yu Luming and others wrapped like cocoons by air roots and hanging in mid-air, and also saw the "sea of corpses and blood" that Abbot Ben Heng had spoken of.
However, strangely, he did not see the human face of the divine tree, nor Jiang Wuya sitting on the center of its brow.
"Where did Jiang Wuya go?" Yan Shouyi frowned.
Long Feicheng whispered, "Jiang Wuya isn't here? Then why don't we take this opportunity to quickly rescue the others?"
"It's not that simple. Although Jiang Wuya's whereabouts are unknown, there are still many Wood Puppet Dharma Bodies and zombies guarding around the divine tree."
Yan Shouyi pondered for a moment and decided to play it safe, prioritizing finding Jiang Wuya's location first.
Even with the information provided by Abbot Ben Heng, Daqing Mountain was still fraught with danger. The Xuanmen had already suffered losses once and could not afford a second setback.
Having Sanyuan land cautiously nearby, Yan Shouyi concealed all his aura and, with Long Feicheng, began to search on foot. Sanyuan kept watch for them from the treetops.
There were still many traces of battles within the valley, which indicated how hysterical Yu Luming and his group had been yesterday.
It was a pity that they were facing an ancient monster who had been planning for a thousand years.
The valley was quiet, and the Qingjiang Kingdom ruins were covered in moss. As Yan Shouyi arrived, he felt a strange sense of familiarity.
"This was also the hometown of General Qingjiang, so my soul must feel like I'm revisiting an old place," Yan Shouyi thought to himself.
The center of the Qingjiang Kingdom ruins was the location of the divine tree, forcing even the imperial palace to shift aside. Yan Shouyi could see the divine tree just by looking up, yet he still couldn't find Jiang Wuya.
Long Feicheng's voice echoed in Yan Shouyi's mind, "Yan Ge, this is a special period. I can't understand why Jiang Wuya would have any reason to leave the divine tree."
"You're actually starting to think, impressive," Yan Shouyi couldn't help but praise Long Feicheng.
Long Feicheng: "...Thanks."
"But your question does make me wonder. Isn't Jiang Wuya's most important task now to guard by the divine tree and seize the opportunity to absorb Old Yu's and the others' life force?"
Yan Shouyi sighed. If General Qingjiang were still alive, he would probably know the reason.
However, he remembered another helpful person.
Finding a secluded and safe spot, Yan Shouyi intended to summon Jiang Wuya's disciple, Wei Wuxin, again for a thorough interrogation.
But at this moment, Yan Shouyi seemed to hear someone calling him in a daze.
The voice was ethereal and distant, but Yan Shouyi could clearly determine the direction of its source.
To the west.
Was it Jiang Wuya?
Yan Shouyi frowned and decided to ignore the voice for now, opting to bring out Wei Wuxin first.