Chapter 829 Old Grudges
"I'm not convinced! I'm not convinced!"
As this voice rang out, everyone recognized it.
It was Xuanfeng Venerable from the sect!
The Xuan Tian Cave Mansion, though called a cave mansion, was actually deep within a continuous mountain range, rarely frequented by people. Apart from the martial artists of the Xuan Tian Cave Mansion itself, those from other sects would not venture here.
Screams echoed throughout the mountain range, and everyone who heard them felt a tightening in their hearts.
Xuanfeng Venerable was a top-tier martial artist within the Xuan Tian Cave Mansion.
Now that his soul tablet was shattered and such screams were heard, it was truly chilling.
A roar thundered from a mountain peak deep within the Xuan Tian Cave Mansion, "Who is it! Who dares to lay a hand on someone from my Xuan Tian Cave Mansion!"
The speaker's face was aged, his wrinkled skin making it difficult to discern his age.
However, as soon as he appeared, an elder who handled the ordinary affairs of the Xuan Tian Cave Mansion immediately called out, "Greetings, Cave Master!"
The newcomer was none other than the Cave Master of the Xuan Tian Cave Mansion, and also Xuanfeng Venerable's senior brother, Xuan Jin Venerable.
Xuan Jin Venerable gritted his teeth and asked the elder before him, "When did Xuanfeng leave?"
Upon learning that his junior brother had only left not long ago, Xuan Jin Venerable's face turned extremely grim.
"Junior Brother Xuanfeng has been cultivating body refinement for years. Not long ago, I heard he had forged nearly half of his bones. Coupled with a Heavenly Might treasure, he is a top martial artist even within the Xuan Tian Cave Mansion."
"He died without cause. Investigate! You must investigate thoroughly!"
Such a martial artist was an extremely precious asset to the Xuan Tian Cave Mansion.
Not to mention, Junior Brother Xuanfeng possessed a Heavenly Might treasure.
Even if the person was dead, this treasure must be recovered.
Chen Shu, who had just dealt with Xuanfeng Venerable, refined the vital blood in his hand and extracted a significant amount of memories pertaining to the Xuan Tian Cave Mansion.
However, the Xuan Tian Cave Mansion seemed to be obscured by a master.
Chen Shu could only deduce the location of the Xuan Tian Cave Mansion, but could not penetrate its inner workings.
"This Xuan Tian Cave Mansion is quite interesting," Chen Shu mused, pulling out several fragments she had collected when leaving the mountain peak earlier.
Although the internal information of the Xuan Tian Cave Mansion was limited, Chen Shu had gained a thorough understanding of the treasure.
This treasure could indeed be used by Heavenly Might martial artists.
But it had a significant drawback: it had to be refined to an extreme degree.
Xuanfeng Venerable, in order to refine this item, had directly bound his body to it previously.
Otherwise, the Heavenly Might could potentially harm himself when using this treasure.
Chen Shu did not intend to repair the treasure, but instead absorbed the fragments directly into her body, merging them with the bronze tree within.
"This is indeed a rare treasure!"
A mysterious exclamation sounded not far behind Chen Shu.
Chen Shu frowned and sent a blast of internal energy, forcing the hidden person out.
The moment Chen Shu saw the other party, she recognized who it was.
"Sage Moon Divine Venerable?"
Before the bronze tree had taken human form, it had encountered Sage Moon Divine Venerable.
Chen Shu remembered his powerful aura.
Sage Moon Divine Venerable did not immediately recognize who the woman before him was; he was merely drawn by Chen Shu's methods.
A peak Grandmaster martial artist who had begun body refinement could not withstand a single move from the opponent.
Such a powerful martial artist was the first Sage Moon Divine Venerable had ever encountered.
Sage Moon Divine Venerable had traveled extensively and knew that many sects were hidden in this land. While the martial artists in these sects might not surpass the peak Grandmaster stage, their strength was not weak.
Sage Moon Divine Venerable had come following the aura of the bronze tree but unexpectedly encountered a battle between two suspected sect martial artists midway.
However, when the opponent spoke his name, Sage Moon Divine Venerable's brow furrowed immediately.
"You know me?"
Sage Moon Divine Venerable did not remember meeting the woman before him.
But after asking, Sage Moon Divine Venerable suddenly noticed something very strange: the bronze mask on the opponent's face...
"You are, the Bronze Tree!" Sage Moon Divine Venerable looked at the Bronze Tree before him with disbelief.
"You've succeeded in transforming? So quickly?"
On his way to Qingzhou City, Sage Moon Divine Venerable had speculated that someone was helping the Bronze Tree transform, but for an existence like the Bronze Tree, the transformation process was extremely complicated and dangerous.
Logically, it could take several days.
Chen Shu sized up Sage Moon Divine Venerable before her, trying to deduce his current cultivation level.
The last time she saw Sage Moon Divine Venerable, he had just awakened his sentience.
Chen Shu only remembered Sage Moon Divine Venerable's aura, but she had forgotten just how strong he was.
"Your heart meridians and spiritual power have both been forged? How are you still at peak Grandmaster? No, you should be called a Mortal Cultivator."
Hearing the words "Mortal Cultivator," Sage Moon Divine Venerable's expression changed drastically.
Peak Grandmaster was the current term for martial artist realms.
Mortal Cultivator, however, was an ancient martial arts term!
This Bronze Tree had long since stopped using the term Mortal Cultivator when it awakened its sentience.
How did she know these things?
Could the person secretly helping the Bronze Tree transform be an existence like himself?
After Sage Moon Divine Venerable met Xu Qingquan of Feiyan Mountain last time, he had many thoughts.
There must be more than just himself and the one on Feiyan Mountain in the southwest who inherited the ancient martial arts!
Sage Moon Divine Venerable thought to himself, "A bunch of insidious fellows, planning to catch the cicada while the oriole watches from behind!"
In order to find the Bronze Tree, Sage Moon Divine Venerable had nearly died in the snow forest. Later, in order to cultivate the nascent sentience of the Bronze Tree, he had spared no expense in giving it to the Black Ice organization.
Never did he expect to be outmaneuvered by these insidious fellows in the end!
Sage Moon Divine Venerable looked at the Bronze Tree before him and smiled, "Bronze Tree, I rescued you from the snow forest back then. Although we weren't bonded by vital blood, we had..."
However, before Sage Moon Divine Venerable could finish speaking, Chen Shu sent another blast of internal energy, this time imbued with the power of the Bronze Tree's本体 (original body).
Sage Moon Divine Venerable dodged in a hurry, looking at the large pit blasted into the ground where he had just stood. His face turned ashen, and he said, "It seems I'll have to resort to some methods to take you away today!"
The Bronze Tree was of great importance, otherwise, he would not have traveled all the way to Qingzhou City.
Chen Shu snorted lightly, "Take me away? Do you have that strength? With the injuries in your body, aren't you afraid of perishing here today?"
As she spoke, a bronze tree appeared in Chen Shu's hand, emitting ancient and resonant sounds.