156. Vine Entangling Tree

Spiritual energy fluctuations swept outward, distorting the surrounding environment.

The fluctuations gradually subsided, leaving all four somewhat fatigued from the excessive consumption of their true essence.

"It's done!" Fu Yuanqing's face lit up with joy as he prepared to step into the herb garden.

"Wait," Xu Zheng stopped him. "Restore your true essence first."

Fu Yuanqing calmed down. "Junior Brother Xu is right." Depleted of true essence and entering an unfamiliar domain was a perilous undertaking.

The four sat cross-legged right where they were, regulating their breath to recover their true essence.

With the aid of medicinal pills and spirit stones, the recovery took less than a quarter of an hour. Then, led by Fu Yuanqing, whose cultivation base was the highest, the four passed through the temporarily forced open, narrow passage and stepped into the herb garden.

Standing within the garden, they were surrounded by the refreshing fragrance of myriad spiritual herbs. Walking about an acre inward without encountering any anomalies, they could not help but relax slightly.

Lingyu raised her eyes to see the spiritual herbs scattered naturally. Even without tending, they formed a harmonious landscape of their own, prompting her to silently marvel at the exquisite craftsmanship of the senior known as the Medicine King.

At the center of the herb garden stood a massive tree that required several people to encircle. Its thick trunk boasted an age of at least several thousand years, its dense branches tightly packed together with overlapping leaves forming a canopy of extraordinary thickness. Sheltered beneath the tree were numerous shade-loving spiritual herbs taking root in the shade, accompanied by vines that spiraled up the trunk.

The sudden transformation struck without warning. Fu Yuanqing, walking in the lead, stepped on a tree vine, and with a crisp snap, the vine whipped through the air, striking toward his back like a gust of wind.

"What is this!" Though Fu Yuanqing had remained on guard, he never expected the danger to originate from the vine beneath his feet, causing him to stumble.

Duan Feiyu had already drawn his sword, shouting, "Watch out for the tree!"

Before his voice faded, the sound of rustling filled the air incessantly. Countless tree vines lashed out toward them.

Lingyu sidestepped, dodging a striking vine, and with a flick of her sleeve, sword light flashed forth, slashing out with a series of sharp sounds. Pale purple sword light rippled, transforming into countless sword beams that, at a glance, resembled a small sword array.

The *Five Elements Myriad Sword Formula*. It channeled the sword qi of the five elements for one's own use, winning through sheer volume.

Lingyu already possessed the foundation of the Water and Fire Sword Formulas, coupled with the ice attribute she had absorbed on Mount Zhurong. Over the past few years, she had mastered the fluid application of these three attribute sword qi.

Yet, regardless of what variety these vines were, her sword qi only caused them to twitch slightly before they continued to wrap around.

The vines grew increasingly numerous and dense, filling the field of vision with flying tendrils. Before long, all four were encircled and trapped by the vines, unable even to turn around.

Continuing this way was not a viable option. Lingyu exerted her utmost effort to manipulate her sword qi, but it was sluggish and obstructed, completely impossible to deploy. This sensation of possessing abundant strength yet being unable to unleash it was agonizing; everyone wore deep frowns and grim expressions.

No wonder the array here bore not the slightest trace of damage. Fu Yuanqing thought bitterly to himself that those who discovered this ancient ruin three hundred years ago had likely fed these very vines. The hateful person who left behind the records must have been a lucky survivor harboring malicious intentions, mentioning only the outer array while omitting the perils within. What should they be done? Were they to fall at the very first step before their journey had truly begun?

All four were racking their brains in desperation.

Lingyu recalled back when she was at Xuanyuan Temple, before heading to the Xiluo Forest, a senior of the temple had instructed her thus: All things in the world mutually generate and restrain one another; if one encounters venomous snakes or the like in the forest, the antidote is frequently found right beside them.

This massive tree reigned supreme in the herb garden. If nothing restrained it, over these thousands of years, it would have consumed all the nutrients of the garden; how could it possibly allow other spiritual herbs to exist? Yet this herb garden was clearly flourishing, every single spiritual herb brimming with vitality...

What was holding this massive tree in check? Even as she desperately parried the wrapping vines, she cast her gaze around the surroundings.

At the very outer perimeter was the environment-preserving array, which she did not understand and could not decipher. Next came various types of stones, scattered irregularly to serve as boundaries dividing the herb garden...

Realization dawned upon her, and she swiftly surveyed her surroundings once more. Excellent, it was indeed as she suspected!

A wisp of sword qi drifted out lightly—it was the nimble and dexterous Chuiyu Sword—which coiled around a stone and hurled it toward an incoming vine.

With a dull thud, the small stone struck the vine. Although little force was applied, the vine recoiled instantly as if encountering a vicious predator.

Lingyu’s eyes brightened, and she shouted, "Stones!"

The other three had witnessed her previous action, and without waiting for instructions, they each swept up stones and hurled them at the vines.

In a short while, the stones encircled the large tree, and all the vines retreated.

The four stood in place, panting heavily, covered in disarray from being entangled.

After a moment, as their breathing gradually leveled, Fu Yuanqing cast an appreciative glance toward Lingyu. "Fellow Daoist Cheng possesses such meticulous observation; I am deeply impressed."

Lingyu accepted the praise with composure. Rather than calling it meticulous observation, it was more that whenever crisis struck, her intuition became exceptionally keen.

However, the effectiveness of this incident was obvious; even Xu Zheng and Duan Feiyu's attitudes toward her improved significantly.

After tidying themselves up and not daring to act rashly, the four stood within the herb garden to confer.

"Senior Brother Yuan, matters having reached this point, you should finally reveal the purpose of coming here, shouldn't you?" Duan Feiyu asked.

Fu Yuanqing remained silent, but Duan Feiyu was unusually persistent this time, blocking his path with a smile as he stared at him.

After a brief stalemate, Fu Yuanqing sighed. "Very well. Do you know who the master of this ancient ruin is?"

"Isn't it the Medicine King you mentioned?" Xu Zheng wiped the Purple Thunder Sword in his hand and said offhandedly.

"Indeed. However, this Medicine King also has a connection with our Zixiao Sword Sect." He looked at the two of them and said, "I wonder if you remember that a millennium ago, an accident occurred in our sect: a senior was ambushed while breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, resulting in a shattered sword heart and death."

Hearing this, Xu Zheng fell into thoughtful consideration. "Could the person you are speaking of be Senior Xingduan?"

"Precisely," Fu Yuanqing sighed. "Senior Xingduan possessed a sword heart physique, an eccentric talent rarely seen in centuries. When breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, he was not even three hundred years old."

Lingyu made a mental calculation. Her master, Wei Wuyang, was also hailed as a genius, yet at three hundred years old, he had not yet formed his Nascent Soul. For Senior Xingduan, a sword cultivator, to be under three hundred years old at the threshold of Nascent Soul was truly astonishing.

"What does this have to do with the Medicine King?" Duan Feiyu swept his gaze across the surrounding spiritual herbs. "Don't tell me that besides his astonishing swordsmanship, Senior Xingduan was also well-versed in the art of alchemy."

"Of course not. As sword cultivators, we typically focus solely on the sword, remaining utterly oblivious to miscellaneous arts, and Senior Xingduan was no exception."

Xu Zheng frowned slightly, growing impatient. "Senior Brother Yuan, just speak plainly; we don't have much time."

Looking somewhat helpless, Fu Yuanqing had no choice but to speak bluntly. "This Medicine King was Senior Xingduan's cultivation partner."

"Oh..." Duan Feiyu understood, yet remained somewhat puzzled. "Since this Medicine King was Senior Xingduan's partner, why is her ruin located overseas? According to the rules of our Zixiao Sword Sect, a disciple's partner is also regarded as a member of the sect, not to mention she possessed supreme alchemical skills."

"I do not know either," Fu Yuanqing spread his hands. "Some matters are things I later inquired about. Senior Xingduan was ambushed and his sword heart shattered, but he did not perish immediately. The Medicine King then took him away from the Zixiao Sword Sect, seeking medicine to heal his injuries, but unfortunately, she left and never returned, leaving no news."

"So that's how it was." Xu Zheng ceased wiping his sword and raised his head to look at the herb garden. "It seems this Medicine King senior failed to save her beloved's life and passed away here."

"Likely so," Fu Yuanqing sighed. "It is a pity that a genius like Senior Xingduan ultimately fell at the hurdle of the Nascent Soul stage. Otherwise, our Zixiao Sword Sect might have gained another great Nascent Soul cultivator, and advancing to the Deity Transformation stage might not have been out of the question."

Presently, the Zixiao Sword Sect possessed only Sword Monarch Zhaoming as a great Nascent Soul cultivator; had it not been for this, he would not have been able to rule the sect single-handedly.

"In that case, Senior Brother Yuan came here for the pills refined by the Medicine King?" Xu Zheng released his grip, returned the Purple Thunder Sword to its scabbard, and asked.

Listening from the side, Lingyu felt something was slightly amiss. Previously, Xu Zheng's attitude toward Fu Yuanqing was abysmal, but upon entering the underwater ruin, his attitude had notably improved, dropping the given name in favor of addressing him as Senior Brother Yuan.

"Precisely. The Medicine King traveled everywhere seeking medicine for Senior Xingduan, so she must possess many pills suitable for sword cultivators. If we can find some pill formulas, that would be even better." Fu Yuanqing admitted frankly.

Xu Zheng's expression remained calm. "No wonder you were willing to take such a huge risk. What, are you in a hurry to form your Core?"

Fu Yuanqing smiled bitterly. "The reason I have lived until today is because the Sword Monarch does not deign to pay attention to me. But the Sword Monarch's temperament... who knows if one day he will suddenly take it into his head to claim my life? Relying on others is inferior to relying on oneself; apart from advancing early and possessing sufficient strength, there is no other way."

Xu Zheng stared at him for a moment, wearing a slightly mocking smile. "Senior Brother Yuan, you have always been this clever, knowing how to act to secure the greatest benefit." Without waiting for Fu Yuanqing to reply, he flicked his chin toward them. "You both want these spiritual herbs, right? Hurry up and gather them; stop wasting time!"

Hearing that this Medicine King excelled in refining pills for sword cultivators, Lingyu's attention immediately turned to the surrounding spiritual herbs. As soon as Xu Zheng finished speaking, she asked, "Fellow Daoist Fu, you mentioned earlier that we would select them first. Look at these..."

Fu Yuanqing shook his head. "They are merely spiritual herbs; let's divide them equally."

Lingyu nodded, thinking to herself that it seemed he had an even more important objective. Could it be that the Medicine King had left behind some extraordinary pill formula?

With this thought, her movements did not lag in the slightest. Following Fu Yuanqing's instructions, she left behind the spiritual herbs that clearly lacked age and harvested those with sufficient maturity.

The herb garden was not small, and gathering the herbs alone consumed the better part of a day. Xu Zheng grew impatient waiting, but once the three finished harvesting, they divided the spoils.

With such a multitude of spiritual herbs and insufficient jade boxes for storage, fortunately, Fu Yuanqing had prepared beforehand, specially purchasing several temporary storage pouches for spiritual herbs.

Stroke by stroke over her bulging herb pouches, Lingyu thought that if she could return safely from this trip, it certainly wouldn't be a loss. A high-grade magical treasure and a large pouch of mature spiritual herbs could truly be called a full return.