331: Chapter 331 Soul-Nourishing Wood!

Since there was no longer any chance for the void heaven cauldron, and with some time left before the Void Heaven Palace closed, everyone dispersed to continue searching for their own Opportunity within the vast Void Heaven Palace.

Savage Beard had obtained the heaven mending pill and was in high spirits, his face beaming with unconcealable triumph; he had no desire to continue entangling himself with Wan Tianming and the others.

He swaggered toward a passageway, preparing to find a quiet place to properly refine the medicinal power and stabilize his Cultivation.

Humming a little tune as he walked with light steps, he was clearly extremely satisfied with his gains this time.

Although Wan Tianming was unwilling to give up, his face ashen and his fists clenched so tightly his nails were digging into his palms, the heaven mending pill had already been swallowed by Savage Beard, and continuing the fight would be of no use.

He could only grit his teeth and turn to leave with Tianwuzi, secretly vowing in his heart that he would definitely settle this score in the future.

His back appeared somewhat desolate, his footsteps heavy, as if every step were treading on blades.

Layman Qingyi looked to both sides, then at the empty cave entrance, shook his head, sighed, and headed off alone in another direction.

Although he felt some regret, he felt more relief.

He was grateful that he had preserved his life in this struggle and had not ended up like Mutengzi, who had been forced to flee after being heavily injured.

Touching the bamboo slip in his robe, he quickened his pace.

Lu Qiu naturally blended into the crowd, randomly choosing a passageway and walking at a leisurely pace.

His steps seemed casual, even aimless, as if he were truly just trying his luck to find an Opportunity.

In reality, he had been spreading his powerful Divine Sense all around, like an invisible spider web, carefully scanning every movement to confirm that no one was following or spying on him.

After passing through several branch paths and pausing for a moment at a hidden corner to pretend to inspect the runes on a stone wall, he confirmed it was absolutely safe. Then, his figure flickered like a ghost as he changed direction and hurried toward the secret space in his memory that hid the ten thousand year spirit milk and the soul nurturing wood.

His speed was as fast as lightning, yet silent, leaving no traces behind.

A moment later, he arrived again at the stone wall he had blasted open.

The wall remained as it was, with debris scattered on the ground and covered in dust; clearly, no one else had discovered this place after he left.

He nodded in satisfaction, flashed inside, passed through the small compartment, and activated the teleportation Formation on the ground.

With a flash of light, he appeared once again in that massive stone chamber.

In the center of the stone chamber, the massive spirit eye spring was still bubbling with milky white spring water, emitting dense Spiritual Qi that shrouded the entire chamber in a hazy mist.

The spring water was crystal clear and emitted a refreshing fragrance that invigorated anyone who smelled it.

However, the small jade pool by the spring was now empty; the ten thousand year spirit milk inside had long been completely looted by Lu Qiu, leaving only an empty depression.

Lu Qiu's gaze did not linger on the spirit eye spring for long; although this spirit eye spring was also a rare treasure, it was too large to take away.

He turned his attention directly to the pitch-black stone door beside the chamber, which was covered in dense, intricate Restriction runes.

That door was the destination of Yuan Yao's trip—the location of the soul nurturing wood!

Lu Qiu walked up to the stone door and carefully observed the Restriction runes on it.

These runes were twisted and complex, layered one upon another like a spider web, exuding an ancient and powerful aura; it was clearly an extremely sophisticated sealing Restriction.

Spiritual light faintly flowed within the runes, as if they were living things slowly wriggling, emitting a dangerous aura.

If one were to forcibly break it, it would likely trigger a backlash from the Restriction; at best, one would be injured, and at worst, it might trigger a self-destruct mechanism, destroying the soul nurturing wood inside along with it.

However, with Lu Qiu's current mastery of Formations, combined with the vast reservoir of knowledge in his mind, this Restriction, though ingenious, could not stump him.

He had once systematically studied the Dao of Formations under the guidance of Xin Ruyin and had a deep understanding of various Restrictions.

He sat cross-legged before the stone door, closed his eyes, and extended his powerful Divine Sense, which acted like the most precise instrument, to begin carefully analyzing and deducing the composition and operational laws of those Restriction runes.

His Divine Sense, like fine threads, delved into the strokes of every rune, exploring the mysteries within.

His brows furrowed and smoothed from time to time, clearly indicating he was conducting complex deductions in his mind.

Time flowed slowly in the silence.

In the stone chamber, there was only the sound of the spirit eye spring bubbling and Lu Qiu's long, steady breathing.

Half an hour later, Lu Qiu's tightly closed eyes snapped open, a flash of insight crossing his eyes as if he had seen through the mist to the very essence!

"So that's how it is... The core of this Restriction lies in those seven interconnected rune nodes... As long as I cut off the connections between them in the correct order, the Restriction will dissolve on its own."

He muttered to himself, his voice tinged with understanding.

Then, he extended his finger, and a wisp of scarlet gold magic power gathered at his fingertip; the magic power was like a leaping flame, emitting a scorching and pure aura.

Using his finger as a pen, he began to trace rapidly on the surface of the pitch-black stone door!

Every time he tapped, it landed precisely on a key rune node!

Each time he tapped, the Restriction runes on the stone door dimmed accordingly, as if their vitality were being drained away.

His movements were fluid and natural, without a hint of hesitation, as if he had been fully prepared.

When Lu Qiu's finger landed for the seventh time—

"Click!" A crisp sound, like something shattering, came from inside the stone door!

Although the sound was faint, it was exceptionally clear in the empty stone chamber.

Immediately afterward, all the Restriction runes on the pitch-black stone door flashed simultaneously; the light flickered unsteadily as if making a final struggle, and then, as if having lost all power, they completely dimmed!

Those runes seemed to have lost their life, turning into ordinary carvings.

"Creak—" Accompanied by a low and long friction sound, the heavy stone door slowly opened inward, kicking up a cloud of fine dust.

A more intense, strange fluctuation that seemed capable of nourishing the Divine Soul emanated from inside the door, making Lu Qiu feel invigorated, as if he were bathing in warm sunlight.

In the center of the stone chamber, a small tree about three feet tall, pitch-black throughout, and with sparse branches and leaves, stood quietly.

It seemed to have grown here for countless years, exuding an ancient and tranquil aura.

The tree's trunk was as black as the deepest night, its surface covered in fine, dense patterns; those patterns were as unique as human palm prints, as if bearing the traces of the years and recording the passage of time.

Although its branches and leaves were sparse, with only a few dozen leaves, each one presented a peculiar dark green color, with clearly visible veins distributed like blood vessels, as if containing some mysterious power.

The edges of the leaves shimmered with a faint golden luster, appearing exceptionally divine.

Most amazingly, when Lu Qiu's gaze landed on that small tree, he felt a strange, gentle fluctuation that seemed capable of nourishing the Divine Soul emanating from it, as warm as a mother's embrace, which invigorated his spirit that had become somewhat fatigued from the long deduction of the Restriction!

Even the Divine Sense in his Sea of Consciousness seemed to have become a bit more refined.

"soul nurturing wood! It really is soul nurturing wood! One of the three legendary divine woods!"

A hint of joy flashed in Lu Qiu's eyes; even with his Heart-Nature, he could not help but feel a bit excited at this moment.

This soul nurturing wood was simply a treasure beyond dreams for any Cultivator who trained in Divine Sense-type Divine Abilities or had a damaged Nascent Soul!

With it, the speed of his Divine Sense cultivation would be greatly accelerated, and the power of his Spirit Shocking Thorn would also be able to reach a higher level.

He walked forward cautiously, his steps light and slow, as if afraid of disturbing this divine wood.

He carefully examined this legendary divine wood, feeling that gentle yet powerful Soul fluctuation, his heart filled with wonder.

Then, he extended his finger, gathered magic power, and gently removed two small branches from the main trunk of the soul nurturing wood.

His movements were gentle and precise, as if performing a delicate surgery, without causing any unnecessary damage to the trunk.

These two branches, though not large, only the length of a finger, contained enough Soul-nourishing power for Yuan Yao to use to nourish her Senior Sister's Soul.

As for himself, he had previously obtained a piece of soul nurturing wood in the Miaodan Pavilion; combined with these two, it was already completely sufficient.

There was no need for him to destroy the entire precious soul nurturing wood out of greed.

Leaving it for those destined to find it could also be considered leaving an Opportunity for future generations and accumulating some Karma.

After properly placing the two pieces of soul nurturing wood into a jade box, attaching a Spirit Sealing Talisman, and putting them into his Storage Pouch, Lu Qiu took one last look at the small tree standing quietly there, which was emitting a faint glow in the dim light, and then he turned and left the stone chamber without hesitation.

His steps were firm, without a shred of reluctance.

This time, entering the Void Heaven Palace, his gains were already huge—ten thousand year spirit milk, Soul stones, several ancient treasures, the Ganlan Pearl, and the most important void heaven cauldron!

He could be said to have returned with a full harvest!

Every single treasure was enough to drive the Cultivators of the outside world crazy.

It was time to leave.

...

Meanwhile, on the fifth floor of the Void Heaven Palace.

Wan Tianming, Tianwuzi, and Layman Qingyi, for some reason, had unexpectedly returned to that high platform in unison.

Their steps were hurried, and their faces all bore a trace of unconcealable anxiety.

In their hearts, they were ultimately still unwilling to give up.

Especially Wan Tianming; he had put so much effort into this trip to the Void Heaven Palace, expended so many resources, and even used his trump card, the Heavenly Net True Thunder, only for the heaven mending pill to be snatched away by Savage Beard, and he hadn't even caught a glimpse of the void heaven cauldron. He simply could not swallow this anger!

He kept feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't say exactly what.

He had returned to the high platform to see if there were any missed clues, or if there was any way to bypass the Blood Jade Spider and pull the void heaven cauldron back up.

Even if there was only a sliver of hope, he was unwilling to give up.

However, when they arrived again before that deep blue cave, they were all stunned!

As if cast with a binding spell, they stood frozen on the spot!

They saw that inside the cave, the blue flames that had originally been surging violently and emitting a terrifying chill were now gone without a trace!

Only an empty, bottomless black hole remained, like an eye that had lost its pupil, gazing blankly at the sky.

In the air, only a faint chill remained, proving that the Ganlan Ice Flame had once existed.

And the void heaven cauldron, which should have been lying quietly in the depths of the cave, waiting for someone destined to come and take it, had also disappeared without a trace!

The spot where the void heaven cauldron should have been was now completely empty!

"This... What is going on?!" Wan Tianming exclaimed, his face full of disbelief!

His voice echoed on the empty high platform, carrying a trace of trembling.

He rubbed his eyes, thinking he had seen it wrong, but the cave was indeed empty.

Tianwuzi was also full of shock; he hurried to the edge of the cave, not even caring about the danger, and peered down, but he only saw an endless darkness and cold wind blowing up from the depths. Where was there any shadow of the void heaven cauldron?

His face turned deathly pale in an instant.

"The void heaven cauldron... has been taken by someone!" Tianwuzi took a deep breath and said in an incomparably solemn voice, every word seeming to weigh a thousand pounds. "Moreover, looking at how cleanly the Ganlan Ice Flame has vanished, without leaving a single trace, the person who took the cauldron is definitely no ordinary person! Their methods are far beyond our imagination!"

"Who is it?! Who exactly is it?!" Wan Tianming was almost going crazy! His eyes were bloodshot, blue veins bulged on his forehead, and a violent aura uncontrollably radiated from his body!

He had worked hard for so long, only to end up making a wedding dress for someone else!

How could he accept this? He felt like a fool, played in the palm of someone else's hand!

Layman Qingyi stood to the side, frowning and pondering for a moment before speaking slowly. Although his voice was calm, his eyes flickered with a thoughtful light: "To be able to take the void heaven cauldron silently during the time we were away... This person must have known our previous actions like the back of their hand! Moreover, they happened to choose the moment when we had all left to make their move... Tell me, who would do such a thing? And who has this ability?"

Tianwuzi heard this, a flash of insight appearing in his eyes as if he had thought of something, and he blurted out: "Old Devil Ji Yin! When we left just now, he didn't go with Savage Beard but left alone! Moreover, he inexplicably went to hunt down Mutengzi before... Now that I think about it, he was probably deliberately luring Mutengzi away to create an Opportunity for himself to take the cauldron! All of this was a setup!"

Wan Tianming heard this and felt it was highly likely! He said through gritted teeth, his voice filled with hatred: "Old Devil Ji Yin! What deep calculations! What a vicious scheme! He even managed to deceive us! I, Wan Tianming, and he will not coexist!"

Savage Beard also walked over at this moment. Although he hadn't witnessed the scene of the void heaven cauldron being stolen, hearing the analysis of Wan Tianming and the others, he also felt that the performance of that "Old Devil Ji Yin" just now was indeed very different from before, revealing oddities everywhere. He recalled the various details of his time with "Old Devil Ji Yin" and the more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became.

"Damn it! I knew that old bastard Ji Yin felt weird! So he was planning this all along! He even dared to play me!"

Savage Beard was also full of anger; he felt he had been fooled. "Don't let me catch him! Otherwise, I'll make him spit out everything he swallowed! I'll extract his Soul and refine his spirit!"

For a time, several Nascent Soul Cultivators went crazy, starting to search everywhere in the Void Heaven Palace for traces of "Old Devil Ji Yin"!

Their Divine Sense swept through every corner like a storm, not letting go of any suspicious places.

However, they were destined not to find that person.

Because the real "Old Devil Ji Yin" had long since fallen, and that imposter had likely already left the Void Heaven Palace by now.