The seal had been broken on its own.
Everyone gathered in front of the seal, their expressions serious as they looked at the giant tree.
On the surface, the tree appeared to be without any issues. Even after the seal was broken, no unusual signs were immediately visible. Gu Baiying said, “Stay behind me,” and then approached the tree slowly with Xiu Gu.
The treasure tree stood quietly in place, as it had for centuries.
As he got closer, he began to sense something was off. When they first arrived, they had seen that the giant tree’s branches were covered with spiritual artifacts and had assumed these were artifacts that had fallen onto the tree for some reason. But now it seemed that these artifacts weren’t simply hanging on the branches; they were growing out from the tips of the branches.
A tree covered in spiritual artifacts—was that even possible?
He paused, and with a flash of silver, the spear struck a nearby branch, causing a long sword to fall.
“This is…” Everyone gathered around.
It was an ornate long sword, with jewels embedded in the sheath and signs of wear on the hilt. Gu Baiying drew the sword and noticed scratches on the blade—this was a sword that had been used.
If spiritual artifacts were like fruit, and these artifacts grew from the branches like fruit from a tree, shouldn’t the fruit be brand new? Why did this sword show signs of use?
Looking at the other spiritual artifacts on the tree, they all showed signs of wear.
“What exactly is this?” Mu Cengxiao frowned. “Could it be that this isn’t the Sacred Tree? Have we come to the wrong place?”
“No, this must be the Sacred Tree,” Men Dong said solemnly. “At least, the Sacred Tree is definitely nearby. I can sense its location.” He gestured, “Look over there!”
Following his gaze, everyone saw a massive crack at the base of the giant tree, large enough for a person to pass through. The dark, gaping crack looked like a large mouth opening in the snowfield, waiting for someone to come by and then devour them.
Meng Ying approached the crack and peered inside. “I wonder what’s down there?”
Zanxing volunteered, “Let me try!”
She took out a sound detection talisman from her chest. The talisman, about the size of a palm, depicted a small singing figure. Zanxing tossed the talisman into the crack, and the little figure began to sing ‘Spring breeze warms the fields, brother, take me to tend the sheep’ as it wobbled and floated downward.
Although the singing was slightly off-key, it was clear and loud. Even after a while, the song could still be heard coming from the crack.
Gu Baiying looked at Zanxing, his expression a mix of incredulity and exasperation. “What kind of talisman is this?”
Most people draw talismans to enhance spiritual energy or to defend against attacks, but Zanxing’s talismans were quite unconventional.
“I never knew talismans could be drawn like this,” Men Dong said, as if discovering a new world. “I’ll have to ask Third Uncle to teach me too.”
As they spoke, the singing grew fainter and less loud. After a while, the sound completely disappeared.
“There’s something down there, and the space is quite large,” Zanxing said. “It also seems very deep. Seventh Uncle, should we go down?”
She looked at the deep crack with a sense of unease she couldn’t quite shake.
“Of course we need to go down,” Men Dong said, pointing below. “There must be something inside. It might not just be the Sacred Tree’s fruit. I sense a lot of spiritual energy down there. There could be other opportunities as well. If we can find some new spiritual herbs or fruits, they might be of great help for Fourth Uncle’s alchemy, which would benefit the cultivation of our sect’s disciples.”
Since things had come to this point, there was no turning back. Meng Ying lowered her gaze. “Then let’s go in together and see what’s inside.”
With the decision made, there was no point in hesitating further. Gu Baiying took out a lighting talisman and affixed it to the tip of his spear. In an instant, it shone like a lantern, illuminating the snowy ground before them.
Men Dong was taken aback. “Seventh Uncle, you have a lighting talisman? Then why did you have me gather firewood last night?”
Gu Baiying ignored him and instructed the others, “Be careful and stay behind me.”
The crack was illuminated by the lighting talisman.
The group followed Gu Baiying and carefully descended. As soon as Zanxing set foot inside, she sensed something was off. She had expected the place to be like the bottomless abyss of the secret realm of Li’er Country, but upon entering, she found it more like a cave with solid ground beneath her feet.
At first, the crack was very narrow, and they had to squeeze in sideways. After walking a few steps, the space inside gradually opened up. It was like moving through a slender neck into the broad belly of a bottle-shaped chamber.
Zanxing held Mimi and reached out to touch the walls of the cave. The soil here was damp, with roots of some plants seeping through. The roots of the giant tree continued downward, seemingly endless.
She wondered where this descent would lead.
Since no one knew if there were dangerous beasts underground, Gu Baiying proceeded cautiously, paying attention to the surroundings. The group remained silent, except for Men Dong, who grew increasingly excited as they progressed. He whispered, “The spiritual energy here is growing denser. Seventh Uncle, I’m sure there must be a large quantity of spiritual herbs and fruits here.”
“How come I don’t feel it?” Tian Fangfang questioned. “Junior Brother, are you sure about this?” Just as he spoke, he felt something trip him. Looking down, he saw it was a Soul-Chasing Claw.
Tian Fangfang stopped and bent down to pick up the Soul-Chasing Claw. He muttered, “Could this be a chance related to the treasure? But this Soul-Chasing Claw seems like just a low-level spiritual artifact. Is this chance really that small?”
“This probably isn’t just a chance,” Mu Cengxiao said as he approached and examined the Soul-Chasing Claw. “It looks like a spiritual artifact left behind by a cultivator.”
“Not just this one.” Meng Ying looked ahead. “There are many more.”
Indeed, from some unknown time, spiritual artifacts began to scatter on the ground—Xuanwu Staff, Phoenix Head Axe, Golden Melon Hammer… As they descended further, the number of spiritual artifacts increased. What started as a few scattered items soon became denser and then covered the ground, leaving almost no space to walk.
These artifacts included low-level, mid-level, and even high-level spiritual artifacts. Tian Fangfang initially picked up a few to put in his Qiankun Bag, planning to sell them for spiritual stones at the Hua Jin Pavilion. However, as the artifacts filled the cave, he became anxious and hesitated to take more.
“Seventh Uncle, what’s going on here? Why are there so many spiritual artifacts?” Tian Fangfang asked.