Finally, accompanied by a sharp wail, the golden giant sword crushed the last piece of the tree stump and then fell to the ground with a bang.

The earth rumbled, and the giant sword shattered into thousands of sword lights. It swooped down with the thunder lingering around it, drilled into the big hole that suddenly appeared in the ground, and continued to search along the intricate root system underground, trying to kill it all.

“Boom boom—”

There was a roar from the earth, and shrill screams and roars echoed from the cave.

Zhao Lihe landed on the ground with the magic sword in his hand, and looked at the big hole where the tree stump was originally with a frown.

"Master Yan, even if you destroy the original body, can't you kill her?"

"Yes." Yan Chixia sighed and said helplessly, "Like I said before, this thousand-year-old tree demon has average abilities, but her means of saving her life are unparalleled. As long as her roots remain, she will be able to make a comeback."

"But it doesn't matter. After this incident, I will stay in Lanruo Temple, patrol the mountain area every day, and clean up the roots every day."

"One day, I will be able to uproot it and eradicate it completely!"

Seeing the determination on Yan Chixia's face, Zhao Lihe straightened his face, put away the Shenxiao Sword, and said with a folded hand: "Brother Yan is righteous, Zhao admires you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the screams and roars coming from underground stopped.

Yan Chixia made a sword gesture with his hand and raised his sword finger. The golden sword suddenly broke out of the ground and returned to its sheath.

Zhao Lihe showed admiration on his face and chuckled, saying, "You said my sword is a good sword, but I think your sword is even better!"

"Of course!" Yan Chixia was very pleased. "This is the Xuanyuan Sword that I finally found after searching all 26 provinces in China!"

"Xuanyuan Divine Sword?!" Zhao Lihe was shocked. "Is it that Xuanyuan Divine Sword?"

Yan Chixia smiled and put the sword box on his back, shaking his head and said, "Of course it's not the real Xuanyuan Sword. It was a replica made by the First Emperor after he unified the world using the last piece of Shoushan copper in the world. However, because this sword was the sword of the Holy King and was not suitable for the First Emperor, it was sealed in the treasury. Later, it disappeared when Xiang Yu burned down Xianyang..."

"When I found it, it was in the hands of the statue of Zhenwu Emperor, receiving incense from all living beings."

Zhao Lihe listened with great interest and immediately asked, "Then how did you discover it?"

Yan Chixia smiled and said, "At that time, I was catching a notorious bandit. That guy was afraid of my reputation, so he threatened the Taoist priests in the temple and let them steal my sword. Later, the two sides fought and I had no sword in my hand, so I could only grab the long sword from the Zhenwu Emperor. This is how the Xuanyuan Sword finally saw the light of day..."

Why does it sound like it was appointed?

Zhao Lihe twitched the corner of his mouth and looked at the sword case on Yan Chixia's back thoughtfully.

At the same time, Lu Jianxing and Ding Xian also came over.

Ding Xian looked at the sword case on Yan Chixia's back and couldn't help showing envy.

"Brother Yan, your sword-wielding skills are so impressive, much better than mine!"

“…”

Yan Chixia turned around after hearing this, glanced at the two double flying swallows surrounding Ding Xian, and suddenly raised the corner of his mouth, and asked with a smile:

"Why, you want to learn?"

“…”

Ding Xian was stunned for a moment, and quickly shook his head: "Of course not, how could I be interested in other people's inheritance--"

Before he could finish his words, a dark shadow rushed towards him.

Ding Xian's voice stopped abruptly, and he subconsciously reached out to take it.

When I looked closely, I saw that it was a blue-covered secret book with nine large characters on the cover:

"Taiyi's Curse to Eliminate Sins and Kill Demons"!

Ding Xian looked up in astonishment: "Brother Yan, what are you doing..."

Yan Chixia smiled and said, "Since we have known each other for a while, I will give you this skill. However, in exchange, you have to give me the paper umbrella and Miss Xiaoqing's soul. I will take her to reincarnation."

“…”

Zhao Lihe frowned and looked at Yan Chixia deeply.

"Okay!" Zhao Lihe suddenly said, "Since Brother Yan has said so, then I'll leave Miss Xiaoqing to you!"

As he spoke, Zhao Lihe took out a paper umbrella and handed it to Yan Chixia.

Yan Chixia took it and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, the tree demon has been destroyed. It will not be able to cause trouble for at least five hundred years. You guys should leave here quickly and do whatever you need to do!"

After saying this, Yan Chixia ignored everyone's reactions, turned around and strode towards Lanruo Temple.

Looking at Yan Chixia's back as he left alone, carrying the sword case, Lu Jianxing frowned and asked in surprise, "Brother Yan, what's wrong? How come he suddenly seems like a different person..."

Ding Xian looked at the secret book in his hand and couldn't help but add: "And he was suddenly so generous!"

Zhao Lihe glanced at them and said meaningfully: "He is urging us to leave!"

"Urging us to leave?" Ding Xian was slightly surprised. "Why?"

Zhao Lihe shook his head, smiled without saying anything, and just took a step and followed Yan Chixia.

…

…

Not long after, Yan Chixia returned to Lanruo Temple.

At this time, Xiahou had already come out of retreat and was leaning against the gate of Lanruo Temple with his hands on his shoulders.

Seeing Yan Chixia coming back, Xiahou immediately stepped forward, stopped him and asked, "Where are Brother Zhao and the others?"

Yan Chixia suddenly came back to his senses, raised his head and said: "They..."

“Here it is!”

Ding Xian's voice with a hint of laughter came from behind, interrupting Yan Chixia's words.

Yan Chixia frowned, turned around in surprise and asked, "Why are you back again?"

"My second brother is still here!" Ding Xian smiled and pointed at the Lanruo Temple behind Yan Chixia, and then asked curiously, "Brother Yan, what happened to you? Why did you lose your soul after defeating the tree monster? We followed you all the way, didn't you notice it?"

“…”

Yan Chixia twitched his lips, but did not answer. He just waved his hand and said unhappily, "Alright, stop talking so much. Pack your bags and leave here with that scholar Ning. I still have to send Miss Xiaoqing to reincarnation later!"

After saying that, Yan Chixia pushed away Xiahou in front of him and walked into Lanruo Temple.

Xiahou stepped back in surprise and could not help but exchange a look with Ding Xian who was standing at the foot of the stone steps.

"…What's going on?"

"We don't know either." Ding Xian shrugged and said helplessly, "It just happened all of a sudden."

Zhao Lihe came over with a smile, patted Ding Xian on the shoulder and said, "Okay, Ah Xian, don't worry about it. Go call your second brother and Ning Caichen, and we will go down the mountain later."

"Yes, sir."

Ding Xian and Lu Jianxing took the order respectfully, and then strode into Lanruo Temple.

Quarter of an hour later, the noisy footsteps gradually faded away from the entrance of Lanruo Temple.

Yan Chixia appeared at the temple gate holding a paper umbrella and Xiaoqing's urn, looking at the backs of the people leaving with a complicated expression.

"He really left." Yan Chixia muttered softly, "He didn't even bother to say goodbye to me first. How rude..."

Yan Chixia muttered a few words, then sighed, with a complicated expression on his face.

It's better to leave. At least I don't have to go through hell with him...

"Shhhhhhhh——"

A horse neighing suddenly sounded, Yan Chixia turned his head abruptly, looking in the direction of the sound with some surprise.

Half a minute later, Yan Chixia led a horse out of the woods next to Lanruo Temple and stroked the horse's head with a complicated expression.

There is no doubt that this should have been left behind by Zhao Lihe and others for Yan Chixia to use for transportation.

"I still have some conscience..."

Yan Chixia chuckled, then jumped onto the horse, stuffed the paper umbrella into the bag on his back, held the urn in his left hand, held the reins with his right hand, suddenly laughed loudly, and galloped away on his horse, heading in the opposite direction of Zhao Lihe and the others.

…

About two hours later, Yan Chixia appeared on the official road leading to Lanruo Temple on horseback.

The urn that was originally in the left hand has disappeared, obviously sending Miss Xiaoqing to reincarnation successfully.

On the way back, the road became longer and longer, and it seemed that there was no end in sight.

Until it was dark, Yan Chixia was unable to return to Lanruo Temple, but instead came to a secluded forest.

But for some reason, even though the road was so off the track, Yan Chixia did not show any impatience or surprise. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the horse's back, closed his eyes, and began to rest, concentrating his energy.

Suddenly, a thick fog filled the road and an inn appeared on the side of the road.

Yan Chixia opened his eyes and looked coldly at the inn that suddenly appeared in the fog on the side of the road.

Without hesitation, Yan Chixia dismounted, slapped the horse's butt hard, let it go, then drew out the Xuanyuan Sword, and walked towards the inn in front of him that was filled with evil spirits with a sneer.

If the tree demon grandma fails to be uprooted during the day, she will definitely go to the Black Mountain Demon, her backer, to complain and ask for help.

It just so happened that the Black Mountain Old Demon had already accepted the marriage invitation and wanted to marry Xiaoqing as his concubine, so whether for the sake of the Tree Demon Grandma or for his own sake, he would definitely stand up for the Tree Demon Grandma.

As long as he steps forward, the first person he will deal with will definitely be the person who carries Xiaoqing's soul.

It is for this reason that Yan Chixia used his own skills to exchange for the paper umbrella that carries Xiaoqing's soul.

Of course, other things can be exchanged, but the Black Mountain Old Demon has great magical powers and a huge influence. Yan Chixia felt that he had no chance of winning, so he exchanged his skills, which could be regarded as leaving behind a little inheritance in disguise.

Suddenly, there was a gust of wind and the door of the inn suddenly opened.

Yan Chixia held the Xuanyuan Sword in his hand, sneered, and walked into the inn fearlessly.

The moment he stepped into the inn, a cold wind suddenly blew up from behind him and blew the door closed.

Thick white fog filled the inn. Two black figures emerged from the fog and stepped into the world with the sound of chains dragging on the ground.

Yan Chixia took a closer look and saw that the two figures were wearing black clothes and black hats. The man on the left was sturdy and held a ghost-head sword, while the man on the right was thin and held a soul-binding chain.

Both of them had a "ghost" on their black clothes on their chests and a "soldier" on their backs. They were obviously ghost messengers from the underworld.

Yan Chixia sneered: "Looking at the majestic aura of the two of you, you should be the real registered ghost messengers. Even you are willing to obey the orders of the Black Mountain Old Demon. It seems that the underworld is just like the human world, with evil spirits and ghosts everywhere!"

“Stop talking nonsense!” The ghost on the left waved a ghost-headed sword and said with a fierce smile, “Yan Chixia, your life span has come to an end. We are here on the orders of the Ghost King to arrest your soul. Why don’t you put down your weapons and surrender!”