Shi Xuan was no stranger to the passage of the [New Life] organization. Since she and her master destroyed the underground passage of the market, she had explored the underground city of the [New Life] organization at least five times.
Whether it's a market town, a secluded sect, an outer region, or a city in the clouds, their structures are all very similar.
This allowed Shi Xuan to have a general idea of the structure of the passage before entering it.
But surprisingly, things are different here.
Perhaps because the place is too small to build such a large underground palace, the passageways here are also extremely narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass through at a time.
Shi Xuan walked a short distance inside. There were no rooms on either side of her path. Further ahead, the passage spiraled downwards, leading to the underground.
Rotate downwards; this structure is the same as the Cloud City!
In the underground space of Cloud City, there is a tree growing!
Could it be here...?
Shi Xuan quickened his pace slightly and walked down the spiraling steps.
There are no more formations blocking the way here, only the Immortal Concealment Formation at the entrance.
Given that this place is such a secluded and hidden place, not many people would come here, and it would be almost impossible for anyone to think that there is something underground. It is only natural that people would be less cautious.
Who would have thought that, even so, Shi Xuan would still find them.
As Shi Xuan walked down, he exclaimed that although there were no branching passages here, this spiral staircase was exactly the same as the one in Cloud City!
Even after probing to the bottom with their divine sense, they still found no trace of any "human" remains.
Walking quickly down to the bottom floor, it was indeed the same circular structure as Cloud City!
Following the original method, Shi Xuan entered the space in the middle of the spiral staircase without any hindrance.
At that moment, Shi Xuan couldn't help but be taken aback by the scene before him.
A giant tree, just like the one in the Cloud City, stands right in the center of the place, with some yellow fruits hanging from it.
Perhaps because no one has been here for a long time, many fruits have withered and are hanging on the branches, no longer as plump as they were in Cloud City.
"It's actually the Compassionate Breath Tree, humph," an aged voice rang out. It was Jiang Chi, who had just emerged from the dragon bone in Shi Xuan's neck. Her illusory figure took two steps forward, looked at the Compassionate Breath Tree, and sneered, "This kind of unlucky thing hasn't gone extinct yet?"
Shi Xuan asked in surprise, "Did this Compassionate Breath Tree exist in your time, senior?"
“There are plenty,” Hong Chi said. “Hmph, they’re shady characters who live off eating the filth of the dead.”
Shi Xuan went to see the tree. It was slightly shorter than the one in Cloud City, but not by much.
Shi Xuan frowned and said, "It seems that the reason why those people outside can keep coming back to life must be related to this tree."
“Hmph, that goes without saying,” Hong Chi said. “To grow this big, it must have either eaten people with high cultivation levels or eaten too many people. Judging from the situation outside, it’s probably the latter.”
Shi Xuan thought about Hong Chi's words for a moment, "He ate too many people... How many people did he eat? Could it be that he ate everyone in the entire Wan Jian Fang outside...?"
That's not entirely true. This tree doesn't actively eat people. When a cultivator dies and is buried where its roots reach, it will absorb the cultivator's remains.
It eats dead people.
"I don't know what happened here back then that allowed it to digest so many dead people. I also don't know which sect or school these dead cultivators belonged to. It seems that most of the people in Wanjian Village are sword cultivators, and perhaps there are even our Lianfeng Sword Sect's predecessors among them."
Hong Chi snorted again and said, "This tree can also be seen who it has eaten."
Shi Xuan was taken aback by Hong Chi's words. She turned to look at him and asked, "Can you see it? How?"
When she read about the 'Cixi Tree' in the book, there was no mention of it, which meant she had no idea that such a thing existed.
"Hmph, there's a tree heart inside the trunk, about ten feet above the ground. Take out the tree heart, find someone with a higher cultivation level than the tree, and you can search its soul. That tree heart contains its memories."
There's another explanation!
That tree before was swallowed whole by Red Hair; who knows if the heartwood is still there...
I should have put it away first.
This time, Shi Xuan took the initiative and slashed at the trunk of the Cixi Tree with his sword.
Fearing she might damage the tree's heartwood, she deliberately positioned her sword slightly upwards.
Hong Chi: "Hmph, feel free to make your move, that tree heart is very hard."
Upon hearing Hong Chi's words, Shi Xuan's first reaction was that since it was so hard, Hong Mao might not have digested it yet, so he should have it take it out later.
As Shi Xuan made his move, the enormous Cixi Tree fell to the ground.
Meanwhile, on the ruins outside, the guards who fought against Lu Shenzhi and the others were killed and never revived.
The guards dwindled in number and were soon completely wiped out.
Just as Shi Xuan took out the tree heart, a group of people outside walked in and joined him.
The heartwood was pitch black and oval-shaped, like a giant egg.
Its texture was indeed incredibly hard. Shi Xuan was already considering using it for weapon crafting after soul-searching, turning it into an offensive magic weapon.
Just as Lu Shenzhi and the others entered, Shi Xuan had just taken the heartwood out of the tree.
Upon seeing the tree heart, Lu Wenxing jumped out and exclaimed, "What kind of egg is this? Why is it black?"
“This is the heartwood of the Compassionate Tree,” Shi Xuan patiently explained to them about the Compassionate Tree.
Lu Wenxing jumped high in the air: "Wow, it really is a black-hearted tree!"
Lu Wenxing's interruption prompted Shi Xuan to ask about what was happening outside.
"The guards have disappeared? Are those people still on the street?"
Lu Shenzhi's gaze remained fixed on the Cixi Tree as he replied, "The guard did not revive after his last death, and the people on the street are still in the same place, motionless."
Shi Xuan nodded and said, "Then it should dissipate soon."
"Because of this tree?" Lu Shenzhi asked.
“I suspect that this entire Wanjian Village is the testing ground for [Rebirth],” Shi Xuan said cautiously. “They must have been planning the Nine Provinces Chaotic Soul Array for a long time. Such a large array must have needed a place to test it. The grafting of those demonic beasts and humans, the deaths of everyone in Wanjian Village, the absence of any living people here, and the arrangements outside all make one think of the Nine Provinces Chaotic Soul Array…”
"Then this tree..."
"Now it seems that the reason why those ghost beasts outside can keep resurrecting is because of the energy provided by this Compassionate Breath Tree. The main purpose of the Nine Provinces Chaotic Soul Array is resurrection. I guess their array failed, resulting in the creation of these constantly resurrecting ghost beasts, so they abandoned this place. Of course, this is just my guess."
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