Another morning dawned, and the decisive voice of Lu Rong, the Grand Elder of the Spirit God Hall, resonated through the top floor of the Tong Shen Pagoda. "After She Qianbian delivered the message yesterday, I dispatched the nearest available personnel to investigate in Jiyang City. Just moments ago, I received his spirit jade transmission; it perfectly corroborates She Qianbian's intelligence."

"Nie Kong, Nie Kong..."

Muttering the name several times, unconcealed incredulity still lingered in Kou Xilai’s eyes. "I never imagined that the Green Robe Bandit who brought such disgrace to the Spirit God Hall would be a young man barely past twenty... Wait, that name sounds vaguely familiar to this old man."

Lu Rong spoke solemnly. "This Nie Kong once obtained a Fourth Grade Spirit Pharmacist certificate in Luoyan City, possessing a cultivation level of Eighth Grade Spirit Transformation. At the time, the Spirit Pharmacists managing the Medicine Platform in Luoyan City tried to recruit him as a disciple for our Spirit God Hall, but he refused. Later, when the 'Netherfire Ghost Spring' dimension opened, I dispatched two individuals to check on his status within."

"Yet, when we tried to re-establish contact, he suddenly vanished, only reappearing several months ago. His cultivation had already broken through from the Spirit Control Realm he held back then to Ninth Grade Core Spirit. Now, Nie Kong possesses a High Grade Spirit Insight cultivation; his strength far surpasses that of an ordinary Heavenly Spirit expert. If we factor in his Spirit Transformation abilities, perhaps no one below Ninth Grade Heavenly Spirit could stand against him. Especially since this individual now seems capable of refining Eighth Grade Spirit Medicines."

"I see now!"

Kou Xilai’s pupils contracted sharply. "To break through from Spirit Transformation to High Grade Spirit Insight in mere years—his cultivation speed is astonishingly swift. I fear it won't take long before he reaches the Heavenly Spirit Realm. When that happens, who will be able to suppress him? If he continues to cultivate at this pace..."

"This person must be eliminated!"

Lu Rong narrowed his eyes, his right palm sliding downward with fierce intent.

"Agreed!"

Kou Xilai’s face darkened. "Grand Elder, arrange personnel immediately. I will travel with the two Upper Gods to Jiyang City to apprehend and kill Nie Kong. If he dares hide within the Nie Clan estate, then capture his entire clan in one sweep. I refuse to believe he can watch his relatives die because of him!"

"As for Yin Xu and Xutuo..."

"They are not worth worrying about!" The last four words were spoken with conviction, Kou Xilai’s eyes blazing, his killing intent surging to the heavens.

"Yes, I shall make the arrangements right away!"

Lu Rong stood up, but before he could depart, Kou Xilai’s expression shifted subtly. His silhouette flickered, and he suddenly appeared above the Tong Shen Pagoda. Lu Rong froze for a moment, then his own face contorted in shock. He stood beside Kou Xilai, gazing into the distance, cloaked in profound alarm.

"Hall Master..."

Lu Rong's greeting abruptly choked off. He saw, at the furthest reaches of the horizon, a tiny green shadow growing rapidly clearer, rushing toward them as it magnified in his cloudy pupils.

In an instant, the shape of the green shadow became discernible: it was a vibrant, lush green tree.

"Ancestral Sky Divine Luo Tree!"

Kou Xilai’s spirit trembled, and he cried out in horror.

Under the combined gaze of the four pairs of eyes belonging to Kou Xilai and Lu Rong, the green tree continued to swell, growing ever larger. In less than half a minute, its massive trunk thrust upward like a pillar supporting the sky, piercing the atmosphere ten thousand meters high. Its thick branches and gigantic leaves spread out like a vast canopy, sweeping outward endlessly, as if intending to shroud the entire Heaven Spirit Continent.

A moment later, one of its colossal trunks seemed to leap across ten thousand miles of space, stretching directly over the Spirit God Hall. Darkness descended, and the world was plunged into gloom.

"Whoosh!"

The trunk trembled slightly. Its gently swaying branches appeared to shatter the boundless void, and a terrifying sense of oppression descended, rendering the world utterly silent.

Kou Xilai and Lu Rong were paralyzed, their spirits shaken to the core, unable to utter a sound.

Just then, the seemingly endless trunk suddenly twisted and shifted, revealing an ancient face etched with wrinkles. The skin was creased like sun-dried bark, but the two enormous green eyes shone with incredible brilliance, seemingly encompassing all the stars in the heavens.

Moments later—

Those two eyes appeared to register the presence of Kou Xilai and Lu Rong. Their gazes converged, solidifying into two massive pillars of emerald light that pierced the void, suddenly cast down upon the space above the Spirit God Hall.

It was as if the firmament itself had fractured. An infinite pressure surged downward.

"Thump! Thump!"

Under the intensity of those two gazes, Kou Xilai—a powerhouse who had overcome two spiritual tribulations—and Lu Rong—who had reached Ninth Grade Heavenly Spirit two centuries ago—trembled inwardly. They could not muster the slightest will to resist, plummeting like meteorites to the base of the Tong Shen Pagoda.

"Whoosh!"

There was another sound of swaying branches. The face retracted back into the trunk, and the boundless foliage contracted along with the giant tree. The light of the obscured morning sun streamed down, and brightness gradually returned to the world. After mere seconds, the tree had shrunk back to a tiny green speck, vanishing into the far reaches of the horizon.

An unknown amount of time passed before Kou Xilai and Lu Rong, slumped on the ground, finally came to their senses. Their faces were pale, gasping desperately like fish stranded on dry land.

After a long pause, their breathing slowly calmed.

"Wood Ancestor! What a profound Yin Xu Wood Ancestor!"

Kou Xilai wiped the cold sweat from his brow, murmuring with lingering terror, "I clearly perceived him as merely a Heavenly Spirit expert, yet his power—forget the true forms of our two Upper Gods—I doubt even a handful of peak experts from the 'Supreme Spirit Realm' could match him!"

Lu Rong’s complexion was even more dreadful than Kou Xilai’s, his disbelief profound. "Wasn't the common understanding that the Ancestral Sky Divine Luo Tree could not leave Yin Xu? How did he emerge?"

"Could our Spirit God Hall's intelligence be flawed?"

Kou Xilai also found this inconceivable. After pondering for a long while without finding an answer, he let out a heavy sigh, only to suddenly realize his entire body was drenched in sweat. Thinking of how shamefully weak he, the Hall Master of the Spirit God Hall, had been under the scrutiny of those two eyes, Kou Xilai felt a surge of humiliation turning to anger.

Lu Rong asked in a muffled voice, "Hall Master, are we still dealing with Nie Kong?"

"Deal with him? How can we deal with him now?"

Staring in the direction where the Ancestral Sky Divine Luo Tree had vanished, Kou Xilai clenched his jaw and hissed, "That old undying being in Yin Xu chose the worst possible moment to appear—just as the Spirit God Hall was preparing to strike and capture Nie Kong. He is issuing a direct challenge to our Spirit God Hall!"

"Investigate the situation with all available effort. We absolutely must determine if today was merely a bluff or if he genuinely can leave Yin Xu. If the latter is true, then everything ceases. But if it is false..."

"I understand!"

"..."

Silence descended upon the front of the Tong Shen Pagoda, yet all corners of the continent were immersed in an atmosphere of astonishment and shock.

Although the Wood Ancestor’s appearance and disappearance lasted only about a minute, the terrifying might that eclipsed the sun and nearly dragged the entire continent into darkness was seared directly into the minds of every living being on the Heaven Spirit Continent. It was likely that the shadow of that colossal, sky-soaring tree would remain indelible until their dying day.

…… ……RO