Xu Ziqing immediately realized his mistake and could only smile bitterly.
They were already headed toward the Sword-Shaped Wood, yet his senior brother had chosen this moment to become upset. Xu Ziqing had truly failed to think the matter through. Xi Lin and the others were not far away. If he started pulling and arguing with Yun Lie, wouldn’t they all notice? What was he supposed to do?
Before he could consider it further, Xu Ziqing saw black mist spreading from Yun Lie’s deep-dark pupils. In a mere instant it filled most of his eyes, almost returning them to how they had looked within the inheritance grounds!
Golden Core cultivators and Nascent Soul ancestors were among those approaching the Sword-Shaped Wood, and there might even be still more powerful experts. If Yun Lie revealed demonic energy now, someone would surely detect it.
Then all Xu Ziqing’s earlier efforts to conceal his senior brother’s condition would have been wasted!
His thoughts tangled, and he could find no solution.
Yun Lie’s demonic impulses grew fiercer, and the hand gripping Xu Ziqing’s wrist tightened painfully, threatening to break it.
Xu Ziqing took a deep breath and moved closer, whispering, “Senior Brother, Senior Brother, you need endure only a little longer. Once you reach the Sword-Shaped Wood, it will surely benefit you greatly…”
He was still attempting to persuade Yun Lie, but when he moved, his body was suddenly immobilized, leaving him unable to budge.
Xu Ziqing understood that his senior brother was close to losing control and absolutely must not be provoked further. Rapidly weighing the options, he finally reached a decision. Since Yun Lie refused to separate from him, Xu Ziqing would have to let him accompany him. With Yun Lie’s help, perhaps they could find the spirit medicine much faster.
Afterward, there might still be time to search the Sword-Shaped Wood for leaves.
With that settled, Xu Ziqing prepared to transmit his decision to Xi Lin.
Although Yun Lie and Xu Ziqing were personally invited by Xuan Ze, Xi Lin was the prince’s trusted aide and commanded this operation.
But before Xu Ziqing could speak, his body abruptly became heavy, as though he were an ordinary mortal who could no longer hover in midair. Yun Lie gripped him tightly, but began falling with him.
Thudding sounds rang out in every direction. Cultivators fell from the sky like raindrops.
Xu Ziqing quickly struck the ground, feeling a numbing jolt in his feet. Yun Lie stood beside him, still refusing to release his hold, though he appeared unharmed.
Relieved, Xu Ziqing looked around. Not a single person remained aloft. Regardless of cultivation realm, everyone had been dragged down to earth.
Immediately, cries rang out:
“I can’t circulate my true essence!”
“Neither can this old man. What could have caused it?”
“Something is very strange here!”
“Could the Sword-Shaped Wood be responsible?”
Most of the cultivators were experienced. Having already encountered many strange events within the secret trove, they were surprised but not truly panicked.
Xu Ziqing had experienced becoming like a mortal within Perfected Master Luofu’s inheritance grounds, so undergoing something similar again did not strike him as particularly difficult.
Xi Lin and the others quickly came over and rejoined the martial brothers.
Their true essence had plainly been sealed as well, so they needed to reconsider their next actions.
Xi Lin said, “We intended to use the confusion as cover. Now that everyone’s cultivation has been sealed, our plan may not be so easy.”
Xu Ziqing agreed. Previously they could have acted discreetly while others competed. In the present situation, any unusual movement would be noticed by people watching from outside.
They discussed the matter again and decided to postpone the search for the spiritual herb.
Since the Sword-Shaped Wood had taken root here, any trial must be related to sword attainment. Better to wait and see what happened.
Everyone regained their composure and began examining their condition.
Apart from the restriction upon their true essence, they felt no other discomfort. Their physical bodies had also not become as heavy and weak as Xu Ziqing first thought. Their cultivated strength remained intact.
This place was therefore considerably more merciful than Perfected Master Luofu’s inheritance grounds.
While Xu Ziqing pondered, the other cultivators also experimented. Before long, someone discovered something unusual.
A sword cultivator in a robe embroidered with pythons was wreathed in sword qi. He had hooked all ten fingers into the trunk and was climbing the Sword-Shaped Wood. He moved quickly, rising nearly a zhang in a single breath.
No one else was willing to let him take all the advantage. The others promptly approached the enormous roots. The Sword-Shaped Wood was a full hundred zhang around, and standing beneath it only made its height seem more unreachable.
Xu Ziqing and the others exchanged glances, then followed the crowd toward the trunk.
Yun Lie still held Xu Ziqing’s left hand in a firm grip, but his attention was fixed on the tree. Most of the inky blackness had faded from his eyes, leaving his condition concealed once more.
Xu Ziqing breathed a silent sigh of relief and walked beside him. He dared not suggest patience or restraint again. Instead he stayed close and carefully avoided doing anything that might displease his senior brother.
Xi Lin directed the three men behind him, and the six of them took their positions one by one, extending their hands and digging their fingers into the tree.
Only then did they understand why the first climber had released sword qi.
The instant anyone touched the trunk, countless colorless insects no longer than an index finger emerged from the bark and shot toward them like lightning, astonishingly vicious.
Someone moved his sword qi, cutting the delicate insects apart and reducing them to dust.
Xu Ziqing had trained in swordsmanship but did not possess sword qi to protect himself. With a thought, he released the Qingyun Needle.
The instant it emerged, he felt his physical body grow a little more fatigued.
He understood then that only the true essence within the dantian was sealed near the Sword-Shaped Wood. Spiritual energy stored in flesh and blood remained accessible. But when divine abilities or spells drew upon it, they consumed that energy directly, and it could not be replenished. As it diminished, the body would gradually grow heavy until it was only slightly stronger than that of an ordinary mortal.
Even more alarmingly, the Qingyun Needle had no effect upon the tiny insects.
Xu Ziqing was startled.
Then he remembered that sword qi could destroy them. The Qingyun Needle’s attack had been infused with the Dao of the Birth and Death of Myriad Woods. With another thought, he changed its nature to the various artistic conceptions of the Four Seasons Sword Art.
When he sent the Qingyun Needle out again, it successfully struck the insects down.
His suspicions were confirmed. Only arts and divine abilities connected to the Sword Dao could harm these insects. Otherwise… His gaze fell upon a man who had begun screaming.
The man appeared to be an unaffiliated cultivator traveling with several companions. His sword attainment was not profound, and he had probably come to acquire a sword-related treasure he could trade for other resources.
He had seen the colorless insects and launched an Earth-attributed fist attack. Unfortunately, the blow did not harm them; one insect swallowed its force and grew larger. It now sprang onto the man’s face and rapidly burrowed through his seven orifices. His features twisted in terrible agony.
Then his eyes went vacant, his hands lost all strength, and he tumbled from the tree.
The watching cultivators gasped in horror.
How… how could this be?
They did not know that the Sword-Shaped Wood had grown by absorbing the lingering sword intentions of many fallen sword cultivators, feeding on their blood essence. The resentful unwillingness of those countless cultivators had become these grudge insects.
The insects were bodies of concentrated intention. They could consume anything carrying will or intention, yet only something imbued with Sword Dao intent could destroy them. Once they entered a person’s brain, they ruined the sea of consciousness. Their victim’s mind vanished, leaving only an empty body.
Several cultivators were harmed in short order. Although the survivors did not know the insects’ origin, after numerous failed attempts they worked out how to kill them.
Sword qi erupted from every direction, making the sharp aura around the Sword-Shaped Wood even more intense.
Now equipped with means of defense, the cultivators climbed rapidly.
Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie climbed almost shoulder to shoulder, their arms brushing. Xu Ziqing knew his stored spiritual energy was limited, so he used the Qingyun Needle with extreme care, unwilling to waste the slightest bit. Yun Lie released only two strands of sword qi: one exterminated the grudge insects on his own side, and the other protected the Qingyun Needle’s flank so none could approach Xu Ziqing.
Xi Lin and his three colleagues also proceeded cautiously. The importance of their mission kept them clearheaded.
As they climbed higher, the grudge insects became denser. Near the first tier of branches, the insects even began devouring one another, twisting together into snake-like creatures.
Anyone bitten by a grudge serpent would lose their soul in a single bite!
Xu Ziqing’s Qingyun Needle glowed ever more sharply, but he knew that if this continued and his energy ran out before he descended, he would be devoured by the insects.
By now dozens more had been bitten by the grudge serpents and fallen. The more souls a serpent swallowed, the stronger its resentment and the harder it became to deal with.
Suddenly a grudge serpent as thick as a forearm lunged toward Xu Ziqing and nearly sank its fangs into his arm!
He reacted at once, driving the Qingyun Needle into its head. The serpent reared back in pain, but after a convulsion it seemed unharmed and attacked again.
Yun Lie snorted coldly. A stream of white light as broad as a silk banner shot out, forming a white rainbow that severed the serpent’s head! This power was beyond mere sword qi. It was an almost tangible sword aura.
Xu Ziqing’s sword attainment was still lacking. The sword conception infused within his Qingyun Needle was only secondary to its main Dao, and its sharpness was insufficient. Even when it struck a grudge serpent, it could not truly kill it.
Now he knew that continuing higher under his own power would be exceedingly difficult.
While he hesitated, Yun Lie said, “If you cannot endure it, I’ll carry you.”
Xu Ziqing was surprised, then replied, “All right.”
He did not wish to become a burden, but at this point keeping his senior brother’s mind steady was more important.
Xu Ziqing withdrew the Qingyun Needle and used some of his remaining spiritual energy to summon a blood-red vine. Summoning Rong Jin, his natal Wood, consumed less energy than calling upon the other secondary and subordinate Woods, so it was easier.
Rong Jin extended its head, sensed the surrounding sharpness, and trembled slightly.
Xu Ziqing was startled. “Rong Jin, are you afraid?”
Rong Jin sent a thought in reply. “M-Mother… supreme hardness… Wood. When mature… won’t be afraid.”
Xu Ziqing relaxed somewhat. He understood that this extraordinary tree was probably no less precious than Rong Jin. If he could take it as a secondary Wood, it should help balance the forces within his body.
He reassured the demon vine, then turned his body and used it to bind himself securely to Yun Lie’s back.