Chapter 167: Chapter 167: Transplanting the Ancient Tree, Arriving at the Divine Wind Sword Sect
As his palm touched the tree trunk, Ye Feng immediately sensed the vague intentions coming from the Thousand-Year Ancient Pine.
“Who are you?” the Ancient Pine asked.
“Sect Leader of the Misty Sect, Ye Feng.”
“There is a strange power within you, very powerful, capable of easily destroying me, and I am very afraid.” The waves of intention emanating from the Ancient Pine were trembling.
“There’s no need to be afraid! I hope you will join my sect, and you can drink Spirit Spring Water every day.” Ye Feng seriously cajoled with a sincere face.
The intention waves from the Ancient Pine vibrated again, “Is it the same Spirit Spring Water that the Little Squirrel drinks?”
After becoming friends with Qiao Jiaxi, the Little Squirrel had brought back some Spirit Spring Water and watered the Ancient Pine with it, making it yearn for more.
“Exactly,” Ye Feng nodded.
“As long as there’s enough Spirit Spring Water every day, this old one is willing to join fellow Daoist’s sect and shield you from the wind and rain,” the Ancient Pine said excitedly.
A twitch appeared at the corner of Ye Feng’s mouth as he thought to himself that the Misty Sect had attracted another big eater and that the expenses would likely keep growing!
Although he complained in his mind, Ye Feng immediately used the function of the Spirit Beast Pavilion and brought the Thousand-Year Ancient Pine into it.
The moment the pact was sealed, Ye Feng found his power had increased instantly by an amount equivalent to that of the second layer of the Element Gathering Realm, and he was overjoyed.
“Considering the power of the Heroic Spirits, even without using the Sword Drawing Technique, I should be able to match the fourth layer of the Element Gathering Realm, right?” Ye Feng said, his face brimming with joy.
He then looked at the Little Squirrel and said, “Little fellow, do you want to come to our Misty Sect? You can have good food and drink every day, and you can play with Jia Xi.”
The Little Squirrel showed a happy expression, but when it saw the Thousand-Year Ancient Pine, a reluctant look appeared on its face.
“I forgot to mention, the Thousand-Year Ancient Pine has already agreed to come with me,” Ye Feng added.
Hearing this, the Little Squirrel immediately nodded.
“Very good,” Ye Feng said delightedly as he placed his hand on the Little Squirrel’s head and, using the Spirit Beast Pavilion function, made it the Mountain Guardian Spirit Beast as well.
“Jia Xi, pack up.”
“Yes.”
Qiao Jiaxi leaped down from the tree, packed up the belongings of the charming young man, and found a short and plump young man nearby, who had been killed by a single sword thrust, presumably the charming young man’s junior brother.
After burying the two deep underground, Qiao Jiaxi jumped onto the Ancient Pine.
“Rise!”
Ye Feng mobilized all his Heroic Spirit Power and uprooted the entire Thousand-Year Ancient Pine, carrying Qiao Jiaxi and several hundred squirrels, flying towards Misty Peak at a speed of over a dozen meters per second.
Lin Village.
“Grandpa, look, there’s a big tree flying in the sky!”
“You little scamp, you dare to make fun of your grandpa… Ah! There really is a big tree flying towards Misty Peak, it seems that the Immortal Masters of the Misty Sect are up to something big. Everyone, don’t panic.”
The people of Lin Village were astonished, while the disciples of the Misty Sect stood on the edge of a cliff, looking bewildered.
Arriving at the peak, Ye Feng looked down and finally chose an open space in the yard to dig a big hole and planted the Thousand-Year Ancient Pine, refilling the hole with soil.
“Go and water it!” Ye Feng commanded, and the Golden-Haired Little Squirrel immediately led several hundred squirrels, chirping away, to fetch water in small bamboo tubes from the Spiritual Spring, drinking and watering the Thousand-Year Ancient Pine Tree.
“Such pure Spirit Spring Water!”
The intention waves from the Thousand-Year Ancient Pine Tree formed into an audible voice inside everyone’s mind.
“It’s a Lower Rank Demon General Level Spirit Tree!” Mo Ying exclaimed in surprise.
The disciples also gathered around curiously watching.
“This is the Thousand-Year Ancient Pine, an innate Spiritual Root, and this little one here is a Golden-furred Squirrel, enlightened by the Ancient Pine, has activated its spiritual intelligence and has now become our Mountain Guardian Spirit Beast.” Ye Feng introduced the Thousand-Year Ancient Pine and the Little Squirrel respectively.
“Such a cute Little Squirrel, with a patch of golden fur on its head, where did it come from?” Jia Yulan pinched the chubby face of the Golden-Haired Little Squirrel.
Qiao Jiaxi hurriedly explained, “Here’s what happened…”
As they learned about the past few days’ cultivation experiences, the disciples found out that Qiao Jiaxi had practiced boxing under a waterfall and had encountered the help of the “noble” Golden-Haired Little Squirrel, which brought about a transformation and advanced to the fifth layer of Body Refinement.
“From now on, your Squirrel clan will live on Misty Peak, but they must take care of cleaning the peak, understand?” Ye Feng told the Golden-Haired Little Squirrel and then picked up a broom to demonstrate what sweeping meant.
“Squeak squeak!”
The Golden-Haired Little Squirrel nodded in understanding and immediately gave orders to the several hundred squirrels under its command.
Watching the group of squirrels chirping around on the Ancient Pine, the corners of Ye Feng’s mouth gradually lifted.
These squirrels were no ordinary creatures; although they had not yet activated their spiritual intelligence, because they had eaten many pinecones from the Thousand-Year Ancient Pine, they were nimble and had considerable strength, forming a rare labor force.
“Tonight we have a banquet to attend at the Divine Wind Sword Sect. After lunch, we have to set off, so hurry up and get ready for what you need,” Ye Feng ordered.
“Yes,” responded the disciples, bustling about immediately.
After the meal, Ye Feng set off with his disciples.
Apart from the Thousand-Year Ancient Pine, all the Mountain Guardian Spirit Beasts embarked on the journey.
In the high skies.
The Iron Claw Dragon Eagle carried everyone as they flew.
Since ascending to the High-rank Demon Soldier Level, its speed had increased greatly. Within two hours, they could traverse three thousand miles and arrive at Divine Wind City, where the Divine Wind Sword Sect was located.
“Take this time to rest and recuperate,” Ye Feng said.
After speaking, Ye Feng comfortably lay down and closed his eyes to rejuvenate.
The speed of the Iron Claw Dragon Eagle was very fast.
The group crossed over the Nanlu Mountain Range and soon exceeded three hundred miles beyond Whitefloat City.
Inside a grand hall deep in the mountains.
A lamp suddenly lit up.
“The Soul-Pointing Lamp has lit up, could it be that the Dragon’s Descendant Bloodline has appeared?”
A hoarse voice echoed through the hall as an aged figure hidden in the darkness slowly stood up, “Long Jiu, go bring back the one with the Dragon’s Descendant Bloodline.”
“Yes,” a burly figure nodded, took a compass in hand, and flew southward.
If there were people here, they would discover that this person had long gray hair, and his pupils shone with a faint blue light, bearing some resemblance to Long Tianxing.
Divine Wind City.
This city spanned hundreds of miles with a history of over a thousand years. With a population surpassing thirty million, it was a top-notch One-Star Level City under the jurisdiction of the Divine Wind Sword Sect.
North City Gate.
Huo Yunjie and Baixue Ding arrived side by side.
“As expected of a city under the direct control of the Divine Wind Sword Sect. I heard that a thousand years ago, this was just an ancient plain village. As the Divine Wind Sword Sect rose, the city developed continuously until today,” Baixue Ding said as she munched on a skewer of grilled chives.
Huo Yunjie nodded and said, “The development of a Sect indeed can promote the growth of its surrounding areas.”
He cast his gaze into the distance, looking at the mountain range spanning dozens of miles at the center of Divine Wind City. These mountains were shrouded in colorful spiritual mist, known as the Divine Wind Mountain Range.
The renowned Divine Wind Sword Sect was situated upon that mountain range.
“Look, the Immortal Masters of the Divine Wind Sword Sect are out!”
At that moment, someone pointed towards the Divine Wind Mountain Range and shouted, then bowed in respect, their face filled with sincerity.
Huo Yunjie and Baixue Ding looked over to see a procession of hundreds of cultivators riding on swords. They formed three columns, each extending for eight hundred meters, majestically passing above Divine Wind City.
“Keep it down! That’s the Law Enforcement Team of the Sword Sect. It must be the time for their inspection, to oversee the entire city,” someone said.
“Right, why are there so few cultivators in the sky?”
“You’re from outside, aren’t you? Don’t you know that random flying isn’t allowed in Divine Wind City? Those below the Element Gathering Realm can’t fly more than ten zhang off the ground, so even if others were flying low, you wouldn’t be able to see them. Once in the Element Gathering Realm, one can ignore the flight restrictions, but also cannot fly too high, as it’s considered disrespectful to the Sword Sect!”
Listening in on the surrounding conversations, Huo Yunjie and Baixue Ding gathered a fair amount of information.
Whoosh!
At that moment, a blue bird with a wingspan of dozens of meters flew past high above, creating a gust of wind in the nearby streets that blew people’s clothes off as they cried out in alarm.
“That’s a Golden Crowned Azure Bird! It’s the mount of ‘Bai Chunfeng’—the number one among the ten true disciples of the Sword Sect. With this, it seems Master Bai Chunfeng has returned to the Sect,” someone exclaimed.
“I heard the Sword Sect is having a banquet tonight, with a sparring platform set up. Master Bai Chunfeng’s return at this time must be to show his prowess,” another speculated.
“The sparring at the banquet is just a small affair; how could Master Bai Chunfeng lower his status to participate? After all, he was a genius who once competed with the Sword Child Mu Ruxue for the position of Sword Child,” remarked another.
“Tomorrow is the ceremony for bestowing the title of Sword Child. I wonder if we will be able to witness the grace of Sword Child Mu Ruxue,” someone pondered aloud.
“What are you daydreaming about? Do you think we can meet the Sword Child whenever we wish?” countered another.
As the Golden Crowned Azure Bird flew past overhead, the people again began to chatter.
Huo Yunjie looked towards the retreating Golden Crowned Azure Bird, barely able to make out a majestic young man sitting atop it, radiating a powerful sword aura that made it difficult for others to look directly at him.
Thud, thud, thud!
A burst of footsteps suddenly approached from behind.
“It’s you!”
A gloomy voice rang out.
The people around froze, then all turned towards the source of the voice.