"Get out of my way!"
Shou Chaoge roared, his long saber slashing out in fury.
Under the gleam of several saber strikes, the branches of the old locust tree were severed, falling to the ground in dozens of pieces.
At this moment, the middle-aged man had unleashed some kind of ultimate secret technique. His aura surged dramatically, barely breaking through a certain limit and instantly advancing to the late stage of the flesh and bone realm.
Vast surges of blood energy erupted from his body, swirling around him like a war god, his entire form enveloped in brilliant, sharp saber light.
Layer upon layer of saber light flashed, cutting through countless branches and roots. He pressed forward, each step taken with immense difficulty.
A mere three Zhang or so of distance, for a martial artist in the late stage of the flesh and bone realm, would normally be covered in mere blinks of an eye.
Yet, he took half a quarter of an hour to inch his way to the old locust tree.
*Puff!*
A branch pierced through the now sparse saber light, impaling Shou Chaoge through the chest. Little blood trickled from the wound.
Behind him lay not only countless severed branches and fallen leaves but also a crimson trail of blood.
"You... you fell for the trap."
Shou Chaoge slowly raised his head, weakly looking at the boy within the tree trunk, and suddenly smiled faintly.
*Clang!!*
A sword hum suddenly erupted, and a tidal wave of sword energy poured forth!
Ji Yuan had appeared behind the old locust tree at some unknown time. He gripped his long sword with a grave expression, looking at the old locust tree merely three or four steps away. He muttered to himself, "Yuanbao... please!"
From between his brows, streams of sword energy gushed out, instantly stripping away the tough bark of the old locust tree. The majority of its trunk was now covered in crisscrossing sword marks.
The moment his words fell, a beam of sword light flashed.
The long sword in his hand seemed to possess a life of its own, actively slashing forward. The myriad sword energies converged into a single line, striking the trunk of the old locust tree in tandem with the sword.
In an instant, the world fell silent. Even the rustling of the dense canopy ceased, leaving only the ragged breaths of two people and the faint beat of a heart.
*Crack!*
Cracks abruptly appeared on the trunk, spreading across the entire old locust tree in a blink. Countless drops of dark green sap flowed from the fissures, the air filling with a sugary scent.
"Humans, deserve to die!"
A face materialized on the old locust tree. With a roar full of rage, its powerful spiritual energy erupted.
Caught in the surging torrent of spiritual energy, Ji Yuan was sent flying back seven or eight Zhang, his body crashing into a house.
Shou Chaoge remained rooted to the spot, withstanding the onslaught of spiritual energy without retreating a single step. His body had been pierced by branches and roots, pinning him firmly to the ground.
At this moment, a potent surge of vitality appeared. Though invisible to the eye, it conjured the image of a verdant ocean.
Within this rich vitality, weeds sprang up, growing waist-high in an instant, swaying lushly in the wind.
The entire old locust tree glowed with a jade-green light. It drove its roots deep into the earth, madly siphoning the energy of the land and the blood essence from the black mud platform used for blood sacrifice within the underground space.
In a mere few moments, its aura surged several times, breaking through to the late stage of the Spirit Channeling realm and swiftly reaching its peak within ten breaths.
In the blink of an eye, the brilliance radiating from the old locust tree's body rapidly dimmed. Its aura and vitality began to decay.
From the peak of the second realm, it plummeted to the early and middle stages within a single breath, then continued to fall, soon leaving only the aura of the early Enlightenment stage.
Even its potent vitality seemed to dissipate into thin air, leaving behind only a wisp barely stronger than common weeds.
The entire old locust tree withered. Its once sturdy and upright trunk was now cracked and dry, exuding an aura of decay and ruin.
Within the trunk, the young master of the Zhao family, who had been trapped, now had a rosy complexion, with faint points of glowing light shimmering on his body.
"Old thing! I'll take over your mother!"
As a point of spiritual light coalesced within the trunk and was about to enter Zhao Yuebai's body, the middle-aged man, who had been utterly weakened, suddenly roared.
His previously fading aura surged once more, blood energy churning. He broke free from the decaying branches and unleashed a fierce saber strike from the air.
In an instant, the long saber in his hand shattered into pieces, ten or so fragments merging with the saber light as it fiercely struck the trunk of the old locust tree.
The entire locust tree shuddered, the spiritual light within nearly collapsing, but it managed to gather itself with difficulty, struggling to burrow into Zhao Yuebai's body.
*Swish!!!*
A stream of light shot from the collapsing house, instantly piercing the decayed trunk and pinning the point of spiritual light in place.
"If you don't act now, you can forget about getting the Marrow Transformation Pill!"
Ji Yuan stood amidst the ruins and shouted into the distance.
As his words fell, a blur of motion streaked from dozens of Zhang away, arriving in the courtyard within two or three breaths.
It was a crystalline white skeletal figure. It stood before the old locust tree for a moment before delivering a furious punch with its bony fist!
*Bang!!*
In an instant, the entire decayed and ruined trunk collapsed under the blow, scattering into countless fragments in the air.
Simultaneously, a bony hand reached into the flying debris, grasping a palm-sized emerald green crystal before cradling the boy in the air.
In the next breath, the skeletal figure shimmered, reverting to Su Hongzhu's form. Holding Zhao Yuebai in her arms, her eyes, filled with murderous intent and resentment, suddenly softened.
"Still trying to run?"
Ji Yuan's eyes widened, and he roared.
As his shout rose, he dashed forward in two or three strides, then leaped into the air. The long sword he had thrown earlier returned to his hand, and he thrust it fiercely forward.
With a *thud*, as the sword tip struck the point of spiritual light, the light spot, condensed from the spirit of the old locust tree, exploded in mid-air.
A sigh of unwillingness seemed to echo from the depths of the void. As this spiritual light shattered and dispersed, the remaining trunk and roots of the old locust tree rapidly withered, finally turning into a pile of rotten wood.
In a flash, Ji Yuan landed on the ground, sheathed his long sword behind his back, and walked towards the remaining decayed and withered trunk of the old locust tree.
"Do you... have any unfinished business?"
After glancing at the sleeping Zhao Yuebai and confirming he was unharmed, Ji Yuan approached the middle-aged man.
Shou Chaoge, the Zhao family guard, was now utterly spent. The side effects and backlash from the secret technique had left his once burly physique emaciated, making him look like a skin-and-bones skeleton.
However, hearing Ji Yuan's question, Shou Chaoge could not respond. His body was utterly destroyed; he could only persist by sheer willpower.
He gazed towards the boy in Su Hongzhu's arms, his eyes filled with deep worry and reluctance.
"I've checked. Zhao Yuebai is unharmed. His three souls and seven spirits are intact, and his mind has not been erased."
He pondered for a moment, then Ji Yuan said with a smile, "In fact, because the old locust tree, in its haste to possess him, injected its cultivation and vitality into him before its death, once Zhao Yuebai awakens, he only needs a single thought to embark on the path of cultivation."
With the old locust tree's cultivation and hundreds of years of accumulated vitality, Zhao Yuebai's future cultivation path would be exceptionally smooth.
He would only need to gradually refine the spiritual energy and vitality within his body to reach the second realm within a few years.
Hearing this, Shou Chaoge nodded with great difficulty. Even this slight movement was the limit of his strength.
He then slowly closed his eyes, finally displaying a look of relief.
*Bang...*
The next moment, his body suddenly collapsed, turning into a cloud of dust that scattered in the wind. Shou Chaoge's form was no more.
Ji Yuan watched the scene in silence. Even though the middle-aged man's form and spirit were gone, he did not look away.
Suddenly, he seemed to understand something.
A moment later, Ji Yuan turned sharply, his gaze falling on Su Hongzhu's face. A flash of killing intent flickered in his eyes.
As if sensing its master's murderous intent, the long sword on his back trembled, and wisps of sword energy flowed from its sheath.
For a moment, even the air seemed to be imbued with a sharp killing aura.
"I was sent flying dozens of feet then. Even if I had gotten up immediately, it would have been too late."
Su Hongzhu's expression remained unchanged, and she said in a low voice.
And she was indeed correct. Upon seeing Zhao Yuebai bound within the tree trunk, Shou Chaoge had no hesitation in activating his secret technique.
This technique, which consumed everything within oneself, could not be interrupted once initiated. Even if she had returned at the fastest possible speed, she could not have changed the final outcome.
After a long while, Ji Yuan let out a soft sigh. The killing intent on his person gradually subsided, and the anomaly on his sword slowly receded.
He walked forward and took Zhao Yuebai from Su Hongzhu's arms. Holding the seven or eight-year-old boy, he turned and walked towards the outside of the Zhao family estate.
Behind him, the young woman's eyes flickered with mixed emotions – a tenderness when looking at the boy's face, and a fierce rage and murderous intent when looking at Ji Yuan's back.
However, for some unknown reason, Su Hongzhu's expression became inscrutable. She then quickly followed behind Ji Yuan with a smile that held no discernible meaning.
The two of them walked out of the main residence's courtyard and, meeting with Huixin and several guards, left the silent Zhao family estate together.
"Please take young master Yuebai to Xuantian Temple and entrust him to my master and fifth senior brother."
As soon as they stepped out of the Zhao family estate, Ji Yuan entrusted Zhao Yuebai, whom he was holding, to the four guards.
Liao Qiming, a young guard, took Zhao Yuebai and solemnly promised to deliver him safely to Xuantian Temple.
After watching the four guards escort the boy away, Ji Yuan turned to face the woman and the ghostly figure.
"Let's go. We'll go and check the situation at Baiyun Temple."
He said slowly.
For some reason, Su Hongzhu and Huixin saw an indescribable color in his eyes.