The Legend of the Netherworld

Chapter 144: Immortal Vine Palace

The first ray of sunlight in the early morning shone through the dense leaves onto the ground, and Lin Xiao's figure had already appeared above the forest.

He used the "Dragon Swimming Across the Seas" technique, and his body moved back and forth like a dragon, so fast that only a shadow was left behind.

Lin Xiao didn't tell anyone about his whereabouts, especially Ye Xuan. He smiled inwardly. After Lin Jiao left, this was a rare opportunity to go deep into the ancient forest alone and explore its secrets.

"I've just broken through to the Second Level of Jiayin, and I need to consolidate my realm through battle." Lin Xiao muttered to himself, a sharp glint in his eyes. He chose to ignore Ye Xuan's warning for the time being.

However, Lin Xiao did not realize that the moment he stepped out of the gate of Feng Shui Academy, a pair of eyes hidden in the dark were staring at him.

This person was Yu Fei, a disciple of Tianji Pavilion. He knew Lin Xiao's whereabouts very well. After Lin Xiao left, Yu Fei hurried back to Tianji Pavilion and reported the news to Zhang Ning.

By noon, Lin Xiao had already arrived at the outskirts of the Ancient Forest. At a glance, the place was much busier than usual, with many cultivators gathered near the gate, either chatting or selecting equipment.

Lin Xiao was surprised by this scene, so he walked to a stall owner on the roadside and picked up a set of casual clothes.

After paying the money, he casually adjusted his clothes and asked calmly, "Why is it so busy outside today? What big thing happened?"

The stall owner's eyes lit up when he heard this, as if he'd been waiting for an opportunity to show off. He pointed off into the distance and said smugly, "You're not aware, right? A while ago, the Green Forest Flower Demon was slain by someone unknown. This gave the elders of Tianci Cave and Jinhai Temple an opportunity. They each invited a master of the Dingmao Ninth Realm to slay the middle-level Demon King, Gu Shulin Zun, to avenge their disciples."

"So what's the result?" Lin Xiao nodded slightly, remaining calm.

"Humph! They've been sieging him for over a month, but they only managed to destroy the Immortal Vine Palace, Gu Shulin Zun's lair. In the end, they even let the demon king escape!"

The stall owner shook his head and sighed, then added, "But now both factions are still searching for its whereabouts. I'm sure there will be bigger moves soon."

Lin Xiao thought to himself, and his interest in Gu Shulin Zun grew even stronger: "It seems that Gu Shulin Zun has not been killed, and there are still opportunities hidden in the middle level." He said no more, turned around and left, walking quickly towards the outer gate.

At the outer gate of the ancient forest, there is a cobalt guard of the Jiazi Five Realm stationed, scanning every entrant with sharp eyes.

Lin Xiao said nothing more. He took a step forward and instantly passed through. He gathered power in both palms and simultaneously launched a "Tiger Roar Palm" attack. The powerful palm wind sent the Cobalt Guard flying several feet away. The guard fell heavily to the ground, blood gushing from his mouth, clearly unable to fight any longer.

"Hmph, you and I now are no longer the same as we were before!" Lin Xiao snorted coldly and walked straight into the door.

He quickly changed into the casual clothes he had just bought not far from the gate, hid the Taoist robe of the Feng Shui Academy in a hidden tree hole, and after confirming that no one was following him, he headed towards the middle entrance of the ancient forest.

The guard at the middle level entrance is still a cobalt guard of the Jiayin level.

Lin Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly, and the magic sword in his hand suddenly came out of its sheath, performing the "Shadow Spirit Sword Stab". The sword light pierced the air like lightning, and a cold light flashed across the guard's chest, and then he fell to the ground.

The human monks watching the battle around were all amazed. After a moment of silence, warm cheers and applause broke out.

However, Lin Xiao did not stop. He sheathed his sword and walked into the middle layer of the ancient forest without looking back.

As soon as he entered the middle level, Lin Xiao felt the strong human presence around him.

In stark contrast to the previous arrival, one can even vaguely see the traces of monks here. It is obvious that the actions of the two factions have attracted many independent cultivators to come and try to get a piece of the pie.

"It looks like a bustling scene."

Lin Xiao was delighted and used the "Dragon Traveling Across the Seas" technique to move quickly. He soon found two cultivators in front of him, a man and a woman, who were talking in a low voice.

He hesitated for a moment before moving closer to the two of them.

"Excuse me, are you two disciples of Tianci Cave and Jinhai Temple? What stage has the encirclement and suppression of Gu Shulin Zun reached now?" Lin Xiao asked in a calm tone with a smile.

The woman looked at Lin Xiao with a puzzled look on her face. She whispered to the man beside her, "He doesn't seem to be a disciple of either of our sects. He's probably a wandering cultivator who heard about the bounty mission and came here."

The man glanced at Lin Xiao, a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes: "Jiayin Second Realm... is just a small cultivator who wants to get involved in muddy waters. But since you asked, I might as well tell you."

He paused and continued, "Now, anyone who can provide the location of Ancient Forest Lord will receive a reward of 500 immortal jades and three five-colored immortal dew pills. If you can personally kill the demon king, you can become a guest elder of our Tianci Cave and Jinhai Temple."

Lin Xiao pondered to himself that while this bounty mission was tempting, it didn't mean much to him. He smiled slightly and bowed, saying, "Thank you for letting me know. I'll go investigate right away."

After saying that, he turned and left, his figure quickly disappearing into the woods, leaving only a faint trace of sword intent, which made the man slightly stunned and speechless for a while.

Upon hearing about the generous reward for the mission, Lin Xiao's heart was slightly moved. Five hundred immortal jades and three five-colored immortal dew pills were undoubtedly a fortune that countless cultivators would covet. As for becoming a guest elder of the two major sects, Lin Xiao had no interest in it at all.

He sneered and thought to himself, "Those two sects are not even as strong as the Feng Shui Academy. Being a guest elder means helping the poor, right?"

He shook his head, put aside unnecessary distractions, stretched out his body, and used the "Dragon Traveling Across the Seas" technique, leaving a trail of afterimages in the forest, and rushed towards the Fairy Vine Palace on the east side of the middle layer of the ancient forest.

"The most dangerous place is often the safest place," Lin Xiao muttered to himself. He was well aware of the Ancient Tree Spirit's cunningness. If he truly wanted to find valuable clues, the Immortal Vine Palace was undoubtedly the best place to start.

Lin Xiao had an unpleasant experience in the forest east of the middle layer.

He remembered that last time, he was deliberately misled by two Sky-Winged Divine Chickens. The quiet and terrifying environment in the east made him relax his vigilance, and he almost fell into the trap.

"The aura from the east is completely different this time." Lin Xiao sensed the gradually denser aura of human cultivators around him and couldn't help but smile bitterly. "It seems that these bounty cultivators have the same idea as me. They are all heading for the Immortal Vine Palace."

The further east he went, the more cultivators he saw. They were in groups of three or five, clearly having traveled together long ago. Lin Xiao paid no attention to this and continued eastward. By dusk, he finally arrived at the Immortal Vine Palace.

The Xianteng Palace has now been occupied by the Tianci Cave. Although there are many monks stationed outside, they did not come forward to question Lin Xiao when they saw him. Obviously, they did not care about these scattered bounty hunters.

Lin Xiao looked up and saw a middle-aged cultivator in a wide robe sitting cross-legged in the center of the Immortal Vine Palace. His eyes were like torches, and he exuded a strong aura of the Dingmao Ninth Realm.

"Jiang Eryun..." Lin Xiao's heart moved. This strong man was obviously a master who was invited by Tianci Cave with a large sum of money. His purpose was to stop the Ancient Tree Spirit Lord.

He did not rush to act, but chose to walk directly into the outskirts of Xianteng Palace to observe the situation.

Along the way, the ruins were devastated, the palace was in pieces, the broken vines and collapsed palace walls told of the fierce battle that had broken out here not long ago.

There was still a faint smell of blood in the air, which made people think of the fight between Gu Shulin Zun and the monks.

Lin Xiao went deeper and looked around, noticing that the disciples of Tianci Cave were busy digging out the remaining tree roots in the palace.

Dark red blood still seeped through the tree roots, clearly a trace left by the ancient forest master. These disciples were focused, paying no attention to Lin Xiao's presence.

Lin Xiao gradually approached the center of the palace and found a disciple from Tianci Cave guarding the entrance with an arrogant look on his face.

Several bounty monks had gathered at the door, two of whom were at the third level of Jiayin and were trying to enter the center of the palace.

"So far, you haven't contributed much, and it's already a great favor that you can enter the Fairy Vine Palace." The disciple said coldly, his face full of impatience.

The two monks obviously did not buy it. They exchanged glances and forced their way in.

However, in a split second, a powerful, transparent force suddenly swept over, knocking the two men out of the door. They fell heavily to the ground, wailing and spitting out mouthfuls of blood, looking utterly miserable.

"What a coward!" One of them gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand up. "We used our sect's resources to hire this expert, and with this kind of behavior, it's only a matter of time before the sect falls into the hands of others!"

The two of them supported each other and left, but they continued to complain.

Lin Xiao stood in the distance, his eyes calm, thinking to himself: "Sure enough, that force was emitted by Jiang Eryun. His strength is indeed not to be underestimated."

He didn't intend to provoke Jiang Eryun, and instead looked for clues on the periphery.

Lin Xiao arrived at a side hall, his steps slow and his eyes quickly scanning the surroundings. His attention was quickly drawn to a small vine leaf.

The vines and leaves faintly exuded a demonic aura, and the stems were stained with dark red blood, which was obviously the remains of the ancient forest master.

He picked up the vine leaf and gently brought it close to his nose, trying to memorize its scent. However, the nauseating smell of blood filled his nostrils, almost covering up the scent of the vine leaf itself.

Lin Xiao frowned slightly, but felt a little happy in his heart: "Although the smell is vague, its demonic aura and bloody smell are unique. If I encounter something of the same origin, perhaps I can determine the whereabouts of Ancient Forest Lord."

As Lin Xiao was carefully examining the vine leaf in his hand, a hoarse but kind voice came over: "Daoyou, may I borrow the leaf in your hand for a look?"

Lin Xiao looked up and saw an old monk looking at him with a smile. He was thin and held a dark brown wooden staff in his hand. His aura was calm but elusive.

He frowned and asked cautiously, "Who are you?"

"Just like you, I am a bounty-collecting monk who came here to find the Ancient Tree Spirit Lord." The old monk bowed with a very respectful attitude.

Lin Xiao raised his eyebrows slightly, his tone tentative: "These leaves are everywhere, just pick one up at random, why bother sticking with the one in my hand?"

"No, no, no, if you observe carefully, you will see that the leaf in your hand is different from the other vines." The old monk explained with a firm tone, "This one truly belongs to the Ancient Tree Spirit Lord. The others are mostly just peripheral vines."

Lin Xiao pondered for a moment, and finally handed the leaf over, reminding him, "I can give it to you for a look, but if you gain anything, please share it with me."

The old monk took the leaf, his eyes instantly becoming focused. He first examined the leaf carefully, as if studying every single grain of it.

He then placed the leaf in his palm, closed his eyes and felt it for a moment, then suddenly opened his eyes and a slight smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. Then, he actually brought the leaf close to his lips and licked the blood that oozed out.

Lin Xiao was stunned by this scene and couldn't help but exclaimed, "Master, this move is... unique."

The old monk remained silent, savoring the leaf for a moment before stuffing the entire leaf into his mouth and swallowing it. "Be patient, I'll cast a spell and you'll know for sure."

As soon as he finished speaking, the old monk sat cross-legged, formed a seal with his hands, and muttered something. After a moment, he shouted, "Open!"

Instantly, an invisible force emanated from his body, condensing in the air. Immediately, a blurry image of a forest emerged in the void, revealing a massive ancient tree. Its lush crown and sinister aura resembled a sleeping demon king.

Lin Xiao's eyes narrowed, suppressing his surprise as he asked, "Master, this is truly impressive! This is indeed the image of the Ancient Tree Spirit, but... there's no reference point in this forest, and it's surrounded by trees. How can we determine its exact location?"

Upon hearing this, the old monk sighed helplessly, "My secret technique can only reveal the image of the tree demon. As for its exact location, we still need to conduct an on-site investigation."

Lin Xiao was speechless after hearing this. The corner of his mouth twitched as he thought to himself, "This secret technique is too useless. I might as well go directly to Tianci Cave and ask for a tree root to try." He then said, "Then why not try other clues, such as those bloody tree roots?"

"Useless." The old monk shook his head and explained calmly, "The effect of this secret technique has nothing to do with the medium used. That's its limitation."

Lin Xiao felt increasingly helpless upon hearing this, but as he carefully recalled the details of the video, familiar images gradually emerged in his mind. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he realized that he seemed to have seen the characteristics of those trees before!

Lin Xiao looked at the old monk, his tone changed, and he asked tentatively, "May I ask who exactly you are, Taoist? This secret technique is not something that ordinary monks can master."

"I am just an idle wanderer." The old monk replied, his eyes still recalling the details that just emerged.

Lin Xiao thought, since you are so dishonest, then I won't share the position of the Ancient Tree Spirit Master with you. This way, there will be one less person to share the bounty with me. Then he smiled and said, "Oh, you are just like me, a free and easy person."

"Excuse me, Master, have you looked for other places before?" Lin Xiao continued to ask.

"The flower sea forest of the Cuilin Flower Demon, the Motianling in the middle layer, the Yuntai Valley, the river island, the secret cave... I have searched for all the places that can be named, and finally came here." The old monk replied.

"What about the Ginkgo Sea?"