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nThe explosive impact of the attack from the green swallow lasted for over five minutes before it started fizzing out. Soon the tremors and the widespread destruction halted leaving a cloud full of dust in the whole area from the center of the attack to half a mile radius with its height almost reaching the clouds.

nIt took a while longer before the dust finally settled revealing a 700-meter-wide crater that was over 200 meters deep with it being deeper in the area where the Tupelo tree and the Ao Yin were. The Ao Yin’s silhouette had disappeared and what was left behind was the bone saber in its original pure white form however it seemed to have an impure and coarse shade of white, unlike the earlier refined and smooth white. There was a small indentation where the green feather had struck it.

nAhead of the bone saber was a tiny golden barrier that was flickering close to dimming out and surrounded by cracks all over. By its state, a tiny breeze would likely break it apart. As if on cue a small gust of wind passed by and with it came the last straw that broke the barrier that shattered into tiny mots of light that soon faded out of existence revealing an almost withered tree and two old men who barely supported themselves using the bark of the tree.

nThe Tupelo tree was still standing tall however it had shed most of its leaves being left with only less than 200 and its earlier bright lustre had disappeared. All that was left behind was a normal-looking tupelo tree that had a white smooth bark. Its leaves were no longer alternating among the three colors; red, orange, and green. The leaves were only green in color with some of them having patches of brown like dried leaves. As for Peng Zhen and Gui Bingwen they looked so spent that they could barely support themselves with the bark of the tree. Their arms were hanging loosely as they used their shoulders to keep themselves standing but that soon gave in as they both dropped to the floor like logs. Their skins were pale white, robes soaked with sweat and they had labored breathing, all clear signs of qi drain.

nWhen the attack fell the first three barriers were shattered in an instant leaving only three remaining. The fourth fell seconds later with the fifth being layered with numerous cracks. It was then Peng Zhen and Gui Bingwen used every means they had to pour all the qi they had as fast as they could into the Tupelo tree. Those means included some forbidden techniques that had a steep price such as using the user’s lifespan in exchange for a short burst of qi. None of them were worried about the consequences because if they did nothing they were all but guaranteed to fall and the Tupelo tree along with them. They wanted to avoid the latter from happening at all costs even at the expense of their lives. Their efforts though minuscule in the larger scheme of things paid off. Two peak foundation establishment experts could provide very little help against an attack that was touching on the precipice of a palace realm attacker. But thanks to that drop in the bucket from the two the tupelo tree didn’t have to sacrifice all its leaves and the reserve energy along with it to stop the attack from the green swallow.

nDespite the result, Peng Zhen couldn’t help but show a regretful; look as he caught a glimpse of the state the tree was in when he was struggling to move his head. Before all this debacle, the tupelo tree was at a critical juncture in its evolution. During that period it would be in a hibernated state. The more energy it had, the greater its chances of making it through to the other side. But currently, it seemed to only have a quarter of its original reserve. Peng Zhen knew there was a chance the Tupelo tree might not wake up once it went under. The situation could not be avoided as once the evolutionary state was triggered it could not be undone, everything will have to follow the set path. .

nPeng Zhen craned his neck to look upwards to the sky and spotted the culprit behind the terrifying attack that almost blew them apart, the green swallow. It was silently maintaining its altitude as it stared down below with a deadpan expression. Peng Zhen couldn’t help but sigh at his own weakness as he thought to himself just someone’s technique was capable of pushing them this bad what if the owner of that technique was here? He shook his head to clear himself of such discouraging thoughts as he focused on what he was currently most concerned about. This was Dong Yanlin’s state. He used whatever energy he had left to scan the area where he last saw him only to spot the bone saber lying horizontally on the ground that was now mostly sand and other areas had streams of water puncturing through from below. Peng Zhen didn’t stop as he scanned all around before he managed to spot a small object atop one of the sand pits. That object had green wavy cloak energy surrounding it. Peng Zhen stared at it for a while in disbelief that the object survived and by the looks of it unscathed too.

n“Is that..? It can’t be? Can it? Such a thing was able to survive the attack and remain unscathed. I knew it was special since it was able to store the Tupelo tree but I can’t believe Dong Yanlin’s leopard storage pouch had such defensive capabilities. Its rank may even be higher than that bone saber. How does Dong Yanlin have these many treasures? is he some elder’s kid from the blood ghost hands?” Peng Zhen couldn’t but worry however beyond that was a relief as the sect treasures they had pilfered were all safe.

n“Gui, Gui the treasures are safe. I told you I had the best luck.” Peng Zhen smugly said in a dried parched voice. Gui Bingwen who lay just next to him could only groan like an old geezer as his body was too weak at the moment to even move or make a sound.

n“It’s good they are s…a…f….e,” Peng Zhen as he slowly passed out giving in to the drowsiness that had been overwhelming him.

nMoments later a dragonfly could be seen making its way toward the crater as someone quickly jumped from it and gently landed on the crater below.

n“Luckily we made it in time but what is with this level of destruction? Did Yang Qing tweak the technique? What reconnaissance cultivation spell has a destructive might of this level? I knew something was off when he was all too enthusiastic to help me craft more talismans and the cheeky smile he had on the whole time. He may have done something to the rest too, that sleazy judge.” Feng Xin shook his head and didn’t bother thinking too much about it as he made his way toward the bone saber. He was surprised to see something survive the destruction on this level. The attack was just a few inches shy of what a palace realm expert is capable of unleashing. For an object to survive such an attack it had to be a monarch-level weapon whose power level was equivalent to a palace realm expert. So the bone saber piqued his interest.

nAs Feng Xin was scrutinizing the bone saber the green swallow swiftly made its way toward him. Feng Xin had an object with Yang Qing’s qi signature which served as a beacon and a controller for the green swallow. Cultivation techniques whose effects produce a sentient spell when not cast by the owner and instead via talismans, the caster needs to have an object with the qi signature of the owner of the spell to prevent mishaps.

nFeng Xin ignored the swallow as he was deeply engrossed with the bone saber. He used a sliver of his spiritual sense to investigate its inner structure. However the moment his sense penetrated the saber an accident happen. He seemed to have triggered something as he felt his vision change as he was sucked into a dark world filled with the putrid smell of death, bloodlust, and torture. A humungous bull-like creature appeared roaring loudly as it charged toward Feng Xin. Feng Xin recognized the creature as the Ao Yin in an instant as he hurriedly severed his spiritual sense from the saber. The roar shook his head before the spiritual sense had been completely cut off but it only affected him for a few seconds. The roar made him feel like he had been hit in the head by a massive club. Any other core formation expert would have suffered injuries to their soul from that attack however Feng Xin was okay as all inquisitors were required to cultivate soul meditation techniques to help them from being susceptible to attacks such as this one and also strengthen their souls and their spiritual sense by effect.

n“Who is crazy enough to make a weapon from the remains of an Ao Yin and one at the middle levels of the palace realm to boot? Aren’t they afraid of being corrupted by its murderous spirit and being enslaved or used as a furnace by it? Truly insane.” muttered Feng Xin with some weariness. He quickly removed a brown coarse looking cloth from his storage ring which he used to tightly wrap the bone saber in. The moment the saber came in contact with the cloth, it trembled as if it wanted to flee however it was immediately locked into place by four chains that appeared from within the brown cloth. Each chain had a different type of seal attached to it. The seals seemed to be representations of four different elements which were; water, light, earth, and wood.

nThe seals were the antithesis of the bone as they completely restrained it with ease.

n“Figures the four element life divergent seals would have an effect on a creature so steeped in murder and blood.” Feng Xin silently thought to himself as he stored the smothered bone saber in his storage ring. As he was moving toward where Peng Zhen and Gui Bingwen were he quickly spotted the leopard pouch that was half buried in the ground and faintly glowing with a greenish hue.

n“What an interesting storage pouch.” Feng Xin said as he picked it up and dusted it off. He was a little more cautious this time as he carefully studied it to avoid any tricks that may be planted on it. It was during the examination that he noticed a trace locator array deeply hidden in the pouch.

n“Mmmh looks like it has been drawn by someone at the palace realm though they don’t seem to have much expertise in the area as compared to a real formation master at the palace stage. Breaking it with a weapon at the monarch stage should suffice.” Feng Xin silently calculated as he unsheathed his sword. He formed multiple hand seals which were all compacted to the tip of his sword. The seals were pure white which in turn made the sword tip just as pure white. When Feng Xin was satisfied with the number of seals, he slashed downwards toward the pouch. There was a small resistance as the sword was moving downwards with the tip of the sword sizzling as if it was burning something with the sword progressing downwards with every sizzle before it soon made a complete slash. Feng Xin sheathed his sword as he smiled in satisfaction. With that, the one who planted the array would never be able to track it.

nFeng Xin quickly examined the leopard pouch which left him whistling in excitement soon after.

n“This is really good stuff. A storage pouch capable of storing live objects and an internal space the size of two living rooms combined. Must be what they used to transport that tree. What a steal!!!” Feng Xin couldn’t help but glee in excitement as he played with it using his index finger before finally tying it to his waist.

n“Now what do I do with those two? Only one may be needed for the case.” Feng Xin’s tone and aura turned so cold that it even made Haishi at the back flinch. Feng Xin slowly made his way to the trio of two men and one tree. He stopped in front of them as he gazed at the Tupelo tree brushing his fingers against some of the remaining leaves

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