“Pfft…!”

Feng Qing’er let out a crisp peel of laughter upon seeing Ruyue’s confusion. To think that she hadn’t even noticed the man who she had crippled before doing so, it was comedic to think about.

But before she could say anything else, strong spatial fluctuations eclipsed the area they were standing in, enveloping all the geniuses that had gathered.

“What is this?!”

“Again?!”

Some panicked, while others simply watched how things progressed. But the thing they all had in common was that they knew something important was happening.

The spatial fluctuations soon became extremely strong, and people began vanishing one by one.

Ruyue narrowed her eyes as this happened, directing her gaze towards the ground. ‘They are being teleported…down there?’

She didn’t know when it started, but her perception towards space had become incredibly keen. Of course, it could never compare to an actual spatial practitioner, but it was still far above what others could do.

This could be seen by how she noticed the faint spatial fluctuations long before the rest had done the same.

Although she couldn’t gauge the exact location to which they were being teleported, she could at least understand the direction. And seeing that they were being taken underground, there was only one thing she could think of.

‘I see. As expected, we were summoned here. To think that we’d be teleported down to the location of the Tree Senior without having to go through any more trials…it feels a bit strange.’

But it wasn’t like she could do anything about it, and it wasn’t like she preferred being hindered at every step.

The light of spatial transmission soon reached Ruyue and turned her surroundings black. When she opened her eyes again, she was in an expansive underground space.

The ceiling of this space was so high above her head that Ruyue almost doubted whether the space could actually sustain itself without collapsing.

In fact, the only reason she could even see the ceiling was because of the small floating motes of light that inhabited the space.

Unlike what one would expect from an underground area, the place was extremely rich in vitality.

Various flora gathered and flourished throughout the space, with towering trees and uniquely patterned flowers being common. And the plants weren’t normal at all. Besides the immense aura of vitality they gave off, they also had other special fluctuations.

‘All of these are valuable herbs and materials…’ Ruyue realized as she glanced around.

This place was like a heaven filled with treasures. Even a random stalk of grass one picked up off the floor would have astonishing regenerative properties.

‘But for a place like this to have no lifeforms is too strange.’

Ruyue began walking forward while ignoring the crowd around her. The expansiveness of the space didn’t just constitute of its high ceilings, the distance it covered horizontally was also immense.

As Ruyue moved, the others also regained their senses. The smell of greed clouded the atmosphere.

“Hahaha! It’s all mine! This trip was totally worth it!”

“Fuck off! I got my hands on it first!”

“Hmph! Let’s see if you have the power to keep it.”

Tens of geniuses ran wantonly about the cave trying to get to the treasure herbs that surrounded them. Clashes of weapons and the light of mana filled the air as they fought over the goods.

Ruyue sighed in disdain. ‘They’re so focused on what’s in front of them that they can’t see anything else…how did people like this even pass the previous trials?’

But then again, even she was feeling greed upon seeing so much treasure in one place. Could she really fault them? It was the nature of man to die for treasure.

But she quickly suppressed her greed. Rather than aiming for the small things, shouldn’t she go for the big fish?

She could clearly feel a massive aura of vitality emanating from a place she assumed was the center of the realm. There, she was sure she’d find the treasure she had been looking for since the beginning.

And not just that…

‘He should also be there. Damn, I hate how much I miss his stupid face…’

Ruyue shook her head and rushed forward, ignoring the commotion around her.

“Hey! Wait for me!”

A crisp voice rang out from behind. Feng Qing’er soon caught up to Ruyue and moved alongside her.

“Haa…it’s such a shame! I’m so tempted to go after these treasures, but thanks to you I was able to regain my senses.”

Ruyue glanced at the sighing Feng Qing’er. She could definitely understand the other girl’s feelings.

“It can’t be helped. There’s no way we are the only group to arrive here. We can’t say whether or not others have reached the Primordial Undying Tree yet.”

Feng Qing’er’s eyes widened. “It’s really here?! You’re sure, right?”

Ruyue looked in the direction she felt that aura from and nodded. “It’s here. I’m sure of it.”

She, like Damien, had received the baptism of the Primordial Undying Tree, although to a lesser extent. Just as he could feel its calling, she could as well.

“Tch! If it’s really like that, then I’ll just follow along with you. You don’t mind, right? I promise I won’t leech.”

“When did I ever say you would be a leech? If Damien has befriended you, then you are definitely a strong person. That guy…only geniuses congregate around him.”

“H-hmph! Although I don’t really like that bastard, I’ll take the compliment. Anyway, why haven’t we been attacked yet? Should the race to the Primordial Undying Tree be so simple?”

Ruyue furrowed her brows. She was thinking the same thing. The fact that there weren’t any beasts in this area was strange enough. For there to not be any traps either…

Ruyue opened her eyes wide, causing them to shine in resplendent gold. As she looked around, she suddenly shuddered in fear.

“Let’s hurry. Also, no matter what happens, do not step on or aggregate any of the plants growing here.”

“What do you mean by—”

“Ahhh!”

“Fuck! What’s happening!”

“Go away, vile demons!”

Feng Qing’er’s words were suddenly interrupted by a series of cries. Naturally, they came from the geniuses they left behind.

As Feng Qing’er turned to see what was happening, Ruyue immediately stopped her.

“Don’t look back, and don’t pay attention to them. I promise you, the only thing you’ll feel is regret if you do so.”

Feng Qing’er shuddered at the seriousness in her tone. In that second, it seemed that Ruyue’s entire aura went through a change.

And it had. She was no longer taking things lightly. To think that she had been inside of a tiger’s mouth without even noticing it…she couldn’t relax anymore.

Her eyes were a secret that even her family never knew. After all, she hadn’t awakened them until after she had left. Perhaps, if they knew about this feature of hers, they would’ve never allowed her to live peacefully in the Celestial Star Palace.

There was only a single person who knew her power, and that was Tian Yang.

‘No, Damien must’ve found out on our first meeting as well.’

He had blocked her probe before she could even get any valuable information. His eyes were most likely special as well.

‘Wait…I’m pretty sure anyone who’s seen his eyes would be able to tell that they’re special. What an unfortunate guy…’

She smirked a bit. But she soon cleared her thoughts again. Her awareness was spread within a closed area around her, monitoring all movement, and her steps were careful and thought out.

She couldn’t get distracted. If she got distracted, she’d end up dead.