Qin Nan and Princess Miao Miao were slightly startled before they gathered their thoughts with strange expressions.
Wasn"t this w.a.n.g Zhao a bit too unfortunate? He had been somehow struck by the Xuan-Wind Martial Monarch"s attack that was supposed to be targeting them.
The previously disdainful w.a.n.g Zhao"s face suddenly turned blue. The overwhelming force of the Wind G.o.d surged toward his Divine Sense.
"Down to the Yellow Spring, Up to the Nine Heavens, Canglan Tree, suppress it!"
w.a.n.g Zhao let out a roar as he performed a hand seal, emitting a brilliant green glow. The illusionary silhouette of a giant tree that had come from ancient times emerged from the ground while unleas.h.i.+ng a strong pressure.
The flora in the surroundings trembled vigorously in fear as if they were aware of its presence.
The force of the Wind G.o.d inside his body was exterminated.
Qin Nan and Princess Miao Miao"s eyes flickered with astonishment.
Even though this w.a.n.g Zhao was only a peak Martial Progenitor, the illusionary figure of the Canglan Tree which he had summoned was rather powerful.
"Qin Nan, how shameless are you, to come up with a sneak attack!" w.a.n.g Zhao blurted out furiously.
"It has nothing to do with me. It"s just you being unlucky." Qin Nan shrugged. His eyes glistened as he added, "Senior Canglan Tree is my benefactor. I can ignore the fact that you"re trying to set me up. If needed, I"ll even help you once."
If w.a.n.g Zhao still tried to rob him after he had been utterly honest with him, Qin Nan would not go easy on him even if he were the successor of the Canglan Tree.
"Humph, why would I, w.a.n.g Zhao need your..."
w.a.n.g Zhao chuckled.
Quite some time ago, the Spirit of the Canglan Tree had told w.a.n.g Zhao that he could ask Qin Nan for help when needed.
However, w.a.n.g Zhao had not felt pleasant hearing it.
Who was he?
He was w.a.n.g Zhao!
Why would he need the help of others?
Besides, Qin Nan had only surpa.s.sed the rules of cultivation. He had yet to achieve the Martial Monarch Realm!
Therefore, at the start, when w.a.n.g Zhao had discovered Qin Nan, he had already planned to rob him of the pieces of the Canglan Tree and the rest of his possessions. He would then convince him to become his subordinate.
Having someone who had surpa.s.sed the rules of cultivation was definitely flashy enough to show-off!
However, before he could finish, an unexpected occurrence took place.
Deep within the mountain, a faint crimson glow could be seen.
"s.h.i.+t, this is bad. That guy noticed me when I unleashed the illusionary figure of the Canglan Tree. He"s going to devour the piece of the Canglan Tree!"
w.a.n.g Zhao grimaced.
"Devour the piece of the Canglan Tree?"
Qin Nan and Princess Miao Miao halted in their tracks and stared at him.
They were both clueless about the situation inside the mountain.
w.a.n.g Zhao fell into deep thought before a brilliant thought popped into his mind.
That"s right, that"s doable. Not only would he be able to acquire the piece of the Canglan Tree, but he could also convince Qin Nan to be his subordinate.
"Cough cough, Qin Nan, why don"t we work together?"
w.a.n.g Zhao said with a soft cough.
"Work together?"
Qin Nan raised his brows.
"That"s right, inside this mountain stands a strange crystal palace. Inside it lies an Ancient Blood Pool that has already nurtured its intelligence. It"s able to manipulate the forbidding auras in the palace, thus granting it strong firepower. If we’re planning to secure the piece of the Canglan Tree, we have to defeat it."
"Be it you two, or myself, we wouldn"t be strong enough to defeat it. We have to work together.
"As for the piece of the Canglan Tree, once we’ve defeated the blood pool, we"ll have a duel among ourselves. The winner will take the piece. What do you think?"
w.a.n.g Zhao"s lips curled upward with a hint of provocation.
"Sure."
Qin Nan agreed without hesitation.
It was a coincidence that they had ended up at the mountain.
On the other hand, w.a.n.g Zhao had been here earlier. He would know more information about it. Besides, w.a.n.g Zhao did have some tricks up his sleeves, but he had still failed to overcome the blood pond. Therefore, it made more sense for them to work together for the time being.
As for the duel?
The fact that w.a.n.g Zhao dared to challenge him after knowing he had seven Martial Trees entirely highlighted how confident he was.
But did that make any difference?
If w.a.n.g Zhao asked for a duel, there was no reason for him to reject it!
"HAHA, deal. Let"s swear an oath!"
w.a.n.g Zhao blurted out with joy.
The three made an oath in the name of the Heavens and Earth before going deeper into the mountain.
Since the crimson glow had appeared a few moments ago, the pungent scent of blood had begun to linger in the air. Meanwhile, the Qi in the surroundings felt extraordinarily strong for some reason.
Time gradually pa.s.sed. After half the period it took an incense to burn, the trio came to a stop.
They had arrived before an average-sized entrance of a cave. The wall above the entrance had four characters written that had existed for a long time. Despite that, a strong intent could still be felt just by looking at them.
入洞者，死! (Death to all trespa.s.sers!)
Any other cultivators would be intimidated looking at it!
Qin Nan took a glance at his ring. The glow being emitted had become brighter!
"Such a magical ring..."
w.a.n.g Zhao"s eyes flickered with envy.
Even as the successor of the Canglan Tree, in order to locate the pieces of the Canglan Tree, he would have to spit out a few drops of his blood to execute the forbidden art he needed.
"No way, only I am worthy to have the magical ring. Once I’ve convinced Qin Nan to submit to my will, I have to get it from him."
w.a.n.g Zhao mumbled in his heart.
"Let"s go."
Qin Nan glanced at him before entering the cave with Princess Miao Miao. w.a.n.g Zhao immediately followed behind them.
Upon entering the cave, the pungent scent of blood was replaced by a formidable b.l.o.o.d.y intent.
The b.l.o.o.d.y intent was able to penetrate one"s body and provoke their will to kill, turning one into a mindless murderer.
Any other cultivators would need to rely on some forbidden art to resist against it, but the trio was perfectly unaffected.
"We"re here."
w.a.n.g Zhao halted in his tracks. His face wore a solemn expression.
Qin Nan glanced ahead. Just as w.a.n.g Zhao had mentioned, he could see a giant crystal palace in front.
The palace was filled with piles of corpses. Streams of martial intent still lingered from them. At the center of the palace stood a square-shaped pool with roiling fresh blood. A terrifying force was acc.u.mulated within it.
It was as if the blood had once belonged to experts and Martial Monarchs.
Behind the blood pool was a ruined throne and a case beside it. A pitch-black wooden block the size of a thumb was lying inside the case, which was none other than a piece of the Canglan Tree.
On the right of the throne was a flat rock with a length of three people. It resembled a coffin. Its surface was engraved with quite a number of patterns.
"Mm? The rock looks similar to the crystal coffin of the Desolated Spirit in the Desolated Battleground?"
Qin Nan"s eyes flickered in astonishment.