The Holy Land

"What?! The thief emptied the Dan Tower this time? What about the guardian, the Violet Thunder Three-Headed Lion King?" Ziyun, who was still recovering from his injuries in his cave dwelling, felt his vision darken upon hearing the news.

Wasn’t there a transformed spirit beast guarding it? How could the items still have been stolen?

And what about the restrictions?

Were the restrictions useless again?

Ziyun even began to suspect that the person who set up the restrictions was the one stealing the items.

But upon further thought, the restrictions on the Dan Tower and the herb garden were likely the work of the elders themselves.

"The Lion King seems to have fought something, but regarding the missing items, it appears confused and has been anxiously digging at the ground," the disciple reported.

Anxiously digging at the ground?

"What does that mean?"

"It means it doesn’t know why the items disappeared either—it’s definitely not its fault."

"..."

Ziyun took a deep breath, feeling as though the injuries he had mostly recovered from were about to flare up again. He closed his eyes in contemplation before taking out a communication token to contact the sect master.

"I’ve already been informed. The Heavenly Water Divine Mirror is about to be activated. Once it’s successfully deployed, capturing that little thief will be effortless," the sect master’s steady voice came through the token.

Hearing this, Ziyun felt reassured.

Of course. Given the sect master’s foresight, how could he not have a plan to deal with this? Now that the Heavenly Water Divine Mirror was being activated, catching a mere thief would be no trouble at all.

While the Qingyun Sect’s higher-ups were in turmoil, Ye Chuan had already returned to his cave dwelling.

Plopping down on the edge of his bed, he immediately opened his storage space to sort through his loot.

"Finally got my hands on some pill recipes," Ye Chuan mused, looking at the assortment of medicinal and alchemical formulas. He was relieved that the herbs he had cultivated could finally be put to good use—now he could achieve true pill freedom.

"Too bad there aren’t any particularly impressive recipes here," Ye Chuan muttered, scanning the collection. Though there were many types, none had the kind of heaven-defying effects he was hoping for.

Well, that made sense.

If such recipes existed, they’d probably be in the possession of some elder from the Divine Pill Peak. The more precious something was, the less likely it would be casually left in places like this.

"Still, a great haul overall." Ye Chuan continued counting his spoils, deciding to trade anything unusable to Qian Duoduo for spirit crystals—after all, he needed them to boost his combat power.

Just as Ye Chuan was studying the pill recipes, his token suddenly vibrated. He picked it up and saw it was the one Zi Ning'er had given him. A voice came through:

"Junior Brother, where are you?"

The question made Ye Chuan pause, his eyes narrowing.

Why was Zi Ning'er asking for him so late at night? Had she figured something out?

Considering her earlier mention of the Heavenly Water Divine Mirror, Ye Chuan wondered if his actions had been exposed. But soon, another message followed:

"Junior Brother, remember what I told you about the Dan Tower? The thief struck again and stole from it. He’s hiding somewhere in the sect now, so be careful if you go out at night—don’t get hurt."

Ye Chuan fell silent upon hearing this.

"Understood. Thank you for your concern, Senior Sister." Setting the token down, he wrestled with his thoughts before ultimately dismissing them.

...

The next day, the Qingyun Sect’s search for the thief yielded no results. Meanwhile, Ye Chuan met up with Zi Ning'er to head for the sacred land.

As they flew on their swords, Zi Ning'er seemed lost in thought. "Junior Brother, if this thief is so skilled, why have we never heard of him before?"

Logically, someone with such abilities shouldn’t be unknown—they’d have made a name for themselves in the cultivation world long ago.

"Maybe he’s an enemy of the Qingyun Sect?" Ye Chuan suggested after a pause. "Or perhaps someone from the Jade Void Sect?"

"You might be right. It could be related to that demonic sect," Zi Ning'er said coldly. "The Jade Void Sect’s disciples drain male cultivators’ spiritual energy to fuel their cultivation—they’re outright demonic."

Hearing this, Ye Chuan couldn’t help but glance at Zi Ning'er. "Oh? So that’s how it is?"

Could a sect branded as demonic by the Qingyun Sect really produce someone like Bai Qianshuang?

"Enough about that," Zi Ning'er said, leading the way. "Junior Brother, we’re here."

They landed on a platform, where an elder soon approached.

"You two disciples, what brings you here?"

"Elder, I am Zi Ning'er, here to escort my junior brother for the sacred land’s baptism," she replied.

"Ah, so you’re Zi Ning'er. Come with me—the sect master has already informed me." The elder then guided them inward.

Before long, they arrived at a vast, hundred-zhang-wide formation inscribed with glowing runes, emitting a faint blue light.

"This is the entrance to the sacred land. Step onto it."

"Yes."

As soon as Ye Chuan and Zi Ning'er took their positions, the teleportation array lit up, and a massive spatial rift appeared behind them.

"Huh?" Seeing the familiar rift, Ye Chuan was surprised—he hadn’t expected the formation to create something akin to the rifts from the real world.

"Go ahead," the elder said, tossing them two rune-carved stones. "Keep these safe. Crush them if you encounter danger."

"Understood!" Zi Ning'er clasped her fists before turning to Ye Chuan. "Junior Brother, let’s go."

"Right."

The two stepped into the rift together. In a flash of light, they vanished.

...

...

The scenery gradually sharpened before them, revealing a dense, mountainous forest teeming with spirit herbs and an exceptionally rich concentration of spiritual energy.

"So this is the Qingyun Sect’s sacred land?" Ye Chuan looked around, only to realize Zi Ning'er was nowhere in sight.

Where was she?

Just then, his token transmitted her voice: "Junior Brother, the teleportation separated us. Find a safe spot and wait for me to locate you."

"Remember, the sacred land isn’t without danger. If you face a life-threatening situation, crush the rune stone the elder gave you."

"Got it." As Ye Chuan responded, the massive tree before him suddenly shuddered—as if coming to life. Its tangled roots tore free from the ground, crawling toward him like living limbs!

"?" Seeing the approaching tree and its writhing vines, Ye Chuan instantly flashed backward, summoning his Crimson Peak Sword.

"Slash!"

A storm of sword energy erupted, shredding the oncoming vines to pieces!

With another swing, he cleaved the tree demon in two!

Amid its shrill shrieks, only a wisp of its soul remained. Noticing even a tree demon had a soul, Ye Chuan summoned his Soul Banner.

[Absorbed a Golden Core realm soul. Artifact enhances host’s attributes by +7%.]