Seize the Seed of the Wood Element

Those cultivators had just walked up to the corpses, not yet having the time to bend down and pick up the spatial rings, when they felt this terrifying pressure. Their faces instantly turned deathly pale, and even breathing became difficult.

They wanted to flee, only to find their bodies had long been imprisoned by spiritual energy, unable to move.

Before they could let out a scream, that majestic spiritual energy directly crushed them, instantly killing them. Their bodies fell limply to the ground, lying together with those cultivators who had previously fought over the Origin Seed.

These people had been watching from the shadows just now, remaining cold bystanders without offering to help, simply wanting to watch the outcome and reap the spoils.

If Jun Anshi had won, they would have pretended they never appeared, not daring to make the slightest move.

If Jun Anshi had lost, they would most likely have jumped out immediately to double-cross and snatch the Origin Seed.

In Gu Changyuan's eyes, this kind of sycophantic and opportunistic behavior was no different from the cultivators who came up directly to rob.

After dealing with these despicable people, Gu Changyuan raised his hand and waved. A wisp of spiritual energy swept past, collecting all the spatial rings and pouches from the corpses of the cultivators and storing them in his own storage space.

Having done all this, he nodded in satisfaction, his figure flashing as he instantly disappeared into the depths of the forest sea.

......

Meanwhile, in the northern part of the vast forest sea, deep within a dense forest.

The disciples of the Holy Land had been in hot pursuit all the way, finally intercepting the Wood Spirit Deer by a stream.

The Wood Spirit Deer stood on a giant boulder in the middle of the stream. Its emerald green body shimmered with a warm luster under the sunlight, and the stream water beneath its feet was dyed a faint jade green by the life force radiating from its body.

However, they were not the only ones who had chased it here.

From all directions, more and more cultivators were converging.

The Wood Spirit Deer looked around, its emerald eyes reflecting those greedy faces.

It lowered its head and stomped its front hooves fiercely on the boulder.

Boom—!

In an instant, with the Wood Spirit Deer at the center, the earth trembled violently.

Countless thick branches burst out from the soil, like giant pythons that had been dormant for a long time suddenly awakening.

These branches spread madly in all directions. Wherever they passed, the ground was torn apart, boulders were overturned, and the stream was cut off.

They attacked all the surrounding cultivators indiscriminately, regardless of friend or foe.

It was a scene of utter chaos.

Thick branches swept past. Several cultivators who could not dodge in time were directly whipped away, smashing through several large trees behind them before stopping, spitting out blood wildly.

Vines on the ground wrapped around the ankles of cultivators, hanging them upside down, while more branches whipped over from all sides, beating the suspended people until their flesh was torn open.

Sharp tree roots thrust out from the ground suddenly. A cultivator had just jumped up to dodge when a root as thick as an arm burst out from beneath his feet, brushing past his cheek and taking away a piece of flesh and blood.

The Wood Spirit Deer stood in the center of the interwoven vines and branches. The branches beneath its feet continuously piled up, like a growing throne, lifting it higher and higher.

It looked down at the chaos below. There was no smugness or cruelty in its emerald eyes, only a transcendent calmness.

The disciples of the Holy Land contracted their formation at the first moment the incident occurred.

The disciple temporarily leading the team stood in the center of the formation, his gaze quickly scanning the surrounding situation, calmly issuing commands.

The disciples quickly adjusted their positions, cooperating tacitly.

Everyone's attacks formed a dense net of firepower, cutting, shredding, and burning the incoming branches.

The severed branches fell to the ground, still wriggling slightly, but soon lost their vitality and turned withered yellow.

But the distance between them and the Wood Spirit Deer was simply too far.

Covering each other and cooperating tacitly, the group advanced step by step towards the high place where the Wood Spirit Deer was, not giving cultivators from other factions a chance to seize the initiative.

The Wood Spirit Deer stood up high, looking down at everything below.

It watched those cultivators struggling, dodging, and falling among the branches and vines, its emerald eyes still devoid of any emotion.

It gently raised its right front hoof, and new branches drilled out from the ground, surging towards those cultivators who broke through the defense line.

Just then, its gaze suddenly turned towards the southeast.

A strange light flashed in the eyes of the Wood Spirit Deer.

It no longer controlled the surrounding plants. Its four hooves kicked off the branches beneath its feet, and its entire body sprang up fiercely, leaping towards the southeast.

The emerald figure drew an arc in the air, landing on the canopy of a large tree dozens of meters away.

Borrowing the momentum to spring up again, it disappeared into the forest sea in just a few leaps.

It is running! Chase it!

The disciples of the Holy Land immediately changed direction and chased after the direction the Wood Spirit Deer had fled.

Seeing this, cultivators from other surrounding factions also could not care less about clearing those still-wriggling branches and chased after it one after another.

The emerald figure shuttled quickly through the forest, followed by a large swarm of cultivators.

However, no one noticed that ahead in the direction the Wood Spirit Deer was fleeing, a black figure had long been waiting there.

Gu Changyuan's clone stood on the branch of a large tree, his white mask gleaming coldly in the sunlight, his black cloak fluttering gently in the wind.

He did not hide his aura, but everyone present was chasing the Wood Spirit Deer, and not a single person looked up at him.

The Wood Spirit Deer was getting closer and closer.

Its jumping trajectory was accurately calculated by Gu Changyuan's clone.

The next landing point was exactly ten meters below his feet.

The clone moved, dropping vertically from the branch.

His speed was astonishingly fast, like a black meteor tearing through the sky.

The Wood Spirit Deer was still in mid-air, its four hooves stretched out, its body leaning slightly forward, its emerald eyes reflecting the approaching ground.

Then, it saw that black figure.

Gu Changyuan's clone appeared at the exact position it was about to land in the next second, raising his right hand and gently waving it.

An invisible force spread out from his palm, instantly enveloping the Wood Spirit Deer within it.

The Wood Spirit Deer's body suddenly froze in the air, its emerald light flickering violently a few times.

It tried to struggle, but that invisible force was too powerful, completely beyond its ability to break free.

Its phantom began to fade.

Emerald light overflowed from its body, like melting jade, slowly converging into the palm of Gu Changyuan's clone.

The figure of the Wood Spirit Deer grew fainter and fainter, eventually dissipating completely into the air.

And in the palm of the clone, an emerald crystal core appeared.

The Great Dao of Wood, the Origin Seed.

Those pursuing cultivators stopped in their tracks the moment they saw this scene.

Expressions of disbelief appeared on everyone's faces.

They had chased this Dao Spirit for so long and were about to get their hands on it, only for it to be intercepted halfway by a black-robed man who popped out of nowhere?

Anger.

Shock.

Unwillingness. Various emotions spread through the crowd. After a brief silence, people from several factions were the first to rush out.

Regardless of the consequences, they only had one thought in their minds.

Snatch it back! That was the Origin Seed of the Great Dao, they could not just let someone else take it away like this!

Halt!

Hand over the item!

Several figures charged toward Gu Changyuan's clone, unleashing their magical treasures in unison as spells flew in all directions.