246: Ancient Trees

"Young Master Fang."

Mo Qianqian nodded indifferently.

Xu Sanyan was also quite surprised; he had not expected Mo Qianqian to emerge so quickly. It seemed his previous judgment of her had been biased; she was not ordinary.

Arriving together with Huan Xier and Mo Qianqian was Tu Wanshan and his group.

Tu Wanshan looked toward Net Intent with a gloomy face; there seemed to be some grudge between the two.

By this point, most of the Cultivators in the Secret Realm had gathered in the field. The Central Continent Five Great Sects were all present, along with the Huai Lake Zuoqiu Clan and the Nantian Valley Jiang Family, who were walking over from afar.

Everyone wanted to know what had happened here.

Jiang Yan's arm had already been set, and he was much more low-key, no longer as boisterous as before. It seemed that the previous incident had dealt him a significant blow.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "The rift is expanding!"

Xu Sanyan narrowed his eyes and looked. Sure enough, the rift was slowly opening. The original distance of three or four zhang had gradually expanded to nearly five zhang, as if a pair of large hands were grabbing the sides of the rift and tearing it apart with force.

Everyone was confused about what was happening, staring blankly at the sky.

Suddenly, Fang Qingge roared, "Retreat quickly, the ground is cracking!"

Everyone retreated frantically. As the rift in the Void Realm expanded, the ground began to tremble violently. The ground cracked, and fissures spread in all directions like a spider web.

Xu Sanyan tapped his toes lightly and flew into mid-air. Everyone used their own methods; some stood in the air like him, while others retreated quickly.

"Boom!"

The ground suddenly collapsed in one area, and a huge deep pit appeared on the ground, spanning dozens of zhang in circumference!

Xu Sanyan looked down, but could only see pitch-black darkness.

"Rumble~!"

The cracking of the ground continued, though it had slowed significantly. In the distance, houses collapsed, emitting violent rumbling sounds.

Everyone looked at the rift, still shaken, and only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw it had stopped expanding.

At this moment, the rift in the Void Realm was nearly ten zhang wide, extending downward until it stopped at the giant pit, with spider-web-like cracks surrounding the pit.

Xu Sanyan, Fang Qingge, and others stood in mid-air, not daring to approach the giant pit again.

"What is going on?"

Luo Qingwei patted her chest, trying hard to calm her inner shock. Just a moment ago, she had even thought the Secret Realm was about to shatter.

If the Secret Realm were to shatter, everyone present, without exception, would not survive.

Whether at the Foundation Establishment Realm, Soul Refinement Realm, or even the higher He Dao Realm, there was a risk of perishing.

Because the Secret Realm was built within the Void Realm, it was not the case that if the Secret Realm shattered, everyone would return to their original world; instead, they would fall into the Void Realm.

What is the Void Realm? It is a place where there is nothing—no ground, no sky, no Spiritual Qi, and not even a distinction between up, down, left, or right.

Once one falls into the Void Realm, there is no other way but to wait for death, unless one can use great cultivation to tear through the Void Realm and force a way back, which might offer a glimmer of hope for survival.

Xu Sanyan looked at the deep pit, his expression uncertain. Just that instant, he seemed to have seen something inside. A flash of light had passed and disappeared at an extremely fast speed. It was so fast that he even thought his eyes had played tricks on him.

"Saint, look quickly."

Elder Ren pointed into the distance. Xu Sanyan looked in the direction he pointed. A large group of Ghost Generals were flying over. The leader appeared to be middle-aged, wearing a deep purple robe with his hands behind his back, looking truly extraordinary.

Xu Sanyan frowned. What were these ghosts here for? They wouldn't be here for revenge, would they?

Fortunately, the middle-aged man only glanced at the crowd before turning his gaze toward the deep pit. It seemed he had come for this matter.

Mo Qianqian took a deep breath, suppressing the restless emotions in her heart. This person was none other than Yuan Anping, the one who had taken her first night.

Yuan Anping seemed to see Mo Qianqian but did not care. He was now solely focused on knowing how to get out, so he casually pointed to a ghost behind him and said, "Go down and take a look."

"Yes."

The ghost soldier did not hesitate, jumped into the deep pit, and disappeared without a trace. After waiting for a long while, it never returned.

At this moment, Fang Qingge's voice rang in his ear. He transmitted his voice, "Brother Xu, if there are any changes later, we should join forces to resist. What do you think?"

As they spoke, their eyes met, and they both looked at Yuan Anping.

Xu Sanyan nodded, indicating his agreement, and then glanced at Net Intent and the others; they had clearly also received Fang Qingge's voice transmission.

Although there were conflicts among everyone, this moment was different from the past; those ghosts were, after all, outsiders.

Yuan Anping was unaware of their small actions, and even if he knew, he wouldn't care, because he was confident that he could suppress them with his own power!

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Suddenly, the world shook violently, and the ground trembled again, only this time the tremor was even more intense than before.

"What is going on?!"

Someone cried out in alarm and ran into the distance in a panic.

An uneasy look appeared in Luo Qingwei's eyes. Could this Secret Realm really be about to shatter?

Fortunately, the thing she feared did not happen, but a change occurred within the deep pit.

A glowing white light emerged from the deep pit, and everyone's gaze was involuntarily drawn to it.

Xu Sanyan narrowed his eyes slightly and focused on it. That white light... looked like a huge tree branch.

A tree branch emitting a crystalline glow?

Its shape resembled the branch of an ancient tree, but this ancient tree was too large; even just a small section of the branch that protruded was dozens of zhang high!

Moreover, the branch continued to extend upward. The tip of the branch was covered with crystalline leaves, and at the very top, two fruits were hanging.

Both fruits were round but had different colors; one emitted a grayish halo, and the other displayed a vibrant green luster.

Xu Sanyan looked up at the crystalline branch, his shock indescribable. What kind of tree was this?

It was crystalline throughout without a single impurity, and it grew from the Void Realm. Could just a small section of a tree branch pierce through a Secret Realm?

Tree branch... ancient tree!

Wait!

Xu Sanyan suddenly remembered something. Venerable He Yu had once instructed that if he ever encountered an ancient tree in a Secret Realm, he should try to obtain one of its leaves or fruits, and he would be willing to trade a flying ship for it. He wasn't referring to... this ancient tree, was he?

And the previous-previous owner of the ruler, that old man had said that this Peach Garden Secret Realm consisted of over two hundred Secret Realms, just like fruits growing on a tree.

So... those two fruits were actually independent Secret Realms?!

"Hiss..."

Xu Sanyan gasped sharply, and a thought surged in his heart: a supreme treasure!

This ancient tree was undoubtedly a supreme treasure; even just one of its fruits would be a rare treasure in this world!

"Boom~"

The ground trembled slightly, and the huge hole in the ground was blocked by the crystalline tree trunk. The branch stopped extending, as if everything had come to an end.

The crystalline tree branch, standing over a hundred zhang high, towered between heaven and earth, attracting everyone's gaze, especially the two fruits at the very top.

Yuan Anping's breathing suddenly quickened; he seemed to see hope for getting out!

Xu Sanyan retreated silently; he sensed a dangerous aura. Those fruits should not be easy to take.