684: Hibiscus and the Golden Crow! The First Bird Grass Tree!

"Is this the function of the Spacetime Well? It looks like a versatile structure!"

Su Lie, while looking at a manufacturing blueprint in his hand, stepped through a portal opened by the Spacetime Well spirit, leading to the next area.

[Spacetime Well Structure Manufacturing Blueprint: Red God-level Quality, rules-type structure

Function One: Connect various area structures or spaces.

Function Two: Can attach a soul to activate the structure's spirit, providing convenience and a safety lock mechanism for personnel passing through the structure and the corresponding area.

Construction Materials: 100,000 units of Time Sand, 100,000 units of rule fragments, 100,000 units of space fragments, 100,000 units of monster crystals

Note: This structure can only be built by Professionals who have undergone their second advancement or higher.

Note: After the structure is built, projection and linking are required. A maximum of two-way projection can be performed each time, linking multiple spaces and areas.]

Afterwards.

Su Lie stored the blueprint in his inventory grid.

As he stepped through the portal.

The well spirit suddenly appeared and asked respectfully, "Master! There is another life form below. Do you permit him to enter the space you are about to enter?"

Su Lie paused his steps.

He had long ago, while capturing the Desire Stone Marten,

already sensed Liu Lizi's location through his vast divine consciousness.

Coupled with the increasingly potent Xuanhuang Power emanating from the other party,

he could sense where Liu Lizi was even without using any psychic-type powers.

Facing the well spirit's question, Su Lie responded indifferently, "Permitted!"

As he spoke,

he remotely, through the Xuanhuang mark on Liu Lizi's body,

devoured several strands of Xuanhuang Power that Liu Lizi had dispersed in the underground area.

After doing this,

he had already stepped into the portal.

The well spirit watched the portal where Su Lie disappeared and became excitedly agitated: "Whew! That was close! So close! Fortunately, my duty is for teleportation, otherwise I'd definitely end up like the separation mirror, the nurturing mist, and the wall of rules!"

...

*Hum!*

Soon.

Su Lie arrived at the next level of the trial grounds.

This was still an area of the outer sect district.

It was a courtyard.

The courtyard was square, with rows of sinister, demonic trees swaying outside its walls.

Directly opposite Su Lie was a moon gate.

In the center stood three warriors clad in demon-flame armor, wielding blades and weapons.

When Su Lie appeared in this courtyard,

another prompt appeared in his vision.

[All your Talents and Skills will be disabled here!]

[You can only rely on the power of unarmed damage!]

[Once you eliminate the demon-flame puppets here, you can pass and enter the inner sect district!]

*Rustle rustle rustle!*

As the prompt appeared, the surrounding trees emitted sounds of glee.

Su Lie sensed a peculiar psychic power from these trees.

Moreover, the surrounding walls were all like the wall of rules.

Whenever Su Lie approached, there were always walls whispering low calls in his ear.

Some demanded Su Lie contribute his heart.

Some demanded Su Lie contribute his blood.

Some demanded Su Lie contribute his brain.

The demon-flame puppets initially moved slowly.

As Su Lie probed the surroundings,

the two puppets' speed grew increasingly faster.

A thought flashed through Su Lie's mind.

*Hum!*

Su Arthur appeared out of thin air.

She looked at the two puppets charging close and raised her hand, pointing lightly forward.

*Hum!*

A sword light condensed from sacred power shot forth.

The two demon-flame puppets directly exploded.

"Cheating!"

"Doesn't count!"

"Kill him!"

...

Roaring voices came from all around.

The corner of Su Lie's mouth lifted slightly.

*Hum!*

He summoned Su Hongkou, Su Bailong, and Su Xueqi together: "Kill all these demonized monsters around us!"

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, the four women became instantly invigorated, quickly unleashing sword lights and ice-fire grenades all around.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

Amidst a series of loud explosions,

the giant plants and the wall of rules surrounding the courtyard shattered instantly under the maids' attacks.

Seizing the opportunity, Su Lie released the Blessing All Beings Skill.

This time,

the range and distance of this Skill's release were far greater than when he released it at the separation mirror plaza.

Through the Xuanhuang Power he released,

Su Lie sensed the buildings within the inner city district of Golden Crow City.

These buildings had all been demonized.

In an area about four or five streets away from Su Lie,

a clocktower-style building suddenly stood up and stomped towards Maha Wuliang, who was dodging buildings on either side that were constantly swinging fists.

"Fuck!"

Maha Wuliang was startled, cursing out loud in a moment of weakness.

*Boom!*

The next second, he manipulated his spear to pierce through the ten-thousand-ton building pressing down from above and soared into the air.

*Boom!*

Immediately after,

as he brandished his spear, bursts of demonic lightning were released.

All the buildings and the clocktower blocking him turned into piles of rubble after the storm of lightning.

When he landed,

the buildings in the city changed from "alive" back to "dead" structures.

Su Lie couldn't help but laugh at the sight: "These buildings, corrupted and transformed by demonic power, are such cowards!"

Soon,

the Xuanhuang Power he released surpassed Maha Wuliang and was blocked by a membrane of energy at the boundary of the inner city district's buildings.

"Hmm? Is the inner city district only about 1000 kilometers long and 100 kilometers wide?"

Su Lie pondered thoughtfully.

The scope of this city district could be considered quite large.

But for a Professional of his level, it wasn't that big.

Moreover, within this area, Su Lie indeed saw the Fusang Divine Tree.

However,

the flames on this divine tree had changed from golden divine fire to black demonic flames that blotted the sky.

Twelve black, three-legged Golden Crows also resided upon it.

In an area quite far from the Fusang Divine Tree,

there was also a building called the Doctrine Transmission Mansion.

As the Mysterious Yellow Energy flowed in,

the scene inside the Doctrine Transmission Mansion became crystal clear to Su Lie's senses.

Inside the mansion, corpses were piled like a mountain. Beside the corpses were numerous collapsed buildings.

The buildings also contained large amounts of ash.

Currently, there were no Golden Crow scriptures here.

After some thought, Su Lie used his Talent for Seeking Rules and the Exploration Hint.

To his disappointment,

these two Talents provided no hints at all.

Clearly,

there were no obtainable treasures within the inner city district.

Even the corrupted Fusang Tree and Golden Crows could not trigger the rules of the two Talents.

"What's going on? Neither the Fusang Tree nor the Golden Crows qualify? Or is it that these two treasures can no longer provide me with any power?"

As Su Lie pondered,

his Skill, Blessing All Beings, had completely permeated every area and corner of Golden Crow City's inner district.

*Hum!*

At Su Lie's mental command,

the healing rule of Blessing All Beings was activated.

*Hum!*

At this moment, the entire inner city district erupted in a dazzling radiance.

Maha Wuliang, walking on a street, was stunned. He reached out and grabbed, capturing a strand of Xuanhuang Power in his hand.

This strand of power, under his control, directly corroded his own power and burrowed into his skin along his energy.

"What? What kind of power is this? So difficult to expel?"

Maha Wuliang's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly tried to mobilize his own power to drive out this Xuanhuang Power.

But inviting a god is easier than sending one away!

How could this Xuanhuang Power be so easily expelled?

Moreover,

this was happening under Su Lie's perception.

Sensing this, Su Lie couldn't help but laugh: "Maha Wuliang! The greatest humiliation for you shouldn't be my defeating you, but turning you into my slave! And you don't even realize it!"

Thinking of this,

he manipulated the Xuanhuang Power lingering in the environment to seep into Maha Wuliang's body.

When Maha Wuliang discovered this power becoming increasingly difficult to resist,

he could no longer control his fear.

Maha Wuliang panickedly scanned his surroundings and, gripping his spear, dashed rapidly along the current road towards the massive energy shield ahead.

"Haha! I never thought I'd see the day Maha Wuliang gets scared!"

Su Lie laughed.

Su Arthur and the other three women had by now completed Su Lie's task.

They regrouped around Su Lie.

At this moment,

as the entire area was being healed,

endless wails of agony came from beyond the shattered courtyard.

The dense, exceptionally mournful and miserable cries made Su Arthur and the others feel a heavy weight in their hearts, making them even more vigilant.

As the cries faded,

and Maha Wuliang fled into the energy membrane leading to the core district,

Su Lie had by now completed the healing of all areas within the inner city district.

He was astonished to discover that

the healed Fusang Tree and the demonized Golden Crows upon it

were, simultaneously with the healing, fracturing inch by inch, turning into countless points of light.

And at this very moment,

a prompt appeared in Su Lie's vision.

[*Hum!*]

[Exploration Hint: Please proceed to the area where the Fusang Tree was. Dig three feet deep, and you will obtain an Avian Grass Tree!]

[Exploration Hint: This tree is a mutated plant, formed from the fusion of a Golden Crow egg and a Fusang Tree seed, slumbering through countless years, and just now awakened.]

[Exploration Hint: The Avian Grass Tree's growth pattern and life cycle are identical to that of caterpillar fungus.]

[Exploration Hint: The Avian Grass Tree may be the first, and the only special plant of its kind in the current world, that you obtain.]

Su Lie's eyelids twitched after reading: "Damn! Could this be a tree species, or a root... that was suppressed by the demonized Fusang Tree and chose to slumber? And today, after I healed the Fusang Tree, this suppressed plant used the power of the Golden Crow egg to revive?"

Thinking this,

Su Lie, while extracting the Xuanhuang Power from this area, strode towards the Fusang Tree's location with the four women.

After the group had traveled about 500 kilometers,

Su Lie discovered that as he continuously extracted the Xuanhuang Power from the entire space, the buildings in the inner city district, now deprived of the Xuanhuang Power's support, were rapidly collapsing.

These buildings weren't collapsing into ruins, but rather into countless grains of sand.

When Su Lie arrived at the area where the Fusang Tree had been,

the buildings of the entire inner city district, like dominoes, were already collapsing one after another towards the distant energy shield.

Great clouds of dust rose within the city district.

This caused Su Arthur and the others to frown.

They each released waves of power to block and disperse the dust around them.

During this process,

the four women kept glancing at Su Lie, their eyes filled with envy.

"Master! Why are you spotless, always so clean?"

Su Bailong finally couldn't hold back and couldn't help but turn and ask.

Su Lie, standing before the dead Fusang Tree, glanced at Su Bailong, the corner of his mouth lifting: "That's naturally due to my Talent!"

"Stop looking! Come over here and dig three feet deep!"

"Remember!"

"Be gentle. Inside lies the world's only Avian Grass Tree!"

This made Su Arthur and the others' spirits tremble.

They could no longer care about anything else and hurried to Su Lie's side, each taking out a shovel to start digging slowly.

And at this very moment,

Liu Lizi, who had been waiting in the outer sect district, arrived at the second trial via the Spacetime Well.

When he saw the damaged walls around him and the various buildings collapsing into dust in the distance,

Liu Lizi couldn't help but tremble: "Damn! What's going on here?"

He narrowed his eyes.

This phenomenon was very similar to certain ancient tombs in the mortal world.

During the burial phase, the artifacts inside the tomb remained well-preserved.

But once a living being opened the tomb door without proper protective measures,

the resources inside would decay, discolor, or even vanish completely due to oxidation, temperature, humidity, and other factors.

Thinking of this phenomenon, Liu Lizi couldn't help but mutter gravely: "It seems this city has aged quite severely!"

"That's right! I've never seen a city that lasts forever!"

Having considered this,

he used a Skill to look around.

When he saw Su Lie about 500 kilometers away,

Liu Lizi couldn't help but shudder: "Damn! Su Lei must have dug up a treasure over there!"

This stirred some desire in him.

But he didn't dare go directly to Su Lie.

"No! I need to leave here quickly, get to the next city district ahead of him!"

Liu Lizi quickly formed an idea.

After careful observation, he confirmed the direction of the next city district.

*Hum!*

When Liu Lizi entered the inner city district, he used his Invisibility Ring to vanish from sight.

Liu Lizi, in high spirits, sped rapidly towards the energy shield leading to the core district.

To avoid Su Lie,

he deliberately took a detour.

Not long after,

Liu Lizi arrived before the energy shield. When his hand touched the shield,

his body suddenly lurched forward, and he was directly pulled into the core city district by a force...