Mysterious Passage

Yun Heng looked at the astonishingly massive underground root network before her and finally understood everything.

So that was how it was.

The Qingming Spirit Seed was not merely a treasure meant to unravel the Ancient Vine Array; it was the very source of the array itself.

At the same time, the Ancient Vine Array seemed to sense the mother tree's awakening.

Vines scattered across the array suddenly shuddered in unison, and the spiritual energy within the subterranean root net began to circulate rapidly.

The next moment, a vast swarm of ancient vines shifted direction, surging from every side toward the ancient tree where Yun Heng stood.

Yun Heng opened her eyes and immediately took in the surrounding changes.

“Not good!”

She was currently channeling spiritual energy through the ancient tree into the Qingming Spirit Seed.

If she stopped channeling power now, all her previous efforts would go to waste.

The first few vines to arrive shot up from the ground, whipping straight toward the branch where Yun Heng stood.

Yun Heng instinctively reached for the hilt of her sword, but forcibly held herself back.

These vines could absorb sword Qi and spiritual energy; striking back with her blade would only make the Ancient Vine Array stronger.

Yun Heng pushed her longsword back into its scabbard and activated the Void-Stepping Movement Technique.

A barbed vine lashed past her side.

Tapping her toes against the branch, Yun Heng retreated rapidly, narrowly dodging the attack.

Not daring to sever her connection with the Qingming Spirit Seed, she was forced to dodge the incoming attacks while continually channeling spiritual energy into the tree heart.

Even more vines surged up from the ground and the surrounding trees, intertwining with one another and nearly sealing off every possible escape route.

Yun Heng executed the Void-Stepping Movement Technique, her silhouette flitting constantly among the branches.

With every step, she remained in place for only the briefest instant.

The vines pursued her relentlessly, whipping one after another against the spots she had just vacated.

The spiritual energy inside her body was draining rapidly.

To awaken the Qingming Spirit Seed, she had to keep the Tianheng Guiyuan Art running constantly. To dodge the vines, she had to push the Void-Stepping Movement Technique to its absolute limit.

Doing both simultaneously strained even her vast reservoir of spiritual energy, which surpassed that of an ordinary late stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

She circulated the Tianheng Guiyuan Art at full power.

Pure, refined spiritual energy surged like a bursting dam through the internal pathways of the trunk, rushing straight toward the tree heart.

Just as she was reaching her breaking point, the Qingming Spirit Seed within the tree heart vibrated violently.

A burst of blue-green light erupted from the tree heart, and life finally returned to the core of the once-withered ancient tree. Beneath the bark, lines of blue-green patterns lit up one after another.

Rich wood spiritual energy radiated from the ancient tree as a faint blue-green glow flowed through its leaves and branches, making the entire tree seem to awaken from a long slumber.

Immediately after, all the ancient vines began to retract slowly.

One after another, the vines on the ground retreated into the earth, while the tendrils wrapped around adjacent trees detached rapidly, following the root system back into the depths of the soil.

In mere moments, the Ancient Vine Array that had blanketed the vast area vanished completely.

At that exact moment, the final drop of spiritual energy within Yun Heng was exhausted, her legs buckled, and she tumbled from the branch.

Yun Heng barely managed to adjust her posture in midair, landing in a half-kneeling position.

With one hand resting on the soil and the other on her knee, she panted heavily. Beads of sweat broke out on her forehead and slid slowly down the side of her face.

Her spiritual energy was completely drained, leaving an empty, hollow sensation echoing through her meridians.

Yun Heng did not waste time. She set up her array plate first before immediately activating the Moon Trace Spirit Bracelet on her wrist.

A soft, moon-white light glowed on the surface of the Moon Trace Spirit Bracelet. Pure spiritual energy stored inside rushed into her body, flowing through her meridians and toward her dantian.

Yun Heng sat cross-legged right where she was, closed her eyes, and began circulating the Tianheng Guiyuan Art to regulate her breathing.

Refined by her cultivation technique, the spiritual energy from the Moon Trace Spirit Bracelet gradually replenished her nearly empty dantian.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, most of her spiritual energy had been restored.

Slowly opening her eyes, she noticed Xie Wujiu still lying unconscious a short distance away.

His face was pale, his eyes closed tight, and his longsword lay beside him. He showed no signs of regaining consciousness.

Yun Heng had no intention of dealing with him for now.

She turned around to look at the newly awakened ancient tree.

Compared to before, the entire tree had transformed completely.

Previously, though dense with leaves, its exterior differed little from the other ancient trees in the dense forest. Now, lines of blue-green patterns emerged across the surface of the trunk, and a subtle shimmer emanated from between its leaves.

After observing it for a moment, Yun Heng suddenly noticed that something extra seemed to have appeared in the area formerly covered by the Ancient Vine Array.

It was a circular stone platform that had previously been obscured beneath layers of ancient vines, completely hidden from sight.

Curious, Yun Heng walked over to it.

Numerous ancient patterns were carved onto the surface of the stone platform. Some were covered in soil, but the central region remained entirely intact.

There was something resembling a small turntable located right at the center.

The turntable was only the size of a palm, with a fine ring of array markings carved around its edge and a slight indentation in the middle.

When in doubt, inject spiritual energy.

After all, that was the same method she had used to awaken the Qingming Spirit Seed moments ago.

Yun Heng pressed her palm against the center of the turntable and slowly injected a strand of spiritual energy into it.

As soon as her spiritual energy entered the turntable, the surrounding array markings flared to life.

The previously motionless turntable gave off a faint click before actually beginning to rotate slowly.

A flash of pleasant surprise swept across Yun Heng's eyes.

As the turntable turned, the entire circular stone platform vibrated softly.

A gap appeared at the center of the platform, widening toward both sides as the hard stone surface parted down the middle.

A flight of stone steps descending downward appeared before Yun Heng. Deep within, it was plunged into darkness, obscuring where it ultimately led.

An extremely ancient aura slowly welled up from beneath the ground.

Yun Heng drew the Tianheng Broken Sword and held it tight. Concealing her presence with the Formless Concealment Technique, she carefully stepped onto the stone stairs.

The staircase was quite narrow, wide enough for only one person to pass at a time.

Yun Heng descended step by step.

Once she had fully entered the passage, a dull scraping sound suddenly rang out behind her.

Looking back, she saw the stone platform closing up from both sides, completely sealing the entrance.

The surroundings instantly plunged into pitch darkness.

Now there's no turning back. Gathering spiritual energy into her palm, Yun Heng illuminated the immediate passage.

It was a long, quiet subterranean passage. The stone walls on either side bore no decorations, only naturally formed cracks.

Yun Heng continued down the stone steps.

No sound could be heard inside the passage save for the endless echo of her footsteps.

Right at that moment, the Tianheng Broken Sword in her hand suddenly vibrated.

At first, the vibration was extremely faint. But as Yun Heng ventured deeper, the sword's reaction grew increasingly intense.

The Tianheng Broken Sword was sensing something underground.

She had not come to the wrong place. The material capable of repairing her broken sword was definitely somewhere deep within this passage.