Chapter 100: The Calamity Tree and Soul Sacrifice

Snow began to fall.

Just like the past few days, it wasn’t heavy snow, but rather like a corner of the sky’s clouds, scattering down in tiny fragments.

That insignificant snowflake landing on Meng Yingxing’s nose still brought a slight chill.

After temporarily placing the gigantic demonic beast named Miaomiao and its owner Li Qin’an in a relatively safe location, Meng Yingxing stepped onto the Ting Tian Sword and flew directly towards the Xu family in Zhongyang Town.

The scenery before him was enveloped in a layer of indistinct outlines by the light snow. A few minutes later, the outline of Zhongyang Town came into view.

This time, upon arriving at the Xu family via sword flight, Meng Yingxing didn’t land outside the Xu family gate as before, but directly charged into the Xu family mansion on his sword.

Meng Yingxing had just landed in the largest courtyard, and the Ting Tian Sword was already in his hand.

If Meng Yingxing’s first visit to the Xu family displayed the gentleness and mildness of a sheathed sword, then his current intrusion into the Xu family revealed the full sharpness of a drawn blade.

“Hold on, Disciple, you just said you had a method to deal with the Xu family, and now you’ve charged straight in? Don’t tell me your method is to just go for it?”

Xiu Qingcheng asked, her non-existent sword-form eyes wide.

“Besides that, is there any better method? With an array that countless women couldn’t detect, making them all like walking dead… they should be immediately executed!”

Meng Yingxing was filled with righteous indignation, his face showing deep hatred for the Xu family’s wicked deeds.

‘Alright, her disciple’s first mission involved such a chaotic and evil villain. Xiu Qingcheng could understand his surge of hot-bloodedness.’

‘What else could she say? Only respect and blessings, she’d be there to back him up anyway.’

Xiu Qingcheng pondered, ‘Should she ask Meng Yingxing to take her to eat something expensive and delicious after this is over?’

‘Perhaps that restaurant Liu Chenxin took Meng Yingxing to before would be good.’

She was quite craving it.

Meng Yingxing, holding the Ting Tian Sword, slowly advanced deeper into the Xu family mansion.

Snow fell silently, and the surroundings were quiet.

When Meng Yingxing first arrived, the Xu family mansion was quiet, but at least there was still a slight trace of vitality.

But now, the Xu family mansion was distinctly left with only a deathly silence.

“What’s going on? This morning, wasn’t that Xu Jie whispering and blabbering to you? How come there’s not a single person in this mansion now?”

Xiu Qingcheng was extremely puzzled.

“Perhaps Xu Jie detected the white-robed men’s self-destruction through some method and fled.”

Meng Yingxing walked through the mansion in a circular manner, wary of potential attacks from all directions.

“Disciple, can’t you think of something positive? Maybe he died automatically.”

Xiu Qingcheng was even more of an optimist.

“Xiu Qingcheng, what’s wrong with you? Don’t always judge others by your sordid thoughts.”

“No, Disciple, did you forget? When you first met me, you were also walking through the mansion, wary of possible attacks from all directions.”

“What’s wrong? Do you like that Xu Jie very much? Then, how about I let him use your body?”

Xiu Qingcheng prattled on.

The moment Xiu Qingcheng’s words fell, several white-robed figures suddenly lunged out from all directions, their weapons aimed straight for Meng Yingxing’s vital points.

“No martial ethics! Disciple, dodge quickly!”

Meng Yingxing’s reaction was extremely swift. The moment the white-robed figures attacked, he immediately moved.

The Ting Tian Sword swung in a circle in his hand, sword shadows swirling, instantly breaking through the white-robed men’s encirclement.

“Old Master Xu has given the order: kill him!”

After Meng Yingxing broke their moves, the white-robed men gasped for a moment, then immediately reorganized their formation and coiled around Meng Yingxing like venomous snakes.

This group of white-robed men had higher cultivation than the previous two groups Meng Yingxing and Xiu Qingcheng had encountered, and they were also better trained. In just a few moves, Meng Yingxing was temporarily suppressed.

The white-robed men appeared one after another. Even with Xiu Qingcheng’s timely reminders, Meng Yingxing was still forced to retreat step by step.

Meng Yingxing halted his retreat, glancing down at the wound on his arm, his gaze cold.

Then he pushed off the ground and charged forward, unleashing the Cloud Come Four Swords.

“I really don’t understand how those people who went to chase the demonic beast lost to a Middle Star-Grade fellow like you?”

Several white-robed men successively raised their swords to block Meng Yingxing’s attacks. One of them smirked, unclear whether he was mocking Meng Yingxing or his defeated colleagues.

“Killing you is as easy as turning over our hand, no?”

“Try it.”

Meng Yingxing was expressionless. With a twirl of the Ting Tian Sword in his hand, when he clashed with the white-robed men again, it was the Demon-Slaying Sword, leaving no room for retreat.

Compared to the Cloud Come Four Swords, which could freely change its stance and was flexible, the Demon-Slaying Sword’s moves were unexpected to Meng Yingxing, and its power increased several times over.

Meng Yingxing’s wounds increased, but in return, the white-robed men’s eyes were filled with sudden terror, and their lives would be claimed if they were even slightly careless.

Snow continued to fall.

But at this moment, blood also fell.

Warm blood splattered, hitting the thin layer of snow on the courtyard ground.

The noisy sounds of struggle in the courtyard gradually quieted.

Several white-robed men lay dead on the ground, leaving one battle-incapacitated white-robed man groaning in pain.

Meng Yingxing gasped for breath, standing with his sword sheathed. Blood flowed continuously from the wound on his arm, staining the Ting Tian Sword.

Xiu Qingcheng, watching Meng Yingxing and the white-robed men alternate between offense and defense, was uncharacteristically silent.

This perilous battle belonged solely to Meng Yingxing.

Meng Yingxing stepped forward, grabbed the white-robed man, and brought the Ting Tian Sword close to his vital point.

“Where is Old Master Xu?”

This white-robed man did not seem to possess the same professional integrity as the others. Facing Meng Yingxing’s cold interrogation, he chose not to self-destruct but was scared witless and completely revealed Old Master Xu’s whereabouts.

“The Calamity Tree! He went to the Calamity Tree!”

“That’s more like it. We’re all just workers; complete us, and let yourself go.”

Xiu Qingcheng was very satisfied with this white-robed man’s performance.

Upon receiving this news, Meng Yingxing used the white-robed man’s usual method…

Upon hearing the news, Meng Yingxing slammed the white-robed man hard onto the ground. The white-robed man instantly fainted.

Xiu Qingcheng looked at Meng Yingxing as he straightened up, asking with concern, “Hey, Disciple, are you alright?”

Meng Yingxing shook his head. “I’m fine, just a small injury.”

Saying this, he took out a bandage from his Qiankun Bag and roughly bound the heaviest wound on his arm.

Then Meng Yingxing carefully placed the Ting Tian Sword on his clothes, wiping it left and right, cleaning all the bloodstains from the blade.

“Sorry, Master, I got you dirty.”

“Please, I’m not that delicate! Take care of yourself!”

Being stained with blood was a sword’s duty. Now, Xiu Qingcheng was more concerned about Meng Yingxing’s mental state.

“Xu Jie might activate that grand array again. If we rush over now, we might still be able to save people.”

Meng Yingxing’s gaze turned towards the ancient tree. Besides reactivating the grand array, Meng Yingxing couldn’t think of any other reason why Xu Jie would go there.

“Alright, alright! Come up! Seeing how hard you’re working, this time, I, your Master, will be fully responsible for the sword flight!”

Xiu Qingcheng flew out of Meng Yingxing’s hand and floated horizontally in front of him.

“You just focus on accumulating spiritual energy and prepare for the upcoming battle.”

As Xiu Qingcheng understood it, after dealing with these preliminary minor enemies, they would next face the final boss of the dungeon.

She just didn’t know what kind of trump cards Xu Jie would be hiding.

Moments later, a streak of light shot up from the Xu family mansion, piercing through the snowflakes all the way to the barren land where the ominous ancient tree stood.

At Fenggui Ferry, snow continued to fall.

He Xueluo, whose gaze had never left the flowing river, suddenly looked up, sensing something, towards the location of the Calamity Tree.

He Xueluo stood up, leaving the ferry this early for the first time.

She murmured to herself.

“Withered wood sprouts new buds, leaves grow lush and heavy.”

“A beauty hangs from the branch, a hundred years thus.”

“A beauty hangs from the branch, all illnesses wear away.”

“A beauty hangs from the branch, her beloved returns.”

When Xiu Qingcheng and Meng Yingxing arrived at the ancient tree, they immediately saw Old Master Xu Jie and Mrs. Xu Zhou Lanyi.

However, what concerned Xiu Qingcheng more was the even stranger scene before them.

Beside Xu Jie and Zhou Lanyi stood dozens of women with empty eyes, emitting an aura that made Xiu Qingcheng uncomfortable.

And on the ancient tree behind them, a strange, materialized force coiled around still-struggling, suffering women, hoisting them up.

The women on the tree were like fruits grown on a withered tree, hanging from the branches, swaying slightly in the wind.

That strange power, like stinky tofu boiled with river snails, was pungent and made Xiu Qingcheng nauseous.

Although they still didn’t know what the two Xu family members intended to do, Meng Yingxing had already drawn his sword and pointed it at them.

“Young Hero Meng, you were able to evade my subordinates’ pursuit and follow them all the way here. I underestimated you,” Xu Jie said coldly.

“I thought I had hidden it well, that you would come and help us find…”

“My daughter was not exposed. It seems I was overly confident. This time, it seems I shot myself in the foot.”

“Your actions will be exposed sooner or later!”

Meng Yingxing lowered his stance, maintaining a vigilant posture, and slowly advanced a step, facing the menacing Xu Jie.

“Outwardly taking concubines and gathering women, but secretly sending people to kidnap women, Xu Jie, what exactly are you doing?!”

Hearing this, Xu Jie burst into laughter.

“Doing what? I am, of course, sacrificing to the great Tree God! Exchanging the souls of women for our endless lifespans, freedom from the suffering of reincarnation, and a life without illness or pain!”

“Young Hero Meng, you are still young; naturally, you don’t understand how terrifying birth, old age, sickness, and death truly are.”

“No wonder they look so young! I actually thought they were well-preserved; now it seems they are committing acts of a demonic cult!” Xiu Qingcheng said coldly.

Cold sweat dripped down Meng Yingxing’s face. What Xu Jie revealed was simply too perplexing for him.

“Tree God? What Tree God?”

Xu Jie spread his hand, gesturing towards the gigantic withered tree behind him. “This is the Tree God! And I am the one it chose! It grants us power and fulfills our obsessions! Its greatness and transcendence are things we cultivators can never hope to achieve in this lifetime!”

“Young Hero Meng, why not consider joining forces with me? Although cultivators can extend their lives, it’s only for a few decades. If one obtains endless lifespan with the power of the Tree God, then after thousands of years, whose cultivation realm could surpass yours?”

“Nonsense!”

Meng Yingxing’s eyes widened, increasingly finding Xu Jie utterly deranged.

“For immortality? This obsession is truly low-grade.”

Xiu Qingcheng scoffed at this.

She looked at the withered tree behind Xu Jie, her heart inexplicably heavy.

Seeing Meng Yingxing refuse him, Xu Jie regretfully shook his head.

“Since Young Hero Meng is not interested in my goodwill, then this time, my sacrifice of women’s souls is no longer for extended life, but for… taking your life!”

“Feel firsthand the supreme majesty of the Tree God!”

Xu Jie said, his eyes revealing fierce malice.

He chanted a strange incantation, and the gigantic withered tree seemed to come alive. Dark light enveloped it, continuously surging.

The women hanging on the tree suddenly began to scream in pain. They struggled and writhed, like pupae on a tree transforming into butterflies.

White light surged from the women’s facial features, coalescing into a single mass, slowly drilling into the grand array on the ground. The grand array, upon contact with this white light, began to flash with red and white points of light.

Meng Yingxing held his sword, somewhat at a loss, watching the anomaly before him. Lin Yunchuan’s voice came from the disciple token on his body.

–Junior Brother Meng? I have some insight into that array you gave me.

–Although some parts are a bit different from existing arrays, it should be a Soul-Siphoning Array, extremely vicious! Mo Kaiming and I plan to rush over now to help you dismantle this grand array!

–Junior Brother Meng? Junior Brother Meng? Can you hear me?