Supreme of the Heavenly Realm
Chapter 178 - 175 Heavenly Origin Ancient Seed

Chapter 178: Chapter 175 Heavenly Origin Ancient Seed

The vast underground space held a sky-reaching dead tree that seemed to stretch all the way to the ground, its top invisible.

Around this space there were rock caves of various sizes. Some were interconnected, but most were dead ends. Still, no one dared to enter these caves rashly. Most had only just escaped from the labyrinth-like passages. Without their brushes, they would probably still be wandering aimlessly.

At this moment, by the entrance of one such cave, several figures clad in loose black robes stood silently, each emitting a cold, ominous vibration.

The three figures at the forefront, whose eyes were the only visible part of their bodies, looked down upon the space below from their high vantage point.

Inside the cave, a person dressed in black approached the trio and knelt on the ground.

"How’s it going?" one of the robed figures asked, lifting his head to reveal an extremely ugly face. It was the puppet Demon General, who had already encountered Ye Xuan.

"The various Sects have begun to arrive one after another. It won’t be long before they all enter this underground space," the person in black reported.

"Excellent, it seems the plan is proceeding smoothly," the puppet Demon General sneered, a sinister smile spreading across his face.

"With the Heavenly Origin Ancient Seed as bait, there’s no worry that the Six Great Sects won’t bite."

Another robed figure also lifted their head, revealing the beautiful face of a woman.

The enchantress Heart Demon Witch, Mu Yan.

"You’re right, but fortunately, even the Sect Masters of the Six Great Sects do not know what is sealed here. Otherwise, it would’ve been quite difficult to lure them into this place willingly," the puppet Demon General said with a chilling smile.

"Once we obtain what we desire, we’ll have the power to sweep through all the members of the Six Great Sects," the enchantress Heart Demon Witch’s seductive face also revealed a strangely triumphant smile.

"Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The Six Great Sects are not without their experts, and you two couldn’t even handle a young upstart. Boasting here, don’t you find it embarrassing?"

The foremost robed figure spoke, his form tall and powerful, exuding a mountainous presence, displaying a sense of gravitas.

"It was just the kid’s luck. Had reinforcements from the Heavenly Martial Hall not arrived, he would have undoubtedly become one of my corpse puppets last night," the puppet Demon General said, his expression sour as he recalled his failure to deal with Ye Xuan. While luck had played a part, he admitted Ye Xuan was indeed troublesome. Still, he believed that with full effort, Ye Xuan would have had no chance of survival.

"I fell for that boy’s trickery; I was caught off guard. Otherwise, he would have died by my hand already."

Mu Yan, the enchantress Heart Demon Witch, too frowned at the memory, a stain on her pride that she was determined to cleanse.

"Enough with the ’ifs.’ Lord Bright King assigned us the task of securing that item at all costs. Should we fail, the three of us will face severe punishment," the lead robed figure solemnly stated.

Hearing this, both the puppet Demon General and the enchantress Heart Demon Witch grew grim. They were all too aware of Lord Bright King’s methods and the torment they’d face if they failed—endlessly tortured between life and death, unable to live or die.

While the two were grim-faced, a shadowy figure crept from the dark caverns, moving stiffly as though a walking corpse.

"Hmm?"

The group looked up as their gaze landed on the approaching figure, which looked like a withered old man drawing closer under their scrutiny.

"Bone General, we’ve been searching for your sealed location for so long and found nothing. I didn’t expect you to actually manage to free yourself," the puppet Demon General remarked, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the zombie-like figure before them—the Bone General, who had broken free from a stone coffin.

"It was two youngsters who inadvertently broke the seal, and they took the Demon Suppressing Gold Seal..." the Bone General rasped in an incredibly hoarse voice, sounding like a dying man’s last breaths.

"The Demon Suppressing Gold Seal? That is somewhat troublesome. Had we found your location first, we could have taken control of it before they did," the three figures exchanged glances, evidently wary of the powerful Dharma Seal imbued with righteous energy.

"They’re just two youngsters, even with the Demon Suppressing Gold Seal, they’re not a significant threat. Stick to the plan; now with four Demon Generals on our side, failing would be preposterous," the lead robed figure’s eyes flickered with a fierce light, and then they all retreated, vanishing into the darkness of the cave.

Beneath that colossal withered tree, Ye Xuan and Ling Qianxue were still exploring.

More and more people who had entered this underground space began to arrive, one after another from the Six Great Sects.

This underground space was vast. At first, when Ye Xuan looked down from the entrance of the tunnel, he didn’t feel it was that large, but after descending and exploring, he discovered just how truly expansive this subterranean space was.

During his exploration, Ye Xuan looked up at the astonishingly huge tree before him and began to ponder, "If I’m not mistaken, this dead towering tree should be a Heavenly Origin Ancient Tree."

"This is a Heavenly Origin Ancient Tree?"

Ling Qianxue was startled and then looked in the direction of Ye Xuan’s gaze. However, the dried tree before them showed no sign of life; what remained were just withered branches and rotten debris—no trace of the divine aura that a Spirit Tree should possess.

Moreover, the ancient texts stated that the Heavenly Origin Ancient Tree was not as massive as the one before them.

"Under normal circumstances, a Heavenly Origin Ancient Tree certainly couldn’t grow this big. After decay, it would turn to flying ash. However, this Heavenly Origin Ancient Tree stands tall even in death, which is clearly unusual."

Ye Xuan walked closer, squatted down, and examined the trunk. On it, there were distinct black lines that exuded an unusual, cold aura. Ye Xuan broke off a piece of bark that had been darkened and crushed it into powder. A thread of black mist immediately emerged from his palm.

"There’s definitely something fishy here."

With a slight change in his expression, Ye Xuan stood up. The wisps of black qi that had just appeared seemed to contain hints of malevolent energy. Something beneath this Heavenly Origin Ancient Tree must have corroded its vitality while it was still alive. Yet in death, that same thing seemed to be supporting its upright stance.

"The ancient texts say that the seed of the Heavenly Origin Tree, unlike common trees buried underground, resembles a heart and exists independently. This means the location of the Heavenly Origin Ancient Seed might be somewhere close by."

Ye Xuan looked around. The Heavenly Origin Ancient Seed had to be somewhere nearby; it had just not been discovered yet.

"Is that so? I didn’t know there was such a claim."

Ling Qianxue showed a hint of confusion. She did not know much about the Heavenly Origin Ancient Seed and wondered where Ye Xuan had learned so much.

Boom!

Just as their conversation ended, the ground beneath their feet suddenly started to shake, making a "crack-crack" sound. Large cracks appeared around the ground, and then the whole area began to sink.

"What’s going on?"

As the ground sank, Ling Qianxue’s body swayed and lost balance.

"Someone must have triggered a Prohibition here."

Ye Xuan grabbed Ling Qianxue and then looked toward the distance. Such an event wouldn’t happen without reason; someone must have triggered a mechanism.

At the same time, everyone in this underground space felt the earth sinking beneath them, and the area was filled with shock and panic.

They were already underground—if they sank any further, where would they go? Exiting later might become as difficult as reaching the heavens.

The sinking continued for a full ten minutes before it finally came to a complete stop. By then, the ground had sunk more than a hundred meters, and the once towering tree that was rooted here collapsed rapidly, turning into decaying dust that fell all around.

As the space vibrated and after a series of changes, amidst the falling debris and dust, a bright green orb burst forth with dazzling light into view of all present.

Everyone held their breath and focused, for encased in the dazzling light was a green heart. Though it did not beat, it emitted an intensely rich vitality.

"Heavenly Origin Ancient Seed!"

The very moment the green heart appeared, a wave of exclamations swept over those on the ground. Then, gazes turned upward, heating with fervor.

This was the ultimate goal of their journey!

Swoosh!

Instantaneously, as the Heavenly Origin Ancient Seed appeared, the sounds of rushing winds echoed fiercely. Multiple figures shot through the air, their hands reaching for the Heavenly Origin Ancient Seed.

Hiss...

But the moment they nearly touched the Heavenly Origin Ancient Seed, numerous runes suddenly surfaced around it. These runes quickly coalesced into an astonishing Dharma Seal. In that instant, an overwhelming pressure erupted, blasting away those who had rushed forward, sending a dozen figures flying.