Chapter 1188 - 1188 1185 Anomaly

Chapter 1188: Chapter 1185: Anomaly Chapter 1188: Chapter 1185: Anomaly “Very well, Friend Lu, this way please!”

Mu Yuanshan led the way ahead, while Lu Xuan followed with Zhang Jingxian into an area covered by an enormous sky-reaching tree.

Only when they reached the base could they truly appreciate the astonishing visage of the thousand-year-old Spirit Wood.

The trunk’s diameter was inexplicably vast, with uneven branches spreading out and accumulating like a small mountain, the surrounding area saturated with an incredibly dense and pure vitality.

However, the current situation didn’t look good, with large and small gray spots countless in number covering the thick trunk, exuding a breath of deathly stillness.

“Friend Lu, please wait a moment.”

Zhang Jingxian halted, and Mu Yuanshan up ahead took out several green Array Flags. With a casual flick, the flags silently fused into the Prohibitions and Restrictions beneath the Spirit Wood.

“Besides the two Nascent Soul sect members guarding the Cave Heaven, there are also powerful Prohibitions and Restrictions laid out beneath each Divine Wood, which not even common Primordial Infant True Monarchs can break through.”

Lin Jiangyuan communicated this to Lu Xuan through a transmitted message.

After a dozen or so breaths, layers of green veils emerged beneath the Spirit Wood, and a light gate that could only allow one person to pass through appeared in front of everyone.

The group entered one by one.

Upon entering, Lu Xuan soared upward and stopped in front of a gray spot about a zhang in size.

“Junior Mu, when exactly did these gray spots appear?”

He softly asked the Mu Yuanshan, who had also flown up.

“The larger the area, the longer they have been there. The biggest one has been around for nearly two years.”

Mu Yuanshan knew every detail about the thousand-year-old Spirit Wood’s changes and pointed to the largest gray spot as he spoke.

Lu Xuan slightly nodded, carefully examining the thousand-year-old Spirit Wood.

“The few thousand-year-old Spirit Woods inside the Divine Wood Cave Heaven are of infinite value to the Divine Wood Sect. Branches, roots, Spiritual Liquid, and even Spirit Flowers and Spirit Fruit are all rare treasures and can be considered the fundamentals of the sect.”

Zhang Jingxian slowly introduced this to Lu Xuan.

“Treasures throughout its entire body…”

“Over so many years, it’s unknown how many treasures it has contributed to the Divine Wood Sect. No wonder the entire sect is famous throughout the Cultivation World for its various High-Rank Spiritual Medicines and Spirit Pills.”

Lu Xuan inwardly sighed.

A faint layer of clear light appeared in his eyes as his Divine Sense thoroughly probed the gray spots and the surrounding portions of the Spirit Wood trunk.

Although he hadn’t utilized his unique ability, after all these years of nurturing countless Spirit Plants and reviewing many sect materials on Spirit Plants, he was fully qualified to be called a Spirit Plant Master.

“…”

“Still no good.”

He withdrew his Divine Sense, a serious expression on his face.

Indeed, if so many Spirit Plant Masters of the Divine Wood Sect hadn’t found any issues, and he could pinpoint the root cause without any special aids, that would be somewhat disrespectful to the entire Divine Wood Sect.

“Friend Lu, have you found anything?”

Zhang Jingxian asked solemnly.

“These gray spots on the thousand-year-old Spirit Wood seem to be completely dead, as if their vitality has been directly plundered by something.”

Lu Xuan pondered for a moment, then spoke.

“The Spirit Plant Masters in the sect have the same idea after examination.”

“But they cannot find out what peculiar Demon Insects or strange Demon Envoy has infiltrated the Divine Wood Cave Heaven. They’ve turned everything upside down without discovering anything out of the ordinary.”

Zhang Jingxian sighed lightly.

“Or perhaps there is some issue with the thousand-year-old Spirit Wood itself.”

“However, Lu Mou will need to conduct a thorough study, collect parts of the Spirit Wood’s normal and gray-spotted trunk, and perform some experiments.”

Lu Xuan slowly stated.

As long as it was a Spirit Plant, he could receive detailed information once he planted it. But considering the enormous size of the thousand-year-old Spirit Wood and its extraordinary significance to the Divine Wood Sect, he was reluctant to dig out and plant the Spirit Wood’s roots unless absolutely necessary.

“Pretend to experiment for a few days, then go check out the roots beneath the Spirit Wood.”

He thought to himself.

“Very well, we will follow Friend Lu’s lead.”

Zhang Jingxian nodded in agreement, and Mu Yuanshan and the others naturally had no objections.

Since they went through the trouble of inviting Lu Xuan from the Sword Sect, they naturally had to respect his proposed methods.

For many Cultivators of the Divine Wood Sect, it was a case of a desperate last resort.

Lu Xuan took out a piece of Five-grade Sword Grass and separately dug up a piece of normal Spirit Wood and the variant Spirit Wood covered in gray speckles.

The group returned to a secluded Cave Abode within the Cave Heaven.

This was Mu Yuanshan and another’s place of Spiritual Practice, where occasionally Cultivators from the Divine Wood Sect would come to stay for long periods within the Cave Heaven, using this place for their cultivation and resupply.

Lu Xuan entered an elegant room and used various Formula Methods and treasure items to conduct multiple experiments on the two pieces of Spirit Wood.

Unfortunately, the gray-speckled Spirit Wood showed no response, not even when half a drop of the pure vitality-rich Mixed Element Tree Liquid was dripped onto it, it simply laid quietly in front of Lu Xuan.

“Apart from the possibility of unknown Demon Insects or Demon Envoys invading the Cave Heaven, or an issue with the millennia-old Divine Wood itself, there could also be other situations.”

“An inside job.”

Lu Xuan’s expression remained calm.

Of course, he refrained from voicing this suspicion in front of the two Primordial Infant Cultivators guarding the Cave Heaven, to avoid misunderstandings with Zhang Jingxian and the others.

At the same time, he believed that the Divine Wood Sect would also be conducting an internal investigation, so he had to keep this thought to himself.

“Friend Lu, it’s rare for us to gather. Let’s go out and have a few drinks together.”

Lin Jiangyuan’s gentle voice sounded from outside the room.

“Alright.”

Lu Xuan withdrew the Prohibitions and Restrictions he had casually set up and walked out of the room.

The five sat together, savoring the Spirit Fruit Spirit Brew produced within the Divine Wood Cave Heaven.

The Spirit Fruit Spirit Brews, compared to those cultivated and brewed by Lu Xuan, were not much inferior, each with its own unique flavor.

As the wine flowed and they became more familiar with one another, even Jiang Hengbai, who had initially been skeptical of Lu Xuan, seemed to relax quite a bit. He was just slightly cold and didn’t engage much with Lu Xuan.

As long as the others didn’t interfere with him, Lu Xuan naturally wouldn’t mind.

“It’s such a pity for Junior Mu, after guarding the Divine Wood Cave Heaven for hundreds of years, to encounter such a serious problem at the final stage of his cultivation, unable to see it through to the end.”

Zhang Jingxian toasted to Mu Yuanshan, expressing his sentiments.

“Indeed…”

Mu Yuanshan sighed deeply.

“With no hope for my breakthrough and my life span waning, I had hoped to gradually transfer the responsibility of guarding the Cave Heaven and caring for the millennia-old Divine Wood to Junior Jiang, but then this sudden calamity struck.”

“Don’t think about those things. With Friend Lu here, we might be able to smoothly solve the issue with the Divine Wood!”

Lin Jiangyuan spoke up, noticing the somewhat heavy atmosphere.

“Right, Friend Lu’s Spirit Brews are unparalleled in the Cultivation World. Why not bring out some for us to taste?”

He changed the subject.

“That’s exactly what I intended.”

Lu Xuan laughed, taking out several bottles of Spirit Brews like True Sword Liquid and Heart Flame Wine.

“I wouldn’t say they are unmatched, but they do have some unique features, and the quality is also quite good.”

He said with a smile, pouring a cup for Zhang Jingxian and the other three.

“Indeed, very good.”

“Especially this Fifth Rank Sword Liquid, to be able to integrate subtle Sword Qi into the Spirit Brew, it’s simply inconceivable!”

“It’s a pity that we are not Sword Cultivators, to waste such high-ranking Spirit Brew.”

The group praised it one after another.

The Spirit Brews that Lu Xuan brought out were of high rank and quality, all of which were exceptional, causing everyone to savor them with great appreciation.

“Hm?”

Lu Xuan unconsciously focused his Divine Sense on the others, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.