Yuantian Pidao

Chapter 257 Pure Spirit Silk

Thousand Vine Mountain, three hundred feet high, is covered with many spiritual vines and trees, full of woody energy, and lush greenery. There are many houses on the mountain, all growing alongside the trees, supported by spiritual trees. Although not luxurious, they have a unique atmosphere. This is the ancestral land of the Green Wood family.

At this very moment, on the largest ancient tree in Thousand Vine Mountain, the high-ranking cultivators of the Aoki family gathered together, but the atmosphere was somewhat somber.

"Patriarch, news has come from the front lines. Blackwater Dock has mobilized multiple demon clans to drive away demons and wild beasts from all over the place, and now a beast tide is brewing. It will soon impact Qing Teng County. Compared to the past, this beast tide is much larger in scale."

"In addition, not long ago, the governor of Qingyuan County, Qi Xiuning, died, and Qingyuan County was in turmoil."

Turning his gaze to the patriarch, Aoki Ichi, who sat in the high seat as if resting with his eyes closed, the eldest elder, Aoki Kaze, recounted the latest developments.

Blackwater Dock has been making frequent moves lately, which has aroused the nerves of the Aoki family, since Blackwater Dock is the Aoki family's biggest rival in the south.

Upon hearing this, Qingmu Yi slowly opened his eyes. He was wearing a rattan robe, around forty years old, with long, slightly curly hair, a well-proportioned figure, a square face, strong features, and emerald green eyes, exuding a unique air.

"Qi Xiuning is dead? How did he die?"

With a deep voice, Aoki Ichi spoke.

"It's still unclear, but it's suspected that he was ambushed. At that time, strange phenomena occurred in Qingyuan County, and the entire Qingyuan River was in turmoil. I suspect there is a close connection between the two. Most importantly, Qi Xiuning died on the Qingyuan River."

With a hoarse voice, Elder Aoki Kaze expressed his opinion.

Upon hearing these words, Aoki I remained unmoved.

"No matter what, Qi Xiuning is a Qi Refining Perfection cultivator. Although his strength is not top-notch, it is definitely not weak. The person who can kill him is either a Foundation Establishment cultivator or a mid-to-top Qi Refining Perfection expert. Are there such people in Qingyuan County?"

After a moment's thought, Aoki changed his perspective.

These words prompted many of those present to reflect on their thoughts.

“Patriarch, judging solely by strength, there are three people in Qingyuan County who are worth suspecting. First, there is the Green Serpent Demon from Five Immortals Mountain. He is quite strong, but he has not shown any signs of it. Second, there is the Taiping Daoist, the sect leader of the Taiping Sect. Not long ago, news came from Qingyuan County that the Taiping Daoist has advanced to the peak of Qi Refining. With his sword cultivation strength, he might be able to kill Qi Xiuning if he is caught off guard.”

"Thirdly, there is the Frost Dragon of Changfeng County. If it were to make a move, it might be able to kill Qi Xiuning. However, like the Green Snake, it seems to be seeking a breakthrough, so the possibility of it making a move is not high."

Uncertain, Aoki Kaze selected three suspects.

Upon hearing these three names, Aoki Yi's face showed a hint of surprise.

The Green Serpent Demon is a given; it is suspected that it obtained a spiritual treasure and has the potential to break through to the Dao Foundation. It is the main suspect of the Green Wood Clan. The Frost Flood Dragon is in a similar situation. On the contrary, the name of Taiping Daoist Jiang Chen surprised him.

"A sword cultivator who has reached the Qi Refining Perfection stage—this seems to be the first of its kind in the four southern prefectures."

"However, compared to the Green Serpent Demon, I really hope that Qi Xiuning dies at the hands of this Taoist of Peace, otherwise things will become a bit troublesome."

"As for that strange phenomenon, is it that someone broke through to the Dao Foundation stage? That's unlikely. A normal breakthrough to the Dao Foundation stage wouldn't cause such a commotion in the entire Qingyuan River. It's possible that a dragon was moving through the water, but the scale of that would be far more intense."

"Could it be that someone is trying to use the Qingyuan River for something again?"

As the thoughts collided, Qingmu Yi couldn't help but think of the previous femme fatale. This wasn't the first or second time that the Qingyuan River had been in turmoil.

Just as Qingmu Yi was pondering various possibilities, an extraordinary aura surged into the sky from the depths of Qian Teng Mountain, causing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to surge wildly.

"This is···"

Having guessed something, Qingmu Yi's expression immediately changed.

In the next instant, led by Qingmu Yi, several elders of the Qingmu family rushed out. At this very moment, in the Qingmu family's secret cultivation ground, Qingmu Guang, the Dao Foundation seed carefully nurtured by the Qingmu family, was condensing his own Dao Foundation.

As time passed, under the blessing of immense spiritual power, his originally illusory spiritual aperture was gradually solidifying, which was clearly manifested in his long hair turning from jet black to dark green.

The Qingmu family primarily cultivates wood energy, and their core technique is the "Thousand Vine Binding Spirit Scripture," which forges the Dao Foundation: Azure Spirit Silk. Its defining characteristic is a full head of green hair. Once this Dao Foundation is established, one can connect with the wood element, nourish life, and has many wonderful uses.

However, just as Aoki Hikaru was about to condense his own Dao foundation, his spirituality went out of control, and the illusory Dao foundation within his body suddenly vanished.

"No!"

Realizing something was wrong, Hikaru Aoki tried desperately to suppress his rampaging spirituality, but to no avail.

Like a ferocious beast unleashed from its cage, in the blink of an eye, the rampaging spirituality completely engulfed him. In an instant, his flesh and blood mutated, and green vines spread out from his body, sweeping in all directions. In a short while, they filled the entire secret chamber, turning it into a strange vine cave.

At the same time, as Aoki Hikaru failed to break through, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the outside world also changed.

Seeing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth dissipating, the elders of the Qingmu family felt uneasy. Just then, a burly figure with a full head of green hair quietly appeared. He was none other than Qingmu Lei, the patriarch of the Qingmu family.

"It failed."

With his spiritual eyes shining through, Qingmu Lei saw all the changes and couldn't help but sigh.

The foundation for one's path is difficult to establish. Although Aoki Hikaru had good talent and received careful cultivation from the Aoki family, he ultimately failed to overcome this hurdle.

Upon hearing Aoki Lei's sigh, the expressions of the Aoki family elders changed drastically.

"My elder brother failed! Why? Why..."

Upon confirming that Aoki Hikaru's breakthrough had failed, and considering the current situation of the Aoki family, Aoki I clenched his fists.

The Qingmu family has a long history and is indeed quite wealthy. There are six Qi Refining Perfection cultivators alone, not to mention other talented Qi Refining cultivators. However, very few of them have the potential to build a Dao Foundation. Most importantly, spiritual treasures are rare.

In order to cope with the situation, the family had already given the last remaining spiritual treasure to Aoki Hikaru. Now that Aoki Hikaru has failed and the spiritual treasure is gone, the Aoki family is no longer able to support others in their attempts to break through to the Dao Foundation in the short term.

"It is fate. You may all leave."

With a wave of his hand, Qingmu Lei suppressed all the strange phenomena with his spiritual magic and gave the order.

Upon hearing this, everyone bowed in agreement.

After the elders of the Aoki family left, Aoki Lei entered the Vine Cave.

"We were a bit too hasty. If we had polished it a bit more, the chances of success might have been greater."

"Now that the breakthrough has failed, I will die and my cultivation will be extinguished. It is truly a matter of fate."

With a sigh, looking at Aoki Hikaru, who was no longer human, Aoki Lei activated his secret technique.

The next instant, the Jade Bone Vine manifested behind him, continuously absorbing the remaining power of the Azure Wood Light.

During this process, Aoki Lei's expression changed several times, showing great pain, but his aura increased significantly. This was the Green Vine Life-Stealing Technique, a forbidden technique secretly passed down by the Aoki family, which could steal the life force of its own kind, such as plants and trees.

Using this secret method, Qingmu family cultivators can increase their cultivation by devouring their own family members, but the price is very high, and they may go mad. However, since things have come to this point, Qingmu Lei can't care about that anymore.

(End of this chapter)