I rely on learning to achieve immortality.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators in the market dispersed.

The only one left was Luo Lingxiao, a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Luo family whom Xu Zhou had called out to.

This person is the strongest among the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the market, and also the one with the highest status.

With him protecting the Dharma, Xu Zhou was able to safely get through the brief period of danger.

After thanking the other party, Xu Zhou forced himself to return to the cabin and fell into a long sleep.

When he awoke, it was already noon the next day.

Xu Zhou woke up, took a few Nourishing Spirit Pills, and then went out to thank Luo Lingxiao, who had been waiting outside.

The other party simply replied, "It is our fault that Fellow Daoist Xu was attacked this time. Protecting the Dharma is my duty."

Xu Zhou vaguely sensed that the other party's attitude seemed to have changed somewhat compared to their first meeting.

However, he didn't care.

Then, Luo Lingxiao told him to rest well and leave the task of capturing the evil cultivators to others, before getting up to take his leave.

After he left, Xu Zhou slowly examined his own injuries.

Yesterday, he used the great formation to deal with the enemy. Although he appeared to be unharmed while inside the formation, his spiritual energy was greatly depleted. To fully recover, he would need at least four or five days of quiet rest.

Looking back, yesterday was truly a close call.

If the evil cultivator's attack had been any more ruthless, or if the market cultivators had arrived even a moment later, I fear my life would be in grave danger.

Finally, in order to delay his opponent for a moment and allow the Azure Wood Divine Light to hit, he also used the Soul Devouring Seal, which he was not yet proficient in.

Although the Soul-Devouring Seal worked, it also nearly exhausted his divine sense as a price.

By the time the other cultivators arrived, his consciousness was already somewhat scattered. He managed to utter a harsh remark before he could barely hold on any longer.

Even after resting for most of the day, a dull ache still lingered in my head.

Xu Zhou rested for a moment, then stood up again and looked around the valley.

A glance at it made him feel a chill in his heart.

The battle lasted all night, and the losses were enormous.

In Red Maple Valley, countless red maples that were originally famous for their scenery were mostly burned down overnight.

And the spiritual trees he had painstakingly cultivated over the years had decreased by more than 70%.

Besides the outermost ones that were directly burned, many others overdraw their essence and withered away in order to unleash the final Azure Wood Divine Light.

Even the dozens of spirit trees at the core were damaged.

The towering tree that he relied on most also had withered and yellow leaves.

Among the lost spiritual woods, some were even brought from the sect by Xu Zhou. He had been cultivating them since he began refining his Qi, and they had been with him for at least ten years.

The loss now is causing him great distress.

"However, we still need to unleash that final Azure Wood Spirit Light."

When Xu Zhou recalled this matter, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.

"If we let Red Maple Valley escape unscathed after beating it to this state, won't all sorts of powerful cultivators come here to test their strength?"

"The losses are not a big deal, as long as I'm alive. I can plant another batch of spirit wood later, and things will be back to normal in no time."

Even so, he still felt a pang of heartache looking at Gu Zhong's miserable state.

This made him even more resentful of the robbers he had robbed the previous night.

"Who is it?"

Xu Zhou pondered deeply.

"Could they be wandering cultivators who came on a merchant ship?"

"That's the most likely explanation. Otherwise, why would something like this happen in Red Maple Valley only recently?"

"But it's also possible that others are taking advantage of the chaos in the market to fish in troubled waters."

"It cannot be ruled out that it is someone with whom they had a past feud."

Speaking of enemies.

He lived a secluded life for many years, and the only family with whom he had a past grudge was the Hu family.

Xu Zhou fell silent for a moment.

Originally, I planned to wait until my cultivation level improved before finding an opportunity to deal with the other party. Could it be that the other party is also impatient and plans to strike first?

Upon closer reflection, it's actually quite possible.

If the Hu family openly makes things difficult for him, or even kills him, the Golden Flame Sect will lose a Foundation Establishment Alchemist, and the resulting anger will be far more intense than the previous minor incident.

Therefore, even if the Hu family wanted to cause him trouble, they could only do so in secret.

Paying some price to find a wandering cultivator to cooperate with is not impossible.

Xu Zhou clenched his fist slightly, but quickly relaxed it.

He ultimately didn't think about it too much.

Simply guessing who it is without corresponding evidence is meaningless.

Even if the robber cultivator from last night is captured, if the Hu family denies it, given the Golden Flame Sect's style of doing things, at most they will arrange for him to temporarily avoid the limelight in another market.

Without a powerful backer, there's nothing that can be done about the Hu family.

Xu Zhou's gaze darkened slightly, and he could only silently make a mental note of the Hu family's actions.

Although they can't touch the Hu family for the time being, the calamity cultivator who appeared that night will not have an easy time.

His emerald light was no ordinary wood-element technique. He had incorporated some medical principles into it, making those affected wish they were dead.

Judging by the time, it's about time.

...

At this moment, in a desolate mountain cave.

The Ghost Gentleman hid there for the time being to stabilize his injuries.

He dared not release his divine sense, for fear of disturbing the cultivators pursuing him.

He had been on the run for most of the day, but these people were still relentlessly pursuing him, as if they would not turn back until they caught him.

The Ghost Gentleman snorted coldly.

"If I hadn't been seriously injured, I would have escaped the encirclement long ago, and I wouldn't be in this situation now."

The most urgent task is to treat the injuries as soon as possible.

Despite the fact that his left arm was shattered by that divine light and he seemed to be seriously injured, he was a disciple of the Yin Soul Sect and had plenty of ways to regenerate severed arms and reconnect limbs.

For now, all we need to do is recover some of our mana and temporarily stabilize our injuries.

Ghost King took several healing pills and secretly circulated his internal energy, intending to temporarily smooth out the severed arm.

However, he soon felt something was wrong.

The pill entered his stomach and immediately transformed into medicinal power that surged toward his severed arm, but he did not feel the numbness or itching sensation of flesh and blood regenerating.

Instead, a sharp pain came from the wound.

Ghost Gentleman secretly realized something was wrong.

He lit a fire talisman and carefully examined the location of the wound.

Upon closer inspection, he broke out in a cold sweat.

There was not much blood flowing from the severed arm wound at this moment.

On the contrary, fine wood grain is growing within the flesh and blood, just like in trees, and even tender buds are faintly trying to sprout.

"Mu Yuan's backlash!?"

"How is this possible?"

Even someone as knowledgeable as him was now sweating profusely and exclaiming in shock.

He forced down his fear and carefully examined his body before finally realizing the problem.

An extremely subtle elemental aura of wood had somehow entered his body, connecting with his flesh and blood like a steel wire, and was constantly consuming his magical power and blood energy to replenish itself.

Such a bizarre scene was something he had never heard of or seen before.

"That elemental light of wood was so malevolent!"

Gui Junzi quickly figured out the reason.

He was so busy escaping that he didn't notice the strange changes in his injuries. By the time he realized it, the wood elemental energy had already invaded his body and was difficult to remove.

He harbored resentment and immediately stopped circulating his energy to prevent the spiritual energy from absorbing more of his magical power.

He then used the Yin Yuan Secret Technique to directly dispel the wood elemental energy.

However, this wisp of wood elemental energy was extremely strange; although it was only a trace, it was incredibly resilient.

No matter how he tries to suppress it with secret techniques, a trace of it will always remain. As long as he relaxes his guard even slightly, this spiritual energy will continue to absorb blood and magical power, and recover and grow stronger.

The Ghost King, refusing to believe in superstition, took out several more antidote pills.

These pills were his most treasured possessions; even second-tier Gu poison could be dispelled by them.

However, after the pill entered the stomach, it seemed to have no effect whatsoever, failing to dispel the wood elemental energy in the slightest.

The medicinal effects were even absorbed, making the wood elemental spiritual power even stronger.

The Ghost King's face was almost deathly pale.

He wanted to continue trying to remove the wood elemental energy, but then his expression changed.

"They caught up so fast!"

He gritted his teeth inwardly, but ultimately did not continue trying. He rushed out of the cave and fled quickly into the distance.