Chapter 347: Tree Demon Seed, Your First Love Got Hit!

Inside a stone cave in the Purple Secrets Realm.

These past days, Lu Ping’an and Lu Quanzhen have been taking medicine.

They stuffed large amounts of valuable spiritual herbs, spiritual medicines, and spiritual fruits into their mouths, swallowing them directly and chewing.

Although compared to refining pills, this method of directly consuming spiritual medicine is very wasteful.

Moreover, the medicinal power is overwhelming, filling the body and difficult to digest and refine.

But compared to pills, this method has one advantage.

As long as your body can handle it and you can consume and refine it, there’s no risk of pill poison or side effects.

Lu Quanzhen knew his situation, so he ate steadily, slowly refining to solidify his foundation.

Lu Ping’an was initially reluctant to eat, feeling distressed.

But as he continued eating, he started to feel it.

One reason is that his brother said there were too many spiritual medicines. If they didn’t eat more, they’d have to hand them over later, which could cause trouble, so they might as well throw them away.

Another reason is that this direct consumption method suits him very well.

Because the Hundred Refined Body Technique is originally cultivated through Natural Treasures.

These Natural Treasures aren’t limited to metallic spiritual ores.

They also include spiritual herbs, spiritual flowers, and spiritual fruits—earthly spiritual materials.

So, for ordinary cultivators, it’s better to refine spiritual medicine into pills using the monarch-minister-assistant method. The medicine is more effective and easier to absorb and refine.

But it’s different for the Hundred Refined Body Technique.

The Hundred Refined Body Technique requires using the most primitive and overwhelming characteristics, energy, and medicinal properties of earthly spiritual materials to temper the body.

When spiritual medicine is refined into pills, it’s easier to absorb and refine.

But the most primitive and overwhelming medicinal properties are almost lost.

So as Lu Ping’an continually consumed and refined spiritual medicine, with the overwhelming medicinal power impacting his limbs, bones, and internal organs, he could clearly sense his body constantly improving.

Even his muscles and bones became stronger, his bones denser, his bone marrow boiling, and his body underwent some mysterious changes.

Between his skin and bones, a layer of keratin-like film gradually formed.

Some ordinary techniques would be absorbed by this thin film.

This effect was astonishing.

Lu Ping’an felt that the Hundred Refined Body Technique had already surpassed his understanding.

Later, he must ask his father what’s happening with his Hundred Refined Body Technique.

“Quanzhen, the secret realm should end in ten days. Let’s go out and see if we can find something.”

Lu Ping’an spoke while chewing a spiritual medicine.

He now felt full of strength, with endless energy, wanting to have a few hearty battles to vent.

“Okay.”

Lu Quanzhen heard this, looked at his brother, and nodded.

Then he put away the formation, and the two walked out of the Cave Dwelling, continuing to search for spiritual medicine.

They had stayed in the stone cave for over ten days. Now, many nearby demon beasts had been killed, so they weren’t as frequent as before.

The two headed straight towards the peak of Purple Secrets Mountain.

Generally, the closer to the center, the more and rarer the spiritual medicine.

Of course, the demon beasts would also be stronger.

But now, even if a Second-Tier demon beast appeared, it wouldn’t threaten the two of them.

In the rolling mist, a demon beast occasionally attacked, but it was basically killed by Lu Ping’an with a few punches.

Just like this, three days passed.

“Boom!”

Through battle, Lu Ping’an almost completely digested the spiritual medicine accumulated in his body, and his cultivation directly broke through to the Ninth Level of Qi Refining.

Although not all the spiritual medicine he took could improve his cultivation, most of it had this effect.

So, even though he wasn’t deliberately cultivating, with the digestion and accumulation of spiritual medicine, his cultivation naturally broke through.

“Congratulations, brother, on breaking through to the Ninth Level of Qi Refining.”

Seeing this, Lu Quanzhen smiled and congratulated him.

“It’s all thanks to stacking spiritual medicine.”

Lu Ping’an showed a bit of a bitter smile.

If others knew that he had consumed spiritual medicine worth tens of thousands, only to gain such a small improvement, they would surely scold him for wasting it.

“Hehe, Natural Treasures belong to the virtuous. So what if it’s stacked spiritual medicine?”

“But brother, after you go home, you need to refine your spiritual power more, solidify your foundation, and when your spiritual power foundation reaches its peak, prepare for Foundation Establishment.”

Lu Quanzhen said to Lu Ping’an.

Previously, Uncle Qu Changge came and talked to him a lot about cultivation.

He mentioned that the foundation is the most important!

If the foundation isn’t well established in the early stages, it will take ten or even a hundred times the effort to make up for it later.

For example, the Dao Foundation during the Foundation Establishment stage, the Golden Core during the Golden Core Formation stage, and the Nascent Soul during the Nascent Soul stage.

“Yes, I know.”

Lu Ping’an nodded.

Although he was far ahead in body tempering,

he knew that the foundation of cultivation was the key, determining how far he could go in the future.

“There are still many top-level techniques at home. You can try a few more. Maybe there’s one more suitable for you than the Purple Yang True Scripture.”

Lu Quanzhen continued.

Back then, he also cultivated using the Purple Yang True Scripture.

In the past, the Purple Yang True Scripture was indeed a fine technique.

But from his current perspective, it’s somewhat lacking.

When it comes to Foundation Establishment and Golden Core Formation, this technique will seriously hold Lu Ping’an back.

“Alright, I’ll ask Father when I get back.”

Lu Ping’an felt a warmth in his heart and nodded with a smile.

When he first cultivated the Purple Yang True Scripture, it was because his sword technique wasn’t effective, so he chose this technique.

Now, hearing Lu Quanzhen say this, he planned to ask his father for advice when he inquired about the Hundred Refined Body Technique.

While the brothers were talking, Lu Ping’an picked the spiritual medicine nearby, quickly bled and dissected the demon beast’s corpse, put the valuable materials into his Storage Bag, and continued towards the mountain peak.

A day later, the two were about to reach the mountain peak when they saw a rock cave ahead.

Generally, such rock caves contain rare Natural Treasures.

Of course, they also usually come with danger, with fierce demon beasts lurking.

“Quanzhen, stay behind me and be careful.”

Lu Ping’an said to his brother and strode towards the rock cave.

“Okay.”

Lu Quanzhen nodded, not trying to act tough.

They had been moving like this all along.

After entering the rock cave, they hadn’t walked far when they heard intense fighting.

“Someone’s already here.”

Hearing the sound, Lu Ping’an shook his head and signaled Lu Quanzhen to leave.

“Brother, something seems off with this sound.”

Lu Quanzhen’s expression tightened, and he spoke.

“It sounds like a chaotic battle, very intense.”

Hearing this, Lu Ping’an listened carefully and spoke.

He felt that at least a dozen people were fighting, not just two or three.

“Such a lively scene, it must be something significant. It should be a sect gathering here for some reason.”

Lu Quanzhen squinted his eyes upon hearing this.

He had observed outside the secret realm earlier.

Besides the four major sects, which sent twenty or thirty disciples, others sent at most ten people.

So this battle must be a collective sect battle.

“Since we’re already here, why not take a look? It won’t hurt.”

“Besides, when the Purple Secrets Realm opens again in the future, we can document the situations here and hand them over to the family.”

Hearing the intense battle, Lu Quanzhen squinted his eyes and spoke.

Hearing this, Lu Ping’an nodded helplessly.

“Is that… a tree demon?”

The two reached the end of the rock cave and immediately saw a basin ahead.

This basin was very strange, surrounded by jagged rocks.

In the basin’s center stood a giant purple tree, roughly three or four zhang thick.

The tree’s body was covered in cracks, exuding an ancient aura, like a massive pillar supporting the sky, connecting heaven and earth, standing about ten zhang tall.

The huge canopy was similar in color to the mist of the Purple Secrets Realm, hazy and blocking out the sun, making it hard to see clearly.

At this moment, eight sword cultivators dressed in Heavenly Sword Sect robes were fighting this tree demon.

On the ground, thick tree roots like earth dragons continuously attacked these sword cultivators.

Moreover, there were also many strangely shaped demon beasts.

These demon beasts didn’t seem alive, as if controlled by this tree demon, with plant roots occasionally emerging from their bodies, fearlessly attacking the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples. The battle scene was extremely intense.

“So this is a tree becoming a demon…”

Lu Ping’an and Lu Quanzhen were both shocked at the sight of this tree demon.

It was not only their first time seeing a plant turn into a demon.

It was also their first time seeing such a large tree demon, making them feel small.

Although the scene was shocking, they could see that this tree demon, compared to other demon beasts, had weaknesses that were too obvious and fatal!

It couldn’t move, feared fire, and could only sit and wait for death!

Even though this plant demon was powerful, with Second-Tier strength.

But facing the attacks of this group of Heavenly Sword Sect cultivators and the burning flames, it ultimately had only one path—death.

“A Second-Tier plant demon…”

“For it to become a demon means this tree isn’t simple. It likely belongs to the category of earthly spiritual plants!”

Lu Quanzhen looked at the giant tree demon in the basin, deep in thought.

He had heard his mother mention the Heaven and Earth Longevity Technique before.

He knew that under his father’s arrangement, his mother had already started cultivating this technique.

But he still wanted to get a Third-Tier earthly spiritual plant for his sister Lu Caizhen as future protection.

Because this sister of his was different. She usually wasn’t very diligent in cultivation.

Even after taking the Heavenly Restoration Pill and upgrading her Spirit Root to the fifth grade, she only worked hard for a while before slacking off and playing again.

In this situation, as her brother, he wanted to say something.

But he understood that his sister’s temperament wasn’t suited for the cultivation world.

Even if she worked hard at cultivation, her future prospects were limited.

So he thought of preparing an earthly spiritual plant for her as a future fallback.

Seeing this tree demon now, he couldn’t help but have an idea.

But seeing such a large tree demon, Lu Quanzhen knew it was impossible to take it away.

He continued to look around the tree demon, hoping to find seedlings.

But after searching, he didn’t find any seedlings.

“Whew.”

Lu Quanzhen exhaled lightly and prepared to leave.

But then he noticed his brother staring ahead at a female Heavenly Sword Sect disciple with slender eyes, red lips, a cold face, a high ponytail, and a heroic spirit.

Lu Quanzhen naturally remembered this female cultivator.

She was Lu Ping’an’s first love.

This woman was quite skilled, with a cultivation level of the Ninth Level of Qi Refining.

But under the attack of the tree demon’s roots and a demon beast, she appeared a bit strained.

“Brother, how about going up and playing the hero to save the beauty?”

Lu Quanzhen said with a teasing tone.

“This tree demon is already showing signs of defeat.”

Lu Ping’an shook his head and spoke softly.

In this situation, whether he helped or not didn’t matter.

Moreover, it would be hard to explain if he suddenly helped for no reason.

“Hmm?”

At this moment, Lu Quanzhen suddenly noticed that after a Heavenly Sword Sect disciple killed a demon beast and burned its corpse to ashes with flames, a purple crystal-like seed flew out of the ashes and landed in the disciple’s hand.

“What is this… a tree demon’s seed?”

Lu Quanzhen’s eyes narrowed as he thought about it.

He whispered to Lu Ping’an, “Brother, did you see the seed that appeared after the demon beast was burned to ashes?”

“A seed, you mean that purple crystal-like thing?”

Lu Ping’an said in surprise.

“Yes, I suspect it’s the tree demon’s seed.”

“Father has a technique called the Heaven and Earth Longevity Technique, which can refine earthly spiritual plants into an ‘innate spirit root.'”

Lu Quanzhen squinted his eyes and spoke softly.

“Quanzhen, you mean…”

Lu Ping’an immediately understood his brother’s meaning.

After hearing the effects of the Heaven and Earth Longevity Technique, he was also surprised and found it very magical.

“Whether it’s a tree demon’s seed or not, I think we should get a few to take back and check.”

“Didn’t Father instruct us to bring back any rare spiritual medicines or earthly spiritual plants we find?”

“If that purple seed is indeed a tree demon’s seed, it would be a huge gain.”

Lu Quanzhen looked at the situation ahead and spoke softly.

“Alright.”

Lu Ping’an looked at the strange demon beasts in the battlefield ahead and prepared to act.

With his current strength, it wouldn’t be difficult to snatch a few demon beasts from there.

But perhaps because his former first love was on the battlefield, he hesitated, feeling a bit embarrassed to act.

“Rustle, rustle, rustle!!!”

Suddenly, the purple tree demon began to shake, its canopy rustling, mist rolling, countless purple leaves flying and attacking the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”

The flying leaves were filled with killing intent.

The tree demon’s trunk was already burning completely, and it seemed to be in its death throes.

Facing these flying purple leaves, Qin Yi’s flying sword danced in her hand, forming a sword net.

But the demon beast she was fighting suddenly exploded, countless roots emerging, whipping towards her, sending her flying and making her cough blood.

“Brother, stop hesitating!”

Lu Quanzhen urged, telling him not to hesitate anymore. Your first love got hit!

Hearing his brother’s urging, Lu Ping’an no longer hesitated. He stepped forward, his whole body like a golden light, shooting out and appearing in front of Qin Yi in an instant.

Then, with his blood surging, he raised his right arm and punched the strange demon beast, completely shattering its body.

“Huh!?”

“Who is this person!?”

Qin Yi and the other Heavenly Sword Sect disciples were shocked by this scene.

They had already noticed Lu Ping’an and Lu Quanzhen.

But in this situation, they couldn’t spare the attention.

And they were confident that the two couldn’t interfere.

But now, seeing Lu Ping’an punch a demon beast to pieces, they were dumbfounded.

They wondered where this rogue cultivator came from, with such astonishing strength!

“I’m just interested in the seeds inside these demon beasts. I won’t take your other spoils.”

Lu Ping’an spoke to the group.

He then seemed to realize this might not be well-received, worried they wouldn’t believe him, and added, “As compensation, I can help you deal with this tree demon.”

“Thank you!”

At this moment, Qin Yi stood up from the ground, wiped the blood from her mouth, and thanked Lu Ping’an.

“It’s nothing, no need to thank me.”

Lu Ping’an said somewhat awkwardly.

Then he searched the shattered demon beast in front of him and found a thumb-sized, purple crystal-like oval seed.

He put the seed away, then stepped forward again, his whole body like a cannonball, blasting towards another demon beast, shattering its body with a punch, leaving the sword cultivators stunned.

You must know, sword cultivators are famous for their attack power, known as the number one in offense!

But now, the demon beasts that entangled them in a prolonged fight, difficult to kill, were shattered by Lu Ping’an with a single punch.

After killing several demon beasts, Lu Ping’an directly attacked the tree demon.

“Boom, boom, boom!”

His fists were like divine drums, pounding on the tree demon, making a roaring sound, splintering wood chips.

Facing this attack, the tree demon swayed, the ground trembled, and thick roots like earth dragons emerged, smashing through the air, trying to hit Lu Ping’an.

But Lu Ping’an, facing this attack, didn’t dodge. He met it head-on, waving his fists, shattering the roots.

The tree demon, already in a state of collapse, soon fell silent under Lu Ping’an’s onslaught.

Beside him, Qin Yi, with a cold expression, gazed at Lu Ping’an’s back. The way he fought made her frown, feeling more and more familiar.

She once had an old acquaintance who fought in the same way.

Moreover, some of their moves, actions, and even their backs were familiar to her.

“Thank you, fellow Daoist, for your help.”

At this moment, the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples cupped their hands and thanked Lu Ping’an.

Although the disciples of the immortal sects are arrogant and look down on rogue cultivators,

the main reason is still strength!

But someone like Lu Ping’an, who could punch a demon beast to pieces and shatter a tree demon with his fists, was not someone they could look down upon.

In fact, there was even a bit of respect in their eyes when they looked at Lu Ping’an!

“You’re all too kind.”

Lu Ping’an cupped his hands in return.

“Might I ask for your name, fellow Daoist, and where you are from?”

One of the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples curiously asked Lu Ping’an, wanting to know his identity.

“Anping, just a rogue cultivator.”

Lu Ping’an reported the fake name he used on this trip.

Beside him, Qin Yi frowned slightly upon hearing this, looking at Lu Ping’an with a strange expression.

Because this name was somewhat similar to that of an old acquaintance.

She stepped forward and thanked Lu Ping’an again, “Thank you for your help earlier.”

“You’re too kind, miss.”

Lu Ping’an smiled.

Seeing her complexion wasn’t good, he took out a bottle of healing pills from his Storage Bag and handed it to her, “I have some healing pills here.”

“Miss?”

Hearing Lu Ping’an’s address and seeing this gesture, Qin Yi didn’t reach out to take the pills but frowned at him and said, “I feel like I’ve seen you before.”

“Could it be we’ve met before?”

Lu Ping’an’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t expect Qin Yi to be so perceptive.

He quickly said that he had been cultivating in the mountain range, fighting demon beasts all day, and rarely went out.

“It’s just that you seem familiar, like I’ve seen you before.”

Qin Yi stared at Lu Ping’an, as if trying to see something in his face.

“I see.”

Lu Ping’an was slightly startled, then smiled and nodded. He cupped his hands towards the people in the field and said, “Since the matter is settled, I’ll take my leave.”

“Lu Ping’an.”

Qin Yi, seeing Lu Ping’an’s Jianghu-style behavior, felt more and more familiar and directly called his name.

“Hmm?”

The Heavenly Sword Sect disciples beside them were surprised by this scene, as if they noticed something unusual.

Lu Ping’an seemed to be struck by lightning, his body stiffened.

Then he turned back and said, “My name is Anping, miss, you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

Qin Yi raised an eyebrow at this, her eyes cold. She looked at Lu Ping’an’s back and said directly, “Whether you are Lu Ping’an or not, if you ever meet him, you can tell him that Qin Yi has joined the Heavenly Sword Sect. If he needs anything, he can write to her.”

Although Lu Ping’an had no Spirit Root and couldn’t cultivate,

her intuition told her that he was Lu Ping’an.

“Sigh.”

Hearing this, Lu Ping’an sighed inwardly, not knowing how to respond.

But thinking about his Spirit Root, he finally stepped forward, his whole body soaring, returning to the cave entrance beside Lu Quanzhen, and said softly, “Let’s go.”