Protecting everyone in front of him

Outside the Ink Toad Cave.

The three-layered poisonous miasma array shimmered with light, sealing the cave entrance completely.

An angry roar came from inside, clearly audible even through the array:

"Let me out! You cowards! You short-sighted fools!"

"So what if the Demon Lord is here?! If he really had nothing to do, would he come to this poor, remote place?!"

"A bunch of useless trash! Useless trash!"

The insults were incessant.

Two Nascent Soul stage disciples stood guard outside the cave, their faces full of distress. Upon seeing the sect leader arrive with his entourage, they quickly bowed in greeting.

Yin Jiuqi walked to the front of the formation and gently tapped his snake staff.

An entrance was opened by the light barrier of the array.

He spoke into the formation, his voice penetrating its depths:

"Ink Toad, the Demon Lord has arrived. He wants to exchange you for the heart of the thousand-year-old spirit wood."

After saying that, he secretly transmitted his voice inside:

"Do not act rashly! The Demon Lord's cultivation is unfathomable; do not jeopardize your own life!"

Inside the cave, the cursing abruptly stopped.

A moment of deathly silence.

Mo Chan, who was originally as irritable as thunder, instinctively went weak when he heard the words "Demon Lord".

The Demon Lord... has really arrived?

Despite his sarcastic remarks, when the Demon Lord was actually standing before him, he dared not utter a word.

Mo Chan swallowed hard, forced himself to calm down, walked to the cave entrance, and looked out through the array's light barrier.

At first glance, I saw that figure in the dark black robe.

At a glance, he could tell that the other party had a surge of spiritual energy, indicating that they were at the peak of Qi Refining.

Mo Chan was taken aback.

Immediately afterwards, I was overjoyed!

The Seventh Elder was right after all!

The Demon Lord's cultivation has truly been damaged!

And it was incredibly damaging!

Even his aura was not perfectly disguised, revealing his true nature as a Qi Refining stage cultivator!

He suddenly became bolder, straightened his back, and revealed a mocking look on his face.

Through the array, Mo Chan raised his voice, his tone hard:

"No trade!"

The moment the words "Ink Toad" were uttered, the square fell silent.

All eyes turned to Chu Yuan.

Yin Jiuqi's expression changed slightly, and the elders gasped in shock.

This black toad... it really dares to say that!

Chu Yuan stood there, his face expressionless, but his eyes turned cold.

He didn't speak, but simply stared quietly at the ink toad behind the array's light screen.

Li Tu grinned and took half a step forward.

The oppressive aura of someone in the mid-stage of the Tribulation Transcending Realm was released without any concealment, pressing down on the cave dwelling like a heavy mountain.

Youyue's hands were already on the hilt of her curved sword, her eyes beneath the veil as cold as ice.

The Thousand Machines Black Robe stirred slightly, without uttering a sound, but its faint aura had already locked onto the Ink Toad.

Yin Jiuqi sighed, turned to face Chu Yuan, and bowed, saying:

"Demon Lord, please forgive me. Elder Mo Chan has recently suffered a mishap in his cultivation, and is delirious and talking nonsense..."

Chu Yuan didn't look at him; his gaze remained fixed on Mo Chan, and his tone was indifferent:

"It's alright."

He took two steps forward, stopped in front of the formation, and looked at the ink toad inside:

"Mo Chan, you just said... you won't change it?"

Mo Chan was struggling to breathe under Li Tu's oppressive aura, but he still held on.

"No! I won't exchange it! Lingmu Xin is my personal property, why should you exchange it as you please?"

Chu Yuan nodded and said calmly:

"What if I insist?"

Do you really have to?

Mo Chan's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously took two steps back.

He looked at Chu Yuan and found that there was still no spiritual energy fluctuation on the other party, nor did he release any pressure.

This……

Doesn't that illustrate the point even more?

If the Demon Lord still has his cultivation, why waste words with him?

Why not just break through the formation and take the loot?

And now they're still asking here what if the Venerable One insists...

He's clearly guilty!

I'm not sure!

Mo Chan felt much more at ease and his courage returned.

He sneered:

"You insist? Demon Lord, I've already given the Spirit Wood Heart to someone else. It's no use for you to insist."

Upon hearing this, even Yin Jiuqi frowned.

The elders exchanged bewildered glances.

The fat elder couldn't help but speak up:

"Ink Toad, don't be ridiculous! The heartwood of a thousand-year-old spirit tree is incredibly precious; how could you possibly give it away to someone else?"

"That's right, didn't we treasure it like a precious gem just a while ago?" the tall, thin elder added.

Mo Chan ignored them, staring only at Chu Yuan, and sneered:

"You don't believe me? Then go ask him yourself!"

After saying that, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a black jade pendant, and crushed it without hesitation!

click-

The moment the jade pendant shattered, a subtle spatial fluctuation rippled outwards.

Immediately afterwards, the space inside the cave rippled like the surface of water, and a crack quietly tore open.

A figure in black stepped out from the crack.

The middle stage of refining the void.

The man in black stopped inside the cave, his gaze sweeping over everyone before finally settling on Mo Chan:

"What is it?"

Her voice was hoarse, making it hard to guess her age.

Mo Chan was overjoyed and quickly pointed to Chu Yuan outside the cave:

"It's the one in the middle! The leader of the Xuan Tian Sect, Demon Lord Chu Yuan! I need you to test him and see if he has truly lost all his cultivation!"

The man in black looked in the direction he was pointing.

The moment his gaze fell on Chu Yuan, the man in black stiffened abruptly.

Not moving at all.

Mo Chan waited a moment, and seeing that the man in black did not react, he grew anxious:

"You accepted my thousand-year-old spirit wood heart! Are you going to go back on your word?!"

The man in black finally moved.

He raised his right hand, and a surge of spiritual energy condensed in his palm.

Mo Chan's face lit up with joy.

Correct!

That's it!

Shot!

Test him!

The next moment, the smile on Mo Chan's face froze.

Because that spiritual energy did not fly towards Chu Yuan.

Instead, it veered off course and hurtled straight at him!

"puff!"

Mo Chan didn't even have time to react before he was struck by spiritual energy, his whole body went numb, and his spiritual energy was instantly locked.

The man in black flashed and appeared beside him, lifting him up like a chick and carrying him out of the cave to Chu Yuan.

thump.

The black toad was thrown to the ground and was thrown around in a daze.

The man in black faced Chu Yuan, knelt on one knee, and his voice trembled:

"Your subordinate...Gu Chen greets the Sect Master!"

As he spoke, he reached into his robes and took out a jade box, presenting it with both hands:

"The heart of this thousand-year-old spiritual wood is here; please take a look, Master."

Chu Yuan almost burst out laughing at the sight before him.

Good guy!

Mo Chan is a real talent!

The helper they invited was actually the Sixth Elder, Gu Chen.

Chu Yuan was still thinking about what would happen if the man in black really made a move.

Should I shield everyone in front of me?

The Golden Core stage cultivators can still put up a fight with the Immortal Slaying Blade, but the Void Refinement stage...

That's really the last resort.

Now, the man in black has knelt down, and the Ink Toad's spiritual power has been locked.

Weaker than myself.

Chu Yuan coughed lightly, took the jade box, opened it, and glanced inside.

A vibrant blue-green light flowed, teeming with life.

It is indeed the heartwood of a thousand-year-old sacred tree.

He closed the jade box, looked at Gu Chen kneeling on the ground, and spoke casually:

"Sixth Elder, what's going on?"

Gu Chen quickly replied:

"Your subordinate deserves to die! I had no idea it was the sect leader in person! This villain paid me with the Spirit Wood Heart to test a sect leader whose cultivation seemed questionable... If I had known it was the sect leader, I would never have dared to accept!"

He paused, then added:

"Your subordinate has locked away this fiendish spiritual power; we are at the sect leader's disposal!"

Chu Yuan nodded:

"You did a great job this time."

Gu Chen's face lit up with joy:

"Thank you, Master! I would gladly die for you!"

Nearby, the ink toad that had been thrown to the ground finally came to its senses.

He stared wide-eyed at Gu Chen, then at Chu Yuan, completely dumbfounded.

"You...you guys are in cahoots?!"