Senior Martial Uncle

Once their figures vanished, Zhao Songqiao's gaze darkened, a sneer curling his lip. *It is just as well that they didn't follow,* he thought to himself. *It saves this old man the trouble of silencing them.* With a shift of his body, he flitted through the shadows, circling around toward the side of the low hill. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly fluttered its wings slightly, effortlessly keeping pace with him. "Who goes there!" The incarnation and Fang Ting had not walked far when a low shout rang out. Looking up, they saw an azure rainbow streak down from the mountain summit, landing before them in an instant to reveal the figure of a lean Daoist. "Greetings, Martial Uncle! Disciples have come on Martial Uncle Jin Yan's orders to collect spiritual materials like Dark Thunder Wood." The incarnation and Fang Ting hurriedly bowed in salute and explained, presenting the token. "It is indeed Senior Brother Jin Yan's token." After inspecting it, the Daoist returned it to the incarnation. Glancing sideways at Fang Ting, he asked, "You were brought here by Junior Brother Yang, but who is this girl? Why do I recall that she is a disciple of Yanmiao Pavilion?" When entering Dongming Island, he had caught sight of Fang Ting. "Martial Uncle has keen eyes. Fang Ting is indeed Senior Chen's disciple from Yanmiao Pavilion and a friend of mine. Hearing that I was coming to gather herbs, she wanted to come along and broaden her horizons," the incarnation replied, repeating his previous ploy. "Senior Chen?" Realization dawned on the Daoist, and his tone softened. "Since she is Senior Chen's disciple, it does no harm. However, this mountain holds several precious spirit herbs cultivated by Pindao. You are not allowed to wander about recklessly lest you damage the herb garden. Once you gather your materials, leave at once." Seeing the Daoist turning to leave, the incarnation hurriedly called out to him. "Reporting to Martial Uncle, Senior Jin Yan instructed me to dig up six century-old Azure Grudge Fruit spirit roots. This junior's skills and knowledge are shallow, and I fear accidentally injuring the spirit trees. Might Martial Uncle offer some guidance?" The spirit fruit borne of the Azure Grudge Fruit tree could be used to refine pills for restoring spiritual power. Roots over a century old were brimming with wood-attribute spiritual power, making them prime materials for artifact crafting. "He took some just last time, and now he wants six more? Does that fellow Jin Yan truly think these spirit trees are inexhaustible?" Hearing this, the Daoist suspected nothing and complained, but he agreed readily nonetheless. "I'll take you to dig them up. The Azure Grudge Fruit trees are rather delicate. If the spirit roots are severed improperly, the tree will be damaged, and the medicinal potency of the fruits it bears later will be drastically diminished. In severe cases, it could even cause the tree to die. Letting you do it yourself wouldn't put my mind at ease anyway." The incarnation and Fang Ting followed the Daoist, flying a short distance before arriving at an herb garden. The place had clearly been tended to recently by the Daoist. The spirit trees in the garden were exceptionally vibrant, their leaves emerald-green like jade and fresh from nourishment, though the spirit fruits had all been harvested. The Daoist descended before the largest spirit trees and observed them carefully. In the end, he selected one, channeled his spiritual power, and cast an unknown secret technique, tapping lightly toward the spirit tree as a beam of green light sank into the trunk. The spirit tree shuddered slightly, its vitality surging vigorously. The Daoist channeled his spiritual power into a blade of light, carefully cutting away a century-old spirit root. He then repeated the process to sever six spirit roots in total, handing them to the incarnation. "Remember, if you ever harvest similar spirit items again, you must never act recklessly on your own." "Disciple obeys!" The incarnation bid farewell to the Daoist and flew toward the back of the mountain with Fang Ting. Only when the Daoist was out of sight did Fang Ting dare ask via voice transmission, "Senior Brother Zhang, Senior Brother Zhao should have sneaked over by now, right?" Seeing the grim look on the incarnation's face, she couldn't help but freeze. Flashing up to a high vantage point, the incarnation could see a vast expanse of black shadow in the deepest recesses from afar—precisely where the Dark Thunder Wood Forest lay. After pondering for a moment, he brought Fang Ting to a secluded spot near the exit and said in a grave voice, "Wait here and don't go anywhere. If anything happens in a moment, run immediately." "What are you saying, Senior Brother? What could happen? Aren't you coming with me?" Fang Ting was frightened by his words. "I can't say for sure either. I just feel something isn't right with Senior Brother Zhao, so this is just in case. I have my own means of escape and will be fine, but stay alert—I might need you to help cover for me later..." The incarnation gave Fang Ting a deep look, then departed alone. Fang Ting looked panicked. For some reason, the moment Senior Brother Zhang vanished from sight, an empty hollow seemed to open in her chest. She clutched her breast with one hand, while the other reached out instinctively, grasping only thin air. Concealing his presence, the incarnation followed his faint connection with the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, tracking along all the way toward the Dark Thunder Wood Forest. Before long, a pitch-black woodland resembling a land of death came into view. Between these Dark Thunder Trees, faint wisps of Yin Thunder power drifted. Aside from certain specialized spirit herbs, ordinary flora could not possibly survive here. At this moment, Zhao Songqiao had slipped into the depths of the black forest, completely unaware of the Heavenly Eye Butterfly following close behind. Reaching the area where the Yin Thunder was densest, Zhao Songqiao halted abruptly. He surveyed his surroundings, then suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a white pellet. The surface of the pellet appeared to be coated in a layer of wax. The instant the pellet appeared, the drifting Yin Thunder power seemed to encounter a colossal beast, swallowed voraciously. In the blink of an eye, the surrounding Yin Thunder power was devoured completely. Zhao Songqiao retreated a few paces, watching the scene unfold. In the next moment, the nearest Dark Thunder Trees also began to wither and die; this place was about to become a true land of death. Yin Thunder power from farther away was also drawn in, forming a conical vortex centered on the pellet. All of this occurred in total silence. After absorbing an untold amount of Yin Thunder power, with a sharp crack, the pellet split open, and a dragonfly-like spirit bug broke out of its shell. At that moment, hiding in the distance and witnessing this through the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, the incarnation was filled with shock. The Witch Clan's bug-controlling techniques were vastly different from those of humanity, yet he was proficient in both. "A Gu worm!" ... Outside Dongming Island. Three streaks of light sped across the sea, heading straight for the entrance of Dongming Island. The three made no attempt to conceal their powerful auras. Their streaks of light tore across the sea's surface with brazen abandon, churning up great waves in an aggressive charge. Rather than attending a dharma conference, they looked more like an entourage arriving to demand accountability. The Landou Sect disciples guarding the entrance all paled at the sight. "Three Core Formation stage experts! Who are they?" Uncertain and alarmed, they exchanged glances, none able to discern the newcomers' origins. "They seem to come with ill intent and are beyond our power to stop. Hurry, inform First Seat Lu!" An elderly man offered this prudent advice and hurriedly shot out a stream of light, which whistled into Dongming Island. Just as the stream of light vanished into the thin mist, the three arrived before them without slowing their speed in the slightest. Barring the way, the disciples bowed and inquired, "We disciples of the Landou Sect guard Dongming Island under First Seat Lu's orders. May we ask where the seniors hail from and what business brings you here, so that we disciples may announce you?" "I'm your martial uncle! Have you gone blind, daring to bar my way!" The burly man at their head glared fiercely with tiger-like eyes and roared a curse. He tossed a dark iron tablet into the old man's chest and made to barge right in.