Chapter 268

Chapter 268: Secrets Revealed

Hearing the Head of the Bai Family’s words, Mo Qianxun immediately frowned. He said with slight displeasure, "Why are you still thinking of killing Fang Lie? Given his achievements in alchemy and his talent in cultivation, he could very likely become a Thunder Tribulation Immortal or even reach Semi-Immortal status. Is our esteemed Mo Sect truly unable to accommodate such a rare genius?"

"Senior brother Clan Leader, isn’t he supposed to have an undying nature?" the Head of the Bai Family quickly explained.

"Hmph, do you think you can play dumb with me?" Mo Qianxun snorted. "Fang Lie undoubtedly has an undying nature, but his kind of resurrection is likely similar to a regular Puppet That Dies in Place. However, the special thing about the Lost Forest is that once someone dies inside, they cannot be revived!"

It turned out that the Lost Forest was a special small secret realm, covered in mist and filled with an enormous forest where boundaries were impossible to find. The trees inside must have been growing for countless years, most of them being ancient trees of thousands or even tens of thousands of years.

Moreover, the rich spiritual energy made it a paradise for wood element demons. One could frequently encounter Flower Demons, Tree Demons, and other types of demons there.

These wood element demon creatures were often treasure. They were naturally skilled in Dao magic related to wood and excelled at nurturing spirit pills. Cultivators usually liked to capture some and place them in their Herb Gardens, letting them take care of it.

Not only could this increase the yield of spirit pills, but it also saved the cultivator a lot of effort. Just this advantage made wood element spirits very sought after.

Furthermore, many of them were spirit pills that had gained intelligence, and the fluid inside their bodies was the Spirit Pill Essence, which was absolutely top-grade for alchemy.

By nurturing just one, the cultivator could earn a fortune simply by selling the constant flow of spirit pill essence from its body.

However, it was very rare to find such intelligent plants outside because they faced various disasters and found it difficult to survive for thousands of years. They also needed to live in places abundant in spiritual energy for so long to have a chance to gain intelligence and become wood demons.

Such harsh conditions led to the extreme scarcity of wood element demons outside, each of which was worth a fortune.

For instance, Little Peach Red, who was just a Fourth-Rank great demon, was already valued above many Fifth-Rank demons.

In this context, the discovery of the Lost Forest, abundant in wood element demons, naturally triggered a righteous and demonic war.

In the end, both sides agreed that each sect would dispatch a maximum of 20 disciples inside, and their strength must not exceed the Golden Pool.

It followed the rules of the Path Contest: any grudges formed inside would be nullified once they exited, and no one was allowed to seek revenge.

At first, the Lost Forest attracted the top disciples from various sects. However, after one incident, no sect dared to send their Core Inner Gate Disciples and only allowed Inner Elite Disciples to participate.

This incident was the inability to resurrect.

You see, the Core Inner Gate Disciples of each sect were under strict protection and usually possessed resurrection treasures.

For example, the Mo Sect had the Puppet That Dies in Place, the Tao Sect had the Golden Lotus Dao Seed, and the Xuan Sect had the Gate of Xuan Sect—these were all top-grade treasures.

Even if a disciple perished outside, their sect could revive them using these special treasures.

However, this rule was broken in the Lost Forest. Those who died inside were trapped forever and could not be revived.

The sects spared no effort in nurturing their Core Inner Gate Disciples, spending resources that were practically unimaginable.

Generally, these individuals had taken spiritual energy from heaven and earth daily since birth, never stopping. This was how they could cultivate their Qi Sea to at least several thousand miles by the time they reached their thirties or fifties, laying a solid foundation for becoming Thunder Tribulation Immortals.

For instance, Mo Lanyun from the Mo Sect, who was even younger than Fang Lie, had a Qi Sea of three thousand miles, all thanks to precious resources.

Given the massive investment in Core Inner Gate Disciples, the sect naturally valued them highly; otherwise, they wouldn’t use precious resurrection items on them.

Thus, once the news spread that resurrection was impossible in the Lost Forest, no Core Inner Disciples participated, only ordinary elite disciples were sent, and they even hesitated to send those of somewhat higher quality for fear of losing them.

Now, the Head of the Bai Family, fully aware of the dangers of the Lost Forest, still insisted on letting Fang Lie enter, clearly indicating that he was still determined to kill Fang Lie.

However, Mo Qianxun had already changed his view of Fang Lie and even planned to take him as a son-in-law, so he was naturally unwilling to let him take that risk.

The clever Head of the Bai Family noticed Mo Qianxun’s reluctance and quickly explained, "This isn’t all about personal grudges; it’s also for the sect’s sake. The Lost Forest only opens once every thirty years, and each time, others reaped great rewards, while we lost so many—over a hundred people already! Now, no one dares to go. Aren’t you worried?"

"Being worried doesn’t mean I can send an elite like Fang Lie inside," Mo Qianxun replied. "He is the direct descendant of the Mo Ancestor and a future Benevolence Token Lord. What a huge loss it would be if he died in there!"

"That’s not certain. Maybe he doesn’t care!" The Head of the Bai Family said with a smile. "Why don’t you go ask him directly and see what he thinks?"

"What if he refuses?" Mo Qianxun frowned.

"Then I won’t give him this set of formation flags!" The Head of the Bai Family snapped. "If he wants them, it’ll be as a reward for entering the Lost Forest. Otherwise, no deal!"

Seeing his anger, Mo Qianxun understood. As a prominent family clan in the Mo Sect, being pressured by a junior into handing over a full set of Seventh-rank Treasures was humiliating. Offering them as a reward was the Bai family’s way to save face.

Mo Qianxun frowned. "Fine. I’ll speak with Fang Lie. If he agrees, we’ll proceed."

"As you say!" The Head of the Bai Family rose with a smile. "I’ll await your message."

After his departure, Mo Qianxun summoned Mo Wanfang and explained the situation.

Mo Wanfang frowned. "Why can’t the Bai family give up? This obvious scheme won’t fool Fang Lie. If he’s angered, they’ll never obtain the Great Unity Spell."

"He needs an excuse," Mo Qianxun said wryly. "If he surrendered the Seventh-rank formation flags after mere threats, how would others view the Bai family?"

"So you want Fang Lie to go?" Mo Wanfang asked.

"We stay neutral," Mo Qianxun replied. "Just relay the message and let Fang Lie decide. Make sure he knows the dangers of the Lost Forest—don’t let him suspect we’re plotting against him."

"Understood." Mo Wanfang left.

Soon, he arrived at Fang Lie’s spiritual mansion. As Fang Huo escorted him inside, he noticed Fang Lie’s siblings meditating.

This puzzled Mo Wanfang. These mortals lacked spiritual roots—why cultivate? Without roots, they’d never form a Qi Sea or wield Magic.

Curious, he secretly probed them with his divine sense—and froze.

Every child showed signs of Qi sensation, their energy dense and nearing the threshold of forming a Qi Sea. They all had False Spiritual Roots.

This defied logic. Spiritual roots were rare—one in ten thousand. False roots occurred once in a thousand. Yet forty children here all had them? Impossible by chance!

Moreover, Mo Wanfang knew these children were abandoned by Mo Sect families precisely for lacking even False Spiritual Roots. How did they gain them now?

Baffled, he entered the parlor where Fang Lie sipped tea. After Mao Mao served them and left with Fang Huo, Mo Wanfang blurted, "Fang Lie! How do your siblings all have False Spiritual Roots?"

Fang Lie chuckled. "What about my request?"

"After all I’ve done for you, you keep secrets?" Mo Wanfang huffed.

"It’s too strange. You wouldn’t believe me."

"Try me!"

"Very well." Fang Lie sobered. "Qingyu Island—which I control—has a local specialty. Consuming it grants mortals or False Spiritual Root bearers true spiritual roots. They cap at Middle-grade Spiritual Roots, but it’s effective."

"Effective? This is miraculous!" Mo Wanfang exclaimed. "If shared widely, our million Mo Sect disciples could gain Middle-grade Spiritual Roots! We’d surpass even East and West Kunlun combined!"