The trio—Lin Chang’sheng, Gu Shan, and Guo Yunchu—trailed behind Bai Baihe, heading toward a deserted corner of the Heaven-Reaching Sect.
"This guy’s being way too generous—it reeks of a setup!"
Gu Shan whispered in Lin Chang’sheng’s ear, since he knew that Divine Liquid only formed a single drop every thousand years, showing just how precious it was.
The fact that this man would just give them two drops in one go—that was downright unbelievable.
Lin Chang’sheng couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
But he didn’t overthink it; if Bai Baihe tried any tricks, Lin would happily wipe out the Heaven-Reaching Sect.
Their strongest, Bai Baihe, was only at the Middle Stage of Tribulation Crossing—not remotely a match for his Corpse Puppet.
"Finally, I’ll be able to recover my Broken Vein! This is amazing!"
Guo Yunchu was still daydreaming out loud about fixing her Broken Vein.
Clearly, she hadn’t realized how sketchy this whole situation was.
None of the three following Bai Baihe knew how long they’d been walking when they spotted thin wisps of white mist up ahead; the air was getting wetter too.
"Aren’t we there yet?"
Lin Chang’sheng’s sense of foreboding deepened.
"Almost. Just ahead!"
Bai Baihe shot back with a quick reply, picking up the pace.
As they pressed on, the fog thickened—their visibility dropping to barely ten meters.
Whoosh—
Suddenly, Bai Baihe darted forward and vanished directly into the mist.
"Damn, we walked right into a trap!"
Lin Chang’sheng’s heart sank—no wonder that old fox agreed so easily. Clearly, he never planned on handing over any Divine Liquid.
"Lin Chang’sheng, you’ve got some nerve, coming to my sect demanding Divine Liquid! This will be your grave!"
Bai Baihe’s voice echoed from every direction.
He’d already gotten word from the Heaven-Suppressing Sect; killing Lin Chang’sheng would reap him plenty of rewards.
No way he’d let this chance slip.
"You think this little mist array can trap me?"
Lin Chang’sheng scoffed, "But there’s one thing I don’t get—just to kill me, you’d risk Guo Yunchu’s life? If she dies here, how do you plan to explain it to the Immortal Martial Hall?"
After all, Guo Yunchu was the Hall Master’s daughter—if she perished inside Heaven-Reaching Sect, their whole sect would have to face the Immortal Martial Hall’s wrath.
"If all of you die here, who’d know it was us that did it? Maybe Lin Chang’sheng killed you, huh?"
Bai Baihe laughed. "If you only wanted a single drop, I’d hand it over out of respect for the Immortal Martial Hall. But two drops? Keep dreaming! Enjoy your final moments!"
With that, Bai Baihe’s silhouette faded into the distance.
"You bastard Taoist! Get back here—has your sect gotten tired of living? Even dare to plot against me!"
Guo Yunchu yelled furiously.
Of course, it didn’t do a damn thing.
"Come back here, you hear me!"
Guo Yunchu was steaming, shocked that even the Heaven-Reaching Sect treated her like nobody.
"Quit shouting—he’s not coming back."
Lin Chang’sheng replied, exasperated.
This girl still really thought they’d just hand over two drops of Divine Liquid?
If she’d brought someone truly strong from her sect, maybe Heaven-Reaching would cave to pressure.
But right now, Guo Yunchu was just someone with Broken Veins, and Lin Chang’sheng only seemed to be at Late Stage Mahayana—with Gu Shan at Early Stage Tribulation Crossing.
No wonder the other side wasn’t the least bit concerned.
"So what now? Are we just going to die trapped here?"
Guo Yunchu was getting scared—she sure as hell didn’t want to die like this.
"Maybe you’ll end up dead in here, but I won’t go down that easy!"
Lin Chang’sheng teased her mercilessly.
Which, of course, made Guo Yunchu fume even harder.
"If I hadn’t gone after Divine Liquid for you, would I be stuck like this? You’d better get me out!"
Guo Yunchu snapped at him.
"If you keep your mouth shut, I’ll find a way out."
Lin Chang’sheng shot back.
At his words, Guo Yunchu finally clammed up, staying quiet.
After running some tests, Lin Chang’sheng realized there was no way to simply walk out—the thick fog easily made them lose their way, sight limited to just ten meters.
They could keep marching forward, but they’d just end up wandering in circles.
And brute force didn’t do a thing against the array’s barrier.
This formation wasn’t simple at all.
Rumble—
As time ticked by, vines started sprouting all over the ground.
Each vine was as thick as an arm, dotted with vicious spines and coated in sticky green slime—obviously highly toxic.
Some even had bones dangling from them—pure white and ominous.
Clearly, plenty of folks had died here before.
Whoosh whoosh—
The vines seemed almost alive. Sensing Lin Chang’sheng and the others, they instantly started to creep and coil around them.
Lin Chang’sheng wasn’t fazed, but Guo Yunchu—her veins broken—couldn’t fight back, so she had no choice but to retreat into her Storage Ring.
BOOM—
Lin Chang’sheng launched a palm strike, sending a wave of force that knocked the vines backward.
"This tough?"
Lin Chang’sheng realized that the vines were insanely resilient—he could only push them back, not shatter them.
"Maybe these vines are actually part of the Heaven-Reaching Divine Tree. Anyone at Mahayana Stage would have a hell of a time breaking them. It’s said that, over the years, countless sects have guarded this tree—but every sect has fallen, and the tree still stands. Only Immortal Power can destroy it. Everything else is useless. Looks like we’re really up against it!"
Gu Shan chimed in, obviously bitter—he never imagined his end would come trapped here.
After all, none of the three were at the Immortal Realm!
Without reaching the Immortal Realm, there’s no Immortal Power—so how do we break the array?