"I don"t detect any danger in that compound. From the looks of it, I just need to crack the peach forest"s array formation." Qin Yun waved his hand as a flying sword that resembled a green leaf flew out from his sleeve. It charged straight into the woods.
There were flower petals strewn across the ground of the peach woods that spanned five kilometers.
The entire peach forest"s array formation activated the instant the Green Leaf Flying Sword flew out.
Countless petals flew off the ground, condensing into soldiers. These soldiers held spears and blades made of condensed petals. Some blocked the Green Leaf Flying Sword while the others went straight for Qin Yun.
Qin Yun controlled the Green Leaf Flying Sword perfectly since it was a transcendent-grade flying sword.
"Shoo! Shoo! Shoo!"
The Green Leaf Flying Sword moved unpredictably in dazzling fas.h.i.+on. It cast the fourth move of the Dreamlike Sword, Waning Waxing Moons, causing it to appear like a ghost. It would vanish into the void at times and appear behind the Dao soldiers. It would quickly vanquish the Dao soldiers from insane angles! These Dao soldiers formed from petals only had the strength of a second Firmament Essence Soul realm. If they managed to surround Qin Yun, they might have posed a threat. But now, the Green Leaf Flying Sword was rapidly slaying them one by one.
Of course, there were a large group of Dao soldiers that charged at Qin Yun as they encircled him.
"So many Dao soldiers? Thankfully, they aren"t too strong." Qin Yun looked at the Dao soldiers that charged at him. The Misty Rain Sword that constantly floated beside him immediately cast the Cyclic Sword Flash barrier.
The gigantic Cyclic Sword Flash barrier instantly enlarged right up to where the Dao soldiers were, preventing them from further trapping him.
Peng! Peng! Peng…
Wherever the Cyclic Sword Flash barrier came into contact with the Dao soldiers, a sword flash would grind them to smithereens.
As they were reduced to smithereens, the array formation continued operating as flames burst from the peach flowers.
"This peach forest is filed with array formations. I cannot allow it to continue attacking. Instead, I should destroy the array as soon as possible." As Qin Yun protected himself with his Intrinsic Flying Sword, he used the Green Leaf Flying Sword to attack.
The Green Leaf Flying Sword flashed into the void and when it appeared again, it was right in front of a peach tree.
"Boom!" The peach tree instantly exploded when the sword stabbed into a peach flower. What was at first a natural and perfect peach flower forest array formation presented a flaw as its might began to rapidly reduce.
"Although I don"t understand this array formation, my Eye of Lightning can see the various nodes of the array formation. As long as I crack the nodes, the array formation will be forced to stop!"
"The nodes are usually the safest parts of an array formation"s defense. But it seems cracking this peach blossom forest array is relatively easy."
After Qin Yun cracked the first node, the Green Leaf Flying Sword tunneled into the void like a fish through a river. It appeared again in front of a tree a quarter of a kilometer away. When it struck the trunk, that peach tree exploded as well.
Complementing the Eye of Lightning with a flying sword art that could tunnel through the void was clearly a very fast way to crack an array.
Peng! Peng! Peng…
As peach trees exploded one after another, the peach forest array began to crumble.
"Hmph!"
A sudden sneer resounded through the entire Grotto-heaven.
Qin Yun turned alarmed as he immediately braced himself for danger.
"If you wish to take the treasures left behind by my master, you"ll have to get past me first." The deep voice resounded everywhere as tree roots shot out from the land suddenly. Some were ancient but forceful, appearing like chains that spanned the length of the world. They attacked Qin Yun from all different angles. The Green Leaf Flying Sword attempted to intercept them in midair.
Whoosh.
Under the collective las.h.i.+ng by two long tree roots, the Green Leaf Flying Sword was sent flying backward with a boom. The two tree roots also flew backward from the impact and, although they were damaged, they rapidly recovered.
Those were only two of the roots. More roots were headed directly for Qin Yun.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
A series of successive booms that resembled a violent storm ensued. The dense roots lashed at the Cyclic Sword Flash barrier, each strike tearing apart the void. Black void rifts dotted the surroundings and, along with the might of the roots las.h.i.+ng, it left Qin Yun alarmed. However, the Cyclic Sword Flash barrier formed by the Misty Rain Sword held its own. It remained invulnerable despite the relentless a.s.sault of the roots.
"It"s too strong. Only my Intrinsic Flying Sword can withstand them. The Green Leaf Flying Sword can only produce strength about twenty to thirty percent of my Intrinsic Flying Sword"s. It won"t be able to fend off the roots." Qin Yun was seriously worried. "The Misty Rain Sword has to protect me but in that case, how do I destroy the roots?"
"Strange."
Qin Yun quickly noticed something. "The Green Leaf Flying Sword had already destroyed the array formation, so why are the roots so powerful?"
He immediately observed carefully with his Eye of Lightning.
This time, without the peach blossom forest"s concealment, Qin Yun"s Eye of Lightning could clearly see… that hidden among the numerous roots, there was an inconspicuous peach tree. All the roots came from it alone.
"A tree demon? No, it doesn"t appear so," mumbled Qin Yun.
"Regardless, it"s only one peach tree. Without the obstruction of the array formation, I can enter the compound directly." As Qin Yun flew to the compound in the middle, he maintained his Cyclic Sword Flash barrier.
The roots that were flailing in the sky unleashed a frenetic barrage of attacks, but despite all the sounds produced by the explosive impacts, they failed to crack the Cyclic Sword Flash.
Qin Yun rapidly approached the compound.
"Whoosh."
The inconspicuous peach tree finally moved.
It flew over with a whoosh and it transformed in midair into a warrior draped in silver armor with a mask covering its face! However, its body appeared to be that of a… female warrior.
The female warrior"s armor even had dense runic patterns on it.
"A Guardian General?" Qin Yun was alarmed when he saw this. "A Guardian General with strength at the peak third Firmament Essence Soul level?"
In the past, he had seen the Yellow-scarved Strongman and the Guardian General in the West Sea Ancient Skydragon Palace in the Great Chang world. However, the Strongmen were all at the peak Connate Golden Core level. They only represented the lowest cla.s.s.
Legends did speak of more…
Some Yellow-scarved Strongman and Guardian Generals were said to easily lift a mountain, with strength that matched Skyimmortals or Skyfiends.
And the female warrior that Qin Yun was facing looked to be such a Guardian General with peak Essence Soul combat strength. She was Qin Yun"s equal.
"I can"t do anything to you." The female warrior"s voice was cold. "You can take away the treasures here but you are not to sully my master"s corpse. If you violate this rule, you will definitely regret it."
"Guardian General," said Qin Yun with a smile. "I came here for treasure only. And it can even be said that I am honored by this senior here to receive the treasures he left behind. How can I sully the senior"s corpse?"
It was clear that the treasures in the compound were deliberately left behind for juniors.
To abuse the corpse after obtaining its treasure? Although most corpses of experts were of great use, Qin Yun would not stoop to such levels.
Besides…
Most experts were willing to leave treasures for juniors but they would typically leave vengeful techniques behind. If the corpse was sullied in any way, perhaps even worse trouble would befall him.
"Mark your words," said the female warrior coldly. With that said, she looked at the compound with a conflicted look. After some hesitation, she walked forward and pushed open the wooden door to the compound.
Qin Yun looked through the wooden door.
In a yard was a huge peach tree. A white-robed man sat cross-legged beneath it. A book was laid on a table in front of him and there were alcohol flasks and cups on a table to his side. He looked like he was leisurely reading.
However, Qin Yun knew that the white-robed man was long dead.