Chapter 352: Red Lotus Saintess

“Brother Chen, this is a core array of the Red Lotus Sect. It won’t be that easy to break.”

Cui Xuanye said quickly, “With no more interference, I can finally focus on deducing where the eye of the array is. We can break it by launching a direct assault on that point.”

“Is the eye of the array the point where the array’s power is most concentrated?” Chen Yuan asked.

Cui Xuanye said, “Some are, some aren’t, but that’s how nearly ninety percent of them are set up.”

“No need for all that trouble. Just leave it to me.”

Chen Yuan formed a seal, and a divine light glittered in his eyes, like a swirling river of stars.

As soon as he activated the Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill, the flow of power throughout the entire array became crystal clear. The point with the strongest current of energy had to be the eye of the array.

Withdrawing the Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill, Chen Yuan once again condensed the Nether Blood Fiend Power and slashed down. This time, he finally shattered the Red Lotus Heart-Burning Array with a single blow.

Cui Xuanye was stunned by the sight.

‘Brother Chen’s Secret Technique is truly incredible. To think it can see right through the array’s energy channels, allowing him to shatter it with brute force.’

‘I could find the eye of the array too, of course, but I’d need to reverse-engineer it by tracing the Array Patterns. Not like Chen Yuan, who can spot it in a single glance.’

‘An ability like that… it’s the bane of every Array Master. Thank goodness I’m friends with Brother Chen.’

“Thank you, Brother Chen. I never imagined that this trip to the Heaven-Reaching Tower would yield so few benefits. Instead, we’ve had to rely on you to save us all this time.”

Lu Chuanshan gave a bitter smile, feeling rather ashamed.

He had been saved twice by Chen Yuan in such a short time, which made him feel utterly useless.

“Brother Lu, you’re being too formal. Didn’t you all save me once outside the Heaven-Reaching Tower?”

Chen Yuan smiled, then asked, “Did you know that the people who attacked you were from the Red Lotus Sect?”

After seeing Jing Yuan Daoist’s injuries, Chen Yuan was almost certain that the attackers were from the Red Lotus Sect of Qin Province.

He simply hadn’t expected it. ‘It wasn’t enough for them to stir up trouble in Qin Province; they actually dared to come inside the Heaven-Reaching Tower.’

Cui Xuanye nodded. “I recognized them the moment they used the Red Lotus Heart-Burning Array. Last time in Qin Province, you, Brother Qin, and Brother Gu killed the Red Lotus Sect’s Saintess. I never expected them to be so resilient. To think the Red Lotus Sect still has such a young expert.”

“That Mei Niang was with Han Chang earlier, bewitching him. After she played him for a fool, she attacked us. Her strength is comparable to someone in the top ten of the Hidden Dragon Rankings. She’s no weaker than the Red Lotus Saintess you killed before, Brother Chen!”

Chen Yuan said coolly, “That Mei Niang… she is most likely the Red Lotus Saintess I killed, Su Mei!”

“What!? I heard from Brother Gu that Su Mei was completely obliterated. How could she possibly still be alive?”

Lu Chuanshan, standing beside them, was in utter disbelief.

He had heard of people feigning death to escape, and he knew some Secret Techniques could accomplish that.

But to be obliterated and still survive was simply inconceivable.

Chen Yuan shook his head. “I don’t know how she revived, either. It might be some Red Lotus Sect Secret Technique that preserves the Primordial Spirit, making the physical body less important. The power that woman wields is very familiar. It has to be Su Mei.”

Cui Xuanye’s expression grew solemn. “With the Red Lotus Sect making a comeback, I fear the world is about to fall into great turmoil again.”

“The Red Lotus Sect itself isn’t what’s fearsome. Any of the Major Sects on the Jianghu Wind and Cloud Rankings has a deeper foundation than they do.”

“But the Red Lotus Sect’s strength lies in how they just need to gather believers. By having these followers immolate themselves as offerings to the Red Lotus Saint Mother, they can obtain the formidable Red Lotus Willpower. This power isn’t True Essence Internal Power, but it’s far more terrifying.”

“Once the Red Lotus Sect grows to a certain size, they can create vast numbers of Low Tier Martial Artists in an instant.”

“No, not just vast numbers—it would be an absolute ocean of them.”

“You saw those Red Lotus Sect Martial Artists just now, Brother Chen. While not particularly strong, they weren’t weak either.”

“Other factions wouldn’t send Martial Artists of that level into the Heaven-Reaching Tower, as they would likely perish inside without gaining much benefit.”

“But the Red Lotus Sect simply doesn’t care. It’s as if Martial Artists of this level are nothing more than consumables to them—if they die, they die.”

The most terrifying thing about a faction like the Red Lotus Sect is that they’re like a cancer. Unless you completely destroy them the moment they first appear, they become impossible to root out once they’re allowed to grow and spread.

A cold glint appeared in Chen Yuan’s eyes. “Making a comeback? If I can kill her once, I can kill her a second time!”

“Brother Cui, do you know where that Red Lotus Saintess went? Why didn’t she attack you along with the other Red Lotus Sect Martial Artists?”

Cui Xuanye said, “The Red Lotus Saintess must have come to seize the Endless Divine Tree in this Senluo Hall.”

“She was afraid of complications, so she went ahead to find the Endless Divine Tree, leaving the other Red Lotus Sect Martial Artists to trap us.”

“Later, she must have found the Divine Tree’s location, which is why she called so many of them away.”

“The ground here is damp; every step leaves a clear print. We can find them by following their tracks.”

Chen Yuan nodded and immediately followed the footprints to track Su Mei and the others.

“What is this Endless Divine Tree?” Chen Yuan asked as they walked.

Cui Xuanye thought for a moment before saying, “My Cui Family’s records on the Endless Immortal Palace have some information. It’s said to be a Divine Medicine cultivated by the Endless Immortal Palace, containing infinite Vitality. They say that eating it allows one to immediately ascend and become an immortal.”

“Of course, the whole ‘ascension’ thing is pure nonsense. The Endless Immortal Palace cultivated it for so many years, yet we’ve never seen anyone actually transcend and ascend.”

“However, it’s very possible that it contains an astonishing amount of Vitality. And given the standards of the Endless Immortal Palace, it’s probably far beyond ordinary Spiritual Medicine—its medicinal effects might even be more powerful than a Divine Pill.”

Just then, the Human Skin Evil Book tucked in Chen Yuan’s robes began to stir restlessly.

Chen Yuan took out the Human Skin Evil Book, and lines of characters immediately appeared on it.

“Master, that Endless Divine Tree is of great use to you!”

“The Endless Divine Tree is a Divine Medicine created through the artificial transformation of the Power of Life and Death. Only by wielding a similar power of converting life and death can it be refined.”

“And Master, your Nether Blood Fiend is a power that also involves the conversion of life and death, so you can naturally refine the Endless Divine Tree as well.”

“When the time comes, you just have to topple the Endless Divine Tree and completely release the Vitality within. All of that power will be yours!”

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly and put the Human Skin Evil Book away.

He really didn’t have much desire for something like Vitality; after all, he was still young.

Someone like Demon Venerable Han Guang, whose lifespan was dwindling due to his injuries, would be the one to desperately crave this kind of Vitality Power.

Still, with more Vitality, his own Recovery Power would greatly increase after an injury, and he would also recover faster after burning his Qi Blood. It would certainly be a welcome bonus.

The three of them followed the tracks and soon arrived before the valley where Su Mei was.

As they stepped into the valley, the faces of Chen Yuan and the others paled at the scene before them.

There was only a single, colossal tree in the entire valley. It was several hundred feet tall, its trunk so thick it would take more than ten people holding hands to encircle it.

Its bark wasn’t the usual brown or gray but a moist, viscous, deep red, like freshly flayed flesh. The texture was clear, the veins distinct.

The great tree’s roots weren’t burrowed into the earth, but plunged into a mountain of mangled flesh and bone. The roots were a pale, grayish-white, their surfaces smooth and slick, like writhing intestines burrowing into the countless corpses, siphoning their power.

But the most grotesque part of all was the fruit of the Endless Divine Tree.

Dozens of fruits dangled from the tips of its crimson branches. Each was the size of a newborn infant, and their shape, color, and even texture were astonishingly similar to a real baby. The surface of the fruit was a translucent film, and beneath it, one could faintly make out a fine network of blood vessels and the silhouettes of gently pulsating organs.

However, the fruit lacked the rosy glow of a living being. Instead, it had a slight bluish-gray pallor, like a drowned infant or a stillborn child.

And yet, this bizarrely shaped Endless Divine Tree held within it the ultimate form of Vitality.

‘Thank goodness the Human Skin Evil Book said to topple the Endless Divine Tree and release the Vitality within.’

‘If the Human Skin Evil Book had told me to refine those fruits that looked like stillborns, I would’ve been revolted, no matter how much Vitality they contained.’

‘I might not be a neat freak, but I don’t eat dead babies.’

At that moment, Su Mei was leading over twenty Red Lotus Sect disciples in an attempt to break an array.

The Endless Divine Tree was enveloped by an array. From the ground littered with flesh and corpses, a barrage of bone spikes, Bone Spears, and other projectiles would shoot out whenever someone approached, each one suffused with a powerful aura of death.

That was why Su Mei had to break the array first before she could seize the Endless Divine Tree.

Just then, sensing movement behind her, Su Mei whirled around, her gaze falling grimly on Chen Yuan and his companions.

“Chen Jiutian! It’s you again!”

‘Last time, this Chen Jiutian stole my Seven Kills Stele Fragment. Now he’s here to stop me from taking the Endless Divine Tree. How hateful! I’ll kill him!’

“I don’t know how you came back to life, but I’ll kill you every time I see you. Let’s see if your nine lives are enough for me to take!”

Chen Jiutian looked at Su Mei and gave a cold smirk.

“Arrogant!”

Su Mei snorted. “Last time in Qin Province, I simply didn’t expect you lot to be such meddlers. I was careless and underestimated my enemy.”

“For this trip to the Heaven-Reaching Tower, I have acquired a new physical body. I’m going to show you what a true Red Lotus Secret Technique looks like!”

“Chen Jiutian, don’t think you have me beat just because you killed me once in the Blood Killing Realm.”

“I can lose nine times and make a comeback each time, but you only need to lose once to be doomed forever!”

As her voice fell, Su Mei shrieked, “Forget the Endless Divine Tree for now! Kill them!”

The more than twenty Red Lotus Sect Martial Artists, all of whom had reached the Peak of Condensing Truth Realm, turned in unison and attacked Chen Yuan and his two companions.

This group was clearly stronger than the Red Lotus Sect Martial Artists back in the Blood Killing Realm in Qin Province. The Red Lotus Willpower surrounding them was exceptionally dense.

At the same time, Su Mei formed a seal technique. Powerful flames blazed to life around her, and a brilliant red lotus bloomed forth, centered on her body. The Red Lotus Willpower was so dense it was as if the Red Lotus Saint Mother herself had descended upon the world!