Chapter Twenty-One: The Seedling of Elm

Qin Yi narrowed his eyes at Wang Yuncheng. Ever since Jiang Yao had arrived, he had sensed a strange energy—though fleeting, it was undoubtedly the unique aura of the Yi Wood, and more specifically, a precious Yi Wood sapling.

Yi Wood was a tree unique to Mount Taiyi, renowned for its abundance of spiritual energy. Its seeds were notoriously difficult to take root and sprout. Even within the auspicious realm of Nanhua Peak, where the land was especially blessed, it was exceedingly rare to find even a single Yi Wood sapling. Mount Taiyi had strict rules: Yi Wood saplings were under the mountain's highest protection. Anyone who discovered one was forbidden from harming, transplanting, or claiming it, for the very foundation of Mount Taiyi’s existence lay in the Yi Wood.

Qin Yi was so familiar with this energy only because the Immortal Master Zixuan had once cultivated a sapling on Tengyun Island.

“Is there something else, Junior Brother Qin Yi?” Mu Fengqing’s expression soured, for he had come intending to make things difficult for Qin Yi, only to find himself now on the defensive.

Jiang Yao looked at Qin Yi, puzzled, and asked softly, “What do you want now?”

Qin Yi replied with a smile, “Just help me in a moment, that’s all.”

Jiang Yao hated when others kept her in suspense, but if it was Qin Yi, she found herself powerless to refuse, simply going along with whatever he asked.

Qin Yi turned his smile on Wang Yuncheng, then glanced at Mu Fengqing. “Wang Yuncheng, do you dare lend that golden package in your hand to Senior Brother Mu for a look?”

At the mention of the golden package, Wang Yuncheng reacted like a fox whose tail had been caught, hiding it behind his back. He sneered, “You have no right to examine my personal belongings.”

“Could it be you’re hiding something unseemly?” Qin Yi asked with a laugh.

“You—” Wang Yuncheng’s face changed, but after sputtering for a while, he could only utter that single word.

Mu Fengqing noted Wang Yuncheng’s reaction and grew suspicious. Wang Yuncheng’s earlier attitude toward him had already left a bad impression. Coldly, Mu Fengqing said, “If there’s nothing to hide, what harm is there in showing us?”

“Hand it over.” With a single word and a flick of his will, the golden package flew from Wang Yuncheng’s hand into Mu Fengqing’s palm.

Wang Yuncheng’s face darkened as his possession was so forcibly taken. As the Ninth Prince of the Wang clan of East Ridge, he had never been treated this way. He glared at Qin Yi and Mu Fengqing. “If there’s nothing unseemly inside, I will remember today’s humiliation.”

Mu Fengqing ignored him and began to inspect the golden package.

Qin Yi was surprised by Wang Yuncheng’s reaction. Was it possible he hadn’t hidden the Yi Wood sapling in the package after all? But his Supreme Dao Embryo’s sensing had never been wrong. All he could do now was wait and see.

After searching the package back and forth for several minutes, Mu Fengqing looked at Qin Yi, his gaze now tinged with doubt. He had found only a few common herbal medicines—nothing out of the ordinary or worthy of secrecy. Annoyed, Mu Fengqing tossed the package to Qin Yi. “See for yourself. Is there anything unseemly?”

Qin Yi took the golden package, perplexed. He could clearly sense the Yi Wood’s aura now more than ever. Was his intuition truly mistaken? He carefully inspected the package, utterly bewildered. As a Supreme Dao Embryo, his sensitivity to spiritual treasures was innate—how could he be wrong?

“I told you there was nothing to hide. Return my package,” Wang Yuncheng sneered from not far away, seeing that Qin Yi had found nothing.

“Let me look again,” Qin Yi persisted, unwilling to believe his sense could be wrong. Suddenly, his gaze landed on the material of the package, and then shifted to Jiang Yao. She followed his gaze, and in an instant, they exchanged a knowing look. They had seen this kind of golden package before, when they killed the Ninth Elder of the Wang clan—it was then they’d uncovered its secret.

“A trap within a trap…”

Wang Yuncheng, seeing their exchange, sensed danger. The next instant, his face changed dramatically as Jiang Yao produced a flame and set the golden package alight. Though the material seemed fine, it burned like dry tinder.

“You—you… You have no respect for the rules of the mountain!” Wang Yuncheng shouted, fury in his eyes. He rushed toward them to stop the burning, but Jiang Yao, with a mere thought, rendered him unable to move.

The golden package burned swiftly to ash, revealing a small sachet. Qin Yi snatched it up and reached out with his senses. This time, there was no doubt—the feeling was overwhelmingly real.

Wang Yuncheng, still immobilized, was dumbstruck. He had never expected that someone on Mount Taiyi could see through his spatial pouch, especially not a mere cultivator of the Organ Refinement stage.

Qin Yi opened the pouch and took out the Yi Wood sapling. But to everyone’s astonishment, it was not a sapling at all, but a ten-year-old Yi Wood, its trunk already three meters tall and its roots packed with red earth, as if freshly unearthed. No wonder Wang Yuncheng’s group had managed to dig it up and nearly spirit it away from Mount Taiyi.

“Senior Sister Jiang Yao, I’m afraid we must report to the Sect Master and all the peak lords,” Mu Fengqing said, startled by Wang Yuncheng’s audacity. He knew how vital a tree like this was to Mount Taiyi, and given Wang Yuncheng’s special status, only the highest authorities could judge this matter.

“To the Pure Void Peak,” Jiang Yao said simply. Yet those four words carried enormous weight.

Wang Yuncheng’s face was livid as he glared at Qin Yi and the others. He Mengwei and his companions looked the same, but soon appeared indifferent. Their mistake was serious, but to them, it was not irreparable. At worst, they would admit fault and be blacklisted by Mount Taiyi—something they cared little about.

Jiang Yao swept up the Yi Wood, summoned her sword, and took off with Qin Yi and Zhang Chen, heading in the direction of Mount Taiyi’s main peak, the Pure Void Peak.

“You come as well,” Mu Fengqing said to Wang Yuncheng’s party. They showed no fear, stepping confidently onto his sword. With a thought, Mu Fengqing followed after Jiang Yao.

…

Clang, clang…

On the Taiyi Platform before the Hall of Clouds at Pure Void Peak, the sound of the Yi Wood Bell resounded long and clear, echoing across all of Mount Taiyi, reaching every corner.

Everyone on Mount Taiyi knew what the bell signified, and all eyes turned curiously toward Pure Void Peak. In moments, news that would shake the entire mountain spread like wildfire:

“The Ninth Prince of the Wang clan of East Ridge, Wang Yuncheng, together with sons of the three great families of the South Sea, dug up a ten-year-old Yi Wood…”