Terran Guardian - Chapter 3865

Chapter 3841 The Evil Tea Tree

In less than a day,

the avatar had faced numerous dangers.

Some were the resurgence of strange beings, coveting its life force and attempting to devour it; others were the lingering supreme Daoist aura of this place, suppressing any intruders.

It was only because the avatar was strong enough and possessed three supreme treasures for protection that it survived.

Otherwise,

any other top-tier Immortal Emperor would likely have perished long ago.

When the avatar stopped, it saw a mountain of white bones piled up before it, covered with numerous dark red plants. Blood-red veins were outlined on the leaves of these plants, as if blood was slowly flowing.

Upon closer inspection, one could see distorted faces reflected in the vegetation, as if countless vengeful spirits were weeping and wailing.

Upon seeing this scene, Shen Changqing’s expression froze, as if he had thought of something but wasn’t entirely sure.

Then, with a thought, an ancient jade slip appeared in his hand.

Then…

Shen Changqing’s divine sense entered the jade slip, and the information it contained surfaced.

“Dark red throughout, its leaves are veined like blood, nourished by the remnants of countless beings!”

“This is the Sinful Tea Tree—”

At this moment, Shen Changqing finally determined what was before him.

The Sinful Tea Tree!

A treasure that could only be born from the blood of countless beings.

In a sense, this treasure was similar to the Bodhi Heartless Tea.

Shen Changqing had only discovered the jade slip containing information about the Sinful Tea Tree among the treasures left behind by other cultivators he had killed.

He hadn’t expected that this forbidden zone of life could give birth to such a thing.

At that moment,

Shen Changqing immediately ordered his avatar to begin plucking the leaves of the Sinful Tea Tree with all its might.

This treasure was extremely rare, and its creation required the right timing, location, and people; it couldn’t be created simply by slaughtering countless beings.

In fact, only in places like the Forbidden Zone of Life, where countless powerful beings have perished and the Dao of time has evolved, is it possible for the Fiend Tea Tree to be born.

Even so, the probability of such a rare treasure being born is extremely low.

Now that he has seen this, Shen Changqing naturally wouldn’t miss it.

Upon receiving his order, his avatar quickly began to collect the leaves of the Fiend Tea Tree with all its might. Such a rare treasure seems to inspire fear, but there is not much danger involved.

However—

while the avatar was picking the leaves, a terrifying aura suddenly revived from the depths of the Forbidden Zone of Life. Sensing this change, the avatar turned and fled without looking back.

Just as the avatar left, a terrifying figure with an indistinct face suddenly appeared. Just as the figure was about to cast a glance to find the avatar’s whereabouts, the avatar directly threw out all three top-grade Emperor Immortal Artifacts.

“Explode!”

Without hesitation, the avatar activated the three top-grade Emperor Immortal Artifacts.

The moment the power of the supreme treasure erupted, it was almost equivalent to a Celestial Emperor of the same realm self-destructing. The destructive power swept in all directions, causing the figure that appeared to be slightly stunned.

In that instant, the avatar had already escaped the range of the forbidden zone of life. At

the same time

, the self-destruction of the three supreme-grade Emperor Immortal artifacts caused the entire forbidden zone of life to tremble violently, as if the vast forbidden zone had fully awakened and was angry about it.

When Shen Changqing walked out of Zhenyuan Pass, he looked in the direction of the forbidden zone of life and met a pair of resentful eyes.

Then,

the gaze dissipated.

The tremors of the forbidden zone of life also subsided.

Shen Changqing narrowed his eyes and looked in the direction of the forbidden zone of life. The moment that strange being cast his gaze, the Seven Profound Divine Tower had already absorbed its aura.

“Nine Tribulations Half-Saint!”

Obviously, this was not the strange Saint, but another strange being comparable to a Nine Tribulations Half-Saint.

However, the other party had obviously been asleep for an unknown period of time and had only awakened because of the monstrous tea tree. It did not react for a moment, otherwise, the avatar would never have been able to leave the forbidden zone of life.

After all, to such beings, the avatar’s strength was no different from an ant.

If the other party were conscious, killing it would be an easy matter.

Then,

with a thought, Shen Changqing saw the avatar’s body dissipate, a drop of blood was swallowed back into his stomach, and a storage ring appeared in his hand.

Inside the storage ring were 1300 pieces of Niesheng tea leaves.

“Not bad, 1300 pieces isn’t a small amount!”

Shen Changqing nodded to himself.

Exchanging three top-grade Emperor Immortal artifacts for 1300 pieces of Niesheng tea leaves was, in his opinion, a worthwhile deal.

It should be known that

the Niesheng tea tree was a true tenth-order heavenly treasure.

The tea leaves nurtured by such a treasure were the essence of the Niesheng tea tree.

Shen Changqing originally thought that getting a few hundred pieces would be good enough, but now he had 1300 pieces directly; how could he not be satisfied?

At the same time,

the commotion in the forbidden zone of life also attracted the attention of many cultivators within Zhenyuan Pass.

Upon seeing Shen Changqing appear, the other cultivators breathed a sigh of relief.

The existence of a life-forbidden zone of unknown depth was bound to cause concern, but since their sect leader had appeared, the situation seemed relatively stable. Shen Changqing

then

gave the life-forbidden zone a deep look before turning and leaving.

…

On the other side

, a fleet of immortal ships traversed the void, bearing the flags of the Immortal Qin Dynasty.

On the central ship, palaces stood in rows, and the commander-in-chief, Wei Zhenbei, sat enthroned, surrounded by high-ranking military officials.

“Urgent report from Zhenyuan Pass: Han Chongshan is dead, Zhenyuan Pass has fallen, and the three million-strong army is nearly annihilated. This is news from the front lines. Take a look!”

Wei Zhenbei’s expression was blank, but his words shook the entire hall, and all the cultivators were horrified.

Zhenyuan Pass had fallen!

This outcome was completely unexpected.

They knew…

Zhenyuan Pass is a major city in the northern frontier and the most important fortress. It is personally guarded by Han Chongshan, the commander of the Zhenyuan Army, and is defended by three million elite troops.

Moreover,

Zhenyuan Pass is surrounded by numerous ancient restrictions.

Even if a force no weaker than the Immortal Qin Dynasty were to send troops, taking Zhenyuan Pass would not be an easy task.

Yet now, someone claims that Zhenyuan Pass fell in less than a few days, and their first reaction is disbelief.

But since these words came from Wei Zhenbei, they have no choice but to believe them.

Furthermore,

after Wei Zhenbei finished speaking, he passed down a jade slip for the other generals to examine.

When the other generals’ divine senses entered the jade slip, their expressions grew increasingly grim.

After a moment, one of the generals couldn’t help but say, “General, is this news incorrect? It’s not that I don’t believe you, but Zhenyuan Pass is a crucial city of our Immortal Qin Dynasty. Not to mention the Northern Frontier, throughout the entire empire, only a handful can rival Zhenyuan Pass.

Eighty million years ago, the Tai Xi Immortal Court’s thirty million-strong army pressed in, with several half-saints even intervening, forcibly attacking Zhenyuan Pass for a century, ultimately suffering defeat.

Now, a mysterious force has captured Zhenyuan Pass with just one or two half-saints—this is truly unbelievable!”

The other generals exchanged glances and nodded.

They shared the same view.

Zhenyuan Pass’s title as the foremost fortress of the Northern Frontier wasn’t self-proclaimed; it was earned through sheer military achievements.

Since the founding of the Immortal Qin Dynasty, Zhenyuan Pass had served as the gateway to the Northern Frontier, preventing countless forces from entering and causing countless half-saints to retreat in defeat.

It could be said

that over the years, Zhenyuan Pass had been breached only a handful of times.

Every time Zhenyuan Pass fell, it was only because the opposing force mobilized ten times, or even dozens of times, their strength, relying on a large number of powerful warriors to push through at any cost, that they managed to break through Zhenyuan Pass by sheer luck.

But the news that the other force had breached Zhenyuan Pass in just a few days was hard to believe.

Wei Zhenbei’s expression was solemn: “How could I not know what you’re saying? When I first heard this news, I also doubted the intelligence.

But now, the Zhenyuan Army Commander Han Chongshan has fallen, the Zhenyuan Army has collapsed, and a few remnants have retreated from Zhenyuan Pass. Footage of that battle has been widely circulated.

So this news is definitely not false!”

These words silenced them all.

After a long while,

a general took a deep breath: “If what you say is true, General, that force controls Zhenyuan Pass. With our current strength, wouldn’t we be like an egg hitting a rock?”

Don’t be fooled by the seemingly large number of troops; to say that such a force could take over Zhenyuan Pass is absolutely impossible.

Even Zhenyuan Pass, once guarded only by Han Chongshan, was not something a ten-million-strong army could shake.

Not to mention,

the force currently controlling Zhenyuan Pass is far more formidable than during Han Chongshan’s time.

Wei Zhenbei said in a deep voice, “It’s normal for you to have concerns. However, the reason Zhenyuan Pass is known as the foremost fortress of the Northern Frontier is due to the numerous restrictions surrounding it.

Without those ancient restrictions, Zhenyuan Pass, though dangerous, is not impregnable—”

Wei Zhenbei paused slightly before continuing,

“The restrictions inside and outside Zhenyuan Pass are different. Not long ago, some defeated soldiers from the Zhenyuan Army surrendered, presenting me with a map of the inner restrictions of Zhenyuan Pass.

With this map, attacking Zhenyuan Pass from the outside is useless, but attacking it from within the Northern Frontier would be twice as effective!” Upon hearing

this ,

the other cultivators’ expressions relaxed.

So that’s how it is!

“If we had a map of Zhenyuan Pass, our chances of victory would be quite high!”

The first general to speak was beaming with excitement. If Zhenyuan Pass fell and his side could recapture it, it would be an immense achievement.

Although the force that had taken Zhenyuan Pass was no simple opponent, he wasn’t particularly afraid.

He knew that his side not only possessed a massive army of millions, but also had the support of the royal ancestor.

The latter’s strength far surpassed that of Han Chongshan.

In a direct confrontation, that mysterious force might not be a match for them.