I Can Recognize Everything, But the Information is Wrong

At this moment, Mei Xiangu was leading the way, followed by Senior Sister Jia and Ju Yunhai.

The group appeared very calm, but in reality, they were all moving with great caution.

Once they exited the bamboo bridge, they managed to leave the encirclement of those who brandished bright weapons.

But even so, everyone remained vigilant, following Ju Yunhai's map, and walked further to the other side of the Demon Forest.

"Are we really going to—"

Senior Sister Jia, certain they had distanced themselves several miles from the Sword Hiding Manor, finally spoke up.

But as she began to speak, Mei Xiangu, unbeknownst to anyone when, pinched a petal in her hand and tossed it into the air.

In an instant, the mournful cries of birds filled the air.

Mei Xiangu looked up and shouted into the sky, "If you dare to spy again, I'll slaughter you along with your master."

Following her words, a chorus of bird cries sounded, gradually moving farther away.

Only then did Mei Xiangu turn to Senior Sister Jia and asked, "What were you about to say?"

Senior Sister Jia responded, "Do we really need to search for the Qingming Sword?"

Mei Xiangu sneered:

"I don't care whether the mission is completed or not. If you all want to head back home, that would be best; I can then focus on my cultivation."

Senior Sister Jia seemed somewhat hesitant, but Ju Yunhai immediately stepped forward and said, "We've accepted the Guo family's Spirit Stones, how can we go back on our word?"

This statement left Senior Sister Jia speechless; from her perspective, since they had already accepted the Spirit Stones, it didn't matter whether they accomplished the task or not.

Wasn't Fu Tianchou planning to wipe out the entire Guo family?

Could Guo Yuanhuai still run to the Inquiry Sect to plead injustice?

"Actually, whether we take the Spirit Stones or not doesn't matter; what's important is not jeopardizing our own potential for a few Spirit Stones."

Senior Sister Jia's words received Tian Lin's approval, who straightforwardly said, "If things don't go well, we can simply abandon the mission and return the Spirit Stones given by Guo Yuanhuai to his orphan outside the Demon Forest."

"Alright, let's first find the ancestral retreat of that Guo family patriarch."

Ju Yunhai made a decisive decision, putting away the map and going deeper south.

The most crucial thing during a cultivation retreat is not being disturbed, especially when a breakthrough is imminent.

Therefore, the retreat location of the Guo family patriarch, to avoid enemies, was not only deep within the Demon Forest, inaccessible to ordinary people but its exact location wasn't even known to the Guo family members themselves.

The group, led by Mei Xiangu as directed by Yunhai, finally walked for more than three hours.

By this time, the sky was bright, but deep within the Demon Forest, towering trees blocked out the sun, casting everything in shadow.

Ju Yunhai said, "I've only ever ventured this far in past years; any further, and we're almost guaranteed to encounter demon beasts."

Looking at the dense vegetation, Senior Sister Jia said, "The demon energy here is much stronger than elsewhere, likely indicating the territory of a Great Demon. Are we really going in?"

"There may be Golden Core Realm demon beasts, but encountering Nascent Soul Stage demon beasts is likely only if we're deep within the Beast Taming Sect's territory. Ultimately, we're still within the Beast Taming Sect's range, so as long as we act cautiously, we shouldn't encounter too many difficulties."

Seeing Ju Yunhai's determination, Senior Sister Jia said no more.

In the depths of this Demon Forest, the trees were tall but the undergrowth sparse.

Not to mention ordinary flowers and plants, which rarely found the conditions to survive here. Even these giant trees were spaced some distance apart in their competition for Spiritual Energy and sunlight.

Over there, Yun'er used a flying sword to slice open the bark of a tree, revealing green juice oozing from the trunk.

She put the bark to her mouth and couldn't help but say, "This bark seems almost like Spiritual Liquid, containing quite a bit of Spiritual Energy."

Ju Yunhai warned her, "Some of these trees can be eaten and some cannot. Some demon beasts can eat them, while humans cannot—"

Before he finished speaking, a vine came lashing down like a whip towards Feng'er.

It turned out Feng'er was imitating Yun'er, peeling the bark from a tree.

But Feng'er never expected that the tree would be alive.

Fortunately, the tree, although alive, was only a threat to Qi Refiners at most.

Feng'er, being at mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, reacted swiftly.

Before the whip could hit her, she grabbed the 'vine whip' and tore it apart.

Her actions seemed to trigger a chain reaction, with countless branches, vines, and roots attacking them from the ground and above.

These branches, vines, and roots formed a large net, enveloping Tian Lin and the others tightly.

Mei Xiangu sneered and drew out the Divine Lady Tree from her sleeve.

A small tree planted in a Jade Purifying Bottle, even smaller than when Tian Lin first saw it.

But the moment this small tree appeared, the surrounding net transformed back into vines, branches, and roots, rapidly retreating and clearing a path for the small tree.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, they proceeded forward.

Tian Lin pondered and took out the tree he had.

But his tree looked like a mere stick, lacking any resemblance to a tree, and certainly lacked the mystique of the small tree in Mei Xiangu's hand.

As Tian Lin frowned, Mei Xiangu said, "Consider using it against foes once you've fed it a soul."

Ju Yunhai, seeing Tian Lin's disappointment as he put the tree away, comforted him, "Once you get into Class A, you can explore the secret realm. There's nothing but countless souls and spirits there."

Mei Xiangu's mind stirred, and she glanced at Tian Lin.

Whether Tian Lin was tempted, she didn't know, but she was clearly moved.

The Divine Lady Tree required souls to grow, yet the Goddess Sect didn't have control over the secret realm.

Contrarily, the Inquiry Sect, although lacking the Divine Lady Tree, had the means to enter and exit the secret realm.

If she could enter the secret realm, then her Divine Lady Tree would undoubtedly grow significantly, paving a smooth path for her cultivation journey.

"The secret realm can be discussed later; these Demon Trees seem peculiar to me."

Tian Lin's gaze roamed over the trees. Following his line of sight, they indeed saw several trees with sword marks.

These sword marks were certainly not left by Yun'er or Feng'er, as these Demon Trees could heal from wounds by ordinary flying swords in a short time.

For example, the barks cut by Yun'er and Feng'er had already grown new bark, appearing completely intact.

However, the sword marks seen on some trees were exceptionally deep, requiring significant strength to leave such impressions.

These marks were evidently not recent, suggesting that these Demon Trees could potentially heal on their own.

Yet, it was clear that these Demon Trees hadn't healed the wounds.

"There is Sword Qi on the trees, which makes it difficult for the Demon Trees to heal. To leave such Sword Qi, one's swordsmanship must be extraordinarily high, mustn't it?"

After hearing Tian Lin's words, Senior Sister Jia frowned slightly and said, "The person who left the Sword Qi on the trees may not have exceptionally high swordsmanship. It's quite possible they wielded a treasured sword, one capable of emitting Sword Qi even without being in the hands of a Sword Cultivator."

Ju Yunhai picked up on Senior Sister Jia's implication and asked, "Are you suggesting that the Qingming Sword has already been taken by someone?"