Elder Donglai heard the words "damaged true treasure" and sighed inwardly, thinking that it was indeed so. Even though Tiegu knew that the path ahead was unfavorable, he still wanted to drag the other party down with him.

Anyway, after Yi Jue answered like this, he had no way to say anything more. In front of so many people, even if he didn’t care about losing face as a True Immortal, the Lingmu Sect still had to uphold its reputation.

Of course, Elder Tiegu’s intention had already been achieved. No matter what, Feng Jun would now face the covetous eyes of many.

Elder Tiegu didn’t respond right away. After waiting for about five or six minutes, he muttered in a low voice, "Can’t wait any longer..."

He knew that his own Ziji True Sage was currently collecting true treasures, and he estimated that the Speculator might attract the attention of a True Sage. But since it hadn’t arrived, it was likely hindered by something, leaving him without hope of rescue.

If Ziji True Sage could come to collect the true treasures, his predicament would be resolved on its own. With an Out-of-body True Sage taking the lead, any problems he faced would no longer be an issue, even if You Xuan True Sage from the Jinwu Sect intervened. His troubles would be just a "light punishment."

Now he could only rely on himself, so he took a deep breath. His voice, like a rumbling thunder, rolled across the vast Celestial Star Abyss, "It’s just a fight, why make so many pretentious excuses? I haven’t liked you for more than a day or two."

Although he had previously used disgusting tactics, once he decided to take action, he truly would not dig any more pits for Feng Jun. He wouldn’t say that his target wasn’t Yi Jue and Wan Qing from the start—holding onto someone at the Initial Golden Core Stage wasn’t something he could afford.

After all, the paths of Spirit Plant and Spirit Wood were naturally opposed. Grasping this main contradiction, even if he were to perish in battle, it wouldn’t put Lingmu Sect in a too passive position.

Yi Jue’s body flashed and appeared in the air. Her stunning beauty and her palace attire made her look extremely noble and indifferent. She raised her hand in a salute and spoke coldly, "Spirit Plant Yi Jue, intends to slay the rebel Tiegu and uphold the orthodoxy!"

This was the rule when Spirit Plant and Spirit Wood went to war. Saying this meant she was abandoning the investigation of right and wrong—enough with nonsense, she simply intended to kill.

"Presumptuous!" Tiegu responded angrily, his body leaping into the air as he loudly declared, "In the territory of my Lingmu Sect, I won’t permit you, a Spirit Plant rebel, to speak like this. Spirit Wood Tiegu, intends to slay the rebel Yi Jue and rectify the orthodoxy!"

After saying this, he snorted coldly, "Since you are here to cause trouble in Lingmu Sect, then my use of the Guardian Spirit Wood isn’t considered bullying by numbers."

Elder Tiegu’s Guardian Spirit Wood was a tree demon formed from a Dragon Scale Tree. It also possessed a Nascent Soul High Stage cultivation level. It usually cultivated at the main gate of Lingmu Sect, while only a clone with Nascent Soul Initial Stage cultivation followed Tiegu.

But this time, Tiegu knew that Yi Jue was not easy to contend with, and with a ten-day agreement in place, he went to the main gate and specially transplanted the Dragon Scale Tree Spirit. In such a two-on-one scenario, Yi Jue shouldn’t have much chance of winning.

Indeed, in Elder Tiegu’s eyes, Yi Jue wasn’t all that difficult to deal with. What gave him a headache was that even if he defeated Yi Jue, there would still be cultivators from the Jinwu Sect challenging him—the enmity with Immortal Wan Qing was too significant.

And unfortunately, both the Lingmu Sect and the Spirit Plant Sect were troubled by Jinwu cultivators for a simple reason—elemental opposition. Although wood can create fire, when wood system cultivation techniques encounter fire system ones, the consequences can be imagined.

In Earth Realm terms, True Immortal Tiegu isn’t merely facing social death, but a fate where survival is impossible, which is why he feels so desperate. Yet before dying, taking down Yi Jue shouldn’t be too much of a problem—assuming he is shameless enough to use the Guardian Spirit Wood.

"You should have some dignity," Elder Kumu sternly said, "You’ve lived over two thousand years, and even the fractional years nearly exceed Elder Yi Jue’s age, and you still resort to two-on-one... If she reaches your age, how much of a threat could one Guardian Spirit Wood with Nascent Soul really pose?"

The Guardian Spirit Wood was somewhat akin to a contracted demon beast in the Beast Taming Path, existing to strictly obey its master’s orders. However, unlike the Beast Taming Path, the growth speed of Spirit Wood was much slower than demon beasts.

Moreover, most importantly, whether Spirit Wood or demon beast, their cultivation levels could not exceed their master’s, or else the master might experience backlash. Thus, wood system cultivators seeking to contract a Guardian Spirit Wood should choose one with limited potential.

No one dared contract the strategic-level resource Transpatial Vine of Lingmu Sect as a Guardian Spirit Wood because it has the Jian Mu bloodline and is bound to surpass its master eventually, leading to unimaginable backlash. No one could withstand it.

Elder Tiegu was already quite bold for choosing the Longlin Wood as a Guardian Spirit Wood at the Nascent Soul Initial Stage. The bloodline of this tree was relatively excellent. If his progression were smooth, it would suffice all the way to the Divine Transformation Stage. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

However, by the Divine Transformation Stage, the cultivation of the Longlin Wood would quickly escalate. If Elder Tiegu wanted to avoid backlash, the best choice would be to release the contract and select another Spirit Wood. But doing so would result in severe injury to himself.

This was the risk of Guardian Spirit Wood, but at the same time, invoking a lesser-grade Spirit Wood and enhancing its cultivation required vast resources from the contractor.

For Spirit Wood items, enhancing their grade was a lengthy process—after all, tree cultivation has never been an overnight achievement. Their growth periods can extend to tens of thousands of years.

Therefore, it’s quite normal for Yi Jue not to have a suitable protector Spirit Plant at hand; she doesn’t have that much time and resources to mature the Spirit Plant.

If she selects a Spirit Plant with exceptionally good lineage, firstly, it’s a rare occurrence, and secondly, during her cultivation journey, it’s not guaranteed to smoothly sail through; if any delay causes a backlash, she would have to annul the contract, which would be a significant loss.

As for Elder Tiegu’s Dragon Scale Tree breaking through to Nascent Soul High Stage, fundamentally, it’s because he has been stuck at Nascent Soul High Stage for too long, and now it’s basically hopeless for him to reach out-of-body, so he invests resources patiently to cultivate Longlin Wood with the aim of increasing combat strength.

Elder Kumu’s accusation is not wrong at all; Tiegu using the protector Spirit Plant in such a way is indeed shameless,

but Elder Tiegu shrugged indifferently, "Time is also a type of strength... How many years have I been a True Immortal? Can’t I cultivate a Spirit Plant? It’s shallow foundations and blaming others for their greater contributions?"

This is using one’s qualifications to argue, but there’s no choice; on Tianqin Plane, qualifications are indeed particularly valued—rather than valuing qualifications, it’s more of a tradition of respecting the elderly.

Kumu was rendered speechless by these words, but Yi Jue waved her hand lightly, unfazed, "No matter, I’m not afraid of them joining forces."

As she spoke, she indicated her stance and quickly took out a jade-colored, plump large insect, tossing it into the sky, where it instantly expanded and twisted, transforming into a towering mushroom over ten feet tall.

"Jade Spore Skyworm?" Elder Tiegu’s face darkened, followed by a cold snort, "Did you bring over everything hidden by the Lingmu Sect? Rebels are indeed rebels... How dare you rely on this disgusting thing."

The Jade Spore Skyworm is half plant, half animal; it’s another rare wonder in the world.

When not mature, it appears as a mushroom; upon maturity, it ejects spores that are enemies of all Spirit Plants. These spores transform into worms that absorb Spirit Plant nutrients, after which the Spirit Plant dies, the worm transforms back into a mushroom rooted underground, with offspring retrieved by the parent.

This creature is indeed a nightmare for all Spirit Plants, although typically, such things are rarely born, and in the records of Tianqin, it has appeared twice: once exterminated, and another collected by the Lingmu Sect.

The Lingmu Sect endured considerable pressure upon collecting this item—such a malignant existence, nobody wishes for it to exist.

However, the Lingmu Sect reasoned that poison can also be lifesaving; it depends on how it’s utilized, and later, they indeed used the Jade Spore Skyworm reasonably. When some Spirit Plants’ spiritual energy was unbalanced, using it for regulation proved fitting.

This isn’t idle talk but is backed by real examples. Some sects with Spirit Plant issues even borrowed the Jade Spore Skyworm from the Lingmu Sect, achieving remarkable feats, albeit borrowing it requires substantial reputation and considerable expense.

This marks the distinction between the Lingmu Sect and Lingmu, where Lingmu focuses on warfare, while the Lingmu Sect emphasizes cultivating Spirit Plants, including some nurturing and healing methods, considering various strategies, although Lingmu considers them heretical, a typical reaction.

After tens of thousands of years of cultivation, the Jade Spore Skyworm has reached Nascent Soul Peak or even half-step out-of-body; as it cannot self-reproduce offspring, borrowing it from the Lingmu Sect at such a level is even harder.

Currently, Yi Jue borrowed merely an incarnation, but it sufficiently intimidates most Spirit Plants—mainly because the Lingmu Sect’s Spirit Plants are too formidable; since she dares to come for battle, how could she lack contingencies?

In summary, her method of confronting challenges does exceed the crowd’s understanding; after the Lingmu Sect collected the Jade Spore Skyworm, it’s the first time openly used in battle.

In the preceding tens of thousands of years, Lingmu had twice spread "rumors" alleging the Lingmu Sect secretly used the Jade Spore Skyworm to harm its own True Immortal, but being rumors is because no evidence was offered.

This time, Immortal Yi Jue has completely torn the facade, bringing forth this item to fight—while she may lack presentable Spirit Plants, she could still borrow the Jade Spore Skyworm from the sect!

If Elder Tiegu hadn’t been excessively shameless in using the protector Spirit Plants for combat, she wouldn’t have done so.

"What’s the Jade Spore Skyworm?" The crowd murmured, as the item was too mysterious, and few have seen it, not many have even heard of it; this was truly eye-opening.

After being briefed by others, the crowd’s gaze at the Jade Spore Skyworm grew even more awestruck: how could such a wonder exist in the world? Truly befitting of a battle between Spirit Plants and Lingmu, bringing forth such a thing.

If their gaze was awestruck, the True Immortals from Lingmu’s heart was shocked; the Lingmu Sect is... truly prepared to utterly tear down the facade?