Wait a minute, where is my master?

Originally, after Mr. Song regained consciousness, he was still puzzled. Before he was knocked unconscious, hadn't that muscular brute used only his fists? Then where did these burns and ice pick wounds on his body come from?

Hearing Miss Yunzhao's words, he could no longer afford to be puzzled and immediately sat up from the ground.

"Seventh Princess, this matter is no joking affair,"

Mr. Song said through gritted teeth, the pain evident on his face.

He had risen too abruptly and was in pain.

"I saw it with my own eyes, and Hall Master Xia can also testify to it,"

With a swollen nose and bruised face, Xia Xuanmin also came over and glanced at Jin Xu before speaking, "The princess is telling the truth. I too saw the Transformation Pond with my own eyes. It's located in a cave in the mountain range just ahead."

"But shouldn't something like the Transformation Pond have been completely eradicated during the ancient war between immortals and demons a thousand years ago? Even the roots of the Transformation Mother Tree were cut by an elder of the Kunlun Immortal Palace."

"Unless the Demon Sect has cultivated another Transformation Mother Tree!" Mr. Song answered his own question.

After these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.

The others were silent because they knew the terrifying nature of this thing; Jin Xu was silent because he didn't know what they were talking about.

But it seemed relevant to the Transformation Fruit he knew of.

"... Gentlemen, since you say this Transformation Pond is so dangerous, and Miss Yunzhao has discovered its existence, shouldn't we go and have a look?"

Jin Xu made the suggestion.

He planned to discreetly inquire and find out what was going on during the journey.

The little Taoist thought to himself.

If anyone asked why he didn't know, he would simply say he had just come down from the mountain.

...

The group set off on Mr. Mei's plum blossom, while the two constables returned to Qian Deng Town on their own.

On the road, Jin Xu successfully learned what the Transformation Pond and the Transformation Mother Tree really were.

This matter had to start from the great war between immortals and demons a thousand years ago.

The Mother Tree used to be one of the treasures in the hands of the Demon Sect Hierarch. It wasn't strong in terms of attack, but its effectiveness was extremely terrifying.

The Transformation Mother Tree could split into numerous offspring, each offspring tree able to bear the Transformation Fruits well known to the little Taoist. Its main body, however, could give rise to the Transformation Pond. The water in the pond could absorb both the ripe Transformation Fruits and the negative emotions scattered throughout the world, ultimately feeding back to the Mother Tree.

The most terrifying aspect of the Transformation Mother Tree was its ability to evoke the darkest and most evil parts of a person's heart, strengthening desires and amplifying malevolent thoughts.

For cultivators, those with a firm dao heart would become clouded, while those with an unsteady dao heart would undergo drastic changes in temperament and veer towards the Demon Path.

For ordinary people, there was even less chance of escaping its influence.

At its most flourishing time, it gave rise to eighty-one Transformation Ponds and countless offspring, throwing one of the Nine Provinces into chaos. The calamities and tragedies it caused were such that not even hell on earth would adequately describe them.

It was eventually the rotund monk from Wanbao Temple, working in conjunction with the Ten-thousand-year-old Heart Calming Willow, who managed to suppress it. It wasn't until an ancestor from the Kunlun Immortal Palace stepped in that the Mother Tree was cleaved.

Nevertheless, that province still couldn't avoid becoming a dead land, eventually destroyed during the great war between the immortals and the demons.

As to why there are still occasional reports of the Transformation Fruit today,

it's because there were too many offspring of the Mother Tree back then, and even after a thousand years, they still haven't entirely disappeared.

After listening to Miss Yunzhao's account, the little Taoist smacked his lips, feeling as if the world had become several degrees more dangerous.

He thought of his master again.

The journey was short, so the group quickly arrived at the territory of the wild wolves. Led by Miss Yunzhao, they found the entrance to the cave, all wearing stern expressions.

The little Taoist discovered that this was the exact spot where his Spiritual Sense had detected the emanation of Black Qi.

The group entered the cave. The cavern was not large and they soon reached the bottom.

But at the deepest part of the cave, there was only a cracked stone platform with a few spirit stones devoid of Spiritual Energy on it, along with the broken patterns of a Formation.

The Transformation Pond that was supposed to be situated on the platform had disappeared without a trace.

Miss Yunzhao walked up to the stone platform, and with her fingertips gently caressing the broken Formation patterns, she murmured to herself, "This shouldn't be. It was right here before."

She had inadvertently gone the wrong way and had stumbled upon something on the pedestal deep inside the cave, which gave her quite a fright.

Only after careful identification did she realize that this object was the legendary Transformation Pond.

As a member of the Great Xia Imperial Family, she had learned a great deal about the war between immortals and demons, especially about the Demon Sect. After all, her Xia family ancestor, Xia Xuanmin, had personally participated in that battle and was on the victorious side.

Once she confirmed that this was the extremely dangerous Transformation Pond, she immediately sent a cipher message to Li Mi, in case something happened to her and the news couldn't get out.

Then she hurriedly turned around and walked toward the entrance of the cave.

The face of Xia Sunyang was the one she had kicked and swollen at that time.

Xia Yunzhao swore that it was purely an instinctive reaction.

After all, which girl wouldn't be scared turning around to see an old man's face contorting!

At that moment, Jin Xu and the three friends from the Suihan Sect also arrived at the scene.

Mei Shouyi, who had some understanding of formations, examined it and then said, "This seems to be a small movement array."

"Can we trace it back?" Mr. Song, who was lying on his back, inquired.

Mei Shouyi frowned and shook his head.

"Unless Elder Ding, who's skilled in formations, comes over, I'm afraid the average masters from the academy won't be capable."

Having heard this, Mr. Song spoke no further. Elder Ding had already gone to another prefecture of Great Xia, and naturally, he wouldn't be able to come in a short time.

By the time he arrived, it would be too late, and the traceable aspect of the formation would be lost.

The atmosphere in the cave grew tense again.

...

Underground somewhere.

The Transformation Pond was placed within the circle of a formation, with a man with dark spots on his greenish-black face standing next to it.

It was none other than the unnerved Hall Master Zou.

What purported high-level God Transformation, bullshit!

Could a high-level God Transformation punch a wild ox to death in one blow?

Could a high-level God Transformation be unaffected by the control of three formations?

Could a high-level God Transformation endure his punch and cause his own arm to break from the recoil?

Um... that one could actually happen.

But that's something only a high-level God Transformation with Body Cultivation could achieve! Wasn't it said that the little Taoist was practicing Cultivating Skills?

Luckily, he realized something was wrong and immediately fled. Also, fortunate that he was cautious enough to have set up a small teleportation array in the cave in advance, which allowed him to escape with the Transformation Pond.

The underground stone door opened.

A fragrant breeze rushed in, and Hall Master Xia, dressed in a thin purple gauze skirt, walked in from outside the door and threw a bottle of Medicine Liquid to Hall Master Zou, saying,

"For your arm, apply this first. The Third Elder messaged asking if 'Old Yellow' had had an accident. No wonder he suddenly became so strong; it turns out the Third Elder had implanted the roots of the Divinity Transformation Mother Tree inside him."

As she spoke, Hall Master Xia walked over to the edge of the Transformation Pond to check the resentful energy within it.

"Phew, luckily, there's no significant problem with the pool's resentful energy."

Hall Master Zou opened the jade bottle and poured all of the Medicine Liquid onto his arm, slowly spreading it.

"Did the Third Elder say what we should do with that little Taoist? With our current strength, we can't touch him at all."

Upon hearing this, Hall Master Xia let out a charming laugh.

"Hehe~~~ The Third Elder said that since the opponent is so powerful, we might as well change our approach. As long as that person doesn't interfere with our plans, we're fine."

"So?"

"Lure the tiger away from the mountain!"

Hall Master Xia was brimming with confidence.