A dense magical mist surrounded the entire demon tree.

At a glance, it felt particularly oppressive.

What’s astonishing was that some red fruits grew on the demon tree.

They looked like hearts, slightly trembling.

"What kind of tree is that?"

Shen Xuan didn’t rush forward.

He sensed a dense aura of death.

"It’s a demon tree. And it’s alive."

Demon Venerable Cuiyun focused his gaze ahead.

"Yunshang, do you recognize it?"

Immortal Yunshang tilted her head, looked for a while, and then said, "It seems to be a soul-devouring dragon bone tree. The red fruits on it look very much like the legendary Dragon Bone Fruit."

"Can you be sure?"

Upon hearing Dragon Bone Fruit, Demon Venerable Cuiyun was somewhat excited.

Of course, he also did not rush forward.

As someone in the late stage of the Holy Pill, Demon Venerable Cuiyun’s perception of danger far exceeds that of ordinary cultivators.

"A living demon tree, it must be tens of thousands of years old."

"Immortal Ling’er, is there an array restriction in front of that soul-devouring dragon bone tree?"

Demon Venerable Cuiyun inquired.

"Yes."

Mu Ling’Er looked at the soul-devouring dragon bone tree with suspicion.

It was the first time she had seen such a demon tree.

"Can you break through it?"

"I’ll give it a try."

Mu Ling’Er activated the Nine Palaces Spiritual Banner. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

However, this time, things didn’t go smoothly.

The Nine Palaces Spiritual Banner seemed to be blocked by some invisible barrier, unwilling to move forward.

"What’s wrong?"

Demon Venerable Cuiyun asked.

"There’s a very sophisticated invisible killing array restriction in front."

Mu Ling’Er’s Nine Palaces Spiritual Banner had developed a hint of spirituality.

When encountering danger, it would voluntarily halt, refusing to be destroyed by the killing array.

Demon Venerable Cuiyun was obsessed with the Dragon Bone Fruit, unwilling to give up.

"Immortal Ling’er, is there a way to dismantle the killing array restriction?"

"It depends on the power of the killing array restriction."

Mu Ling’Er devised a plan.

She sent a Skeleton Demon to explore the array.

If its power wasn’t great, they could try to forcefully break the array.

On the other hand, if the power was too strong, they could only slowly deplete the array’s magic power.

Otherwise, if they forcibly attacked, the array could become chaotic, resulting in various variables.

"Kumu, bring out a Skeleton Demon to do as Immortal Ling’er suggests."

"Alright."

Demon Venerable Kumu summoned a Skeleton Demon, wielding a White Bone Shield and White Bone Sword, and it walked clumsily towards the soul-devouring dragon bone tree.

When it reached a thousand feet away, several beams of black light suddenly flashed on the ground, intertwining to form a mass of black light.

With a "bang" sound,

that mass of black light struck the Skeleton Demon.

In an instant, the Skeleton Demon’s bones exploded violently.

A Tier Two Upper Grade demon artifact, refined from a hundred-year-old demon bone, its hardness comparable to a Tier Two Upper Grade Demon Beast.

In the attack of that black light, it instantly turned to dust, like tofu.

Demon Venerable Cuiyun and Shen Xuan exchanged a glance.

Shen Xuan slowly shook his head.

Both of them witnessed the explosion of the Skeleton Demon.

The attack power of that black light was comparable to the full force strike of a late-stage True Pill cultivator.

If that was all, it wouldn’t be too difficult to deal with.

Both of them could defend against it by summoning their defensive spiritual artifacts and demon soldiers.

However, they didn’t know how persistent such attacks would be within the killing array restriction.

If the attacks kept coming continuously, head on.

Even for both of them, they had to carefully consider again and again.

How long they could endure within such a killing array restriction.

"Kumu, send another Skeleton Demon."

Demon Venerable Kumu said nothing and summoned another one.

And so it went.

After the fourth Skeleton Demon exploded.

Demon Venerable Kumu said, "Brother Cuiyun, I’m out of Skeleton Demons."

Demon Venerable Cuiyun asked, "Do you have any similar demon artifacts?"

Demon Venerable Kumu shook his head and said, "No more."

"Alas!"

Skeleton Demons, with bodies similar to cultivators, are ideal for exploring arrays.

If the exploration artifact differs too much from a cultivator, it can easily fail.

Sometimes, the exploration artifact remains unharmed,

But when a cultivator enters, they trigger the killing array restriction, with results too tragic to imagine.

Demon Venerable Cuiyun also had exploration artifacts.

But he was unwilling to sacrifice them here.

"Fellow Daoist Profound Ice, Immortal Ling’er, do you have exploration artifacts?"

"Of course we do."

Mu Ling’Er smiled and took out a Spirit Bamboo Puppet.

The workmanship was somewhat rough, but its movements were very agile.

Moreover, the Spirit Bamboo used was Tier Two Upper Grade, very tough.

"One puppet for one Blood Demon Pill."

Now aware of the Blood Demon Pill’s value, she raised her price excessively.

"One-time offer, six Blood Demon Pills, for you to dismantle this place’s restriction."

Demon Venerable Cuiyun contemplated and said.

"Alright."

Six Blood Demon Pills could be exchanged for an ordinary demon soldier.

Slightly cheaper than a spiritual artifact used by a True Master.

For Mu Ling’Er, the profit was substantial.

Shen Xuan smiled slightly, not intervening.

"Bang!"

Mu Ling’Er’s Spirit Bamboo Puppet, unlike Demon Venerable Kumu’s Skeleton Demon, moved a few steps further.

However, each Spirit Bamboo Puppet didn’t make it far before being struck by the suddenly appearing black light, shattering apart.

The next day.

Mu Ling’Er’s Spirit Bamboo Puppets, eleven of them, became scrap.

Under Shen Xuan’s guidance,

The twelfth Spirit Bamboo Puppet finally scouted a path, stepping beyond the restriction.

It turned out, Shen Xuan had covered the Spirit Bamboo Puppet with a layer of Profound Ice, concealing its aura, making it undetectable by the killing array restriction.

"Fellow Daoist Profound Ice, can this method work on us?"

Demon Venerable Cuiyun asked.

"Not necessarily. Your auras differ from that of the Spirit Bamboo Puppet."

Shen Xuan admitted frankly.

After so many exploration attempts, the black light’s power had weakened somewhat.

"However, if you are willing, I can envelop you completely and block you from the outside, which should allow passage."

Shen Xuan thought for a moment and proposed a solution.

"Good idea. Kumu, why don’t you give it a try?"

Demon Venerable Kumu had an unwilling expression.

But under Demon Venerable Cuiyun’s pressure, he had no choice but to comply.

Shen Xuan condensed a Profound Ice barrier, enveloping Demon Venerable Kumu entirely.