A pine tree with sword-like leaves and a trunk the shape of a dragon. Its size wasn’t impressive but possessed a sky-splitting momentum.

It easily stopped the gigantic sword from the tutor despite the slash’s earth-splitting power. 

“The ancestral tree answers!” Miaozhen was shocked to see this.

Not just her but everyone in Longevity Valley became stunned.

“It really is the ancestral tree.” Some were in disbelief and eventually confirmed it after a closer inspection. This was indeed their sword pine.

According to the legends, Alchemy Immortal planted three trees back then. They grew along with the sect and after so many years, they have become quite old, definitely the most ancient existences here.

No one has seen these trees in action before, so they were no different from other old pine trees outside of their age. Some ancestors have claimed that they all had incredible powers, capable of killing True Gods and contending against True Emperors. One thing was for certain, earning their approval was necessary before using their power. This task has never been done before in the long history of the valley, until today. 

Though Li Qiye was the First Disciple, he got it by chance and it hasn’t been that long. However, the sword pine had approved of him, this was quite astonishing.

So many ancestors have tried before and failed. This newly-joined junior, on the other hand, had earned this honor.

“Amazing, the valley lord has such incredible insight.” One ancestor watching from inside noticed this. He took a deep breath at this unprecedented miracle done by such a young man.

Xiao Hongjian’s eyes bulged in disbelief. He knew about these legends as well, not expecting for it to happen against him.

“Break!” Multiple divine swords appeared behind him, turning him into the lord of the swords. They rushed to the sky like a peacock spreading its tail.

The sound of the sword hymn alone could pierce the nine firmaments. All of the swords decided to slash at the same time. Even the sky was split apart with terrifying scars.

“Nine Reincarnation Slash!” He roared the name of technique while his aura erupted in an endless manner, able to drown the entire area.

The swords slashed downward and continued to do so in an endless cycle until the death of the enemy.

Such a fierce sword dao horrified the crowd. The sword dao itself was impeccable. This fused with the power of a True Sword resulted in a technique capable of wiping out a sect.

Li Qiye was just as nonchalant as ever: “Go now.”

He raised his hand and the sword pine’s leaves immediately dropped downward. These branches and leaves became a barrier for Longevity Valley. This was a bulwark of swords, completely untouchable.

The collision resulted in earthquakes and fiery sparks, a near-apocalyptic sequence.

This was his proudest and most powerful slash. Alas, it couldn’t break through the barrier so the valley remained unharmed.

The tutor’s expression changed, realizing the might of this pine tree. Meanwhile, the crowd also understood the valley’s true ace cards. This was the reason why it could maintain its reign over the system for so long.

The unsuccessful attack made him decide to ride a sword away, leaving a circular trail behind. He knew he was no match for the tree so out of the thirty-six stratagems, running was the best. Reputation, honor, prestige; all were meaningless before death. First, he needed to stay alive before worrying about anything else.

In this blink of an eye, the sword pine became resplendent. Massive swords thrust out of the ground as if they were born from the tree - each was shiny like crystal. They became a crystallized wall stopping the tutor’s escape route.

“Break!” He didn’t stop and channeled his own swords towards the wall.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!” His swords collapsed after the initial impact.

“Up!” He had no choice but to flew upward even more in order to avoid the wall.

“Whoosh!” One of the branches from the tree slightly moved. Just this little action alone allowed it to cross through the void with lightning speed.

“Not good!” He could sense the danger and retaliated with another slash to sever everything behind him.

This mighty slash didn’t accomplish anything. The branch pierced through the slash then the tutor’s chest.

“Boom!” Space crumbled with numerous silvery specks of dust like the breaking of glass. The branch had crucified him in the air.

Blood began to flow down the branch with its beautiful yet shiver-inducing shade.

His eyes opened wide to look at the branch. An Ascender has been defeated so easily.

People’s mouth was agape enough to fit a boiled egg inside. They couldn’t close it for a long time.

Li Qiye stepped into the sky and appeared before the tutor. He smiled and said: “Killing a god isn’t too hard. Taking down a True Emperor would be more satisfying.”

The crowd became speechless. Miaozhen smiled wryly - no words could describe his domineering attitude.

The ones outside didn’t dare to say anything. It didn’t matter whether the guy was personally strong or not. Being recognized by this ancestral tree was his power, enough to brag for an entire lifetime. Plus, he had just used it to kill an Ascender. It was fine for him to make another bold statement.

Li Qiye didn’t have any trouble using this ancestral tree because he had the old tree plus the primordial tree. These heaven-defying entities allowed him to have control over the sword tree.

The tutor had fear in his eyes. After all, few were truly unafraid of death. 

“What, what do you want?!” He bellowed and tried to struggle. Alas, the tree prevented him from everything, even the worst case scenario of blowing himself off in order to escape with his true fate. Being trapped here meant that he was a fish on the chopping board, waiting for Li Qiye to do whatever he wanted.