We bear people have power

“Great Immortal, I have a plan to break the protective formation of this Thorn Ridge,” Zhou Gu said obsequiously.

Guan Bo glanced at the guy and asked noncommittally, "What's your idea?"

“Reporting to the Great Immortal, this protective mountain formation is supported by a thousand miles of thorny thickets. Unless you can destroy all of these thorns in one strike, the four ancient tree spirits can quickly restore them by releasing their own wood-based spiritual energy. Breaking the formation would be difficult even for the Great Sage Equaling Heaven. However, I have previously mastered this formation and know that it actually has a treasure as its core. Once this treasure is obtained, the formation will break on its own.”

Zhou Gu spoke with such certainty that it seemed to be true.

Guan Bo also became interested; after all, treasure hunting was much more interesting than driving piles on a construction site. Moreover, a treasure capable of supporting this thorny array spanning thousands of miles must be extraordinary.

Ever since making a fortune inside the belly of the Void-Stomach Ghost King, Guan Bo had become quite interested in treasures. Even if he couldn't use them himself, with tens of thousands of people in Sickle Hammer City almost all becoming cultivators, there was bound to be some who could use them.

After thinking for a moment, Guan Bo asked again, "You know where that treasure is, why don't you take it yourself? Based on my impression of you, you're not exactly a rule-abiding person."

Zhou Gu is a complete liar, a master storyteller, and utterly shameless, always seeking personal gain. If he had known about this treasure beforehand, he would never have refrained from taking it simply because he was acquainted with the people of Thorn Ridge.

Guan Bo felt that he was still hiding something from Guan Bo, who was only now showing off his treasure.

“Great Immortal, please understand, it’s not that I don’t want to go, but this treasure is buried hundreds of feet underground. My magical power is too weak to take it away unnoticed. If they discover it, I’m afraid I’ll lose my life,” Zhou Gu explained.

"In that case, tell me quickly where that treasure is?" Guan Bo hesitated for a moment, but decided to listen to Zhou Gu's explanation first.

"It's located thirty miles east of this ancient temple, that's also the location of the array's core, but it's underground," Zhou Gu said.

"The array's core isn't even in the ancient temple? What kind of operation is this?" Guan Bo asked in surprise.

“If it were placed in an ancient temple, wouldn’t everyone know about it, and the key to the formation would be broken sooner or later?” Zhou Gu explained again.

“That makes some sense. Then lead the way.” Guan Bo was skilled and daring, and he wasn’t afraid of this guy playing tricks.

The lotus platform flew thirty miles and arrived at the location indicated by Zhou Gu. On the surface, this thicket of thorns was unremarkable and no different from the surrounding area.

But since Zhou Gu has pointed out the location, Guan Bo might as well give it a try.

The Ruyi Divine Weapon transformed into a drill, which Guan Bo grabbed and plunged into the thicket of thorns. The branches and leaves were shredded, and in no time a large hole was created.

The Ruyi Divine Weapon could change shape at will and was made of extraordinary materials. Under Guan Bo's control, the drill bit quickly broke through the earth's crust and continued downwards.

After descending about a hundred feet, they indeed encountered something hard.

Guan Bo dug away the soil and saw that it was a wooden box. Despite the material of the Ruyi Divine Weapon, the box hadn't been damaged in the slightest. Guan Bo tried to open it, but even with his strength, he couldn't pry open the rather old-looking bronze lock.

"Please wait a moment, Great Immortal. This thing is connected to the great formation and is extremely sturdy. Unless you can shatter the entire Thorn Territory in one blow, you cannot open it by brute force," Zhou Gu advised.

"Then what's your idea?" Guan Bo asked.

“This wooden box is a barrier formed from the purest Yi wood spiritual energy. As long as someone can draw away the Yi wood spiritual energy from the box, they can break the bronze lock. Then, by opening the box, they can take the treasure inside and thus destroy this formation,” Zhou Gu said.

To extract the spiritual energy of the Wood element, naturally, they would need the help of the little girl Lingxiu. It was also because of her existence that Zhou Gu suggested coming to retrieve the treasure. Otherwise, this box was indestructible and could not be destroyed by brute force.

Lingxiu was eager to try and was about to begin extracting spiritual energy from the wooden box. But Guan Bo shook his head and said, "I don't trust this guy. Who knows what will happen later?"

These words were spoken without any attempt at concealment, leaving Zhou Gu with no choice but to smile wryly, unable to defend himself. After all, his previous performance had been truly disappointing, and naturally, he couldn't command complete trust now.

"Then what are you going to do? Do you have any other ideas?" Lingxiu asked.

Of course there was a way. Guan Bo reached out and grabbed the wooden box, then pulled it up with force.

Although the wooden box was heavy and indestructible, Guan Bo was still able to lift it.

“Great Immortal, are you perhaps planning to take this box away directly? It’s useless. Even if you send this box to the Heavenly Court, it won’t be able to break the great formation. Moreover, this treasure is closely connected to the great formation. The farther it is from this location, the greater the pulling force it will experience. It’s simply impossible to take it away,” Zhou Gu said to Guan Bo.

"Oh, really?" Guan Bo said, snapping his fingers.

A circle of black light appeared around him, and the Void-Slaying Insects, following Guan Bo's will, formed an entrance to a spatial passage.

Guan Bo casually tossed the object into the spatial passage, and the wooden box was thrown into the passage without any obstruction.

Just as the wooden box disappeared, a deafening roar erupted, so loud that Guan Bo's eardrums throbbed with pain.

Then came the scene of the earth shaking violently. Guan Bo had no choice but to lead everyone out of the ground using the lotus platform and fly back into the air.

Looking down from the sky, the earthquake rumbled, countless cracks appeared, and the thorn bushes kept sinking into the fissures in the ground. The entire mountain-guarding formation of the Thorn Territory began to collapse rapidly, and the lush mountain range began to turn yellow and withered, as if autumn had arrived prematurely.

"This...this is impossible." Zhou Gu was utterly shocked.

What exactly was that black circle just now? How could it seem to sever the connection between the wooden box and the great formation? Even the Heavenly Court or the Underworld couldn't do that.

Guan Bo laughed when he saw what was happening before him. He threw the wooden box into the spatial passage. It wasn't just a lucky coincidence, but a method that Guan Bo deduced from Huo Shiba's situation.

Huo Shiba was a puppet created by someone. Like Huo Yi, he was captured and unable to escape, so he immediately self-destructed. The fact that the mastermind was afraid Guan Bo would find any useful clues proves that he is not invincible.

However, why did Huo Shiba remain unconscious after entering the spatial passage, even forgetting something as important as self-destruction?

After much thought, Guan Bo concluded that the only explanation was that the spatial passage created by the Void-Slaying Worm was completely different from this world.

A powerful array could sense the wooden box from any corner of this world, but now that the box has gone to another world, it would be strange if the array didn't collapse.

Zhou Gu naturally had no idea what the black circle was, and Guan Bo didn't explain either, but just laughed and said, "This time, watch me burn those four old tree spirits into charcoal."