Only three seconds? He's already the Lord of All Realms, so it doesn't matter.

Having withdrawn his senses from Changning County, Ye Xuan was unconcerned about the impending danger.

Chen Hong instructed the villagers of Shuitian Village to make some preparations and then continue to focus their attention on the condensation of the Heavenly Dao Body.

Two hours had passed, and it was nearing evening. The condensation of his Heavenly Dao Body was already three-quarters complete...

In contrast, in the town of Shuitian Village, the magistrate of Changning County arrived before the people from the ancestral hall, accompanied by several servants, and found the few people in the know who were performing the rituals at the ancestral hall.

Several monks were still wondering why the county magistrate had come in person.

They belonged to the shrine of immortals and were momentarily unsure whether they should listen to the esteemed person before them.

Seeing that the group of people were not following the rules, the magistrate released his Foundation Establishment cultivation, and the mere pressure of his spiritual energy was enough to make these weak ordinary people unable to breathe.

"Speak quickly."

He coldly surveyed the people in front of the altar, his eyes completely oblivious to the celestial statue behind them.

The magistrate had already imagined the scene of his breakthrough in cultivation when he obtained such an opportunity—a willow tree that could lead mortals onto the path of cultivation.

"Magistrate Bai, threatening my ancestral hall's religious ceremony, is that not appropriate?"

Magistrate Bai was slightly taken aback. His raised hand froze in mid-air. He turned to look at the door and saw two people dressed in Taoist robes. They were the two guardians of the Xianjia Temple in Changning County.

"You got the information pretty fast, let's go!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the three assassins beside him leaped out and rushed straight at the two guardians at the door.

Magistrate Bai turned and ran towards the back door, disappearing without a trace in a few leaps, leaving only his own bodyguards to fight him.

He knew that both of these protectors were only at the Foundation Establishment stage, and it was not advisable to stay here any longer. It would be better to leave first and go to Shuitian Village to seek opportunities...

Upon seeing this, one of the two guardians of the ancestral hall flicked out three talismans from his sleeve, which transformed into firebirds in mid-air and entangled one of the assassins.

The other man drew his sword and slashed horizontally, unleashing a torrent of sword light that forced the other two assassins back several steps.

However, these three assassins, though their cultivation was a realm lower than theirs, were fearless and managed to hold off the two Foundation Establishment protectors for a time.

At the same time, on the shore of the lake in Shuitian Village.

Ye Xuan's Heavenly Dao Body had condensed to ninety percent. A hazy phantom slowly rotated beside the pearl at the bottom of the lake, absorbing the moonlight and the spiritual energy of the lake.

His mind was divided in two; on one hand, he focused on the condensation of the Heavenly Dao Body, and on the other hand, he extended his perception to cover the entire Shuitian Village.

In the pitch-black village, the villagers who had been cultivating had all returned home, leaving only Chen Hong with more than ten young men, armed with machetes, guarding around the Immortal Willow.

At three quarters past 9 PM, a flock of crows suddenly took flight from an old locust tree, and then a figure darted out from among them.

"They're here!" Chen Hong shouted, and everyone immediately gripped their machetes tightly.

But as they stared intently at the gradually clearing white figure, the spiritual energy emanating from it made Chen Hong and Li Laosi realize that there seemed to be an insurmountable chasm between them.

Chen Hong immediately recognized the visitor as Bai Donglin, the magistrate of Changning County.

He stood by the lake, gazing at the moonlight falling in the center of the lake. Ripples spread across the surface, and a hazy pearly light could be faintly seen in the depths.

Besides the unusual sights on the lake, Bai Donglin also noticed the seven-meter-tall willow tree on the opposite bank.

"What a stroke of luck!"

Bai Donglin's greed grew stronger. He leaped towards the lake, hovering over the water. He decided to cut down the Immortal Willow first, and then take the pearl from the lake.

Just as he approached the opposite bank, an arrow flew by, but it was easily blocked by the spiritual energy emanating from his body.

"Hmph."

He disdainfully pointed at the direction from which the arrows were coming, and with a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a streak of arrows formed from qi.

Its speed was so fast that the people of Shuitian Village hiding in the shadows had no time to react. Except for Chen Hong and Li Laosi, the rest of them were blown away by the aftershock of the spirit arrow.

"What did we think they were, a bunch of country bumpkins who dared to try and stop me from getting this opportunity?"

Bai Donglin quickened his pace and, with a few light leaps, reached the opposite bank.

Standing under this willow tree, in its shade, the lush green branches are thick and strong, each one brimming with the spirit of heaven and earth.

Even though he had cultivated for many years, this was the first time he had ever seen such a willow tree. Bai Donglin had a vague premonition that the willow tree was probably already sentient!

Sure enough, a willow branch was lashed out from behind him the next second.

Bai Donglin casually grabbed the willow branch. "Even a willow tree wants to cause trouble?"

He mustered all his strength, intending to pull the willow branch off, but found that he couldn't budge it no matter what he did.

Instead, a faint bluish halo appeared on the willow branches, and this halo became increasingly solid, with the temperature gradually rising.

Before long, the high temperature of several hundred degrees forced Bai Donglin to let go.

At the same time, dozens of willow branches suddenly emerged around him, surrounding him completely, each branch carrying a blue flame.

Bai Donglin unleashed his spiritual power to its maximum, found a gap, and jumped out from under the shade of the willow tree.

He re-examined the immortal willow tree. "I was careless just now. Prepare to die!"

He drew his sword from his waist, the sharp tip of which, imbued with spiritual energy, swung down, striking the willow branch, yet failing to harm it in the slightest.

"Um?"

Just as Bai Donglin was finding it unbelievable, thunder suddenly roared in the sky, and these bolts of lightning accurately struck him.

He could only keep dodging, and when he was forced to the point of no return, Bai Donglin flicked a talisman from his sleeve.

The yellow paper talisman transformed into a thunderbolt in mid-air, colliding with the heavenly lightning that was about to strike it.

In an instant, a deafening explosion and the crackling of electricity echoed across the empty lakeside.

Bai Donglin watched the thunder continuing to explode in the sky, but unfortunately he no longer had any talismans to attract lightning, and was once again trapped in a passive dodging situation.

"Damn it! This willow tree can actually influence celestial phenomena..."

No matter where he ran, the heavenly lightning above his head could always accurately lock onto him. What was this? Did he expect a Foundation Establishment cultivator to fight against the heavenly phenomena?

He was exhausted from dodging the lightning and couldn't get even a fraction closer to the willow tree, which made the magistrate sweat profusely with anxiety.

Ye Xuan's perception and consciousness, observing the entire battle, revealed that the lightning summoned by the lightning guide was far different from a true tribulation.

If Bai Donglin knew this, or if he had taken the blow himself, he would have realized that this seemingly terrifying heavenly lightning could be easily dealt with as long as he used his spiritual power to protect himself.

Unfortunately, Bai Donglin was unaware of this, and could only keep cursing the willow tree for being too treacherous!

After dealing with the thunder for a quarter of an hour, Bai Donglin was already quite tired. Even though he was still unwilling, he had no choice but to retreat into the mountains.

After he left, he saw two familiar figures in the mountains and forests, who seemed to have been waiting there for a long time.

"You, all of you!"

Bai Donglin's eyes were filled with terror as he stared at the two ancestral hall protectors who had rushed over. One of them was carrying two heads in his hand; they were his own assassins.

He truly hadn't expected that these two could escape from three Qi Refining Perfection level assassins in such a short time, and even kill them.

The fear in Bai Donglin's eyes had turned into deep despair, which meant that the cultivation level of the two protectors in front of him had probably surpassed his!