Su Chen tunneled silently through the earth using his Earth Escape technique, heading straight for the Enlightenment Tea Tree. Within a few breaths, he had reached directly beneath it—emerging like a phantom right beside the ancient tree.
He had moved with complete silence, aided by both his Earth Escape and the concealment granted by the Immortal Rebirth Armor. The four cultivators were only a few meters away, yet none of them noticed his approach—not even the ever-alert Jiang Chen.
But just as Su Chen's figure rose from the soil, Jiang Chen's expression suddenly changed.
Something was wrong.
A wave of danger swept through his senses—but before he could shout or react, Su Chen was already there. His figure shot out of the ground like a ghostly wraith. The moment the others sensed him, he was already placing his hand against the restriction around the Enlightenment Tea Tree.
Shhhhkk—
The barrier, which had resisted hour-long bombardment, melted under Su Chen's touch like butter under a hot knife. In one smooth motion, he phased completely through the restriction and vanished inside.
Boom!
All four cultivators' attacks—meant for Su Chen—landed squarely on the barrier, too late.
The ground shook from the explosion, but the target was already gone.
"What the hell?!"
"You bastard!"
"You thief! Come out if you dare!"
The three outside—Lin Yu, the feminine man, and the chubby child—erupted with rage, shouting like gamblers who had just watched their jackpot stolen before their eyes. And in truth, it wasn't much different. The Enlightenment Tea Tree was one of the rarest treasures of this Immortal Palace.
Jiang Chen didn't scream like the others—but that didn't mean he was calm.
His face remained still, but inside, his mind was roaring.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
He clenched his fists and quickly tried to salvage the situation, putting on a composed face.
"Fellow Daoist inside," Jiang Chen called out, voice calm but sharp, "this Enlightenment Tea Tree is not something you can monopolize. Not just us—even after leaving the Immortal Palace, the whole cultivation world will hunt you down for it."
He tried to sound persuasive. "If you're willing to share just a small portion with us, we'll protect you. Cooperate, and we'll guard your retreat. You keep the main tree—we only want a little."
But inside the barrier, Su Chen didn't even bother to respond.
He ignored them like buzzing flies.
His eyes were already locked on the Enlightenment Tea Tree. Its faint scent brushed against his senses, almost pulling him into a trance. Enlightenment, clarity, Dao comprehension—it all rushed toward him. He nearly fell into meditation on the spot.
But he forcefully suppressed it.
Not now. This isn't the time for Enlightenment.This is the time to loot.
Without hesitation, Su Chen reached forward and tried to place the Enlightenment Tea Tree into the System storage—along with the surrounding land.
The tree wasn't even that tall—barely taller than him. The System had effortlessly absorbed the Immortal Pond and the Immortal Water before, so why not this?
Phush—
Nothing happened.
The system didn't respond.
Su Chen frowned.
"Tch... looks like I have to dig it out myself," he muttered.
Gathering the immortal qi within his body, Su Chen slammed both hands into the ground. Boom! Earth exploded around him as he tried to uproot the tree—soil, roots, and all—taking a full 5-meter radius of terrain with it.
He activated his Immortal Rebirth Armor to its peak, in case the Enlightenment Tea Tree tried to resist, teleport, or release a backlash. There was no telling what tricks the Immortal Palace had in place to protect it.
"Better to rip it out and shove it into the system storage in one go," he grunted, sweat beading on his forehead.
Outside, Lin Yu's eyes went bloodshot as he saw what was happening.
"Ahhh! You bastard! Keep your filthy hands off that tree!"
His roar shook the valley as he unleashed his strongest attack yet—fueled by rage. The feminine man wasn't far behind. His body shimmered, and multiple clones appeared again, all charging toward the barrier in synchronized fury.
Even Jiang Chen's expression cracked. He could no longer remain composed.
"You son of a bitch!" he shouted, throwing etiquette out the window. "If you've got a single father, come out here and face me!"
The chubby child was also losing his mind. "You bitch! You think you can just take it and run?! Put it down! Put it down right now!"
From the outside, it looked like wild bandits shouting at a thief already inside the treasure vault.
Inside the barrier, Su Chen grinned beneath his demonic mask.
He didn't care.
Su Chen knew full well that once he left the restriction or it broken, he'd have to face the wrath of these four people. But that was a problem for later.
Right now, his priority was clear—dig out the Enlightenment Tea Tree and shove it into his System storage.
Crack...
Under his hands, immortal energy surged violently. The ground around the ancient tree began to split apart as his fingers dug deeper into the soil. With a low grunt, Su Chen summoned another burst of force.
Rumble!
The land fractured as he finally yanked the Enlightenment Tea Tree upward—lifting it slightly above the surface. Roots, soil, and glowing spirit veins clung to the base of the five-meter-wide section he was pulling out.
Outside the barrier, chaos erupted.
"AHH! You fucking bastard—son of a whore! Leave it alone!!"
"In the name of Heaven and Earth, PUT THAT DOWN!!"
All four cultivators were howling with fury, launching wave after wave of attacks at the restriction. Spells exploded across the translucent barrier like fireworks, but Su Chen didn't so much as glance at them.
He had turned a deaf ear to their roars.
But others hadn't.
At that very moment, an uninvited guest arrived.
From the nearby valley path, Ye Tian was passing through. After hearing the final 24-hour warning from the Immortal Palace, he had immediately begun hunting for treasures, looking to loot others before time ran out.
He hadn't planned to stop here—but the sound of explosions and curses caught his attention.
Curious, he approached the source.
From a distance, Ye Tian saw four people screaming and throwing attacks at what appeared to be empty space. For a moment, he thought they'd gone mad. But as he drew closer, his expression twisted.
Inside the glowing restriction barrier, he saw a masked figure cloaked in a faint bluish light—Su Chen—pulling the Enlightenment Tea Tree out of the ground like a bandit digging up buried gold.
Ye Tian's eyes went wide. Fury surged through him.
"That son of a bitch...! He's actually stealing it!?"
Without a word, he joined the frenzied group and launched his attack at the barrier—channeling all his rage into a deadly strike.
None of the original four objected.
At this point, dividing the treasure was no longer their concern. The Enlightenment Tea Tree was on the verge of being stolen right under their noses. The more hands trying to stop it, the better.
And so, five powerful cultivators attacked in unison—shouting, cursing, and unleashing everything they had to stop the masked thief within.