Tree Demon

The east was in an uproar. Yet Silver Moon was still far from there, so for the moment, news had not reached Li Hao's ears. The dynasty was too vast. Even though there were special transmission methods, Li Hao had no intelligence network of his own. Silver Moon possessed one, but Li Hao was not yet at its core, so they naturally would not share it with him. …… The Giant Kun Divine Boat flew for nearly two hours, covering roughly five to six hundred li, before Li Hao landed among emerald waters and green mountains. The surroundings were beautiful. Nor was this an uninhabited wilderness; at the foot of the mountain sat a small town. Even in the dead of night, a few flickering lights could still be seen. The divine boat touched down soundlessly. A crowd quickly disembarked. Hao Lianchuan was indeed someone who had served as a director for many years; a single glance at the place was enough for him to say, "Cat Head Mountain. Shaped like a cat's head, it counts as a minor scenic spot. Back before the world fell into chaos, people often came here for outings." Beside him, Wang Ming quickly added, "Not only does it look like a cat's head, there are plenty of wild cats here too. It's less than a hundred li from Yaoguang City and falls under Yaoguang City's jurisdiction." Hao Lianchuan glanced at him sideways. Not to be outdone, Wang Ming glared right back. *In the past, I was the one doing the introductions. Fatty Hao is stealing my job!* To the side, Li Meng opened her eyes. That woman had never been one for restraint; she immediately opened her third eye and peered toward the mountain. "I don't see anything. There seem to be some wild beasts in the mountains, but nothing like a great demon of legend." The several supernaturals displayed their own abilities, each eager to show off. Yun Yao was quiet, merely glancing around without speaking. She was only an ordinary water-affinity supernatural whose main role was not combat, but healing these martial masters. Li Hao kept quiet and took out a map. The map showed this very mountain. A red dot was marked on it, indicating the location of the ruin. "Let's go!" Li Hao led the way, and the group swiftly followed. Cat Head Mountain was not steep, and strictly speaking, it was not very large either. While the scenery was quite picturesque, the terrain was by no means precipitous. A ruin was here? Of course, since Golden Spear and his men had found it, it was certainly real. Li Hao searched for a moment and found the marked point on the other side of the mountain. Here, halfway up the mountain slope, was what looked like a small cave. Densely tangled vines covered the outside, easily overlooked unless one paid close attention. Li Hao stepped through the air, while the others quickly scaled the slope. A moment later, Li Hao pushed aside the vines, revealing a pitch-black cave. Judging by the way to enter it... this ruin was nothing impressive. Compared to the grand magnificence of Battle Heaven City, it was rather ordinary. There was no illusory wall opening, only a pitch-black cave that even smelled somewhat foul and fishy. There were even some bats that flapped noisily in alarm as Li Hao and the others entered. *Snap!* With a crisp sound, flames flared up, illuminating the dark cave. It was Hao Lianchuan. The Three Suns fire-affinity powerhouse casually snapped his fingers, and a ball of fire floated before him, lighting up all four directions. Wang Ming rolled his eyes. "It's the middle of the night. If you light this place up, watch out or you'll draw unwanted attention." "Within Silver Moon's borders, what does it matter?" Hao Lianchuan retorted, then shot Wang Ming a glare. *Good grief, boy, don't forget I'm a director—even if acting, still a director! You're still just hanging around in the Night Patrollers.* *Daring to challenge your superior!* Li Hao and the others pretended not to hear. Liu Long looked around, feeling that... it didn't look like a ruin at all. The martial masters entering for the first time exchanged glances as well. By now, the cave was fully visible—filthy and chaotic, littered with bird droppings, and reeking of a heavy stench. *This* was a ruin? The crowd was somewhat speechless. Without a word, Li Hao investigated the surroundings and headed toward the depths of the cave. At the end of the cave were no stone or iron gates, only obvious signs of manual chiseling. At the very end, in an inconspicuous corner, was a small hole that seemed to lead straight down, looking almost like something dug by grave robbers. "According to the records Senior Golden Spear left behind, entering this hole leads straight underground to the site... However, even if an earth-affinity supernatural burrows underground, they might not find the ruin..." Earth-affinity supernaturals were actually well-suited for exploring ruins. Yet with some ruins, even if you combed through every inch of the earth, you might never find them. They were clearly underground, yet you simply could not see them. Just like Battle Heaven City: if you burrowed into that wall from Cross-Cut Gorge with earth-escape... you would truly just pass right through the wall, as if the entrance didn't exist at all. Some ruins seemed not to exist in this space. Everyone was rather curious. Some poked their heads in to peer down the hole, but it was pitch-black and showed nothing. It felt quite deep, though. The opening was roughly a meter in diameter. The others were fine, but Hao Lianchuan poked his head in, eyeballed his own build, and nodded. Probably... he wouldn't get stuck, right? This action made Hong Qing and several others lower their heads to muffle their chuckles. Seizing the opportunity, Wang Ming said, "Director Hao is rather stout. If you get stuck, that'll be quite inconvenient. Why don't you wait up here? It just so happens we need someone to keep lookout anyway. We can't all go in; otherwise, if we get trapped, there won't even be anyone to call for help." At those words, Li Hao actually thought it made some sense. Before Li Hao could speak, Hao Lianchuan said, "I'm fire-affinity. If I go down, I can illuminate the surroundings for everyone. Plus, I'm late Three Suns. If there really is a tree demon that has attained sapience, fire is far more effective against tree demons!" With that, he added, "As for metal-affinity, going down won't be nearly as useful." "..." Li Hao chuckled and wasted no words. "All of you wait up here for now. I'll head down first to take a look... Commander Liu, come with me. Just the two of us will do. Sometimes, when supernaturals go down, it triggers certain reactions." Taking the entire team down right away was out of the question; without knowing the situation, it was too dangerous. Without giving them a chance to object, Li Hao waved to Liu Long, and the two leapt down together. Above, once the two jumped down, Hao Lianchuan sent a voice transmission to Wang Ming: "You little brat, are you deliberately trying to make things difficult for me?" "Director Hao, you're the one making things difficult for me. My life was already tough enough, and then you had to butt in. Why can't you just stick to being director? Why steal my job?" "..." Hao Lianchuan was exasperated. Who stole your job? Wasn't he just trying to build a closer relationship with Li Hao? His fifth supernatural lock had manifested, and he had now reached late Three Suns. Moving from late Three Suns to the peak wasn't hard, but from peak to Rising Light was a bottleneck. He was still counting on Li Hao for help. …… Setting aside their petty squabbles. After leaping into the dark hole, Li Hao felt only darkness all around him. Even he was unable to see his surroundings, feeling as if the hole were a tunnel leading straight to the center of the earth. He continued to fall. After descending for about a minute or two, Li Hao finally felt the sensation of touching down. It felt as if he had stepped onto something light and airy. Taking this long to land, Li Hao reckoned he had descended roughly a thousand meters. A thousand meters underground? Wouldn't that be the bedrock layer? The thought flickered past. A moment later, Li Hao heard a soft rustle beside him as Liu Long landed as well. All around them, it was still pitch-black. Gradually, however, their eyes adjusted to the darkness. After a while, Li Hao made out some silhouettes. In the distance, there seemed to be a castle. This area was not sealed by soil; overhead, something faintly blocked off everything above, leaving behind a moderately sized space. Ruins also had different grades. This one was actually decent. Some ruins had no protection at all and had long been buried in mud and water; a ruin that could remain intact was already considered very well preserved. Beside him, Liu Long also adjusted for a moment. Vaguely seeing ahead, he transmitted his voice: "Is that a castle up ahead?" Golden Spear had seemingly never made it inside, but had encountered trouble outside and was forced to retreat. Li Hao looked around. By now, his vision had grown clearer. All around was a hazy mist, as if a formation or an Origin God Armament was shielding the surroundings, preserving this modest space. Aside from the castle ahead... there was not much to be seen. No trees, no grass, no sunlight... Just a desolate expanse, plus the castle emerging from the darkness. Yet Golden Spear had been unable to enter the castle. "Be careful!" Li Hao warned. Silver armor materialized over his body to protect him, and the Starry Sky Sword appeared in his hand. He was on guard; Golden Spear was no weakling—he had combat power at the Rising Light level, after all—yet he had failed to enter the core. Looking up from where they had landed, there was a hole through which they could presumably exit; otherwise, Golden Spear would not have been able to leave. As for other spots, they had no idea whether one could walk straight out. The two advanced cautiously. The ground beneath their feet was soft and spongy, not quite like ordinary soil; it felt strange underfoot. Golden Spear had left no further information because he hadn't managed to get in himself. This ruin had been discovered by chance by the Martial Guard Army, rather than from coordinates provided by Hou Xiaochen. After walking forward about a hundred meters, the castle grew closer and closer. Just then, Li Hao's ears twitched, and he slashed his sword to the left! *Clang!* Like weapons colliding! In the next moment, the sharpness of the Starry Sky Sword showed itself—*crack*... something seemed to snap. Before Li Hao could get a good look, his expression shifted slightly and he hurriedly swung his sword. *Clang, clang, clang!* A rapid series of clangs rang out, even sparking bursts of fire. Li Hao swung his sword in relentless slashes. Liu Long threw punches as well, but striking them sent agonizing pain through his fists. Looking closely... something resembling a tree branch had directly pierced through his fist! Liu Long was horrified. *It's this sturdy?* Seeing Li Hao sever them so easily, he had assumed the attack power was mediocre, only for the branch to pierce right through his fist when he hammered at it. "Watch out!" Li Hao barked in a low voice. Whirling his longsword, he covered Liu Long as well, severing dozens of branches in succession until the attacks ceased. Li Hao remained vigilant for a moment, checking around. Sensing no further threat, he looked down to see whether what had attacked them were truly branches. But at a glance, his heart jolted slightly! Gone! Yes, he had clearly chopped through many branch-like things just now, but looking at the ground now, they were gone. The ground was empty; nothing lay upon it. Li Hao's expression changed. *Could this ground... eat people like in Battle Heaven City?* If so... with a slight shift in expression, he stomped downward, erupting with Earth Sword momentum. *Boom!* The ground trembled faintly, but he failed to stomp through it! Li Hao was shaken. *What sturdy ground.* With his current strength, he had failed to pierce through the ground—that was somewhat terrifying. This small ruin felt quite weak compared to Battle Heaven City. Yet right now, it shook Li Hao. *Could there be something even stronger here?* The attack power of those branches was not weak, each comparable to Three Suns. Dozens of them, Li Hao could handle, but if there were more... even he wouldn't be able to hold out. No wonder Golden Spear had chosen to withdraw; if that continued relentlessly, even Li Hao wouldn't be able to endure it. Liu Long saw it as well, and his expression turned grave. He transmitted, "This ground... isn't ordinary earth. It's extraordinarily tough. We need to be careful here." "I know." Li Hao said nothing more and continued forward. After walking for a bit, clanging rang out once more. In the darkness, countless vines or branches attacked him again. Li Hao slashed with his sword, severing several. In the next moment, he threw a punch, shifting from fist to claw. He seized a vine directly and let out a roar. *Snap*... the branch-vine was snapped in two by his grip. The broken branch-vine in his hand seemed alive, thrashing and writhing rapidly. From the darkness, a powerful mental ripple surged forth, seemingly threatening and intimidating him! Li Hao did not let go, maintaining a death grip on it. After a moment, this wave of attacks subsided again. Under the thrashing of the severed branch-vine, Li Hao's hand had been scratched with several bloody streaks. However, he finally got a clear look at what was in his hand. It looked like a strip of crystal. Translucent and glittering. Needless to say, its texture was exceptionally tough. Even with combat power comparable to Rising Light, Li Hao could only barely snap one, and if he wasn't careful, the thing could easily slip away. Even broken, this thing seemed to possess formidable combat strength. Li Hao examined it carefully, frowning slightly. "Is this a tree branch?" It didn't look like one. But if it wasn't... what was it? And where were these attacks coming from? They appeared and vanished without a trace, seeming to shoot from the surrounding darkness, yet when Li Hao approached the edge of the darkness just now, he couldn't see anything. The attacks came wave after wave. However, there seemed to be intervals between them. If the attacks were non-stop, even Li Hao would have had to consider fleeing; an uninterrupted barrage posed genuine danger even to him. With these thoughts in mind, Li Hao glanced at the castle not far away. These things seemed unwilling to let him enter the castle. What kind of place was this? A clan territory of the ancient civilization? A sect? An academy? Li Hao had no idea, yet his curiosity only grew. While Li Hao pondered this, he and Liu Long advanced another stretch. But right at that moment, a peculiar ripple swept toward them—no longer branch-vines like before. *Boom!* As if his head were about to burst, Li Hao let out a furious roar—a tiger's roar shaking the forest! Spirit intent erupted, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes. Formidable spirit intent exploded outward like a tiger bursting from its cage! *Rumble!* The sound of collision seemed to exist only in his mind. It lasted for a brief moment until a muffled grunt faintly echoed, followed by everything fading away. The attack ceased as well. Li Hao quickly looked in one direction. That area was also plunged in darkness, yet now, faint contours emerged; something seemed to be there. Gleams flickered in his eyes, and after a moment, he vaguely saw more things. One, two, three... small clusters of light appeared one after another. He hadn't seen them earlier. Now he did, as if the clash just now had broken through some barrier. Li Hao recognized what they were—divine energy stones. Yes, divine energy stones brimming with energy. With divine energy stones containing abundant energy, Li Hao could see their energy fluctuations. Yet earlier, he hadn't noticed them. Now he could see that quite a few divine energy stones seemed to be there; they had simply been masked by that mental ripple before, preventing him from sensing their energy fluctuations. *Grandmaster...* A thought surfaced in Li Hao's mind. Was this a Grandmaster as recorded in ancient civilization texts? He had read ancient texts; only Grandmasters could wield mental power—which was to say, the spirit intent of today. However, the two were not entirely the same. From the clash just now, Li Hao had gained some insight: in terms of sheer quantity, his spirit intent was inferior to the other party's, but in terms of vitality, the other party's mental power was far more rigid. Vitality... was the only word Li Hao could use. Because a martial master's spirit intent was sometimes like a living thing; for instance, embodying various beasts through the Five Animals Art was essentially projecting oneself into them as living creatures. With greater vitality, it was naturally easier to deal with. On guard, Li Hao glanced at Liu Long beside him and transmitted, "There's something over there... Boss, be careful." Liu Long nodded slightly. He had also suffered some mental attacks just now, but the brunt had been aimed at Li Hao, so he was able to cope. One in front and one behind, they no longer advanced toward the castle, heading instead toward that corner. …… As Li Hao drew near, another powerful mental ripple surged from that direction. Sweeping toward them! *Boom!* A direct clash! This time, the impact made Li Hao want to cough up blood, and he felt a trace of horror. *Was it stronger than before?* He almost wanted to retreat! With power like this, one could be battered to death if not careful. Yet in the next moment, his eyes flickered again. At the instant of that eruption, the small clusters of light he had seen earlier seemed to fragment slightly, several vanishing while the remainder dimmed. Li Hao's heart stirred, and understanding dawned on him. Energy! Whatever was lurking in the dark was absorbing energy, unleashing it, and trying to drive him away... It wasn't that the entity didn't want to strike all at once, or that it insisted on slowly wearing Li Hao down and scaring him off. Rather, it seemed... it lacked sufficient energy of its own and could only absorb energy from those divine energy stones to erupt in small bursts. Burst after burst, with an interval in between. But after several tries, not only had it failed to frighten Li Hao away, it had allowed Li Hao to see through its situation: the other party didn't have many divine energy stones left! Just as the entity was about to erupt once more, Li Hao suddenly transmitted his spirit intent: "Stop! I am the Garrison Regimental Commander of Battle Heaven City's Battle Heaven Army!" With that, his silver armor radiated brilliant light. "I am a member of the Eight Great Guardian Families, come to inspect this place. Do not act rashly!" He spoke these words using ancient language fluctuations. As entities from the ancient civilization, if this thing truly hailed from that era, it should understand. Inside Battle Heaven City, the gold armor and silver armor figures had all transmitted messages in this manner. Yet silence reigned in the darkness. However, Li Hao could see that the light clusters were still shrinking and dwindling, meaning the entity was still absorbing that energy, as if it would not unconditionally abandon resistance merely because he was a Battle Heaven Army member. Had Golden Spear been in his shoes, unable to see through the illusion, he truly would have had no choice but to retreat in the face of burst after burst. Li Hao, however, was different. He could see the light clusters. Now, he transmitted his spirit intent once more: "Stop absorbing and consuming energy stones! There aren't many energy stones here. If you keep consuming them... once they are completely depleted, you might truly die! You cannot scare me away. I have come under orders to investigate remnants of the Neo-Martial era. If you can understand, you should know that the Battle Heaven Army are no villains... Unless your side was among the rebels back then?" "Re... bels..." At this moment, Li Hao's words seemed to trigger something, and a faint ripple slowly rose up. A moment later, Li Hao's eyes widened. Suddenly, light blossomed all around. His expression shifted slightly. Not far away, a tree appeared, looking nearly dead. The massive tree had collapsed, and only a single shoot seemed to have sprouted and grown from the roots of the dead trunk. The old tree seemed dead! Yet from its roots, a new tree had been born! A tree demon! *Indeed,* Li Hao thought with relief. It truly was a tree demon. He had suspected as much earlier, and now it was confirmed. It was as if a dead tree had been reborn inside this ruin. The surroundings seemed illuminated by this tree. What had been pitch-black was now lit by this crystal-like tree; though not very large, it illuminated all four directions. "Re... bels..." "Bat... tle... Hea... ven... Ci... ty..." The small tree sent out slow mental ripples. Li Hao looked closely, his eyes shifting. This tree was entwined with the dead old tree, their roots seemingly one, and right now, the roots were exposed. Li Hao realized that what had attacked him earlier were tree roots. Among the roots, one was broken—presumably the one Li Hao had snapped earlier. The others he had severed seemed to have recovered after falling into the ground, showing that this tree possessed self-regeneration. "Battle Heaven City!" Li Hao repeated, "Battle Heaven City of the Wang family, one of the Eight Great Guardian Families! Bestowed its name by the Sovereign Emperor in years past!" The small tree seemed to recall something, swaying its somewhat withered branches. "So... Sovereign Emperor..." In the next moment, however, another ripple came: "Even... the Sovereign Emperor... can... cannot... trespass... upon the... temporary palace..." Li Hao's expression changed slightly. A temporary palace? Whose temporary palace? Even the Sovereign Emperor couldn't... The Sovereign Emperor was a supreme existence. Was there anything a Sovereign Emperor was not allowed to do? He looked toward the castle in the distance. With the surroundings illuminated, he could finally make out some details. This castle... looking closely, why did it feel... like a cat? Li Hao felt somewhat suspicious. Furthermore, judging by the old tree's position, it must have been a tree planted outside the courtyard wall, seemingly planted at random back then rather than serving as genuine defensive security. What kind of place was this? "What temporary palace?" Li Hao inquired, looking again at the dying small tree. "You seem to lack energy. After that eruption just now... are you about to die?" Yes, he felt that this small tree growing from the dead trunk's roots might be on the verge of death. "Death..." After a mental ripple, the translucent, glittering small tree swayed, appearing teetering and frail. "Don't... even think... of entering... the temporary palace..." "Even if... it is an abandoned... temporary palace... you may not..." Li Hao could see that some of the divine energy stones hidden underground had been absorbed a bit more. Li Hao frowned. This tree seemed to be the guard here. A temporary palace? An abandoned temporary palace? Whose temporary palace was this? After countless ages, it still possessed defensive power. Looking at the situation here, unlike Battle Heaven City where the city itself possessed formidable defenses, the surrounding defense here... Li Hao actually vaguely saw it: it seemed tied to that dead giant tree. Before dying, the giant tree seemed to have burst open its trunk... strictly speaking, it might be similar to the tree hollow outside Battle Heaven City. Yes, they might currently be inside a dead giant tree. And the small tree had sprouted and grown from the foot of the giant tree; it didn't seem to be a tree from the ancient civilization era itself, yet it seemed to have inherited some of its memories. Various thoughts crossed Li Hao's mind. Had a tree been guarding this place all along? Even after dying completely, it had used its remaining power to birth a small tree to continue guarding this place. But the small tree seemed near death as well. Li Hao grew ever more curious about the ancient civilization. In that era, whether human or beast, everyone seemed to possess a unique power of conviction. Like the tree before him: it was near death, yet it continued to carry out its conviction and orders. Li Hao wondered again: did this tree have spring water of life? Supposedly, spring water of life was produced by such tree demons, but that required absorbing immense amounts of energy over time. Given this tree's condition... did it have any energy left to absorb? Those buried divine energy stones were probably its final reserve. In this state, producing spring water of life? It would be throwing its life away! So... there probably wasn't any. Li Hao felt a bit dejected. Of course, if this were truly a tree demon capable of producing spring water of life... Li Hao might be even more dejected, because that would mean it retained combat power, and very strong combat power at that. Toward these beings from the ancient civilization, Li Hao had little murderous intent. Every being from that ancient era—every person, even every beast—possessed a spirit and faith rarely felt in modern times. Li Hao had killed black armor figures before, but they no longer possessed consciousness, only lingering obsessions. Back then, he hadn't known this either. Now that this tree could still communicate, Li Hao had no intention of killing it, even though it seemed incapable of sustaining further outbursts. "I don't have to enter the temporary palace. But can you tell me whose temporary palace this is?" "It may not be spoken!" "..." *Well, that rolled off the tongue smoothly enough.* Li Hao was speechless. "I want some spring water of life. Do you have any?" "..." Silence. Yet Li Hao noticed that the other party was absorbing the divine energy stones even faster. Only a few divine energy stones still held energy, and they dimmed considerably now. It seemed ready to fight to the death. Li Hao quickly backed up a step. "I harbor no malice. As the current generation's Battle Heaven Army commander, I am tasked with missions to save Battle Heaven City. Inside Battle Heaven City, General Huai is grievously wounded and on the verge of death, in desperate need of spring water of life to survive. If General Huai cannot recover, Battle Heaven City cannot be activated..." At these words, the small tree seemed to take notice. It had intended to fight this person to the death, but now seemed to realize something: "You... truly are a Battle Heaven Army commander? One of... the Eight Great Guardian Families...?" "Of course!" Li Hao understood—the other party clearly hadn't believed him before. "Otherwise, how could I have obtained silver armor?" "Also, do you recognize the Starry Sky Sword?" Li Hao swung the longsword. The small tree seemed taken aback. After a long pause, it transmitted intermittently: "This... is the Starry Sky Sword? Forgive my poor eyesight... In... in the inherited memories I possess... the Starry Sky Sword... was not so... so frail. Rather... it was an existence that could tear the firmament apart with a single slash..." It was not a tree from that era, only possessing some inherited memories, so it truly had failed to recognize the Starry Sky Sword. For no other reason than the Starry Sky Sword in Li Hao's hand was simply too weak. Li Hao had no reply. His self-esteem stung a bit! "What is inherited memory?" Li Hao asked. "Are you... so ignorant?" The small tree swayed, suspicion rising once more. Li Hao said helplessly, "Countless ages have passed since the Neo-Martial era. The seas have turned to mulberry fields, and scarcely any inheritance has survived, only fragmented phrases. It's completely normal that I wouldn't know. Battle Heaven City is currently dormant as well; its systems cannot function properly, and looking up records has long been impossible." The small tree seemed to fall silent, almost as if it had died. For a long time, there was no sound. Just as Li Hao suspected it had died and was about to check, another ripple came from the small tree nearby: "Powerful beasts... leave deep memories within their bloodline or life imprints... Generation after generation, when the bloodline and life imprints are stimulated... they absorb these memories... That is inherited memory..." Li Hao's eyes flickered. "What about humans?" *I have the bloodline of a powerhouse too.* "Humans... the human race cannot..." The small tree added, "Humans gather supreme power within their own persons; their descendants... merely inherit powerful bloodlines... But beasts are inherently imperfect... resulting in... some dispersal of power, which forms beast bloodlines..." Li Hao pondered this, then said quickly, "Do you need help? You look like your energy is almost depleted." "No... no need!" Perhaps it was still on guard against Li Hao. Yet Li Hao truly sensed that it was slipping toward death. The divine energy stones had been drained dry, leaving it with nothing to sustain itself as it stepped toward demise. After some thought, Li Hao said, "If you die, no one will guard this place, and the temporary palace... will belong to me anyway. Only if you live can you continue to protect it. You are the first existence I have met who seems genuinely alive from the ancient civilization..." "Ancient civilization?" "The Neo-Martial era." "I... am not a creature of the Neo-Martial era... Father guarded the temporary palace in solitude for thirty thousand years... When he could sustain it no longer and died, I was born..." Li Hao's heart jolted. How... how many years had passed? The giant tree had guarded this place for thirty thousand years—a terrifying, staggering span of time! And only after that was the small tree born. How many years had the small tree survived, then? Did spans of time for these terrifying existences routinely measure in tens of thousands of years? And what level of strength had that dead giant tree possessed to live for tens of thousands of years? Mulling over this, Li Hao said quickly, "Regardless, you can be considered an ancient... ancient tree. Do you need help?" "No reward without merit... unprompted diligence usually harbors ill intent... It's... not good..." "No, I only want to collaborate with you." A thought struck Li Hao, and he said earnestly, "As far as I know, tree demons... ahem, ancient trees, once they grow strong enough, can produce spring water of life, provided there is enough energy. Spring water of life is immensely helpful for healing, cultivation, and prolonging life. I was thinking: if you live, I can provide you with energy. When you grow stronger and guard this temporary palace, all you need to do is provide me with some spring water of life... Don't you think that's a great deal?" "The royal city model?" "..." Li Hao was startled. *What model?* "My memories... tell me that back then, many people... did that. My forebears would choose... choose a powerhouse to attach themselves to or collaborate with, co-founding great cities. We would draw energy to provide shelter and life essence for the great city, while the human powerhouses provided shelter for our forebears..." Li Hao's eyes stirred. Was that how it worked in the ancient civilization? It seemed... so! In Battle Heaven City, there was General Huai, and not just him—there seemed to have been a dozen or so tree demons, though they all seemed dormant or dead. He glanced at the distant castle. He was genuinely interested in the castle, but this tree... might be worth even more than the castle. How could dead objects compare to a living being? Even if the castle was packed with treasures, he might not be able to utilize them. But a tree demon that inherited memories of the ancient civilization could perhaps offer him even greater assistance. Being able to converse and communicate made it an excellent partner for collaboration. Those inside Battle Heaven City could communicate too, but in truth, they were dead men with fragmented memories who would not readily tell Li Hao anything. Li Hao had originally come to explore the ruin, but now he had set his sights on this tree. "Right, exactly that model! I provide you with energy, and you help me condense spring water of life. Win-win cooperation, killing two birds with one stone. You can also continue guarding this place; otherwise, once you die, this temporary palace will probably be lost. Even if I don't go in, others will come." The small tree seemed lost in thought. Such a model was not impossible. Especially at this stage. Although the person before it felt very weak and unworthy of being its partner, he claimed to be a descendant of one of the Eight Great Guardian Families and a Battle Heaven Army commander. If so... that was sufficient. However, could this frail person before it truly help it? Then again, the person who had come last time was even weaker... Perhaps the person before it was considered strong. "You... only require life essence?" "Yes!" "You... will not enter the temporary palace?" "Naturally!" The small tree fell into contemplation. After a while: "If you truly have sincerity... can you provide me with some energy stones?" "..." *Now that's a trap!* Li Hao cursed inwardly. He hadn't gained anything yet, and it was already asking for benefits. More importantly, once this fellow absorbed energy, it could resume fighting. Was it deliberately swindling him? "I can, but... the quality is rather mediocre..." Saying so, Li Hao took out an ordinary divine energy stone commonly used in this era. The small tree seemed stunned, even dumbfounded. After a long pause, it said with difficulty: "This scrap energy stone... in my memories, not even dogs would eat it... Using it to stoke a fire for cooking might pass muster... You... want me to condense life essence... with this?" "..." Li Hao was taken aback. "It can't be that bad, can it?" The small tree remained silent. At this moment, it seemed entirely resigned: *Just let me die, then!* Asking it to condense life essence with this junk was worse than killing it right now. Rubbish! Who could eat rubbish and produce milk? It wasn't a dairy cow! Li Hao gritted his teeth and suddenly took out a divine energy stone from the Battle Heaven Army: "What about this?" The small tree seemed to perceive it. After a long pause, its spirit fluctuated: "This... is merely the most basic cultivation energy stone... However, it is much better than the previous one. I can absorb this..." "How many of these would it take for you to condense one drop of spring water of life?" "..." How many? The small tree was stunned. After a long while, it transmitted again: "One thousand." "..." Li Hao was dumbstruck. One of these was worth ten ordinary ones, meaning ten thousand of this era's divine energy stones to condense a single drop of spring water of life? What a joke! "Do you think I'm that ignorant?" Li Hao said in annoyance, "Last time I offered thirty to General Huai, and he gave me a drop of spring water of life..." With that, Li Hao even produced a bottle, letting it flash into view for a brief second. "See that? General Huai charges so little, yet you want a thousand?" "That esteemed one... is stronger than me... perhaps... even stronger than my father. For him, condensing it is simpler. Furthermore... I... lack sufficient strength, so my consumption is higher. Once my strength increases, the consumption will decrease..." *Is that so?* As Li Hao pondered, the small tree added, "Even that esteemed one... could never condense a drop of life essence with so few energy stones. Perhaps... it was merely a gift to you." Li Hao fell into contemplation. Last time, Hong Yitang had mentioned that the other party was dangling bait; sure enough, that was very likely true. Still, trading a thousand stones for one drop felt far too outrageous to Li Hao. Whether to continue the partnership became a serious question. Should he just plunder this temporary palace instead? The main issue was that he simply couldn't afford to keep it fed! The small tree didn't seem entirely foolish either. At that moment, its spirit suddenly rippled: "A living demon plant does not merely condense life essence; it can also gather energy, drawing in energy dispersed between heaven and earth to create a sacred cultivation ground... In years past, the Human King created a sacred cultivation ground where a single day of cultivation rivaled a whole year." "If you are willing to provide enough energy... I too can open up a sacred ground for you... In the Neo-Martial era, royal cities were created when demon plants and powerhouses joined hands to establish sacred cultivation grounds, drawing billions of living beings to gather and condensing the Human Sovereign Dao... Of course, in the end, they all failed..." Li Hao's heart stirred again. "The Human Sovereign Dao? What is that..." "I don't know. If I knew... I would be a top powerhouse." *Fine!* *Then why mention it?* *Can it aid cultivation?* Li Hao sank into thought. "Let me think about it. The main problem is that energy stones are far too scarce in our era. I'm afraid I won't be able to afford you. That energy stone I brought out earlier—the one you called garbage—is considered a supreme treasure outside!" The small tree was speechless. *Supreme treasure?* In this instant, the words "supreme treasure" completely reshaped its understanding. Had the outside world truly reached such a state? Perhaps it had! After all, though the person before it was weak, he wasn't completely incompetent, yet he was still using such garbage and treating it like a treasure. It was evident that people of this era were truly dirt poor. "I... can absorb a small amount to recover some ability, and then gather energy from all directions. This era does have energy... What I absorbed earlier was energy that began condensing several decades ago..." While Li Hao was still thinking, his heart suddenly gave a jolt. "Twenty years ago, when an energy outbreak occurred, you absorbed some of it, condensed it into energy stones, and saved them to use all this time?" "Something like that... It's just... the energy vanished abruptly later on, and the amount dispersing through the void became too scant... I only extracted that much... and having used it until today, I have nothing left to sustain myself." Li Hao inhaled sharply. *All those divine energy stones from earlier were just saved up?* *Just casually absorbing for a while back then allowed you to condense divine energy stones?* *Good heavens!* *Are tree demons this incredible?* At this moment, Li Hao's thoughts shifted. This tree had to be swindled... no, invited back to collaborate!