Chapter Twenty-Six: The Withered Giant Tree

The Azure Sea Sect, Sunny Azure Sea Pavilion. This was one of the ten largest complexes within the Azure Sea Sect, built specifically for its disciples to enter seclusion or cultivate on their own. It was divided into several different areas.

After night fell, Sunny Azure Sea Pavilion was utterly tranquil. Hua Ruoxue arrived at a pavilion on its outermost edge. A plaque hung above the entrance on the ground floor, several large characters upon it emitting a faint radiance:

Upper Goodness Is Like Water Pavilion.

“So it is Ruoxue. Which level are you entering today?” As Hua Ruoxue reached the door, a middle-aged woman emerged from within. She wore the standard uniform of an elite inner disciple of the Azure Sea Sect, and as she spoke, she ushered Hua Ruoxue into the great hall.

“So Senior Sister Liu is on duty here today. I need to enter the fifth level this time. I’ll trouble you, Senior Sister Liu.” Hua Ruoxue handed over the contribution jade token issued to every disciple of the Azure Sea Sect.

“There’s no need to be so polite, Junior Sister Ruoxue.” Senior Sister Liu accepted the token and inserted it into a slot in a jade platform. A row of points and a line of text immediately appeared above the platform.

Contribution points: 768.

Senior Sister Liu lightly pressed one of the glowing points, above which the number five was displayed.

Two meters in front of Hua Ruoxue, a small teleportation array lit up. The text on the jade platform changed to:

Contribution points: 718.

Senior Sister Liu then withdrew the jade token from the platform and returned it to Hua Ruoxue.

When Hua Ruoxue’s figure vanished in the radiance of the teleportation array, Senior Sister Liu’s figure also disappeared from the hall. The place once again returned to its former peace.

This was a planet within the Withered Wood Star Region. Countless plants grew across its surface, most of them trees. The Immortal vessel hovered in midair beneath the night sky.

“Hey, Little Vajra, stop fighting Little Fire Spirit over the food. Come over here and talk,” Tang Yi called to the golden little man.

Clang, clang, clang.

Little Vajra strode over to Tang Yi on his iron legs.

“Brother Tang, you also, also make one of those things for me, so I can, can play with it,” Little Vajra said.

“Heh heh. How do you feel about following your Brother Tang?” Tang Yi asked with a grin.

“Following Brother Tang is, is not bad. At least I, I won’t have to eat those, those mixed-with-dirt mineral scraps anymore.” As he spoke, Little Vajra took a fine piece of iron from his spatial ring and began chewing it.

For the sake of feeding Little Vajra, Tang Yi and the others had deliberately remained in the Golden Light Star Region for another half month, mining an astonishing quantity of the metal ores he loved to eat. How much had they obtained? It was enough to ensure that Little Vajra would have no worries about food for the next hundred million years.

They had also built a large metal smelting plant inside the Immortal vessel, specially refining high-grade metal ingots for Little Vajra’s meals. To make the ingots easier for him to carry, Tang Yi had crafted a spatial ring capable of changing its shape and size, allowing even Little Vajra’s unusually thick little finger to wear it.

“Of course. There’s far more than this to be gained by following Brother Tang. Work hard for me, and reaching the Ninth Heaven Immortal realm will be a matter of minutes,” Tang Yi said.

Tang Yi had discovered that Little Vajra’s cultivation had already reached the late stage of the Great Firmament Golden Immortal realm, yet he had remained unable to advance. The reason was that Little Vajra’s method of cultivation was extremely peculiar: he had to devour vast quantities of various metals.

Now, as long as he had enough metal, advancing would be easy for him. Tang Yi was intensely envious. He did not need to do anything at all—so long as he kept eating, his cultivation might continue to rise. He was, in every sense, a glutton.

When Tang Yi had first discovered him, all the metal on Little Vajra’s planet had already been exhausted, leaving behind only ore and mineral scraps. With his cultivation at the time, Little Vajra could travel among only a dozen or so planets within the star system. He did not possess enough energy to cross between star systems.

It could be said that if Tang Yi had arrived a century later, Little Vajra would already have entered a state of hibernation.

“All right, it’s getting late. Get some rest. We have a great deal of work to do tomorrow,” Tang Yi said to the three spirits.

The fifth level of the Upper Goodness Is Like Water Pavilion was a self-contained minor realm. Hua Ruoxue now stood upon a vast green grassland, its light rendered exceptionally soft by the formation.

She gently raised one jade hand, and an enormous object suddenly appeared in the air before her.

“One moment… Hoo, hoo… I’m finally out!” Jett’s voice rang through the air.

“Jett, I’m sorry. It took me so long to let you out again. Circumstances left me no choice, so I had to inconvenience you,” Hua Ruoxue said with a smile.

“It’s all right. As long as you let me finish speaking each time you release me. Time is still inside the spatial ring, and when my voice gets stuck there, it’s very uncomfortable,” Jett replied.

“I discovered something very interesting this time, so I came into the game pod to verify it,” Hua Ruoxue said.

“Okay. Beam transfer!”

As Jett spoke, a ray of light shone upon Hua Ruoxue. Her figure vanished from the grassland and entered the game pod within Jett’s vessel.

The Withered Wood Star Region.

Within a fruit forest on a certain planet, Tang Yi stood beside a fruit tree nearly as tall as a person, its branches laden with bright red fruit. He ate the fruit with one hand while using the other to store the tree, along with a great deal of soil, inside his spatial ring.

“It’s not, not tasty at all. Ordinary copper ingots are, are better!” Little Vajra spat out the pulp in his mouth. As he spoke, he smashed the fruit tree until its branches and leaves flew everywhere.

“Waaah, you lump of iron! If you don’t know how to eat it, stop wasting it! This fruit tastes even better after being frozen!” Ice Spirit said as she swiftly froze a fruit and began eating it.

“Yiya, hoo hoo, yiya!” Little Fire Spirit plucked one fruit after another, swallowing each as soon as it was picked. Then it burned the fruit tree into black charcoal, wisps of smoke curling from it.

Just as Tang Yi and the others were enjoying themselves, an aged voice filled with fury rang out from the air.

“Who? Who is destroying my fruit forest? I’ll make you pay in blood! Ah!”

Tang Yi looked up and around, and saw a black speck appear in the west before rapidly growing larger. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a tree—a gigantic tree that could run, leap, and even fly.

It had not a single leaf. Its brown body consisted entirely of branches and trunks.

With a thunderous crash, the enormous tree landed before Tang Yi and the others. Its form was remarkably humanlike. An old face trembled upon its trunk, complete with a beard and eyebrows. The tree stood some forty meters tall and was more than ten meters in diameter.

It opened its enormous mouth and roared, “You insignificant ants dare to behave like this? I’ll swallow you and turn you into my nourishment! Ah!”

Then it inhaled sharply, attempting to suck Tang Yi and the others into its mouth.

“Oh? So what if you’re tall? Little Vajra, go up there and grow bigger. Beat the hell out of him,” Tang Yi said, turning to Little Vajra.

Little Vajra took one step forward. His body immediately swelled, and in an instant he stood as tall as the great tree. He swung both fists in turn, hammering the tree as he shouted, “You, you little old man! How dare you, you, you shout at me! Look how, how fragile your body is! You’d, you’d better run farther away! I’ll beat you to, to death!”

“Heh heh, Little Vajra is right. Ice Spirit, Little Fire Spirit, go help him. That’s right, Little Fire Spirit—burn him. Make the flames bigger. Bigger! If you run out, that’s fine; I’ll replenish you when we get back. I’ll replenish you as much as you need. And Ice Spirit, cut him down with ice. Hit him hard. Cut this old piece of wood to death!”

Below them, Tang Yi directed the three enlarged spirits with great enthusiasm.

Before long, the great tree could take no more. It turned and fled—and it fled extremely quickly.

As it ran, it shouted, “You little ants! If you have the courage, come after me! Ah!”

“Oh, look at him acting so arrogant. Chase him!” Tang Yi summoned a small aircraft and leaped inside.

And so the great tree ran and leaped ahead, while three giants and a tiny speck pursued it from behind.

After the chase had continued for some time, the great tree suddenly vanished.

A vast shadow appeared overhead.

What had originally been a massive mountain range suddenly came alive. The shadow above Tang Yi was formed by that very range.

Seen from high above, the enormous mountain range was actually a single gigantic tree.

“Damn it! Is this still a tree?” Tang Yi stared in astonishment.