Chapter 693: Fragments of Divine Wood

The exhibition site for rare treasures was set atop a giant lake surrounded by mountains, with crystal-clear water that mirrored the sky like a mirror. Ten zhang above the water’s surface, exhibition platforms made of white clouds floated in the air—pure, flawless, and delicately beautiful. They mirrored their reflections in the lake, making it hard to distinguish between them.

A total of 108 such cloud platforms were evenly distributed according to some mystical array principles, connected by rainbow bridges that allowed people to walk on them without flying. No further embellishments were needed—just as it was, it was breathtakingly beautiful, as it seemed entirely natural and perfectly blended with the surroundings, as if this should indeed be a fairyland.

When the gathering ended, the cloud platforms and rainbow bridges would vanish naturally, causing no harm to the local ecosystem. The skills of immortals truly surpassed those of mortals. Even just viewing this scene made Su Che feel his journey had been worthwhile.

Walking across the rainbow bridges, Su Che and Yuan Ping ascended one of the cloud platforms. Each platform was quite large, about twenty mu in size, large enough to accommodate thousands of people without feeling crowded. Dozens of jade round tables were arranged in a circle on the platform, allowing each participant to display their treasures.

These jade tables could change color and shape at will. If you thought a certain treasure needed to be displayed on a hexagonal table with a black background and gold patterns, you could simply give an instruction with your mind. In fact, these tables were also highly spiritual magical artifacts. There were no restrictions on display.

If Su Che wanted to show a treasure of his own, he could choose an empty table, place the treasure on it, and it would naturally attract some immortals to appreciate it and exchange ideas. If he wanted to sell it, it was entirely up to him, with no need to pay any commission to the organizers. They cared little about such trivial profits; their goal was merely to provide convenience for countless true immortals.

What truly brought substantial profits to the organizers were the specially prepared highlights—top-tier treasures capable of attracting more than a dozen Great Luo Golden Immortals and two Immortal Emperors.

Accompanied by Yuan Ping, Su Che carefully examined hundreds of treasures on the six cloud platforms. In the blink of an eye, dozens of hours passed, equivalent to three days. However, there was no night in the trading venue—the sun hanging in the sky was artificially created, fixed in position, and unchanging.

After attaining immortality, there is a profound transformation in one’s form of life. Though it is not true immortality, the lifespan is extremely long. This leads to immortals paying little attention to the passage of time, living at a relatively slow pace in a carefree and relaxed state.

Like idle clouds and wild cranes, in a gentle breeze and soft clouds.

One can savor a painting for months or drink from a pot of wine for years…

Su Che was no exception. After arriving in the immortal realm, his mental state suddenly became calm, and his impatience almost vanished.

It was even more so now. Even when encountering a treasure that held little interest, he would stop to listen to how onlookers evaluated it.

Many treasure appraisers were highly knowledgeable, witty, and charming, with exceptional verbal skills. Listening to them speak was both enjoyable and enlightening, allowing one to gain much knowledge.

Next, Su Che planned to run his own treasure shop. Taking this opportunity to learn more about treasure appraisal was a wise move.

Thus, with the intention of listening and observing as much as possible, he wasn’t in a hurry to buy or sell treasures.

To be honest, there were quite a few items in the Immortal Prison that could be displayed or sold—nothing that would bring shame if put on display. For example, tens of thousands of varieties of mutated immortal spiritual flames, the Demon God’s bones of the Sky-Devouring Rat, and the colorful spiritual fruits produced by the Creation Divine Tree…

These were undoubtedly unique treasures never seen before in the immortal realm, likely to attract the attention of many true immortals.

“No rush. Let’s observe and learn more. There’s plenty of time,” Su Che thought to Old Black. “As newcomers like us, it’s easy to make foolish mistakes and create jokes.”

“Master, do you plan to set up a stall here to practice?” Old Black asked with a grin.

“What kind of nonsense comes out of your mouth? It’s completely distorted!” Su Che criticized him first before replying, “We’ll see depending on the situation. But the Demon God’s bones definitely can’t be shown—they’re too valuable and could bring trouble. The mutated spiritual flames and colorful spiritual fruits, though unusual, aren’t so valuable as to arouse envy. We can try displaying them… To be honest, I’m quite eager to do it.”

“Me too,” Old Black said, suddenly leaping to the sixth floor of the Immortal Prison. Looking at the dozen or so fruits hanging from the Creation Divine Tree, he muttered, “Let’s set up a fruit stall first. We can let the Creation Divine Tree produce more random varieties—something that won’t kill anyone would be fine.”

Su Che pretended not to hear and continued browsing the various exhibition stalls with Yuan Ping.

A few more hours passed, and when the seventh exhibit was brought in—a mysterious object placed on a emerald green diamond-shaped table—it immediately piqued Su Che’s interest. Half black and half yellow, it resembled rotten wood. Though unattractive, anything that could be placed on a table was surely not ordinary. Around the table, including the owner of the item, stood five immortals—probably three Heavenly Immortals, one Dark Immortal, and one more whose cultivation level Su Che couldn’t determine; it seemed to be a Golden Immortal of even higher rank. Su Che stepped forward, said little, and simply listened carefully. In this gathering, someone with Su Che’s level of cultivation was quite rare. The five others took a close look at him, paused briefly, then resumed their discussion. Such reactions were familiar to Su Che; whenever he approached any table before, he had drawn similar attention. However, given the immortals’ composure, no one showed disdain, nor did anyone try to drive him away. At least within this venue, everyone was an equal appraiser. Then, the Dark Immortal continued, “There is reason to call it an Eternal Divine Tree… Please look—its natural patterns contain the mysteries of the Path of Time. At the same time, traces of sealing power can also be detected… I believe the core of this divine tree already possesses the ability to adjust the flow of time within its own domain…” Hearing this, some of the other four nodded while others shook their heads. The spectator suspected to be a Golden Immortal remained silent, showing no reaction. Su Che still couldn’t understand the intricacies, having even never heard of the term “Eternal Divine Tree” before. But since it was a piece of wood, the Creative Divine Tree should be qualified to comment. So, Su Che connected his own perceptions with the six layers of the Immortal Prison, allowing the Creative Divine Tree to directly observe the wood. “Master, I don’t know its exact name,” Su Che said. The Creative Divine Tree replied immediately, “Or rather, I don’t know how others would call it. But if I were to name it, it would be a fragment of the Tree of Life.” “Tree of Life? What does that mean?” Su Che asked curiously. “It means it possesses the miraculous ability to nurture life and create different species and beings,” the Creative Divine Tree replied cheerfully. “I’m certain it must be an innate divine tree.”

The so-called “innate” refers to things that existed in chaos even before the creation of heaven and earth. For example, the Creation Divine Stone, which continuously provides Su Che with Black Stone Clear Flow, is an innate divine artifact. Innate divine artifacts are countless times more advanced than “natural divine artifacts” that arise later; they cannot be obtained without extraordinary fortune. Unfortunately, the piece of wood before him is merely a fragment with no energy or efficacy left. At the dawn of creation, many innate divine artifacts in chaos could not withstand the immense forces resulting from the separation of heaven and earth. Even those unlucky enough to be at the epicenter were shattered into pieces and scattered across the primordial lands. In the immortal realm today, finding such fragments does require luck, but it’s not considered great fortune either, as they have endured countless years, and their innate powers have long since faded, rendering them almost useless. Perhaps one can only hold them in hand, study them carefully, and hope to gain some insight from them. The Creation Divine Stone in the Immortal Prison is completely different! It is one of the sacred artifacts of the Witch Clan and should still be in its complete form—in other words, it is still “alive”! Since it is alive, its magical powers persist, even growing stronger and more refined over time. Without this Creation Divine Stone, Su Che would not have reached his current level of cultivation, nor could he have created his own Creation Divine Tree. Such a complete innate divine artifact is said to be rare throughout the entire immortal realm. Therefore, even upon hearing that this fragment might be part of an innate divine tree, Su Che felt no excitement or enthusiasm, only regret. He asked, “So, is this fragment useful to you?” “There’s no direct use,” it replied. The Creation Divine Tree also sighed regretfully, “It’s just the oldest fossil in the world. Merging with it won’t bring any change to me. But…” Su Che perked up—“But” meant there might be a chance. The Creation Divine Tree continued, “If this fragment were given to me, perhaps I could gain some understanding or insight from it, and possibly learn its ability to create species and living beings… Such a possibility isn’t impossible.” “Create different species, countless living beings…” Su Che was shaken—“Isn’t this exactly the ability I, as the Creator, need!”

This ability is really of little use to other True Immortals in the Immortal Realm. Who has the leisure to replace Heaven in creating more species and creatures? It’s better to spend that time and energy on self-cultivation. Even if one has such an interest, the hundreds of billions or trillions of creatures made up of tens of thousands of races within one’s own enclosed world are more than enough for fun. But the Immortal Prison will eventually develop into another vast universe, and it is precisely such abilities that are needed. For now, the creatures required for these mere tens of thousands of planets can still be purchased from other immortals, but what about in the future? Can we rely on buying, plundering, and seizing creatures from other worlds for the countless planets in the Immortal Prison universe? Of course not—we must create them ourselves!