Chapter 41: The Wood Spirit Stone

Qu Yi knew it would be difficult to completely trap Meng Chen, so he had long prepared the three monstrous beasts—Wu Yuan, the Golden Qilin, and the Illusory Dancing Butterfly—to attack Meng Chen at the right moment.
As expected, when Meng Chen realized Qu Yi intended to drain his vital energy, fear took hold of him. He quickly summoned his remaining vital energy to expand his defensive barrier, breaking free from the waterfall’s grasp before flying away.
At that instant, Qu Yi activated his spiritual awareness, and the three monstrous beasts emerged from the Dimensional Sphere, each wielding an Eight-Directions Sword. Seeing Meng Chen escape, Qu Yi immediately retracted his Sky-Receiving Water Sphere and drew out his Six-Directions Blade. With a cold smile, he said, “Meng Chen, you can’t escape. Besides top-tier spiritual weapons, I also possess supreme-grade ones.”
Both the Eight-Directions Sword and the Six-Directions Blade were supreme-grade spiritual weapons.
When Meng Chen saw the three cultivators ahead, he was stunned. As he thought of finding a way to escape, he realized that Qu Yi, Wu Yuan, the Golden Qilin, and the Illusory Dancing Butterfly had already drawn their magical weapons.
With his current level of cultivation, Meng Chen still had no chance to reach those weapons, so he was unaware of their power. Otherwise, he would have sacrificed himself to escape. But that hesitation cost him his life.
Three beams of light, each a hundred meters long, along with a sharp blade flash, shot out simultaneously, targeting Meng Chen in mid-air. Only then did Meng Chen realize the severity of those spells—the energy contained within them matched that of the Tribulation Phase, and their sharpness was beyond anything in the cultivation world that could withstand them.
Ah…
Meng Chen let out a cry as his body split into four pieces. His Yuan Ying separated from his body, trying to escape, but the spatial turbulence created by the spells prevented it from moving.
Qu Yi chuckled and disappeared, reappearing beside Meng Chen’s Yuan Ying and seizing it with one hand.
“Ah, fellow cultivator, please don’t kill me! I’m willing to become your slave—just don’t kill me,” pleaded Meng Chen’s spirit within the Yuan Ying.
Qu Yi merely smiled lightly before unleashing the Blazing True Fire, erasing Meng Chen’s soul and storing his Yuan Ying away.
“Hehe, a slave—having a slave in the early Tribulation Phase is nice, but my own cultivation is what matters most. And your Wood-type Yuan Ying is exactly what I need now,” Qu Yi said to himself happily.

By now, Qu Yi already had the Yuan Ying of Metal, Wood, Water, and Earth from the early stage of the tribulation. He only needed to obtain one more Yuan Ying of Water from the early stage of the tribulation to have all of them. In the future, once Qu Yi’s soul realm advanced to the later stage of the Convergence Phase, he could use these five Yuan Ying to reach that same level of cultivation.

As soon as Meng Chen died, Qu Yi focused on sensing the vast Baolong Tree. The trunk of the Baolong Tree wasn’t very large, about one li in diameter, but its branches spread out to cover an entire hemisphere. This was because its interior contained extremely dense Wood energy, which was used to support the weight of each branch. Thus, even as the branches stretched infinitely, the trunk didn’t have to bear any strain.

Inside the Baolong Tree also lived a Poison-Sucking Fruit Tree. No one knew how its seeds arrived there, but they took root in one of the tree’s branches. The Poison-Sucking Fruit Tree continuously absorbed the Wood energy from the Baolong Tree, growing stronger. Later, it was fed the refined blood of cultivators by the people of Bai Shou Peak, allowing it to grow rapidly. As a result, all the branches within a two-thousand-li area around the Baolong Tree had now turned into branches of the Poison-Sucking Fruit Tree.

“Wow, what kind of tree is this? How can it be so huge—covering half of a planet?”

“Have I gone blind? Is this still a tree? Could it be a tree spirit?”

“I can’t describe this tree. It’s so large that even my spiritual perception can’t cover all its leaves.”

Wu Yuan, the Golden Qilin, and the Illusory Dancing Butterfly also looked around with Qu Yi, soon exclaiming in astonishment.

Qu Yi chuckled and shouted, “Enough! It’s just a tree. Now we need to figure out a way to remove this Poison-Sucking Fruit Tree from the Baolong Tree. We also need to find a way to speed up its maturity so it can produce the Poisonous Fruits.”

The thought of using the Poisonous Fruits to eliminate cultivators below the Great Vehicle stage filled Qu Yi with excitement. These were the treasures he relied on for self-protection when entering the Haotian Immortal Mansion. Although he had the Life-Saving Sphere as a defensive treasure, with so many cultivators in the mansion, how could he risk revealing his secrets? It was best to have other treasures as backup.

Therefore, he must obtain the Poisonous Fruits. Though Qu Yi already had one, he felt it wasn’t enough. The more Poisonous Fruits he had, the more secure he would be.

Upon Qu Yi asking this, Wu Yuan, Jin Qilin, and Huan Wu Die all fell silent immediately, each looking at Qu Yi with a hint of embarrassment.
“Ah, it’s pointless to ask. You’d better enter the Inch Realm Ball,” Qu Yi said sighingly, frustrated.
It was no fault of the three demon cultivators—they had never come across the Poison-Sucking Fruit Tree, let alone moved it or induced the Birth of Thousands of Poisons. Undoubtedly, faced with this urgent problem, at a loss, Qu Yi could only turn to the all-knowing Artifact God.
“Artifact God, how do I move this Poison-Sucking Fruit Tree? I’ve killed Meng Chen now, but the people of Bai Shou Peak will soon find out. If I don’t find a way to move it, all my efforts will be in vain,” Qu Yi said bitterly.
The Artifact God’s voice soon rang out: “Put the Poison-Sucking Fruit Tree aside for now. The Dragon-Embracing Tree is the treasure you should focus on right now.”
“Ah, what do you mean? Is there a dragon hidden inside the Dragon-Embracing Tree?” Qu Yi asked in surprise.
The Artifact God chuckled darkly before explaining, “Inside the Dragon-Embracing Tree lies a Wood Spirit Stone. If you obtain this stone, not only will you have gathered all five types of primal energy stones, but you’ll also be able to move the Poison-Sucking Fruit Tree.”
Hearing this, Qu Yi was overjoyed—his luck was truly unmatched.
“Artifact God, then what should I do to get this Wood Spirit Stone?” Qu Yi asked eagerly.
After a while, the Artifact God replied, “First, enter the Inch Realm Ball. Otherwise, if you fly alone to the roots of the Dragon-Embracing Tree, it will unleash various wood-based spells equivalent to the later stages of the Tribulation Phase, which you won’t be able to withstand. If the Inch Realm Ball flies below the tree, the tree won’t detect it and thus won’t launch any spells. Once the Inch Realm Ball reaches the roots of the tree, come out and use the Eight Directions Sword to carve a path. Then, search inside the tree trunk for the Wood Spirit Stone.”
Hearing this, Qu Yi immediately entered the Inch Realm Ball and controlled it to fly downward.
The dense branches and leaves of the Dragon-Embracing Tree were filled with abundant wood energy. It was estimated that a cultivator in the Qi Attraction stage could break through directly to the Foundation Establishment stage just by breathing in this energy. Moreover, these wood energies were interconnected, and any anomaly would cause them to converge and attack anything that intruded.
The Inch Realm Ball, like a wisp of spiritual energy, floated lightly among the branches and leaves of the tree, soon passing through the uppermost layer of foliage.

In the middle of the Dragon-Embracing Tree, there were various branches, but the leaves no longer existed. At the very bottom of the tree, everything was empty, yet the wood-energy began to spin, as if circling the tree trunk endlessly.

The Tiny Realm Ball finally drifted to the roots of the Dragon-Embracing Tree, but it failed to trigger any offensive spells from the tree. Inside the Tiny Realm Ball, Qu Yi consumed two Yuan Ying in the Combined Phase, restoring his vital energy before leaving the ball.

As soon as Qu Yi reappeared, the Dragon-Embracing Tree detected him. Suddenly, the wood-energy in the air gathered to form strong winds that attacked Qu Yi at the tree roots. But Qu Yi was prepared. As soon as he stepped out of the Tiny Realm Ball, he swung his Eight-Directions Sword at the tree trunk, cutting a long slit. With another swing, he created a large hole in it.

As spells rained down, Qu Yi had already hidden in the hole he had created, remaining untouched by the spells. The Dragon-Embracing Tree sensed that Qu Yi was inside its trunk and controlled the external wood-energy from attacking. Meanwhile, sap, red like dragon blood, began to flow continuously from the trunk, trying to wash Qu Yi away.

But Qu Yi wasn’t about to give up so easily. He swiftly swung his Eight-Directions Sword, and the wood chunks he cut were absorbed by the Tiny Realm Ball, allowing him to move quickly inside the tree. Realizing that the sap couldn’t encase Qu Yi like amber, the tree changed tactics. When Qu Yi carved away part of the trunk, it immediately grew new branches, preventing him from moving forward. The passage he had used to enter also grew new branches, effectively trapping Qu Yi inside the tree trunk.

“This Dragon-Embracing Tree must be possessed by a spirit!” Qu Yi grew furious, unprepared for such intelligence in the tree.

Suddenly, four people appeared beside Qu Yi: Qing Wu Gui, Wu Yuan, Jin Qi Lin, and Huan Wu Die, all emerging from the Tiny Realm Ball. Bai Man and Mu Han, one only in the early stage of leaving the body and the other in the early stage of distraction, couldn’t help at this moment.

Qing Wu Gui held his black sword, Wu Yuan summoned his Eight-Directions Sword, Huan Wu Die wielded her own Eight-Directions Sword, and Jin Qi Lin swung his Six-Directions Knife. They followed Qu Yi, relentlessly slashing through the interior of the Dragon-Embracing Tree.

With the combined efforts of the five, the destructive power was indeed astonishing—pieces of wood were chopped out and all ended up inside the Dimensional Sphere. More wood was cut away than the Baolong Tree could grow anew, allowing Qu Yi and his four companions to move further into the tree trunk in search of the Wood Spirit Stone.

However, the Baolong Tree possessed an immense amount of Wood Energy. Though Qu Yi and his companions cut quickly, the tree’s endless vitality caused it to regrow all the lost wood, while their own vital energy was completely depleted.

With no other choice, Qu Yi sent Qingwugui, Wuyuan, Jinqilin, and Huandewdie into the Dimensional Sphere, while he swallowed his Combined Phase Nascent Soul and continued to wield the Eight Directions Sword inside the tree trunk.

“Qu Yi, you fool! Can’t you use the Eight Directions Sword to release combined vital energy? Can’t you absorb the chaotic energy from the Chaos Crystal?” The voice of the Divine Weapon suddenly shouted angrily.

This cry immediately reminded Qu Yi that aside from the Five Elements Vital Energy, he also had the combined vital energy stored in his dantian—something that could counter all other vital energies.

Qu Yi immediately swallowed a Chaos Crystal and placed it in his dantian, then used the Eight Directions Sword to continuously release the combined vital energy. Wherever the sword energy went, large sections of the Baolong Tree’s trunk disappeared, turning into passages that stabilized instantly. The tree couldn’t even grow new wood.

One strike created a permanent passage.

Qu Yi laughed. Now, he could search for the Wood Spirit Stone inside the Baolong Tree’s trunk with confidence.

Of course, Qu Yi didn’t wander aimlessly. His spiritual sense was always outstretched, allowing him to sense the density of Wood Energy throughout the tree. His body kept moving toward areas with higher concentrations of Wood Energy.

The Baolong Tree was truly helpless. Under Qu Yi’s combined vital energy attacks, it couldn’t find any way to counter him, as its entire Wood Energy was completely suppressed by his combined energy.

After walking through the tree trunk for a day and using up a hundred Chaos Crystals, Qu Yi finally found the Wood Spirit Stone hidden within it.

The stone was emerald green like jade, round and about the size of a palm. It continuously emitted Wood Energy in its own space, nourishing the Baolong Tree.

Moreover, the Wood Spirit Stone was non-aggressive and gentle, unlike the Sharp Gold Stone and the Soothing Earth Stone, which emitted aggressive energy. Thus, Qu Yi reached out and grabbed it without any backlash.

“Qu Yi, you’ve got the Wood Spirit Stone. Hurry and bring it into the Dimension Ball— the Dragon Embracing Tree is about to collapse,” the Voice of the Divine Tool suddenly rang out. With an “Oh,” Qu Yi immediately entered the Dimension Ball. At that moment, deprived of the nourishment from the Wood Spirit Stone, the Wood Energy within the Dragon Embracing Tree could no longer support the weight of its vast branches, which began to fall from the sky with cracking sounds. The tree trunk, too, under such excessive weight and without Wood Energy support, gradually compressed layer by layer before finally tilting and collapsing rapidly. The Dragon Embracing Tree, which covered half of Misty Forest Planet, vanished instantly, leaving only Earth, half of the planet, where the entire ground was covered with leaves resembling dragon blood. The smaller trees born from the Dragon Embracing Tree also lost their vitality and withered away one by one. It could be said that half of Misty Forest Planet turned into a desolate wasteland in an instant.