Chapter 1: Wood Evil (Part 2)

Guo Shier knew that the Wood Heart could move, but he didn’t expect it to move so fast. He sensed it descending rapidly, only to rise quickly after hitting the bottom. That was because Qi Wu Zhen had sealed the ground, cutting off its escape route, forcing it to flee upward toward the giant tree.

Guo Shier rode the altar upward in pursuit, while the old man kept casting spells to suppress it and prevent it from escaping back and forth. The others could only watch helplessly, as they hadn’t discovered it first.

The Soul-Calming Cauldron emitted a colorful light that fluctuated, targeting the fleeing Wood Heart. Soon, the Wood Heart reached the treetop, and instantly, the entire treetop glowed with an extremely bright green light, as if ignited. The dazzling green light flickered continuously, lighting up every leaf.

Everyone was amazed—it was truly beautiful.

The Soul-Calming Cauldron suddenly emitted an even brighter light, instantly covering the entire crown of the tree. A green shadow was forcibly dragged out and vanished in an instant. Then, Guo Shier’s loud laughter was heard.

Halechi, with his peach-blossom eyes, stepped forward and said obsequiously, “Shier, congratulations on capturing the Wood Heart… Hehe…”

Guo Shier shuddered and said, “Just say what you want—stop trying to ingratiate yourself!”

With a flattering expression, Halechi said, “Shier, could you give me a replicated Wood Heart symbol? Hehe.”

Natural Wood Heart symbols were extremely rare, and even replicated ones were uncommon. Halechi’s idea wasn’t bad—losing the Wood Heart wasn’t a big deal, but getting a replicated symbol was still valuable, especially one directly copied, which had high intrinsic worth.

Runes could be divided into natural runes, replicated runes, and those written by professionals. Natural runes were the most precious, followed by replicated runes. Replicated runes also varied—what was known as transcribed runes. Those directly transcribed from natural runes were the best, followed by those transcribed from those transcribed runes, namely second-transcribed, third-transcribed runes, and even sixth- and seventh-transcribed runes. The value of these transcribed runes varied, with some even being less valuable than written runes.

Halechi wanted a first-transcribed rune to use as his base rune, from which he could create second-transcribed runes.

Yao Zebusong, Goha, and Zhen Wuji also gathered around, all with flattering expressions, which made Guo Shier both annoyed and amused. He said, “After we finish exploring, we can exchange them among ourselves—how about that?” He was good at calculating; getting something for free was impossible—exchange was the way to go.

Everyone had no objections to this; such handling was in line with the rules of this world.
Li Ran said, “Guo Shier, I think… you shouldn’t waste this Wood Heart. If it loses its vitality and turns into a wooden rune, it would be a shame to squander such a precious thing. You’ve acquired a sealed secret realm—you can simply move this giant tree there and give it a chance to survive. There will be many more benefits.”
Guo Shier pondered for a moment. The Wood Heart could only exert its full power by turning into natural wooden runes. If it were grown in a secret realm, it wouldn’t be able to become natural runes. However, any plant cultivated in that secret realm would thrive immensely, thanks to the nourishment from the Wood Heart, allowing them to grow perfectly.
Soon, Guo Shier made up his mind. He said, “Alright, I’ll move this ancient tree into the secret realm.”
Halechi wanted to kill Li Ran, but he didn’t dare say a word. Although everyone was extremely dissatisfied, none dared to speak out against it. After all, if the Wood Heart couldn’t turn into natural wooden runes, it would be impossible to replicate the runes. Naturally, no one was willing to accept this, and they all cursed inwardly.
Qi Wu Zhen smiled faintly. She didn’t need natural wooden runes. If it had been natural fire runes, she might have fought for them. Wooden runes were useless to her. She said, “Shier, it’s best if you also move the trees around it, including the land below.”
Guo Shier looked at the giant tree that was tens of thousands of meters tall, along with dozens of large trees around it, each also several thousand meters high. He wasn’t sure how much soul energy it would take to bring all of them into the altar’s secret realm. With a wry smile, he said, “This tree is too big. I’m not sure if my Soul Calming Cauldron can hold it.”
He couldn’t take it directly; it had to go through the Soul Calming Cauldron first. He knew the cauldron could hold it, but figuring out how to bring it in was a huge challenge.
Li Ran laughed and said, “Since it was my suggestion, let me help.”
Qi Wu Zhen stretched out her hand, and countless virtual runes flew up from the ground before dissipating in the air. She lifted the restrictions.
Zhen Wu Ji opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately stayed silent. He didn’t want Guo Shier to take the giant tree—not because of the runes, but because with the tree still there, there might be a chance for a new Wood Heart to grow after a few hundred years. But once Guo Shier took it, that hope would be completely gone.

Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen exerted too much pressure. As the ancestor of an ancient clan, Zhen Wu Ji had no chance against them at all. Moreover, it was thanks to them that they hadn’t been suppressed by the Wolf Dike Merchant Alliance and the Yuan Ke Alliance. Without Li Ran and the others, the ancient clan would have no hope of preserving the Red Plain Continent and would gain no benefits either. So Zhen Wu Ji wisely suppressed his impulses, thinking, “Fine, take it. Anyway, it’s not something my clan can control.”

Li Ran summoned the altar—he also needed its power to control such a vast area. Of course, this posed no difficulty for him. How could someone who could even take over small secret realms be stumped by something like this? He said in a deep voice, “Everyone except the Twelve, step back.”

He casually scattered seventy-two restriction talismans, which quickly descended. Li Ran smiled and said, “Twelve, come with me.” He flew high into the sky using the altar. Guo Shi Er flew to his altar and asked, “What’s going on?”

Li Ran replied, “Wait… When I tell you to collect it, you must do it. Understand?”

Guo Shi Er nodded, “No problem.”

Countless spells were cast, and virtual talismans fell like snow. Moments later, under the effect of the seventy-two restriction talismans, the entire ground began to glow with sparks. With a series of cracking sounds, the ground started shaking violently. Countless insects, birds, and wild animals fled frantically, instinctively sensing danger.

Waves of disturbance spread, causing the entire restricted area to distort and gradually shrink. The rumbling sounds grew louder, and the ground’s tremors intensified. Suddenly, with a loud crash, the entire ground was ripped up, along with large chunks of soil and the roots of giant trees.

Qi Wu Zhen stepped back a distance. She was also impressed by Li Ran’s tactics—just like when he took over a sealed small secret realm, she didn’t have such powerful methods.

Ge Ha was completely stunned. Now he understood what it meant to be a peak expert beyond the ninth-tier altar. The gap between him and Li Ran was enormous, like heaven and earth. He secretly rejoiced at not having offended such an insane expert; otherwise, he wouldn’t even know how he’d die.

Hale Chi was extremely envious. He thought, “If only I could reach such a level, Xiao Zhen Zhen… she would definitely like me.” That was how he called Qi Wu Zhen in his mind. “Xiao Zhen Zhen”—what a nice name. Ever since he heard Li Ran call her that, he kept calling her that in his mind, but he wouldn’t dare say it out loud.

Guo Shier was extremely impressed—this was the true might of a peak expert, effortlessly warping and compressing land without any sign of Li Ran straining. He didn’t possess such abilities. Gradually, the piece of land flew into the air. Li Ran fired several solid talismans into it, and immediately, continuous crackling sounds arose. The land, along with the trees growing on it, began to shrink, gradually forming a huge spherical mass, with countless runes swirling on its surface as it contracted inward. Yao Zebusong murmured, “Amazing! Truly astonishing!” Zhen Wuji shook his head—such strength was utterly overwhelming. That soul power seemed endless; it was unclear how he had reached this level. As Li Ran’s virtual talismans continued to compress the mass, it glowed brightly. After about half a day, the sphere had been compressed to a diameter of around a hundred meters, allowing a faint glimpse of what was inside. Guo Shier said, “Impressive! Not a single tree inside was damaged. Old Man Shuai, I’m still so far behind.” Old Man Shuai replied, “Don’t compare yourself to those two. They’re not… human…” He spoke the last word very softly. Old Man Shuai feared them the most and didn’t dare speak too loudly, afraid they might cause him trouble. Arcing lightning flashed across the sphere, emitting crackling sounds. When it had shrunk to a diameter of about fifty meters, Li Ran asked, “Shier, can you take over?” The smaller it became, the more soul power it consumed. According to Li Ran’s estimate, at this size, the Soul Suppressing Cauldron should be able to contain it. Guo Shier wasn’t confident and said, “Please compress it a bit more, Big Brother. I hope we can succeed in one go.” At this moment, he didn’t want to take any risks. With such a powerful big brother around, asking for his help wouldn’t bring shame. Li Ran nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll compress it another half. You need to take over quickly then.” Guo Shier replied, “No problem. Thank you, Big Brother.” Li Ran didn’t say anything more and continued compressing. This time it took even longer—about a day—until the diameter finally reached around twenty meters. It resembled a giant sphere hanging in midair, stunning everyone present. As top professionals, they all understood just how formidable a strength was required to compress it further.

Guo Shierou gave the Soul Calming Cauldron a strong slap, instantly triggering colorful lights at its mouth. In an instant, dozens of streams of light connected together, emitting a blinding glow as they rolled toward the sphere and covered it in a flash. These lights inherently had the ability to compress and distort objects; whether it was an item or a mutated magical beast, they would immediately be trapped under their illumination. Guo Shierou found this truly amazing. With a soft sound, the sphere rapidly shrank and was absorbed into the Soul Calming Cauldron within seconds. The ease of retrieval surprised Guo Shierou as well; he hadn’t expected it to be so quick and convenient. Smiling, he said, “It’s done!” The Soul Calming Cauldron suddenly shrank and vanished above his head, entering his soul. After storing away the altar, the Cauldron smoothly entered the altar’s secret realm. The old man took over immediately, controlling the Cauldron to enter the secret realm’s depths. A huge crater remained on the ground, with a diameter of tens of thousands of meters and a depth of several thousand meters, with groundwater continuously gushing out. Perhaps in little time, a vast lake would form here. In the altar’s secret realm, the old man released the Soul Calming Cauldron and pointed at the ground, creating another huge crater. Since the secret realm and the altar had become one, both the spirit of the altar and Guo Shierou could do as they pleased within it—no digging was needed; a mere gesture was enough to create a crater. The old man then released the forbidden ancient tree, cast several spells to lift the restrictions, and with a loud crash, the spherical barrier shattered. A towering tree stood upright, surrounded by dozens of other large trees. Since the tree was retrieved along with its roots, it remained lush and green once restored. The old man glanced at it satisfactorily, took out the forbidden tree core, and said, “You’re lucky; otherwise, it would have lost its vitality…” In a flash of green light, the tree core disappeared into the tree.