Chapter 6: Soul-Nurturing Wood (Part 1)

Yang Miluo said, “I’ll clear the way!” The forest was extremely dense, with trees touching each other and vines entwined, leaving no path at all. They had to force their way through by cutting a trail.
Yang Miluo’s sacrificial artifact resembled a curved sword named “Return to the Past.” As soon as it was summoned, it emitted a humming vibration. Guo Shier stared at it curiously, thinking, “Its shape is very similar to the ‘Return to the Past’ sword from Earth in my past life. I wonder what will happen after it’s enhanced with talismans.”
Guo Shier couldn’t help but ask, “Lao Yang, what kind of sacrificial artifact is this? What’s its name?”
Hearing Guo Shier call him “Lao Yang,” Yang Miluo’s hand trembled, and he almost threw the artifact away. With a wry smile, he said, “This is my sixth-grade life-bound sacrificial artifact, named ‘Whirlwind.’ It can spin on its own by nature. After being enhanced with talismans, its power is quite significant. You’ll see for yourself. Go!” With a spell, Whirlwind let out a whistling sound and shot forward.
Once free from Yang Miluo’s hand, Whirlwind immediately grew huge, reaching over ten meters in length, forming a rapidly spinning blade shadow that rushed into the dense forest. With a loud roar, countless tree trunks and branches were crushed to pieces. Some tree fragments were thrown upward and quickly turned into dust by invisible wind blades, scattering everywhere.
Yang Miluo said, “Follow me!” He then flew into the forest. Whirlwind carved a U-shaped path through the forest, and the four of them quickly followed deeper into it.
As soon as they entered the forest, a strong sense of unease flooded their souls. Li Ran raised his hand and said, “Stop for now. Unfold the altar. Something feels wrong!”
Guo Shier immediately enlarged the altar atop his head, sat on it, and summoned his sacrificial artifact, the Umbrella Tower, releasing the tentacles of Gu Xi Bi. The Moon Blade also circled around him, ready to strike at any moment. He didn’t think Li Ran was overreacting. Given Li Ran’s strength, his words proved that the situation was serious.
Yang Miluo and Fan Zhen also unfolded their altars and summoned defensive sacrificial artifacts.
Li Ran nodded. He too unfolded his altar, but instead of placing it at his feet, he kept it above his head. Since the altar was shrunk to the size of a finger, it looked strange, making Guo Shier want to laugh.
Guo Shier said with a smile, “Alright, let’s keep moving forward.”
Yang Miluo continued to use Whirlwind to clear the path as they moved forward. Occasionally glancing back, Guo Shier exclaimed in surprise, “Look behind you…”
The U-shaped path they had created was once again covered with green plants, which were rapidly filling the space behind them.

Li Ran turned around and stared intently at the shrinking gap. A few seconds later, he realized what was happening and said, “It’s vines! It’s not trees growing—it’s vines…”
Yang Miluo stopped what he was doing and asked, “What kind of vines?”
Fan Zhen also said, “Could it be Soul Vine? Soul Vine Wood?”
Guo Shier was shocked and said, “Soul Vine Wood… Soul Nourishing Wood? If it’s that stuff… we’re in for a fortune!”
Li Ran replied, “It is Soul Vine Wood, but… this one is different. It’s incredibly powerful. Be careful—this is likely a mutated Soul Vine Wood… with some level of intelligence already!”
Guo Shier exclaimed in surprise, “Plants can have intelligence too?”
Li Ran said, “Yes. In this world, some plants mutate and gain intelligence. Their strength is terrifying. This entire valley must be the domain of Soul Vine Wood. If we enter… we’ll become its prey.”
Guo Shier laughed and said, “We’re prey? Hehe, Brother Li Ran, are you joking? With you here… there won’t be any problem.”
Li Ran shook his head slightly and said, “From the teachings I’ve received and what friends have discussed, once plants mutate, they gain immense strength and considerable intelligence. It’s always better to be cautious.”
This primeval forest covered thousands of square kilometers, and the four of them were as tiny as ants inside. With their eyes, they could clearly see that this mutated Soul Vine Wood was the ruler of this territory.
This Soul Vine Wood controlled the entire forest. Guo Shier’s expression gradually changed. He felt his soul becoming restless, with a strong, unhidden murderous intent manifesting in his soul. He asked, “Brother Li Ran, how can we kill this Soul Vine Wood?”
Li Ran said, “We can’t stay here. Yang Miluo, keep clearing a path. We need to move forward. To kill this Soul Vine Wood, we must find its main root system… otherwise, we won’t be able to solve the problem.”
Guo Shier followed closely behind Li Ran and said, “Searching for the main root system of a mutated Soul Vine Wood in this forest—isn’t that like looking for a needle in a haystack?”
Li Ran replied, “That’s exactly why I say mutated plants are tricky. You can’t even find their main body, let alone deal with just their branches. Hehe… but you know how precious Soul Vine Wood is. Not to mention mutated Soul Vine Wood—even ordinary Soul Vine Wood is an extremely valuable material. Besides, Soul Vine Wood is also known as Soul Nourishing Wood. Hehe, what does that mean? It means that with Soul Vine Wood, even if your soul is damaged, it can help you repair it slowly.”

Fan Zhen Tong said, “Yes, the Soul-Nurturing Wood is one of the top three rare treasures among wood-type items.”
Li Ran said, “The Mutated Soul Vine Wood is even more powerful and precious!”
Guo Shier asked, “With just the four of us, can we find the main root system of the Mutated Soul Vine Wood?”
Li Ran smiled and said, “How can we know without trying? Anyway, I won’t give up easily. If we miss this chance, we’ll be struck by lightning and cursed by heaven.”
Yang Miluo and Fan Zhen Tong didn’t understand why they would be struck by lightning or cursed, but Guo Shier knew where this idea came from. He laughed and said, “Alright, let’s give it a try. I have no objections. If we can find the main root system of the Mutated Soul Vine Wood, we’ll make a huge profit… This place is truly a treasure trove. We’ve only been here for a short while, and we’ve already found the Stringed Snail Wood and the Mutated Soul Vine Wood.”
Li Ran curled his lips and said, “How can the Stringed Snail Wood compare to the Soul Vine Wood? There’s a huge difference.”
Fan Zhen Tong said, “Hmm, the Stringed Snail Wood isn’t as precious as the Spirit-Storing Wood. The Spirit-Storing Wood can’t compare to the Soul Vine Wood, let alone the Mutated Soul Vine Wood. Even a ten-thousand-year-old Spirit-Storing Wood isn’t enough.”
Li Ran said, “Hehe, a ten-thousand-year-old Spirit-Storing Wood is still quite good. If it’s a mutated version, it might be slightly comparable, but it still falls short of the Mutated Soul Vine Wood.”
Guo Shier was shocked inwardly. It was the first time he’d seen Li Ran praise something so highly. It seemed the Mutated Soul Vine Wood was indeed extraordinary. This time, the old master hadn’t been talking nonsense—he had also heard of the Mutated Soul Vine Wood for the first time. Although he had broader knowledge than Guo Shier, he was still one level below Li Ran. Moreover, ancient times were very different from the present world, so it was normal not to know about certain things. He only knew about the Soul Vine Wood.
At that moment, Fan Zhen Tong also started to act, taking turns with Yang Miluo to move forward. The four of them exerted all their strength and gradually approached the center of the forest.
The ancient trees here were even larger, with extremely thick trunks. However, their height was restricted by the wind blades in the air, keeping them at only about seventy meters tall. Anything that grew above that was turned to powder by the wind blades.
Li Ran shouted, “Clear a space!”
Guo Shier said, “I’ll take care of this side!”
Yang Miluo said, “The front is mine!”
Fan Zhen Tong smiled and said, “I’ll handle the back!”
Li Ran said, “Good. Then it’s my turn… Let’s go!”

Guo Shier’s Moon Blade flew out, transforming into a blade tornado that crashed straight into the forest. Immediately, a series of crackling sounds filled the air as countless broken branches and leaves flew everywhere. The blade tornado spun wildly across the ground, clearing a large area in no time, with the soil sinking about a foot deep.

The trees and rocks that were torn to pieces were thrown into the air by the blade tornado, only to be reduced to powder by the wind blades in the air and scattered everywhere.

Li Ran’s method was even simpler. With a gentle press from his golden hand, a loud roar echoed as both trees and vines were pressed into the ground, just like stakes being driven in. After a few such presses, a large open area was created.

Yang Miluo and Fan Zhen were also fast. In just a moment, the two of them cleared out a large area. Li Ran glanced around and said, “Not enough, not enough… Expand it further!” The four of them continued to expand the area, and within a few minutes, they had cleared out about one square kilometer. Li Ran said, “Strengthen the ground…” Suddenly, countless colorful garlands descended from the altar above his head, along with numerous virtual talismans that fell to the ground and merged with it.

As soon as the virtual talismans touched the ground, the originally soft soil immediately hardened. In just a few breaths, the ground turned into solid rock. As the virtual talismans flickered, the entire ground became as hard as steel.

Guo Shier and the other two also sent out numerous virtual talismans to strengthen the ground. Although they didn’t know why Li Ran wanted to strengthen it, they trusted his judgment completely. If he said to strengthen it, then they would do so.

As the ground turned into stone, countless virtual talismans surged out from the altar of the four of them. This method of reinforcement using virtual talismans was very convenient. Most buildings in this world were reinforced with virtual talismans, allowing them to remain unchanged for thousands of years, resisting the effects of wind, rain, and time—more durable even than the reinforced concrete Guo Shier had seen in his past life.

Guo Shier said, “The passage behind us is already filled…”

The U-shaped passage was filled with countless swaying vines, which continued to spread along the passage. But since the ground had hardened, the roots of the vines couldn’t penetrate; only their branches could extend in.

The vines were as crystal clear as jade, stretching and writhing rapidly as if they were living things.

Guo Shier exclaimed, “Damn, what beautiful mutated Soul Vine Wood!” He fell in love with this kind of Soul Vine Wood at first sight—it was absolutely stunning, like a jade sculpture, reflecting the light of the sky with a soft pale green hue on its surface, while the tips of its buds had a faint crimson glow.

The vines circled the cleared area, surrounding the four of them completely.

Li Ran smiled and said, “Hehe, luckily we were quick. Otherwise, it would have been tough. Without support from the ground, the vines’ strength drops by at least 80%. For now, they’re not a threat. This is a great chance for us to see… what tactics this mutated Soul Vine Wood has.”
The vines tentatively stretched out a few branches, waving them at the edge of the clearing.
Guo Shier stood in the center of the area, marveling, “It’s really clever. They even know how to probe…”
Li Ran’s face was filled with joy as he said, “Sure enough! It’s indeed the legendary plant mutation, and moreover, a mutation of the precious Soul Vine Wood. Haha, we’re so damn lucky!” He couldn’t help but swear. Even Guo Shier could clearly sense his excitement.
Guo Shier sat on the altar, with the Moon Blade vibrating softly as it slowly circled around his body. He asked, “How do we obtain the Soul Vine Wood?”