Sensing the murderous claw descending toward his head, You Mo suddenly let out a frenzied roar:
"My master is an Immortal Venerable! Do you truly dare kill me?!"
Lan An's pupils contracted sharply. The True Dragon Claw halted mid-air. A storm of thoughts flashed through his mind…
An Immortal Venerable—an existence that surpassed even Immortal Kings, standing only below the strongest rank he currently knew of: Immortal Emperor.
Lan An had no clear idea just how powerful an Immortal Venerable truly was. But even the fleeting, overwhelming auras he had glimpsed from Immortal Kings like Fu Dong Immortal King and San Yuan Immortal King were already far beyond what he could resist—let alone someone at the Immortal Venerable level…
Though he had previously guessed that You Mo's master was at least above Immortal King rank, learning the exact truth—that it was an Immortal Venerable—filled Lan An with unprecedented heaviness.
He hadn't even ascended to the Immortal Realm yet, and he had already offended an Immortal Venerable. What kind of dog-shit luck was this?
In normal circumstances, Lan An would have been willing to risk everything and kill You Mo outright. Even if the man's master was an Immortal Venerable, there was no guarantee the supreme being was constantly monitoring this place. Killing You Mo might not immediately alert him.
But reality was cruel. You Mo's Soul Origin Essence had already been claimed by that Immortal Venerable. That meant the instant You Mo died, his master would sense it immediately. The consequences would be catastrophic.
Openly sabotaging an Immortal Venerable's plan… Lan An felt that even ten thousand lives wouldn't be enough to die for it.
Seeing Lan An's expression flicker unpredictably, You Mo let out a triumphant, mocking laugh:
"What's wrong? Weren't you backed by the Heavenly Court and Dragon Race? Afraid of a single Immortal Venerable now? Haha!"
Lan An gave a cold sneer in response:
"I'll spare your worthless dog life… for now."
Before You Mo could react, Reverse Dragon Power surged violently. Grasp Dragon Palm—the weakest among the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms—slammed straight toward You Mo's head.
"Ugh…"
With a muffled groan, foam bubbled from You Mo's mouth. His scalp exploded in a spray of blood. He collapsed into unconsciousness.
Lan An secretly let out a breath of relief. Using the weakest palm strike had been just right—enough to knock out a Peak True Immortal without taking his life. The damage was perfectly calibrated.
Knocking out a Peak True Immortal wasn't easy. Too weak, and it wouldn't work. Too strong, and he'd kill the man outright. Grasp Dragon Palm struck the perfect balance.
"Damn it, not being able to use soul techniques is so frustrating!" Lan An cursed inwardly. If he could employ soul arts, he wouldn't have to go through all this hassle.
He stripped off You Mo's spatial ring, then casually slung the unconscious man over his shoulder like a sack of grain. Circulating thunder-flame, he condensed Unified Spirit Palm in his hand and slammed it downward toward the ground…
"I want to see just what kind of evil thing you've been hiding down here."
In his mind, anything that required the cultivation bases and flesh of countless lives as nourishment couldn't possibly be anything good…
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Unified Spirit Palm possessed unmatched destructive power among his techniques. The ground was quickly pierced through. The surrounding space began to grind and shatter violently…
Immortal Qi instantly became thick and dense… causing the seven cauldrons in Lan An's dantian to cheer in delight…
He hurriedly activated Thousand-Li Insight to observe below.
Sure enough—beneath this space lay another hidden underground realm. The cultivation and life force of the countless victims had been dissolved by a mysterious formation into a clear, transparent liquid that continuously flowed toward the center…
Lan An followed the flow with his gaze. His brows furrowed tightly as he muttered in confusion:
"A banyan sapling?"
At the very center of the secret underground space stood a tiny sapling—no more than a foot tall—quietly emitting a faint green glow that illuminated the entire area with a soft, shimmering light…
The sapling itself was unremarkable: two slender branches, fewer than ten tender green leaves, light-brown bark. Nothing special at all…
But born on Earth and a true Vietnamese, Lan An instantly recognized it.
It was a banyan tree—and just a very young sapling at that…
The strangeness lay in what was beneath it: tens of thousands of transparent, crystalline stones were piled up at the roots, radiating an immense volume of Immortal Qi. The dense Immortal Qi filling this space—and even seeping into the countless spatial rifts above—was coming from these very stones…
Lan An finally understood why the spatial rift that had swallowed him earlier contained Immortal Qi capable of healing his wounds. It had simply been piggybacking off this tiny banyan sapling.
The more he thought about it, the stranger his expression became. If the Immortal Qi was emanating from those transparent stones… didn't that mean they were the legendary Immortal Stones? A resource countless times more precious than even top-grade Spirit Stones.
Clearly, the one who planted this banyan sapling felt that ten thousand Immortal Stones weren't enough. So he went to the trouble of setting up ruthless spatial traps to lure countless lives here—turning them into nutrient fluid for the sapling to absorb…
Lan An could clearly see the strange formation centered on the banyan sapling. Its tiny roots had pierced into the Immortal Stones while simultaneously drawing nourishment from the dissolved lives of the unfortunate victims…
"But what exactly is this banyan sapling? Why does it require nurturing with such terrifying means?"
Even an idiot could tell this was no ordinary tree—otherwise, why would an Immortal Venerable go to such lengths?
"Young Master… Young Master… you've struck it rich this time!"
Lan An had been too focused on observing the tiny tree to notice Jin'er's expression. Only when her excited voice rang out did he turn to look.
Jin'er's small face was flushed red with exhilaration. Her eyes were wide, sparkling as she stared fixedly at the banyan sapling, practically stuttering from excitement…
Her reaction immediately made Lan An's heart skip a beat. From the time they had been together, Jin'er rarely showed such intense emotion. The only other time had been when he first summoned the Forbidden Art…
Could this seemingly harmless little tree in front of him actually rival a Forbidden Art in significance?
Lan An shivered at the thought.
"No wonder… no wonder an Immortal Venerable was so cautious, so fearful… no wonder he went to such ruthless lengths to accelerate its growth… A Child of Destiny is truly heaven-defying—to think you would stumble upon it…" Jin'er took a deep breath, muttering nonstop under her breath…
Lan An felt like ten thousand ants were crawling through his heart. Curiosity burned at its peak. Unable to hold back, he snapped:
"Stinky brat! What the hell is this banyan tree?!"
Jin'er forcefully suppressed her excitement, about to explain to her Young Master—when a mechanical system prompt suddenly rang out:
Ding! Congratulations to the Host for discovering one of the Seven Great Divine Trees — the Immortal Tree. Reward: Chaos Wood Qi ×1, Talisman Summon ×1!
Lan An stood there completely dumbfounded.
Seven Great Divine Trees? Immortal Tree? Chaos Wood Qi?
He had only accidentally discovered a tree… how did it come with so many heaven-defying things?
"Young Master, why are you still shocked? This little sapling is none other than the legendary Immortal Tree—ranked second among the Seven Great Divine Trees!" Jin'er laughed delightedly.
Though Lan An very much wanted to celebrate, he genuinely didn't understand yet. What exactly were the Seven Great Divine Trees? What were their abilities? What made this little banyan-looking sapling in front of him so special?
Still, an unexpected windfall from the System was still a gift. He had only discovered a tree, yet it rewarded him with a strand of Chaos Wood Qi…
Combined with the Chaos Fire Qi from before, the path to transforming the Spirit Realm Pearl into a Five Elements Small World had just shortened once again.
Seeing Lan An's bewildered expression, Jin'er couldn't help but giggle. She reminded him:
"You'll gradually come to understand the uses of the Immortal Tree in the future. For now—quickly collect it!"
"Is this little tree really that powerful? Immortal Tree? Sounds domineering as hell!" Though full of doubt, Lan An moved quickly. He hurried toward the tiny banyan sapling.
"How is it just powerful? Across the entire universe, there are countless bloodlines and physiques, but only seven Divine Trees exist—and the Immortal Tree ranks second among them. How could it not be heaven-defying?" Jin'er said seriously.
"I don't see anything divine about it at all!" Lan An pouted.
"It hasn't matured yet—otherwise, how could a mere Immortal Venerable possibly possess it? This is something even Immortal Emperors… no, even existences beyond Immortal Emperors would drool over!" Jin'er couldn't help but scold him. She felt that Lan An's lack of reverence was practically an insult to the Immortal Tree.
"Not mature yet? Then don't tell me I have to nurture it with life force—that sounds pretty sinister!" Lan An rubbed his chin.
"That's just because that Immortal Venerable went mad trying to accelerate its growth. Young Master only needs to use Immortal Stones and Chaos Wood Qi to nurture it properly!" Jin'er said nonchalantly.
"Alright then—how do I collect it?" Lan An fumbled around helplessly. The tiny banyan had rooted itself into the pile of Immortal Stones; he couldn't store it in his spatial ring, and he didn't have the Spirit Realm Pearl with him.
Ding! Does the Host wish to store the Immortal Tree in the System Space?
Lan An was slightly surprised. Up until now, the System had never proactively suggested storing external items. The System Space currently only held remnants of the Forbidden Art cultivation method and items summoned directly by the System.
For it to actively want to store an external object… it showed just how terrifying the Immortal Tree truly was…
"Confirm—store it!"
Under his watchful gaze, the tens of thousands of Immortal Stones and the Immortal Tree vanished in an instant. Opening the System interface, he saw them safely stored inside.
"Once I return, I'll plant it in the Spirit Realm Pearl!" Lan An silently decided.
He had to nurture the Spirit Realm Pearl into a one-of-a-kind sacred land…
"A Child of Destiny truly is heaven-defying—even something like the Immortal Tree falls right into your lap… haizz!" Jin'er grinned from ear to ear, then put on an old-and-wise tone.
"Enough already—what exactly makes the Immortal Tree so powerful?" Lan An asked impatiently. The girl's constant teasing was driving him crazy.
Jin'er smiled mischievously and asked:
"Young Master, have you heard of the Wutong Tree?"
Lan An thought for a moment before answering:
"Isn't the Wutong Tree the ancestral tree of the Fire Phoenixes?"
There were quite a few legends from his previous life about phoenixes and the Wutong tree—he had some basic knowledge.
"Correct. Each of the Seven Great Divine Trees has its own unique abilities. The Wutong Tree ranks seventh among them. It is the divine object of the Fire Phoenix Clan. Legend says that because the phoenix dwells upon the Wutong branches, it gained mastery over the supreme flames of the world and comprehended the heaven-defying talent of Rebirth Through Fire—rising anew from ashes…"
Jin'er sighed emotionally:
"In the Immortal Realm, even a single leaf of the Wutong Tree is considered a supreme treasure by fire-element cultivators. The fire-element Immortal Power it provides is countless times purer than peak-grade Immortal Stones. Moreover, carrying a Wutong leaf enhances comprehension of fire-element techniques and martial skills… Wutong branches are the absolute top material for crafting peak fire-element treasures! It is the dream of countless artifact refiners…"
"The Jinwu and Fire Qilin Clans have fought countless wars against the Phoenix Clan in attempts to seize ownership of the Wutong Tree—but they all failed!"
Lan An sucked in a cold breath. Something that could ignite wars between three great races, with such heaven-defying uses… and it only ranked seventh among the Seven Great Divine Trees.
"Young Master, have you heard of the Bodhi Tree?" Jin'er continued with a smile.
Lan An nodded:
"If I remember correctly, it has something to do with Buddhism?"
"Correct! The Bodhi Tree is the divine object of the Western Pure Land—one of the top powers in the universe. The strongest being of Western Buddhism once broke through his limits while meditating beneath the Bodhi Tree—for just seven days and seven nights!"
Jin'er smiled and continued:
"The Bodhi Tree allows cultivators to reach the absolute limit of their comprehension, purging all heart demons, achieving desireless and unattached states, and attaining enlightenment of the Great Dao… Additionally, Bodhi leaves, branches, and fruits are supreme treasures. Carrying them repels all evil entities in heaven and earth. You'll gradually come into contact with these things later on!"
Lan An nodded. Though some of what Jin'er said was a bit profound and he only half-understood, he could tell the Bodhi Tree was incredibly powerful. Curious, he asked:
"What rank is the Bodhi Tree among the Seven Great Divine Trees?"
"Fifth!" Jin'er answered promptly.
Lan An's heart pounded wildly. If even the fifth-ranked Bodhi Tree was so formidable… then what kind of terror was his banyan tree—the so-called Immortal Tree—ranked second?
No wonder an Immortal Venerable would go to such insane lengths to nurture it.
"That Immortal Venerable's luck is truly heaven-defying. Something like the Immortal Tree is completely beyond his qualifications to even touch—probably dug up from some ancestral tomb's green grave!" Jin'er snorted. She felt that the Immortal Venerable nurturing it was practically an insult to the tree itself.
Lan An's mouth twitched. Even an Immortal Venerable was being looked down on like this—what did that make him?
"Enough—let's figure out what to do with this guy later. First, find a way out!" Lan An glanced at the unconscious You Mo and issued a command to the System:
"Proceed with the Talisman Summon!"