Xiao Jietian sighed and instantly appeared beside the woman, supporting her as she fell.
"Forget it, seeing how beautiful you are, I'll see this rescue through to the end—like escorting the Buddha all the way to the West."
Of course, the protagonist wasn't acting on lust (forceful insertion). Mainly, it was because he was completely unfamiliar with the place. This person might know where this was, and might even be a native.
Xiao Jietian looked around and found himself surrounded by trees. In the distance, he could vaguely make out some towering peaks.
A thought flashed through Xiao Jietian's mind, and he quickly called out to the system: "System, check in."
"Ding, successfully checked into the Phantom Forest secret realm. Acquired: Sword Spirit Body Origin, Wind-attribute cultivation technique: Wind Blossom Sword Dance, Fixed Teleportation Gate * 2, Thunder Origin * 1, Void Origin Tree."
The Void Origin Tree was a tree of the five elements, the controller of fate, karma, destiny, luck, and misfortune. The tree became his body, or it could be said that this tree was his body—the tree was him, and he was the tree. The tree appeared in his Eternal Heaven World in his palace. If he marries a wife, a new branch will appear on it, and if he has any child with this wife, the leaf will be a golden leaf, and the branch will be purple. The tree has crimson leaves all over, a golden trunk, and lightning surrounding it, with wind swirling throughout. If he wishes, he can give his red leaf as a token of protection or status. His Golden Dragon moved away from his flame to the tree.
And also Xiao Jietian's consciousness stirred, and his perception expanded in a way that was utterly foreign. Instead of the familiar limits of a human body, he felt his awareness stretching through roots deep into the earth and branches reaching for the sky. A surge of profound energy—a blend of elemental power and the very essence of fate—coursed where his blood once flowed.
He "looked" inward, not with eyes, but with spirit, and was struck with awe. Where his dantian once was, a magnificent tree now stood as his core. Its trunk was radiant gold, pulsing with a gentle, mighty light. Crimson leaves, each seeming to hold a miniature swirling galaxy of destiny, adorned purple branches that thrummed with power. Crackling arcs of lightning danced across its form, and a perpetual, gentle wind whispered through the leaves, carrying whispers of karma and possibility.
The shock was not of horror, but of sublime, overwhelming realization. He was no longer just flesh and bone; he was ancient wood and celestial energy. He was a nexus. The Golden Dragon, once nestled in his flame, now coiled around the sturdy trunk, a guardian and a part of the whole. This was not possession; it was a complete and transcendent metamorphosis. He was the tree, and the tree was the new vessel of his consciousness—a living artifact of law and lineage, where every future bond and offspring would manifest in its very growth. The sheer scale and divinity of this new existence left his human mind reeling, even as his new spirit began to resonate with its infinite potential. So now one body in his palace another one in his dantian but they are same like a mirrir image and he can turn into a turn a tree if he wants.
Fixed Teleportation Gate: Once placed, its position cannot be changed. Opening the Teleportation Gate requires a special hand seal or authorization from the owner.
"The Phantom Forest, huh? There's no mist here, so it seems I'm in the outer region."
Xiao Jietian looked towards the distant misty area. To his left, there was a dense fog, while to his right, the forest looked no different from a normal one, filled with gigantic trees.
Xiao Jietian picked up the young woman and walked into the forest to his right. After flying rapidly for about ten minutes, he created a small cave dwelling in a seemingly secluded mountain.
He blocked the entrance with some vines and large rocks. If one didn't look carefully, it would be impossible to tell it was there.
Xiao Jietian embedded many Moonlight Stones into the walls, illuminating the entire stone cave.
He took out the White Flame Tiger hide he had previously peeled off and placed it on the makeshift stone bed, then laid the young woman on top of it.
Seeing the blood continuously flowing from the young woman's wounds, Xiao Jietian took out a set of his own clothes and placed them aside.
"Pardon me, miss."
Xiao Jietian's Dou Qi overflowed, shattering her outer garments, leaving only her underclothes.
He took out another fourth-grade healing pill and fed it to her. After the pill entered her mouth, the bleeding from her wounds began to stop. Xiao Jietian circulated the wood energy of Extreme Wood Lightning to help her recover.
As the treatment continued, the young woman's scars began to scab over. Xiao Jietian took out some cotton cloth to bandage her wounds, then picked up the robe from the side and put it on her, placing her back on the tiger hide.
After all this, Xiao Jietian sat aside and tried to communicate with the Eternal Heaven World but found he couldn't open it.
"It seems this secret realm is quite strong, even able to restrict a small world. There might be a lot of good things in here."
The young woman was still unconscious, and Xiao Jietian sensed that her soul was also significantly depleted.
Xiao Jietian felt that her soul power was very strong, even at the peak of the Mortal Realm. Coupled with her incredibly unstable Dou Huang strength, he guessed that this woman might be an Alchemist.
"It seems you also entered this secret realm. I just don't know where you're from," Xiao Jietian murmured, looking at the young woman with a furrowed brow.
While Xiao Jietian was treating the young woman, several figures appeared at the place where the White Flame Tiger had been killed. A young man in purple robes was the leader. Looking at the chaotic battlefield and the skinned magical beast, he spoke to the people around him with a grim expression.
"The scent disappeared here. Find her for me. She is our family's greatest hope and cannot have any problems. Even if I am her brother, I won't escape death."
The others immediately scattered to search.
A day passed quietly. Xiao Jietian woke from his cultivation, took out another healing pill, and walked towards the young woman.
This was already the fourth time Xiao Jietian had fed her a healing pill. The young woman's injuries were almost completely healed. After this one, she would likely recover, but her soul was currently recovering slowly, which was why she hadn't woken up yet.
Xiao Jietian gently opened the young woman's mouth, and just as he was about to place the pill inside, her eyelashes fluttered, and then she suddenly opened her eyes.
Seeing the young woman wake up, Xiao Jietian's movements stiffened slightly, and the healing pill in his hand almost dropped.
He looked at her gradually clearing eyes and softly asked, "You're awake?"
The young woman's eyes held a hint of confusion. She looked around, then at Xiao Jietian and the pill in his hand, and asked in a slightly hoarse voice:
"Did you save me? Where is this?"
The young woman still remembered Xiao Jietian. Before she fainted, it was this man who had killed the White Flame Tiger that saw her as food.
Xiao Jietian placed the pill in the young woman's mouth, then withdrew his hand.
"This is a new stone chamber I opened up, serving as a shelter."
When the pill first entered her mouth, the young woman wanted to resist, but after sensing the powerful life force, she gave up.
"This is a healing pill. This is the fourth one you've taken. Don't worry, the pill is perfectly fine," Xiao Jietian said with a gentle smile, seeing the wariness in the young woman's eyes.
The young woman checked her physical condition and found that her injuries were almost completely healed, though her soul felt a little uncomfortable.
But as her gaze dropped, she saw herself wearing a light blue robe. She slightly pulled open the robe and found that her own clothes were gone, and her body was wrapped in many cotton bandages.
Then she looked at the fragments of clothes on the ground and remembered the faint apology she had heard after she fainted...
Her entire body stiffened. It seemed that, except for her private parts, everything else had been seen. She was completely stunned.
"Cough, it was an emergency. Your clothes were covered in blood. To help stop the bleeding and bandage you, I had no choice but to do so," Xiao Jietian said with a light cough, apologizing as he sensed her unusual reaction and connected it to her actions.
"Thank… thank you. You were also saving me. I understand, it's fine."
The young woman was stunned for a moment, her voice trembling slightly, but still showing some understanding.
She secretly glanced at Xiao Jietian. When she saw his face, which was like that of an immortal banished to the mortal world, her pretty face flushed slightly, and she even unconsciously thought: It doesn't seem like a loss.
Indeed, handsomeness comes with privileges. It's like being saved by someone good-looking, with no way to repay them but to offer oneself. If the savior isn't good-looking, with no way to repay them, one can only be a cow or horse in the next life to repay such a great kindness.
"Do you know this forest or what kind of place this is?" Xiao Jietian asked, relieved that the woman wasn't acting suicidal.
"This is the Phantom Forest, a secret realm. Don't you know?" The woman asked, a little confused by Xiao Jietian's question. Before entering, all families and supporting powers would explain it clearly.
"Could you explain in detail? I entered here by accident, so I'm completely unfamiliar with this place. Are you from here?"
"Yes."
Afterward, the woman told Xiao Jietian everything she knew about this secret realm.
From her words, Xiao Jietian learned that this was a secret realm discovered by several families and a major power in the Central Plains. Many precious medicinal herbs grew inside, and there were even some areas they had not yet explored.
Many precious and rare medicinal herbs grew here, and there were even things that could enhance soul power.
The medicinal herbs and other items all grew in the dense, mist-shrouded forest. To obtain the herbs, one had to enter the mist.
However, not only were there illusions within the mist, but some medicinal herbs were also guarded by magical beasts, making it extremely difficult to proceed and obtain them. One could easily perish inside if not careful.
"Have you entered this secret realm before?"