Chapter Fourteen: The Approach of a Formidable Foe

“I’ve hit the jackpot!” Li Chengzhu exclaimed with excitement. Although this was the Immortal Realm, the tools typically used by cultivators were merely magical treasures. Real immortal artifacts were possessed only by the immortals themselves or by the great factions of the Immortal Realm. For a mere rookie at the Nascent Soul stage to own an immortal artifact was an unimaginable stroke of fortune.

Even his master, the Celestial Envoy, despite his stature in the sect, owned only a single immortal artifact, and that was the lowest grade. If his master were to learn of this, he’d surely be green with envy. Oh… praise be to the omnipotent Immortal Emperor.

With a sly grin, Li Chengzhu stowed the bow into his storage ring, preparing to descend, when he suddenly noticed three clusters of green light hovering overhead.

Oh… Li Chengzhu’s heart began to race wildly. The chilling light beneath him danced in a figure-eight pattern, heading straight for the green glow.

Drawing closer, he realized these clusters of green light were not the same as before. They were, in fact, crystalline green stones radiating their luminous energy.

Though he felt a twinge of disappointment, Li Chengzhu knew these green crystals were no ordinary objects; the energy contained within them far surpassed the worthless Heavenly Machine Stones he owned by several times.

Without hesitation, he drew a discarded flying sword from his ring and pried the crystals from the tree one by one, storing them away. After carefully searching the tree hollow to ensure no treasures remained, he retraced his steps and flew out.

Stepping out of the tree hollow, Li Chengzhu watched in astonishment as the gigantic tree aged at a speed visible to the naked eye. In mere moments, the once verdant, towering giant had become a lifeless husk, its leaves raining down from above as if the heavens themselves were holding a funeral for the vanishing spiritual tree.

“Infinite Longevity Buddha,” Li Chengzhu murmured with a low sigh. The rapid decay of the tree was undoubtedly linked to what he had taken, and at that moment, even he felt sorrow for the death of the spiritual tree.

He lingered for a while, composing himself, then stepped onto the chilling light and flew out, carrying the still slumbering little creature.

Along the way, the immortal beasts of the forest scattered in panic as Li Chengzhu cut a swath through them. The more formidable ones fell under the joint assault of Li Chengzhu and the little creature. After slaying them, he would dig out their immortal cores and toss them to the little one, which had begun to grow fond of Li Chengzhu.

Li Chengzhu marveled at the boundless power of food. Through days of fighting, he had discovered that the little creature not only wielded its familiar earth-element spells, but had also begun to use some basic wood-element techniques. Though not particularly powerful, these spells vexed the immortal beasts greatly. Often, just as they were locked in fierce combat with Li Chengzhu, a bundle of branches would suddenly shoot up from the ground or nearby, wrapping them up. Breaking free wasn't too difficult, but before they could escape, Li Chengzhu’s chilling sword would strike. Whenever the little one’s spell succeeded in distracting the beasts, their demise swiftly followed.

With its swift movements and clever tricks—and aside from its ever-increasing appetite—Li Chengzhu found himself ever more enamored with the little creature. Its sense of smell was so keen that it could detect immortal beasts from miles away, allowing Li Chengzhu to fly with it straight to their dens and strike while they slept.

As for the immortal bow he had acquired, Li Chengzhu had no idea how to use it. He had searched the tree hollow thoroughly, but found no arrows left behind. This left him rather frustrated; he possessed an immortal artifact, yet could not wield it. Even if he could not unleash its full power, just a tenth would be more effective than charging in with the chilling light for hand-to-hand combat with the beasts.

The three crystalline wood essences he had collected—named so by Li Chengzhu—were brimming with energy, but he had no clue what use they served. He wouldn’t even let the little creature touch them, fearing it might gobble them down. If that happened, Li Chengzhu would surely be beside himself with grief.

He was still hoping to barter one of them to make up for the forging materials he had pilfered from his master—if his master’s temper had cooled by then, that is.

Since the day the giant tree died, Li Chengzhu had stopped wandering the forest. He suspected the tree was the core of the formation, and the illusion array that had trapped him was designed to protect the immortal bow. The little creature had unwittingly led him there, and fortunately its keen nose and his tracking spell guided his spiritual sense along the way. With the tree’s death, the illusion array collapsed as well.

One day, while Li Chengzhu was roasting beast meat in the forest, the little creature, who had been resting with eyes closed, suddenly leapt up and darted into his arms, trembling and crying out in terror.

“What’s wrong?” Li Chengzhu frowned. He’d never seen the little one behave like this before—could danger be near?

He closed his eyes, heightening his senses to their limit and sweeping his spiritual consciousness outward. With his current cultivation, his spiritual sense could barely perceive things within a mile—different from his tracking technique. There was nothing dangerous nearby; the breeze rustled the leaves, and two armored beasts mated in the earth not far away.

Suddenly, a powerful spiritual pressure crashed into Li Chengzhu’s perception, and before he could discern what it was, a sharp mental assault followed, riding the path of his spiritual sense.

With a thunderous crash, Li Chengzhu’s mind reeled in dizziness, taking several seconds to regain clarity. Thankfully, he reacted quickly enough to withdraw his spiritual sense, or he’d have been reduced to a fool. Even so, he felt nauseous and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Summoning his strength, he grabbed the little creature and fled at top speed without a second thought. Whatever had arrived was no ordinary foe; he was no match and escape was his only option.

After flying for half a day, Li Chengzhu finally found a safe spot. Setting the little one down, caring not if it tried to steal food, he pulled out four Heavenly Machine Stones and quickly arranged a small spirit-gathering array, sitting within it to heal his wounds.

The little creature seemed to understand not to disturb him at this time. It resisted the temptation to snatch the stones and instead stayed quietly by Li Chengzhu’s side, keeping watch.

After a long while, Li Chengzhu opened his eyes. The injury he sustained was no ordinary wound, but one to his spirit—he would need time to recover fully. After this experience, Li Chengzhu dared not recklessly extend his spiritual sense again; one misstep could render him an idiot. Looking at the little creature, still docile and full of concern for him, he stroked its head and picked up a Heavenly Machine Stone, holding it out before its eyes.