Chapter 503 - 138: A Sudden Calm
In such a state, Xiao Shan Lord could no longer be called human. But if he himself were to believe that, his humanity would vanish, and his very being would be utterly annihilated.
As his Spiritual Body completely ’melted,’ his Primordial Spirit Consciousness was nowhere to be found, for it had already merged with the Wood Spirit Qi of the region.
An unknown amount of time passed. Layers of white clouds gathered once more beneath the blue sky. The Locust Tree Forest stopped expanding, and Xiao Shan Lord’s aura vanished without a trace.
"Did he fail?"
Atop a nameless peak to the south, Wang Ping extended his Primordial Spirit Consciousness toward Shangjing City in disbelief. He had no idea what had just happened and only began his probe after everything fell silent.
Zi Luan’s expression was grim. He did not answer Wang Ping’s question.
Just then, a dense surge of Wood Spirit Qi erupted from the center of the forest. At the same time, a colossal locust tree shot up from the ground, growing to an immense height in the blink of an eye. It pierced the clouds, its magnificent form clearly visible to people hundreds of miles away.
Gazing at the forest and the locust tree at its center, Wang Ping felt a deeply buried memory stir within him. It was a scene he had witnessed before ascending to the Third Realm, back when he had fused with the Locust Tree Divine Soul. The sky-piercing tree was identical to the one before him now, surrounded by a boundless forest inhabited by wondrous, natural Spirit Bodies.
"What is this?"
He looked to Zi Luan, desperately wanting to know what all of this meant.
Zi Luan, however, just shook his head and said, "I don’t know. I can’t even feel Master’s aura, but he can’t have failed yet."
As soon as the words left his mouth, three streaks of light suddenly appeared in the eastern sky.
Judging by their auras, they were three Third Realm Cultivators. Their target seemed to be the cloud-piercing locust tree.
"Can’t they wait?"
Zi Luan’s tone was furious. He considered their approach an offense to Xiao Shan Lord.
Wang Ping remained silent, using his Primordial Spirit Consciousness to observe the three Third Realm Cultivators. They materialized as they neared the perimeter of the giant tree and had a brief argument.
After the argument, one Gold Cultivator flew recklessly toward the locust tree. But the instant he touched its lush branches and leaves, his entire body turned to dust and scattered in the wind.
Logically, the two left behind should have retreated. Instead, just like the Gold Cultivator before them, they continued flying toward the tree. Their end was, of course, the same.
"Their spiritual signatures vanished bizarrely as they approached the locust tree, leaving not even a trace of Primordial Spirit Consciousness behind."
Yu Lian said, having climbed up Wang Ping’s arm to his shoulder.
A look of joy appeared on Zi Luan’s face. "So that means Master is really alright? This is just a normal state before his advancement?"
Wang Ping, however, looked up at the blue sky and white clouds above Shangjing City and asked, "Do you two feel a strange gaze? It’s very unsettling."
As he spoke, he formed a hand seal for a Spell. A Heaven-Reaching Talisman materialized before him, and from it, a Celestial Sword shot out. The moment he grasped the Celestial Sword, the feeling of being watched intensified.
’It wasn’t watching me... it was watching the entire land!’
Zi Luan extended his hand, as if to perform a divination, but his fingers had barely moved when he froze. A flash of bewilderment crossed his eyes, and he slowly lowered his hand.
’Someone is interfering with the secrets of heaven!’
At that moment, the ground began to tremble.
Wang Ping and Zi Luan both suppressed their thoughts and looked toward the edge of the forest ahead. The woods, which had stopped growing, were once again expanding in all directions.
Soon, Wang Ping felt a dense Wood Spirit Aura wash over him.
This aura was not friendly. The moment Wang Ping came into contact with it, he found the Spirit Veins in his body surging wildly, and a white, energetic substance began to seep from his skin.
"Fall back!"
Zi Luan shouted, and without another word, retreated further south.
Wang Ping followed close behind with Yu Lian, who perched on his shoulder as they retreated, continuously spitting water pellets at the advancing forest.
"What a strange Wood Spirit Qi. It seems naturally formed, yet it also feels like it’s nurturing some kind of peculiar life."
Yu Lian commented.
Wang Ping took Yu Lian’s words to heart. Watching Zi Luan ahead, he put away the Celestial Sword and increased his speed considerably.
The forest’s expansion continued for dozens of miles before it finally stopped.
Then, peace returned to the world once more.
Sensing the auras of dozens of Third Realm Cultivators nearby, Wang Ping immediately summoned the Pocket World Mirror to hide himself. Zi Luan was even more direct, using a Secret Technique to shield his Primordial Spirit and aura.
The two landed in unspoken agreement in a forest beside a small stream. Using the forest’s aura as cover, they flew to a hilltop with a good vantage point.
After about a dozen breaths, the turbulent auras in the surroundings began to settle one by one.
Wang Ping’s consciousness emerged from the Pocket World Mirror. He gazed out at the land now covered by the locust forest. The fused locust tree memory in his mind grew sharper; before, he recalled it in the third person, but now it felt as if he had experienced it himself.
He turned to look at Zi Luan, who was equally at a loss.
Yu Lian’s thoughts also fell silent as she, for once, seemed lost in contemplation.
The silence lasted for a long time.
「Three days passed in the blink of an eye.」 More and more Cultivators gathered around the Locust Tree Forest, including even some Second Realm Cultivators. They all seemed to believe a great treasure had appeared.
The mortal world, however, was just the opposite. After the massive recent sacrificial rites and the end of the battle in the Capital City, a rare peace settled over the lands. It seemed as if everything had returned to the golden age of decades past.
「Another three days passed unknowingly.」
The dense Spiritual Qi that had gathered in the Locust Tree Forest now prevented Wang Ping’s Primordial Spirit from probing the situation inside. He could only visually observe the trunk of the cloud-piercing locust tree.
Zi Luan was growing impatient. Some other Cultivators, unable to wait any longer, charged into the forest, only to never return.
A rumor, from an unknown source, began to spread. It claimed the forest held the legacy of over a dozen fallen Fourth Realm Cultivators, as well as the treasury left behind by Xiao Shan Lord after his failed attempt to ascend to True Monarch. This drew even more people into the forest, with even uninitiated cultivators coming to try their luck.
「One month later.」
The weather grew hot. Zi Luan had become restless, and every time he attempted a divination, it came to nothing.
"The ascension of a True Monarch is never simple," Yu Lian advised. "It’s only been a little over a month. Think about your own advancements. Didn’t each one take at least a decade to begin?"
Wang Ping remained silent. He had been trying all this time to unseal the portion of memory Xiao Shan Lord had given him, but to no avail. However, he could feel Xiao Shan Lord’s consciousness within the Sealing Array, which at least proved that Xiao Shan Lord had not failed.
At the same time, he was also trying to refine the Celestial Sword, but he made no progress, as if something was missing.
Time flew by, and soon it was the sweltering heat of July. After several months of losses, no more Cultivators dared to take even half a step into the Locust Tree Forest. And yet, the number of Cultivators who gathered nearby only increased, with many having traveled from as far as the Western and Eastern Continents.
「On the fifteenth of July, at 1:30 PM.」
The scorching sun hung high in the sky. Suddenly, the cold and rational consciousness of Xiao Shan Lord flashed through Wang Ping’s mind. It felt as if he had just awoken from a long slumber, a bit disoriented.
But the disorientation was fleeting, and then Wang Ping could no longer sense him. The very next moment, however, a turbulent Wood Spirit Aura surged out from the Locust Tree Forest.