420: Chapter 420 Chu Lan's Awakening

Gao Feng stood directly in front of the Rotten Wood Beast, the sword marks on his vajra sword glowing with golden light amidst the gray-white withered wood poison. He condensed all his Spiritual Power into the sword, operating the War God Art and the Star Battle Body simultaneously, while the Five Elements power merged into one within his fist.

The third style of the Nine Styles of the War God—War God Shatter! He transformed this style into a punch, unleashing it along with the Sword Intent of the vajra sword. The Five Elements War God Fist and War God Shatter landed simultaneously on the head of the Rotten Wood Beast.

Boom—

The skull of the Rotten Wood Beast shattered, gray-white light surging from the cracks before rapidly dimming. The giant beast's body froze abruptly, then crashed to the ground.

The Dead Wood Forest was deathly silent. The scales of the Rotten Wood Beast lost their luster, and gray-white rotten soil spread outward from it, changing from dark gray to light gray, then from light gray to yellowish-brown. Those dead woods controlled by Chu Lan completed their mission, collapsing to the ground, and the newly sprouted buds also lost their vitality.

Chu Lan held the long staff transformed from the azure wood holy seed branch, standing in the center of the clearing, panting heavily. Her cultivation had stabilized at the Early Stage of the sixth level of Foundation Establishment, the flow of Spiritual Power in her body was smoother than before, and the consciousness of the azure wood holy seed was clearer than before.

In the distance, toward the entrance of the Dead Wood Forest, the figure of Fairy Qingmu swept out from the bamboo forest. Her speed was fast, and within a few breaths, she landed in front of the nine people.

Her gaze swept across the battlefield, over the broken defensive formation, the exploded Talismans, and the scattered Venus flytraps, landing on the cyan long staff in Chu Lan's hand. Finally, she turned toward the depths of the Dead Wood Forest, where a dark green figure was fleeing in panic.

Fairy Qingmu did not speak; she raised her hand and waved, a turquoise light shooting toward that direction. A moment later, a muffled groan came from the distance.

"Poison Vine has been captured by me." Fairy Qingmu's voice was very soft, with no joy or anger detectable in her tone. She retracted her gaze, looking at Chu Lan, her tone carrying a hint of emotion: "Chu Lan, you are the most talented Spirit Plant Master I have ever seen. To be able to awaken 'Ten Thousand Woods Obey' in the Dead Wood Forest, since the founding of Changsheng Valley, apart from the founding Ancestral Master, you are the second."

Chu Lan held the long staff horizontally in front of her, looking at the pale golden patterns flowing on the staff body, and was silent for a moment. "Valley Master, can this staff... turn back into a branch?"

Fairy Qingmu smiled: "Yes. It is your Spirit Plant; whatever you let it be, it will be." Chu Lan closed her eyes, her Spiritual Sense probing into the staff body, feeling the consciousness of the azure wood holy seed. A moment later, the long staff slowly shortened, the branches and leaves retracted, turning into a foot-long turquoise branch that lay quietly in her palm. The black pattern had completely disappeared, and faint golden veins appeared on the leaves.

Chu Lan put the branch into her embrace, looking up at Gao Feng. Gao Feng nodded to her, and the vajra sword returned to its sheath. In the rotten soil of the Dead Wood Forest, several tender buds were struggling to break through the soil.

Those were the seeds awakened by Chu Lan's Ten Thousand Woods Obey; they were growing with difficulty in the gray-white rotten soil, their leaves still stained with the residue of the withered wood poison, but they were alive.

The nine people walked out of the Dead Wood Forest, the sunlight spilling onto their shoulders.

Yao Guang supported Lin Yue walking in the middle of the team, Luo Li held the flowing sound zither with two broken strings, Tianxin was counting how many Talismans were left, Su Ning closed her eyes to rest, and Lin Jingyu walked at the back of the team, his gaze scanning behind them vigilantly. Situ Lan's frost sword hummed gently in its scabbard—that was the sword spirit responding to the remaining Sword Intent in the Dead Wood Forest. This seventh-grade Magical Artifact, repaired from the Artifact Graveyard of the Lingbao Sect, finally began to truly accept its new master.

Chu Lan walked beside Gao Feng, the azure wood holy seed branch in her embrace warm, as if it were smiling. She looked down at her palm; there was a pale golden pattern on her palm, the mark left by Ten Thousand Woods Obey. As long as she willed it, any grass or tree could become her eyes and ears.

The Dead Wood Forest grew further and further behind them. In that gray-white forest land, the corpse of the Rotten Wood Beast was being covered by new grass and trees. The source of the toxin had disappeared, and the withered wood poison would eventually be completely purified under the washing of sunlight and rain. Chu Lan did not know how long that day would take to arrive, but at least she had made a start.

The setting sun stretched the shadows of the nine people very long. The lights of the guest house lit up in front, and Chu Lan placed the branch from her embrace on the windowsill, letting the moonlight continue to nourish its leaves.

The moon tonight was rounder than last night; tomorrow, they still had one last stop.

On the night the battle with the Rotten Wood Beast ended, Fairy Qingmu invited the nine people to the Forbidden Ground behind the Qingmu Hall—under a ten-thousand-year-old ancient tree.

This ancient tree was about thirty zhang tall, its canopy covering the sky and sun, and the trunk was so thick that it required more than ten people to embrace it. The bark was dark brown, and a pale cyan light shone through the cracks, which was the tree sap flowing.

There was a clearing several zhang in radius under the tree, the ground paved with bluestone slabs, and ancient formation patterns were carved on the slabs. The tree roots protruded from the gaps in the slabs, intertwined like countless sleeping Dragons.

Fairy Qingmu stood under the ancient tree, the moonlight spilling down through the gaps in the canopy, falling on her like a thin veil.

"The Legacy of the Green Wood Pulse Continuation Technique needs to be carried out under this Ancestral Tree." Her gaze fell on Gao Feng, "This tree was planted by the first Valley Master of Changsheng Valley. Over ten thousand years, its root system has merged with the Spiritual Vein of the entire valley. Receiving the empowerment here yields the best Legacy effect." Gao Feng stepped forward and sat cross-legged under the ancient tree.

Fairy Qingmu took out a turquoise Jade Slip from her sleeve and pressed it against the trunk of the ancient tree. The moment the Jade Slip was embedded in the bark, the entire ancient tree trembled violently, the leaves on the canopy rustling, and those pale cyan lights surged out from the cracks in the bark, condensing into a fist-sized ball of light, floating above Gao Feng's head.

"Close your eyes, focus your mind, and probe your Spiritual Sense into the ball of light." Fairy Qingmu's voice was very soft, but it echoed exceptionally clearly under the ancient tree.

Gao Feng closed his eyes, and the moment his Spiritual Sense probed into that cyan ball of light, a massive amount of information poured into his Sea of Consciousness. The Green Wood Pulse Continuation Technique was not a Cultivation Technique, but a spell that converted Wood Element vitality into energy for repairing Spiritual Veins.

Its core was not "hastening growth," but "continuation"—reconnecting broken Spiritual Vein nodes like setting a broken bone, allowing the Spiritual Qi to flow smoothly again. In the Ten Thousand Spirits Gathering Origin Formation, the function of this spell was to activate the vitality of the northern Spiritual Vein, making the exhausted Spiritual Vein regain its vitality.

Information surged in like a tide, and Gao Feng's Spiritual Sense floated within it. He saw scenes of the successive Valley Masters of Changsheng Valley meditating under the Ancestral Tree, and saw the process of them using the Green Wood Pulse Continuation Technique to heal Spiritual Vein damage. Those scenes were not words, not incantations, but memories of real experiences. This was Fairy Qingmu's method of empowerment—not teaching, but sharing.

But the amount of information was too large, and Gao Feng's Sea of Consciousness began to feel swollen and painful. His brows frowned slightly, and sweat beads seeped from his forehead.

Chu Lan squatted beside the ancient tree, took the branch of the azure wood holy seed from her embrace, and placed it gently beside Gao Feng.

The leaves of the branch lit up under the light of the ancient tree, pale golden veins extending from the leaves to the petiole, and from the petiole to the root. It could sense the Spiritual Qi fluctuations of the ancient tree and convert that fluctuation into a softer frequency, transmitting it to Gao Feng.

Gao Feng's brows gradually smoothed out, and the swelling pain in his Sea of Consciousness lessened a lot.

Chu Lan did not stop; she plucked a few leaves from the branch and stuck them on Gao Feng's back of the neck, temples, and chest. The life force within the leaves permeated into his Meridians, cooperating with the Legacy process of the Green Wood Pulse Continuation Technique, making the information pouring into his Sea of Consciousness be received more smoothly.

Fairy Qingmu watched Chu Lan's movements, a flash of appreciation appearing in her eyes.

The Legacy lasted for two full hours. The cyan light ball gradually shrank, finally turning into a point of cyan light and sinking into Gao Feng's brow. Gao Feng opened his eyes, and in those eyes, besides the usual gold, there was an extra touch of pale turquoise—that was the mark left by the Green Wood Pulse Continuation Technique in his body.

He stood up and cupped his hands toward Fairy Qingmu: "Thank you, Valley Master."

Fairy Qingmu waved her hand: "No need to thank me. That the Green Wood Pulse Continuation Technique can play a role in your hands is its own fortune." She turned to Yao Guang, "Come with me."

Yao Guang was stunned for a moment, then followed Fairy Qingmu to the other side of the ancient tree. There was a smaller ancient tree there, also thousands of years old, with an ancient "Hui" (Return) character carved on the trunk.

"The Rejuvenation Technique is the secret art of Changsheng Valley that is not passed on to outsiders." Fairy Qingmu's voice was softer than before, "It is of the same origin as the Green Wood Pulse Continuation Technique, but its function is different. The Green Wood Pulse Continuation Technique repairs Spiritual Veins, while the Rejuvenation Technique repairs the Physical Body. It is said that when cultivated to Major Achievement, it can repair Meridian damage, and even regrow severed limbs." She took out a pale cyan Jade Slip from her sleeve and handed it to Yao Guang, "This Jade Slip contains the complete version of the Rejuvenation Technique. Compared with the version you practiced before, it has the 'Pulse Continuation Chapter' and 'Flesh Regeneration Chapter' in the second half. You meditate under this tree; the life force of the ancient tree will give you a helping hand."

Yao Guang took the Jade Slip, sat down cross-legged, and closed her eyes.

Luo Li held the flowing sound zither and walked to Yao Guang's side, found a flat bluestone slab under the ancient tree, and sat down. She did not speak, just placed the flowing sound zither horizontally on her lap, her fingers gently plucking the strings. It was a slow and peaceful tune, with no name, no fixed melody; every note was like a petal falling on the water, silent and noiseless, yet capable of calming one's mind and spirit.

Under the protection of the zither sound, Yao Guang's Spiritual Sense delved into the Jade Slip, and those words turned into vivid scenes in her mind. She saw how the founder of the Rejuvenation Technique used healing power to reconnect an ancient tree broken by lightning—not by hastening new branches, but by reconnecting the broken trunk, allowing the tree sap to circulate again. She saw how that Senior used this technique on people, reconnecting broken Meridians, allowing paralyzed Cultivators to stand up again.

Her fingers moved unconsciously, cyan healing light surged from her palm, condensing into a thin line of light in front of her.

That line of light snaked in the Void Realm, the healing power of the Rejuvenation Technique injected into that thin cyan line of light; they were no longer scattered Spiritual Qi, but condensed and tough like a thread stitching a wound.