42: Burning the Sophora Tree Spirit

Pushing open the door, a somewhat familiar figure sat cross-legged on the floor of the hall.

Qin Shilei said, "Uncle, sorry to bother you."

An Qian said with some confusion, "He seems to be dead."

Qin Shilei stepped forward and checked the other party's breathing; there was indeed no sound.

"There's a bead here." Zhang Xiaoli picked up a dark green bead, the size of a longan, from the middle-aged man's right hand.

Wood Spirit Bead (Green): Contains pure wood-attribute energy. Wearing it can enhance the power of wood-attribute combat skills or abilities.

"Since you saw it first, you can have it," Qin Shilei said to Zhang Xiaoli.

Zhang Qiang and Xie Haimei behind him had no objections.

"I wonder how this person died here?" An Qian looked at the other party but found no wounds.

"The world has changed drastically; there are too many strange things. He might have been killed by a ghost," Qin Shilei guessed.

After speaking, he disregarded etiquette, picked up the middle-aged man's corpse with one hand, and threw it outside the house.

"There are still ghosts?"

Zhang Qiang asked with a surprised look, then paused and bent down, saying, "The life-saving grace of the three of you, I will surely remember it in my heart."

Xie Haimei also sincerely said, "Thank you!"

"It was just a small effort," Qin Shilei walked to the sofa and sat down first. "There are indeed ghosts, and they also have illusionary techniques, so be careful. I suppose you are also tired; you can choose any room to rest."

Zhang Qiang and Xie Haimei were indeed exhausted. After getting to know each other, they turned and entered the room on the right side of the hall.

Although Qin Shilei had just saved their lives, there was still a lack of trust between them, so the two chose the same room.

"You two should also go rest; it's best to stay in the same room," Qin Shilei said to An Qian and Zhang Xiaoli.

An Qian looked into the room and hesitated, saying, "Why don't we stay here with you?"

What if those ghosts came again and hypnotized her and Zhang Xiaoli, making them jump out of the window and walk to that Old Locust Tree?

Zhang Xiaoli thought for a moment and said somewhat shyly, "Why don't you come to our room and sleep on the floor?"

Qin Shilei thought about it and indeed, only this way would be safer.

The three, each with their own thoughts, tossed and turned until the middle of the night before vaguely falling asleep.

Dawn broke.

Everyone woke up and found that the heavy fog had receded.

Qin Shilei spoke to Zhang Qiang, "We are going to slay that Old Locust Tree demon. What are your plans?"

Zhang Qiang thought for a moment and said, "If you don't mind, we hope to witness it."

He was thinking that when they slayed the Old Locust Tree demon, he would try his best to help, to repay their life-saving grace.

Following the direction indicated by the tall tree crown, Qin Shilei and his group quickly arrived near the Old Locust Tree.

An Qian looked at the giant tree that obscured the sky and said with some confusion, "Is this tree bigger and taller than yesterday's?"

Yesterday afternoon, she had only seen it from afar and knew it was a large tree.

Now that they were close, they realized how unbelievably large it was.

The Old Locust Tree was fifty to sixty meters tall, and its canopy covered an area of over a hundred meters.

Upon discovering Qin Shilei and his group, the leaves rustled, and the branches swayed, desperately reaching out to them.

"Get lost!" Wang Yinghao's angry roar came from the direction of the tree trunk.

Qin Shilei and his group remained unmoved, and the branches stopped powerlessly three or four meters in front of them.

"Gasoline is truly a good thing."

Qin Shilei said with emotion, then pulled out a generator, a water pump, and a large barrel of gasoline.

As the generator roared, high-pressure gasoline sprayed towards the Old Locust Tree.

"What are you doing? Stop it immediately!" Wang Yinghao's panicked voice immediately came from the front.

Qin Shilei ignored his pleas and moved to another spot, continuing to douse the Old Locust Tree with gasoline.

"What a bold idea."

Zhang Qiang said, dumbfounded.

"I envy him for having such a large-capacity ring and various suitable supplies."

Xie Haimei's eyes also sparkled with a hint of brilliance.

In fact, even without using gasoline, Qin Shilei could easily deal with the Old Locust Tree demon using One-Punch Man.

However, One-Punch Man was a trump card, to be used only when absolutely necessary.

Soon, Qin Shilei had doused most of the tree crown with gasoline.

"For the sake of us all being human, please spare me."

Wang Yinghao's pleas for mercy continued to come through.

"Hmph."

Qin Shilei sneered, "When you were killing humans, did you ever consider that you were still a human?"

Of the two to three thousand villagers, only the middle-aged man remained when Qin Shilei and his group arrived. Wang Yinghao must have committed many sins.

After a long silence, Wang Yinghao seemed to have made a huge decision and said in a deep voice, "I have a spirit bead within me. As long as you don't burn me to death, I will give it to you. But if you burn me to death, this spirit bead will also turn to ashes. I only ask to live as an ordinary tree."

Qin Shilei thought for a moment, nodded, and agreed, "Alright, as long as you offer the spirit bead, I promise not to burn you."

Upon hearing the promise, the Old Locust Tree shook, and then a jade-green bead, the size of a pigeon's egg, was sent by a branch to Qin Shilei's front.

After offering its life spirit bead, the entire Old Locust Tree's lush green leaves began to wither and turn yellow.

Qin Shilei picked up the spirit bead from the ground.

Bloodline Enlightenment Bead (Red): Contains abundant wood-attribute energy, making it easier to awaken wood-attribute constitutions within the body.

How strange, this spirit bead could actually awaken various human constitutions, just like an Enlightenment Pill.

"You've taken the spirit bead, so you can't go back on your word," Wang Yinghao still felt a bit uneasy.

"Of course." Qin Shilei winked at An Qian and turned to walk away.

An Qian understood and threw a small ball of fire behind her, "Qin Shilei, wait for me."

A roaring fire instantly spread throughout the entire tree.

"Despicable! Shameless!"

"I curse you all to die a horrible death!"

"Fire! Quick, put out the fire!"

"Heaven, please send some rain!"

Behind them, Wang Yinghao's various curses and the frantic swaying of branches continued to be heard.

An Qian pointed to another giant tree in the west of the village and said, "Qin Shilei, there's another large tree over there; it might also have become a demon. Should we go burn that one too?"

Qin Shilei nodded, then shook his head, saying, "First, let Zhang Xiaoli eat this spirit bead, and then we'll go."

Zhang Qiang interjected, "Then we'll go ahead and scout the situation."

Zhang Xiaoli watched the two walking away and guessed, "They wouldn't be trying to get the jump on us, would they?"

Qin Shilei shook his head and said, "Probably not. Zhang Qiang doesn't seem like that kind of person, and besides, he doesn't have the means."

The three then casually found a civilian house nearby and closed the doors and windows tightly.

Qin Shilei thought for a moment and still used one of the fixed opportunities from the Myriad Refresh System on the spirit bead.

Chewy and Refreshing (Blue): Makes the spirit bead chewier, fully releasing its umami and sweetness, making it irresistible once tasted.

Evolution (Green): The spirit bead will automatically absorb wood-attribute spiritual energy from heaven and earth. After forty-nine months, it will turn into a purple Enlightenment Bead. After forty-nine years, it will turn into an orange Enlightenment Bead.

Alas, the time is too long. If it were forty-nine days, Qin Shilei might consider it.

Jianmu Body (Orange): A Jianmu Body will be generated within the body. Jianmu is the divine wood that governs all other trees.

His first orange-tier entry appeared here, surprisingly.