Chapter 129: Chapter 35: The Coming Storm
Unaware of the various images others had concocted about him, Su Zhou was completely calm.
’The sensation of the Beast Taming Evil Soul is a bit like spicy mint juice. It’s stimulating, but a fresh, invigorating energy circulates through my entire body, enhancing me in every way. It tempers my strength and endurance while increasing the toughness of my muscles... Even with this body, which already possesses the Dragon and Snake Power, I can feel a distinct increase in strength.’
He slowly rose from within the tent, which had been utterly wrecked by the blast of Spiritual Qi. All over his body, blue-violet triangular patterns flickered.
These spiritual patterns flickered with a fluctuating light. In Su Zhou’s own words, it was ’like an activated circuit board.’ In the end, all of these glowing patterns receded deep into his body, solidifying the further enhanced Spiritual Power structure within him.
While stabilizing his Cultivation, Su Zhou lowered his head and looked at his hand. ’And this spirit ginseng... The Spiritual Power it contained was actually comparable to an Evil Demon Crystal. After consuming it using the method of Refining Essence and Transforming Qi, my entire body was instantly filled with Spiritual Power full of Wood Attribute Spirit.’
On his body, one could see cyan, woody rootlets spreading across the exposed skin of his arms. Even the palm of his hand had developed leaf-like patterns. This was the assimilating affliction spreading across this world. If the Immortal Tree was not eradicated within the next hundred years, the Hundred Schools’ Righteous Army would no longer need to resist, because their descendants would be born as the Beloved of the Immortal Banyan Tree.
However, this corrosion of Wood Qi might be a problem for an ordinary person, but for Su Zhou, he only needed to circulate his Divine Magic Fire to easily shatter all of this Wood Attribute Spirit and transform it into the purest Spiritual Qi to nourish himself.
WHOOM! The Spiritual Fire ignited all over his body, burning away the Wood Qi and causing it to slowly disperse throughout his frame. And during this process, Su Zhou came to a deeper understanding of the nature of his own body.
’My Perfect Body was created when Yara’s Undying Blood catalyzed my Yinglong Bloodline—that’s why my Talents include Wind Aid and Water Assistance... If it were another bloodline, or an ordinary person, they probably would have had a different Awakening with different Talents.’
’Now, you could even say that the very essence of my flesh and blood is equivalent to the Undying Root of the Divine Wood. If someone took a piece and tried to transplant it, they would likely be corrupted into a Low-level Dragon Bloodline subservient to me, and gain some sort of alternative Talent. Of course, this process would require my consent. Otherwise, for any flesh and blood I lose in battle, the Spiritual Energy within it would return to me, instinctively re-gathering.’
’So it would be impossible for me to transplant the Undying Root for myself. Even if that thing were to carry my Soul, the moment it entered my body, it would be corroded and assimilated, and my Soul would have no choice but to return to my original body.’
At this very moment, even Yara, who was hanging on Su Zhou’s ear, couldn’t help but nod repeatedly. "Combat and eliminating evil are truly the best catalysts for an Evil-Devouring Demon Lord... With this, the risk-reward ratio for you in this world has become acceptable again—you are truly worthy of being the Contractor I chose!"
And Su Zhou huffed proudly, saying, "But of course! Your eye for talent and my own Talent are without a doubt a perfect match!"
「Meanwhile.」
The 79th Year of Yongning, on the Tianzheng Divine Continent.
The former site of the Nanjiang Celestial Capital, during the time of Minor Cold.
Even in winter, the temperature in Jiangnan was not as bitterly cold as in the northeast, often remaining above freezing. What fell from the roiling dark clouds overhead was never snow, but always a cold rain.
A frost-chilled fog mingled with the cold rain, falling on both banks of the river. The two sides, locked in a stalemate for decades, were long accustomed to such weather. They were used to seeing the opposing camp soaked in a milky-white, icy fog, as if it were situated among the clouds.
Of course, this was only fog... but the high command of the faction on the southern bank, one of the two opposing sides, truly was situated above the clouds.
—If a Grandmaster were to gaze out, they would be able to pierce through the layers of fog and see that beyond the thirty-seven-zhang-high Nanjiang Celestial Gate—a structure so immense that even Martial Artists could only sigh at it from a distance—lay the Immortal Banyan Tree. This Divine Wood, with roots and a leafy crown that blotted out the sky and spanned several mountains, stood over the ruins of the Old Southern Celestial Capital. And built upon those ruins, encircling the Divine Wood’s roots, was the New Southern Celestial Capital.
The New Celestial Capital was a city forever shrouded in the tree’s shadow. There were no fields or crops around the city, nor any other tall plants. Only massive mushrooms grew there, serving as edible crops.
This was all because for hundreds of miles in every direction, all sunlight was blocked by the crown of the Immortal Banyan Tree, hundreds of zhang high in the sky.
Beneath the tree’s shade, there was neither wind nor rain, neither sun nor natural water. All residents lived by collecting the dew of the Divine Wood. In the entire vicinity of the Divine Wood, there was only one place that could enjoy the sunlight.
That place was the Yongning Celestial Palace, located at the very top of the Divine Wood, high above the clouds!
The massive wooden structure known as the Yongning Celestial Palace was situated atop the trunk of the Immortal Banyan Tree, a trunk larger than any ordinary mountain peak. It had no entrances or exits for ordinary people. To enter it, one had to be a Martial Artist powerful enough to walk up the trunk and leap swiftly through the Divine Wood’s enormous branches and leaves.
Rumor had it that the Yongning Celestial Palace was not built by human hands. Instead, the Divine Emperor, who had achieved immortality, communicated with the Divine Wood, causing it to spontaneously shape itself into its current palatial form.
Other rumors claimed that the foundation of the Celestial Palace was carved in thirty-three days. The Divine Emperor had summoned the Twenty-Eight Divine Generals and the Three Thousand Divine Soldiers, who, following the words of a grand artisan, created it to serve as an altar for communicating with the Divine Wood.
