Half a day later, the team slowed down.

Occasionally, the Silver Lake Moon would emit a bird-like sound, which was a signal.

Gradually, the team encountered more and more forest tribes.

Tree-men, wild elves, wood monsters, night leopards, druids, stone-men, and others appeared one after another.

The Vigorous Root explained that the Tree-man World originally had many forest tribes, but most were exterminated by giant insects, and the remaining tribes were in hiding.

Before long, the group passed through lush jungles, and a vast silver lake appeared ahead, nestled beneath the high mountains.

Around the lake, green grass spread out, and tree houses were sprinkled throughout.

Various forest tribes lived around Silver Lake.

"Nothing owed to each other," said Vigorous Root.

"Nothing owed to each other," Silver Lake Moon turned and left.

Cyan Flame asked, "Are Tree-men and wild elves on such bad terms?"

"During their heyday, wild elves often took advantage of Tree-men. Later, we Tree-men couldn't take it anymore and reduced our interactions. Fortunately, that helped us avoid annihilation. Now, we only interact with the good-natured wild elves. The ill-tempered ones, we don't consider them kin, and they ignore us, which is great."

"Let's go, let's take a stroll around Silver Lake. The scenery here is nice; Tree-men occasionally come here for a holiday."

"Xiaoyong, you come here often, you're like the host, don't forget to treat us."

Xiaoyong stood there dumbfounded, then shook his head vigorously, chirping wildly.

Vigorous Root laughed and said, "He says he's broke and eats dirt every day, can't afford to treat us."

After walking for a while, several small wild elves passed by, and then they could be heard murmuring.

The group's expressions slightly changed.

Those small wild elves first mocked Xiaoyong, then the Tree-men, and finally Cyan Flame and Zhou Leng.

Cyan Flame asked, "What's the highest realm of the wild elves here?"

"Grandmaster."

"Then forget it, I'll wait until I advance to Legend."

"Wild elves really lack manners," Zhou Leng said.

"You'll get used to it; otherwise, they wouldn't be called wild elves. Back then, we Tree-men helped them so many times, yet they still talk behind our backs. Now you understand why I put Silver Lake Moon in his place?"

"Next time, let's do it together," Cyan Flame said with a laugh.

The group strolled around Silver Lake and occasionally greeted Tree-men or other tribes kindly.

When encountering wild elves, they pretended not to see them.

The lakeside had various shops.

Some things here were quite cheap, and one could barter for them, and everyone traded for some long flute forest specialties.

After finishing their tour of Silver Lake Town, the group found a spacious grassland.

Zhou Leng took out a large camping tent, and Cyan Flame used a Demon Spirit hut, while four Tree-men stayed out in the open.

Entering the tent, Zhou Leng used a gold-thread knife to cut the Ancient Tree Fossil into pill-sized pieces, took one, and placed it in his mouth.

A faint musty smell spread in his mouth.

Soon after, it transformed into a rich woody aroma.

Then, the wood scent faded, forming a slightly sweet, cool, somewhat mint-like woody air.

The scent was peculiar, both foul and fragrant.

Zhou Leng swallowed it into his stomach and consumed a fifth of the total, using the Star Phoenix Rejuvenation Technique.

At the moment the cultivation technique kicked in, his stomach seemed to ignite.

A strong life force spread, circulating along the path of the Star Phoenix Rejuvenation Technique, quickly condensing Star Phoenix Feathers.

The life force from Mammoth Lake was lingering, like a flake of thin snow entering the mouth.

The life force from the Tree of Life was like a warm hot spring stream, flowing gently.

The life force of the Radiant Juice was as sweet as sugar-coated fruit, sweet and refreshing.

The life force of this Ancient Tree Fossil was like damp mud.

It felt uncomfortable in every way but had a peculiar strength.

Previously, Vigorous Root mentioned that when absorbing the Ancient Tree Fossil, one might experience illusions and excitement, but currently, there was no such feeling.

An hour passed, and the absorption was complete.

Star Phoenix Feathers increased by 22.

Even faster than cultivating in the Life White Mist.

It truly is worthy of being the fossil of an ancient Tree of Life.

In theory, after absorbing a piece, the body should feel particularly full, like a sense of satiety.

But, there was no feeling whatsoever.

Zhou Leng consumed another fifth and continued cultivating.

An hour later, absorption was complete, and Star Phoenix Feathers increased by 23.

No feeling, no illusions.

Zhou Leng looked at the Ancient Tree Fossil, finding it increasingly strange.

He could sense the aura of the Ancient Tree Fossil and felt the same upon entering Silver Lake Town, always able to detect the presence of Ancient Tree Fossils in certain places.

However, he could only sense large pieces, not small fragments.

Moreover, the absorption process differed from others.

The Tree of Life was also special towards him.

"I definitely don't have a special constitution; it's probably related to Elder Tree, after all, the Frost Giant Tree is also a tree."

Continuously absorbing the Ancient Tree Fossil.

Eventually, Star Phoenix Feathers increased by 105.

Zhou Leng pondered with doubt in his heart.

"In theory, the Tree-man Fossil shouldn't be so potent."

"The life force contained in the Tree-man Fossil is equivalent to the heart of a Tree-man of the same size."

"Yet, this small piece of Tree-man Fossil has increased my actual power far more than a Tree-man's heart."

"Power can't emerge from nothing; it's very likely that the actual power of the Tree-man Fossil far exceeds that of a Tree-man's heart. But both Tree-men and others have limited utilization rates, whereas my utilization rate is high."

"Of course, the effect of the National Divine Techniques 'Medicinal Supplement' might also play a role. Even if it enhances by about thirty percent on average, the total amount is still vast."

After finishing everything, Zhou Leng carefully sensed his body.

Not only did the Star Phoenix Feather increase, but his physical vitality also enhanced, and his bones noticeably improved by a small degree.

Moreover, the most important quality of the bones had been enhanced.

Toughness.

If the bones are too hard, toughness is often affected.

It seems that the Tree-man Fossil contains the power of the Tree of Life itself, which, when entering the bones, causes a subtle change in the bone structure, making it tougher while retaining its hardness.

This means that it can withstand stronger impacts and is no longer as prone to breakage as before.

Zhou Leng yawned, feeling somewhat tired physically.

"After all, I've been continuously cultivating the Star Phoenix Rejuvenation Technique..."

Zhou Leng thought to himself, greeted his friends outside, and fell asleep.

Before falling asleep, he wondered why others felt excited after eating, but he felt sleepy.

Drowsy, in a daze.

Zhou Leng found himself transformed into a small green sprout rooted in the earth.

About a foot tall.

Exposed to the winds and sun, frost and snow, the cycles of day and night...

The tree roots slowly grew longer, occupying more ground, with increased nutrient absorption capabilities.

The trunk gradually grew, continuously branching out.

Insects fluttered around, birds and beasts took shelter.

Everything was slow, yet everything was calm and comfortable.

The years passed quietly, time idling by.

Gradually, from a foot tall, it grew to two meters, and just as it was about to sprout new branches, there was a loud crack.

Lightning flashed white, thunder crashed down.

The small tree was charred black, leaves scattered, trunk shattered.

At the root, it was scorched and smoking, uprooted, leaving a large pit.

"How ruthless..."

Zhou Leng suddenly opened his eyes, a puzzled look in them.

The dream just now was too real; he remembered it clearly upon waking.

Coincidentally, after eating the Ancient Tree Fossil, he had this dream, quite strange.

Zhou Leng thought for a moment, sensing his body, the fatigue dissipated, feeling fully refreshed.

He checked the time, only half an hour had passed.

Zhou Leng walked out of the tent to consult Vigorous Root about the dream.

To no avail; even the Tree-men hadn't heard of it.

Vigorous Root said, "I've been inquiring about news just now. It's said that recently there have been continuous earth tremors around Silver Lake, with more Ancient Tree Fossils emerging than before. Heh heh, thanks to Aiden and the Radiance of the Bright Candle chasing us, we ended up here, a blessing in disguise."

Cyan Flame looked at Zhou Leng and said, "Are you done cultivating? If so, let's go search for the Ancient Tree Fossils. With Xiaoyong around, we have a natural advantage, right?"

Xiaoyong nodded enthusiastically, his massive body five meters long and nearly two meters tall, resembling a huge brown maggot, yet adorably cute.

"Let's go!" Zhou Leng made no further comment.

The group quickly packed up and headed out of Silver Lake Town.

Suddenly, a faint rumbling sound came from one direction.

The entire town looked towards that direction.

Many people cheered softly, some rushed straight ahead.

"There's an earth tremor there; it's likely there's an Ancient Tree Fossil. Let's go!"

After Vigorous Root finished speaking, the group of six plus Xiaoyong headed straight forward.

"Don't look down on Xiaoyong, he may not be good in combat, but he's great at treasure hunting! We take care of claiming territory, Xiaoyong's responsible for finding the Ancient Tree Fossils."

Xiaoyong proudly wobbled his drill-shaped head, following the group, wriggling along quickly, even without visible legs, his speed was not slow at all.

They ran for over ten minutes when suddenly they heard a loud sonic boom.

"That's the sound of a Grandmaster running, everyone be careful."

Suddenly, a piercing dragon's roar tore through the sky, its sound reverberating over hundreds of kilometers.

The location of the sound was very close to where the earth tremor was.

"Blood of Tyranny, you lunatic! He got the Ancient Heart of Life, kill him, he's injured, let's kill him together…"

The voice abruptly stopped.

Upon hearing that voice, everyone felt as though they were under heavy pressure, suddenly stopping in their tracks, overwhelmed with intense fear.

After several seconds, they slowly regained their senses.

"That Giant Dragon is a Grandmaster, and very likely a Great Grandmaster," said Vigorous Root.

Zhou Leng said, "It should be, otherwise the dragon's might wouldn't be so overwhelming. An ordinary Grandmaster Giant Dragon wouldn't cause us to lose our composure like this."

Cyan Flame suddenly sighed and said, "I recognize the owner of that voice. If I'm not mistaken, it should be the Great Grandmaster Giant Dragon, Celestial White Cloud, a White Dragon with the potential to ascend to the rank of Demigod, only slightly weaker than a few Giant Dragons like the Queen of Red Eyes."

Zhou Leng said, "A Great Grandmaster White Dragon, even in the Ten Realms, it belongs to the strongest group, right?"

"Of course. Our legendary teacher reviewed the strong experts of the Ten Realms. He believed Blood of Tyranny and Celestial White Cloud are of the same tier. It seems now that Blood of Tyranny might be on the same level as the Queen of Red Eyes."

Vigorous Root said, "Don't you think the highlight is the Ancient Heart of Life? It's a treasure that even a Martial Saint Demigod would want. The essence of an entire Tree of Life, sealed underground for who knows how many tens of thousands of years."

"Do you think we have the chance to encounter this highlight?"

"We might not have a chance, but other Grandmasters will care."

"Would an ordinary Grandmaster dare to trouble Blood of Tyranny?"

"He's injured."

Zhou Leng's heart skipped a beat.

Though Blood of Tyranny is cruel and ruthless, he has always treated me very well.

Cyan Flame said, "Blood of Tyranny's enemies are scattered across the Ten Realms. The Grandmasters he has killed cover all races, of course, the Sea Siren Grandmasters dying at his hands are the most. Once this news spreads, Grandmasters of the Ten Realms will definitely come here, joining forces to hunt him down."

"But after all, it's Celestial White Cloud. Blood of Tyranny's victory surely wasn't easy."

"Heh, he also killed several of our Tree-men Grandmasters and took Grandmaster Tree-man hearts, serves him right!" Vigorous Root whispered so low that even Xiaoyong nearby hardly heard it.

Zhou Leng looked towards the direction of the voice and lamented, "A turbulent autumn..."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.