"This is the foundation of the Springwind Spiritwood Art—but far more profound, even surpassing the Heavenly Wood Technique. It's a top-tier wood-element divine ability. That Fang Han is truly extraordinary. He's already converting mana into true qi—faster than I expected."
With a wave of her hand, Jialan caused a plume of medicinal vapor to burst from her cauldron, condensing into a handful of pale blue pills that shimmered like sapphires.
She poured them into a gourd and handed it to Long Xuan.
"Fang Han carries great secrets. Don't pry into them—such things only breed hostility. True disciples all have their own mysteries. The moment you seek theirs, you make them wary of you. Fang Han keeps his silence; you should do the same. You've reached the Divine Ability Realm and have refined your mana smoothly during these three months. The Transmission Elder has already taught you the Ten Thousand Waters Scripture—it complements your true dragon bloodline perfectly, like wings added to a tiger. These Blue Crystal Pills will strengthen your body, restore vitality, and help your cultivation of that scripture. Take them with you when you go exploring. I've heard the ancient ruins of Gui Xu have shown new signs—perhaps you'll find a miracle there."
Long Xuan accepted the gourd. "Thank you, Senior Sister Jialan. But why don't you go to Gui Xu yourself? Those ruins were once a battlefield of the great war between immortals and demons. Many powerful figures have found fortunes there—Fang Qingxue herself gained the legacy of the Ancient Thunder Emperor, and her powers soared."
"I've been there before," Jialan said, shaking her head. "The ruins are perilous. The war back then tore open the veil between our world and countless others. To go deep is to invite death. The outer regions offer little benefit to me now."
"Senior Sister aims high," Long Xuan said with a smile. "You want to reach the Longevity Realm and, like Linglong Immortal Venerable, establish your own blessed land. Three thousand years ago, she was once a disciple of Taiyi Sect. But after learning a forbidden art, the sect wanted her destroyed. She escaped, founded Linglong Paradise, and built it into one of the Ten Great Immortal Sects. Even Taiyi Sect couldn't stop her. Back then, there were only nine immortal sects—she created the tenth."
Jialan's eyes flickered. "Exactly. Because of that calamity three millennia ago, sects today are more lenient about disciples learning other techniques. Only Taiyi Sect still clings to rigid orthodoxy. But Hua Tiandu wants to reform Yuhua Sect, to remake it in Taiyi's image—rules upon rules. Once he reaches the Longevity Realm and becomes the rightful successor, people like me will be stifled. I may have to do as Linglong once did—found my own path. Fang Qingxue likely harbors the same thought."
She exhaled softly, then added, "You can go to Gui Xu with Fang Han. That man is a walking fortune. Having him as a companion will be your greatest advantage."
Before Long Xuan could reply—
Boom!
A tremor swept across Jialan Peak. The aura of the grass and trees rippled like a living tide, filling the air with a faint fragrance. In the medicinal fields, countless herbs began to wither—the Blood Ginseng, Spirit Ganoderma, Fuling, Vermilion Fruit, Tianma, Dragon Snake Grass, Snow Lotus… acres upon acres of precious elixirs had their essence drawn away, their vitality surging toward the purple bamboo grove where Fang Han sat cross-legged.
Jialan Peak, one of the Five Great True Transmission Peaks, housed more than a thousand kinds of spirit herbs—each plot superior to the others'. For Fang Han to drain even a fraction of their essence was an unimaginable boon.
All that herbal and wood aura flooded into Fang Han's mana. He felt his inner world surge with the scent of ten thousand roots and leaves, of springtime life itself. His power turned thick and sticky, his entire body hardening into wood. His mind swelled as if ten thousand trees were growing within his skull, threatening to burst it open.
"He's draining half the spiritual essence of the mountain!" Long Xuan gasped, flying out to witness the sight.
"It's fine," Jialan said calmly, appearing beside her. "The fields can be replanted. What matters is him. Absorbing such vast wood energy without losing control… it seems he's already entered deviation. His body's nearly fully woodified. Watch closely—see how he handles it. Observing him will teach you more than months of blind practice."
Her gaze turned deep, fixed upon the swirling storm of emerald light around Fang Han.
Within that maelstrom, Fang Han was gritting his teeth, pain etching his wooden features. His skin had turned to living bark, lined with grain and rings, as though he were a carved statue.
Moments ago, he had sensed the spring's rebirth outside—the perfect time to push forward. Three months had already passed, and his duel with Hua Tiandu loomed within ten years. The urgency pressed on him, and with a surge of resolve, he had stirred his cultivation—only to awaken the will of ten thousand woods. Now all the life force of the peak poured into him uncontrollably.
There was no stopping it. He could only endure, guiding the flood to keep it from tearing him apart.
But the torrent grew fiercer by the breath. At last, he invoked the Heavenly Wood Divine Needle to suppress it.
A spear of jade-green light shot up from his crown, expanding into a towering tree of pure essence. It spun slowly, drawing in the rampaging energy and swallowing it whole.
Fang Han seized that instant—
He activated the Yama King Body and charged the bottleneck.
Crack!
The wooden lines on his skin split open, revealing flesh like polished jade beneath. Yet after breaking one layer, exhaustion hit him hard. He hastily drew on a Blood Pill, guiding its power with mana. Strength and blood surged anew, burning through the wood seal within his joints.
He repeated the process—each time his vitality waned, another Blood Pill restored him. His blood roared through his veins like floodwaters. The sound was so fierce it echoed several meters from his body, a thunderous pulse that could be heard with the ear.
"What terrifying strength!" Long Xuan whispered. "To shatter that woodification with sheer vitality—his blood flows like a storming river. His body could harness the strength of twenty Xuanhuang steeds!"
For reference—among Yuhua Sect's one hundred and ten true disciples, even those at the first and second levels of the Divine Ability Realm could never match such raw might. Not even Long Xuan herself, despite her noble dragon bloodline, possessed that level of physical power.
"Focus," Jialan said sharply. "He's condensing true qi!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Amid Long Xuan's awe, Fang Han broke through every remaining barrier. He stood tall, the towering jade tree above him shattering into motes of azure light that flowed back into his body.
In that instant, his mana transformed—melding perfectly with the essence of ten thousand woods. The division between energy and self vanished. His power deepened, turning a pure, luminous green, threaded with faint golden-yellow veins—the mark of royalty.
That was Wood Monarch True Qi.
After three months of seclusion and the fusion of the Heavenly Wood Divine Needle, Fang Han had finally stepped into the second stage of the Divine Ability Realm—the True Essence Realm.
His mana had become true qi. Illusion turned to reality.
And not just any true qi—but the highest of its kind: the True Qi of the Wood Monarch, ruler over all the wood energy under heaven and earth.