One hour later, all of the World Fruits had been harvested.
Although the fruits were all picked clean, the World Tree's subsidiary tree itself was enormously valuable — naturally, it couldn't be overlooked.
But Zha Hu didn't immediately collect the World Fruits into his Small World. After a long moment of contemplation, he finally spoke: "Yang Kai, take this World Tree."
Yang Kai was stunned.
Zha Hu said: "Although I don't know what benefits collecting this thing might bring, since it's a subsidiary tree of the World Tree, and was planted by an ancient powerhouse within their own Small World, it's certainly harmless. You're only at Seventh Grade now, but your significance is immense — there can't be any mishaps. If collecting this thing brings no benefit, so be it. But if it does, it'll help you grow faster and give you stronger self-preservation here on the Ink Battlefield."
Yang Kai felt gratitude rise in his heart and clasped his fists: "Thank you, my lord."
Zha Hu waved his hand: "These eleven Secret Realms were all discovered by you. Without you, none of us would have had such bountiful harvests. This thing should naturally be claimed by you. But let me make one thing clear — even though I'm letting you take it, and even the Pass won't raise objections when they find out, this item will still need to be redeemed with war merits. How many merits will depend on whatever benefits you gain from taking it. When we return to the Pass, the Corps Commanders will naturally inquire about the matter."
Yang Kai nodded: "That's only right."
Though the things in this Secret Realm were all discovered by him, in the Ink Battlefield, all gains had to be handed in and then redeemed with war merits — that was the rule.
"Go ahead and make your move. I'm going to check things out over there," Zha Hu said, then walked toward the herb garden. Most of the herbs within had already been collected, but some unfamiliar ones were left in place — no one dared pick them at random, lest they ruin their medicinal properties.
Standing before the World Tree's subsidiary tree, Yang Kai surged his Divine Sense, his Space Laws rippling outward. The void around him warped slightly.
He had thought that with his current strength, moving this subsidiary tree into his Small World would be no great difficulty.
But after careful examination, he realized he'd been far too naive.
Another two hours passed. By the time Zha Hu had finished harvesting all the remaining herbs in the garden, he found that Yang Kai had been standing in front of the World Tree's subsidiary tree this entire time — not only that, but Yang Kai's complexion had gone slightly pale, clearly from significant exertion.
Zha Hu frowned and flashed to his side, waiting quietly.
Yet another two hours passed before Yang Kai finally opened his eyes and let out a soft breath.
"What happened?" Zha Hu asked. Bai Yi was also watching Yang Kai with curiosity from nearby.
Yang Kai smiled bitterly: "My lord, the World Tree's subsidiary tree is tightly bound to this entire Secret Realm — they're inseparable."
Zha Hu was surprised: "Is that so?"
As he spoke, he sank his own consciousness to probe. His cultivation far surpassed Yang Kai's, so he quickly confirmed it — the situation was exactly as Yang Kai had described. The subsidiary tree's aura was locked tightly to the Secret Realm, the two fused together, impossible to separate.
This was something he hadn't anticipated. When he'd told Yang Kai to take the World Tree, it had been for Yang Kai's benefit — just as he'd said, he didn't know what advantages collecting it might bring, but there certainly wouldn't be any harm. If there were real benefits, Yang Kai could reap them and grow quickly.
A Seventh Grade Open Heaven cultivator was certainly impressive, but against a Domain Lord, they were still far too vulnerable. And if a King Lord set their sights on him, he'd have no self-preservation to speak of.
Zha Hu wanted Yang Kai to advance to Eighth Grade as quickly as possible, so he could contribute more to the human race.
But now that the World Tree was bound to the entire Secret Realm, forget Yang Kai — even he, an Eighth Grade Commander, couldn't simply take the World Tree.
"What a pity!" Zha Hu sighed softly.
Yang Kai frowned: "Actually, it's not impossible to claim it. It would just take some time."
Zha Hu was confused at first, but quickly grasped what he meant: "Absolutely not. Don't even think about it."
"You know what I'm suggesting?"
Zha Hu snorted coldly: "This thing is tightly bound to the entire Secret Realm. To take it, you'd have to take the entire Secret Realm into your Small World."
"Exactly!" Yang Kai nodded. "There's no other way."
Zha Hu said gravely: "But if you do that, all the Dao marks contained within this Secret Realm would merge into your Small World. If those Dao marks happen to align with your Small World, that might be fine — they could even enhance your strength. But if they don't align, they'd become impurities in your body and could very well damage your foundation. You should know — this method is essentially what heretical demons do to forcibly refine the heavenly and earthly forces of entire worlds in order to boost their power."