One day later, Tai Qiu.
"Here…" Fang Yuan gripped tightly onto a towering giant grass stalk that rose sixty or seventy zhang high, climbed up to survey the distance, and gazed outward.
The remains of a great tree lay ahead, like a massive ship beached on the sand.
But only half of it remained — blackened, ruined, reduced to an unrecognizable wreck, as though it had been battered by endless bolts of lightning.
Fang Yuan's appearance had also changed dramatically.
He had transformed into an ape.
A Swallowing Fire Monkey.
A primordial-level desolate beast.
Though small in stature, it was absolutely not to be trifled with.
Fang Yuan had long since discarded the Coiled Mountain Goat form. The Coiled Mountain Goat couldn't penetrate deep into Tai Qiu's interior — this was already a region where primordial desolate beasts frequently roamed.
The Swallowing Fire Monkey was a relatively unique one among them.
Its strength was formidable, but it fed only on flames, so it wandered freely about the land. It didn't compete with other desolate beasts for food, making it a suitable disguise for Fang Yuan.
Without transforming into a Swallowing Fire Monkey, Fang Yuan could barely move a single step in this place.
"The Thousand Snake Yin Huan Tree…" Fang Yuan gazed into the distance, murmuring under his breath.
This was already the third target location marked on the Tai Qiu topographic map.
The first location had been claimed by a pack of Black Blood Wolves. The second had been completely abandoned, becoming a no-man's-land sandwiched between two large carnivore packs.
Fang Yuan's current position was the final destination indicated on the map.
A Thousand Snake Yin Huan Tree had once fallen here.
This species of tree was as large as a mountain, its canopy shrouding the surrounding wilderness. At the primordial level, it possessed seventy-seven thousand seven hundred and seventy branches, resembling willow tendrils — or even more like long serpents. At the tips of each branch grew a snake's head.
The tree's roots. Plunged deep underground, reaching hundreds of zhang in depth. Nearly a thousand zhang. It fed on passing desolate beasts and primordial desolate beasts — when it hunted, tens of thousands of branches would dance through the air like ten thousand serpents in flight, coiling and strangling its prey to death before draining their blood for sustenance.
Over time, countless creatures perished miserably beneath the tree, their flesh rotting away, their bones piling up into mountains. Resentful energy soared toward the heavens, layered with dense yin energy.
Yin and yang draw each other, and during every thunderstorm, the Thousand Snake Yin Huan Tree would summon mighty heavenly thunder to strike down upon itself.
Ordinary thunderstorms were manageable enough, but if one were unlucky and encountered thunder formed from extraordinary atmospheric conditions, that would spell disaster.
The Thousand Snake Yin Huan Tree had virtually no natural enemies. As a primordial desolate plant that dominated an entire region, perhaps it had attracted the attention of Heavenly Will itself, which then sent down tribulation lightning.
In any case, three hundred thousand years ago, this region of Tai Qiu. Had erupted into a sea of fire. This Thousand Snake Yin Huan Tree had burned like an erupting volcano, illuminating half the night sky for several months on end.
"But this Thousand Snake Yin Huan Tree. Isn't dead yet!" In the depths of Fang Yuan's pupils, a glint of gravity flashed.
Long Hair Ancestor, in his lifetime, had left behind this Tai Qiu topographic map. That was already over three hundred thousand years ago.
This Thousand Snake Yin Huan Tree had lingered on for over three hundred thousand years. It was actually still alive — still showing signs of life!
"Humans may be the wisest of all creatures. But in terms of vitality, lifespan, physical body, soul, and so on, they fall far short of other life forms. This Thousand Snake Yin Huan Tree's vitality is absolutely formidable. Struck by lightning, burned by fire, and still it endures." Fang Yuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
The current Thousand Snake Yin Huan Tree lay completely toppled on the ground. Its thick trunk had decayed for the most part, leaving only a section several li long.
A complete Thousand Snake Yin Huan Tree, if standing upright, would rival a towering mountain, with its branches covering an attack range spanning a hundred li in every direction.
Fang Yuan keenly observed that on this fallen section of the Thousand Snake Yin Huan Tree, dozens of branches were still active. They were like dozens of massive serpents, tangling together and coiling around one another, slowly writhing. Once prey entered their hunting range, they would strike with lightning speed, killing it on the spot.
Though the Thousand Snake Yin Huan Tree had fallen into such a sorry state, it was still a primordial desolate plant. Slaughtering primordial desolate beasts or packs of ordinary desolate beasts was well within its capability.
After observing for a while, Fang Yuan made a new discovery: "A blessing truly hides within misfortune. A complete Thousand Snake Yin Huan Tree slaughtered vast numbers of living creatures, causing mountains of corpses and bones to pile up beneath it and drawing tribulation lightning down upon itself. But this fragment of a Thousand Snake Yin Huan Tree — barely one percent of its former self — kills only a limited number of prey. Without accumulating significant yin energy or resentment, no heavenly lightning strikes it anymore."
This was the reason this fragment of the Thousand Snake Yin Huan Tree still remained in the world.
Fang Yuan gradually furrowed his brow.
He had braved enormous risks to come to Tai Qiu this time, all to find a suitable location where a teleportation Gu formation could be set up.
The Tai Qiu topographic map had provided Fang Yuan with three target locations.
But the first two had already been lost, and the third was not quite suitable either.
Because the Thousand Snake Yin Huan Tree was still alive.
This was a primordial desolate plant, its combat power earth-shaking — it could fight a peak Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal. Even among Eighth Transformation immortals of the weakest caliber, it was not something Fang Yuan could handle. For the enormous Lang Ya Sect, it would also be a thorn-covered hard nut to crack.
Moreover, fighting here might trigger a terrifying beast tide.
"In that case, my mission this trip has achieved a small success and a large failure. Although I've improved parts of the Tai Qiu topographic map and eliminated three potential target locations, I still haven't found a suitable place for the Lang Ya Sect to set up a teleportation Gu formation."
"There's no helping it. The power of the Hidden Crossing Immortal Gu is weakening. I should take this opportunity to leave. After some time, I'll come back to explore Tai Qiu again."
Fang Yuan sighed inwardly.
Had this attempt succeeded, it would have been wonderful — after all, Fang Yuan's current situation was relatively stable, and internal troubles combined with external threats were not yet the most pressing concerns.
But since this attempt had failed, next time Fang Yuan wouldn't have nearly as much time or energy to spare.
After all, he was exceedingly busy.
Managing an immortal aperture alone was an enormously complex undertaking, to say nothing of his own cultivation, resolving the problem of his immortal zombie body, training Fang Zheng, and a multitude of other matters.