"Go on, be careful." The voice from the altar spoke as if entrusting its own child. "Don't worry about this Demon Emperor."
The creature still seemed reluctant to part, lingering like a child deeply attached to its parent, rubbing against the stone steps at the foot of the altar.
Suddenly, the voice from the altar let out a surprised "Hmm?"
"Mu Chi, go check quickly—someone has invaded your territory." The altar's voice was tinged with urgency. "Hurry, hurry. Guard the Soul-Soothing Wood. Don't let anyone touch the Soul-Soothing Wood. This Demon Emperor needs it to reconstruct his divine soul. Without it, even if my divine soul breaks free, it will be permanently flawed."
"Wuu wuu wuu." The creature, hearing its master's orders, seemed to grasp the urgency. Though reluctant, it resolutely turned and left.
The divine soul sealed within the altar was the Mucha Demon Emperor of the Wooden Demon Clan, and he was extremely anxious at this moment.
The Soul-Soothing Wood was the key to restoring his divine soul after his escape. Without it, his divine soul would never recover to its peak state.
Still, thinking of Mu Chi—the monstrous creature under his command—the Mucha Demon Emperor's anxiety eased slightly.
"There are at least ten million Wooden Demon Gu Insects guarding the area around the Soul-Soothing Wood. No matter who it is, anyone who trespasses will certainly die."
Around the Soul-Soothing Wood, there were far more than just the Wooden Demon Gu Insects. Numerous exclusive poison formations of the Wooden Demon Clan had been cleverly arranged, ensuring that any intruder would certainly perish.
...
"Huang'er, is this the Soul-Soothing Wood?" Huang'er gazed at the magnificent tree, her eyes dazzled with wonder.
"Yes, it is." Jiang Chen studied the Soul-Soothing Wood's size—it was actually quite large. "The Soul-Soothing Wood grows one ring per ten thousand years. This one must be over a hundred thousand years old. But among Soul-Soothing Wood, it's still considered young."
Jiang Chen was no stranger to the Soul-Soothing Wood. In his previous life across the Myriad Heavens Planes, Soul-Soothing Wood that was a million years old could be seen without difficulty.
Of course, for the Heart-Bond Curse of a Hundred Reincarnations afflicting Huang'er, a hundred-thousand-year Soul-Soothing Wood was more than sufficient.
Jiang Chen studied the Soul-Soothing Wood but didn't rush to act. Clearly, there was something peculiar about its surroundings, and he wasn't in a hurry to make his move.
At first glance, the area around the Soul-Soothing Wood seemed to have nothing special about it.
However, with Jiang Chen's keen eye, he could discern that every plant surrounding the Soul-Soothing Wood contained deadly poison. Together, they formed an enormous poison formation—formations nested within formations, extraordinarily complex.
Most importantly, the Soul-Soothing Wood sat in the middle of a deep pool. To retrieve it, one had to enter that pool. And within the seemingly calm mud, countless Wooden Demon Gu Insects writhed and churned. A casual sweep from Jiang Chen revealed at least a million of them.
The insects extended all the way to where they stood—beneath their very feet, many Wooden Demon Gu Insects crawled about. But Jiang Chen had no intention of telling Huang'er.
After all, the Wooden Demon Gu Insects feared the scent on their bodies and would not attack them.
After studying the scene for a while, Jiang Chen stopped hesitating and turned to Huang'er. "Huang'er, step back a few paces and wait for me outside. I'll go retrieve the Soul-Soothing Wood."
"Brother Chen, how do you plan to get it? Cut off a branch?"
"No." Jiang Chen shook his head, a strange smile crossing his face. "Since we're here, we can't leave good things behind. Of course, we're taking it up by the roots."
Jiang Chen understood the value of the Soul-Soothing Wood well. For the Demon Clan, it was an extremely important material for cultivating demonic souls. Cutting off a branch would cause virtually no harm.
It had to be uprooted. Only then could it deal a devastating blow to the Demon Clan.
With that, Jiang Chen didn't hesitate. He activated the Golden Cicada Wings and shot toward the Soul-Soothing Wood. At the same time, he summoned the Green Sting Ginseng Spirit, whose tentacles could uproot the tree.
Although the Green Sting Ginseng Spirit was a plant spirit and likely unafraid of the Wooden Demon Gu Insects, Jiang Chen still purified it with True Dragon Saliva as a precaution.
With that, the Green Sting Ginseng Spirit had nothing to fear from the countless Wooden Demon Gu Insects swarming in the deep pool, while Jiang Chen hovered in the air, covering for it.
The Green Sting Ginseng Spirit's hundreds of tentacles lashed around the base of the Soul-Soothing Wood's roots. Power surged through them, and the green tentacles bulged like countless muscular arms, pulling upward with tremendous force.
Up!
The Green Sting Ginseng Spirit's tentacles were indeed impossibly strong.
Gripped by hundreds of tentacles, the Soul-Soothing Wood was wrenched from the earth, roots and all, in just a few moments.
BOOM!
The poison formations surrounding the Soul-Soothing Wood, triggered by the disturbance, launched into a frenzy of attacks. But the poison formations were nearly useless against the Green Sting Ginseng Spirit, which was a plant spirit.
Moreover, Jiang Chen was right there providing support.
This desolate wilderness's poison formations had been designed specifically to target human cultivators. An ordinary cultivator, let alone entering the formation, would have died ten times over just from accidentally touching its outer edge.
"Success!" Seeing the Soul-Soothing Wood uprooted, Jiang Chen was overjoyed. He immediately activated the Ice Fire Demon Lotus to receive the enormous tree—roots, soil, and all—sweeping it into his Storage Ring in one go.
Let's go!