Swing the sword at the future female devil

Chapter 364 Profound Marrow Awakening, Wood of the Yi Heaven Reaching the Heavens
After the Five Elements were completed, Duan Huaige's Landscape Map was now in a perfect cycle of the Five Elements. Not only was its spiritual energy self-sufficient, but it could also continuously generate more new spiritual energy.

It's no exaggeration to say that Duan Huaige's landscape painting already has the vibrant scene of a small world. If he wanted, he could even stay here and cultivate until he reached the Nascent Soul stage before coming out to beat up the little kid.

In fact, some cultivators of the Mountain and River Daoist method play this way: after completing the Mountain and River Map, they adopt a defensive strategy, only venturing out when they need resources to break through. It's a pity that Duan Huaige isn't a protagonist who follows this defensive strategy, otherwise he could have made good use of the Mountain and River Map.

The jade garden where the spirit-nourishing herbs were originally planted has transformed into a glassy texture, with dark golden veins pulsating like blood vessels visible beneath the translucent soil. The dark green spirit herb that should have been lying prostrate on the ground has now grown into a silvery-white sapling as thick as an arm, its branches adorned with shimmering amber patterns.

Duan Huaige's heart stirred. He hadn't paid attention to A Cao's movements for a long time, and he didn't expect that it had actually grown into a sapling.

What did he eat to grow so fast?
Duan Huaige pointed his fingers like a sword, tracing the shape of his eyebrows. The Causal Heavenly Eye, which he had just opened through cultivating the Dao of Causality, came in handy at this moment. In the Causal Vision, millions of emerald-colored spiritual threads were surging from the depths of the mine towards the tree canopy, and every leaf was emitting star-like points of light. The strangest thing was the root system—those roots that should have been rooted in the spiritual soil were now piercing through the void and wrapped around the Xuan-grade spiritual marrow.

Duan Huaige: ? ? ?

You little rascal, you stole the offerings, didn't you?! That explains why you suddenly grew so much!

As expected, a horse won't get fat without night grass. These days I haven't been paying attention to my spirit stone mine, and as a result, the spirit herbs I've been tending have been secretly eating and growing!
If it weren't for Miss Yan Wang saying that this thing would be of great use in the future, Duan Huaige would have been so angry that she wanted to pull it out on the spot.

Seemingly sensing the anger of its benefactor, the tree suddenly emitted a clear, bell-like sound, its crown swayed without wind, and its emerald leaves clattered together, producing a melodious chime. Each leaf's underside was covered with a thumb-sized drop of spiritual dew, the spiritual energy flowing within it even purer than that of a low-grade spirit stone.

Good heavens, this tree has produced a whole tree of earth-grade spirit stones!

Pale purple vines cascading from the branches gently wrapped around his wrist, conveying a vague, ingratiating emotion. Only then did Duan Huaige notice the innate Dao patterns emerging from the tree bark. The moonlight, still lingering on the leaf tips, merged with the morning glow between the veins, forming a yin-yang symbol. He reached out and lightly touched the trunk, feeling the boundless, primordial vitality emanating from his fingertips.

Dad, you're here... Actually, I wouldn't call it stealing food, I just got a little greedy and licked it a few times... Don't worry, your spirit stone mine is still perfectly fine!

Duan Huaige looked at A Cao, who had completely lost all trace of grass and looked like a tree, and was momentarily bewildered. After hesitating for a moment, he tentatively asked:

"Can you become the Tree of Life?"

【You can definitely do it!】Ah Cao was overjoyed, thinking to himself that as long as he followed you, he would definitely be able to reach the legendary highest realm—the Tree of Life—in his lifetime!
"Then do you know what the Tree of Life can do?" Duan Huaige then asked.

Ah Cao's intelligence didn't seem to be very developed, or perhaps because the memory involved in this question was too deep. It took it a long time before it slowly replied:

[The profound essence awakens the spirit, the Wood element connects to the heavens. Reversing the end times, all things return to their origin.]

Duan Huaige was stunned. The first part, "Profound Marrow Awakening Spirit," was easy to understand. With Profound-grade Spirit Marrow, the Spirit-Nourishing Grass could transform from grass to wood, undergoing a metamorphosis in its life level. But the second part, "Yi Wood Reaching Heaven,"...

The legendary tree that can reach the heavens... I think it's called Jianmu?
Reversing the end times, all things return to their origin…

Does this mean... that when A-Cao evolves to its final form, it can end the Dharma-ending Age? But hasn't spiritual energy only just begun to recover? How can we be entering the Dharma-ending Age so quickly?

Duan Huaige pondered for a moment, then took out the Earth-grade Spirit Essence. This time, instead of opening another Earth-grade spirit stone mine deep in the mountains, he drew an array and placed it near the Spirit Nourishing Grass... no, the Spirit Nourishing Tree.

He did this for two reasons. First, Earth-grade spirit stones are less readily circulated than Profound-grade spirit stones. Just as gold, though more valuable, is still more commonly traded in silver and copper. Second, according to Yan Qiuxi, focusing on cultivating the Tree of Life would be of great use in the future. As for what that great use would be… Yan Qiuxi didn't say, and Duan Huaige couldn't guess either, so he'd just consider it a hidden trump card.

Nourishing Spirit Wood: I always take from you, but never say thank you... Time, please slow down, don't let you grow old anymore~ I would give anything to keep you young forever...

Dad, I'm all yours for life now. Don't worry, I'll make sure this Tree of Life transforms for you!

……

As they exited the landscape painting, the sky outside was already bright. In the dim morning light, Duan Huaige let out a soft sigh.

He suddenly felt a heavier burden on his shoulders... He could have been carefree, doing his incredible tasks and developing slowly, but time waits for no one. The changes in Taiqing, the appearance of Prince Yan and the great demon Xi Yu all indicated that he was the final player in this game.

Next... should we go to Kunlun Ruins, or should we visit a Zen temple?
Or... why not just hide inside the Mountain and River Map and develop it further! Duan Huaige felt that he hadn't developed the Mountain and River Map enough, whether from the perspective of combat use or economic benefits.

As Duan Huaige was pondering the pros and cons, he suddenly bumped into Xie Cangling. The girl was carrying a plate of breakfast and walking towards him. Upon seeing him, she smiled involuntarily and said softly:
“Huaige, you’re awake! I brought you some steamed buns, would you like to try some?”

"Okay."

Duan Huaige readily agreed, but after taking only a few steps, he suddenly realized that a pair of eyes were staring intently at him from behind Xie Cangling, and he immediately trembled...

Xie Laodeng: I haven't even had the breakfast my daughter brought me, and you want to eat it, huh?
Noticing Xie Laodeng's murderous gaze, Duan Huaige coughed lightly and said, "I suddenly remembered that I'm used to exercising before eating breakfast in the morning, so I'll leave it for later."

"Okay." Little Xie nodded obediently. "I'll get you another hot plate in a bit. If this one gets cold, I'll take it to my dad."

Xie Laodeng: "..."

The once warm and cozy little cotton-padded jacket is now drafty, and Xie Laodeng unconsciously blames Duan Huaige for everything, causing him to feel increasingly pressured. Finally, he simply changed the subject, saying, "Cangling, why are you up so early today? Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Originally, I only intended to mention the scene of filial piety and parental love as a simple topic, but upon hearing this, Xiao Xie nodded and sighed softly:

"I really didn't sleep well last night... I think I had a very strange dream..."

"Strange dream? How strange?"

Xie Cangling's face flushed slightly, and she lowered her head. After a long while, she finally uttered a few soft murmurs:

"It's... kind of weird..."

(End of this chapter)