Gifts from the Sacred Giant Tree

The existence of the Sacred Giant Tree is actually much older than the Giant Wood Forest; it existed almost from the very first moment life was born on Forget-Worry Star.

It was because of the discovery of this giant tree that, more than 30 million years ago, a powerful being buried the Spirit Soil seed he had obtained in the soil near the Sacred Giant Tree, transforming the surrounding land into Spirit Soil. The Sacred Giant Tree did not disappoint that powerful human's expectations, successfully advancing to the High-rank God. Furthermore, its size increased several times over compared to before.

Other plants grown in the Spirit Soil also underwent changes, quickly ascending to the Spirit Soil realm under its nurturing influence. Furthermore, the transformation of these plants attracted many animals, who then settled there.

Over time, the animals in this area became increasingly powerful, turning it into a forbidden zone on the entire planet.

Until one day, the Federal Government discovered the special features of this planet, and they developed it, allowing humans to gradually migrate there.

But later, someone planted a carnivorous vine seed within the Spirit Soil. That vine slowly grew into a gigantic predator, which, after devouring the beasts within the Spirit Soil's coverage area, underwent a massive mutation and became exceptionally bloodthirsty.

More than 50,000 years ago, Willis, who had just broken through to the level of a High-rank God, did not pay much attention to this Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine when he discovered it. He regarded it as an ordinary carnivorous vine with only the Combat Strength of Low-rank God. He chose to set up a restriction on the Giant Wood Forest at that time because many huge animals appeared in the forest, and sometimes they would escape from the forest, causing panic and harm to the humans living on this planet.

But unexpectedly, more than 50,000 years have passed. This Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine has grown to this extent.

Although the Sacred Giant Tree cannot move, it knows everything that happens in the forest. It remembers clearly how many beasts the Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine has killed over the years. Originally, it thought that as long as the Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine didn't threaten the essence of the forest, it would turn a blind eye. But it didn't expect that the Vine had already set its sights on other plants. It seems that once it becomes powerful enough, it will eventually turn its attention to itself.

With these thoughts in mind, at Gu Ding's suggestion, he quickly extended his root system.

As soon as the roots of the Sacred Giant Tree stirred, Gu Ding and his group heard strange whispers coming from deep underground. The sound sometimes resembled the rustling of leaves, and sometimes the lashing of branches.

His roots, glowing with golden light, extended outwards in all directions, and wherever they passed, the Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine's roots retreated completely. The Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine tried to resist several times, but each time it touched the golden light, it felt as if it were being burned. It could only sever its connection with the roots of other plants and give up its territory.

In truth, it had never imagined that the Sacred Giant Tree would be so powerful, so powerful that it was utterly powerless to resist. Not only did the Golden Light have a burning effect, but even its roots, which it couldn't dodge in time, were directly crushed and torn to shreds by the Sacred Giant Tree's power. It had no resistance whatsoever.

As the Sacred Giant Tree continued to spread, the ground beneath their feet suddenly trembled, and a sharp roar rang out, "Sacred Giant Tree, you actually helped those humans fight against me!"

"You've done enough evil in the Giant Wood Forest. I've always let you do as you pleased because I didn't see that you were disrupting the ecological balance here. But you actually dared to secretly entwine yourself around the roots of other plants and drain their life force, doing such a shameless thing, and you even dare to accuse me of taking action against you?" The voice of the Sacred Giant Tree resounded powerfully around it.

Seeing the Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine escape, Willis quickly gave chase.

Gu Ding and Queen immediately followed.

The Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine hadn't escaped far when it was struck by a blade of light. It seemed to have been severely injured by that attack, and its escape speed slowed down considerably. It was quickly caught up by the three.

"If you continue to run, I will kill you and sell your body to a friend of mine to be made into a specimen for people to see," Willis shouted at the Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine. "If you surrender now, I will spare your life and sell you to a friend of mine who likes strange things to guard his house."

"I can surrender, but I have a question!" The Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine suddenly stopped fleeing and spoke.

"Tell me what you think." Willis hadn't expected there to be a chance. He certainly preferred bringing back a living creature rather than an inanimate object.

"Gu Ding, be careful, his two vines have already reached your feet." The Sea Emperor's voice suddenly came.

"Only he can answer my question," the Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine said, raising a vine that pointed in the direction of Gu Ding.

Gu Ding, however, was already prepared to flee. He knew that the Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine would likely launch an attack soon. "Just ask me whatever questions you have. I'll give you the answers I can."

"Did you kill my child?" the Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine finally asked.

"Yes!" Gu Ding then realized that the Sea Emperor's guess was entirely correct. The Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine Will Projection and its pursuit of him were all for revenge. As soon as he uttered those words, the Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine suddenly attacked. Two thin, hair-like vines shot out from the ground, directly targeting Gu Ding.

Gu Ding had already made preparations, his figure quickly rising into the air, ten black chains shooting out from his fingertips and wrapping around the two vines.

Willis was initially taken aback, as the two vines were so thin that they were barely visible to the naked eye. However, he quickly noticed the anomaly and instantly flew into a rage. He swung his palm, a blade of light flashing, severing the two hair-thin vines. Then, he twisted his body, his giant axe cleaving down directly at the Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine. This time, he showed no mercy.

A massive blade of light slashed through the void, slamming heavily into the enormous body of the Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine. A piercing scream rose into the sky, but quickly ceased. The Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine's colossal body finally collapsed, raising a cloud of dust on the ground.

"That Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine is completely devoid of life," the Sea Emperor whispered to Gu Ding after examining the plant.

Gu Ding then relaxed his guard slightly and slowly landed on the ground.

"Gu Ding, take all those broken vines back with you. I want to study their genes. Once the advanced gene bank access is activated, I'll see if I can extract any useful abilities," the Sea Emperor suggested.

"What a pity, I didn't find any energy spheres at its base. It would have been a very good thing for you two." Willis fiddled with the base of the vines. He guessed that the energy spheres had been destroyed during his attack.

"Uncle, the Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine is dead. Can I take those broken vines?" Gu Ding finally asked.

"Suit yourself. I'll just keep my main body here." Willis said, putting the huge vine into his Storage Space.

"I'll only take a piece of this broken vine," Queen said, bending down to pick up a piece of vine that had been shattered and scattered on the ground. He then waved it at Gu Ding and put it into his Storage Space.

Gu Ding nodded. He also picked up a few more pieces of vine and threw them into his Storage Space.

Just then, the giant tree on their bodies spoke to the three of them, "You three, come here for a moment."

Although the three of them didn't know why the Sacred Giant Tree had summoned them, they figured it couldn't be anything bad. Since they didn't have anything urgent to do anyway, they quickly sped off.

"I know that the Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine has been killed by you. Its aura has completely disappeared." Seeing the three arrive, the Sacred Giant Tree spoke up. "You should also know that some Energy Knot would condense at its roots. I snatched those Energy Knot when I used my roots to drive it away. There were more than two hundred of them in total. Now that I am High-rank God, these Energy Knot useless to me. You three can just take them and divide them up."

"I don't want it. You two can each take half," Willis said, waving his hand. He was also High-rank God and didn't need these Energy Knot.

Neither Gu Ding nor Queen raised any objections. After all, it was Willis who killed the Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine, and since he had made the allocation, the two naturally had no objections.

Several roots of the Sacred Giant Tree emerged from the ground, cradling the black-gold energy spheres. Each sphere resembled a tumor growing on the rootstock, indeed just as the Sacred Giant Tree had described.

The two counted, and there were 228. They each took half and put them into their own Storage Space.

"This time we've met by chance, and I have something else to give you," the Sacred Giant Tree continued with a smile.

"There are more gifts?!" Gu Ding grinned, revealing his white teeth. The harvest from this trip was already plentiful enough, but the giant tree said it had more gifts to give to them.

"Yes, these are my fruits," the Sacred Giant Tree said calmly. "I bear fruit once every 100,000 years, and only ten fruits each time. If the fruit is not picked in a given year, it will fall down automatically and be reabsorbed by me. This year is my year to bear fruit, and since you have come, I will give you these ten fruits."

Even Willis's eyes widened at the mention of such a wonderful thing. The fruit of the Sacred Giant Tree would also have an effect on him, but he still didn't intend to take advantage of Gu Ding and Queen. "How about this, you two get three, and I'll get four?"

"Two are enough for me, to be on the safe side when I break through from a High-rank God." Queen shook her head. In fact, she wouldn't need this kind of fruit in the short term. And under normal circumstances, one would be enough for her to advance from a lower-level god to High-rank God.

"Two are enough for me." Gu Ding nodded. "We've already received the Energy Knot of the Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine, and this fruit will also have an effect on you, Uncle."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony!" Willis wasn't one to be coy, and immediately nodded in agreement.

"Pick the fruit yourselves, just don't let it fall to the ground, or it will be gone. There are no other taboos," the Sacred Giant Tree reminded them.

The three of them climbed the tree to pick fruit.

Guided by the Sea Emperor, Gu Ding quickly picked two and put them into his Storage Space.

The other two quickly finished picking and returned to the Sacred Giant Tree.

"Giant Tree, thank you!" Willis cupped his hands in thanks; his visit was an unexpected bonus.

"I have nothing else to do, so I'll be leaving now," Queen waved goodbye to the two of them.

"Alright, I'm going to start reinforcing this restriction now. Gu Ding, in ten hours I will take you and your companions away. Hurry up and collect the Beast Blood." Willis finished speaking and turned to leave.

After bidding farewell to the giant tree, Gu Ding, guided by the Sea Emperor, sped off towards the next Gathering Place beasts.