Ancient Qixun Camphor Tree

After slaughtering in all directions, Qi Yuan dug another pit and buried himself inside.

"Another ten-odd days, and I should reach level ninety.

"I wonder what grand skill I'll awaken."

Qi Yuan was greatly looking forward to it.

"If I reach level 90, I'll finish grinding the Attire Forbidden Area soon enough.

"If I clear this world's map, will I awaken some new special ability?"

Qi Yuan let his imagination run wild.

Not long after entering the Game Jade Slip, his eyes had mutated, allowing him to see hidden information.

If he cleared the game, would some other mutation happen to him?

"Will I get ears that hear the wind? The kind that can hear indescribable whispers?"

"Or perhaps I'll grow a dog's nose?"

Qi Yuan pondered this.

Lying in the earthen pit, he still could not see the moon.

"Qi Yuan, thank you. Today, Aunt Qin defeated Nanfeng Nation's National Teacher!

"When Aunt Qin displayed imperial-level strength, Sima Ting's gloomy expression was really amusing!"

Jin Li's message arrived.

It seemed she was truly happy; even her words carried little exclamations.

"Not bad. You've also completed quite a bit of your mission. Finish it quickly, and the two of us can meet up in real life.

"Oh, right. Should we pick a place? Where should we meet?" Qi Yuan said whatever came to mind.

There was no reply from the other end for a long time. Only after quite a while did one arrive.

"Under the Ancient Qixun Camphor Tree. What do you think?" Jin Li asked.

The Ancient Qixun Camphor Tree was the most legendary ancient tree on Moon Gazing Continent.

The ancient tree towered into the heavens, its height unknown. It was said that if one stood atop it, one could grasp the stars in one's hand.

Legend had it that this tree was planted by a god.

Before that god set out to crusade against the Heavenly Demon, he planted an Ancient Qixun Camphor Tree in his courtyard.

The god told his wife that when the Ancient Qixun Camphor Tree grew to three zhang tall, he would return.

The god's wife waited and hoped beneath the Ancient Qixun Camphor Tree, for who knew how many years.

The Ancient Qixun Camphor Tree, once only as tall as a person, finally grew to three zhang.

Yet she did not see her beloved return.

Later, it grew to thirty zhang, three hundred zhang, even thirty thousand zhang, and higher still.

In the end, the god's wife never saw her Husband return in triumph.

The Ancient Qixun Camphor Tree thus became the most legendary tree on Moon Gazing Continent.

"Ancient Qixun Camphor Tree?" Qi Yuan paused in surprise. He did know of this tree, because there was one atop Seven Colors Peak.

But where could one find a tree like that?

"Where is the Ancient Qixun Camphor Tree?"

Jin Li froze for a moment. She walked out of the room and gazed into the distance.

The silhouette of a colossal tree entered her sight.

So long as one was on Moon Gazing Continent, no matter where one stood, one only needed to raise one's head and look into the distance to see that Ancient Qixun Camphor Tree.

The ancient tree towered into the heavens, with stars decorating its leaves in scattered specks.

"Raise your head and look southwest. There's a big tree there—that's the Ancient Qixun Camphor Tree."

Qi Yuan was stunned.

He climbed out of the earthen pit and looked southwest.

There, in the southwest, stood a colossal ancient tree that reached into the heavens. Stars hung at its crown, seemingly within arm's reach.

"This is the Ancient Qixun Camphor Tree you mentioned? It's really huge. If it grew just a little taller, it feels like it'd reach the stars in the sky."

"Then I'll make some barbecue, and you bring some good wine. We can camp beneath the Ancient Qixun Camphor Tree—it'll have a flavor all its own." Qi Yuan burrowed back into the earthen pit.

"Alright!" Jin Li's expression was unreadable.

Today, Aunt Qin had won a great victory.

She needed to press the advantage and sweep away Sima Ting's wings.

Of course, she also understood that she had not yet won.

Dangers still lurked on all sides.

Shinguang Sect.

Qi Yuan was taking his knife for a walk—more precisely, a kitchen knife.

At that moment, a disciple from Ten Thousand Laws Peak greeted Qi Yuan. "Senior Brother, the Foundation Establishment Tournament is tomorrow. You're still out walking your Pet?"

Qi Yuan did not stop walking. "My Pet is about to awaken its spiritual intelligence. Naturally, I can't be careless. I have to take it out for walks."

Hearing Qi Yuan's answer, the man smiled. "Senior Brother truly is an interesting fellow."

Qi Yuan led his knife along, taking its walk exceptionally seriously.

Behind him, several Shinguang Sect disciples lowered their voices to discuss something.

"That fellow from Seven Colors Peak is really calm. The Foundation Establishment Tournament is tomorrow, yet he still has the leisure to walk a Pet—and that Pet is a kitchen knife!"

"The emperor isn't anxious, but the eunuch is. If you're so concerned, why don't I see you representing Shinguang Sect in battle?"

"Ahem, isn't it because my cultivation isn't good enough?"

"I heard that the reward for taking first place in this Foundation Establishment Tournament is a first-grade Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object—the Yellow Flower Fruit!"

"That's a first-grade Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object! Whoever obtains it will surely be able to form a Nascent Soul. In the future, they'll be able to swagger through the Great Shang Kingdom; even in other countries, they'd probably be a major figure!"

"A first-grade Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object is already this powerful. Then what kind of peerless bearing would those who achieve Earth Vein Foundation Establishment or Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment possess?"

"Stop dreaming. We'll never encounter people like that."

Everyone sighed, feeling that the universe was too vast and they themselves too insignificant.

At that moment, a male disciple said through gritted teeth, "I heard that Chu Tianxiong of Black Mountain Sect is coming here too!"

"He actually dares to come!"

"Damn it! Not long ago, an elder of Black Mountain Sect injured Zheng Jianghe, and they still dare come here!"

"Our female disciples need to be careful, otherwise, what if... what if..." Some of the female disciples had gone pale, clearly deeply afraid of Chu Tianxiong.

"Hmph, this is Shinguang Sect, one of the three great sects of Great Shang. How can we let Black Mountain Sect run wild here!" a disciple declared forcefully.

When it came to Black Mountain Sect, the Shinguang Sect disciples shared a common hatred, filled with fury yet helpless to do anything.

After all, Black Chicken Old Demon was like a towering mountain pressing down upon the three great sects.

Naturally, Qi Yuan did not hear their conversation.

Walking his knife, he slowly returned to Seven Colors Peak.

"Ah, why haven't you awakened your spiritual intelligence yet?"

Qi Yuan really wanted to pat the knife with his hand, but he was afraid of cutting himself.

What he feared most was knocking the knife stupid. What if it awakened its spiritual intelligence and became an idiot?

"But it should happen within the next day or two, right? It might even be tonight," Qi Yuan thought.

Returning to the courtyard, he tied the knife to a wooden stake.

"Tonight, I need to hurry up and grind through the game, then go to bed early. Tomorrow I still have to attend that damn Foundation Establishment Tournament. Annoying, annoying, annoying!"

Qi Yuan felt that he was very socially anxious.

He still preferred talking to the beasts in games that could not speak. He could even provide voices for them.

Tomorrow, at the Foundation Establishment Tournament, he would be the face of Shinguang Sect, receiving guests and exchanging pleasantries with people from other sects. Just thinking about it irritated him.

"If only my true body were a star in the vast universe. I'd only need to hang in the sky and wouldn't have to say a single word."

Thinking this, Qi Yuan entered the game.

What he did not know was that at night, the kitchen knife suddenly sprang up and chopped through the rope tethering it.

It anxiously searched the Thatched Cottage for a long while, only finding a few blades of grass to eat.

It seemed starving, and its gaze fell upon a Thatched Cottage not far away.

Under the moonlight, it sneaked out.

Then it stared greedily at the Thatched Cottage. If it had eyes, they would surely have been gleaming—but after hesitating for a moment, it began to... rummage through the garbage heap.

About half an hour later, it crept back on tiptoe and tied itself up again with the rope.