It turned out that even transcendent beings could suffer from senile dementia. Take the old tree person ahead, for example. It had been telling its story for half an hour, beginning with, "This goes back several thousand years," then moving on to when it was still a sapling, and from there to whether rainwater was more nourishing or groundwater sweeter.
If the old tree person was doing this on purpose, that would be fine. Put a blade to its neck, and it would say everything. The problem was that it genuinely wanted to help Su Xiao and the others. Unfortunately, its dementia was rather severe. After sharing some valuable information, it would go off topic, then remember a while later and start talking about useful information again.
During the old tree person's patient narration, Ya was already getting a little sleepy, but she still maintained an intensely focused expression, afraid that attracting its attention would make it lose its train of thought.
After the old tree person had spoken for roughly an hour, Su Xiao understood the general situation. But don't assume he had gained much information in that hour. There were only two important points.
1. Without the protection of the Light Secret Technique, one could not enter the tree hollow filled with "darkness." Otherwise, the darkness would erode them. This was "darkness" that had undergone a qualitative transformation from abyssal power.
2. To obtain the protection of the Light Secret Technique, one needed a Dark Stone. Using a Dark Stone to temporarily awaken the nearby Initial Tree would do the trick. Without a Dark Stone, one could trade with a "Shadow Spirit."
The so-called "Shadow Spirit" was the pitch-black figure Su Xiao had just seen. It was not a living creature, a ghost, or an energy body, but