After spending a full nine months planning in seclusion, Zhang Yang finally walked out of the ancient tree cottage again. The moment he emerged, he heard a pleasant chorus of "chirp, chirp!" Then, from within the white spirit mist as light as gauze, a tiny thing the size of a fist came darting out. It looked like a duck pear, with a small head and a large belly, four short little legs, and a pair of tiny wings growing from its back.
The little thing rolled to Zhang Yang's feet, chirping away. Then more little things flew over, each carrying a red spirit fruit on its back. Before long, there was enough to fill a plate.
Only then did the little things chirp as they flew away. They were neither animals nor spirit creatures, but a type of little wood demon that had bred within the World Tree, also known as farmer wood demons. There were an astonishing number of them—nearly tens of billions—and they were the main force responsible for the World Tree's daily maintenance. Though they possessed not the slightest combat ability, their role was irreplaceable.
These farmer wood demons truly worked like farmers, diligently and tirelessly. They constantly sorted through the spiritual energy produced by the World Tree, removed the impurities within it, liquefied it, solidified it, and finally packaged it up and sent it into the earth veins.
It was precisely because of the farmer wood demons that the World Tree's spiritual-energy utilization rate had always remained as high as ninety-nine percent.
Picking up a spirit fruit, Zhang Yang slowly placed it in his mouth. It was like a breath of fresh air sweeping across his face, and his entire spirit was invigorated.
A single spirit fruit like this would have been enough for an ordinary