Gift

The Golden Ancient Tree's sudden movement caught everyone off guard.

Ouyang Xi's Bright Phoenix Spirit instantly possessed her, and her Soul Power gathered to its limit in the blink of an eye. Her Seventh Soul Ring was about to light up.

Lin Qingxuan had no time to worry for his son and hurriedly stopped his wife. The Golden Ancient Tree was the heart of Shrek Academy, and the academy had long since laid down an ironclad rule: no one, not even an Elder, was allowed to damage the Golden Ancient Tree in the slightest. If his wife really attacked the Golden Ancient Tree, even Elder Mu, as the Pavilion Master of Sea God Pavilion, probably would not be able to protect her.

But most importantly, Lin Qingxuan did not feel that his son was in danger. When Elder Mu had gone over earlier, he had said that the Golden Ancient Tree had once resonated when his son awakened his martial soul. Now that his son had come before the Golden Ancient Tree and even released his own martial soul, it was only normal for the Golden Ancient Tree to react.

He finally managed to talk his wife down, but as time passed, Lin Qingxuan could not help growing anxious as well. This was his own son. How could he not care?

At last, under everyone's worried gazes, little Xiao Linyi's small figure slowly emerged from within the Golden Ancient Tree.

Lin Qingxuan and his wife finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Daddy! Mommy!"

Little Xiao Linyi shouted excitedly.

Time turned back to when Xiao Linyi was swept into the Golden Ancient Tree.

"Child, you have come."

Xiao Linyi had been so frightened by the sudden attack that his eyes were tightly shut. Then, a voice filled with the vicissitudes of time suddenly sounded by his ear.

He tentatively opened his eyes. What entered his sight was a golden space, with gold above, below, and all around him. Xiao Linyi's body floated in this golden expanse, and on his right hand was the Golden Tree Spirit that he had yet to withdraw.

He saw no figure, but the friendly feeling around him still made Xiao Linyi work up his courage and ask tentatively, "Who are you?"

"I am the Golden Ancient Tree, just like your martial soul."

"Then why did you bring me here?"

Feeling that close aura, Xiao Linyi unconsciously lowered his guard. He did not dwell on the fact that he had suddenly been dragged into this special space. Instead, he asked his question.

"I am going to die."

"Huh?"

Xiao Linyi had not expected to hear something like that, and for a moment, he did not react.

"Why?"

"There is a being I am powerless to resist that is devouring me. If this continues, I will die."

"Then did you come to me because I can help you?"

"Yes. I hope you can save me."

"But I'm only a Soul Master without even a First Soul Ring."

"You will grow. I only hope that when you grow strong enough, you can save me."

Sensing the sorrow beneath the Golden Ancient Tree's words, and because of the closeness that came from their very source, Xiao Linyi agreed.

"All right. I promise."

"Thank you. To repay you, and so that you can grow faster, accept my blessing."

"Um, can you tell me who that being devouring you is?"

After a moment of silence, the Golden Ancient Tree finally spoke. "I cannot tell you yet. It would not be good for you. You only need to know that this being is powerful beyond imagination."

"All right. I'll work hard and not make you wait too long!"

After that, the Golden Ancient Tree sent Xiao Linyi out of the golden space.

The moment he left that space, Xiao Linyi saw his parents, who had already been waiting anxiously. He shouted in excitement, but before he could hear a response, he was once again wrapped up by a ribbon of light emitted by the Golden Ancient Tree.

Stopping his furious wife, who was about to attack, once again, Lin Qingxuan felt helpless inside. You already took my son away. Can't you just finish everything in one go? Again and again—are you deliberately provoking us?

On Sea God Island, before the Golden Ancient Tree, Xiao Linyi's figure slowly rose into the air under the Golden Ancient Tree's power, and his Golden Tree Spirit appeared on its own.

Rich light and life auras gathered over, almost condensing into substance. They turned into a Light Cocoon that wrapped around Xiao Linyi's body. Heaven and Earth Origin Energy was swallowed over like a whale taking in water, then breathed in and out by the Light Cocoon as if it were alive.

If anyone could have seen Xiao Linyi's condition inside the Light Cocoon, they would certainly have been greatly shocked. Xiao Linyi had only just awakened his martial soul today and had not yet come into contact with any meditation techniques, yet at this moment, he unconsciously sat cross-legged with five hearts facing the sky, absorbing the Heaven and Earth Origin Energy that had been breathed in and out and tempered until it was pure.

At the same time, the rich light and life auras seemed to possess consciousness as they moved in and out of Xiao Linyi's body, continuously tempering his young frame.

In truth, the younger the person receiving the Golden Ancient Tree's blessing, the better its effect, because the younger one was, the less Acquired Tainted Qi one had come into contact with.

According to the Otherworld Memories Xiao Linyi had awakened, an infant was at its purest as an Innate Physique while still in the mother's womb. After birth, upon coming into contact with Acquired Tainted Qi, the originally pure innate qi would slowly dissipate until it was completely gone.

For Xiao Linyi, this moment was just right. If he had accepted this blessing before his Martial Soul Awakening, he would have had no martial soul to bear it, and his young body would not have been able to withstand it at all. If he accepted it after growing up, by then, the roots and bones in his body would already have taken shape, and he would be thoroughly tainted by Acquired Tainted Qi. Only now, just after his martial soul had awakened, could he accept this blessing while his body was still pure, and at the same time have his martial soul carry that vast energy for him. It was exactly the right time to obtain the greatest benefit from this blessing.

However, as he felt this pure and flawless baptism, his father's figure flashed through Xiao Linyi's mind. Only today had he learned that his father's complexion was always pale because his severe injuries had yet to heal. This rich power of light and life was so pure. If his father could receive it too, it would definitely be greatly beneficial to him, especially since his father originally had the Life Attribute.

The next moment, as if sensing Xiao Linyi's thoughts, the Golden Ancient Tree and the Light Cocoon around Xiao Linyi simultaneously shot out a ribbon of light. After merging, it sank into Lin Qingxuan's body as he waited not far away.

Afterward, Lin Qingxuan felt as though his body was filled to bursting with rich life force. At the same time, a strand of pure Light Power rushed toward the Evil aura that had previously clung to him like a maggot on the bone. He instinctively sat cross-legged and entered a cultivation state.

There seemed to be a qualitative difference at the source. After several impacts, the Evil aura that had been entrenched in Lin Qingxuan's body all this time was scattered and purified completely.

Sensing the stubborn illness in his body disappear, Lin Qingxuan was overjoyed. In the end, however, he calmed down through his powerful self-control and continued cultivating with the remaining life force.

Still, he could not help splitting off a sliver of attention in his heart to sigh with emotion. He had thought his Cultivation Level would never advance again in this life, yet now, when all seemed lost, a new path had opened. That vicious method, which even the entire Sea God Pavilion and many powerful figures across the continent had been helpless against back then, had ultimately been cleansed by an opportunity his own son had obtained. The affairs of the world were truly wondrous beyond words.

Lin Qingxuan cultivated for a full three days.

Ouyang Xi had already been anxious because she did not know her son's situation. She had never expected that when she turned around, her husband would suddenly stop moving too, though she could sense that her husband's condition had never been better, and even the stubborn illness in his body had already healed.

Thus, when Lin Qingxuan ended his cultivation and opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was his wife's fist.

Before he could even feel the joy of not only recovering from his injuries but also smoothly breaking through to rank seventy-eight Soul Power, Lin Qingxuan happily received a panda eye.

Not only could he not treat it, he also had to wear that panda eye while comforting his furious wife.

Mu En, in the distance, felt that he could not bear to watch. Back then, the Life Wutong, whose personal charm had been maxed out and who could be called a monster even in the genius-filled Inner Court, had actually become like this after marriage.

Fortunately, when Xiao Linyi was absorbed into the Golden Ancient Tree, no one knew how long it would take, so Mu En had had the other Elders leave early to busy themselves with their own affairs. Even Mu En himself had only left a wisp of Spiritual Power to observe this place.

Time flew. In the blink of an eye, a month passed, and the Light Cocoon before the Golden Ancient Tree finally stirred.

Crack.

A sound rang out.