"This Wood Heart and the golden light were fated to be together, and have become a treasure!"
The Golden Light Divine Lord's Divine Nature was formless and illusory, while the Wood Heart had substance. Yet both had been formed by Incense and Fire. Now, reality and illusion came together, resonating with the Way of Yin and Yang, and stabilized.
As Chen Ming poured in his magic power, the green-gold seed took root and sprouted in an instant, transforming into a towering, illusory green-gold tree.
Chen Ming dropped toward the illusory tree and vanished without a trace.
As it turned out, the illusory tree was merely a doorway. Chen Ming had not landed on it, but had instead arrived at the former Divine Domain Dojo.
It could no longer be called the Divine Domain Dojo. After Chen Ming refined it and joined it with the Wood Heart, it could no longer be powered by Incense and Fire. It now required magic power and incantations, so it should be called a grotto-heaven.
"The Golden Light Divine Lord has fallen. This place should take on a new appearance!"
At Chen Ming's thought, the grotto-heaven's scenery transformed into an image of Cuiping Mountain, even the Taoist temple an exact match.
"What a wondrous treasure, and what a fine dojo. If I cultivate spiritual energy here in the future, perhaps it really can become a blessed land."
With another thought, Chen Ming left the Grotto-Heaven Dojo.
His magic power stirred, and the illusory tree dispersed, reverting to a green-gold seed. It fell into his hand, and he put it away.
Without the Wood Heart, the Spirit Tree had lost the support of its spirituality and grown listless.
When Chen Ming appeared before it, it swayed its branches as if deeply aggrieved.
"You've lost your Wood Heart, but your spirituality remains. You've also escaped the shackles of Incense and Fire. In the future, you'll have a chance to cultivate into a demonic spirit, take human form, and seek the Great Dao!" Chen Ming comforted it.
"But it's exceedingly difficult for a Wood Path spirit to become a demon. You'll either be captured and refined into a treasure or used to make pills. Growing strong won't be easy. What's more, you have only this little bit of spirituality, so it'll take at least several hundred years to achieve anything!"
"I have a temporary solution that might benefit both sides. Would you be willing to try it?"
Chen Ming thought for a moment, then explained the method.
It was because of Yinyin. It was truly pitiful that only her head remained.
If left alone, she would succumb to the Yin Cold Qi within three to five days.
Chen Ming's plan was to use the Spirit Tree as a body to carry Yinyin's head, allowing the two to coexist.
With a body, Yinyin would be able to circulate the Yin Cold Qi, while the Spirit Tree's spirituality would gain a soul and a head, allowing it to develop Spiritual Intelligence and become a demon by an unusual path.
The only drawback was that the Spirit Tree's spirituality would have to share a body with Yinyin's head.
Hearing Chen Ming's proposal, the Spirit Tree's spirituality trembled. A vague sensation stirred within it, and it saw a hazy vision.
A woman with a human head and a tree's body stood atop a mountain peak, worshipped by all living beings. Her imposing presence was magnificent, and she was truly awe-inspiring!
Was that its future?
The vision vanished in a flash. Following its instinct, the Spirit Tree agreed to Chen Ming's plan.
"Good. Now watch as I perform the ritual!"
"Song Yu, Wang Xiu, where are you?"
"Bring the head here!"
At Chen Ming's call, Song Yu and Wang Xiu hurriedly brought the head over.
The Yin Cold Qi in the head had already erupted once. Song Yu had used the cyan talisman Chen Ming gave him, sticking it to the head to keep the Qi suppressed.
Chen Ming beckoned, and the cyan talisman on the head vanished. In an instant, the Yin Cold Qi erupted.
"Go!"
Chen Ming's hands shifted through incantations. Ignoring the raging Yin Cold Qi, he forcibly propelled the head onto the crown of the Spirit Tree.
With somewhere to flow, the Yin Cold Qi no longer burrowed into the head. Instead, it circulated through the Spirit Tree.
As it circulated, the Yin Cold Qi's violent surge gradually subsided.
The Spirit Tree's spirituality was nourished by the Yin Cold Qi and advanced another step.
"Why haven't you taken form yet? What are you waiting for?"
Chen Ming shouted.
The Spirit Tree's spirituality jolted. It pulled its roots free and twisted its trunk and branches, mimicking the shape of a human.
Song Yu and Wang Xiu watched the scene, their hearts pounding with fear.
Anyone would have been terrified to see a tree twist and weave itself into a human shape, with a human head atop it, as it transformed into a demon before their eyes.
Chen Ming watched closely. Although the Yin Cold Qi had connected the head and the Spirit Tree, they had not completely fused. Many obstructions and snags remained.
A green gleam flickered in Chen Ming's eyes as he shouted, "Wake up!"
He was calling to Yinyin's head.
Yinyin's head trembled. Her closed eyes slowly opened, and she regained consciousness.
Though Yinyin was young, she had weathered many hardships. Once her mind returned, she understood her condition and realized Chen Ming was trying to save her.
She actively connected her head to the Spirit Tree.
The Yin Cold Qi coursed through them, becoming blood vessels and meridians. With the soul-bearing head now in control, a sudden transformation occurred.
The tree body, twisted into human form, blazed with light and crackled.
Before long, the light faded. The Spirit Tree and the head had completely fused, becoming a little girl dressed in green.
"Greetings, True Person!"
"Greetings, True Person!"
The little girl spoke, but two voices sounded at once: one clear and bright, the other hoarse.
"My method is only a stopgap. Once your cultivation grows deeper, you can decide what to do from there," Chen Ming said.
"Thank you, True Person, for saving my life!"
"The Yinyin of the past is dead. My fusion with the Spirit Tree is a new beginning. Please grant me a name, True Person!"
The little girl knelt and bowed.
Chen Ming accepted the bow without reservation. Though he had used demonic-refining methods to fuse the Spirit Tree with the head, making her half-demon and half-fiend, he had truly saved her life.
Besides, for Yinyin, becoming a demon was better than being human and at the mercy of others, eventually turned into a puppet fiend.
"Good. From now on, you'll be called 'Qing Ling.' Stay by my side as a young attendant for now," Chen Ming said.
"This object was formed from your Wood Heart. From now on, you'll be responsible for looking after it!"
With that, Chen Ming gave Qing Ling the grotto-heaven seed to keep.
"Yes, Master!"
Qing Ling bowed once more, then rose and stood behind Chen Ming.
She held the green-gold seed in both hands. The moment it touched Qing Ling, it responded to her and transformed into a verdant branch, which she grasped.
Then Chen Ming called Song Yu and Wang Xiu over and said, "You two began by cultivating Azure Wood Poisonous Gas. Your foundations are already set, so it won't be easy to change paths. I'll first teach you the complete Magic Art. Practice it for now."
Song Yu and Wang Xiu were overjoyed. Though Azure Wood Poisonous Gas belonged to the Heretical Path, it could still cultivate the Divine Soul and was a Magic Art for reaching the Contemplation Realm.
Many cultivators in the Qi Gathering Realm never crossed that threshold, but instead languished their whole lives.
Though Azure Wood Poisonous Gas was nothing special in Chen Ming's eyes, for Song Yu and Wang Xiu, this was an immense opportunity.
The two received the Magic Art and happily withdrew to cultivate.
Qing Ling waved the branch in her hand, and green-gold radiance descended. Chen Ming's form vanished as he entered the grotto-heaven within.
Only after the green-gold radiance faded did Qing Ling take the branch and seek out a secluded spot. She breathed in and out the Yin Cold Qi, transformed her body into a trunk and rooted herself in the earth, then circulated the Azure Wood Life and Death Gas as she quietly cultivated.
Inside the grotto-heaven, Chen Ming sat cross-legged and brought out the Spirit Devouring Jar.
The Red Spirit Worm remained curled up in slumber, yet with every breath it took, strange phenomena continued to appear.
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