The luxuriant branches and leaves of the Jade Firmament Divine Tree were rapidly withering, while the thirteen white jade fruits, shaped like eight-pointed hanging stars, shone ever more brilliantly.
Shui Mingxia knew the Jade Firmament Jade Fruits were about to ripen. The essence wheel behind her back glimmered faintly as she prepared to receive them.
Withered leaves fell like rain. Even the enormous trunk, vast as a mountain, had gone dry, all its life force concentrated within the thirteen Jade Firmament Jade Fruits.
After a while longer, the thirteen Jade Firmament Jade Fruits suddenly broke away from their branches and shot off in all directions.
They flew as swiftly as lightning. The eight-pointed stars flashed continuously through the void, leaving behind hundreds and thousands of starry glimmers, real and false impossible to distinguish...
Fortunately, Shui Mingxia had prepared in advance. She spread sword light as gentle and yielding as water, letting it flow around the divine tree, and in an instant gathered all thirteen Jade Firmament Jade Fruits within it.
The Jade Firmament Jade Fruits kept flashing with starlight, seeking to break free of the sword light's restraint. This was their innate spirituality.
Shui Mingxia did not dare be careless either. The Jade Firmament Jade Fruits were innate divine treasures; by rank, they could be considered eighth-order. Even using her sword light to suppress all thirteen of them was rather strenuous.
The most troublesome part was that she could not exert too much force. On the contrary, she had to protect the Jade Firmament Jade Fruits, lest they be damaged by violently colliding with the sword qi.
Even with her powerful divine sense and pure sword intent, completely controlling thirteen Jade Firmament Jade Fruits was exceedingly difficult.
As the Jade Firmament Jade Fruits struggled ever more fiercely, the watery sword