Millennium Willow Heart

Whoosh!

Guan Ning transformed into a black shadow and dashed toward the distance.

Although the Smart Fighter Jet could not detect the Spirits of Vegetation, discovering those nine massive willow trees was an easy task.

Guan Ning was currently rushing toward that location; obtaining the Millennium Willow Heart early to reach the peak of the War God level was the priority.

"Huh?"

While on his way, Guan Ning passed by a patch of emerald-green weeds. This weed blended perfectly into the surrounding environment, and Guan Ning had not paid it any special attention. As he moved forward, two slender leaves of the weed suddenly struck at his back like two cyan-green longswords.

Guan Ning had maintained his vigilance, and the moment the weed erupted, he reacted. The Qingming Sword instantly left its sheath, a streak of light flashed, and the two leaves were severed on impact.

"Not bad!"

From that momentary exchange, Guan Ning had already judged that the weed's strength was comparable to a mid-level Lord-class monster. Coupled with their natural camouflage, a sudden sneak attack would be extremely dangerous even for a War God-level powerhouse.

His thoughts raced, but Guan Ning's movements did not stop. His speed exploded, and the Qingming Sword slashed rapidly toward the main body of the weed. The remaining leaves of the weed collided head-on with the Qingming Sword and were all sliced apart one by one.

The Qingming Sword was SS-grade; the defenses of ordinary King-Level Monsters could not stop it, let alone the weed before him.

He did not know what kind of Spirit of Vegetation this weed was, but to preserve it intact, Guan Ning put away the Qingming Sword. He approached the helpless weed, his right hand—protected by the Black God Suit underneath and an SS-grade glove on the outside—gripping the root. With a burst of full strength and a loud shout, he forcibly pulled the weed out.

Every 'Spirit of Vegetation' possessed its own core, which was its most valuable part. They all had powerful effects; although the specific benefits varied, their value was unquestionable, holding significant worth even for Planetary-level powerhouses.

Guan Ning did not have much knowledge about the Spirits of Vegetation. After pulling out the weed and observing it closely, he looked at its thick roots and immediately understood that even if the root itself wasn't the core essence, the essence liquid was certainly contained within it. He promptly stored the root away and continued his journey into the island.

He did not even leave behind the leaves he had severed. While it was unlikely that the core was in the leaves, Guan Ning dared not gamble; taking everything was the safest course of action.

According to the original story, there were over a hundred Spirits of Vegetation on Mist Island, among which five or six were even more precious than the "Ten-Thousand-Year Willow Heart."

The effect of a "Ten-Thousand-Year Willow Heart" was incomparable to that of a "Millennium Willow Heart." A "Millennium Willow Heart" could improve physical fitness and cellular activity, enhancing the user's recovery rate—even Planetary-level Councilors coveted such recovery abilities.

As for the effects of the "Ten-Thousand-Year Willow Heart," Guan Ning had learned a thing or two on the War God-level Martial Artist Forum. Its ability to improve physical fitness and cellular activity was about five or six times that of the "Millennium Willow Heart." Most importantly, it had a certain probability of allowing a peak War God—that is, a ninth-stage Apprentice—to break through to the Planetary level.

As for its value, it could be compared to a Wood Bud Crystal; after all, both were among the few treasures on Earth that could help a peak War God-level martial artist break through to the Planetary level.

Having realized this, Guan Ning's goal shifted to breaking through to the Planetary level while on Mist Island. With this objective in mind, he did not spend time specifically searching for the numerous other Spirits of Vegetation on the island and headed straight for the location of the nine willow trees.

As Guan Ning ventured deeper, he encountered Man-Eating Flowers with blossoms larger than a human face, as well as elusive, thick vines like small trees. He remained calm and collected, dealing with them one by one, and had not yet encountered a situation he could not handle.

Beyond the need to save time, there was one most important reason: the Planetary-level Cloud-Touching Vine beneath Mist Island. As a relatively popular auxiliary plant life form in the universe, the Cloud-Touching Vine was significantly stronger than an average human martial artist of the same level. Guan Ning had not even reached the Planetary level yet, so he naturally could not deal with this Cloud-Touching Vine.

Although Li Yao and the others in the original story did not disturb the Cloud-Touching Vine while collecting Spirits of Vegetation on Mist Island, Guan Ning dared not bet his life on it. He remained cautious along the way, avoiding what he could and finishing off what he couldn't quickly, trying his best to minimize the commotion.

Along the way, Guan Ning had collected six different types of "Spirits of Vegetation." These were all encountered on his path, and he hadn't spent much time on them—or rather, he had picked them up while passing by.

After walking for a while longer, Guan Ning finally saw his target.

On a flat area not far away, nine incredibly thick willow trees were growing.

The thinnest among them had a diameter exceeding one meter, while the thickest willow tree reached a diameter of about three meters!

To avoid alerting the enemy, Guan Ning stood three hundred meters away from the nine willow trees. He weighed the Qingming Sword in his hand, then placed it back into the scabbard on his back. With a swish, he drew the Coiling Dragon Sword from his waist.

The pale yellow blade was as thin as a cicada's wing, and a sharp, cold glint shimmered on its faint edge. With a flick of his wrist, the flexible Coiling Dragon Sword instantly straightened like a mountain.

"BOOM!"

A low hum resonated, and Guan Ning, transformed into a black shadow, arrived before a willow tree one meter thick. The person had arrived, but the sound had not yet caught up.

The Coiling Dragon Sword swept out, slicing through the one-meter-thick willow tree from the middle as if it were tofu.

"BOOM!"

The trunk collapsed, kicking up a cloud of dust. Guan Ning took advantage of this moment to grab the "Millennium Willow Heart" from the center of the willow tree; he had no time to put it into his backpack before he had to retreat.

Everything happened too fast. In the blink of an eye, Guan Ning had swung his sword and the willow tree had fallen. Before the other willow trees could react, Guan Ning was already planning to withdraw.

However, the willow trees would not let the culprit who had harmed their brothers or sisters go. Even the Willow King in the center, three meters thick and a hundred meters tall, was enraged and determined to keep this murderer who had harmed its children here.

Instantly, eight Spirits of Vegetation erupted. Each tree had billions of willow branches dancing, striking directly at Guan Ning.

Chi! Chi!

Chi!

Almost in an instant, the wildly dancing willow branches of these trees either lashed out like whips or acted like threads, rapidly entangling Guan Ning!

Shoo!

In particular, the attack intensity of every single willow branch from the Willow King was at least comparable to the slash of a high-level Warlord-level martial artist!

"Not bad."

Guan Ning praised internally. He exerted force suddenly, his figure becoming erratic. He dodged the willow branches while rushing outward; he did not want to be trapped here, as he was not yet a match for the Willow King.

In the original story, Li Yao, wearing the Black God Suit, had joined forces with three other high-level War Gods to barely deal with it. Guan Ning did not have that strength yet, so leaving was the wisest choice.

Swish, swish, swish...

Guan Ning's sword rose and fell, and willow branches dropped to the ground one by one. Only the pale golden branches of the Willow King could withstand the hacking of the Coiling Dragon Sword; one strike could only cut through two-thirds of it. It wasn't that the Coiling Dragon Sword wasn't sharp enough, but that Guan Ning's strength was insufficient.

Upon realizing this, Guan Ning immediately changed his strategy. For the pale golden willow branches, he avoided them whenever possible. Thanks to his flexible and ghostly footwork, whether it was a lash or an entanglement, the pale golden branches could never touch his figure.

As for the ordinary willow branches, Guan Ning did not dodge or evade. He treated the Coiling Dragon Sword like a machete, hacking and slashing, forcibly carving a path through the encirclement of willow branches.

"Hoo!"

After emerging, Guan Ning did not dare to linger for a single moment. He pushed his speed to the absolute limit, rapidly distancing himself from the area until he had traveled several hundred meters before finally coming to a halt.

Seeing its target vanish, the pale golden willow branch whipped through the air for a moment before retracting back into the trunk of the Super Willow King.

The other ordinary willow branches continued to sway in the wind just as they always had.

The Millennium Willow Heart was a green crystal the size of a chicken egg. It was entirely translucent, allowing one to vaguely see the interior, where liquid seemed to be flowing. It looked just like a green glass goblet filled with fine wine, appearing quite peculiar.

Holding the Millennium Willow Heart, Guan Ning could feel waves of coolness surging from his hand throughout his entire body, making his spirit feel refreshed.

"Tuantuan, come here."

As soon as his voice fell, the Smart Fighter Jet hovered fifty or sixty meters above Guan Ning. He leaped up, and the fighter's cockpit door opened automatically.

Sitting cross-legged in the cockpit, Guan Ning looked at the Millennium Willow Heart in his hand. A streak of light flashed across the shell of the Millennium Willow Heart; the SS-grade Coiling Dragon Sword was sharp enough that the shell was sliced open instantly, and wisps of crystalline, translucent green liquid slowly flowed out from the crack.

Guan Ning pressed his mouth against the crack and took a deep suck. The crystalline liquid from the Millennium Willow Heart flowed into his mouth. The volume of this liquid was roughly that of a small shot glass, and after it flew into his mouth, Guan Ning swallowed it straight down.

Once the core essence liquid of the Millennium Willow Heart was swallowed into his belly, it rapidly spread to every part of his body. The energy was surging, yet it was not the least bit violent or volatile; instead, it was filled with coolness and gentleness. Guan Ning felt an incomparably comfortable sensation rising from the depths of his heart and couldn't help but let out a sound.

"Ah~~"

It was a form of pleasure that reached deep into his soul and marrow. His entire body was filled with the immense energy brought by the essence liquid. Every cell within his body was trembling; his genes were rapidly being perfected, useless genes were being shed, and through repeated perfect integration, the vitality of his cells soared.

The improvement of his cells brought about a change in his entire body. Guan Ning could feel every inch of his skin, bones, and internal organs rapidly strengthening. The process was domineering, yet there was not a single hint of discomfort; it was extremely gentle, as soothing as a massage.

During this process, Guan Ning's physical fitness was also rapidly strengthening. With energy in abundance, cells were the foundation; as the cells strengthened, his physical fitness grew quickly, step by step, marching steadily toward the peak physical fitness of a War God.