Millennium Willow Heart

Whoosh!

Guan Ning turned into a black blur and shot into the distance.

Although the Smart Fighter Jet couldn't detect Spirits of Vegetation, it had no trouble spotting the nine enormous willow trees.

Guan Ning was heading there now. Obtaining the Millennium Willow Heart as soon as possible and reaching the peak of the War God level was what mattered.

"Hm?"

As Guan Ning hurried along, he passed a patch of green weeds. One of them blended perfectly into its surroundings, so he paid it little attention. But as he moved forward, the weed's two slender leaves suddenly shot out like a pair of green swords, stabbing viciously at Ye Yun's back.

Guan Ning had remained alert. The instant the weed sprang into action, he reacted. The Qingming Sword flashed out of its sheath, and a streak of light passed by. The two leaves were severed on the spot.

"Not bad!"

From that brief exchange, Guan Ning had already judged that the weed's strength was comparable to that of an Intermediate Lord Level monster. Combined with its natural camouflage, a sudden ambush from it could put even a War God-level expert in serious danger.

His thoughts raced, but Guan Ning didn't slow down. He burst forward, and the Qingming Sword swiftly slashed toward the weed's main body. The weed's remaining leaves thrust straight at the sword, only to be cut down one by one.

The Qingming Sword was an SS-grade weapon. Even the defenses of an ordinary King-Level Monster couldn't withstand it, let alone this weed.

He didn't know what kind of Spirit of Vegetation the weed was. To preserve it intact, Guan Ning put away the Qingming Sword, then approached the helpless weed. With the Black God Suit beneath his clothes and an SS-grade glove covering his right hand, he grabbed the weed by its roots and exerted all his strength. With a shout, he ripped it out of the ground.

Every Spirit of Vegetation had its own core, the most valuable part of its body, with potent effects. Though the specific effects varied, their value was beyond question. They were even useful to Planetary-Level experts.

Guan Ning knew little about Spirits of Vegetation. After pulling out the weed and examining it closely, he looked at its thick roots and immediately understood that even if the roots weren't the core, they must contain its essence. He carefully put them away and continued toward the island's interior.

He didn't leave behind even the leaves he had cut off. It was unlikely that the leaves were the core, but Guan Ning wasn't willing to take that chance. Taking everything was the safest option.

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

The effects of the Ten-Thousand-Year Willow Heart were in a different league from those of the Millennium Willow Heart. The Millennium Willow Heart could improve physical fitness and cellular activity, enhancing its user's recovery. Even Planetary-Level Councilors coveted that recovery ability.

As for the Ten-Thousand-Year Willow Heart's effects, Guan Ning had learned a little about them on the War God-level Martial Artist Forum. It improved physical fitness and cellular activity to about five or six times the degree of the Millennium Willow Heart. Most importantly, it had a chance of helping someone at the peak of the War God level—in other words, a Ninth-Rank Apprentice—break through to the Planetary Level.

Its value could be compared to that of a Wood Bud Crystal. After all, both were among the few treasures on Earth that could help a peak War God-level fighter break through to the Planetary Level.

After learning this, Guan Ning set his sights on breaking through to the Planetary Level on Mist Island. With that goal in mind, he didn't waste time searching for the many Spirits of Vegetation scattered around the island. Instead, he headed straight for the nine willow trees.

As Guan Ning ventured deeper, he encountered Man-Eating Flowers with blossoms larger than human faces, as well as thick vines as large as small trees that appeared and vanished without warning. He dealt with all of them calmly and methodically, without encountering anything he couldn't handle.

Aside from wanting to save time, there was another, more important reason: beneath Mist Island lay a Planetary-Level Cloud-Touching Vine. As a popular auxiliary plant life-form in the universe, a Cloud-Touching Vine was considerably stronger than an ordinary human fighter of the same level. Guan Ning wasn't even at the Planetary Level yet, so there was no way he could handle one.

Though Li Yao and the others hadn't disturbed the Cloud-Touching Vine while collecting Spirits of Vegetation on Mist Island in the original story, Guan Ning wasn't about to gamble with his life. He proceeded cautiously, avoiding fights whenever he could. When he couldn't, he finished them quickly, doing his best to keep the noise to a minimum.

Along the way, Guan Ning collected six different kinds of Spirits of Vegetation. He'd found them on his way here without spending much time searching—in a sense, he'd simply picked them up as he went.

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

On a flat patch of ground not far away stood nine exceptionally thick willow trees.

Even the thinnest had a trunk over a meter in diameter, while the thickest was about three meters across!

To avoid alerting them, Guan Ning stopped three hundred meters from the nine willows. He weighed the Qingming Sword in his hand, then put it back in the sheath on his back. With a swish, he drew the Coiling Dragon Sword from his waist.

Its pale yellow blade was as thin as a cicada's wing, its barely visible edge gleaming with a razor-sharp chill. He flicked his wrist, and the curved sword instantly straightened, rigid as a mountain.

Boom!

A low rumble sounded. Guan Ning, now a black blur, had already reached a willow tree with a one-meter-thick trunk. He had arrived before the sound of his movement.

The Coiling Dragon Sword swept across, slicing through the one-meter-thick willow as easily as cutting tofu.

Boom!

The trunk crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. While it did, Guan Ning grabbed the Millennium Willow Heart from the center of the tree. He didn't have time to put it in his backpack; he had to retreat at once.

It had all happened too fast. In the blink of an eye, Guan Ning had swung his sword and felled the willow. The other trees hadn't even had time to react before he was already preparing to withdraw.

But the willows weren't about to let the culprit who had harmed one of their siblings get away. Even the central Super Willow King, with its three-meter-thick trunk and hundred-meter height, was enraged. It was determined to keep the murderer who had hurt its child here.

In an instant, eight Spirits of Vegetation unleashed their power. Billions of willow branches whipped through the air from each tree, lashing directly at Guan Ning.

Swish! Swish!

Swish!

Almost instantly, the willows' frenzied branches came at Guan Ning from every direction. Some shot toward him like threads, while others cracked like whips!

Whoosh!

The attack from every single branch of the Willow King was at least as powerful as a high-level Warlord's full-force cleaver strike!

"Not bad."

Guan Ning praised them silently. He surged into motion, his movements turning unpredictable as he dodged the branches and charged outward. He didn't want to get trapped here. At least for now, he was no match for the Willow King.

In the original story, Li Yao, wearing a Black God Suit, had joined forces with three other high-level War Gods just to barely defeat it. Guan Ning didn't have that kind of strength yet, so it was best to get out first.

Swish, swish, swish...

Guan Ning's sword rose and fell, sending willow branches tumbling to the ground. Only the Willow King's pale golden branches could withstand the Coiling Dragon Sword. Each strike cut through only two-thirds of one—not because the Coiling Dragon Sword wasn't sharp enough, but because Guan Ning wasn't strong enough.

Once he noticed this, Guan Ning immediately changed tactics. He dodged the pale golden branches whenever possible. Thanks to his nimble, ghostlike footwork, neither their lashes nor their attempts to ensnare him could touch him.

As for the ordinary willow branches, Guan Ning neither dodged nor retreated. He wielded the Coiling Dragon Sword like a cleaver, chopping and hacking until he forced a path through the encircling branches.

Whoosh!

Once he broke free, Guan Ning didn't dare linger. He reached top speed and swiftly fled the area, stopping only several hundred meters away.

When their target disappeared, the pale golden branches whipped through the air a few times, then withdrew to the trunk of the Super Willow King.

The other, ordinary willow branches continued swaying in the breeze as usual...

The Millennium Willow Heart was a green crystal about the size of an egg. It was translucent, allowing a hazy glimpse of its interior. Something inside seemed to flow like liquid. It looked as though fine wine had been poured into a green glass cup—an extraordinary sight.

Holding the Millennium Willow Heart, Guan Ning felt waves of coolness flow from his hand through his body, leaving his mind refreshed.

"Tuantuan, come here."

As soon as he spoke, the Smart Fighter Jet stopped fifty or sixty meters above him. Guan Ning leaped aboard, and the cabin door opened automatically.

Seated cross-legged in the cockpit, Guan Ning examined the Millennium Willow Heart in his hand. A streak of light passed across its shell. The SS-grade Coiling Dragon Sword was sharp enough to slice it open, and the shell split, letting a trickle of clear, glistening green liquid slowly seep through the crack.

Guan Ning pressed his mouth to the opening and sucked. The crystal-clear liquid inside the Millennium Willow Heart flowed through his open mouth and into it. There was only about as much as a small wineglass could hold. Once it was in his mouth, Guan Ning swallowed it.

After Guan Ning swallowed the essence within the Millennium Willow Heart, it quickly spread throughout his body. Its energy surged, yet wasn't violently overwhelming. Instead, it was cool and gentle. A wave of indescribable comfort welled up from deep within him, and he couldn't help making a sound.

"Ah~~"

The sensation reached deep into his soul and bones. His whole body filled with the enormous energy of the essence, and every cell inside him trembled. His genes rapidly improved as useless genes were stripped away and everything was repeatedly reorganized to perfection, causing his cellular activity to soar.

The improvement of his cells transformed his entire body. Guan Ning could feel every inch of his skin, bones, and organs rapidly growing stronger. The process was powerful, but it caused no discomfort at all. It was gentle and as soothing as a massage.

As the process continued, Guan Ning's physical fitness rapidly improved as well. With energy surging through him, his cells were his foundation; as they strengthened, so did his physical fitness. His strength quickly rose, step by step, as he advanced toward the physical fitness of a peak War God.