Wood Spirit Crystal

"Yunhe, the animals at the breeding farm have been rioting frequently lately. I think there may be another reason behind it."

Although the RR Virus had made breeding exceptionally difficult, things could still barely be kept under control as long as no king-level mutant appeared in the breeding area, or no animal grew to the "Monster" level.

At such a critical moment, Old Zhou had no intention of beating around the bush. He lowered his voice and said, "I suspect it has something to do with that Phoenix Tree in the factory."

"I've observed the animals that went berserk lately. They all seemed to be facing that Phoenix Tree, as if they were craving something."

Following Old Zhou's gaze, Lu Yunhe saw the Phoenix Tree. It was so thick that two people would need to wrap their arms around it, and several dozen meters tall. Its emerald leaves shimmered under the sunlight.

"Yunhe, they say this Phoenix Tree was already several hundred years old before the Great Cataclysm. Do you think it might have mutated too?"

Old Zhou spoke worriedly. Although several years had passed since the Great Cataclysm and there had been no examples of plants mutating, with most plants merely growing better than before without any other changes, who could say for sure in this world?

"Phoenix Tree, tree..."

Lu Yunhe stared at the towering tree as certain thoughts flashed through his mind. He immediately said, "Don't worry, Old Zhou. I'll arrange for someone to deal with it right away."

I hope I'm right...

Lu Yunhe borrowed several chainsaws and electric saws from other factories. After handing them out, he led several people in cutting down the strange Phoenix Tree.

The moment they began, everyone immediately felt an immense resistance, completely unlike any tree they had cut down before.

Sensing that something was off, none of them dared say anything. They merely quickened their movements in silence.

If ammunition had not been so precious, Lu Yunhe would even have wanted to borrow a bomb from the military to deal with it directly.

The sun slowly shifted across the sky. After working for most of the day, they finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

"One, two, three... push..."

After deep cuts were sawed into both sides of the roots, the towering Phoenix Tree became unstable.

Then everyone joined forces and pushed in one direction. Like the last straw that broke the camel's back, the entire towering Phoenix Tree crashed down.

As the Phoenix Tree fell, everyone hurriedly scattered to avoid being hit.

Creak... boom...

Looking at the completely fallen Phoenix Tree, Lu Yunhe immediately headed toward its roots. A faint glimmer instantly caught his eye.

Without hesitation, Lu Yunhe strode over to the object reflecting the light.

A thumb-sized emerald crystal, somewhat resembling amber, lay quietly amid the dust. Wisps of mist drifted within it.

"This is it!"

Lu Yunhe excitedly picked up the crystal and tucked it into his clothes, unable to stop himself from taking a deep breath.

Cough, cough, cough...

The thick dust was immediately sucked into his throat, and Lu Yunhe began coughing violently.

"It's dealt with. Nothing else is wrong!"

Without changing expression, Lu Yunhe called out to everyone and dismissed them. After giving Old Zhou a few instructions, he hurried home.

When he returned home, his younger brother Lu Mingyuan had already come back from school and was cooking.

Although they had entered the apocalypse, they still had to study. Even if the world ended, they could not escape school.

Whether humanity could completely win this war between humans and Monsters and reclaim its position as Earth's dominant species remained open to debate.

But there was broad agreement on whether humanity would go extinct. It would not; some humans would still survive in this world.

As a result, the inheritance of human civilization had become important as well.

Take Lu Yunhe's younger brother, Lu Mingyuan. He was only fourteen years old, unsuitable for anything else. The demands of the modern battlefield were still quite high, so he could only be sent to school.

Meanwhile, Lu Yunhe's father, Lu Hong, and mother, Chen Ya, were still working overtime in the factory to produce weapons and ammunition.

"Xiaoming, eat with Mom and Dad later. Don't call me."

Lu Yunhe took some food from the table, returned to his room, locked the door, and took out the green crystal hidden in his clothes to examine it carefully.

"A Wood Spirit?"

Lu Yunhe thought of the Wood Spirits from the original novel, but judging by that Phoenix Tree's performance, it was far inferior to the thousand-year-old willow trees on Mist Island.

"It was probably cut down too early. If that Phoenix Tree had been allowed to grow for a while longer, it might really have condensed a Wood Spirit. As it is now, it should only be called a Wood Spirit Crystal."

Lu Yunhe did not mind this. If it had truly condensed a Wood Spirit, that Phoenix Tree would have been far beyond his ability to handle, let alone leave him with any benefits in the end.

"I remember that in the original novel, Wood Spirits were consumed directly after breaking open the shell."

Lu Yunhe tried hard to recall how Wood Spirits had been consumed in the original novel. This should be about the same.

No longer thinking about anything else, Lu Yunhe grabbed a dagger beside him and forcefully slashed open the Wood Spirit Crystal before him.

The newly formed Wood Spirit Crystal was extremely tough, but its outer layer was ultimately cut open.

Essence liquid slowly flowed from the crack in the crystal. Lu Yunhe hurriedly stuffed it into his mouth and clamped down on it with his teeth.

He did not possess Luo Feng's Mental Power, which could hold the liquid inside in place. He could only put it in his mouth so as not to waste even a trace of energy.

Gulp...

The life-filled green liquid flowed into his mouth and then down into his stomach. A cool, comfortable sensation instantly spread throughout his body, making even his soul tremble.

So comfortable!

A sensation of floating in bliss filled his entire soul. At the same time, Lu Yunhe discovered that his whole body was trembling, as though he were being massaged.

Within Lu Yunhe's body, the essence of the Wood Spirit Crystal—its boundless vitality—instantly fused into every part of him. His flesh, blood, cells, and even the deepest genes in his body were transforming, while his physical fitness soared wildly.

Suddenly, inspiration struck Lu Yunhe. He immediately assumed the Five Hearts Towards Heaven posture and began circulating the Gene Energy Cultivation Method.

The five hearts were the soles of both feet, the palms of both hands, and the Baihui acupoint at the crown of the head.

During the early days of the Grand Nirvana, someone had directly released the "Five Hearts Towards Heaven Cultivation Method" online. It was the only method on Earth for cultivating Gene Energy.

However, if one's physical fitness had not reached the human limit—that was, the level of a Quasi-Warrior—absorbing Cosmic Primal Energy would cause Gene Collapse and death.

After discovering this consequence, the government immediately blocked the Five Hearts Towards Heaven Method online.

As a transmigrator, Lu Yunhe had naturally memorized this cultivation method at the First time, but due to his cautious nature, he had not dared to practice it rashly and thus escaped disaster.

Now, with the aid of the Wood Spirit Crystal, Lu Yunhe's physical fitness had finally met the standard, allowing him to cultivate this Gene Energy method.

The first step of the Five Hearts Towards Heaven Cultivation Method was sensing. As long as one could sense Cosmic Primal Energy, one could consciously absorb it. It was remarkably dependent on one's state of mind.

Under normal circumstances, geniuses could master it in a day, while those with weaker talent taking half a year or even a year was perfectly normal.

Clearly, Lu Yunhe's talent was not especially high. However, with the energy of the Wood Spirit Crystal, his body had already undergone a Warrior's transformation. His body had moved ahead of his consciousness.

There was no need for tedious meditation. He only needed to follow the changes in his body, and with the energy released by the Wood Spirit Crystal within him, his consciousness naturally sensed the Cosmic Primal Energy outside.

"Absorb!"

Lu Yunhe focused his consciousness on the "five hearts," projecting the intent to absorb Cosmic Primal Energy. In an instant, his body's absorption rate for external energy increased by more than a hundredfold.

The influx of external Cosmic Primal Energy and the release of the Wood Spirit Crystal's internal energy tempered Lu Yunhe's body from within and without.

"Ding..."

This is a fanfiction primarily based on Swallowed Star. I hope everyone will support it.