Divine Ability Tree

Inside the cave, the strange fragrance gradually dissipated.

Looking at the Wolf-Poison Flower that had fully bloomed, Jiang Chen slowly stepped forward. At that moment, as if sensing his approach, vines swept toward him.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen's blood and qi surged forth, and he casually destroyed the vines.

"The Wolf-Poison Flower is rather special by nature. According to the Ferocious Wolf Clan's experience, it is best preserved in a wooden box to keep its medicinal properties from fading."

With a thought, Jiang Chen took out the wooden box he had prepared long ago, plucked the Wolf-Poison Flower, and placed it inside.

As the Wolf-Poison Flower was plucked by Jiang Chen, the Wolf-Poison Vine, which had been baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, immediately withered considerably.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen formed a hand seal, communed with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and activated a secret art. This secret art had been left behind by a Wolf King of the Ferocious Wolf Clan who had once reached the Qi Refining realm, specifically to facilitate the transfer of Wolf-Poison Vines.

"Fall!"

Spiritual energy gathered at his fingertips as Jiang Chen pointed at the roots of the Wolf-Poison Vine.

The next instant, the Wolf-Poison Vine seemed to have fallen asleep, completely losing its vitality. Its leaves withered, its vines dried up, and in the end, only a ground full of dead branches and fallen leaves remained.

"Life truly is strange."

Taking in all these changes, Jiang Chen ended the secret art and could not help letting out a sigh.

He knew that the Wolf-Poison Vine had not actually died. This was merely the outward manifestation of its entering dormancy. Whenever it encountered mortal danger, the Wolf-Poison Vine would respond this way, drawing all its life force inward to avoid any unnecessary expenditure and preserve its vitality as much as possible, thereby surviving the calamity.

At this moment, having received Jiang Chen's order, Rat Prodigy immediately ran forward and dug a crimson stone out of the corpse pit. It was the size of a fist, jade-like in texture, with dense vitality settled within it. It was the root stem—or rather, the seed—of the Wolf-Poison Vine.

"Transplanting spirit plants is no simple matter. Some spirit plants may wither and die if transplanted rashly. Comparatively speaking, this Wolf-Poison Vine is rather easy to handle."

Taking the Wolf-Poison Vine's seed from Rat Prodigy and examining it, Jiang Chen tucked it into his sleeve.

"Let's go."

Sweeping his gaze around and confirming that nothing had been left behind, Jiang Chen turned and departed.

Goat Horn Mountain lay deep within dense forest, seldom visited by people. It was unsuitable for human habitation, nor was it a place to linger long.

Not long afterward, under Rat Prodigy's command, the rat swarm began heading back with their spoils of war: one Ferocious Horned Wolf and more than twenty wolf cubs.

Three days passed like this before Jiang Chen finally returned safely to Golden Sand Valley.

"Finally back."

Returning to his own small courtyard, Jiang Chen let out a light breath. Though he had grown accustomed to a life of eating in the wind and sleeping in the dew out in the wilderness, if he had a choice, he still preferred a more peaceful life.

After returning to Golden Sand Valley, the first thing Jiang Chen did was bathe and burn incense, then sort through his gains.

"Tracking Art, Gale Art, Lesser Wind Blade Art—these are the three inherited talisman arts of the Ferocious Wolf Clan. Beyond that, the Wolf King's memories also contained a Wind Riding Art. It is not a talisman art, but a genuine spell."

"Once this spell is mastered, a living being can command demonic winds, whether to attack or defend. It can be considered a highly versatile spell. The so-called Gale Art and Lesser Wind Blade Art were actually both derived from this spell."

With a stroke that carried spirit, Jiang Chen recorded each art and spell. These were all foundations.

Of course, Jiang Chen also understood that while the Wind Riding Art appeared versatile, neither its offensive nor defensive power was particularly outstanding. Among spells, it could only be called middling. Even so, it still had value, especially since it formed a system together with the Gale Art and Lesser Wind Blade Art.

The more profound a divine ability or spell was, the more difficult it was to cultivate. Often, comprehending a single divine ability would exhaust a cultivator's entire lifetime. To solve this problem, cultivators continuously broke down profound spells, deriving smaller arts one after another and forming a divine ability tree.

This allowed cultivators to proceed step by step, from simple to complex, advancing until they mastered a divine ability. This was inheritance, and precisely because of this, in the cultivation world, a systematic inheritance of arts was often far more precious than a single spell alone.

"This time, the gains are quite considerable. Even if I do not cultivate this Wind Riding Art myself, I can trade it away."

Setting down the final stroke and looking at the manual before him, Jiang Chen nodded in satisfaction.

Yet just as Jiang Chen was immersed in his own gains, Ironman Tu, who was on Wooden Fish Island, received a special guest. A middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in brocade robes and round in figure, with the air of a wealthy man, quietly ascended Wooden Fish Summit.

"Island Master, Third Master asked me to deliver this letter to you."

Bowing respectfully, the middle-aged man presented a letter to Ironman Tu.

Hearing this, Ironman Tu raised his head and glanced at the man. He was not unfamiliar with him. The man was Fu Quan, the chief steward of the Gao Family's third branch and a confidant of Third Master.

A silent stillness fell, and the atmosphere became somewhat oppressive. Though Fu Quan looked down on Ironman Tu, a collateral branch of a collateral branch of the Gao Family, he did not dare reveal it in the slightest. After all, the man before him was a true fiend.

Just as unease rose in Fu Quan's heart, Ironman Tu finally accepted the letter.

"The An Family was wiped out?"

After reading the contents of the letter, ripples immediately rose across the previously tranquil lake of Ironman Tu's heart.

Hearing this, Fu Quan bowed and answered in the affirmative.

"That is indeed the case. The An Family's only Qi Refining cultivator, the An Family Old Ancestor, entered the Five Immortal Mountains to gather spirit herbs. He encountered unrest in the Five Immortal Mountains and unfortunately perished there. As soon as the news spread, enemies immediately came calling and slaughtered the entire An Family."

"However, the facts show that the An Family had prepared in advance. The true foundations of their family had already been transferred away beforehand. Although the An Family's experts were almost entirely exterminated in the subsequent manhunt, those assets have not yet truly been found."

"Additionally, according to our investigation, the An Family appears to have made arrangements in Joy Mountain Commandery. Those remnants will most likely choose to flee there, and traveling by water is the best way to reach Joy Mountain Commandery."

With his body bent, Fu Quan recounted everything he knew.

Clear Source Commandery governed three counties: Clear Spring, Clear Creek, and Clear River Counties. However, unlike Qinghe County, which was a lower county, both Clear Spring and Clear Creek were upper counties. Not only were they populous, but they also possessed their own spirit resources, so cultivators had taken root there.

The An Family was one of the great families of Qingxi County. They possessed a ranked spirit spring and had used it to establish a hundred mu of spirit fields. After several generations of management, their assets were exceptionally abundant.

"Is that so..."

Receiving Fu Quan's confirmation, Ironman Tu sank into thought, tapping the tabletop again and again.

Seeing Ironman Tu like this, Fu Quan did not dare disturb him.

Time thus slipped by soundlessly. After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Ironman Tu finally gathered his thoughts.

"Go back and tell Third Master that I will certainly handle what he has instructed. I will immediately have men strengthen patrols along the waterways and search for the An Family remnants."

His expression solemn, Ironman Tu gave his answer.

Hearing this, Fu Quan said nothing further and left Wooden Fish Island directly. He still had to return and report. The An Family's assets were considerable, and seeing an opportunity, Third Master had become interested.