Seeing the two items that had fallen out, Xu Changqing first froze, then curiously picked them up.
The first was already an old acquaintance.
A small fragment of the Tree of Life from Death.
As for the second, the moment Xu Changqing touched it, he immediately felt a stabbing pain.
If he had not raised the Profound Wood Golden-Bodied Art to max level, he might even have been injured.
Whenever someone or something touched it, this round bone sphere continuously released razor-sharp sword intent, instinctively protecting its master.
As expected, this was a Natal Sword Pellet refined from the occipital bone at the back of the skull.
And it could grow.
It could advance from a spirit artifact to a dharma artifact, perhaps even higher.
Xu Changqing took it in, deep in thought, then leaped up and instantly returned to the surface.
Immediately afterward, he manipulated the surrounding Earth Qi, sealing the separated soil back together until it looked exactly as it had before. Only then did he turn his attention back to the poplar tree.
Sure enough, now that the dried corpse below was no longer stealing its spiritual energy, the poplar tree, which had looked sickly, pitiful, weak, and helpless before, was brimming with vitality again.
The branches and leaves that had shrunk back earlier stretched outward once more.
Perhaps sensing Xu Changqing's gaze, the entire poplar tree trembled faintly. Whether it was excited or grateful, he could not tell.
Or perhaps it was both.
In any case, the poplar tree radiated absolute goodwill and closeness toward Xu Changqing.
That surprised him slightly.
When he had first moved here, he had been rather "enthusiastic" toward this tree.
Every spell he learned had been used on it.
Who would have thought he would force it from an ordinary poplar