Wu Jinliang immediately took out his Heaven-and-Earth Bag, intending to rummage through it for A-Xun's belongings.
Knowing what he was about to do, Shi Chun reached out to stop him, then pointed at a nearby pavilion. "What's the rush? We could easily be spotted here. It's inconvenient. Finding one while we're still on the way up means there might be plenty of these trees. Let's go farther up and look."
Wu Jinliang thought that made sense. They were still on the way up the mountain and had found one before their search had even properly begun. With things going so smoothly, there had to be more than just this one.
The two immediately continued creeping up the mountain. As Shi Chun had anticipated, they kept finding more along the way, though none of the Soul-Returning Trees they saw seemed particularly large.
The more they saw, the more numerous the trees became. Some even formed small groves, and gradually the sight ceased to seem unusual.
Their movements up the mountain, however, grew increasingly cautious, making them look rather furtive.
They had no choice. The closer they got to the Divine Palace at the summit, the tighter the security became.
Eventually, seeing that the situation looked unfavorable, Shi Chun took the initiative to lead Wu Jinliang back down a little. They retreated to a secluded spot with several Soul-Returning Trees, then stopped to rest and hide.
When Shi Chun made no further move, Wu Jinliang asked quietly in confusion, "Why are we sitting here halfway up?"
Shi Chun looked up at the sky. "Let's wait and see whether the rich fragrance at midnight has anything to do with that golden meteor shower."
"Oh." Wu Jinliang understood and left him to it. He wanted to try something else himself, so he took out