To avoid being attacked continuously by Chi Wuyu, the first thing Li Qiang did after regaining consciousness was to teleport away from the place where he had fallen. He was unaware that Chi Wuyu had already left.
This last level was like a maze, and it was pitch black. With his sharp eyesight, Li Qiang could clearly see the surrounding environment. He couldn't help but marvel at the wonder of the Creator, that there was such a strange place, completely beyond his imagination.
Looking around, one sees a space naturally formed by countless giant trees, with one cavity inside another, seemingly endless. The ground and cave walls are made of rough, damp tree bark, but the bark is so huge that the original shape of the branches is no longer visible.
The air inside the cave was rather cold and damp, with a faint musty smell. Colorful wild fungi grew on the surface of the tree bark, in clusters and clumps, like epiphytes growing on the ground; this place was their complete domain.
Li Qiang had no time to look around. He found a relatively dry corner, sat cross-legged, and began to examine his body.
This fierce battle severely damaged his power. Relying on the power of the War Soul Saber, he managed to protect his body from injury, but his Golden Venerable Divine Heart was violently shaken. He knew that with his Divine Heart damaged, his power could not be quickly gathered, which was extremely dangerous.
After eating a Sacred Fruit Olive, Li Qiang immediately entered the Five-Pillar Heaven Realm and began cultivating.
The Sacred Fruit Olive truly lives up to its reputation as a divine fruit; its spiritual power surged forth like a tidal wave.
After reading the Beiye Heavenly Scripture, Li Qiang felt that eating Sacred Fruit Olive in this way was a complete waste of resources. If he could use the Beiye Pill Cauldron to refine a divine pill, its effects would certainly be much better than the divine fruit. However, he did not have the opportunity to refine pills at the moment, so he could only eat Sacred Fruit Olive to tide him over.
The Heaven-Pillaring Divine Armor on Li Qiang's body shimmered with a faint golden light, illuminating the pitch-black space around him. He formed a divine hand seal and devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivation.
Li Qiang cultivated extremely quickly. With the help of Sacred Fruit Olive, the beating of the Golden Venerable Divine Heart was soon regulated. At the same time, he also discovered that his power had become more refined, and strangely enough, his power seemed to show signs of breaking through the realm of the Heart of Slaughter.
He carefully began to conclude his practice, preoccupied with Hou Pijing's injuries. He dared not cultivate for too long, yet a question lingered in his mind: Did cultivating the Heavenly Recommendation Scripture for God Cultivation require external stimulation for greater progress?
A rustling sound came from not far away, as if something was approaching.
Li Qiang quietly finished his practice. Although he hadn't broken through to a higher level, he was still quite satisfied.
Soon, a dozen strange insects crawled over. The insects were very large, with round, plump white bodies as big as washbasins, and triangular mouths that looked like a pair of scissors.
Li Qiang had seen many monsters and was no longer bothered by them. He stood up. The strange insects were only there to eat the wild mushrooms on the ground and ignored Li Qiang.
Suddenly, a sharp wooden whistle rang out, and Li Qiang sensed that dozens of life forms were closing in. Their speed surprised him greatly. He quietly concealed the light of his Heaven-Pillaring Divine Armor and waited in the darkness.
A moment later, he realized that those who had gathered around him were the legendary natives living at the bottom of the Illusory Tree Planet —the so-called Tree People.
Li Qiang, hidden against the tree wall, watched with great interest; he wasn't in a hurry to leave.
The strange insects seemed to sense a threat; one by one, they stopped eating, quickly formed a circle, and tilted their mouths up at an angle.
The so-called tree people are exactly like humans, except that their bodies have evolved to be more robust. Each tree person has a glowing bracelet on their wrist that emits a bluish phosphorescent light that can clearly illuminate the surrounding environment.
Li Qiang observed them closely. Perhaps because they rarely saw sunlight, the tree people had extremely white skin, and almost all of them were naked, only wearing a brown thing to cover their crotches.
Their hair was all white, long and flowing down to their waists, and their eyes emitted a faint green light.
Li Qiang discovered that the tree people were all handsome, and did not seem like uncivilized natives at all.
The treants quickly surrounded them, each wielding a dark, spear-like weapon of unknown origin. Leading them was a beautiful young woman, bare-chested, holding a silver spike and emitting shrill screams as she directed the treants to attack.
Li Qiang discovered that these tree-men were incredibly fast; once they started moving, they were as swift as lightning, almost comparable to cultivators.
The treants swept over the heads of the monstrous insects, their weapons plunging down from above. In less than ten minutes, all the monstrous insects on the ground were killed.
The girl blew a wooden whistle, and the sound carried far. Soon, more tree people arrived, mostly old people and children, and they began to dismantle the strange insect.
Li Qiang suddenly realized that these tree people were like a nomadic tribe, constantly migrating in search of food, with hunters in front and their own tribes following closely behind.
An elderly woman sat in the center, surrounded by a group of naked children. She was muttering something, but Li Qiang couldn't understand a word she was saying.
She made a strange gesture, patted her forehead, sighed deeply, and then began to eat. After she was full, she muttered a few words, and then the other tree people swarmed forward to grab the food.
Li Qiang suddenly understood that this was a matriarchal society, where everything was decided by women. He knew he couldn't communicate with these tree-people and planned to leave immediately. Just then, the children surrounding the old woman each grabbed a piece of food and scattered quickly. A little boy of about five or six years old, holding a piece of white flesh from a strange insect, leaped towards Li Qiang's hiding place with incredible speed.
Immediately afterward, three or four little girls pounced on him and snatched the meat from his hands. Seeing the meat that was about to be eaten gone, the little boy angrily kicked the wall hard, hitting Li Qiang squarely in the leg.
Even when Li Qiang was invisible, the protective shield surrounding him was incredibly strong. When the shield was attacked, it immediately bounced back, and the little boy screamed and was sent flying backward.
Li Qiang was both amused and exasperated. He had no choice but to leap and grab the boy, otherwise the force of the counterattack could have killed him.
Suddenly a person appeared, startling the tree people who were scrambling for food.
The treant's first reaction was to attack.
The old woman who was in the lead screamed, and the tree people who had been hunting him immediately surrounded Li Qiang. Without saying a word, they raised their hands and thrust their black, sharp spears at him.
Li Qiang was startled to find that they didn't care about the child he was holding; a dense swarm of spears attacked at once.
With a thought, the golden light of the Supreme Radiance Shuttle suddenly shone brightly, and before the spears could even get close, they were shredded to pieces by the Supreme Radiance Shuttle.
The blinding light terrified the tree-men. With a single wooden whistle, they vanished like startled rabbits in the blink of an eye.
They attacked quickly, and they fled just as fast.
Li Qiang shook his head with a wry smile. He had originally planned to leave quietly, but he hadn't expected to disturb these strange tree-men. He put the little boy down and pointed in the direction the tree-men had fled, saying, "Little guy, you'd better hurry, or you'll miss your chance."
The little boy blinked his big eyes, staring intently at Li Qiang, muttering something under his breath, and remained standing there motionless.
Li Qiang squatted down and said kindly, "Go on, I'm leaving too."
But the little boy couldn't understand what Li Qiang was saying at all.
Li Qiang took a closer look at the little tree-man and found that the little guy was very cute. His thin body looked very energetic, his long hair was snow-white, his big eyes shone with a faint green light, he had a upturned nose, tightly closed lips, and his hands and feet were particularly large with sharp nails, like a living cartoon character.
Li Qiang knew he couldn't understand, and thought, "Maybe he's terrified." He turned and left, but his Divine Sense was still checking on the little tree-man behind him.
The little boy didn't hesitate at all and followed closely behind Li Qiang.
Li Qiang was greatly surprised. He turned around, squatted down, and said, "Go find your people, don't follow me anymore."
The little boy silently grabbed Li Qiang's arm, his expression puzzling Li Qiang. He realized the boy wanted to come with him. Recalling how his food had been stolen by his tribesmen earlier, Li Qiang understood.
Unable to communicate with him, Li Qiang spread his hands and said, "Kid... your... go back... right..." He gestured as he spoke, looking like a comical monkey, which made the little boy burst out laughing.
Although Li Qiang had no interest in tree people, he never bullied the weak, nor would he lose his temper with children. Helpless, he found a few very sweet spiritual fruits and handed them to the little boy. While the boy was taking the fruits, he suddenly teleported away.
However, he was still worried, so he quietly disappeared and returned to a short distance behind the boy.
The little tree-man stood there blankly, holding several spirit fruits, tears streaming down his face.
He slowly sat down on the ground, looking at the spot where Li Qiang had disappeared, tears streaming down his face.
Li Qiang softened; he couldn't bear to see others sad and in tears. After thinking it over, he realized he had many disciples and could entrust the boy to anyone he wanted. So he reappeared in front of the boy.
Li Qiang said with a wry smile, "Little guy, you win."
When the little tree man saw Li Qiang suddenly appear, he excitedly grabbed Li Qiang's leg and refused to let go.
Li Qiang used a combination of coaxing and cajoling, gesturing and humming, to finally get him to let go.
He crouched down, letting the little tree-man climb onto his back, thinking, "I was knocked down to the ground by the Luo Heaven High Immortal, and I even ended up kidnapping a tree-man child. What a mess!"
Going back would normally be easy, but now that he's carrying a little tree spirit, it's not so easy to get out. He doesn't know if the little tree spirit can tolerate his teleportation, and he's afraid that the little tree spirit won't be able to handle it after teleporting out.
Actually, Li Qiang was overthinking it. With his skills, he could easily lead anyone around.
After thinking for a moment, he released the Supreme Radiance Shuttle, which, with a thunderous roar, forcefully pierced through the ground.
As soon as it emerged from the ground, the little tree-man cried out in surprise, released its hands, and covered its eyes tightly.
Li Qiang's mind raced, and he immediately understood: the bright light outside was making it hard for the little tree spirit's eyes to bear. He quickly took out the Water of Lightness and Spirituality and used Law Technique to sprinkle it into the little tree spirit's eyes.
After a while, the little tree man opened his eyes. He looked around in surprise, babbling incoherently, but his tone sounded very excited.
With Hou Pijing on his mind, Li Qiang picked up the little tree man and flew quickly towards Divine Wood Gorge.
The little tree-man was so frightened that he clung tightly to Li Qiang's neck; he had never seen a person who could fly before.
The two quickly flew to the sky above Divine Wood Gorge. Li Qiang looked at the battered Illusory Tree Planet in surprise, only then realizing how destructive his battle with Chi Wuyu had been.
He sighed and flew quickly toward the direction of the Azure Wood Sect. On the way, he met Gan Ling'er, Gan Lingqi, and Gan Muyu. The three of them had not found Li Qiang below, so they ran up to search for him.
Gan Ling'er was overjoyed and cried out, "Big brother, are you... are you alright?"
Li Qiang hurriedly asked, "How is my brother? Is he badly injured? Where is Chi Wuyu?" As he spoke, he gathered the three of them with the golden light of the Supreme Radiance Shuttle and flew them towards the Azure Wood Sect.
Before Gan Ling'er could speak, Gan Lingqi exclaimed, "Hey, that's a little tree person from the Swift Tribe!" Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to it.
Gan Muyu examined them closely and exclaimed, "My God, these are the most handsome of all the tree people! On Illusory Tree Planet, tree people like these can be traded for a lot of Divine Wood Liquid, or..."
Li Qiang turned his head and said coldly, "This child is a person, not an object." Gan Muyu immediately fell silent.
Gan Ling'er knew this as early as when Li Qiang rescued Li Qiang from Goulan Planet. Li Qiang was different from most cultivators. He had many strange ideas and practices, such as asking her to call him "Big Brother" and taking her into the Spirit Ghost Realm. It seemed like there was nothing he couldn't do. Even when fighting against Luo Heaven High Immortal, he didn't lose his prestige. It was really hard to guess what kind of person he was.
Gan Lingqi hurriedly explained, "Senior, Mu Yu doesn't know how to speak properly and has angered you. I apologize on Mu Yu's behalf."
Li Qiang knew his tone was harsh, so he said, "Forget it, there's no need for apologies. I just like this kid. I hate treating people like objects, even if he's an uncivilized native."
Gan Muyu felt wronged; he was only telling the truth. He couldn't help but say, "Uncle-Master, please don't be angry. This is our custom here. However, our Azure Wood Sect has never captured a tree spirit..."
Gan Muyu began explaining the local customs.
The Tree People are native to the Illusory Tree Planet. They are divided into many groups, including the Lettuce Tree People who live in tree caves. They are huge, ugly, and feed on tree insects.
There are also the Shell Tree People specialize in picking wild mushrooms for food, Floating Tree People have wings and can glide.
The most powerful are the Swift Tree People. They are hunters at the bottom of the Illusory Tree Planet and are sought-after treasures by the cultivators here. Once tamed, the Swift Tree People are the best servants and attendants, especially the handsome young men and women of the Swift Tribe, who are priceless.
Gan Lingqi noticed the little tree spirit constantly looking around and couldn't help but wonder, "This little tree spirit is strange. It can actually adapt to the light here. It's so strange." He didn't know that Li Qiang had washed the little tree spirit's eyes with the Water of Lightness and Spirituality.
If you capture Swift Tree People here, you usually use Law Technique to cover its eyes, and it takes a long time of training for it to gradually adapt to life on the surface of the Illusory Tree Planet.
For a Swift Tree People to live on the surface of Illusory Tree Planet, they must undergo rigorous training, and there are cultivators here who specialize in training treemen.
Gan Ling'er knew Li Qiang Divine Ability resourceful, so he said, "Junior Brother, don't be surprised. Your elder brother has all the solutions."
As they spoke, the group had already flown above the Azure Wood Sect.
Gan Muyu said, "Senior Uncle, what's next... Let's go down."
Li Qiang nodded, Supreme Radiance Shuttle, carrying everyone, landed on the platform in a flash.
Li Qiang put down the little tree figure and said, "Brother, which room are you in? Take me there quickly."
Gan Ling'er said, "Follow me." He rushed towards a wooden hole in the rock wall.
Just as Li Qiang was about to take a step, he suddenly realized that the little tree man was clinging to his leg again. Helpless, he had no choice but to pick up the little guy and gracefully follow Gan Ling'er.
Hou Pijing was soaking in a pit, a rectangular pit dug down from the floor of the room. Since the entire room was made of wood, the pit was essentially a wooden basin, filled with swirling mist. Two disciples were using Samadhi True Fire to heat the water in the pit.
Hou Pijing lay pale in the water, his head resting against the edge of the pit, one large foot propped up on the edge, occasionally twitching. He was resting with his eyes closed.
The water in the pit was diluted with the Divine Wood Liquid, and the air was filled with a rich, refreshing fragrance that made people feel invigorated and very comfortable.
Li Qiang couldn't help but laugh when he saw him. Judging from his brother's appearance, the injury didn't seem serious and there shouldn't be any major problems. He squatted down and said with a grin, "Brother, how long has it been since you took a shower?"
Hou Pijing, with his eyes closed, lazily said, "Since Spirit Severing Realm, I haven't bathed at all. With a cultivator's self-purification ability, there's no need for bathing. I've long forgotten what bathing feels like... Ah... I never expected... soaking in hot water is so enjoyable, I don't even want to move." With that, he sank down, immersing himself completely in the water. After a while, he resurfaced, sighing, "Brother, I'm in big trouble this time."
Li Qiang was slightly taken aback, then stepped forward and probed with his Divine Sense. They were brothers, so this was normal; doing so to an ordinary cultivator would be extremely impolite.
Hou Pijing relaxed his body for Li Qiang to examine, and said, "I've really gone too far this time, haha, I even dared to go up against Luo Heaven High Immortal... Brother, am I arrogant enough?"
The two disciples who were squatting by the pit stopped and stood up. They continued to use Samadhi True Fire to melt the Divine Wood Liquid, which was also very hard work.
Li Qiang's Divine Sense circled around Hou Pijing's body for a moment, then he withdrew Divine Sense, slowly sat down, and pondered deeply. He knew his older brother was in big trouble.
After entering the Mahayana Realm, the Nascent Soul and the physical body are basically merged into one. However, Hou Pijing's Purple Mansion has faintly shown signs of Nascent Soul nascent soul again. Although there is no danger to his life, this is a sign of a great decline in his cultivation power, which cannot be restored by the elixirs of the Cultivation Realm.
Li Qiang considered giving him the Sacred Fruit Olive, but then thought it over and realized it wasn't right. Now that he was injured and his power had declined, he definitely wouldn't be able to withstand the Sacred Fruit Olive's domineering spiritual power.
Li Qiang began to recall the records of the Beiye Heavenly Scripture, and he recalled them for more than an hour.
No one spoke inside; everyone waited quietly. Two disciples from the Azure Wood Sect heated the water in the pit again.
Li Qiang was anxious. He was now unable to save Hou Pijing. Even if he asked Return to Origin Divine Pill for Qian Shanyong, it would be useless. The only solution was to refine the Guiyuan Divine Pill, which was one of the most difficult-to-cultivate divine pills, the Seven Assemblies Pill, as recorded in the Beiye Heavenly Scripture. However, to refine the divine pill, he had to return to Sealed Fate Planet and rely on Mei Youbing's help. He was not confident in his ability to cultivate the Seven Assemblies Pill, and the available spirit medicine were limited and could not be wasted.
Hou Pijing laughed and said, "Brother, don't look so gloomy. It's not a big deal if I can't become an immortal. If all else fails, I'll just dissolve my Liberation by Violence a Loose Immortal. Haha, that way I can still make a living in this realm. Brother, don't worry."
Li Qiang looked up and said, "Brother, when have you ever let me down? However, I'm going to have to suffer a bit. Before I refine the Return to Origin Divine Pill, brother..."
Although Hou Pijing was very open-minded and took his fate in stride, he was still very happy to hear that Li Qiang had a way to cure him. He laughed and said, "I've been cultivating for so many years, what hardship am I afraid of? Brother, I'll do whatever you say."
Li Qiang said no more. Following the instructions in the Beiye Heavenly Scripture, he continuously performed a strange Method Formula seal. With each change of movement, a beam of colorful light shot into Hou Pijing's body, a total of eighteen beams of colorful light shooting in.
Hou Pijing realized that his internal energy had been completely sealed by Li Qiang. He said in surprise, "Brother, how did you do that? Even though I'm injured now, no one can seal my internal energy. You... you really are... I'm impressed."
The Beiye Heavenly Scripture truly lives up to its reputation as the Primordial Hermit's treasure trove, containing precious alchemy methods and strange, magical restriction techniques. The method Li Qiang used to restrict Hou Pijing is one of them; it puts a highly skilled cultivator into a state of nurturing. Hou Pijing is now completely unable to cultivate and is no different from an ordinary person.
Hou Pijing stood up from the pit, examined himself briefly, clapped his hands, and said, "Well, now I can't even fly anymore, haha, I guess I'll have to be a mortal again. Brother, from now on you're my bodyguard and thug. Anyone who messes with me... you'll beat them up, haha."
Li Qiang had actually forced himself to unleash the restriction, fearing he might accidentally injure Hou Pijing. Only after succeeding did he breathe a sigh of relief and laugh, "Who would dare to offend you, old man? Brother, now you have no restrictions except for not being able to cultivate. Once I refine the Return to Origin Divine Pill, I should be able to restore your Mahayana Realm cultivation."
The disciples of Gan Ling'er Sect brought clean clothes for Hou Pijing to change into, and Li Qiang instructed them to bring plenty of food for the little tree spirit. He beckoned to the two disciples who had just heated the wooden pit, took out two small Law Treasure and a stack of jade talismans he had cultivated with back in Linming Planet, and said with a smile, "My two young brothers have worked hard. These are two Jade Mist Pendant cultivated using the Condensation Refining Method. Make them into necklaces and wear them around your necks for protection. One for each of you. The rest of the jade talismans are for your fellow disciples."
Hou Pijing laughed, "Brother, I don't understand where you got so many Law Treasure. We cultivators of the Primordial Beginning Sect rarely have any Law Treasure other than a flying sword. By the way, I'm not good at anything right now, so get me a longsword. I used to be a master of martial arts, invincible throughout the Heavenly Court Star. Heh... having a sword to show off wouldn't be bad."
Li Qiang smiled slightly. His brother wanting a sword was far too easy for him. He nodded and said, "Alright, I'll forge the sword right away."
The disciples of the Azure Wood Sect were all excited; the opportunity to watch a master forge a sword was simply too rare.
The news spread quickly, and almost all the disciples of the Azure Wood Sect crowded into the room. Gan Lingqi had to direct his disciples to sit against the wall, as he was also eager to see how Li Qiang forged his sword.
The little tree-man had finished eating, his big, bright green eyes blinking as he stared intently at Li Qiang, wondering why so many people had come in. He quietly climbed behind Li Qiang and grabbed Li Qiang collar, as if afraid he would suddenly disappear.
Li Qiang turned to look at the little tree man, gently stroking his white hair. The little tree man immediately felt much more at ease, and a smile appeared on his face.
Li Qiang took out a ball of Heavenly Gold Sand, and then prepared the other materials. A ball of purple Heavenly Fire lit up between his hands.
The disciples of the Azure Wood Sect suddenly felt the temperature in the room rise rapidly. The little tree spirit couldn't stand it and screamed. Li Qiang's heart stirred slightly, and he immediately controlled the Heavenly Fire to prevent the high temperature from spreading. With his current strength, he could control everything with a thought.
Soon, a longsword took shape between his hands.
Li Qiang suddenly said, "Lingqi, we have guests visiting."
Gan Lingqi stood up in surprise, not expecting that Li Qiang could still be distracted and check the outside while he was forging his sword.
He bowed and said, "Senior, I'll go take a look."