Immortal Wood Reborn: Old Huai Opens His Eyes

At the edge of the Blue Silver Grass Field outside Holy Soul Village, Nan Feng sat down on the ridge. The damp soil on the ridge clung to the soles of his shoes.

The sound of children reading aloud drifted through the village, intermittent and mingled with the sweet fragrance of Blue Silver Grass carried on the morning breeze. Tang San was teaching them a new chapter of the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

Nan Feng sat cross-legged, holding the pagoda in front of his chest. The nine-story bronze pagoda turned in the morning light, its azure-gold Immortal Mark shimmering with golden light, and the Nine Heavens Treasure Pearl at the top emitted a tri-colored celestial glow.

He closed his eyes. The tower rose from his palm and stopped three inches in front of his chest.

The immortal consciousness sank into the Tower Spirit Space.

The Tower Spirit Space is different from before. The Space-Time Power of the fifth layer is fully released, expanding the space to a radius of 100 zhang, and the flow of time stops at ten to one.

The Ancient Tree of Life in the center has grown to a height of three zhang (approximately 10 meters). The life patterns on its trunk resonate with the lapis lazuli immortal Immortal Mark on the tower. Its canopy covers most of the sky in the space.

Beneath the ancient tree blooms a Nine Heart Begonia, its petals glistening with the Three Lights Divine Water.

Nan Feng's gaze passed over the ancient tree, over the crabapple tree, and landed on the withered piece of wood in the corner.

That was the immortal tree of the Old Huai locust tree. The first time he saw the Old Huai, that blurry human face emerged from this withered tree. Later, the Old Huai's remnant soul dissipated, leaving behind a seed. Nan Feng planted the seed in the center of the Tower Spirit Space and Three Lights Divine Water. After the nine trials at Jialing Pass were completed, the seed sprouted and grew into a sapling.

The sapling is now gone.

The Nan Feng walked to the dead tree. The dead tree was still there. Next to the dead tree, a large tree had appeared.

The tree was five zhang tall. Its trunk was so thick that three people couldn't wrap their arms around it. Its canopy covered the other half of the sky in the Tower Spirit Space, standing on the left and right sides of the Ancient Tree of Life, filling the entire space.

The azure-gold Immortal Mark on the tree trunk are of the same origin as those on the tower. There are vertical cracks on the bark, from which azure-gold light shines. Every leaf has a warm, lustrous sheen.

Nan Feng gathered the tower into his palm. He sensed the roots of the great tree penetrating the bottom of the Tower Spirit Space, intertwining with the roots of the Ancient Tree of Life. The canopies of the two trees wove together into a cyan-gold dome in the sky.

He looked up at the tree canopy. Deep within the tree's heart, a consciousness slumbered.

That consciousness was very faint. So faint that it couldn't be detected unless one's divine sense filled the entire Tower Spirit Space.

Nan Feng was familiar with this consciousness.

From the night I awakened my Martial Soul at the age of six, when I heard that blurry face speak in the tower, from the words "I've waited for you for three lifetimes," this consciousness has always been there.

"Old Huai," said Nan Feng.

The tree canopy fell silent for a moment.

The entire tree trembled. The lapis Immortal Mark on the trunk lit up from the roots to the crown, like blood flowing in veins. The branches in the center of the crown parted, and a face emerged from the trunk.

It was a real face. It had wrinkles, eyebrows, and a beard. It was no longer the blurry outline of a remnant soul.

His wrinkles were deep, as if carved by a knife. His eyebrows were long and messy, like two unkempt old brooms. A tangled beard draped over his chin, with a bluish-gold leaf clinging to the tip.

Old Huai opened his eyes.

He blinked. Then he blinked again.

He looked down at his hands. Two hands protruding from the tree trunk, with fingers, nails, and calluses. He moved his fingers and then his arms, and the tree trunk swayed with his movements. The leaves on the canopy swayed, and two fell down.

"You little rascal," Old Huai said.

The voice was still the same, rough, hoarse, impatient, and with the grumpiness of someone who had just been woken up. But it was much clearer than before. It was no longer a blurry tone squeezed out from a remnant soul; it was a real sound coming from the throat. The hollow inside the tree amplified the sound.

How long have I been asleep?

Nan Feng stared at the face. An old face emerging from the tree trunk, its wrinkles still bearing the lines of tree bark. He remained silent for a moment.

"More than ten years."

Old Huai stopped. He looked down at his hand, then looked up at Nan Feng, his eyes wide open beneath his long eyebrows.

"More than ten years?" His voice rose a beat. "You just let me sleep in this broken tree for more than ten years?"

"It's not a broken tree," said Nan Feng, "It grew from the seed you left behind."

The Old Huai looked down at the large tree it stood on. Its trunk was thick and strong, its canopy was so large that it blocked out the sky, and its Immortal Mark were as dense as blood vessels from root to tip. He reached out and patted the trunk.

The tree trunk emitted a dull, resonant echo.

"This tree..." Old Huai's voice changed, becoming uncertain, "Did this tree grow from that seed?"

The Nan Feng nodded.

Old Huai was silent. He withdrew his hand from the trunk and stroked his beard. When he touched the leaf at the tip of the beard, he paused for a moment, then picked the leaf off and looked at it in his palm.

The Immortal Mark on the leaves were exactly the same as the lines on his palm.

"The flow of time in the Tower Spirit Space," Old Huai said, his impatient tone returning, "After you fully unleashed your fifth layer of Space-Time Power, the flow rate was ten to one. I've been here for over ten years, while only a little over a year has passed outside?"

"Um."

The Old Huai snorted. He casually tossed the leaf aside. The leaf swirled up in the canopy, then fell back down, landing on his shoulder. He couldn't be bothered with it anymore.

He braced his hands on the edge of the tree trunk, leaned half his body out from the heart of the tree, and looked Nan Feng up and down.

What kind of power is this within you?

The Nan Feng lifted the tower to its chest. The nine-story bronze tower rotated, its azure-gold Immortal Mark shimmering with golden light, Nine Heavens Treasure Pearl at the top emitted a tri-colored immortal radiance. The Ancient Tree of Life and the immortal tree simultaneously lit up in the tower's immortal light, their azure-gold Immortal Mark intertwining on the dome.

"Primordial World Immortal Power," Nan Feng said, "I have cultivated the Immortal Dao."

Old Huai raised an eyebrow. The two messy brooms almost reached his hairline. He stared at Nan Feng for three breaths, then looked down at the Immortal Mark on his tree trunk, and then looked up at the immortal light inside the tower.

"The Immortal Dao?" There was an indescribable quality in the Old Huai's voice. "You cultivate the Immortal Dao of immortality?"

"Um."

Old Huai pulled his hands back from the edge of the trunk and sat cross-legged in the heart of the tree. The heart of the tree was filled with his presence, and the lapis Immortal Mark flowed around him, like a natural futon.

He looked down at his hands. There were Immortal Mark on his palms, calluses on the backs of his hands, and large knuckles. There was an old scar on the web between his thumb and forefinger, a burn from when he was blacksmithing in the Blacksmith Village.

"It took more than ten years to Foundation Establishment," the Old Huai said.

Nan Feng did not respond.

"Useless," Old Huai said.

Nan Feng still didn't respond.

Old Huai cursed. His voice wasn't loud, but every word carried his unique accent.

After he finished scolding him, he was silent for a while. Then he laughed.

The smile unfolded from his wrinkled face, like a flower blooming on the bark of an old tree. Ugly, but true.

"However..." Old Huai stroked his beard. The lapis lazuli leaf in his palm was still there, with the Immortal Mark flowing through its veins.

"You cultivate the Immortal Dao of immortality."

He looked up at Nan Feng. His eyes, beneath his long eyebrows, reflected the azure -Golden Immortal light emanating from the tower.

"A Dao higher than even the God King," said the Old Huai.

Nan Feng pulled the tower back into his palm. He sensed that the Old Huai's soul had solidified within its heart.

From the moment that seed sprouted, over the course of more than a decade within the tower, the remnant soul of the Old Huai gradually grew from the seed. Nourished by the immortal tree, it coalesced into a complete true spirit.

The roots of the Immortal Tree penetrated into the bottom of the Tower Spirit Space, intertwining with the roots of the Ancient Tree of Life. The canopies of the two trees supported an entire expanse of azure-gold sky in the dome.

"Well done," Old Huai said.

He spoke those four words so flatly, so flatly, so unlike him. His hand, which was stroking his beard, paused for a moment, the lapis lazuli leaf in his palm clenched tightly for a second, then relaxed. Nan Feng saw the tip of his beard tremble.

"Alright, alright." Old Huai straightened his face, braced himself against the edge of the trunk with both hands, jumped out of the tree's heart, and landed on the ground in the Tower Spirit Space.

He stretched his legs and jumped twice on the spot. When he landed, the ground of the Tower Spirit Space shook, and a layer of leaves from the dome were shaken off.

"My legs are still okay," Old Huai nodded.

He turned to look at Nan Feng, his eyes beneath his long eyebrows scanning him up and down.

His gaze swept from the tower to the red ribbon on his left wrist, then to the old ribbon folded inside his sleeve, and finally landed on his face.

"Speak," Old Huai said, putting his hands behind his back, striking a pose like a venerable elder guarding a tower. "What have you been doing for the past ten years?"

Nan Feng took the tower into his palm. He sensed two large trees stretching their branches at the top of the dome, their roots intertwined at the bottom, and lapis lazuli immortal Immortal Mark flowing through their trunks.

The shadows of the trees fell on his face, one blue and one gold.

His voice was even when he spoke. Each word carried the weight of two trees supporting it.

"It started the night my Martial Soul awakened in the Blacksmith Village," Nan Feng said.

Old Huai had his hands behind his back, and his eyes shone brightly beneath his long eyebrows.

"More than ten years," Nan Feng said, "I have cultivated the Immortal Dao. Foundation Establishment is complete. The Nine Rings as One, my physique has evolved, all nine levels of the tower are open, and the first three chapters of the 108 Heavenly Constellation and Earthly Fiend Divine Abilities have been mastered."

Old Huai's beard twitched.

"What about those beauties?" Old Huai asked, "That girl Xiao Wu, that girl Ye Lingling, and that Poison Girl, Fire Girl, Ice Girl, Fox Girl..."

"They're all still there."

"They've all become gods?"

"Not yet. They're still on their way."

Old Huai was silent for a while. His eyes, beneath his long eyebrows, looked at Nan Feng. He suddenly snorted, put his hands down from behind his back, and walked up to Nan Feng.

He was half a head shorter than Nan Feng, looking up at Nan Feng, his long beard swaying in front of his chest.

"When you left," Old Huai said, "What did I say?"

Nan Feng looked at him.

"You said cultivating immortality is very difficult," Nan Feng said.

Old Huai nodded. "Anything else?"

"You said you wanted to cultivate it to its ultimate level, completely overwhelming the God King."

Old Huai's beard twitched again. He looked up at the Nan Feng for three breaths, then smiled. The smile unfolded from his wrinkles—ugly, but genuine.

He reached out and patted Nan Feng's arm. His palm was large and thick, and the touch carried the lingering warmth of the tree heartwood. Nan Feng's arm sank down as he was patted.

"Well done," said the Old Huai. This time he spoke slowly, each word sounding as if it had been carved from the heart of the tree.

Nan Feng stared at the face. An old face emerging from the tree trunk, its wrinkles mirroring the texture of tree bark. He remained silent for a moment.

"Old Huai," said Nan Feng.

"Um."

"There are two trees in the Tower Spirit Space now."

The Old Huai turned to look at the immortal tree behind it, and then at the Ancient Tree of Life beside it. The two trees supported a whole expanse of azure-gold sky above the dome, and the Immortal Mark on the tree trunks echoed the azure-gold Immortal Mark on the tower.

"Two trees," the Old Huai said, "One guards the tower, the other sustains life."

He turned back to look at Nan Feng.

"Your tower is now guarded."

After saying this, Old Huai walked towards the Ancient Tree of Life with his hands behind his back.

He took a few steps, then stopped and glanced back at Nan Feng. His eyes, beneath his long eyebrows, reflected the azure-gold Golden Immortal of the dome.

"By the way," Old Huai said, "What about your Shifang? Where did that kid go after he completed his human form?"

Nan Feng held the tower to his chest. He sensed a crimson-gold flame aura rapidly approaching from the direction of the Holy Soul Village outside the Tower Spirit Space. Ten golden flame halos swirled in the morning light, and the heat wave could be felt even through the Tower Spirit Space.

"They're here," said Nan Feng.

Old Huai raised an eyebrow. He turned around, put his hands behind his back, and looked in the direction of the entrance to the Tower Spirit Space, his long beard swaying in front of his chest.

"That kid hasn't met me since he transformed," Old Huai said, a hint of impatience resurfacing beneath his long eyebrows. "I need to see if his fish-grilling skills have deteriorated."