Chapter 71 (continued)

The process of Shan Heyuan merging with the Illusionless Tree is a very mysterious one.

He found it difficult to describe this fusion, but the two were indeed fused together.

At this moment, he was extremely grateful that the Illusionless Tree did not possess sentience. If the Illusionless Tree he had planted, like the previous Illusionless Tree, also possessed sentience, it would have been difficult to merge with it now.

The Illusionless Tree will definitely resist this process.

The integration process was extremely difficult.

Shan Heyuan felt as if he had been scattered, and he forced his way into the Illusionless Tree.

This squeezing made him feel extremely uncomfortable, both physically and mentally.

However, the whole process has gone smoothly so far, and there haven't been any major problems.

When the Pu Core Fire was tempering the Dantian Small World, the first thing to melt away was the spiritual spring.

The Spring Crystal and the stone at the bottom of the spring all melted and merged into him and the Illusionless Tree, becoming part of his body.

Next came Shen Duheng's ribs, which transformed into pure metal-type Spiritual Power and, along with the remaining bone material, merged into the Illusionless Tree.

Then there is the Breathing Earth.

Shan Heyuan merged with most of the Illusionless Tree, and his whole being became somewhat ethereal. Because his material foundation was greatly destroyed, his spirit also dissipated, leaving him in a state of confusion and without clear thoughts, continuing to cultivate solely based on instinct.

Gradually, Shan Heyuan and the Illusionless Tree merged together, and the Dantian Small World shrank to the size of the Illusionless Tree.

The entire Dantian Small World seemed to have turned into fragments in the void, leaving only a small piece.

Shan Heyuan instinctively felt that it wasn't smooth enough.

He needs further changes.

As he thought this, the Pu Core Fire continued to melt the Dantian Small World.

All parts of the Dantian Small World were transformed into fragments of Spiritual Power and Principle, which were then integrated into the Illusionless Tree.

After Pu Core Fire slowly merged into the Illusionless Tree.

Finally, in the void, only half of the Illusionless Tree with roots remained.

The Illusionless Tree drifted into the boundless void, with only its roots still connected to Shen Duheng's storage ring, grasping this small spatial coordinate.

That's not enough.

Shan Heyuan knew in his the Unseen that what he needed was not this piece of tree trunk.

He doesn't need the section of tree trunk that grew out before; he needs a trunk that is entirely his own.

What should we do now?

Shan Heyuan recalled how he dealt with those rotting Spirit Plant a long time ago.

What did he do back then?

--Concentrate Spiritual Power and nutrients into the intact parts, then cut them off from the rotten parts.

Yes, it can also be concentrated and cut.

Shan Heyuan's hazy consciousness sensed a hint of joy.

He activated the "Gentle Breeze" technique, gradually condensing the Spiritual Power of the Illusionless Tree into his core essence.

That's how it should be.

He has already melted the spirit spring water, the Breathing Earth, the Pu Core Fire, and Shen Duheng's ribs. He has all the elements of water, earth, fire, and metal, so how could he lack Wood Element Spiritual Power?

Shan Heyuan melted and absorbed the Illusionless Tree bit by bit, and burned off the discarded parts with the Pu Core Fire.

As it was gradually calcined, the Illusionless Tree that Shan Heyuan had fused together became smaller and smaller.

About two weeks later, the entire Dantian Small World disappeared, and the Illusionless Tree also disappeared.

Only a tiny, thumb-sized bud remained, firmly gripping Shen Duheng's storage ring.

Shen Duheng has been having a very difficult time these past few days.

He was constantly worried about Shan Heyuan's condition, but had no way of finding out. Only because of their Dual Cultivation, he could vaguely sense that Shan Heyuan's condition was alright.

However, this perception has become increasingly blurred over time.

At this moment, Shen Duheng, unusually, shared the same feelings as his mortal enemy Ji Li.

When someone hides in the void, outsiders don't know their coordinates, and even with great skill, it would be difficult to find them.

Shen Duheng can only wait now, waiting for Shan Heyuan's situation to become clear before taking the initiative to come forward.

It was at this moment that Shen Duheng realized with deep emotion that his partner was once the peerless Azure Cloud Dao Ancestor in the entire cultivation world.

Neither he nor Ji Li could possibly hide in the void.

Let alone the fact that ordinary people have no way to hide in the void, even if they do manage to hide, it is difficult to avoid the fierce winds, Tribulation Lightning, and spatial rifts inside. Whether they are Spirit Transformation Realm or Tribulation Transcendence Stage cultivators, they are always at risk of being strangled.

Shen Duheng sat cross-legged in meditation as usual.

In the past, he could sit and cultivate, but today he was unusually restless, as if something was about to happen, and his intuition was giving him frantic warnings.

What could have happened? Could it be that something happened to Shan Heyuan?

Shen Duheng stood up, about to move, when a wooden bead rolled down his knee.

There was absolutely no wooden bead on him, and it was impossible for anyone else to have placed the wooden bead on him silently.

This wooden bead could only have come from Shan Heyuan.

Upon realizing this, Shen Duheng's spirits lifted, and he immediately reached out to pick up the wooden beads.

The creamy-yellow wooden bead rolled gently in his palm.

It is only the size of a little finger, with thin roots at the bottom and tightly wrapped buds on top.

This is a tree sprout.

Shen Duheng couldn't discern the quality of the tree bud; he could only sense that it was imbued with Shan Heyuan's aura.

Is this Shan Heyuan, or is Mu Ya connected to the Dantian Small World?

Just as Shen Duheng was watching Mu Ya, Mu Ya rolled over gently, giving Shen Duheng a ticklish sensation.

Shen Duheng: "Heyuan?"

"It's me," Shan Heyuan transmitted weakly. "I succeeded. The melting was too intense, and I'm a bit exhausted now. Find a place with abundant Spiritual Power and plant me there; I'll grow a bit more."

Shen Duheng immediately agreed, "Besides abundant Spiritual Power, are there any other requirements?"

Shan Heyuan: "That's all. Just remember to water me, like you would any other Spirit Plant. I'm too tired and need to rest for a while."

Shen Duheng: "I understand, leave it to me."

Upon hearing this, Shan Heyuan was too weak to speak. He could only gently roll Muya forward, nuzzling her fingertips as if kissing them.

Then, Shan Heyuan fell silent.

Shen Duheng lowered his head and kissed Mu Ya, looked around for a moment, and without even having time to deal with the staple food planted in the field, he flew away on his sword.

A silver-white spirit sword slashed through the sky.

Many people in Ridge Pine City saw it and showed surprised expressions.

There's no Spiritual Power in the dead city, so everyone conserves it as much as possible, using various modes of transportation to get around; traveling directly on a sword is quite rare.

How much Spiritual Power would that require?

Regardless of what others thought, Shen Duheng left Ridge Pine City, found a teleportation array in the black market, and used it to reach Wei Province.

This is the territory of the Proliferation Sect.

Back when he was still the sect leader, he had read detailed information about Wei Province and planned to go to a high-grade Spirit Plant garden he had visited before to plant Shan Heyuan.

So many cities have died recently, and the Spirit Plant garden that Shen Duheng wanted to visit was located in one of those dead cities.

Because so many cities had perished, the newspapers no longer reported on it.

When Shen Duheng arrived here, he discovered that the Spirit Plant garden he had prepared earlier was unusable.

The dead city was filled with yellow sand and dead trees. The cultivators who couldn't evacuate in time were fighting endlessly and had broken away from the control of the Proliferation Sect, forming small forces.

The whole city is in terrible shape.

Shen Duheng had no energy to investigate the situation here. Seeing this, he immediately left and rushed to the next alternative location.

Within a few days, Shen Duheng traveled to several states before finally settling on Changlin Island.

Changlin Island is at the southernmost point and is the territory of the Islet Sect.

Of the seven states, Changlin Island is the smallest and most remote, situated in the vast ocean, isolated from the other states, and has long maintained its uniqueness.