Chapter 22
Shan Heyuan continued, "It would be better if a planter were tending that soil. Whatever elements it lacked could be replenished in time. The Illusionless Tree has lived in the same place for over two thousand years, and no one has ever tended it. Naturally, things have only gotten worse."
Shen Duheng said, "Couldn't those rotting leaves and spirit beast corpses be used as fertilizer?"
"That's true," Shan Heyuan said, "but there are no other leaves around the Illusionless Tree, and birds and beasts hardly dare approach it. Its own rotting leaves can't provide it with much nourishment."
Shen Duheng understood. "You want to trade fertilizer with it?"
Shan Heyuan admitted honestly, "That was what I had in mind before I saw it. Now I'm not sure. It might be crazier than I imagined. For fertilizer pills to serve as a bargaining chip, it has to be able to talk to us first."
But Shen Duheng said, "I didn't agree with your idea before, but now that I think about it, it might work."
Shan Heyuan's eyes lit up. "Do you have a way?"
"I'll tell you once I've thought it through," Shen Duheng said.
Chapter 22
A fierce wind began to blow at midnight, its howling drowning out every other sound.
Shan Heyuan had intended to go out, but seeing the weather, he decided to go another day. He sent Zhong Shuran a communication talisman, asking him to come over and set up a restriction around the Spirit Plants in the courtyard.
The spirit herbs growing in the courtyard were expensive, and he and Shen Duheng were often away from home. If a thief paid them a visit one day while no one was there, they would be in trouble.
It would be better to set up a restriction and settle the matter once and for all.
Restrictions cost far more than ordinary talismans. As soon as Zhong Shuran received his invitation, he eagerly came over with a complete set of talisman runes.
When he arrived at Shan Heyuan's home, he didn't even take a break. He rolled up his sleeves and got straight to work.
Shan Heyuan watched him for a while. Seeing that there was nothing he could do to help, he began turning over the soil in the courtyard instead.
The soil in the courtyard hadn't been turned for some time and had become somewhat compacted. It contained much less air and Spiritual Qi than before. It had to be turned until it was loose and soft, allowing air and Spiritual Qi back in, so the Spirit Plants could grow well.
Shan Heyuan had always taken care when growing Spirit Plants and wouldn't skimp on this bit of work.
The two worked in the courtyard, chatting every now and then.
Zhong Shuran watched him turn the soil. "You planters really do meticulous work."
Shan Heyuan was breaking up a clod of earth. He smiled. "If we weren't meticulous, how could we grow spirit herbs that sell for so much?"
Zhong Shuran said, "No line of work is easy."
Shan Heyuan nodded in wholehearted agreement.
They chatted for a while, then bent their heads to their work again.
The two worked for the entire day.
As the afternoon grew late, Shan Heyuan was wondering when Shen Duheng would return.
The door creaked open, and Shen Duheng's tall figure slipped in from behind it.
Shan Heyuan stood and went to meet him. "I was just thinking about you, and here you are. Is it cold outside?"
Zhong Shuran greeted him with a smile. "Fellow Daoist Shen."
Shen Duheng nodded to Zhong Shuran, then said to Shan Heyuan, "This little bit of cold is nothing to me."
"Then it is cold," Shan Heyuan said. "I made sweet soup today. I'll go get you a bowl."
Now that Shen Duheng was back, Zhong Shuran picked up the pace and finished setting up the restriction. He handed Shan Heyuan the talisman plaque that controlled it. "The restriction is ready. I'll head home now. If there are any problems later, just let me know."
Shan Heyuan hurriedly thanked him and packed some sweet soup for him to take home.
After Zhong Shuran left, Shan Heyuan had little mind to keep turning the soil. He went into the living room and asked Shen Duheng, "Brother Shen, how did it go?"
Shen Duheng took a black object from his storage ring and handed it to him.
Shan Heyuan accepted it with both hands and saw that it was a crude stone statue with bulging eyes and a protruding belly.
The statue was solid and heavy. The patterns on it were quite mysterious; after looking at them for a while, one's Divine Sense seemed ready to be stirred.
Yet the statue's workmanship and appearance were extremely crude, with nothing remarkable about them.
Shan Heyuan was certain he had never seen this statue anywhere else. "This statue is-"
"The deity the Black She Temple worshipped," Shen Duheng said.
Shan Heyuan gave a soft "Ah," taken completely by surprise.
Shen Duheng said, "The deity's statue was extremely important to the Black She Temple. If the Illusionless Tree really was single-mindedly guarding the temple, as the stories say, and if it still has its wits, it can't possibly be indifferent to this statue."
"I understand," Shan Heyuan said. "As long as it's interested in the statue, we can get it talking and then trade with it, right?"
Shen Duheng nodded. "We'll try it first. If it doesn't work, we'll think of something else."
Shan Heyuan looked excited. "There definitely won't be a problem. I don't believe any Spirit Plant can resist the temptation of fertilizer pills. Give me two days. Tomorrow I'll refine the materials I've accumulated lately into fertilizer pills, and the day after that I'll work at the Supreme Harmony Sect. We'll go find the Illusionless Tree the day after that."
"All right," Shen Duheng said. "That will give me time to prepare the offerings."
The two discussed their approach to the Illusionless Tree further, anticipating the various questions it might ask and coming up with several plans.
As Shan Heyuan had said, a Core Formation-grade spirit tree held a deadly attraction for a planter like him.
He desperately hoped the deal would go through.
He was already at the Qi Refining Ninth Stage. Before long, he would reach Qi Refining Great Perfection and then achieve Foundation Establishment.
Once he entered the Foundation Establishment Realm, he would be able to grow Core Formation-grade spirit trees.
If he could place a Core Formation-grade spirit tree in his Dantian to cultivate, it would bring him enormous benefits.
On the day Shan Heyuan was ready, the two set out once more for Xinglan Mountain.
For Shan Heyuan, everything about Xinglan Mountain was still terrifying. But under the temptation of enormous gains, that terror couldn't stir the slightest thought of retreat in him.
They came before the Illusionless Tree again.
Before they entered the Illusionless Tree's territory, it made no response, merely standing quietly in the forest.
Shen Duheng said to Shan Heyuan, "Move to the side a little. I'm going to set out the offerings."
Shan Heyuan nodded gravely and stood behind him.
Shen Duheng took the stone statue from his storage ring, then brought out three plates containing sacrificial meat and thick sticks of incense. He lit the incense and placed it before the statue.
The distinctive scent of incense spread through the forest.
Shan Heyuan keenly sensed the forest behind them fall silent in an instant, as though countless birds and beasts were holding their breath, afraid to disturb them.
Immediately afterward, an invisible pressure rose. Shan Heyuan felt something bearing down on his shoulders, and his face instantly turned pale.
Just as he was struggling to breathe, Shen Duheng gave him a light pat on the shoulder.
The omnipresent pressure immediately dissipated. Shan Heyuan caught his breath and looked at the Illusionless Tree ahead of them, his heart still pounding.
If Shen Duheng hadn't intervened, the pressure alone would have been more than he could withstand.
Shan Heyuan was about to say something when roots came whipping toward them like a sandstorm, a black mass blotting out the sky and sun.
Shen Duheng's expression didn't change. He reached out, swept an arm around Shan Heyuan's waist, and retreated swiftly with him in his arms.
They retreated into the forest behind them. After the Illusionless Tree's roots reached a certain point, they stopped in midair.
The phrase "the whip can't reach" occurred to Shan Heyuan.
It seemed the Illusionless Tree's roots could reach no farther than that point. They certainly couldn't come any closer to strike them.
In that brief instant, Shen Duheng and the Illusionless Tree clashed several times.
The Illusionless Tree was clearly unable to do anything to Shen Duheng.
"Humans!" The Illusionless Tree's shrill, furious roar rang through the forest. "You again! What are you plotting?!"
The entire forest trembled slightly at the Illusionless Tree's roar. Shan Heyuan had to rely on Shen Duheng's hand at his waist to stay on his feet.
The roots danced wildly for quite a while. Seeing that it was having no effect, the Illusionless Tree drew them back.
Shan Heyuan had sharp eyes and could clearly see that the stone statue, sacrificial meat, and incense on the ground were completely undamaged.
The Illusionless Tree really hadn't gone completely mad!