"Oh my goodness, the environmental awareness in this city is truly formidable. A City of Forest, it really is a City of Forest!" Liang Xiaoke exclaimed, gazing at the verdant metropolis.

Ye Jingyu stared dumbfounded at the colossal city hundreds of meters away. Its walls were completely overgrown with thorns, completely smothering the three to four zhang high fortifications. At the main gate, two enormous trees were planted—trees so massive that it would take three or four people to embrace them—reaching skyward at least a hundred zhang, standing like twin sentinels guarding the city.

Inside the city walls, it was a sea of green; towering giants scraped the clouds everywhere. Ye Jingyu wondered how the inhabitants managed to live amidst such growth.

The war between the Southern Cloud Empire and the Tianyuan Empire had reached Lanzhou, with half of Lanzhou's territory already absorbed into the Southern Cloud Empire’s domain. Yet, this Medicine City showed no signs of being affected by the conflict. Like White Emperor City, its status was transcendent, but unlike White Emperor City, which relied on sheer military might, Medicine City commanded respect through its standing among the common people.

It could be said that at least ninety percent of all renowned physicians in the realm hailed from Medicine City. They traveled the world healing the sick and alleviating suffering, spreading goodwill on behalf of their city. Therefore, no matter what war raged, no one dared trouble Medicine City. After all, no one could guarantee they wouldn't fall ill, nor could they afford to lose the support of the populace.

"Let's go," Ye Jingyu said quietly after watching for a while.

"We're just going in like this?" Liang Xiaoke was momentarily taken aback.

"No, we enter first. Xiu, Qi, you follow along later." Ye Jingyu shook his head. Chi Yi Xiu's towering physique was simply too conspicuous; barging in now would make it impossible to remain inconspicuous.

Thus, Ye Jingyu, Liang Xiaoke, and Hu Yanmeng proceeded toward Medicine City, accompanied by little Tao Tao and Bing Ming, who remained hidden in the void. Chi Yi Xiu, Hu Yan Qi, and a hundred elite warriors—carefully selected Congenital Martial Masters, Chi Yi tribesmen, and Hu Yan tribe archers—were stationed outside the city to wait.

Standing before the two towering trees at the gate, Ye Jingyu truly felt the vibrant life force emanating from the city. Despite being deep into late autumn, the area remained bursting with vitality and greenness. Surprisingly, there were no soldiers at the gate, only a few vendors setting up stalls. This scene greatly surprised Ye Jingyu and the others.

Could the public order in Medicine City truly be this exceptional?

Entering the city, they found massive trees surrounding them everywhere. The houses seemed built around the trees, and many flower pots sat atop the structures, though they weren't filled with rare flowers, but rather various medicinal herbs. The tree trunks themselves were covered in herbs—Lingzhi, wood ear fungus, Blood Cherry Fruit, Hundred Days Red, Soul Resting Grass, and more. Ye Jingyu and the others were left gasping; were these giant trees actually being used to cultivate medicinal ingredients?

This was utterly unbelievable!

Waves of herbal fragrance washed over them; a gentle inhale seemed to refresh the spirit instantly.

"Wood Absolute Land, the Wood Absolute Land! Damn it, this is the Wood Absolute Land that doesn't even exist in legends!" Feeling the dense vitality all around, Liang Xiaoke forgot about secretly eyeing Hu Yanmeng’s pert backside and exclaimed excitedly.

"What Wood Absolute Land?" Ye Jingyu looked at Liang Xiaoke with a bewildered expression.

"Heh heh, Gold, Wood, Water, Earth, Fire—the five innate elements, the Five Element Absolute Lands. The spiritual energy in each one is terrifyingly concentrated. Take this Wood Absolute Land; the Wood-attribute spiritual energy it contains is more than a thousand times that of other places. A practitioner with an Innate Wood Spirit Body—no, not even Innate, just a Wood Spirit Body—cultivating here would see their progress speed up by over a thousand times compared to elsewhere. That means if it normally takes them a thousand years to form a Nascent Soul, here it would only take one year! Do you understand? Only one year!" By the time he finished, Liang Xiaoke's face was flushed with excitement.

"So what if it’s one year? You aren't an Innate Wood Spirit Body, so why are you so worked up?" Seeing Liang Xiaoke's agitated state, Ye Jingyu rolled his eyes dismissively.

"Heh heh, our Corpse Sect has a marvelous technique for the Five Element Blood Corpses. As long as we find a Five Element Absolute Land, we can refine the corpses. Each Blood Corpse will possess strength identical to mine, and they excel in the Five Element arts, capable of setting up the Five Element Absolute Array. Even an Immortal of Great Overarching Heaven who falls into that array would only end up with their soul scattered!" Liang Xiaoke ignored Ye Jingyu's eye-roll and continued speaking excitedly.

"Immortal of Great Overarching Heaven? Do those things really exist in this world?" Ye Jingyu paused, while Hu Yanmeng beside him looked utterly clueless.

"Heh heh, I don't know about that, I certainly haven't seen one, but if even a zombie like me exists, what's so strange about an Immortal of Great Overarching Heaven?" Liang Xiaoke shook his head, though the intense excitement in his eyes undiminished. He gazed at the dense Wood spiritual energy, almost visible enough to condense into liquid, and continued, "There were no such places before, but now that we've found one, how can I not refine a Blood Corpse? A single Wood Blood Corpse would be enough to double my strength! Hahahaha..."

"Does finding the Wood Absolute Land allow for corpse refinement?" Upon hearing that each Blood Corpse would have strength matching Liang Xiaoke’s, Ye Jingyu’s eyes gradually lit up. As for the Immortal of Great Overarching Heaven, that was a matter for later; the most crucial thing now was enhancing his own strength.

"Heh heh, of course, it’s not that simple. I still need to find a person with a Wood Spirit Body—Innate is best, Post-natal will do—then kill them, grant them a drop of my essence blood, and bury them here in the Wood Absolute Land. Then, I set up the Five Element Blood Corpse Great Array, letting it spontaneously absorb the Wood-attribute spiritual energy of the Absolute Land. Forty-nine days later, a Blood Wood Corpse will be refined!" Liang Xiaoke said with a sinister grin.

"Forty-nine days? You mean in exactly forty-nine days, you can forge a Blood Wood Corpse with strength equal to yours?" Ye Jingyu showed a look of shock.

"Of course! Haven't you forgotten this is the Wood Absolute Land? The cultivation speed is over a thousand times faster than elsewhere, let alone the Blood Corpse Array I will set up!" Liang Xiaoke declared proudly.

"Will the Blood Wood Corpse obey your command?" Ye Jingyu pressed further.

"Naturally. The Blood Wood Corpse is entirely a slave to the Corpse—it will listen to nothing but my orders. Heh heh, tonight we’ll go look for someone with a Wood Spirit Body. Since this is the Wood Absolute Land, I refuse to believe we won't find one. Perhaps we’ll get lucky and find an Innate Wood Spirit Body, preferably a beautiful woman! Hahahaha..." As he was laughing heartily, Liang Xiaoke’s laughter abruptly cut off, his strange eyes locking onto a woman running toward them... (Brothers who haven't collected, please remember to bookmark! My finger joints have been hurting lately; does anyone know of a remedy for finger joint pain?)