"Master, if you spare me, I can take you to a place where your four companions can obtain the purest energy they so desperately need..." The Dragon-Swallowing Beast King's voice was barely a whisper...& "Are you threatening me?" Ye Jingyu let out a cold snort, then savagely brought his foot down. A burst of golden light erupted beneath his sole, instantly exploding into a cloud of bloody mist... "W-w-wail..." The Dragon-Swallowing Beast King was practically weeping.

At this point, how would he dare to threaten anyone? He was merely trying to save himself from Ye Jingyu's second stomp. He quickly interjected, "Master, please don't kill me, I beg you, don't kill me!

I'll take you there immediately. Once there, even Ni Bo will be able to quickly recover his original strength..." "What place is that?" Ye Jingyu knew exactly how severe Ni Bo's injuries were. If his body could be healed in the fastest way possible, that would be best...

"It's within the Skyfall Abyss! No one besides me knows about that Abyss, Master. Please, don't be angry, I'll take you right now!" The Dragon-Swallowing Beast King, beaten into complete submission, spoke with utter humility.

Ye Jingyu pondered for a moment, his Reincarnation Eye, situated between his brows, swept over the Beast King's figure. Sensing he wasn't lying, Ye Jingyu gave a faint nod. "Hurry up and move..." Ye Jingyu scoffed coldly...

Instantly, the Dragon-Swallowing Beast King felt as if he'd been granted a great amnesty. His entire body relaxed, and the massive creature struggled to rise. Ye Jingyu and the others stood atop its head, and the Beast King dragged its heavy form toward the southern reaches of the Savage Forest...

Its size was immense, and despite the severity of its wounds, it was slowly recovering as long as it avoided Ye Jingyu's direct assault. Furthermore, its very aura acted as an absolute bane to other savage beasts, ensuring that no powerful creature dared to cross their path. However, to maintain control over the Dragon-Swallowing Beast King and prevent any possible treachery, Ye Jingyu had already employed an ancient, primordial shamanistic art—one obtained from the Hanba—to bind the creature's soul.

Traveling south, at the pace the Dragon-Swallowing Beast King could muster, the group journeyed for about half a day. They passed through swirling mists and finally arrived in another verdant canyon. Upon entering the canyon, Ye Jingyu, Zhu Rong, Hanba, Tian Wu, and Hou Yi were instantly stunned by the sight before them.

In the very center of this canyon stood a colossal tree—a tree that dwarfed the towering ancient trees outside by an immeasurable degree. Even the Dragon-Swallowing Beast King, whose body reached ten thousand zhang in height, appeared utterly diminutive before it. Ye Jingyu and the others, standing on the Beast King's head, couldn't even glimpse the tree's full stature...

Just how tall was this tree? Even with Ye Jingyu's sharp vision, he couldn't discern its summit. He could only make out parts of the canopy peeking through the clouds above—this was a true sky-piercing giant, soaring into the heavens...

As for the girth of the trunk, let alone Ye Jingyu and his companions, several hundred Dragon-Swallowing Beast Kings combined couldn't wrap their arms around it. The trunk's diameter spanned at least several hundred li. The entire trunk was colored black, and perhaps due to its immense age, the black surface shimmered faintly with a metallic sheen, upon which arcane symbols could vaguely be discerned...

This tree was unbelievably huge, and the spiritual energy here was terrifyingly dense, especially the Wood-attribute energy, which was easily tens of millions of times stronger than in the outside world. Even without conscious effort, Ye Jingyu felt the Wood Aperture within him furiously drawing in the rich essence of wood spirit energy... He even entertained the illusion that he might condense a Wood Golden Core in a short time.

Yet, a question lingered: Why was such an enormous tree completely invisible from the outside? Was there some kind of barrier sealing this place? While Ye Jingyu was merely astonished by the tree's scale and the surrounding dense spiritual energy, the expressions of Zhu Rong, Tian Wu, Hanba, and even Hou Yi held a different kind of shock.

It was the look one might wear who lives in the modern age, driving a sports car down a highway, only to suddenly see a Mamenchisaurus walk past... "This... this tree...

this tree..." "Great Venerable Zhu Rong, you recognize it?" Tian Wu spoke calmly, but Ye Jingyu clearly saw the excitement blazing in his eyes... "Yes, I never imagined... truly never imagined..." Zhu Rong murmured.

"Never imagined what?" Ye Jingyu was genuinely perplexed. It was just a large tree. Sure, it was big, but was that enough to warrant such astonishment...?

"If our guesses are correct, this tree is the Jianmu..." Hou Yi, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. Perhaps inheriting the consciousness of Hu Yanqi, his demeanor toward Ye Jingyu was significantly more respectful... "Jianmu?

So what if it's Jianmu? Is it something so rare?" Ye Jingyu was utterly confused. Wood was just used for building houses; what was so special about it?

But then, a sudden realization struck him, and his face contorted with alarm... "You mean... the Jianmu?

That Jianmu that connected Heaven, Earth, Man, and God—the Heavenly Ladder Jianmu?" At that moment, his mouth hung open wide enough to swallow an entire duck egg... "Mmm..." Zhu Rong, Tian Wu, Hanba, and Hou Yi nodded almost in unison... "..." Ye Jingyu was rendered speechless.

Jianmu! Wasn't it legendary that the Heavenly Emperor had chopped it down? That its very foundation was destroyed; how could it still exist?

Only now did he comprehend the sheer horror reflected in Zhu Rong and the others' faces... The Jianmu! The Primordial Divine Tree Jianmu!

If this truly was it, then never mind the tree itself, even a single leaf would be an unparalleled treasure! The moment his eyes fell upon the Jianmu's colossal body, seeing the dense canopy barely visible above the clouds, Ye Jingyu's eyes instantly lit up. If he were to cut this Jianmu down, how many divine weapons could he forge?

The Heaven Sovereign Blade materialized in his hand without him knowing when, and he moved his feet, sprinting toward the Jianmu like a lumberjack... Seeing Ye Jingyu draw the Heaven Sovereign Blade and assume the posture of a woodsman, Zhu Rong and the others immediately understood his intention, and their faces drastically changed hue... "No!" The four of them cried out almost simultaneously, but Ye Jingyu, consumed by the thought of forging divine weapons for his subordinates, swung his Heaven Sovereign Blade down fiercely...

A blade light, stretching fully a thousand zhang long, ripped through the sky, slashing toward the massive trunk with immense force. Ye Jingyu's thinking was simple: one strike certainly wouldn't fell the tree, but he could certainly hack off some raw material; even if he couldn't get to the core wood, the bark alone would suffice. However, before his blade light could even make contact with the Jianmu, it was pulverized by a beam of white light, immediately followed by a deafening roar that echoed throughout the entire canyon...

Zhu Rong, Tian Wu, Hou Yi, and Hanba heard the sound, and their faces instantly turned deathly pale... (Seeking Golden Brick recommendation votes!) haо１23 Chinese Network [haо１23.Se]H

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