Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725

by Heaven's White Crane

  However, in the Beast King Sect, especially in front of the great elder, none of the spirit beasts dared to act recklessly.

  They looked around but could not spot Ou Yangming and Tian Yinghao.

  Ou Yangming smiled faintly. It was great news to him that he managed to bag 2 different pills.

  The auction paused for a brief moment before it continued.

  Eventually, the Beast King Sect revealed greater and more classic items.

  Mao Jianbi went forward and pointed at the new item that appeared on the crystal wall. He announced, “Everyone, the Beast King Sect has recently acquired a treasure, which is an Interspatial Spiritual Tree.” He paused for a while before he added, “This treasure can only be exchanged with another treasure; no biddings with spirit ores will be accepted.”

  Chapter 688 - Interspatial Spiritual Tree

  Interspatial Spiritual Tree.

  When those 3 words were mentioned, the square was instantly bustling with noise. Even Ou Yangming and Tian Yinghao looked at each other with unusual looks in their eyes.

  An Interspatial Spiritual Tree was an exceptionally unique spiritual item. It was said that one that meditated under the tree could even directly communicate with the universe’s origin power, allowing one’s cultivation base to be quickly improved. Apart from that, the branches and leaves of the tree possessed Interspatial Attributes. If they were used with the furs of other spirit beasts, interspatial bags could be refined.

  Such a treasure could almost be considered a sect’s foundational treasure, hence any sect that acquired it would unlikely sell it.

  Everyone looked at the crystal wall at the same time. They could not help but smile bitterly when they saw the image that appeared.

  ‘No wonder the Beast King Sect’s willing to trade this item.’

  Judging from the image on the wall, the Interspatial Spiritual Tree was tall, but its branches and leaves had disappeared. Moreover, the whole tree had a gloomy vibe to it as though it would collapse at any time.

  This was clearly an Interspatial Spiritual Tree that was going to die of old age.

  “Great Elder Mao, what do you mean? How could you fool us with something like that?” One of the beast powerhouses was rather displeased.

  Given that it spoke to Mao Jianbi in such a tone, it was probably on par with him. When the others turned to look, they noticed that it was a gigantic spirit bear. It had an oppressive aura around him, thus nobody dared to stay within 10 meters from it.

  A top-grade spirit beast.

  Ou Yangming could recognize at one glance that it was a top-grade spirit beast that was on par with Mao Jianbi.

  “That’s Mountain Lord Bear Li, whose cultivation base is the same as Great Elder’s,” Tian Yinghao whispered to Ou Yangming, “It’s a genius from the Bears, and it’s as famous as the 2 top-grade spirit beasts from the 10,000 Beasts Ridge. In fact, they’re famous powerhouses that might become Venerable Ones.”

  Ou Yangming nodded and immediately recalled Multi-armed King Kong. After not seeing it for such a long time, he somewhat missed it.

  Mao Jianbi laughed out loud and asked, “Brother Bear, let me ask you—is this an Interspatial Spiritual Tree?”

  “Yes,” Bear Li answered after a brief moment.

  “Okay, let me ask you another question—if it isn’t a half-dead Interspatial Spiritual Tree but a healthy one, do you think we’d trade it?” Mao Jianbi asked bluntly.

  Bear Li was startled for some time before it asked the great elder in return, “But aren’t you harming someone else by trying to sell this tree?”

  Mao Jianbi responded, “There are countless people with extraordinary abilities in the world. We might not be able to save the Interspatial Spiritual Tree, but can you guarantee that nobody else can?”

  Bear Li hesitated for a while. It finally scoffed and stopped talking.

  In actuality, after seeing the nearly-withered Interspatial Spiritual Tree on the crystal wall, the majority of the crowd knew the tree was probably reaching the end of its life, and there would only be a slim chance to save it.

  Nevertheless, as said by Mao Jianbi, nobody dared to say that the spiritual tree would surely die.

  At the spur of the moment, the crowd in the square fell silent. They were wondering if they should accept the deal.

  It would be a huge gamble for most people. If one obtained the Interspatial Spiritual Tree and managed to save it, it would be a massive gain regardless of the treasure that they traded it for. On the other hand, if the spiritual tree died… Although a dead Interspatial Spiritual Tree would also have a certain value, it would not be worth mentioning as compared to the price paid.

  Mao Jianbi smiled with his eyes squinted. He was obviously confident.

  His eyes flickered as he asked, “Brother Bear, since you asked about it, are you interested?”

  Bear Li forced a smile and answered, “I’m clearly interested in it, but I know my limitations enough to know that I won’t be able to save it if even the Beast King Sect can’t do it. Ah, I give up.”

  Upon hearing the top-grade spirit bear’s demotivating words, many people and beasts from the crowd looked at each other and decided to stop thinking about it too.

  As said by Bear Li, if even the influential Beast King Sect was helpless, how could they save the spiritual tree?

  Nonetheless, it did not mean that everyone was going to give up. Many people still stared at the image on the crystal wall and decided to put all their stakes on this.

  “Great Elder, the Liu family’s willing to try,” a middle-aged scholar suddenly voiced out, “We’re willing to pay 1,200 gold pearls to the Beast King Sect across 3 years in exchange for this Interspatial Spiritual Tree.”

  “The Liu family—no wonder they have the guts for this.” Tian Yinghao was envious. “They’re probably the most suitable candidate here.”

  Ou Yangming was moved. “Why is that so?”

  Tian Yinghao explained, “The Liu family’s known for planting spiritual flowers and herbs. They’re not that capable, but many people exclaim at their plating abilities. If the Interspatial Spiritual Tree is in their hands, it might actually be saved.”

  He was optimistic about the Liu family, but he dared not claim that they could save the Interspatial Spiritual Tree. After all, the Beast King Sect was a large household with numerous experts, and they did not lack members that were adept in planting. As long as there was the slightest hope for them to save the spiritual tree, they would not have wanted to sell it.

  “1,200 gold pearls…” Mao Jianbi fell silent for a brief moment, then he nodded and remarked, “You’re being quite generous.”

  Ou Yangming did not know what gold pearls were but since they were acknowledged by Mao Jianbi, they must be unordinary.

  He was struck with a thought when he looked at the image on the crystal wall, so he focused and contacted a vague being in his sea of consciousness.

  “Wutong…”

  After a brief moment, a prolonged voice that sounded far away spread.

  “Master, what’s the matter?”

  “Do you know what an Interspatial Spiritual Tree is?”

  “An Interspatial Spiritual Tree’s one of the Ten Great Divine Trees in this realm so of course, I know what it is.”

  “Oh, is there an Interspatial Spiritual Tree in the secret realm?”

  “No. I’ve only gathered 5 kinds of the Ten Great Divine Trees throughout these several 10,000 years, and I’ve never seen an Interspatial Spiritual Tree before.”

  “I have a nearly-withered Interspatial Spiritual Tree here. Do you have a way to save it?” Ou Yangming sent the image on the crystal wall to the Wutong Tree through visualization.

  An image transfer would be much slower than talking. Even when Ou Yangming left a mark on the Wutong Tree, he could not speed up the process.

  Once the image was sent, the Wutong Tree replied to Ou Yangming quickly, “Master, this Interspatial Spiritual Tree still has life, and it
’s not completely withered yet. If you’re able to find it and let it absorb a drop of the concentrated immortal liquid a day, its state will surely improve.” It added after a short pause, “As long as you send it to the secret realm, I assure you that I can save it.”

  “Can you really save it?” Ou Yangming was rather excited.

  “Yes,” the Wutong Tree answered, “I’m the king of all of the plants in the world, so I can save them as long as there’s still life in them.”

  The old fellow, which had lived for at least a few 10,000 years, was not impassioned when it spoke, but Ou Yangming believed in it just like that.

  With a flash of thought, Ou Yangming stopped communicating with it and slowly left his spiritual world.

  He was previously undecided about fighting for the Interspatial Spiritual Tree, but he finally made up his mind.

  It was a rare opportunity, and he would regret it forever if he missed it.

  However, while he focused on communicating with the Wutong Tree for a short period, 3 candidates had gone up to the high platform. They were the Liu family’s scholar, a human cultivator, as well as a spirit beast.

  Ou Yangming was dumbfounded. It was fine that the humans went up to exchange for the Interspatial Spiritual Tree, but why did a spirit beast join in the fun too?

  “Brother Ou, what happened to you just now?” Tian Yinghao quickly asked softly when he saw Ou Yangming opening his eyes.

  Ou Yangming chuckled and answered, “I sleepwalked just now. What’s happening now?”

  Tian Yinghao was struck dumb for some time, then he thought with a bitter smile, ‘Sleepwalking at this time? Who are you trying to lie?’ Even so, he also vaguely sensed that Ou Yangming was distracted earlier as the young fellow did not answer his question.

  He briefly explained everything to Ou Yangming, who understood what was going on right away. Since the Interspatial Spiritual Tree could only be exchanged with a treasure instead of spirit ores, the bidders had to present their treasures on the stage for Mao Jianbi to decide. If the treasures offered had similar values, the person that would call the shot had the highest authority.

  The other human powerhouse that went up to the platform came from a small sect, which was known for alchemy. The sect’s scale could not be mentioned on equal terms with that of the Beast King Sect, but they were not inferior in terms of the reputation of their alchemists.

  Since they were outstanding in alchemy, they might have their way to heal plants, so they were also interested in the Interspatial Spiritual Tree.

  As for the spirit beast, it came from the extremely rare Jade Rats. They were also famous for cultivating spiritual flowers and herbs, by which their reputation was not much lower than that of the Liu family.

  Needless to say, some other clans were also similarly qualified, but they decided to retreat after seeing those 3 candidates. After all, the sects and the race that the 3 candidates belonged to had higher chances of saving the Interspatial Spiritual Tree.

  Ou Yangming’s eyes flickered, and he sighed. “Interspatial Spiritual Tree…”

  Tian Yinghao was stunned as he could not understand why the young fellow suddenly became so sentimental.

  The young fellow shook his head, then he stood up straight and strode toward the platform.

  Tian Yinghao was taken aback, so he reached out to grab him and asked, “Brother Ou, what are you doing?”

  Ou Yangming pointed at the platform and answered, “I’m going up there.”

  “You’re going up there? Why?” Tian Yinghao was bewildered. He had somewhat guessed, but his deduction was too unreliable.

  “For the Interspatial Spiritual Tree! I mustn’t miss this opportunity!” Ou Yangming beamed. He later flashed and avoided Tian Yinghao to jump up to the high platform.

  Chapter 689 - Rescue Test

  On the high platform, Mao Jianbi glanced at the 3 powerhouses and was secretly satisfied.

  The forces that were represented by the 3 candidates could save the Interspatial Spiritual Tree. Needless to say, it would only be a possibility. Without a unique technique, it would simply be impossible. This was because the planting masters from the Beast King Sect had done their best. Even if there was the slightest chance to save the spiritual tree, they would not have offered the treasure.

  Once the candidates went up to the platform, Mao Jianbi decided to pick one of them.

  He did not plan to accept other candidates anymore.

  Nonetheless, it was then when someone else jumped up to the high platform. He was an overly young human cultivator, but Mao Jianbi was surprised by his cultivation base and even regarded him with special respect.

  The young fellow had not only become a Spiritualist, but he was also a proper Intermediate Spiritualist.

  Ou Yangming had curbed his aura, but he could not hide from a top-grade Spiritualist’s sensing ability without disguising with Fat Antelope’s cloak.

  He bowed at Mao Jianbi and expressed, “Senior, I’d like to compete for the Interspatial Spiritual Tree too.”

  Mao Jainbi furrowed his eyebrows and asked, “Who are you? Which clan or sect do you represent?”

  If it was someone else, Mao Jianbi might have rejected the person without being polite at all. However, given the young fellow’s cultivation base, the great elder figured that he was from an influential clan or sect, hence he should more or less show some respect.

  Ou Yangming answered with a smile, “I’m Ou Yangming, and I represent myself.”

  “Represent yourself?” Mao Jianbi sighed and said, “Young fella, if you only represent yourself, you don’t need to come.”

  “Why?” Ou Yangming was shocked.

  Mao Jianbi explained in a deep voice, “Our sect’s offering the Interspatial Spiritual Tree in hope that someone can heal it. If you can’t even fulfill this prerequisite, we won’t exchange it with you regardless of the treasure that you’ll exchange it for.”

  Nevertheless, Mao Jianbi did not know that the faces of some people from the crowd changed when Ou Yangming went up to the platform.

  They were clueless about Ou Yangming’s background, but they knew he had Yuqi the Venerable One’s jade pendant, which was equivalent to the Venerable One’s presence. On the contrary, Mao Jianbi had been cultivating in isolation and knew nothing about the outside world, thus he was not aware of the weird being.

  The people that knew exchanged glances and decided that they would get involved if Mao Jianbi ended up making Ou Yangming lose face. If not, it would not be good for the great elder and everyone else from the sect if Yuqi the Venerable One was infuriated.

  Ou Yangming asked after some thought, “Senior, will the Interspatial Spiritual Tree definitely be saved if you give it to them?”

  Mao Jianbi chuckled and responded, “Nonsense—even the Beast King Sect can’t heal it, so who dares to guarantee that they can? That said, their clans and sects have 1,000 years of experiences and inheritances in this aspect, so they might have secret arts that can save the Interspatial Spiritual Tree.”

  Ou Yangming nodded and commented, “I see, so it’s also a gamble if you give the spiritual tree to any of them.”

  Mao Jianbi was startled for a while, then he had a grim look on his face. “Young fella, no matter what, they’re more likely to save the Interspatial Spiritual Tree as compared to you. You shouldn’t leave now instead of wasting my time.”

  “Brother Mao, since Lil’ Brother Ou wants to compete, there’s no harm for you to give him a chance.” All of a sudden, an elder walked out of the crowd with his hands behind his back. He arrived below the high platform and spoke loudly.

  Everyone else turned to look at the same time. Those that recognized him were taken aback.

  It was Peng Yanbing, one of the sect elders that was known for equipment smithing in the Beast King Sect.

  His cultivation base was not as notable as that of Mao Jianbi, but he was not inferior to the great elder at all. This was because his level of attainment in smithing
art was one of a kind in the sect, such that Yuqi the Venerable One would also visit him if he wanted some pieces of equipment to be smithed.

  Mao Jianbi was slightly dumbfounded. He glanced at Ou Yangming and Peng Yanbing and mumbled to himself, ‘Is this young fella Sect Elder Peng’s descendant?’

  Ou Yangming cleared his throat and questioned, “Senior, you’re not willing to let me join in on this because you’re afraid that I’m not capable enough to save the Interspatial Spiritual Tree, am I right?”

  “Yes, that’s my concern.” Mao Jianbi raised his eyebrows.

  Although Peng Yanbing pleaded for the young fellow, Mao Jianbi did not hesitate to voice out his concern despite saying it in front of the sect elder.

  Given Peng Yanbing’s cultivation base, he naturally knew what he should hold on to and what he should give up on.

  The Beast King Sect was selling the Interspatial Spiritual Tree, but their real aim was to save it.

  Of course, the force that would save the spiritual tree must first be one of the sect’s friends. If the tree ended up with an enemy, who even managed to save it, they would have helped the enemy instead.

  Therefore, Mao Jianbi was unwilling to agree to it so easily even though Peng Yanbing recommended Ou Yangming.

  Ou Yangming chuckled and replied to the great elder, “This is easy. Senior, please bring the Interspatial Spiritual Tree here, and let us use our tricks to see if we can help the spiritual tree in any way.” He paused for a while before he added, “I’ll give up if I perform poorer than them. What do you think?”

  On and off the platform, everyone stared at the arrogant young fellow. Even Mao Jianbi did not expect him to suggest that.

  Everyone wondered at this moment, ‘Does this young fella have a unique ability to save the Interspatial Spiritual Tree?’

  Mao Jianbi pondered for a brief moment, then he turned to ask, “What do you think?”

  He was naturally asking the 3 candidates on the platform. They looked at each other and nodded.

  Under the circumstances, even if they were clueless about rescuing the Interspatial Spiritual Tree, they must agree to it, or they would become laughing stocks for the public.