"Gu Ming, what are you doing here?"

Gu Ming had been walking through the Northern Suburbs of Linbei for about ten minutes when a familiar voice suddenly called out from his right.

Cyan Treasure flicked its tongue, a look of delight on its face, and turned to the right.

The newcomer was none other than Gu Ming’s father.

Mr. Gu was a combat Beastmaster for a local security company, but he didn’t have battle assignments every day.

Urgent missions like today’s, requiring immediate deployment, were rare.

When they were dispatched, it was always for a tough fight.

As a frontline fighter, he didn’t need to think too much—just follow orders from his superiors.

After receiving an emergency invasion alert this morning, both of Gu Ming’s parents had been deployed. They had expended considerable effort slaying several Demon Fiends in the outskirts of Linbei District.

Some people were seriously injured, but fortunately, no Beastmasters had died. Most had only sustained minor injuries, and only a few local civilians were missing. The situation wasn’t as severe as they had feared.

Once all the Demon Fiends were eliminated, the highest-level state of alert was lifted.

Otherwise, Gu Ming wouldn’t have been able to get in.

They were now in the post-battle patrol phase, checking for any stragglers or corrupted Spiritual Objects.

Mr. Gu was bewildered to suddenly see his son in a post-battle zone.

’Gu Ming is supposed to be in special training at school or somewhere in the city. How does he have time to come here?’

Mr. Gu approached with his Black and White Long-Armed Ape and asked bluntly, "What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be studying!"

Gu Ming explained, "Dad, I have a feeling this Demon Fiend invasion might just be a vanguard sent to scout. We need to carefully check if they’ve left any footholds behind."

"You weren’t even in the battle. What nonsense are you spouting?

"That wasn’t a vanguard. It was a group of Five-star Demon Trees, the same type as the Demon Fiends from the Golden-Eyed Dragon Gate incident. They’re the main force.

"They probably came here to absorb the local Spirit Beasts as nutrients to produce Demon Fruits, but our people saw through their plan and wiped them out."

There was something Mr. Gu left unsaid.

’If their vanguard already has this much combat power, what would happen if the rest of their main army showed up?’

’If that moment truly comes, none of us will survive.’

Mr. Gu shook his head and gravely explained to Gu Ming just how dangerous this place was, filled with residual Demonic Qi.

Since they were fighting Demon Trees, their aura was toxic to Grass Element Pets.

The local security company and the military’s Grass Element Pet Beasts all left the field early after the battle to avoid having their minds corrupted.

’So for Gu Ming to bring Cyan Treasure here now... isn’t he just asking to absorb the toxic Evil Qi?’

"I just got here and you’re already trying to kick me out. It’s not that serious, is it?" Gu Ming demurred.

Walking down the street, he observed that while the road was a mess, there were no massive fissures. He couldn’t even find a large chasm.

The system had once revealed, "A new Demon War has begun," with the earth cracking, fissures everywhere, and trees drained of life. Yet, here, there were still many unscorched green trees, and the Beastmasters looked relaxed, basking in the mentality of a post-battle victory.

He knew the system’s "plot" often contrasted with reality. A thousand thoughts swirled in his mind, but when he spoke, all that came out was:

"I have a feeling there’s a tree seed here that’s perfect for Cyan Treasure’s Cultivation. Let me look a little longer. Cyan Treasure, you should also try to gain some Enlightenment from the scene, see what you can feel."

Enlightenment was an elusive thing. One could achieve it by watching a river, or by feeling the aftershocks of a battle.

Mr. Gu’s face darkened. "Silly boy, the ’Dao’ here isn’t for you.

"What’s left is all evil Demonic Qi. Even a powerful Pet Beast can’t suppress this Evil Qi.

"Leave now. This is no place for you."

Although Mr. Gu wasn’t an expert in raising Pet Beasts, he knew that the mental corruption of Demon Fiends was not to be underestimated.

Gu Ming couldn’t argue with his father’s insistence and had no choice but to leave with Cyan Treasure.

But this trip made him realize that ripples had appeared in the calm waters of his Cultivation life. It was time to speed up Cyan Treasure’s progress toward its Two-star Evolution.

Regardless of whether a great war was coming, he had to quicken his pace of Cultivation and make his Pet Beast stronger, lest he be powerless to protect his family when the time came.

Previously, Gu Ming had Cyan Treasure suppress its Foundation Establishment Platform and hold off on evolving because its body’s Attributes weren’t up to standard and it hadn’t accumulated enough in its Magic Power Inner Core.

A hasty Evolution would inevitably lead to mediocrity.

Gu Ming wanted Cyan Treasure to break through its limits—either through Super Evolution, or by using the Frozen Pill Method to build up its Magic Power Inner Core to the absolute maximum before evolving.

He could only choose one of the two.

’Rootless Wood...’ A memory flashed through Gu Ming’s mind.

A dark void split open, and countless black roots tore through Space, crawling over a treehouse like a vast ocean, ripping the very earth apart.

He suddenly realized this was a future scene from the system’s updated plot, which had been displaced into his memory at this moment.

In the vision, the sea of trees formed in the sky by the Rootless Wood from the void was a spectacular sight, suffused with a dense Spatial Attribute.

Whether it was evil or not depended on the hearts of the Beastmaster and their Pet Beast.

This combination of Spatial Attribute and Grass Element Power fascinated him.

After all, he also had a Space Attribute Hidden Mist Butterfly at home.

Gu Ming had already been leaving, but after savoring this memory, the idea of the Rootless Wood grew stronger in his mind.

He turned around and went back, finding his father. "Dad, where’s Mom? I want to see her."

Mr. Gu thought his son was just missing his mother. Though a little angry, he grumbled a few words but still led him to Mrs. Gu, who was patrolling nearby.

Mrs. Gu’s Hidden Mist Butterfly was circling around her, sensing for spatial fluctuations.

Seeing its young master, the Hidden Mist Butterfly fluttered over to Gu Ming’s hand, affectionately brushing its antennae against the back of his hand.

Gu Ming stroked the Hidden Mist Butterfly’s head and asked, "Hidden Mist Butterfly, have you felt any spatial fluctuations nearby? Especially any combined with trees."

He had a bold idea.

’If I can study the Rootless Wood and use it as a Grass Seed, letting Cyan Treasure unleash a similar power in the competition, it would definitely stun everyone.’

Besides, this kind of power that surpassed its current level was precisely the key to Cyan Treasure’s breakthrough.

The Hidden Mist Butterfly was a Space Element Pet Beast, extremely sensitive to such fluctuations.

Prompted by its young master, it immediately recalled an anomaly it had sensed during the battle.

The Demon Fiends hadn’t invaded through conventional channels but had teleported by tearing through the subterranean space.

The medium for this teleportation, however, had remained a mystery.

Now, hearing Gu Ming mention "space combined with trees," it instantly had a direction to investigate.

Mrs. Gu walked over, half-complaining:

"You’ve seen me. Time to go back now, right?"

She also didn’t want her child lingering in a place where the Evil Qi had not yet dissipated.

But the Hidden Mist Butterfly suddenly took off, following the spatial fluctuations and discovering a hidden "tree fissure."

Hearing this, Mrs. Gu had to go deal with it, telling Mr. Gu to send their son away.

Gu Ming, however, excitedly followed behind. The system quickly prompted him that it had detected a section of Rootless Wood that hadn’t been completely destroyed.

This charred piece of wood, severed from its source, had found new life amidst the ruins.

But after seeing the object on-site, Gu Ming determined that it wasn’t the so-called Rootless Wood. It was just a local, scorched tree branch that had fallen to the ground and was now sprouting new shoots in the sunlight, brimming with new life.

Clearly, this was another minor bug in the system; it had mistaken a newly-sprouting local Spirit Wood for Rootless Wood.

As Gu Ming picked it up, his Divine Sense Sword Body stirred slightly, and he felt a surge of Soul Power welling up inside him.

"You have touched the Rootless Wood. The Ghost Soul of the Hidden Mist Butterfly has emerged to purify its evil nature for you."

"The Rootless Wood’s tree seed has been obtained."

Gu Ming gripped the half-charred, half-green branch and turned to leave.