Twisted Dreams-Chapter 72 - 44: The First Cultivator

The ground squirmed, and under the horrified gaze of the old Daoist priest, two undead crawled out.

One undead was tall and thin, with its mouth stretched to the ear, ribs poking through the flesh, hunched back, and arms hanging below the knees.

The other undead was as robust as a silver-backed gorilla, with protruding bone spurs on its back, and limbs to the ground.

The two undead quickly climbed up the peach tree, picked a peach, and handed it to the old Daoist priest.

The old Daoist priest held the peach and looked at the terrifying undead with rapid breathing.

Peach tree, two undead.

This setup reminded him of a pair from the Underworld.

The Classic of Mountains and Seas records:

On Du Suo Mountain, there is a great peach tree, extending three thousand miles, its branches leading to the eastern gate called the Ghost Gate.

A place for myriad ghosts to enter and exit, with two divine beings above the gate.

One named Shen Tu, the other Yu Lei.

The great peach tree corresponds to the peach tree, the two divine beings to the humanoid undead, and the Ghost Gate to the cemetery.

Perfect!

The old Daoist priest immediately bowed his head in excitement, tears streaming:

"I thought my end was near, never to cultivate immortality again!

Who would have thought, in my old age, I would finally see immortal fate!

Immortals! Immortals!"

When he looked up again, the divine tree was gone, and the two divine beings disappeared.

The old Daoist priest looked up to the sky and let out a crazed laugh:

"Hahaha! I, Daoist Master, have cultivated immortality!!!!"

The old Daoist priest held the peach and swallowed it in a few bites.

After consuming the peach, the old Daoist priest felt a sudden clarity in his mind.

Some mysterious, indescribable power entered his body.

This, in fact, was the peach from the Tree of Human Essence containing a large amount of Spiritual Power.

The influx of immense Spiritual Power forced open the old Daoist priest’s Sea of Spirit.

Of course, this level of Spiritual Power was insignificant to demons, but to the old Daoist priest, it was vast.

The old Daoist priest’s eyes widened in horror:

"This, this is Enlightenment!"

The old Daoist priest hurriedly sat in meditation.

Books from the Mystical Sect he had read before quickly came to mind.

Skillfully meditating, contemplating.

And so, the old Daoist priest fell asleep again.

Until the next day at noon, the old Daoist priest awoke.

The old Daoist priest opened his eyes, brilliance shooting forth.

He felt as light as a feather, as if reborn.

The old Daoist priest formed a hand seal and shouted angrily:

"Three-Flavored True Flame!"

Nothing happened.

The old Daoist priest was bewildered, and then realized:

"It must be that my level isn’t high enough to wield such powerful magic!"

The old Daoist priest thought for a moment, formed a hand seal, and shouted:

"Wind Control Technique!"

Having said that, the old Daoist priest started running quickly.

Fast as the wind, he could even leap through the forest like an ape.

As he sprinted, he let out an extremely joyful shout:

"I, Daoist Master, have understood! I have understood!"

In the cemetery, a funeral procession was taking place, and many people witnessed the old Daoist priest leaping through the trees, mouths agape in shock.

"What was that just now?"

"Was it a ghost?"

"There are no ghosts in broad daylight!"

"He called himself Daoist Master, which celestial master could he be?"

Apart from the funeral procession, a sparrow with a glint of wisdom in its eyes recorded everything about the old Daoist priest, flapping its wings and leaving the North City Suburban Cemetery.

...

Afternoon, South Sea, Half-Mountain Villa.

The afternoon was serene, with perfect sunlight.

Li Yang sat in the courtyard, surrounded by various flowers and plants.

After successfully creating the Tree of Human Essence, he was researching to create more Spirit Flower Immortal Herbs.

He was modifying a daffodil to have the ability to share Spiritual Power.

Once they had a Sea of Spirit and absorbed considerable Spiritual Power, wouldn’t they directly enhance Spiritual Power when consumed?

These so-called Immortal Herbs could also be used as rewards for members of the Demon Club.

Li Yang snapped his fingers.

A black magic circle appeared, with a soul floating within. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

These souls, wandering for too long in the mortal world, had lost wisdom and thought.

Strictly speaking, they were empty spirit bodies.

The spirit body drifted into a pot of daffodils.

Li Yang carefully transplanted the daffodil into the flowerbed, then dripped one drop of the Desire Potion.

The daffodil changed, blooming more brilliantly.

Because only one drop of the Desire Potion was used, the daffodil did not develop wisdom.

If Spiritual Power reached a certain level, the daffodil might possess human consciousness.

However, whether the consciousness of the daffodil is the same as that of the spirit body remains unknown.

Li Yang suddenly had a thought.

Could it be that the legendary Six Paths of Reincarnation, being reborn, follows this path?

Creatures die, souls lose memory and become spirit bodies.

Enter Hell, where the Death God sends the spirit bodies back to the mortal world.

In the next life, spirit bodies might be humans, plants, or beasts.

The longer time passes, the more Li Yang realizes his power resembles a weakened version of Yama, the Netherworld King.

Li Yang stood up, suddenly feeling a splitting headache.

Creating something new and extraordinary still consumes Soul Power.

Soul Power is much harder to obtain than Spiritual Power.

Many demons have no grasp of what Soul Power looks like, it is a special energy only the Death God can use.

Li Yang sat down on the steps, lighting a cigarette.

A crow flew over, narrating the day’s happenings of the old Daoist priest into Li Yang’s ear.

Li Yang was slightly surprised:

"He mastered extraordinary powers so quickly?"

Extraordinary powers come in many forms.

Being able to summon wind and rain is considered extraordinary power, summoning flames is considered extraordinary power, and traveling a thousand miles a day is considered extraordinary power.

Even the old Daoist priest, at his age, running like a monkey on tree tops is considered extraordinary power.

No matter the strength of the ability, as long as it surpasses the mundane, it counts as extraordinary power.

The old Daoist priest cannot be compared to demons.

Demons consume whole doses of Desire Potion, or parts thereof.

The old Daoist priest merely ate a fruit from the Tree of Human Essence.

And the Tree of Human Essence was merely watered with a dose of Desire Potion.

A single fruit from the Tree of Human Essence is equivalent to a Desire Potion diluted countless times, barely enough to reopen the Sea of Spirit.

The Tree of Human Essence was dosed with Deceit Demon, so its fruits contained only the power of the Deceit Demon.

Such as speed, strength, and enchantment.

If the Tree of Human Essence developed any strange superpowers, it could share them at will.

If one wanted more Demon Power and Spiritual Power from the Tree of Human Essence, the only way was to devour the Tree of Human Essence.

Devouring the Tree of Human Essence is impossible.

The Tree of Human Essence can enchant, escape through the earth, and is guarded by two undead.

Unless it’s a powerful demon, no one can touch the Tree of Human Essence.

Li Yang murmured:

"In some aspects, this person is truly a genius, with high enlightenment.

It seems the shared Spiritual Power just gained indeed came from him.

Although it’s minimal, it was a success."

Li Yang had created the Tree of Human Essence, so he naturally knew the abilities of its fruit.

Those who consume the fruit of the Tree of Human Essence, in terms of combat power, can’t even defeat the living dead.

Some people might need to meditate for a long time to understand the use of Spiritual Power, to run on tree tops like the old Daoist priest.

When these people comprehended the use of Spiritual Power, gaining it through meditation and the like, Li Yang would also gain shared Spiritual Power.

If more people like the old Daoist priest existed, even making extraordinary power commonplace, Li Yang felt he would soon ascend to divine status.

Li Yang watched the drifting clouds in the sky, murmuring:

"The old shaman knows nothing of the Demon Club’s existence or mine.

He merely saw the Tree of Human Essence, and the Tree of Human Essence can vanish at any time, no one can capture it.

So even if the outside world is in chaos because of the Tree of Human Essence, no one will know I did it.

Hehe, maybe someday they’ll even call the Tree of Human Essence the Enlightenment Tree."