"This tree... truly is conscious!" Zhou Qing's hand holding the sword froze in mid-air, cold sweat instantly soaking his back.

Then, he slowly lowered the long sword in his hand, turned around, and looked at the withered tree with a chuckle.

"Junior... Junior is just kidding with you... No, I'm in simulation mode now, what am I afraid of!"

Zhou Qing's mouth twitched as he suddenly realized.

He let out a sinister laugh, raising the long sword in his hand again: "Whether you're alive or dead, I'll slash first and talk later!"

"Swish—"

Just as he was about to exert force, suddenly, a thick tree root whipped through the air like a lash!

"Bang!"

Zhou Qing didn't even have time to react; the sheer force whipped him across the Blood River, slamming heavily onto the rock wall on the opposite bank!

He heard the crisp sound of his rib breaking distinctly.

A fiery pain spread from his spine to his entire body, making his vision go dark, and his mouth involuntarily twitched.

"Hiss—really playing for keeps!"

He inhaled sharply, struggling to slide down from the rock wall.

As soon as "Demon-Suppressing Golden Bone" finished operating, two Corpse Wax Crows slowly stepped out from the darkness before him, eerie green ghost fire locked onto him...

...

Inside the room, Zhou Qing's consciousness returned to his body, but he couldn't help but inhale sharply.

It was clearly just a simulation, but the fiery pain on his back was incredibly vivid.

"What exactly is that withered tree?" he murmured to himself.

According to the second uncle, the mere value of the few remaining tender leaves on that tree far surpasses Transforming Divine Medicine.

Not to mention it's still nourishing that bizarre black heart.

"If this tree transformed, it'd definitely be a vindictive old man!" Zhou Qing muttered through gritted teeth, rubbing his faintly aching back.

Then, just when he was about to put away the Token, he noticed a blue light on the back flickering.

"Finally, it's here!" Zhou Qing's eyes lit up, quickly taking out a Spirit Stone to charge it.

With the infusion of Spiritual Power, his consciousness was once again pulled into the Divine Ruins Celestial Palace.

"Senior!" As soon as he entered, before Zhou Qing had the chance to speak, Shen Hanyi's excited voice came from the sixth blue sphere.

Zhou Qing forced himself to suppress his excitement, feigning calmness: "You're here too, huh."

Shen Hanyi nodded repeatedly: "Junior just finished comprehending the Inscription Level Divine Techniques that Senior gifted, and happened to notice Senior online..."

Her voice suddenly lowered a bit, "I thought you had already left..."

Zhou Qing quipped a long sigh, yet on the surface remained calm: "Oh, how's your cultivation going?"

"Still only one strand of Phoenix Dao Pattern, but this second strand..." Shen Hanyi's voice carried a bit of frustration, "is more than ten times harder than the first one."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qing's heart was filled with emotions.

He himself relied on the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree's cheat, and has only managed to cultivate five strands so far.

Then he leisurely said: "Encountering obstacles in cultivation is common, do you need guidance from me?"

"Can, can I really?" Hearing Zhou Qing's words, Shen Hanyi's voice noticeably grew more excited.

Zhou Qing suppressed his laughter and said: "Why not? I gave you the 'Hundred Tribulations Blood Curtain', it should come with after-sales service."

"After-sales... service?" Shen Hanyi repeated the unfamiliar term in confusion.

"It's inconvenient on my side, I'll go to yours to discuss in detail," Zhou Qing coughed lightly, quickly changing the subject.

Shen Hanyi nodded repeatedly, then invited Zhou Qing in.

In a swirl of light and shadow, the two were already standing under that familiar crooked-neck tree.

Shen Hanyi looked at the hazy Zhou Qing, took a deep breath: "Please, Senior, guide me, check if this first strand of Phoenix Pattern from Junior is adequate."

Zhou Qing nodded slightly, standing with hands behind his back.

As Shen Hanyi's elegant hand lifted slightly, a sudden surge of blood-red light shot up to the sky.

Immediately afterward, a blood-colored Phoenix with a wingspan of three zhang spread its wings behind her, each Feather inscribed with ancient Dao Patterns.

Most striking was the scarlet Feather at its heart, where the flow of Power of Law caused the surrounding space to subtly distort.

"Fall!"

As her sword finger gently tapped, the scarlet Feather transformed into a stream of light, plunging into her fingertip.

In an instant, the whole forbidden area shook and trembled!

Meanwhile, in the distance, black boats were silently advancing.

As the Blood Phoenix shrieked skyward, the terrifying sound wave transformed into substantial ripples, sweeping out.

The ten-plus black boats at the forefront were struck as if by lightning, their hulls violently shaking and veering off course.

Three of them even exploded directly, shards scattering!

Watching this scene, Zhou Qing's pupils contracted abruptly. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

The same Divine Techniques, when unleashed at late-stage Spirit Severing Realm, were simply terrifying!