At this moment, everything around the Lotus Pond was undergoing earth-shaking changes. The pond had always been surrounded by some greenery, but because rainwater rarely gathered at the mountaintop, there were only a handful of real trees. Now, though, every tree had suddenly shot up to twice its height, lush shade covered the ground, and flowers bloomed everywhere—like something out of a painting.
"So beautiful!" Cindy Sun was practically mesmerized, as if every breath Ryan Ling took made a new flower bloom around him—and the ones encircling Ryan were especially vivid.
Cindy couldn’t help but sigh in wonder, her heart pounding with excitement. She desperately wanted to dance among the flowers in this sacred paradise.
Just then, the flowers drew butterflies to flutter and dance—one, then two... Soon, a whole swarm of butterflies of every color was gliding gracefully among the blossoms.
At that moment, Cindy couldn’t hold back any longer. She’d lived in Divine Medicine Valley for over ten years, but had never seen anything this beautiful. Without hesitation, she followed her heart—her whole body moved like a fairy, dancing among the flowers, her sprite-like figure especially lively.
Meanwhile, between the three great trees, Ryan Ling sat as still as stone—one full day and night—seeming not to breathe at all.
Outwardly there was no change, but inside him it was like a volcano—roiling and surging with energy.
Waves of powerful wood-element spiritual energy rampaged through his organs. His Purgatory Soul-Suppressing Art had reached the peak of its second layer, the surge in power left him mentally shaken, and the Hell Furnace was now fully under his control. He’d even basically grasped the second move of the Infernal Madblade Style—‘Severing Soul.’ If he wanted to break through, he could do it almost anytime!
But right now, none of that was the main point. What Ryan wanted most was to merge completely with the Wood-Element Immortal Relic—to forge the strongest possible flesh, the Glazed Wood-Body Golden Form.
The System had already made it clear: with his current strength, he still couldn’t truly reach the Foundation-Building Stage. Breaking through from the Qi-Refining Stage to Foundation-Building was at least equivalent to entering the Void Realm in martial arts, but the advantages of Foundation-Building were way beyond the Void Realm—completely incomparable.
Ryan Ling stared at the wood—it looked just like a plant root, except this root was a rare, shimmering gold.
"What on earth is this?" Ryan wondered aloud, curiosity burning—he could tell this root was worth more than he could ever imagine.
"Wait—could this be a root from the Ancient Heavenly Wood?" The System suddenly shouted inside him, so excited it could barely believe it.
"Ancient Heavenly Wood? What’s that?" Ryan asked, totally stunned.
"That’s an insanely mystical thing! Legend says that back in ancient China, there was a world-tree so massive its trunk covered thousands of acres, and its roots stretched for miles. Even crazier, its branches reached all the way up to the heavens—so people called it the Ancient Heavenly Wood. But hey, it’s just a myth. No one’s ever actually seen it!" The System’s eyes were practically bugging out.
"So this... this could really be a root from that tree?" Ryan’s heart was pounding with excitement.
"It’s possible! No ordinary spirit wood would have such insane repelling force. Buddy, I can’t believe you found a Heavenly Wood root in Dragonridge! From now on, no matter how tough it gets, you have to fuse with the Ancient Heavenly Wood—this is more important than anything, even breaking through Foundation-Building! Got it?" the System urged, voice urgent.
Ryan nodded. What he had to do now was merge with it—basically, get the spirit wood to recognize him as its master. Otherwise, once people find out about this treasure, he’ll be in for the fight of his life.
"Fusion, fusion, fusion!" By now, Ryan was drenched in wood-element aura—he practically was a tree. But the harder he tried to break the Ancient Heavenly Wood’s barrier, the more it blocked him, stronger than anything he’d ever faced.
It was like he was just born to be at odds with wood-element immortal arts!
Is he really just gonna sit on a mountain of treasure and stay broke?
He’d fought so hard for so long—no way was Ryan giving up now. But if this really was the Ancient Heavenly Wood, how the heck was he supposed to break through?
A barrage of questions spun around in Ryan’s head!
"Ryan, maybe your whole approach is off?" The System, always the backseat gamer, suddenly piped up.
"Just spit it out!" Ryan snapped.
"It’s simple. The Ancient Heavenly Wood is insanely tough. If you just try brute force, you’ll never get anywhere. Maybe you should add some gentle yin energy?" The System’s gaze slid over to Cindy Sun.
Ryan blinked. The System’s look was kind of sleazy, but it actually made sense.
The System continued, "And don’t forget: fire beats wood. Ordinary fire might not tame the Heavenly Wood, but maybe human desire could ‘burn’ it into submission. You don’t have time to think, and there’s no other way—get moving! I bet yin-yang fusion will work wonders!"
After hearing that, Ryan’s gaze locked straight onto Cindy Sun.
Cindy kept dancing, but she was so excited her clothes were soaked through—she’d worn something thin, and now her underwear was totally visible. With sweat glistening, she looked more womanly than ever, like a little woodland sprite turned goddess.
"Cindy!" Ryan suddenly jumped up, swallowing nervously as he called her name.
"Ryan! You’re finally up! You’ve been out for a whole day and night—I was worried sick!" Cindy ran over, beaming, and even the butterflies around her fluttered along.
"Beautiful!" Ryan couldn’t help but praise Cindy, especially since her underwear was even more obvious with all that sweat.
"Ryan, am I... am I pretty?" Cindy twirled in her skirt, looking fresh and lively.
"You’re gorgeous, but you’d be even hotter if you dialed up the sass!" Ryan teased, pulling Cindy in close.
"Ryan, what are you saying? You sound just like my cousin—so annoying!" Cindy protested, but she kept snuggling up to him anyway.
"You don’t like it?" Ryan joked, giving Cindy’s butt a playful squeeze.
Maybe Ryan squeezed a little too hard—Cindy yelped, "Ryan, that hurts..."
After the System finished talking, Ryan’s eyes were already glued to Cindy Sun.
Cindy kept dancing, her thin clothes soaked through with excitement—her underwear was clearly visible now. With sweat shining on her skin, she looked more womanly than ever, like a sprite turned goddess.
"Cindy!" In a flash, Ryan jumped up, swallowing hard as he called her name.
"Ryan, you’re finally awake! You’ve been out for a whole day and night—I was worried sick!" Cindy ran over, grinning, with butterflies fluttering around her.
"Beautiful!" Ryan couldn’t help but blurt out, especially with Cindy’s underwear even more obvious thanks to all the sweat.
"Ryan, am I... am I pretty?" Cindy spun around in her skirt, looking fresh and lively.
"You’re gorgeous, but you’d be even hotter if you dialed up the sass!" Ryan teased, pulling Cindy close.
"Ryan, what are you saying? You sound just like my cousin—so annoying!" Cindy pouted, but she kept snuggling up to him.
"You don’t like it?" Ryan joked, giving Cindy’s butt a playful squeeze.
Maybe Ryan squeezed a little too hard—Cindy yelped, "Ryan, that hurts..."