"Wait, hold up—I'm not even dressed yet!" Cindy Sun panicked, grabbing her clothes off the bed in a hurry.
Angie Chen was stunned. This was the first time she'd ever seen Ryan Ling so flustered.
In a total scramble, the three of them threw on their clothes—hair a mess, shoes forgotten—and rushed straight to Simon Sun and Rose Zhan's room.
"Old Sun, urgent business—I've got something super important!" Ryan Ling didn't even think, just barged into Simon Sun's room. Turns out Simon and Rose, after finally reuniting, were in the middle of some serious couple time. After all the wild noises last night, they'd been at it for hours, and even this morning Simon was still going strong, dragging a sleepy Rose into a full-on morning session.
Ryan burst in right at the steamiest moment.
"Dude, seriously—can you step out for a sec?" Simon Sun blurted, mortified.
"Old Sun, I—I can't even show my face now!" Cindy Sun muttered, absolutely mortified.
...
Simon Sun was so startled by Ryan's sudden entrance that the blanket fell right off the bed, leaving everything on full display. Rose Zhan instantly covered her face and started kicking wildly—Simon almost got booted off the bed.
"Dad, Mom, seriously!" Cindy Sun's face was burning red with embarrassment.
Angie Chen was speechless. "Uncle Sun, Aunt Rose, you two have way more stamina than me! I can't even keep up!"
"Angie, Cindy, hurry up and get out!" Rose Zhan was on the verge of a meltdown.
...
About five or six minutes later, Simon Sun finally opened the door. He'd straightened his clothes, but his face was still a little red.
"Ryan, bro, can you just pretend you didn't see anything?" Simon Sun said awkwardly.
"Old Sun, we don't have time for that right now!" Ryan Ling turned to Rose Zhan in a rush. "Aunt Rose, where did you get the material for Cindy's necklace?"
Rose Zhan froze when she heard the question. She took the necklace, scratched her head, and said, "That was years ago... I honestly can't remember!"
"Aunt Rose, you have to remember! This is super important—Cindy said you made it right here in Divine Medicine Valley. Try to think back!" Ryan Ling was getting anxious. This was an Immortal Art, a once-in-a-lifetime treasure. No way he was letting it slip by.
"In Divine Medicine Valley?" Rose Zhan had just come back to the land of the living, so her memories were a bit fuzzy.
Seeing how anxious Ryan Ling was, Cindy Sun quickly chimed in, "Mom, you made it just for me! I remember it was pouring rain that day, and while you were gone all these years, I've worn it every single day."
"It was raining heavily?" Rose Zhan frowned, but with Cindy Sun’s reminder, she suddenly recalled, "If I remember right, it should be near the Lotus Pond in Divine Medicine Valley. I saw a beautiful jade stone there, brought it home, and made it into a necklace for Cindy!"
"So that’s it! We have to go to the Lotus Pond right now!" Ryan Ling couldn’t wait another second. Angie Chen and the others immediately wanted to tag along.
But Simon Sun quickly stopped them. "It’s better if everyone else stays here. The forest by the Lotus Pond is thick, and there are lots of poisonous snakes. If you want to go, Ryan, let me go with you to check it out first!"
"Yeah, let Old Sun and me go first. You all stay home—everyone’s exhausted after last night, so just rest!" As soon as Ryan finished, not only Cindy Sun and Angie Chen, but even Rose Zhan blushed.
The three women didn’t object. After all, the Lotus Pond sits deep at the highest point of Divine Medicine Valley—not exactly easy to reach.
No matter how tough it was, Ryan Ling was determined to go.
Once they were ready, Simon Sun led Ryan Ling toward the Lotus Pond. In Dragonridge, the old Orthodox Unity Daoist Sect’s Dragonridge Mountain was the tallest peak, while the Lotus Pond sat on the region’s second-highest.
The mountain was steep and thick with forest, and medicinal herbs grew everywhere. Simon Sun walked quickly, clearly familiar with the area. But ordinary herbs didn’t interest him—his real target now was the Wood-Element Immortal Art.
"Ryan, we’re almost at the Lotus Pond. There’s a ton of poisonous snakes up there. I brought some strong realgar liquor—want a sip?" As they neared the pond, Simon Sun didn’t dare let his guard down, immediately pulling out the liquor.
"You drink it—I don’t need any!" Ryan Ling’s cultivation was so strong that his aura alone kept not just snakes, but even wild beasts at bay.
No sooner had he finished speaking than several snakes coiled on the branches nearby vanished like they’d seen their natural enemy—gone without a trace.
"Ryan, your skills are really one-of-a-kind!" Simon Sun couldn’t help but marvel at the sight.
"That’s nothing special!" Ryan Ling smiled. He’d only shown a fraction of his power—if Simon Sun weren’t here, a full blast would’ve wiped out not just snakes, but stripped the ground bare.
With that, Ryan couldn’t wait any longer and strode straight for the Lotus Pond. The so-called pond was really a mountain spring pooling into a clear, sweet basin. Scattered in the water were multicolored stones—Harvey Jin called these jade raw embryos.
They weren’t exactly priceless, but stones with such good color were rare. Clearly, this deep-mountain Lotus Pond was a real treasure spot.
But even after finding the source rock for the necklace, where was that powerful Wood-Element Immortal Art aura coming from?
Ryan Ling glanced around—the area was crowded with towering trees.
"If you want those stones, Ryan, I’ll dive in and fish them out for you right now!" Simon Sun offered enthusiastically.
But Ryan Ling wasn’t interested in the jade raw embryos. Just then, the System’s Ghost Elder piped up inside him: "Ryan, look for the tallest, densest trees nearby. If I’m right, what we want is hidden among those giants—move!"
"Got it!" Ryan nodded, and shot off like a monkey. Simon Sun stared, baffled—he had no idea what Ryan was searching for.
Ryan couldn’t explain, so he focused entirely on the big trees around the Lotus Pond. The area wasn’t large, but the trees grew thick and close together.
"It should be just ahead—the aura’s getting stronger! Hurry!" The System’s Ghost Elder sounded excited, like he was afraid someone else might snatch the relic first.
Suddenly, Ryan spotted three massive trees to the south of the pond, their trunks twice as thick as any others nearby, all growing close together.
"That’s it—right in the middle of those three! Dig, quick!" The System urged, voice trembling with excitement.
Ryan didn’t hesitate. He dashed down and started digging like mad.
Simon Sun was totally baffled. Ryan didn’t want the jade stones—was he here to dig for wild ginseng or something?
He hurried over, but all he saw were dead branches—no rare herbs anywhere. Meanwhile, Ryan was digging with wild enthusiasm.
Just then, the System suddenly shouted, "That’s it! Right below! It’s an immortal relic—absolutely an immortal relic!"
With the System’s cry, Ryan unearthed a piece of dead wood as black as charcoal—the Wood-Element Immortal Relic.
It looked totally ordinary—most people wouldn’t give it a second glance. But Ryan sensed a tremendous, hidden vitality inside it. To him, it was a priceless treasure.
Is this the legendary Wood-Element Immortal Relic?
Just how powerful is Wood-Element Immortal Art, anyway?
Ryan was full of questions—his curiosity was burning.
"Ryan, you’ve really struck gold this time. That chunk of dead wood may look worthless, but the Wood-Element Immortal force inside is off the charts—way beyond what I expected!" the System exclaimed.
"Now that I’ve got the relic, just how strong are Wood-Element Immortal Arts?" Ryan pressed.
"If you master Wood-Element Immortal Arts, you can command every wood-element plant around you—they’ll obey your every word!"
...
"If you master Wood-Element Immortal Arts, your lifespan will be insanely long—at least ten times that of a normal person!"
...
"If you master Wood-Element Immortal Arts, your vitality will be off the charts. Even if your body gets destroyed, your consciousness can hide in any wood-element plant and escape death!"
...
"Bottom line: if you fully grasp the strongest Wood-Element Immortal Arts, you’ll be almost immortal!" the System said.