"Not bad. Your abilities are already quite strong, and you can keep strengthening your Primordial Wind Qi in the future. When the time comes, it'll be even easier for you to use it," said the chieftain.
"Thank you, senior." Evan Yang knew all of this was thanks to the mysterious chieftain; otherwise, the bloodshed before him wouldn't have vanished so quickly.
"Alright, your business here is settled. Now it's time to help you enhance your abilities," the chieftain said with a smile.
"Enhance?" Evan was puzzled. Just then, the chieftain grabbed him, and a vision flashed before his eyes. In the next instant, they appeared somewhere else.
When they stopped, all around were trees and vines, some flowers, and thorny tendrils. But most striking were the totems, trees, and flowers encircling one spot—a patch of ground completely bare, not even a blade of grass.
"Although your Heaven-Cold Seed has fused with your body, it hasn't fully shown its true effects. In this place, you should be able to comprehend something useful for your Heaven-Cold Seed," the chieftain said.
Evan was thrilled and grateful. "Thank you, senior."
"I'll send you in. Let me know when you're done." With that, the chieftain swept Evan inside. When Evan appeared again, he'd arrived within the area.
As soon as Evan paused inside, he felt a comfortable sensation throughout his body, as if his inner power was about to burst out. Knowing the place was working, he quickly sat down and closed his eyes.
"Good talent—he's enlightened so quickly." Seeing Evan close his eyes, the chieftain commented.
Evan had no idea the chieftain was evaluating him.
Evan closed his eyes and let himself drift. He had no idea how much time passed—he only felt an overwhelming comfort throughout his entire body.
He was completely unaware that the Heaven-Cold Seed inside him was quietly changing, its influence spreading through every drop of his blood.
Who could have guessed this would last an entire year? Only then did Evan slowly open his eyes—and in that instant, his cultivation surged like a flood, jumping from first-tier Heavenly-Immortal straight to fifth-tier. Even he hadn’t expected such speed, but he knew it was thanks to this place.
As Evan checked his body, the chieftain brought him out and asked, "How did it go?"
"I reached fifth-tier Heavenly-Immortal," Evan replied.
"Fifth-tier Heavenly-Immortal? Only that much?" The chieftain looked doubtful.
Evan was stunned. What did he mean, 'only that much'? He'd just advanced four whole realms—yet the chieftain's next words shocked him even more.
"Senior, normally how much would one improve here?" Evan asked curiously.
The chieftain thought for a moment, then said, "By my reckoning, you should've at least broken through to Mysterious-Immortal here. Looks like your body’s potential is incredible—a true miracle."
This potential made Evan secretly delighted, though he could only smile awkwardly and say, "Senior, you flatter me."
"Alright, let's not talk about that now. You came here for the Ten-Million-Year Wood-Heart, right?" the chieftain asked.
"Yes, that's right. I just don't know where to find one," Evan replied directly.
"We have one right here. Come, I'll take you to see it," said the chieftain.
With another grab, the chieftain shifted space again. When Evan appeared, he was stunned: before him stood a massive tree, at least ten zhang tall and incredibly wide—anyone could tell it was extraordinary.
"This is the divine tree here. It's at least Ten-Million-Years old—it was already here when I first arrived," the chieftain said with a smile.
Evan was curious about the chieftain's age—could he be ancient? But he didn't ask, only smiled and said, "Senior, can I get a piece of Wood-Heart from it?"
"Wood-Heart? You can, but it needs to agree. That's not up to me," the chieftain replied with a smile.
"Who needs to agree?" Evan asked curiously.
"Of course, it's this divine tree. It's up to you now. I'll leave—just call out when you're done and I'll know," said the chieftain.
With that, the chieftain vanished. Evan looked around, then at the tree before him and said, "Divine tree, can you hear me?"
At first, Evan was just calling out like a child, but to his surprise, a voice answered: "Young man."
"You can actually talk?" Evan was shocked. The tree had no eyes or feet—what was it?
"I've become a spirit, so of course I can. Besides, you have a similar one on you, though it's still weak," said the divine tree.
Evan recalled the little tree soul he'd acquired before. Though not strong yet, it could absorb weak, soulless spirits—a handy helper.
"I see. So, can you give me a Ten-Million-Year Wood-Heart?" Evan pleaded.
"You want a Ten-Million-Year Wood-Heart? Why?" asked the tree spirit.
So Evan explained his reasons. After hearing him out, the tree spirit laughed, "So that's it? Go ahead—it's just a Ten-Million-Year Wood-Heart."
A moment later, red, blue, and white pieces of wood appeared—each about the size of two palms, and ten pieces of each color. Evan glanced over them.
"What are these?" Evan asked, puzzled by the different types of wood.
"There are three kinds of wood blocks here: the white ones are the Ten-Million-Year Wood-Hearts you want, the blue ones are Ten-Ten-Million-Year Wood-Hearts, and the red ones are Hundred-Ten-Million-Year Wood-Hearts," said the divine tree.
Evan was stunned for a while after hearing this. "Hundred-Ten-Million-Year?"
"Yes, these are leftovers from before—I've got no use for them, except that old fellow sometimes asks for some to forge treasures. Now I'll give you some; maybe you'll need them in the future," said the divine tree.
Evan knew these Wood-Hearts were top-tier materials—any artifact made from them would probably be at least seventh- or eighth-grade Immortal weapons.
"Thank you," Evan finally said from the heart.
"Go on, then. If you ever grow strong and need my help, just let me know. This world needs you," said the divine tree.
"This world needs me?" Evan didn't understand. What did that mean?
"You don't need to understand now. You'll know in the future," the divine tree replied.
Evan felt the divine tree's words were too deep, so he just nodded. The voice faded. When he looked at the tree again, his eyes were filled with respect. After regaining his composure and storing the Wood-Hearts, he called out to the chieftain.
The chieftain appeared before Evan and smiled, "Alright then."
"Thank you, chieftain," Evan said.
"No problem. I'll send you out now," the chieftain said with a smile. He grabbed Evan, and in a flash, they returned to the tribe.
Back in the tribe, the chieftain said to Evan, "Remember to keep a low profile. If you ever need help, come find me." "Thank you, senior, I'll remember," Evan replied.
"Alright, I'll take my leave. The rest is up to you—stay or go, it's your choice," said the chieftain.
Evan nodded, and watched as the chieftain disappeared. Sylvia Greenwood and Lila Greenleaf were waiting by the tree-hollow entrance, watching Evan.
Having obtained what he wanted, Evan naturally planned to leave, but he still wanted to thank those who helped him. He walked over and thanked the two in their respective languages.
"You're really leaving?" Lila asked.
"Yes, I'm leaving," Evan replied.
"I wonder if you could do me a favor," Lila asked, biting her lip.
"Oh? What kind of favor?" Evan asked curiously.
"I was hunted years ago, but my clan doesn't know I'm still alive. So I want you to deliver a message to my parents—just tell them I'm safe and not to worry," Lila said.
"You're not planning to return?" Evan asked.
"Return? Do you know who tried to kill me?" Lila asked.
"No idea. Was it your family?" Evan asked, curious.
"That's right. My brother tried to kill me. If I go back and he finds out, he'll come after me again. So you mustn't let him know," Lila said.
"I see." Evan hadn't expected her story to be so tragic.
"Here is my family's address and my parents' names. When you find them, just tell them about me, but don't let anyone else know. Otherwise, they'll come here—and if that happens, it'll be their lives at risk. I don't want my clan to suffer because of me," Lila said.
"You're too kind-hearted," Evan said.
"This is between me and my brother—it shouldn't involve the clan. It's what I must do," Lila replied.
"Alright, I understand," Evan said, taking Lila's message.
"Thank you," Lila said gratefully.
"No need. If not for you, I wouldn't have gained so much," Evan said, grateful himself. Without her, he wouldn't have known how to communicate with these people, or about the Heaven-Cold Seed, or Ice Immortal Sovereign.
Most importantly, Evan had learned the wind attribute. Now he possessed multiple elements, and wind's power was strong enough to tear people apart.
Evan knew this wasn't wind's strongest form—he remembered the storm that day, fierce enough to shred people.
"You deserved it. If not for things you cared about, I would've let them destroy you," Lila said awkwardly.
Evan chuckled, "Rivals become friends."
Lila smiled. "Friendship forged through conflict—thank you."
Evan nodded, then said, "I should go now. Goodbye."
"Goodbye," Lila replied.
Evan looked at everyone, said his farewells, then flew into the sky, finally leaving the planet and heading back to his original path. Since it would take months to return, Evan entered the tower.
Inside the tower, Hannah Nangong saw Evan and exclaimed with surprise and joy, "I thought something had happened to you!"
"Uh, not really—just ran into a few things." Evan thought about how over a year had passed outside, but fifty years had gone by here. It was terrifying.
"You were gone for decades—I really thought you were dead." Tears rolled down Hannah Nangong's cheeks.