When Joe Di returned, he sensed Jade Yu's aura climbing ever higher. The surge in her presence was nearly equal to what Wu Cheng had unleashed before—clearly, Jade Yu was on the verge of entering the Innate Stage.
It seemed Jade Yu's acquisition of that green Vitality Core was a tremendous stroke of fortune. That life force was far more than just ordinary vitality—the Rootling itself didn't even grasp the full extent of its power.
"Big Brother..." The moment Joe Di returned, the Rootling greeted him with a fawning tone, clearly hoping Joe would release the restriction placed upon it.
Boom! Wild elemental energy began to swirl around Jade Yu. Soon, a vortex of energy formed above her head, and her aura surged to a critical threshold. Joe Di could feel the tremors of Jade Yu's breakthrough.
Jade Yu opened her eyes, unable to hide the joy within them. The instant she broke through, she hurriedly rose and bowed to Joe Di. "Joe Di, thank you for saving me—and for giving me the chance to advance to the Innate Stage."
Then she cupped her fists toward the Rootling. "Though you killed my Elite Class Five classmates, I still thank you for that treasure you gave me—it allowed me to step into the Innate Stage."
The Rootling snorted. "Quit bragging. You think you've entered the Innate Stage?"
Jade Yu was momentarily stunned. She knew perfectly well whether she had reached the Innate Stage or not—what did the Rootling mean by this?
"Little Root, what do you mean? I can clearly see she's broken through to the Innate Stage." Joe Di gave the Rootling another pat on the head.
The Rootling wouldn't dare speak to Joe Di as casually as it did to Jade Yu. Putting on a sycophantic face, it quickly replied, "Big Brother, the Innate Stage is as powerful as a Foundation Establishment cultivator. She's only just broken through to the Heaven-tier of martial arts—she's still worlds away from Innate."
Jade Yu stared blankly at the Rootling. If what the Rootling said was true, then no one on the Celestia Plaza had actually reached the Innate Stage? The so-called Ten Great Innates were nothing but a joke?
Joe Di, however, began to understand the Rootling's words. He realized the Rootling was speaking the truth. It seemed that the Innate Stage here was equivalent to a Martial King, while Heaven-tier was merely a Grandmaster.
No wonder Martial Kings were so rare in the Kingdom of Ji—after all, they were equivalent to Foundation Establishment cultivators. Having more of them would be extraordinary.
"You sure know quite a bit." Joe Di eyed the Rootling, already considering how he might take it with him. With the Rootling around, he could learn about cultivation anytime—plus arraycraft and restrictions. It was like having a walking beginner's dictionary for cultivation.
The Rootling puffed up with pride. "Naturally."
Now that Joe Di acted like a rookie in front of it, the Rootling was especially smug.
Joe Di casually lifted the restriction on the Rootling, then turned to the still-stunned Jade Yu. "Jade Yu, let's go."
After speaking, he looked back at the Rootling. "Hurry and open the trapping formation here. I'm leaving."
When the Rootling realized Joe Di was truly letting it go, it became so excited its root-head bobbed up and down like a pecking chick. "Yes, yes, I'll open the trapping formation right away so you can leave, Big Brother!"
Jade Yu finally snapped out of her daze. She hadn't expected Joe Di to actually spare the Rootling. Since Joe Di let it go, she naturally wouldn't attack either. She'd realized that the Rootling cultivated by draining blood simply because it viewed absorbing blood and nutrients from the soil as the same thing. No one had ever taught it what could be used for cultivation and what couldn't.
"By the way, Instructor Yu, since you advanced so quickly, won't someone ask you about it when you get back?" Joe Di suddenly asked, as if it were a casual thought.
Jade Yu nodded. "Of course they'll ask."
"So what will you tell them?" Joe Di pressed, still sounding nonchalant.
"I can only tell the truth. I'm an instructor at the Martial Academy, and developing Celestia is part of my responsibility. Besides, my student Sita died here." Jade Yu replied, her voice tinged with sorrow.
"So you're saying that the experts from Celestia Plaza will come here too, and ask Little Root for the green Vitality Core?" Joe Di sounded genuinely surprised as he spoke.
Jade Yu hadn't quite processed it yet, but she nodded gloomily. "Yes."
She had no intention of hiding anything for the Rootling. Not only had it almost killed her, it had truly killed her Elite Class Five classmate, Sita.
The Rootling shivered and cried out, "Big Sis, I've already given you all my green Vitality Core! I don't have a drop left!"
Regret now flooded the Rootling like a vast ocean. It had taught Joe Di about restrictions, only for Joe Di to use those very techniques to subdue it. It had given Jade Yu the green Vitality Core, only to end up attracting even more people who would demand it.
Jade Yu glanced apologetically at the Rootling but didn't respond. Whether it had any green Vitality Core left was hardly up to the Rootling to decide. She understood human greed all too well. If word got out that she had obtained a Vitality Core, people would hound her for answers, unable to sleep at night until they knew.
"Sigh!" Joe Di let out a breath. "Honestly, with Little Root's abilities, it shouldn't have anything to fear. What worries me is that people will ask Instructor Yu what method she used to attack the Rootling, and then they'll all show up with different kinds of flames. Just thinking about it, I wonder if I should help Little Root... Forget it, those people might even come after me. I'd better leave while I can."
Compared to those ruthless types, I'm as gentle as a little bunny. The moment I arrived at Celestia Plaza, I was surrounded by people far tougher than me. One guy even threatened me with a massive fireball, and I had to hand over my three most precious possessions to get away. So... Little Root, hurry up and open the trapping formation."
The Rootling was terrified by Joe Di's words. Joe Di alone had nearly skinned it alive—if a whole crowd like him came... No, worse, if a group even more vicious than Joe Di showed up... And that fireball, which could even threaten Joe Di...
The consequences were too much for the Rootling to even imagine. It couldn't think of anything else now and cried out, "Big Brother, Big Brother, can't you take me with you?"
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After speaking, as if afraid Joe Di would ignore it, the Rootling hurriedly added, "Big Brother, I know a lot—and I can keep teaching you about restrictions and arraycraft."
Joe Di frowned, hesitating. "Is that so... Still, it won't work. If those people come after me too, I'm finished. Besides, it seems you can't leave either."
"Big Brother, Celestia is huge! We can hide, and those people will never catch us." The Rootling spoke so fast, it seemed desperate to spill out everything in its heart.
"But you can't get out either." Joe Di spread his hands and took another step back.
The Rootling quickly cried, "Big Brother, I can get out! As long as you sign a friendly blood contract with me, you can take me away. Once we're out, we can dissolve the contract."
Joe Di gave the Rootling a contemptuous look. "Tell me, Little Root—if I have to attract the attention of all those ruthless types from Celestia Plaza, get hunted down, and take you with me, what do I get out of it?"
The Rootling wanted to say, 'Didn't I give you a Vitality Core and teach you about restrictions and arrays?' But seeing Joe Di's disdainful gaze, it realized that if it said so, Joe Di would surely mock it. The Vitality Core was the price for trapping Joe Di here; teaching him about restrictions and arrays was the price for not getting killed. Joe Di alone was terrifying enough—if even fiercer people came...
The Rootling dared not think further. It quickly put on a flattering expression and said, "Big Brother, do you have any better ideas?"
Joe Di stroked his chin, scrutinizing the Rootling for a long while before finally saying, "You do look a bit cute..."
"Yes, yes, I'm very cute! Super cute! And I can make funny faces too..." the Rootling said, pulling a face.
Jade Yu struggled to hold back her laughter. The Rootling's funny face wasn't cute at all—it looked like a wicked ghost. She understood Joe Di's intention now: he wanted to take the Rootling with him.
"Stop!" Joe Di interrupted the Rootling. "How about we sign a servant soul restriction instead?"
"Huh..." The Rootling stared at Joe Di, dumbstruck. A servant soul restriction? That meant if Joe Di told it to go east, it couldn't go west.
"If you don't want to, then wait for someone else to come burn you." Joe Di turned to leave.
"No, I'll do it!" The Rootling cried out as soon as it saw Joe Di turning away. Thinking about how all of Joe Di's restrictions were ones it had taught him, it wanted nothing more than to slap itself silly.
A servant soul restriction was simple: the Rootling allowed Joe Di to imprint a breath restriction deep within its soul, one that only Joe Di could control. If the Rootling ever disobeyed, Joe Di could take its life with a thought.
Sure enough, after imprinting the restriction deep in the Rootling's soul, Joe Di immediately sensed his control over it.
Joe Di felt no guilt or embarrassment about this. The Rootling was ruthless—who knew how many innocent people it had drained just to advance its cultivation.
Once the mark was set, the Rootling immediately separated from its main body, shrinking down to a true tree-person just over a foot tall. From now on, its fate was tied to Joe Di—if anything happened to Joe Di, it would vanish as well.
......
After leaving the Root Maze's trapping formation, Joe Di parted ways with Jade Yu. Jade Yu returned alone to Celestia Plaza, while Joe Di took the Rootling back to the fiend beast's lair. Now, his top priority was to refine the Bonekeeper Ring in his possession and see if it really was a storage ring.