Chapter 181: Gaining the Wood-Spirit Heart Technique, Preparing to Slay Beneath the Water

A deep, resonating voice echoed in the air, startling Yu Xian.

What was going on?

Could it be that the Nascent Soul expert was still alive?

Otherwise, why would such a voice be directed at him?

What kind of wood was he? He was a human!

But if he had to answer… then maybe he’d be elmwood?

Yu Xian chuckled silently at the thought and was just about to respond.

But before he could speak, the giant phoenix tree laughed again and said, “You all are but little woods.”

“Today, I have comprehended the Dao. I shall demonstrate it. If you little woods are fated, you might also gain intelligence.”

So, the phoenix tree’s words weren’t aimed at Yu Xian, but at the countless flora within the vast Ten Thousand Mountain Range.

This phoenix tree—tallest, sturdiest, and most ancient—was the king of the vegetation in these mountains!

“A thousand years of sensing, and the wood has gained awareness.”

The phoenix tree swayed its branches as it declared in a teaching tone: “This is the Wood-Spirit Heart Resonance Technique. Gather the wood essence of heaven and earth. If you little woods follow this spiritual path, you may awaken intelligence and begin cultivation.”

This Wood-Spirit Heart Resonance Technique was an excellent cultivation method for plant spirits, enabling them to develop sentience.

Yu Xian watched attentively and quickly grasped the first two stages.

But before he could learn the third stage, the scene suddenly disappeared before his eyes.

Opening his eyes again, the Nascent Soul fragment in his hands had vanished.

Though his cultivation base didn’t increase, his Qi Sea expanded by half a zhang, brimming with spiritual energy that nourished the elm tree rooted within.

Two Nascent Soul fragments weren’t a huge fortune—but neither were they minor.

“Wood-Spirit Heart Resonance Technique…”

Yu Xian exhaled gently, committing the first two stages of the technique to memory.

This cultivation method was designed for plant spirits.

Even if human cultivators wanted to learn it, it was useless to them.

After all, it operated based on the internal structures of trees, not the meridians, dantian, and Qi Sea of the human body.

But then Yu Xian smiled slightly.

Within his Qi Sea, the little elm tree rooted on the base platform had begun to sway, mimicking the phoenix tree’s motions, and started practicing the Wood-Spirit Heart Resonance Technique.

Immediately, a refreshing sensation emanated from his dantian and flowed into his consciousness, subtly nourishing his soul and mind, bringing clarity and focus.

Yu Xian’s smile deepened.

It was just an experiment—but it actually worked.

He couldn’t practice the technique himself, but the elm tree in his dantian could. And that was effectively the same thing.

Moreover, the elm tree seemed to practice it naturally, without needing Yu Xian’s control.

It cycled continuously, bringing a gentle, ongoing flow of clarity and soul nourishment to Yu Xian’s spiritual awareness.

The Wood-Spirit Heart Resonance—awakens mind and consolidates soul.

Although the effects were faint to the point of nearly imperceptible…

They were constant.

It was like being a plant spirit himself—taking hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years to accumulate enough sentience to become conscious.

But Yu Xian was already a human with a soul and awareness. He skipped those steps entirely.

So all the nourishment produced by this method now worked like an endless tonic—fortifying his soul and sharpening his mind day and night, without pause.

“I don’t know exactly how useful this will be yet, but anything that strengthens the soul must be valuable later…”

Murmuring to himself, Yu Xian let the little elm tree continue practicing the technique endlessly in his Qi Sea.

As for himself, he exhaled softly, closed his eyes, and resumed cultivating his core technique: Ten-Thousand-Year Wood Spring Art.

This was his true lifeblood technique—it couldn’t be delayed.

One peaceful night passed quickly.

The next day, Yue Pingfeng emerged from his room. His face was calm but still held a hint of regret.

Two Nascent Soul fragments—just not enough. He had sensed the cusp of a breakthrough, but it wasn’t quite there.

Maybe with dozens of fragments, he could have broken through.

But that was just wishful thinking. Where would he find so many Nascent Soul fragments to consume?

Still, the fragments had helped him a great deal.

Seeing Yu Xian, Yue Pingfeng grinned and said, “Brother, those fragments were a huge help! I feel like I’ve moved my Core Formation forward by at least ten years! Hahaha!”

Yu Xian could see the regret in his eyes but had no way to help. He didn’t have any more fragments.

He sighed quietly and smiled, “Congratulations, Brother Yue. I hope you reach Core Formation soon!”

Yue Pingfeng laughed and clapped him on the back. “No rush, I’m only in my eighties—I’ve got decades of time. Come, let’s continue smithing.”

Yu Xian nodded.

Forming a Golden Core was a deeply personal journey. Others could assist, but not complete it for you.

Even Nascent Soul cultivators couldn’t guarantee their disciples would succeed—otherwise, every one of their juniors would have a Core by now.

Talent, perseverance, effort, insight, and a bit of luck—none could be lacking.

Yu Xian pulled out a large quantity of tier-3 crafting materials. Under Yue Pingfeng’s guidance, he resumed his intense study of artifact forging.

Three months passed quietly.

During that time, Yu Xian burned through tens of thousands of spirit stones’ worth of tier-3 materials.

He trained relentlessly, not caring if he wasted materials.

His forging skills skyrocketed.

He’d nearly mastered the entire process of crafting tier-3 magic artifacts.

But to fully grasp it, he’d need another two or three months—and another fortune in materials.

Forging was expensive, even more than alchemy.

Spirit herbs could regrow. Spirit ores couldn’t.

Once a spiritual ore was damaged during forging, its spiritual energy was gone for good—useless.

This wasn’t mundane iron that could be melted down and reused.

And Yu Xian didn’t have any heaven-defying treasure to recycle scraps…

So every bit of spirit stone had to be spent.

On this day, Yu Xian completed a tier-3 superior-grade cauldron-shaped artifact.

“Not bad!” Yue Pingfeng praised. “You’ve almost mastered tier-3 forging. I think you’ll be ready for tier-4 within a month.”

Yu Xian put the item away and smiled. “Hardly. My storage bag’s already full—I need you to help sell these for me.”

“Haha, of course.”

Yue Pingfeng laughed. “Your artifacts are high-quality. You’ve probably already broken even on material costs. I remember when I was learning—I lost everything down to my underwear!”

They both chuckled and stood up.

Materials were running low.

Time to sell these items to the Jinlin Pavilion and exchange them for more materials to continue practicing.

Yu Xian was finally self-sufficient with tier-3 items.

But tier-4… that would be a whole new financial burden.

The material costs alone were ten times higher.

Still, once mastered, they could earn big profits too.

Yue Pingfeng, though able to craft tier-5 artifacts, was still in the learning phase and constantly burning through funds.

The two shared a look. Yu Xian handed over a storage bag.

Yue Pingfeng nodded and took it. As a recognized craftsman on the third floor of Jinlin Pavilion, he’d get a fair price.

They stepped out of the house together—one to sell, one to buy.

But suddenly, Yue Pingfeng paused. A communication talisman appeared in his hand.

The glow flickered once and then went dark.

Yue Pingfeng’s expression turned cold. He looked at Yu Xian with a glint in his eye. “Brother, that brat’s leaving the city.”

“Oh?”

Yu Xian knew immediately—he meant Yu Huafeng.

That unresolved grudge.

Yue’s contacts had been watching him—and now, finally, he was stepping outside the safety of the city.

Yu Xian’s voice was calm, his gaze frosty.

If Yu Huafeng had stayed in the city, Yu Xian would’ve let the feud fade in two or three years.

But now he dared to leave?

Then he’d die.

Yue Pingfeng and Yu Xian gathered with four others—Zhang Pin, Hu Chang, Wu Sanlang, and Zhong Fa—friends and allies willing to fight without question.

They chased the group out of the city and tracked them to a remote, forested mountain range.

But halfway through the pursuit—the group vanished.

“They disappeared?” Yue Pingfeng frowned.

“Exactly,” Hu Chang said. “Not a trace. Probably entered a hidden place.”

Everyone had the same thought—a secret realm, perhaps a treasure trove, a tomb, or some other hidden inheritance.

“Let’s search the area,” Yue Pingfeng said. “They can’t be far.”

Yu Xian took the southeast area. As he scanned, his communication talisman lit up:

“Brother, come quickly!”

Without hesitation, Yu Xian reversed course and flew back with full speed.

Moments later, he joined the others by a secluded water pool.

“They went in there,” Wu Sanlang pointed. “You can see their footprints and water marks.”

Everyone stared at the dark, silent waters.

It was clear now—the entrance to the secret realm was underwater.

“Should we wait for them to come out, or go down and kill them?” Hu Chang asked.

Yue Pingfeng frowned, then looked at Yu Xian.

Yu Xian’s gaze was calm. After a moment’s thought, he nodded slightly.

“If we wait, they might escape from another route. Better to go down and claim the opportunity for ourselves.”

“Agreed!”

Without further delay, six figures dove into the water.

The descent was long—nearly 200 meters. The pressure grew intense. But at the bottom, finally, they found it:

A stone door embedded in a rock wall.

There was clearly a formation guarding it.

Hu Chang tried to break the formation—again and again—but failed each time.

Eventually, he gave up. “I’ve done my best…”

“We’ll just blow it open!” Yue Pingfeng growled.

“Wait…” Yu Xian suddenly stepped forward.

Instead of using Qi or spells, he placed his hands on the door—and with brute force, muscle bulging, veins throbbing—he began to push.

Creak—crack—groooan—

The ancient stone door began to open.