During the night, Wang Linchi felt a faint vibration. He hadn't been sleeping, but rather substituting Cultivation for it, and the tremor jolted him awake instantly.

"What's this?" Wang Linchi promptly got up to investigate.

The vibration was so slight that the other sleeping villagers didn't even notice it.

In the darkness of the night, he clearly saw a small portion of the ground protruding. At first glance, he thought it was an illusion, but upon closer inspection, it seemed as if something was navigating beneath the earth.

Could something be wrong? Wang Linchi thought, feeling a sense of dread.

This situation reminded him of the Longevity Tree Branches in Lang City, which had also erupted upwards from beneath the ground.

Seeing this, he decisively climbed out of his house, intending to flee.

At the same time, he directly unleashed Fanciful and Fickle at the squirming thing beneath the ground.

If he hadn't intervened, it might have been fine, as the entity seemed to have its own trajectory. But the moment he attacked, it burst open.

Numerous white bones surged out from the earth, transforming into a multitude of irregular branches that immediately began to grow.

It really is the Tree of Immortality! Damn it, how did it spread all the way here? Given the distance, this shouldn't be possible, Wang Linchi knew this was because his attack had triggered the Tree of Immortality, causing it to grow on the spot.

The bones then twisted and grew continuously. The commotion naturally woke the sleeping villagers, but before they could react, the white bones engulfed everything.

Wang Linchi had run a bit faster, so the Longevity Tree Branches couldn't catch up to him.

However, he could also confirm that it wasn't chasing him, but rather expanding.

When he burst out of the village entrance, he didn't see the familiar dirt path but rather rows of terrifying bone branches.

At this moment, Wang Linchi understood something: the slight tremor he had sensed earlier wasn't Longevity Tree Branches tunneling underground, but rather the Longevity Tree Branches spreading out.

Caught between a rock and a hard place. The promised opportunity has turned into a danger, Wang Linchi thought. Using Thought Field and Fanciful and Fickle, he forcefully launched himself into the air by metaphorically stepping on his own feet. His spiritual power depleted rapidly, but he successfully evaded the pincer attack.

The moment he ascended, his Soul Vision perceived countless white bone branches piercing the earth.

How can it be so fast! Wang Linchi was now certain: they had already dragged a part of the Tree of Immortality here.

He didn't know how large the Tree of Immortality was, but it at least spanned the entire Secret Realm.

When he descended, he landed steadily on a white bone branch.

The good news was that this thing seemed inanimate. The bad news was that his Blessing was completely depleted, reduced to 0.

Wang Linchi had no time to dwell on that now. Instead, he sensed something else: he seemed to be passively infused with some kind of power from the white bone branches, which he immediately intercepted.

However, a small portion managed to slip past his defenses.

After entering his body, the power wasn't absorbed or transformed. Instead, it rushed towards the Ghost Pattern Guardian Spirit on his chest and was then absorbed by it.

Wang Linchi hurriedly checked. The human face on it had become significantly blurrier, and its original incubation progress was completely reset.

As the human face blurred, the form of a Longevity Fruit became increasingly distinct.

Is this evolution? Wang Linchi repeatedly compared the data and performed a self-check using his Soul Kind. He found that not only was there no issue, but his Ghost Pattern had also improved further.

He felt as though he was being fed.

Wait, could it be that these Longevity Tree Branches have mistaken me for a Longevity Fruit? Wang Linchi suddenly had this thought.

The Ghost Pattern had been created using two Longevity Fruits, and not through conventional consumption. Therefore, his Ghost Pattern, not yet fully incubated, resembled a Longevity Fruit.

He then lifted the restriction, allowing a small amount of the Tree of Immortality's power to flow in. This time, Wang Linchi even guided the Ghost Pattern to absorb this power.

It's confirmed. It really does mistake me for a Longevity Fruit,

Wang Linchi felt the Potential of his Ghost Pattern enhance, which in turn brought a corresponding improvement to his Physique. And as his Physique improved, his Spirit, Soul, and other powers also increased.

This was an all-around strengthening bestowed by the Tree of Immortality. Of course, this strengthening for him came from the energy his Ghost Pattern emitted, as the vast majority of the power from the tree was absorbed by the Ghost Pattern to evolve itself.

Well, so the six-in-one spirit wasn't the real benefit; those two Longevity Fruits were, Wang Linchi couldn't help but muse.

Wait a minute. That initial loss of 70 Blessing points wasn't actually a danger, but a true opportunity...

Wang Linchi had just begun to think this when he quickly dismissed it. Unlikely. The probability of it being a danger was greater. Rather, it was the supplement of 30 points that allowed me to turn misfortune into blessing, transforming it into this opportunity.

Did he really think he could have absorbed more just by entering Lang City?

The mastermind was still out there. For an Awakener capable of causing such a huge disturbance, finding him would be incredibly simple. Crushing me would be as easy as crushing an ant.

I need to check again. If there are no issues, I'll lift the absorption restriction.

Also, I can't stay in one place for too long. I need to keep moving to avoid any tracking methods they might have.

Wang Linchi began to further examine himself and the power of the Tree of Immortality.

This wasn't without its drawbacks. As the Spectre Guardian's Potential continued to grow and evolve, Wang Linchi's incubation period would become increasingly long.

Therefore, Wang Linchi contemplated other methods to expedite the incubation process.

But this feeling of passive gain is quite nice, Wang Linchi thought, sensing how the pure power seeping from the Spectre Guardian passively strengthened him.

He checked the Book of Records and saw that under the Spectre Guardian's entry, beneath 'Shelter', a new effect entry called 'Reciprocation' had appeared.

Wang Linchi also had concerns. For instance, what if the Spectre Guardian successfully hatched but turned out differently than he expected?

It wasn't that there were no solutions; direct guidance and intervention would suffice.

The power of the Tree of Immortality was like fertilizer for the Ghost Pattern and could, to a certain extent, cause changes in the Guardian Spirit. If Wang Linchi could grasp the data of these changes and steer them to his advantage, then no matter how the Spectre Guardian transformed, it wouldn't deviate from his plans.

I wonder if there's an upper limit to this absorption and infusion. If not, couldn't I drain the entire Tree of Immortality dry through my Ghost Pattern?

Wang Linchi had a wonderful thought. If it were to come true, wouldn't he become the ultimate victor?

That's a bit too far-fetched. However, there's another way, Wang Linchi mused. What's the point of having a Tree of Immortality? It would be better to turn my Guardian Spirit into an alternative Tree of Immortality.

The former would at best be a Soul Device, while the latter could become an integral part of his strength.

Perhaps immortality is within reach,

At this moment, an idea couldn't help but surface in Wang Linchi's mind: since his Ghost Pattern was an alternative Longevity Fruit, couldn't he just let the Ghost Pattern take root and sprout?

Even if he couldn't achieve immortality directly, it would be fine as long as it could produce Longevity Fruits that extend life. He wouldn't mind spending some time eating fruits.

「...」

"It seems we made it in time," Xu Shou said, sighing in relief after entering the Secret Realm and observing their surroundings. "The Black Dragon Bishop of the Baylong Religion hasn't yet refined the Tree of Immortality into his Great White Bone Demon God."

"The Great White Bone Demon God isn't that easy to refine. Besides, who does he think he's fooling?" Yan Ming King's eyes glinted with ridicule.

The Black Dragon Bishop only possessed one refinement method for The Great White Bone Demon God from The Heritage of the Sky Devil. This was unlike Yan Ming King, who possessed the complete Heritage of the Sky Devil.

He had come to this Secret Realm not only to stop the Baylong Religion but also to refine the White Bone Demon God.

However, he wasn't refining The Great White Bone Demon God, but a complete set of Twelve White Bone Demon Gods. Their combined power would be enough for him to rival Awakeners of the Bright Moon or even Sunlight levels.

Especially since he would be using the uniquely advantageous Tree of Immortality from the Secret Realm, the Twelve White Bone Demon Gods he refined would be even more powerful.

Therefore, no matter how fast the Black Dragon Bishop worked, he was merely paving the way for him.

"Shall we take action now?" Xu Shou asked.

"No hurry, let's take our time." Yan Ming King had other arrangements. After all, it wasn't just him and his father-in-law, Xu Shou, who had come; the entire Ming King Palace and his female confidantes had followed.

Even if he were to fight alone, he first needed to ensure his female confidantes were settled safely.

"Who knows in what corner they are hiding and proceeding? We need to gather the relevant intelligence first," Yan Ming King said.

The crowd looked astonished. He truly is Yan Ming King! His mind is so meticulous, he even thought of gathering intelligence! How could we not have thought of that? After their initial shock, admiration filled them. After all, since Yan Ming King had thought of something they hadn't, how could they not admire him?

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