Chương 47: The Azure Peach Spirit Tree

Zhang Huaijin replayed the previous battle in his mind, and even now, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. Qi Cultivation, Body Cultivation, and Soul Cultivation. Training all three paths at once had forged Zhang Huaijin's unparalleled foundation. At present, aside from his Qi Cultivation, his Body Cultivation and Soul Cultivation had both reached the absolute peak of the Qi Cultivation. His Soul Cultivation, in particular, had already advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

That was the fundamental reason why the Foundation Establishment Realm Green Ape had been unable to withstand him. Now, after that life and death battle, Zhang Huaijin sensed that his Body Cultivation had also touched the threshold of the Foundation Establishment Realm. With some time in secluded cultivation, his Body Cultivation would break through. As for his Qi Cultivation, he had already reached the ninth level of Qi Refining Realm!

At his current rate of progress, it would take roughly two years to reach the Perfection Stage of Qi Refining Realm. That would be the moment he made his breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm. Though Zhang Huaijin possessed a five element spiritual root, he also had the Earth Fiend Spirit Body and The Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram. And that wasn't even mentioning the Realm-Breaking Pearl.

All of this meant that Zhang Huaijin's cultivation speed was now roughly equivalent to that of a cultivator with a dual element spiritual root. Zhang Huaijin slowly rose to his feet and turned to look at the Purple Spirit Tiger beside him.

"Good work," he said.

"This Iron Bone Bear is yours." His robes were stained with blood, and a trace of killing intent still clung to him. A flash of light gleamed in the Purple Spirit Tiger's eyes. The beast opened its massive jaws and immediately began to devour the bear. Blood splattered everywhere. The scene was gruesome. Zhang Huaijin's expression didn't change. He continued feeding the corpses of spirit beasts from his storage pouch into the Realm-Breaking Pearl.

The black and white energy inside the pearl visibly swelled at a rapid pace. Soon, the energy was fully accumulated. Zhang Huaijin's physical body was subtly tempered by the pearl. A quarter of an hour later, the Purple Spirit Tiger finished devouring the Iron Bone Bear's corpse. Its aura suddenly surged dramatically, and a fierce energy rolled off its body. The Purple Spirit Tiger had broken through, advancing to the fifth level of Qi Refining Realm!

In just a few more years, it would be able to catch up to its parents' realm. The Purple Spirit Tiger carried the bloodline of the Azure Sky Celestial Tiger. All it needed to do was cultivate steadily and devour spirit beast flesh, and it would eventually step into the Foundation Establishment Realm.

"Recovery is complete," Zhang Huaijin said.

"Now it's time for the harvest." The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. He put the Purple Spirit Tiger back into his spirit beast pouch and left the cave. The Foundation Establishment Realm Green Ape had been the overlord of Green Ape Peak for decades. Normally guarded by several hundred Green Apes, even the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators from Langya County's three great families would have found it extremely difficult to kill.

They would have had to weigh the casualties and compensation. Not everyone possessed Zhang Huaijin's terrifying combat prowess and his like in isolating the beast. Now that Zhang Huaijin had killed the Green Ape, it was only natural to head straight for its lair and see what treasures awaited him. Inside Zhang Huaijin's sea of consciousness, The Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram radiated black and white light, completely sealing off his aura.

Across Green Ape Peak, the hundreds of Green Apes felt a growing sense of unease. Their overlord had been gone for too long. Zhang Huaijin infiltrated Green Ape Peak quietly and methodically. The entire way, he moved unhindered. Occasionally, a Green Ape would spot him, but before it could raise the alarm, a pair of Yin Yang Divine Needles would extinguish its soul. Without the Foundation Establishment Realm Green Ape around, Zhang Huaijin's soul arts were an unstoppable massacre on Green Ape Peak.

About the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Zhang Huaijin reached the summit. He had added another dozen or so Green Ape corpses to his storage pouch. At the peak of Green Ape Mountain stood a black cave entrance, about five meters high. Two Perfection Stage Qi Refining Realm Green Apes guarded the outside. The rest of the Green Apes were all stationed below the summit. Right now, Zhang Huaijin could clearly see the anxious looks on the faces of the two peak Qi Refining Realm Green Apes. They were restless.

The Foundation Establishment Realm Green Ape had been gone for nearly three hours now. Chasing after a single Qi Refining Realm cultivator couldn't possibly take this long. Nothing unexpected had happened, right? Zhang Huaijin watched the scene and did not hesitate. Two silent Yin Yang Divine Needles shot out like streaks of lightning. They pierced clean through the apes' skulls, snuffing out their souls in an instant. Zhang Huaijin slipped into the cave.

The two Green Apes simply hung their heads as if they had dozed off, failing to arouse the suspicion of the Apes below the summit. Zhang Huaijin stepped inside. A foul stench assaulted his nostrils, mixed with the smell of bone fragments still stained with blood. A few broken spirit artifacts lay scattered about, along with eight storage pouches. These likely belonged to cultivators who had unfortunately fallen to this Foundation Establishment Realm Green Ape over the years.

Now, they were a direct boon for Zhang Huaijin. He quickly stepped forward and collected them all. The cave stretched deep into the mountain, winding and even turning a corner. After that turn, the dim light suddenly brightened. A hole, a dozen or so meters across, opened in the cave ceiling. Sunlight streamed down, refracting into rainbow colored rays that fell upon a single spirit tree in the center of the cavern. The tree stood about three meters tall, with over a dozen branches stretching out in all directions.

Its entire form was a lush, vivid cyan, and a faint, delicate fragrance drifted through the air. Hanging from the branches were nine fist sized, spirit peaches, swaying gently with the breeze.

"This is an Azure Peach Spirit Tree!" Zhang Huaijin's eyes lit up the moment he saw it. The Azure Peach Spirit Tree was a type of celestial spirit tree. Judging by its rank, it was tier 1, upper grade. The world was filled with countless spiritual plants of all kinds. Most were spiritual herbs that required a great deal of time to mature. Spirit trees, without a doubt, were something every force in the cultivation world coveted.

Spirit trees had incredibly long lifespans and could continuously produce spirit fruits year after year. They represented the foundational heritage of any cultivation clan or sect. Even a tier 1 spirit tree would be far beyond the reach of a Qi Refining Realm family.

If news leaked that Green Ape Mountain harbored a tier 1, upper grade Azure Peach Spirit Tree, the three Foundation Establishment Realm families of Langya County would immediately form an alliance and seize it by force, no matter the cost in casualties. Possessing a spirit tree meant a continuous stream of resources, something that could be passed down for centuries. A family's strength would only grow and grow. And now, this spirit tree had fallen into Zhang Huaijin's hands.

Not far from the Azure Peach Spirit Tree, a black robed figure sat cross legged. The robe was tattered, covered in layers of dust, radiating a decayed, ancient aura. It was impossible to tell how many years this person had been dead. Zhang Huaijin stepped forward and lifted the black robe. The flesh on the corpse had mostly been gnawed away by the Foundation Establishment Realm Green Ape, leaving the face unrecognizable. Zhang Huaijin felt the bones of the corpse's hand, and surprise flickered through his heart.

Based on the strength of this person's physical body, this individual had been at the very least a perfection stage Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. How could they have fallen here?