Bao Gu brought over another platter of seventh-rank spirit fruits from the Xuantian mountain range’s spirit orchard and pushed it in front of the undead girl. She also topped off Ba’s cup with another half measure of Supreme Monkey Wine.
Seeing Bao Gu’s “filial offerings,” Ba felt a bit embarrassed to keep calling her ignorant and stupid. She lifted the Supreme Monkey Wine and sipped it slowly, savoring it.
When that half cup of wine was finally emptied sip by sip, Ba still hadn’t had her fill and motioned for Bao Gu to pour her another half cup. Only then did she begin slowly, in great detail, to explain things like outer space and spatial worlds to Bao Gu.
Bao Gu specialized in formations. She knew that space could overlap, and that a spatial world could be vast—so vast as to feel boundless—or very small, no more than a tiny corner somewhere. But she had never imagined that such an enormous great world could be filled with endless stars, or that the cultivation world she’d lived in before was nothing more than a single star.
Some stars possessed life, but most did not. And even among living stars, life existed in all kinds of different states. Many beings in different life states couldn’t even perceive each other, even if they were side by side. Even in the same territory, they might never intersect for all eternity, just because their states of existence were different.
The simplest example was the worlds of humans and ghosts. Humans couldn’t see ghosts, ghosts couldn’t see humans. Even if they appeared in the same place, because their forms of life were different, they simply couldn’t perceive each other’s existence.
To find a path to life, Bao Gu would have to find a star whose environment matched her own life state—a star suitable for cultivators like her to survive. In other words, she needed to find a star similar or close to the cultivation world. And she absolutely could not rush toward any fluctuation of life aura she sensed, or she might die without even knowing how she died—because they were just that weak.
Ba had given her a way out, but this way out was more hopeless than searching for a needle in the sea. How hard would it be to find a second star suitable for their survival, and similar to the cultivation world, in this vast, boundless outer space?
Never mind picking that kind of star out from an uncountable sea of stars—just the distance between stars already left Bao Gu feeling utterly lost.
Back in the cultivation world, she had thought that the distance from the Snow Region to the cultivation world proper was already far enough; even traveling by domain gate took several hours. But looking out into the endless void now, what did that distance amount to?
Still, no matter how faint the hope, it was hope. Cultivators had long lifespans. If they couldn’t find a way out in a few decades, then they’d search for a few centuries. Continuing to search was better than abandoning hope altogether.
When Bao Gu finished her talk with Ba, she discovered that the old tea tree still hadn’t come back.
She used her formations to search for the Taixu Divine Tree’s whereabouts, and to her shock found that the tree had gone right through the flagship’s formation and out of the ship!
The flagship’s defensive formation was basically nonexistent to this old tea tree. Even the sturdy outer hull of the ship, capable of tearing through the void, was like air to it. Its roots twisted into the shape of two legs and it took one giant stride right out!
Bao Gu jumped in fright.
Don’t tell me it’s actually running away?!
That was her Flood-Dragon Enlightenment Sacred Tea!
She hastily switched formations and, through the array, saw the old tea tree currently racing back and forth atop the flagship’s outer hull. It dashed from bow to stern, then gusted back from stern to bow like a gale, sometimes veering left, sometimes right, sometimes up or down. Watching that posture, Bao Gu suddenly thought of ants on a hot wok—wasn’t this exactly how they ran around?
She used the array to transmit her voice to the Taixu Divine Tree.
“Old tea tree, what are you doing?”
The Taixu Divine Tree suddenly “leaked” down through the flagship’s top, shot into the cabin with a whoosh of wind, and rushed back to Bao Gu’s side.
It might not have grown eyes, but Bao Gu could clearly feel a gaze coming from its trunk, fixed on her.
Then the Taixu Divine Tree swaggered right past her, into her little courtyard. Its two-leg-shaped root mass loosened and plunged deep into the soil, utterly unceremonious as it drained every last spirit stone Bao Gu had buried down there.
Ba followed right behind the Taixu Divine Tree into the courtyard, circling it over and over, examining it from all angles, bafflement written all over her face.
The Taixu Divine Tree’s branches swished impatiently.
“Shoo, shoo! You gloomy little brat, stop crowding around me!”
Ba flipped herself up into its crown and casually plucked off a leaf.
The Taixu Divine Tree immediately got annoyed. Its branches swept toward Ba like slapping hands, and its radiant trunk shuddered. Leaves shook loose from every branch, tens of thousands of them, all falling like dense, razor-sharp hidden weapons, stabbing toward Ba in a storm.
How could Ba be afraid of the Taixu Divine Tree’s methods?
She flicked her hand and, with a whoosh, ghostly flame erupted over her entire body. The pretty little girl was instantly wrapped in a layer of yin fire that seemed to have no temperature at all yet could burn everything to ash. Instead of retreating, she charged straight into the storm of leaves.
The Taixu Divine Tree let out a shriek.
“Waa—!”
Its trunk shivered, and that sky-filling storm of leaves instantly snapped back to its branches. Then it took one big step to hide behind Bao Gu, trying to stuff its towering, burly trunk behind her tiny figure.
But the difference in size between person and tree was simply too great. No matter how it twisted, it couldn’t hide. Seeing Ba wreathed in yin fire rushing at it, the tree let out ghostly howls and bolted, roots pounding like legs.
“Little girl, don’t come over here! Don’t come over here…”
Heavens above, it was a tree—how had it ended up provoking someone who played with fire?!
Bao Gu froze for a moment at the sight of Ba blazing with yin fire, chasing the Taixu Divine Tree’s huge trunk around. She suddenly thought of Yu Mi fighting Rong Ruyu, and her heart sank with a vague ache.
Then she abruptly remembered the giant banyan tree demon she’d tossed into her oversized storage bag.
She sent a voice transmission to the Taixu Divine Tree and Ba.
“You two, stop fooling around. I have another tree here.”
Ba and the Taixu Divine Tree both ignored her.
What was so surprising about one more tree?
Bao Gu’s voice turned cold.
“Old tea tree, do you still want your leaves or not?
“Qing Ying, looks like your cook hasn’t had a proper vacation in many years.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, girl and tree both immediately came back to stand before her.
Ba slanted a sideways glance at Bao Gu, eyes full of disdain.
The Taixu Divine Tree might not have eyes, but Bao Gu could still clearly sense its smoldering indignation.
Bao Gu opened a slit in her oversized storage bag, revealing the giant banyan tree demon she had tossed deep inside.
“This is a giant banyan tree demon I ran into outside the Sealed Heaven Formation in the Archaic Mountains. This is its true body; the tree-people it condenses have all been wiped out by my formations.”
Ba gave the banyan giant a couple of lazy side glances, utterly uninterested.
It was just a demon tree with a bit of cultivation.
Bao Gu said, “How do we deal with this banyan tree demon? Give me a suggestion. What do you two think about turning it into furniture?”
The Taixu Divine Tree asked, “Little girl, do you think it’s appropriate to ask that while standing in front of me, another tree, about chopping a tree into furniture?”
Ba swept the giant banyan with her divine sense.
“Not much use. You can’t eat it.”
Trapped in the void within the storage bag, the banyan giant naturally sensed the sudden light not far away, and through that crack, it felt the outside world. It knew that was the way out. Its roots, suspended in the void, surged forward toward the opening.
Before, Bao Gu had also thought this banyan tree was only good for making furniture. And they had past grudges besides, so she’d never considered bringing this big lump into her service.
But now… the void here was drained of spiritual energy. If this giant banyan were planted and allowed to grow and recuperate, it could eventually become a forest. As long as it didn’t harm anyone, it wouldn’t be a bad way to add some greenery and life to the flagship.
Bao Gu sealed the opening of the storage bag again and gave the banyan giant three options:
One: she killed it.
Two: she chopped it up for furniture.
Three: she let it out to live as a quiet, well-behaved tree.
Naturally, the banyan giant chose the third.
Bao Gu went to the lakeshore and took it out.
The moment the banyan giant emerged from the oversized bag, it lashed at Bao Gu with lightning speed. Its surging roots rose like flood dragons bursting from the water, whipping and twisting toward her in a killing storm.
Bao Gu had spent decades being pounded by Ba and was no longer who she used to be. The instant she sensed the banyan’s hostility, she had already summoned the Xuantian Sword.
Sword qi roared forth as her figure and the sword light became one, charging straight into the mass of roots attacking her. She spiraled around the banyan’s trunk like a coiling dragon around a pillar, racing upward from the roots at its base to the very top of its crown. With another leap, she landed lightly on the surface of the lake, standing atop the rippling water.
All of this happened in the space of a single blink—so fast it was almost like an illusion.
The terrifying sword intent still lingered in the air, pressing down on all nearby creatures. Birds, beasts, insects, and fish huddled in place, shivering in fear.
The soaring banyan giant, with a canopy almost touching the cabin ceiling, suddenly shattered with a thunderous boom into neat, long planks of wood, all cut to uniform size. Within the wood, fresh blood rich with pure wood spiritual energy still flowed.
Dense wood aura poured from the planks, and in an instant, this once-depleted area no longer felt spiritually barren. The lake, the surrounding grassland, and the small hills on its shore were all flooded with vigorous life, as if they had been fundamentally transformed.
This swift, ruthless execution made the Taixu Divine Tree suck in a cold breath.
Chopping a tree up as a lesson to another tree—this was enough to scare a tree half to death!
Compared to this banyan giant, it suddenly felt its treatment as a tea tree was downright blessed. It got to absorb spirit stones, didn’t have to worry about being turned into furniture, and only needed to quietly grow tea leaves and put out a new flush every three years. What a life!
Ba, on the other hand, looked down on Bao Gu using the War God Sword to cut planks with profound contempt.
The War God Sword, and you’re using it as a lumber saw?
Fine, you dismembered a half-crippled banyan demon in an instant, but still…
Just thinking about Bao Gu using the War God Sword—the blade she’d been drooling over for so long—for such menial work made her chest ache. She hurriedly fished out a few Rebirth Revival Pills she’d saved in the past, chewed them up, and finally felt a bit better.
Bao Gu beckoned to the cultivator responsible for watching over the lake, who’d been standing in the distance not even daring to breathe.
“Collect these planks and use them to make some furniture. Build a few wooden houses.”
With that, she turned away to summon the leaders of all departments for a meeting, preparing to send people to explore the stars and search for a way out.
As for the banyan giant, she didn’t spare it another thought. If it could contribute after death, all the better. But if, even now, it still wanted to attack her, then she could only destroy it. If she had left it intact on the flagship and something went wrong later, not only would everyone aboard suffer, but at the very least, every living thing in this region would be doomed.
The old tea tree silently moved to the far bank, rooting itself in the soil at the water’s edge. It decided it would live as a quiet, peaceful tea tree that no one would disturb.
Ba could be certain now that this Flood-Dragon Enlightenment Sacred Tea Tree was not her tree grandpa.
Her tree grandpa, scared by Bao Gu?
What a joke.
He was a divine tree of the Immortal Realm, a guardian of worlds. In terms of combat strength, he could contend with Emperors. Scared by a single slash from Bao Gu?
Nonsense.
She thought it over, then circled back to the Taixu Divine Tree’s roots. Tilting her head up, she asked:
“Are you the son my tree grandpa left behind in the cultivation world?”
The old tea tree really couldn’t afford to provoke this fire-playing brat. Eyes on nose, nose on heart, it replied calmly:
“Please don’t disturb me. I just want to be a peaceful tea tree.”
Ba plucked another leaf and discovered there were no Dao patterns on it. She circled the tree once, then realized only that single tender sprout at the very top of the crown bore Dao patterns. Scratching her head in confusion, she wandered off.
After Bao Gu finished arranging everything for exploring the starry sky, she found the old tea tree had once again quietly rooted itself by the lakeside. She promptly dragged it back to her courtyard.
A divine tree wreathed in radiance like this was perfect for enlightenment. Not planting it in her own courtyard would be doing herself a disservice.
Ever since she’d stopped butting heads with Bao Gu, Ba had taken to hanging around Bao Gu’s place all day. Every time she came by, she couldn’t help sneaking looks at the old tea tree.
The Taixu Divine Tree felt immense pressure from this. It was terrified that this little girl would suddenly throw yin fire at it, and equally afraid that one day it might somehow offend this sword-wielding girl and get chopped to pieces.
So it devoted itself wholeheartedly to being a quiet, well-behaved tea tree.
After asking Ba about a few of the Taixu Divine Tree’s past deeds, then watching how the tree behaved now, Bao Gu was almost completely certain: the Taixu Divine Tree’s situation was extremely similar to Ba’s.
The Taixu Divine Tree had likely been too heavily damaged. Its primordial spirit had been destroyed, leaving only a wisp of vitality clinging to its trunk. Later, that shred of life was nourished by spirit stones and forced a new bud to sprout. But the consciousness it had now was incomplete and might very well have formed afterward.
It was still that same tree, yet also not that tree anymore—at the very least, it was no longer the guardian divine tree it had once been.
Once Bao Gu had gathered people to research the starry sky, she formed a team of cultivators who were relatively skilled in star observation to chart star maps, and began to move according to the method Ba had taught her for seeking a way out.
The distances were too vast. They could only fix their bearings first, then use teleportation jumps to move forward. Even like this, they had to jump segment by segment, one leg after another, with no end in sight.
There was a saying: “Look at a mountain and a horse will die running to it.” But out here in space, they jumped again and again while staring at those distant stars that formed constellations, yet to the eye, the stars still looked just as small, just as impossibly far away.
