Chapter 522 - 519: Sowing Discord, Thorough Cleanup
Though the tree was extremely tall, around three hundred yards in height, it seemed somewhat short in comparison to its thick trunk because it was a hundred yards in thickness, covering a vast space like a huge mushroom.
Its branches were full of leaves as red as fire, and the trunk bore the mottled marks of many years, signalling to any observer that this was an ancient tree that had grown over countless seasons.
If this had been all, it would not have drawn Qin Feng’s gaze so intensely. What was key was that the ancient tree not only radiated a peculiar spiritual nature but also each of its main branches bore a bright red spirit fruit.
The spirit fruits were shaped like loquats and as big as winter melons, a fiery red in color with natural flame-like patterns on their surface, flickering with the aura exclusive to the Flame Principle.
Qin Feng’s eyes grew avid with desire. He was convinced that this ancient tree was a spirit root mainly because of these fruits.
Only a spirit root could bear fruits that contained the power of laws, just like the Heavenly Connecting Lotus Qin Feng had encountered in the Ancient Battlefield years before.
And this ancient tree within the Giant Tribe’s domain was far more precious than the Heavenly Connecting Lotus.
The Heavenly Connecting Lotus was nothing more than a special spirit root grown by an ancient powerhouse through secret techniques that bore only a single lotus. However, this ancient tree’s trunk not only bore several spirit fruits imbued with powers of laws but also this likely wasn’t its first time fruiting.
Such ancient trees, which could continuously produce spirit fruits containing the power of laws, were the true spirit roots and much stronger than the single-harvest variety like the Heavenly Connecting Lotus.
What stirred Qin Feng’s heart even more was the thought that if he could obtain one of these spirit fruits, he could directly refine it and gain an understanding of the Fire Element Principle, sparing himself the arduous task of painstakingly finding an entry point to the practice.
He pondered various ideas, calculating how he could seize a spirit fruit to advance his path.
Though the Giant Tribe in the valley was quite small, numbering just over a hundred members, the bloodline of the Flame Giants was formidable, and adults possessed combat prowess equivalent to those in the Purple Mansion.
Furthermore, several individuals with strong auras in the valley were comparable to Dharma Images in terms of war power, among whom the strongest likely possessed the strength of a demigod.
It made sense. In the perilous Fire Kingdom, only those with demigod-level power would dare to establish a tribe.
Qin Feng furrowed his brows and pondered the possibility of entering the valley to snatch the spirit fruits for a good while.
The idea of stealthily infiltrating was quickly dismissed with a shake of his head—too dangerous. His future prospects were vast; he couldn’t allow his greed to lead him into peril, especially if discovered by the demigod powerhouse, which would definitely land him in a treacherous situation.
After thinking it over, he attempted to summon from the Demon Refining Pot a Red Flame Bird with a wingspan of about three feet. He waited for a quiet moment when the valley’s excitement had died down and dispatched the bird towards the ancient tree, to see if it could quietly pluck a spirit fruit from the branches.
Bang!
Before the Red Flame Bird even approached the ancient tree, it was hit by a firelight rising from below, instantly turning the poor, Foundation Establishment Cultivation-level bird into deliciously fragrant meat, its feathers reduced to ash. Before it fully fell to the ground, it was caught in a giant hand.
The Giant looked curiously at the blackened little bird he had roasted with his fire, wondering how such a feeble bird dared to come here.
Since he couldn’t understand, he didn’t bother to overthink it; he brought the little bird close to his face, sniffed it with his nose—what a delightful scent!
He opened his mouth wide, intending to swallow the bird in one gulp, when he suddenly felt something unusual beneath him. Looking down, he saw his little one hugging his leg, as thick as a huge pillar, drooling.
The Giant laughed heartily as he handed over the bird, watching the youngster snatch it and eat it, smearing his face black with soot.
From a distance, Qin Feng’s facial muscles twitched, and he completely gave up on sending spiritual beasts to their deaths.
After observing for two days outside the valley and thoroughly figuring out the number and strength of the Flame Giant Tribe as well as their hunting patterns, he turned and left the place. He used Fire Escape to move around thousands of miles nearby and quickly found the helpers he was looking for.
They were a group of Fire Lizards living in a volcano.
These Fire Lizards had fiery tempers and were ferociously savage, and what was more important was that there was also a leader within this group who was at the Demigod Realm.
So when Qin Feng saw them, he made up his mind to enlist these Fire Lizards to help him execute his plan.
Of course, he had no relationship with these monsters, and the Fire Lizards definitely wouldn’t help him for no reason.
Since there was no relationship, he had to use other methods.
Qin Feng transformed into a thirty-foot Giant, his body wreathed in flames, provoking the group of Fire Lizards until they became enraged, wishing they could tear him apart and devour him alive. They all came out of their caves and began to chase after him.
Of course, he was no match for this group of Fire Lizards. Realizing the situation was grim, he quickly “greased his feet” and led the Fire Lizards in a half-circle before diving underground and disappearing.
Then, while most of the Fire Lizards were still out, he returned to the Fire Lizard nest ahead of them, brazenly broke into the nest, and stole several Fire Lizard hatchlings before making his getaway.
Moreover, to prevent these Fire Lizards from chasing in the wrong direction, he would sprinkle a few drops of Fire Lizard hatchling blood on the ground every so often as he fled.
Although losing this blood was not fatal, the hatchling that he had stabbed hundreds of times to draw blood had completely lost the strength to struggle, only looking up pitifully at the Demon, not understanding why he was tormenting it so, why he couldn’t just leave it be and cause trouble for its other companions.
Qin Feng was immersed in the excitement of carrying out his plan and didn’t notice the little Fire Lizard’s gaze until he came to the outskirts of the Giant Tribe’s valley again, where he stopped.
He thought about it, then reached out and squeezed the Fire Lizard hatchling forcefully, coerced the little Fire Lizard into making a noise, and then threw it not far from the mouth of the valley.
The cry of the Fire Lizard attracted the attention of the Giant children playing near the valley entrance. When they discovered a Fire Lizard hatchling had crawled near the valley, they became excited, cheering as they pounced toward the Fire Lizard hatchling.
They had eaten Fire Lizard meat before, as the Giants of the tribe had hunted Fire Lizards, but these Giant children were seeing a live Fire Lizard for the first time.
So they rushed out, lifting beast bones two to three zhang long and struck at the Fire Lizard bravely, clearly treating this as a hunting activity.
A quarter of an hour later, when a group of Fire Lizards followed the scent to the valley mouth of the Giant Tribe’s location, they saw several Giant children had started a fire, roasting the Fire Lizard hatchling over it, spreading a delicious aroma far and wide, which immediately sent the group of Fire Lizards into a frenzy.
As expected, war broke out.
The Flame Giants certainly wouldn’t allow the Fire Lizards to attack the tribe’s children. In fact, they had already seen the Fire Lizards approaching the valley.
Although the tribe was rarely besieged by monsters, it wasn’t without such experiences, so the Giants responded swiftly. With shouts of anger, regardless of gender or age, all those capable of fighting gathered together and launched an attack on the group of Fire Lizards.
This battle was extremely fierce. Despite their numbers, the Fire Lizards’ overall strength still fell short of the weapon-wielding Flame Giants, so after half a day, the group of Fire Lizards chose to retreat, leaving behind a dozen or so carcasses as they turned to flee.
Seeing this, the Giants grew even more excited, their morale surging as they chased after the retreating lizards, hoping to secure an even greater victory.
However, there were still wise men in the tribe. Following the call of several elders, a few young warriors stayed behind to clear the battlefield, keeping watch just in case the tribe was vulnerable to a surprise attack during their absence.
Indeed, these elders had done the right thing, for an accident was about to happen very soon.
Suddenly, a large bird appeared out of nowhere and swooped down at lightning speed, snatching up two Giant children who were hiding deep in the valley, and then flew away into the distance.
The Giants guarding their home saw this and flew into a rage—these were their tribe’s hope, how could they let a monster take them away?
So, they grabbed their weapons and chased after Qingluan in the direction it had flown.
They had to rescue the children before the monster could eat them, so they didn’t hesitate for a second. Based on the ways of monsters, if they were even slightly late, their children’s lives would be lost!
However, what these Giant warriors didn’t know was that shortly after their departure, a white Giant Dragon also appeared from nowhere, snatching up another two Giant children.
The few elders in the tribe saw this and, though feeling helpless, could only dispatch a few who were not too old to chase in the direction the Giant Dragon had flown.
Meanwhile, the remaining elders led the children into a cave, ordering them not to go out again to avoid being taken away by monsters.
But before the elders could finish their instructions, they suddenly discovered a massive spider descending from the sky, appearing right in front of the entrance to the cave they had entered.
The Ghost-Faced Spider did not continue to snatch the children, nor did it attack the old and weak. It merely shot webs to seal off the cave entrance layer by layer, ensuring that these elders and children could not come out and cause trouble for a while.
As for the other elders in the valley, they were taken by surprise by Qin Feng, who knocked out two of them directly with a large club and left the rest to be dealt with by the several Spiritual Beasts under his command.
Then, with lightning-fast movements, Qin Feng appeared in front of the Fire Tree and swiftly pocketed all seven Spirit Fruits.
He was extremely satisfied. With these Fire Element Spirit Fruits, not only would he soon comprehend the Fire Element Principle, but he could also save a few fruits to bring back to Biluo, where they would surely be of great use.
His own father’s Lifebound Spiritual Beast had become a Demon Dragon, which was adept at using Fire Element Magic. His father would surely focus on cultivating the Fire Element Dao in the future.
Therefore, Qin Feng decided that he would definitely save one Spirit Fruit for his father, helping his father comprehend the laws and achieve the Purple Mansion sooner.
Since he definitely couldn’t use up so many items alone, he would, of course, prioritize his closest kin.
After collecting the Spirit Fruits, Qin Feng planned to escape immediately, according to the plan. However, he turned around and saw that there were no opponents left in the valley to block his escape.
The Giants had either gone after the Fire Element creatures or chased after Qingluan and the White Dragon. None were in the area any longer, which suddenly made him far bolder.
First, he rushed into the Stone Hall and took a Flame Spear that had been offered in front of a gigantic stone statue.
This long spear was eighteen zhang long and was clearly a weapon refined by the Giant Tribe. The gathering of fire energy on its surface signaled extraordinary power. Although Qin Feng could not use it, he was reluctant to give up this treasure. He collected it, planning to ask someone to reforge it upon his return to Biluo, potentially transforming it into an Immortal Level Divine Weapon.
Following that, Qin Feng also collected the flames in front of the stone statue into the fifth layer space of the Demon Refining Pot.
The flames in the basin turned out to be a rare Spiritual Fire. Qin Feng felt its power before even getting close. Had it not been bound by a seemingly crude stone basin engraved with mysterious runes, it could easily have turned the entire valley into a sea of fire.
Upon exiting the Stone Hall, Qin Feng saw that there were still no signs of the Giants returning in the distance. He glanced around and set his sights on the Ancient Tree.
Although he did not know how many years it took for this Ancient Tree to bear Spirit Fruit, as a Spirit Root capable of continuously producing fruits containing the Power of Laws, it was an exceptional treasure wherever it went. Even just the trunk could be refined into an Immortal Artifact.
Of course, few people would be willing to waste such a Spirit Root by refining it into a combat Immortal Artifact, as that would be too extravagant.
Qin Feng extended his sleeve and released the Red Lotus Sword. Amidst the clanging echoes, the Red Lotus Sword suddenly dispersed, its petals transforming into numerous Flying Swords, digging into the vast piece of land surrounding the Ancient Tree.
He wanted to seize this opportunity to dig out the Ancient Tree.
By planting the Ancient Tree into the Spirit Vein of the fifth layer of the Demon Refining Pot, it could serve as a Spirit Root to suppress the vein, and in the future, he could continue to harvest more precious Spirit Fruits.
Even though the Spirit Fruits that would grow later would no longer be of much use to him, they were still needed by his family or the younger generation of his Sect.
As a disciple of the Sect, he would also continue the legacy of his line and would certainly take on disciples. By the time he had disciples and grand-disciples, he wouldn’t have to worry about treasures going to waste.
Boom, boom, boom…
To Qin Feng’s surprise, the ground around the Ancient Tree was incredibly hard, akin to wrought iron. If the Red Lotus Sword had not been sharp enough, it would have been quite difficult to dig into the ground here.
Even so, it consumed a considerable amount of his True Yuan to accelerate the process; otherwise, it would have taken him a whole day just to dig out the Ancient Tree completely.
A series of noises continuously entered the ears of the old men and children in the cave, infuriating them.
This Ancient Tree was their Tribe’s Divine Tree that they had been guarding for generations, helping the Tribe’s youth grow more quickly. And now, a person from the Human Clan, who appeared from nowhere, not only stole the Divine Artifact Spear from their Divine Temple and took their Holy Fire, but now he also wanted to take away their Tribe’s Divine Tree. Such a greedy individual was someone they had never encountered before.
However, the Divine Tree was so huge that he surely could not take it away; it was clear that he wanted to cut off the Divine Tree’s roots and drive them out of the valley.
Especially when they saw the Qingluan and White Dragon that had captured their Tribe’s children flying back, obediently standing behind Qin Feng, it was obvious to them that they had fallen victim to a treacherous human plot.
The old Giants were all furious as if possessed by rage, each attempting to break through the fire-attacking cobwebs in order to confront Qin Feng to the death.
“Wu wu wu…”
Suddenly, the sound of a horn echoed through the air. It came from an elderly Giant who Qin Feng had knocked out with a cudgel. Recovering consciousness, he shook his dizzy head to clear his vision and, without concern for the possibility of being killed by Qin Feng, directly picked up the horn on his waist and sounded the horn that urgently summoned the Tribe’s warriors back, signifying that the Tribe was in crisis!