“Jing Li!!”
Little Chrysanthemum’s expression changed, and he hurriedly reached out to support him, but Jin Weifeng was quicker. He grabbed Jing Li’s arm, steadying him.
“Master Jing?” Jin Weifeng also looked at him with concern, only to find that the other’s eyes were tightly closed, and he had fainted.
“Let’s take him to his room first.” He immediately told Little Chrysanthemum, carrying Jing Li hurriedly to his room.
Jing Li remained unconscious for four to five days.
Just as Hu Li was about to tear the mountain down in frustration, he finally woke up on the evening of the fifth day.
“You’re finally awake!”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Hu Li saw him open his eyes and instantly leaned closer with urgency. “How are you feeling? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”
Jing Li turned his head at the sound, meeting Hu Li’s worried and anxious gaze. Behind him, Little Chrysanthemum and Jin Weifeng were also looking at him with concern, while an old man with white hair and beard stood beside them.
“I’m fine.” Jing Li replied lazily, his voice sounding weak.
Even after a rest, he felt extremely fatigued and weary, more exhausted than ever before.
It seemed he had overestimated his abilities. Just using the Golden Words once had rendered him in such a weakened state.
“It’s good that you’re okay.” Seeing no other discomfort besides the weakness, Hu Li finally breathed a sigh of relief. But looking at Jing Li’s frail appearance, he instantly felt angry. “What can I say about you! You manage to get yourself into this state even while on vacation, do you really think you’re some almighty savior?!”
His room was right across from Jing Li’s, facing the backyard. Being in an unfamiliar territory, he habitually set up a barrier to isolate himself, so he didn’t know what happened last night.
Heaven knows what he felt when he woke up and heard Jing Li had fallen into a coma!
If he hadn’t sensed Jing Li’s lingering scent in the courtyard, he would have almost engaged in a fight with the spirits here.
As the two were talking, the white-haired old man also stepped closer to the bed.
“Mr. Jing, you’re finally awake.” The old man excitedly approached the bedside but stopped half a meter away after Hu Li’s cold glare. “I am the tree in the courtyard. Thanks to your compassion, I regained life. My clan is grateful for your generosity and will forever remember your great kindness.”
Saying this, the old man knelt down and sincerely kowtowed three times.
Little Chrysanthemum and Jin Weifeng followed suit, kneeling and kowtowing as well.
“You don’t need to…”
Jing Li raised his hand to stop them but was interrupted by the old man’s stubborn tone. “This is what we should do.”
“Your immense help in saving us, even if our clan enshrines you for eternity, it would be justified, let alone just these kowtows.”
After kowtowing, the old man didn’t immediately stand up but took out a green bead the size of a thumb from his pocket, raising it with both hands towards Jing Li. “In gratitude for your great kindness, this is our clan’s Heart of Life. If Mr. Jing doesn’t mind, please accept it.”
The Heart of Life?
Jing Li stared at the bead in the old man’s hand that emanated a powerful life force and was momentarily stunned.
He had heard of a treasure called the Heart of Life in the plant realm when he was in the Spiritual Realm. It was formed by condensing the quintessence of the entire plant realm.
Not only could it regenerate flesh and mend bones, but even those clinging to life could be pulled back from the gates of the underworld. It worked on both cultivators and ordinary people. For regular people, it could even prolong their lifespan and preserve their youth.
Possessing this bead was akin to gaining a new life.
With such miraculous abilities, its preciousness was evident. Even in the Spiritual Realm, it was once coveted and fought over by all.
To think the old man intended to give it to him?
Jing Li was slightly taken aback.
Although he knew he had indeed helped the Green Forest clan immensely, he didn’t consider himself worthy of accepting their ancestral treasure without hesitation.
Thus, he didn’t plan to accept it.
“There’s no need for the Heart of Life,” Jing Li immediately refused. “I merely did what was within my capabilities. I don’t deserve such a precious treasure.”
“I know Mr. Jing is noble, but please don’t refuse,” the white-haired old man insisted firmly. “If not for you, not only me, but all the young ones of our tribe who have not yet awakened their spiritual awareness, would have rapidly withered and perished. Your kindness in reviving us is truly beyond repayment. Only the ‘Heart of Life’ is worth offering.”
Little Chrysanthemum who was kneeling behind also persuaded, “Jing-ge, please accept it, consider it a token of our gratitude.”
Jing Li opened his mouth to refuse again, but Hu Li, who had remained silent, spoke up before him. “Just accept it when it’s offered! Why make a fuss?”
“You ended up like this trying to save them. What’s wrong with accepting their tribute?”
“Besides, with your reckless act, who knows what consequences lie ahead? Keeping the Heart of Life will at least provide an extra layer of protection and prevent them from owing you another karmic debt.”
Seeing Jing Li still frowning, Hu Li added, “Look, don’t overthink it. Don’t forget those filthy things are still watching you from the gutter. Do you really not value your life anymore?”
Hearing this, Jing Li’s expression finally softened.
He looked at the white-haired old man, who instantly extended the object closer, as if refusing to stand until Jing Li accepted. In the end, Jing Li relented.
“Then I thank the old sir for the gift.”
“Mr. Jing is too kind,” the white-haired old man replied, quickly handing over the Heart of Life. He then said, “Now that Mr. Jing is awake, I won’t disturb you further. The kitchen has prepared some food which I’ll have someone bring over shortly.”
He paused, then added, “Please rest assured and recuperate here, Mr. Jing. With my presence, no one will be allowed to set foot in the forest and disturb you.”
This was in response to Hu Li’s previous remark about something targeting Jing Li.
Jing Li paused, then as if thinking of something, suddenly said, “Speaking of which, I do have some questions to ask the old sir.”
“Mr. Jing, please feel free to ask.”
“Does the old sir know of depraved fiends in the outside world who seek to enhance their cultivation by devouring the spiritual energies of their own kind?”
The old man pondered, then asked, “Are you referring to the forces from the Dark Forest?”
“The Dark Forest?” Jing Li had never heard of this name before.
“That’s what it was called before, I’m not sure if it has changed now,” the old man explained. “The Dark Forest has existed for over a thousand years. Those beings enhanced their cultivation by killing and devouring the spiritual powers of their own kind. A hundred years ago, when the spiritual energies of the world suddenly dissipated and cultivation stagnated for all their kind, they were no longer satisfied with just devouring spiritual powers. They began to crazily plunder spiritual energies indiscriminately from their kind and ordinary people alike, committing acts of evil without restraint.”
This sounded consistent with the actions of those beings.
“How much does the old sir know about the forces of the Dark Forest?”
“I’m not too clear about the rest, but I do know about the leader,” said the old man. “The leader is a fiend over ten thousand years old in cultivation, vicious and extremely ambitious. Though no one has seen its true form, its power is at the pinnacle in the demonic realm. Hundreds of years ago, it even boasted of seizing the destiny of this realm and overthrowing Tian Dao to replace it.”
“It was after that when the Dark Forest’s forces began to expand rapidly. The spiritual essence and energy plundered by its subordinates were mostly offered up to it.”
“Moreover, more than twenty years ago, this world almost fell into its hands, but it did not succeed. Since then, there has been no news about it.”
“More than twenty years ago?” Jing Li felt that number was strangely significant to him, but he couldn’t figure out why at the moment.
“Yes,” the old man nodded. “Over twenty years ago, it sensed a crack in the void and thought its opportunity had finally arrived. It activated a formation in an attempt to defy the heavens and change fate, but something went wrong. Suddenly, a white beam descended from the sky, destroying its formation and severely injuring it.”
Defying the heavens and changing fate to replace it?
Jing Li narrowed his eyes, feeling even more repulsed by those vile beings.
Suppressing the surging emotions in his heart, he asked instead, “Does the old sir know if the Dark Forest possesses any treasures capable of concealing demonic auras?”
“I’m not too sure about that,” the old man frowned in thought, then said regretfully, “Ever since the spiritual energy in the world has become increasingly scarce, I’ve had to focus on sustaining the saplings of my clan, and my own cultivation has regressed. I no longer had the energy to pay attention to matters outside.”
“However, I’ve heard that fiend controls its subordinate demons by directly devouring their demonic souls. Even if it possesses secret treasures, it likely wouldn’t waste them on…”
“You said the Dark Forest controls its underlings by devouring their demonic souls?” Jing Li was struck by this, instantly considering a possibility.
If Hu Li couldn’t sense the demonic aura on those beings, perhaps it wasn’t that they intentionally concealed it, but that they simply lacked it altogether?
Demonic creatures whose demonic souls were devoured, though still able to wield demonic powers, would gradually lose their self-awareness the longer they were controlled, turning into mere puppets.
And how could a puppet still possess a demonic aura?
Jing Li finally understood why Hu Li couldn’t detect the aura on those beings, but at the same time, sensed a deeper sinister plot.
It seemed that fiend hadn’t given up on defying Heaven’s mandate. To restore its strength sooner, it had become even more ruthless, controlling its subordinates to rampantly plunder all the spiritual energy in the world, not even sparing the weakened plant spirits.
“If that’s the case, I think we’ve all likely been targeted by it,” Jing Li looked around at everyone present, sharing his earlier speculation.
Seeing their solemn expressions, he paused and continued, “But there’s no need to be so on guard.”
“Since it can only control its underlings to wreak havoc so far, it means its injuries haven’t fully healed enough for it to act directly. If we can find a way to permanently deal with it before it makes a move, we still have a chance.”
Hearing his words, everyone’s expressions eased slightly, but they remained grave.
Jing Li glanced around, about to say more, when his phone suddenly rang. He had to pause and pick it up.
After seeing the caller ID, he froze for a moment, then unwittingly broke into a smile.
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