All in all, when they were instantly brought inside the oasis by the tremendous pulling force, it was also unbearable for them despite their physical qualities.
Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman finally came back to their senses after feeling dizzy for a brief moment. However, their faces changed when they saw who was standing in front of them. At this moment, they even hoped that they were still muddle-headed.
Ou Yangming looked coldly at them and smirked. “Gentlemen, it’s nice to see you again.”
“No, impossible…” Poisonous Saber Gentleman mumbled, “How did you do it?”
By now, even a fool knew who exactly brought them here.
Ou Yangming laughed out loud and said, “You had such a well-thought-out plan. I’m really lucky to have survived.”
Xia Zizhen was blue in the face. When he saw the tough and indestructible rattan around his body, he could not help but feel hopeless.
“Master Ou, we admit defeat. We didn’t think you could survive after communicating with the Wutong Tree.” Xia Zizhen looked at Ou Yangming and asked, “I just want to know—how did you do it?”
Ou Yangming sneered. “Are you trying to avoid dying from an unknown cause? But I’m not obliged to reveal the truth to someone that tried to harm me.”
“Master Ou, we were wrong.” Poisonous Saber Gentleman shook his head and shouted, “Please forgive us this time. We’ll sweat a blood oath that we’ll be your most loyal servants.” His body could not move as he was being restrained, but it did not stop him from begging for mercy.
The young fellow shook his head and sighed. “Unfortunately, I never believe people who try to harm me.” He turned around and uttered coldly, “Get rid of them.”
“Yes.”
The tree person responded to him. With that, the rattans that tied up Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman kept contracting. It was such a forceful power that the men were crushed into meat pastes in a flash. At the same time, 2 green illusory figures rose from the rattans. They kept screaming with hideous looks on their faces as if they were suffering endless pains.
Subsequently, the face on the bark opened its mouth and sucked the illusory figures.
Their blood, flesh, and souls vanished from this world just like that.
Chapter 639 - Restoring An Interspatial Bag
Ou Yangming’s face changed as he was rather shocked by how Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman ended.
He had experienced countless war scenes. Back when the Beasts attacked Changlong County in the lower realm, it was way bloodier and more violent, and it was a ghastly sight. Even so, as ruthless as the Beasts were, the killings never involved one’s soul.
On the other hand, when the tree person made a move, it obviously devoured the souls of Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman.
Ou Yangming was a little afraid as he looked at the face on the bark. Needless to say, he did not show it. Instead, he watched on coldly as though what happened did not affect his mental state at all.
“Pow…”
With that, 2 living humans died miserably without leaving a trace of blood at all. The items that they carried were thrown to the ground as if the rattans disliked them, causing rattles to be heard.
Ou Yangming was moved, so he went forward to inspect those items.
The 2 men had died, but their pieces of equipment remained. Nonetheless, what surprised Ou Yangming was there was only 1 interspatial bag between them. Moreover, when he scanned the bag with his mental conception, he realized that it not only had a cramped space, but the space inside seemed to be unstable.
Perhaps the interspatial bag would automatically explore after being opened over 100 times.
The men were clearly aware, which was why they did not keep particularly valuable items inside the interspatial bag.
Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows. He finally understood that interspatial bags were notably precious even in the Spiritual Realm.
“Gulp…”
An odd voice was heard. When Ou Yangming turned to look, he could not help but laugh.
It was the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard that made the noise. Although it was still being restrained at the moment, it openly stared at the interspatial bag in Ou Yangming’s hand.
“Let them go,” the young fellow ordered.
“Yes.”
The rattans that prevented the spirit beasts from moving at all were withdrawn right away, hence the beasts were free again.
Fat Antelope and the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard immediately expressed their thanks, but the latter kept stealing glances at the interspatial bag in Ou Yangming’s hand.
“Useless thing.” Ou Yangming waved his hand snappily and said, “This interspatial bag’s structure is already loose. After using it over 100 times or 3 to 5 years, it’ll definitely explode on its own. You want junk like this?”
The spirit leopard was stunned, then it explained with a bitter smile, “Honorable Master, that’s an interspatial bag. Even if it’s the worst interspatial bag, it’s still an interspatial bag.”
Fat Antelope lifted its head proudly. It had indeed lost to the giant leopard in terms of dominating the Silver Ridge, but it was better than the leopard in terms of luck. At the very least, it possessed an interspatial bag.
Ou Yangming scoffed and responded, “Even if you won’t dislike this, I’ll feel ashamed for giving this to you.” He paused for a while before he continued, “Wait for a moment while I restore it for you.”
The fat antelope and the spirit leopard widened their eyes. They shouted at the same time, “You can refine interspatial bags?”
“Aren’t they just interspatial bags? What’s so strange?” Ou Yangming grinned.
The 2 spirit beasts looked at each other as they were speechless. Nevertheless, they became more certain that leaving the mountain with Ou Yangming was the rightest decision that they made.
With a flash of thought, a fire rose from Ou Yangming’s hand.
He seemed to be concentrated on the ruined interspatial bag but in actuality, he focused on the face on the bark.
Sure enough, when his fire emerged, the face on the bark looked like it yearned for it and was in reverence.
Ou Yangming was secretly relieved. There was truly a huge disparity between his strength and that of the Wutong Tree, where his Military Fire was the only thing that could suppress it. Therefore, he found an excuse to release his fire here.
The young fellow was very pleased with the discreet attempt.
He slowly shifted his mental conception toward the interspatial bag in his hand. Even though the bag was unstable, the problem was not its materials. It had been used too many times, thus the materials’ properties depreciated, and the magic art pattern that was embedded inside deformed.
As long as the materials were fine, Ou Yangming could easily restore the bag.
Burned by the Military Fire, everything inside the interspatial bag was displayed in Ou Yangming’s sea of consciousness. He could spot the tiniest clues and probe every detail inside.
As expected, the formation map that was carved inside the interspatial bag was broken, and the bag’s basic materials were also showing signs of aging.
Even if other blacksmiths were naturally gifted in space, it would also be difficult for them to restore an interspatial bag. This was because restoring an item would sometimes be much tougher than smithing something new.
Despite that, Ou Yangming would find it exceptionally wasteful if he were to throw the interspatial bag away.
His Military Fire kept burning, causing the basic materials to slowly become more solid as they were tempered by the intense fire. They became stronger again, similar to a piece of stubborn iron that was thoroughly tempered again in a furnace.
This was only the first step, but there were indeed very few blacksmiths in the entire Danzhou that could do it. Furthermore, blacksmiths that could casually complete the step as Ou Yangming did were even rarer.
The fire in Ou Yan
gming’s hand seemed to have a wonderful additive effect in the smithing of interspatial materials; it could quickly make them unleash their greatest potencies.
Following that, Ou Yangming dove deep into his Military Fire through his mental conception, and he sensed the slightly damaged Runes Formation Map.
Ou Yangming obtained the method to refine interspatial bags from the Sky-devouring Devil God’s follower, and he even learned a type of Interspatial Rune. However, the Interspatial Rune that was embedded inside the interspatial bag in his hand was of a totally different type.
His eyes lit up slightly. To him, it was also a huge gain that he could come across another Interspatial Rune.
Even if it was only for this rune, his trip here was worth it.
Ou Yangming carefully sensed the new rune. His spiritual world quickly operated, and he engraved all of the rune paths in his sea of consciousness after a brief moment.
Of course, the rune had not been completed yet, so it could not be used.
The young fellow channeled his mental power and began to fix the rune pattern in his spiritual world.
“Pow…”
When he carried out his first plan, the Interspatial Rune crumbled before it could be completed. Having said that, he did not give up. After all, it would only be weird, if an Interspatial Rune could be finished so easily.
As Ou Yangming continuously derived the Interspatial Rune, while it shattered many times, it was always gathered again in his spiritual realm.
If other people knew the method he was trying, they would be extremely jealous.
By using this trick, would it not mean that one could restore any rune as long as one had sufficient mental power and time? It was so powerful that it was somewhat nature-defying.
Not far away, the face on the bark smiled.
Big Yellow and the 2 other spirit beasts could not tell, but the tree person perceived everything at one glance. It could only admire Ou Yangming’s technique, but it was not jealous because it knew the Phoenixes were nature-defying beings, which naturally knew such tricks. If not, why would it submit itself to them?
After an hour, when Ou Yangming mended the last rune path, instead of breaking apart again, the Interspatial Rune stabilized.
He curled his lips into a smile and nodded as he was satisfied.
This was the second Interspatial Rune that he learned. If he referred to and compared the 2 Interspatial Runes with identical properties in the future, perhaps he could understand space better.
When Ou Yangming shifted his mental conception to the center of his fire, the rune inside the interspatial bag began to undergo a subtle change.
Burned by the mysterious Military Fire, everything was within Ou Yangming’s control.
By the time he curbed his fire after another 15 minutes, a brand new interspatial bag appeared in his hand.
Ou Yangming briefly sensed with his mental power. After he refined the interspatial bag, the space inside had not only stabilized, but it also increased by 3 times.
The size of an interspatial bag’s space was closely related to its materials’ qualities, the rune engraved, as well as the refiner’s ability.
Ou Yangming was not a top-notch powerhouse, but he was considered quite gifted in this aspect due to his Military Fire. As such, even if he refined an interspatial bag with ordinary materials, there would also be an additive result.
The young fellow nodded happily after he inspected the bag again.
Apart from the space inside, the interspatial bag’s outer appearance changed drastically too.
Even if Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman rose from the dead and looked, they would not be able to tell that the interspatial bag had anything to do with the one they had.
Ou Yangming shook his hand and tossed the interspatial bag to the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard.
The leopard rolled on the ground cheerfully, then it carefully kept the interspatial bag.
Fat Antelope was envious because the interspatial bag was similarly valuable to its equipment set.
Seeing as Ou Yangming was done, the face on the bark instantly spoke, “Sir, you see, I’ve been waiting here for such a long time. Would you be willing to leave a mark here so that I’ll have something to hope for?”
Ou Yangming put his hands behind his back and asked after some thought, “How can I leave a mark here?”
The Wutong Tree itself was a priceless treasure. Besides, the treasures that it gathered throughout the 10,000 years and more were a fortune that could not be ignored by anyone.
That said, it would be impossible for Ou Yangming to stay here for thousands of years to build a nest.
“Sir, it’s easy. As long as you release your True Fire and leave a mark on my body, my identity can be proven,” the face on the bark answered with joy.
Chapter 640 - Mark
Ou Yangming looked at the boundless tree wall then at his small body.
He knew that his Military Fire was marvelous, and it was also the reason the Wutong Tree valued him so much. Nonetheless, he would be overestimating himself if he wanted to leave a mark on the tree.
The face on the bark flashed a flattering smile as though it perceived Ou Yangming’s thought. “Sir, don’t worry. I’ll fully cooperate with you and won’t disappoint you.”
Ou Yangming twitched his mouth and expressed, “Honestly, can you change your face? I’ll have a mental disorder if I look at you.”
The tree person was imitating Ou Yangming’s face. Even if anyone else was in his situation, one would not be happy about it.
There was an immediate foundational change in the tree person’s face but instead of a male’s face, a pretty female’s face appeared this time. Moreover, the tree person’s voice changed drastically and became pleasing to the ear.
“As you wish, sir.”
Ou Yangming shook his head helplessly. He wanted to leave, but he vaguely sensed the Wutong Tree’s determination.
If he simply left without bothering about the Wutong Tree, nobody would know what crazy actions it would take. After all, the tree had been waiting for over 10,000 years in this hidden, small world, and it was similar to a drowning person that suddenly saw the hope of being saved. If its wish could not be fulfilled…
As Ou Yangming extended his arm, his fire burned. “How can I leave a mark?”
The tree person was elated, hence it quickly answered, “Sir, you only need to leave a burn mark on my body.”
Ou Yangming raised another question, “Where?”
“The main trunk, of course.” The face shook and disappeared all of a sudden, then it was replaced by a handprint.
Without needing to ask, the handprint’s size was definitely the same as that of Ou Yangming’s hand.
Ou Yangming’s face twitched. ‘How long has this old dryad been waiting? It’s quite rare for it to be so proactive.’
He flashed to the side of the tree wall, then he pressed it hard with his Military Fire.
Given that he was incredibly sharp-eyed, he perfectly placed his hand on the handprint on the bark. Following that, his blazing Military Fire burned intensely.
Ou Yangming did not hold back at all this time; he went all-out. In front of this unpredictable giant tree, he did not think about wanting to conceal his abilities at all.
Nevertheless, Ou Yangming was in disbelief because the old tree’s bark seemed to be unaffected by his Military Fire even though he had released the fire to an extremity. Not to mention being burned at all, there was no mark at all.
The young fellow widened his eyes, and he was so shocked that it was indescribable.
His Military Fire could melt any strong materials in extremely short times, but he felt helpless against the old bark.
No matter how powerful the fire he released, the bark was unaffected and did not change at all.
Ou Yangming’s face changed. Just as he was going to withdraw his fire, he heard the Wutong Tree shout with excitement, “Ah, that’s such a mighty Heave
nly Phoenix Fire. Sir, you’re truly amazing.”
His face turned red with rage as he questioned furiously, “Hey, do you find me amusing?”
He could sense that his fire could not hurt the Wutong Tree at all, but the tree person praised him for having a remarkable Heavenly Phoenix Fire. Was it not obvious that it was mocking him?
The tree person instantly responded, “Sir, please calm down. I dare not find you amusing at all. It’s just that your fire’s power is astonishingly pure… It’s the purest Heavenly Phoenix Fire.”
Ou Yangming was moved, but he spoke mercilessly, “Hmph, a Heavenly Phoenix Fire? It can’t even break through your bark. Forget it, you should look for someone else.”
Even so, the fire in his hand still burned fiercely without any signs of its intensity being reduced.
“Ah, sir, you mustn’t,” the tree person screamed and persuaded the young fellow right away, “My bark’s too thick, but I’m already doing my best to control it and weaken all of its defenses. Sir, please hold on a little longer. As long as your Heavenly Phoenix Fire can burn past a layer of my bark, you should be able to reach my core and leave a mark.”
Ou Yangming pondered and asked, “Your mark’s quite tough indeed. How long will it take for me to burn past it?”
“Sir, it’ll be very fast,” the tree person answered carefully.
“How exactly long will it take? If you don’t tell me, you can forget about this,” Ou Yangming noted directly.
Feeling helpless, the tree person lowered its voice and said, “It’ll take roughly a month.”
“What? How long did you say it’ll take?” Ou Yangming was in disbelief.
“Ah, uhm… It’ll take at most 3 months!”
Ou Yangming’s expression kept changing. He only felt that the old bark was truly and unbelievably formidable.
He had confirmed that the Wutong Tree was fully cooperating with him so that he could leave a mark on it. Since it said that it was trying its best to weaken its defense, it must be the case.
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