Chapter 164: Three Divine Trees

"Hmph, you're not even at Foundation Establishment yet, and you're already thinking about such things. Aren't you afraid of collapsing halfway?"

Dan Hongyi seemed to have little regard for E Yun, his words filled with criticism. In response, Yuan Chiye could only pretend not to hear.

"Uncle-Master, everyone is here."

He could only change the subject. He took out the roster, counted the people, then compared it with his memories from his own spirit root test. After confirming everything was correct, he handed the roster to Dan Hongyi.

"Mm, let's go then."

After taking the roster and glancing at it, Dan Hongyi handed it back to him. Then, he stomped his foot, and a massive surge of spiritual power poured into the airship's power source. Amidst creaking sounds, the enormous wooden flying artifact began to ascend.

Many rogue cultivators stood amazed by the ship's side, gripping the railings, watching Nancai Market Town shrink below. As they marveled, they also enjoyed the peculiar sensation of their first flight. Quite a few even looked pale, but under the watchful eyes of Dan Hongyi and the two true disciples, they all forced themselves to stand. Even the Luo siblings looked somewhat uncomfortable. Yu Lian, however, stood still, his expression unchanged. Chen Mobai observed for a moment, then chose a spot and closed his eyes to rest.

After a day and a night, they finally arrived at Giant Tree Ridge. Amidst the commotion around him, Chen Mobai opened his eyes, walked to the side of the ship, and looked down.

He saw towering trees soaring skyward, seemingly forming a green ocean. By estimation, each tree was hundreds of meters tall, with trunks so wide that two people couldn't encircle them. The three colossal trees in the very center pierced straight into the clouds, their tops out of sight, possibly thousands of meters long.

Were these the "Three Divine Trees" for which the Divine Wood Sect was renowned? It was said that Daoist Master Yiyuan had transplanted them from an immortal's secret realm to cultivate a secret longevity technique. After the Daoist Master ascended, these three divine trees served as his cultivation ground, enduring countless wars without anyone daring to destroy them. They were truly worthy of being called divine trees! Chen Mobai compared them to the Jade Phoenix Tree in Danxia City but, due to his low cultivation realm, couldn't discern any significant difference.

As everyone marveled, Dan Hongyi cast a talisman. A ripple appeared in the void, and an opening emerged. A surge of dense spiritual energy, unlike anything they had ever felt, filled their nostrils. In just a brief moment, Chen Mobai even felt his Five Elements Technique improving. "Is this a top-grade Tier 4 spiritual vein?" he wondered internally. As he mused, they entered the opening, like a small boat drifting into an endless sea. Everywhere they looked, there were dense, impenetrable green leaves and trees.

The airship's speed noticeably decreased, and after gliding for a quarter of an hour, it finally emerged from the sea of trees and landed on a vast clearing. Wooden halls adorned with carved dragons and phoenixes appeared before their eyes. A massive wooden pathway, dozens of meters wide, extended directly from the airship's landing platform to the entrance of a grand hall suspended between two colossal trees.

"New disciples, please report to the Ancestral Hall first."

After landing, Dan Hongyi put away the airship and vanished. Yuan Chiye, acting as their guide, immediately stepped forward to greet them.

Chen Mobai and the group followed him along the long wooden pathway, arriving at the hall suspended among the trees. Three Divine Wood Sect disciples were already waiting there with brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. After Yuan Chiye had them register their names in the roster, he led them to a place called the New Sprout Hall.

"Upon entering the sect, all new disciples must chop wood for three months."

"After three months, if you haven't made any mistakes, you'll be free to choose which department you wish to join."

"These are your individual identity plaques. New disciples can go to the Scripture Pavilion to receive one Qi Cultivation method and one spell."

"Each month, you can also collect your share of spirit stones at the Spiritual Treasure Pavilion, with the exact amount depending on your cultivation level and the number of tasks you complete."

"For the first month, I will be stationed here, teaching you the Divine Wood Sect's precepts. If you have any questions about your cultivation method, you may ask me, but whether I can answer them is another matter, as my cultivation is limited."

After Yuan Chiye finished speaking, he distributed an identity plaque to each person. Upon receiving his, Chen Mobai found it was a piece of black ebony, embedded with a very intricate formation. Once a drop of his blood was absorbed, it would become a magical artifact that only he could activate.

This plaque could be used to enter and exit Giant Tree Ridge. However, before entering or exiting, one first needed to apply at another department within the Divine Wood Sect. Dedicated personnel would then embed another type of restriction into the plaque, allowing it to be recognized by the grand formation and thus grant passage. Chen Mobai only learned all of this after Yuan Chiye's explanation.

Before he knew it, Chen Mobai had been in the Divine Wood Sect for three days. Every morning, he carefully listened to Yuan Chiye explain the sect's precepts. Initially, others listened with interest, but soon they found ways to let their minds wander. While Yuan Chiye lectured, they closed their eyes and cultivated below. The spiritual energy in Giant Tree Ridge was simply too rich; the progress of cultivation there was worlds apart from what was possible back in the Cloud Kingdom. Everyone greedily refined the spiritual energy.

"Alright, that concludes today's lesson. The seven of you whose turn it is, come with me to the Scripture Pavilion."

After finishing his lecture, Yuan Chiye stood up and walked out of the lecture hall.

For Chen Mobai and the others who had just joined the Divine Wood Sect, the most anticipated activity was naturally choosing cultivation methods from the Scripture Pavilion. However, there were too many new disciples, and it was impossible to let over a hundred of them rush in all at once. They also didn't know the way. So, Yuan Chiye, out of kindness, would take seven people to the Scripture Pavilion each day after explaining the sect's precepts. This way, everyone would have made their selection within half a month.

Because the eagerness to choose cultivation methods was so intense, many rogue cultivators even discreetly gave Yuan Chiye their hidden spirit stones. The latter, being flexible, arranged the order based on the amount of spirit stones received. Chen Mobai, this genius, was scheduled for the third day, as he had only symbolically given one spirit stone. Perhaps to accompany him, Liu Wenbai and Zhuo Ming were also scheduled for that day.

Yuan Chiye led the seven of them through various wooden pathways until they arrived before a giant tree, approximately ten meters in diameter. This colossal tree was, remarkably, the Scripture Pavilion itself. Yuan Chiye took out his own identity plaque. After it was verified, a door appeared at the base of the giant tree.

"Follow me inside. Do not damage anything in there, or you will be immediately expelled from the sect."

Yuan Chiye, who was usually gentle, spoke with unprecedented severity before leading them through the door. Chen Mobai and the others naturally nodded in assent.

Upon entering the giant tree, they found its center had been hollowed out. Rows of bookshelves had been carved into the circular tree walls, with wooden ladders and pathways extending from the center to the bookshelves, reaching all the way to the hundred-meter-high ceiling. It was truly magnificent.