Chapter 891: Zhang Xuan Burns the Tree (Part 1)

"Elder Zhao, this is Master Zhang. I specifically invited him to help treat the Bodhi tree. He also possesses profound expertise in medicinal plant cultivation!" Yu Shenqing quickly introduced him, noticing the elder's objection.

"Treat the Bodhi tree? Him? A mere greenhorn who hasn't even fully matured? Is he another charlatan who will endanger our lives?" Elder Zhao glanced at Zhang Xuan with displeasure.

"Elder Zhao, what are you saying? Master Zhang is a highly capable person, different from those before..." Yu Shenqing's face flushed with embarrassment."Different? Heh, isn't that what you always say? And what was the result?" Elder Zhao flicked his sleeve. "If you don't trust us old fellows, then we'll just leave. There's no need to keep inviting more people, only to make our previous efforts pointless!"

"Exactly! If His Majesty doesn't trust us, we'll leave!" The other elders also stepped forward, all looking displeased."What are you saying? If I didn't trust you, how could I entrust the most important Bodhi tree of the Yu family to your care?" Yu Shenqing quickly explained.

"If you trust us, then there's no need to invite these unreliable, disorganized people," Elder Zhao snorted. "We will do our utmost. As for whether it can be saved, that's up to fate. I really don't want another emergency rescue!" Over the years, Yu Shenqing had invited countless medicinal plant cultivators. Many of them were merely after fame, and not only did they fail to cure the Bodhi tree, but they also endangered it, bringing it close to death. It was these elders who risked their lives to save it, allowing it to survive. Because of this, every time Yu Shenqing brought someone new, they felt a huge headache. Especially seeing this young man, barely twenty years old, claiming to be a medicinal plant cultivator with profound expertise—it would be a miracle if they could trust him.

Cultivating medicinal plants, though not formally recognized as a special profession, possesses a unique lineage. Moreover, like the medical path, it is not something one can master by simply learning theories; practical experience is crucial. At around twenty years old, even if he had started learning from birth, how much could he possibly have learned?

Yu Shenqing's face was filled with dilemma. He certainly didn't doubt Master Zhang's abilities in pill refining and artifact forging, but medicinal plant cultivation... he truly wasn't sure. Just as he was wondering how to respond, he saw the young man beside him completely ignoring everyone. He walked straight towards the Bodhi tree. The formation set up in front of the tree seemed like child's play; it didn't impede him at all. In a blink of an eye, he was in front of it and reached out to touch the thick tree trunk.

"What are you doing?" They hadn't expected that after all their words, this young man would still dare to approach and even touch the tree. Elder Zhao and the others instantly erupted, their hair standing on end, feeling their authority challenged."Nothing..." After touching the tree, Zhang Xuan shook his head and looked at Yu Shenqing, who was standing to one side. "If these fellows want to leave, just let them go. They're useless anyway..."

"What did you say?" "Young man, where are you from? There are only so many medicinal plant cultivating families in the Hongyuan Empire; whose descendant are you?" "So young, yet such big words..." Numerous elders exploded in anger simultaneously. Previously, Yu Shenqing had invited many medicinal plant cultivators. Although many of them were famous, they were still quite respectful towards these elders. After all, in the Hongyuan Empire, these elders were considered to be at the pinnacle of their profession. This fellow, upon seeing his seniors, not only failed to greet them but actually told them to leave! And he even said they were useless... What audacity!

"I'm speaking the truth," Zhang Xuan said, raising an eyebrow. "You can't even discern such a simple illness, and you say whether it can be saved depends on fate... Are you here to cure the illness, or to make this Bodhi tree die sooner?" Upon arriving, he had used his Eye of Insight and discerned some issues. However, he wasn't entirely certain, so he stepped forward to examine it with the Library. It was similar to what he had perceived. The illness wasn't complicated, but diagnosing it solely by external appearance was extremely difficult.

"You..." Elder Zhao raised an eyebrow and snorted coldly. "Simple? Do you even know what illness this Bodhi tree has?""Even if I told you, would you understand?" Zhang Xuan said indifferently. These fellows had been here for who knows how long, yet they didn't even know what the illness was, nor had they found out. Any explanation from them would certainly be unclear. Instead of wasting his breath, it was better not to say more.

"You..." Furious to the point of exploding, Elder Zhao and the others trembled incessantly. In the Hongyuan Empire's medicinal plant cultivating families, these few were absolutely at the pinnacle, the most powerful. They had always looked down on others, and this was the first time they had been looked down upon like this. "Would you even understand if I told you..." they thought, echoing Zhang Xuan's sarcastic words. "Young man, where did you come from? So arrogant, so brazen, do your family members know?"

"Alright, Your Majesty, let's not delay any further," Zhang Xuan said, waving his hand after walking a circle around the courtyard. "Otherwise, this Bodhi tree will eventually be killed by them..."

"Killed by us? Fine, then tell us, how would it be killed by us...?" Seeing that this young man's words were becoming increasingly outrageous, Elder Zhao could no longer restrain himself and took a few steps forward. He had the air of someone ready to strike the other party dead on the spot if they said anything wrong. It was no wonder. As Saint Realm experts and peak figures in medicinal plant cultivating families, they were long accustomed to respect from others. Even His Majesty Yu Shenqing treated them with courtesy and dared not speak ill to them. Yet this fellow, despite his young age, was so unrestrained... He showed them no regard whatsoever!

"You've set up the Nine-Nine Harmonious Spirit Formation around it," Zhang Xuan said, looking over indifferently with his hands behind his back. "If I'm not mistaken, you're forcibly infusing it with spiritual energy to activate its spirituality, aren't you?""You know the Nine-Nine Harmonious Spirit Formation?" Elder Zhao was stunned. Just now, seeing this fellow speak so rudely, they had thought he was just another charlatan like before. They hadn't expected him to discern their purpose with a single glance.

The Nine-Nine Harmonious Spirit Formation is one of the secret methods not passed down by medicinal plant cultivating families. It can help spiritual medicines, and even sacred medicines that have lost their spirituality, reactivate it and regain their vitality. Many medicinal plant cultivators don't even know about it. The sacred Bodhi tree before them was already withered and on the verge of death. After their multi-faceted investigation, it seemed its spirituality had dissipated. That's why they had spent a huge sum to set up the formation, hoping to activate it. Could it be that there's a problem with this?

"Not only do I know about it, but if I'm not mistaken, you also gathered the spiritual essence of eighteen types of sacred medicines, intending to forcibly infuse them into it. And the result... was failure, wasn't it?" Zhang Xuan said indifferently. Elder Zhao and the other medicinal plant cultivators exchanged glances, all rendered speechless. The young man was right. They had indeed gathered the spiritual essence of eighteen types of sacred medicines, attempting to replenish the Bodhi tree, but it had resulted in failure. Only they knew about this matter; not even the Emperor had been told. How did this fellow know? Did he just glance at it? That's impossible! Infusing spirituality was extremely troublesome, and once it failed, there would be no trace. Even they couldn't discern it, so how could this fellow in front of them?

"This Bodhi tree itself isn't dead; its spirituality is still present," Zhang Xuan said, raising an eyebrow and flicking his sleeve. "Yet you forcibly infused another spirituality into it, attempting to seize its essence. It's truly fortunate to still be alive and not to have been killed by your misguided efforts. After doing something like this, you're not ashamed, but instead you're showing off here, thinking you can save it... Who gave you such confidence and audacity?"

"You... nonsense!" Elder Zhao's face turned crimson. "We used various special methods to detect it, and the Bodhi tree's spirituality has already disappeared. How could it still be alive?" These old fellows had tested and repeatedly confirmed it many times. If its spirituality was still alive, how could they not know?

"Exactly!" an elder stepped forward. "I tested it three times using the Gold Needle Spirit Detection Method, and there was no spirituality! Furthermore, if it still had spirituality, how could this Bodhi tree be withered and on the verge of death?""I also tested it with my unique Green Smoke Spirit Detection Method, and there was no spirituality. This is absolutely true!" another elder nodded. Sacred medicines possess spirituality; everyone knows this. If one infuses spirituality without confirming that the original spirituality is dead or gone, it would indeed be as he said, equivalent to forcibly seizing its essence. That wouldn't be saving the medicine, but killing it! They were all renowned masters of medicinal plant cultivation. If they failed to save a medicine and instead killed it, how could they ever face anyone again? They would be utterly disgraced!

"Although our infusion of spirituality failed," another elder said, waving his hand, "it caused the previously withered tree to sprout anew, and the yellowing of its leaves was alleviated. Clearly, the Bodhi tree has started moving in a positive direction. As long as we persevere, it will certainly be saved. There's no need to listen to a young whippersnapper spouting nonsense here!" Hearing his words, everyone nodded. Although the infusion of spirituality failed, it did cause the Bodhi tree before them to turn green again, seemingly regaining its vitality. If that was the case, it should mean their direction was correct.

"Correct? The leaves turned green, but have you checked the roots?" Zhang Xuan asked. "Are there any signs of recovery? Have you checked the trunk? Has it become more nourished or more shriveled?" The crowd hesitated. After infusing spirituality, they had checked the roots, and they were indeed not looking good. The trunk had also become more shriveled. But... when integrating new spirituality, there would be such an adaptation process. Could it be that they were wrong?

"The Gold Needle Spirit Detection Method can detect the spirituality of medicinal plants," Zhang Xuan continued, ignoring the crowd's hesitation. "However, how long are your gold needles? Can they pierce deep into the trunk? If the spirituality is hidden within, can it be detected?" The elder who had spoken earlier was speechless. The Gold Needle Spirit Detection Method tests the presence of spirituality by pricking with gold needles and observing the spirit's reaction. While it was effective for individual medicinal herbs, it certainly couldn't pierce a tree of this size.

"The Green Smoke Spirit Detection Method works on the same principle; it can test conscious spirituality," Zhang Xuan said, looking at another elder. "But what if this Bodhi tree's spirituality is merely dormant? If you test it with this method, wouldn't it appear as if it had perished?" "Uh..." This elder also couldn't speak. Indeed, dormant spirituality was indistinguishable from deceased spirituality when using the Green Smoke Spirit Detection Method.

"All this talk is useless," an elder interrupted Zhang Xuan. "Then tell us, what method do you have to save this Bodhi tree! If you can't say it, then all your rambling is in vain!" The others nodded simultaneously. Being able to save it was the most important thing; otherwise, anything else he said was just a pretense.

"Method?" Zhang Xuan chuckled softly and turned around. "Your Majesty, please have someone bring a few barrels of oil and some fire starters...""I'm going to burn this tree!"