Chapter 153: Sacred Tree

In a flash, the entire Bull King Palace was empty; everyone had fled, not a single person remained. Even Chu Feng rushed out with the two bulls. These strange beings were incredibly frenzied, stampeding like a swarm of bees as if they were rushing headlong to be reincarnated.

A divine tree appeared, shaking the entire Kunlun Mountain Range.

Undoubtedly, the Horse King was the fastest, directly manifesting its true form as a crimson Akhal-Teke horse. It glowed with crystalline translucence, its entire body radiating crimson light, like a celestial steed descended to earth, incomparably magnificent. It galloped with its four enormous hooves, directly breaking the sound barrier and leading the charge. Everyone behind it heard the terrifying sonic boom from the air.

Booming... Like thunder falling from the nine heavens, sonic booms reverberated continuously across the mountain!

In the blink of an eye, it vanished, as if a celestial steed had streaked across the sky.

The Plate King was also very powerful, still in human form. She opened her mouth and shot out a beam of white light, which attached to a towering, cloud-piercing peak. It was a spider silk thread, and she then leaped directly off the cliff. Clad in palace attire, her figure graceful and slender, her waist-length green hair fluttering, and her skin like congealed cream, she now resembled a celestial fairy floating through the air. Furthermore, she wasn't descending directly to the foot of the mountain, but intended to swing across to the opposite cliff to take a shortcut.

The Snow Leopard King also moved, his white hair unbound, moving with lightning speed. The surrounding air exploded, kicking up sand and stones. His speed was equally terrifying; in the initial stage, he was no weaker than the Horse King, though his stamina was slightly inferior.

Roaring, the Mastiff King let out a great shout. Still in the form of a middle-aged man with unbound black hair, he plunged directly down the mountain. His strength was terrifying, and he had no fear of the steep terrain harming him.

All the formidable figures confident in their speed set off. Those who felt their speed was inferior summoned raptors to traverse the skies. The Beast Kings descended the mountain, each displaying their unique abilities.

Chu Feng was with the two bulls, riding on a crow. It was completely black, enormous in size, tens of meters long, stirring up gales as it whistled away.

"Caw!" The crow opened its beak, emitting a tremendous sound.

"Stop cawing, it's too dispiriting," the Great Black Ox grumbled, almost punching it. He felt that traveling on this inauspicious bird might squander all their good fortune.

"Yes, Great King, caw!" the crow squawked, diving like a black gale towards a distant peak.

On the way, the Yellow Ox briefly explained the situation to Chu Feng. Their destination was the underground palace discovered not long ago, which had been empty at the time, devoid of any artifacts. But there was a line of text: "Dead wood meets spring, divine root revives." At the time, they hadn't found anything; the so-called divine root of dead wood wasn't even a shadow. Who would have thought that a mutation would occur so soon after they left?

A strong wind howled. A distant peak came into view; still far away, they saw iridescent light erupting from it, extremely dazzling, covering the entire mountain. Auspicious glows cascaded from the mountaintop, one after another, like brilliant waterfalls shimmering with ethereal mist. A treasure tree was rooted at the summit, radiating dazzling light.

Chu Feng and his companions were not the first to arrive, nor were they among the stragglers. Compared to other large mountains, this peak was not high. However, it was here that an underground palace appeared, and a mysterious tree quickly grew out of it.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh... These formidable individuals had been very polite at the Bull King Palace, exchanging toasts and enjoying drinks, but upon reaching this place, they all became serious and silent, each rushing upward, even secretly competing.

The crow shrieked, unable to withstand the cascading iridescent light from the peak. It let out a mournful cry and landed. The two bulls and Chu Feng had no choice but to run wildly upwards themselves.

The Tibetan Antelope King was quite unlucky. He was ambushed by someone unknown, tumbled down the mountain, his mouth full of blood, and was severely injured. Chu Feng's body tensed immediately. Upon reaching this place, the king-level beings who had just been calling each other 'brother' completely disregarded their previous camaraderie, and a bloody fight could break out at any moment.

At the summit, they indeed saw the ancient underground palace beneath the earth and rocks. However, no one went down again; it had already been thoroughly searched. The tree at the summit was as thick as a water vat, nearly ten meters tall. Its bark was cracked and rough, and its entire body was red, including its branches and leaves, radiating crimson light and countless rays of brilliance. It was like a gigantic torch ablaze, emitting an aura that made hearts pound.

However, the next moment it changed again, turning a light gold. Even its bark changed with it, releasing golden light, with surging golden radiance enveloping the mountain. This caused a stir among the Beast Kings present. It was still transforming; no wonder it was said to possess myriad auspicious colors and all kinds of iridescent light.

"Everyone, let's not fight each other. Look, there are many flower buds on the tree. Once they bloom, there will be enough for all of us to evolve. There's no need for a life-or-death battle!" the Mastiff King spoke. He was very powerful and held a high position in Kunlun; since he suggested this, naturally, no one else objected.

All the Beast Kings stared intently. There were truly too many flower buds on the tree, hundreds of them. If they were to bloom, it would surely be a shower of blossoms and pollen scattering everywhere. Thinking of that scene, all the Beast Kings were so excited they wanted to roar. This meant they could advance to the next level again, breaking more shackles within their bodies.

"Everyone, please calm yourselves." At this moment, a faint will emanated from the tree. It actually spoke, possessing a vibrant life force.

"Hmm?!" All the Beast Kings became wary. "Is this a demonic tree?" Everyone stepped back, feeling extremely apprehensive. Because they knew very well how terrifying some plants currently were; once they gained consciousness, they would possess extraordinary abilities, beyond imagination. Some of them had personally experienced it. They had seen a strange tree in the desert that could emit black flames, capable of incinerating mountains and rivers. That temperature was terrifyingly high; even Beast Kings couldn't withstand it. The entire desert had melted. If they hadn't escaped quickly enough, they would surely have died there. Therefore, when the tree spoke, they all retreated and stood ready for battle.

Only the Yellow Ox was suspicious, recalling carefully. Finally, it revealed a look of surprise and childishly cried out, "Are you the Sacred Weapon-Refining Tree?!"

"I suppose so," the tree responded. At this moment, it had turned silvery-white, with a soft glow flowing around it.

"Little Yellow, what is its origin?" the Horse King asked.

Everyone looked at the Yellow Ox, because these king-level beings had long since learned that the Yellow Ox's knowledge was extremely vast and it knew too many things.

"We're rich! How lucky! To think we'd find a Sacred Weapon-Refining Tree here!" The Yellow Ox was overjoyed and incredibly excited. Because, according to it, since written records began, there had been no more than ten such trees in total. Any single one was enough to cause the most powerful factions of a realm to fight to the death over it. As time passed, some Sacred Weapon-Refining Trees had been destroyed, and it was hard to say how many remained to this day.

"This matter must be kept secret and not leaked," the Yellow Ox earnestly warned. "Otherwise, one day this place will surely run red with blood." Many realms had never heard of this type of tree. Even in the world it came from, which was incredibly prosperous, there was only one!

The others continued to press it, asking it to explain clearly what the tree's purpose was, their hearts filled with excitement.

"Of course, it's for refining weapons," the Yellow Ox said, "forging weapons that surpass all masters!" According to the Yellow Ox, as long as the materials were good enough, the Sacred Weapon-Refining Tree, in its later stages of growth, could forge weapons powerful enough to move mountains and fill seas.

"Can it refine flying swords?" Chu Feng asked.

"As long as you have the materials, it's effortless," the Yellow Ox replied.

This made everyone gasp in astonishment.

"Everyone, I hope we can live in harmony," the Sacred Weapon-Refining Tree said. "I am just a withered root that has revived, and I don't understand this world."

"Rest assured, we will certainly protect you!" the Mastiff King declared. This was also everyone's thought. With such a miraculous ancient tree present, how could they possibly let it be destroyed? At their current level, they were all starting to consider forging weapons.

"Sacred Tree, could you demonstrate for us how to refine weapons?" the Snow Leopard King asked.

The Yellow Ox advised against it: "Don't waste them. In the short term, there are only so many flower buds on the Sacred Weapon-Refining Tree; each one used is one less. Wait until we have truly good materials before refining."

Everyone was astonished. They learned from the Yellow Ox that the so-called weapon refining did not involve fire or hammering, but simply used pollen to imbue the material with spirituality, causing it to transform into a weapon.

"What?!" Everyone was dumbfounded.

The Yellow Ox explained that after being imbued with spirituality in this manner, the material's quality would surge, and it would discard all impurities, retaining only the most essential parts.

"It's actually evolving the weapon," the tree said.

Upon hearing this, everyone was deeply shaken.

Once they had understood enough, the Beast Kings dispersed, all going to search for materials. Kunlun Mountain was no ordinary place, known as the home of myriad gods. It was very likely to contain many extraordinary things buried deep underground, and they had already collected some in their daily lives. Unfortunately, the deepest parts of Kunlun were inaccessible, sealed off by mist. There should be even rarer things there.

For the next two days, the Yellow Ox acted like a thief, often sneaking to the peak where the Sacred Weapon-Refining Tree was located, prowling around and searching for something. Chu Feng noticed it immediately, followed it, and after repeated questioning, the Yellow Ox finally told him. There must be good things around this Sacred Weapon-Refining Tree; they must be peerless materials. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for it to revive.

Thus, Chu Feng and the two bulls began their search. For several days in a row, they indeed dug up several pieces of metal material that didn't look like ordinary objects. The other Beast Kings were overly shrewd. They had been secretly sending people to watch the Yellow Ox because only it understood the Sacred Weapon-Refining Tree's origin, fearing it might be hiding something.

Finally, with a commotion, a group of Beast Kings rushed over, rummaging all over the mountain. Such a thing could not be kept secret. "Let's agree first: don't ruin the harmony," a group of formidable individuals declared after discussion. "Whoever finds something keeps it. No fighting, no robbing!"

In fact, they really wanted to ask the Sacred Weapon-Refining Tree what exactly was there, but it was merely a withered root that had revived and knew nothing. These Beast Kings took action with great momentum. They nearly turned the entire mountain upside down, plowing several zhang deep, as if intent on demolishing it. Some Beast Kings found strange materials, which were clearly not ordinary objects and extremely hard.

Chu Feng, of course, wasn't idle. He fully utilized his crimson flying sword, slashing through the soil and digging out anything that couldn't be destroyed. His efficiency was more than ten times that of others. Ultimately, he found a head-sized piece of dark material, but its weight was astonishing, weighing over ten thousand jin! Then, he simply left, no longer participating, because he knew this item was definitely extraordinary. He had previously found some metal artifacts underground, and even if they weren't destroyed by his flying sword, they still bore sword marks. However, this piece couldn't be cut; it was too hard. Especially since it was so heavy, it was truly peculiar.

In fact, everyone was satisfied, believing they had found good materials, and discussed going to refine weapons. Chu Feng was the first to leave, and naturally, the first to go refine a weapon. The Yellow Ox followed him closely, knowing him too well and guessing he had likely found something extraordinary. Upon reaching the summit, at its request, Chu Feng handed it over for the Yellow Ox to examine.

"Over ten thousand jin?!" The Yellow Ox was stunned. Ordinary people couldn't even lift such heavy material; they would be crushed to death instantly. But for king-level beings, it was nothing; their physiques were too powerful. The Yellow Ox used its strongest abilities, violently striking the black material, but it couldn't leave the slightest mark on it. It was excessively hard.

"The mysterious material buried in Kunlun... could it be that legendary item?" the Yellow Ox exclaimed. Then it decisively hugged it to its chest, wanting to keep it for itself.

"Give it to me, you stubborn ox!" Chu Feng snatched.

Ultimately, the Yellow Ox returned it to Chu Feng, because it was afraid of alarming the other Beast Kings. It quickly asked the Sacred Weapon-Refining Tree to forge it, to see if it was indeed that type of material.

"What kind of weapon do you need?" the Sacred Weapon-Refining Tree asked. Although it had just gained consciousness, it was clear about what it was and what its abilities were. According to the Yellow Ox, this ancient tree was unfortunate. It had been crippled back then, leaving only its withered root system, and had only revived now. Something so heavy was unsuitable for refining into a flying sword; Chu Feng couldn't wield it. At present, he couldn't even control himself flying through the air.

"Can the weapon be re-refined after its shape is set?" Chu Feng asked. Otherwise, it would be a real headache, as he hadn't yet decided what weapon would suit him best.

"Yes," the Sacred Weapon-Refining Tree said.

Chu Feng looked down and immediately saw the gleaming metal bracelet on his wrist. Lu Tong had given it to him at the Jade Pure Palace, dubbing it the "Vajra Bangle." It was made from material he had brought back from a strange silver mine outside Shunten City and was extremely hard.

"Then please refine it into a Vajra Bangle for me," Chu Feng said, gesturing to the metal bracelet on his wrist.

A branch extended from the tree, lifting the dark material and bringing it into the tree's crown. Even though the material weighed over ten thousand jin, the Sacred Weapon-Refining Tree could bear it.

The next moment, a fist-sized flower bud on the ancient tree bloomed, and pollen scattered, touching the dark material.

"Hmm?" The Sacred Weapon-Refining Tree waited for a while but found that the material had not changed at all. Next, it opened a second flower bud, and pollen scattered again. But ultimately, the black material still showed no change.

Pop, pop, pop... But after ten flower buds bloomed consecutively, the Yellow Ox's eyes widened. According to records, materials that required this many blooms were already extremely rare treasures. However, the dark material still showed no change.

The Sacred Weapon-Refining Tree seemed to be losing face. Among its branches, one flower bud after another bloomed, until finally, over a hundred flowers swayed, scattering pollen. At this point, the dark material finally changed. With a rustling sound, black powder continuously fell away, revealing a pristine white luster inside.

The Yellow Ox was astonished. If the black outer skin was so hard, what could the snow-white substance inside be, and how precious could it be?!

"It must be that legendary item from Kunlun!" it murmured to itself, growing more and more certain.