Chapter 79: Millennium Ancient Tree

The three-hundred-year-old tree is more like an old man who has weathered the frost and snow; its wrinkled bark is his face, full of furrows!

Duan Rong's heart throbbed slightly, and he secretly thought: "Spirit Reader!"

Artifact: Ancient Ginkgo Tree (tree age: 361 years).

Spirit Artifact Tier: Ninth Tier.

Devour Requirement: Host Mental Power Level 9 (not met).

Devour Effect: Reading the Years (can increase host's Mental Power).

Duan Rong looked again at the spirit artifact data of the Ancient Ginkgo Tree appearing before his eyes, his gaze fixed tightly on the words "can increase host's Mental Power."

At this moment, looking at these words again, they stimulated his nerves even more!

A Ninth Tier spirit artifact—he could not devour it. Then what about a First Tier one?

If he could find a tree-type spirit artifact of the First Tier, would he have a chance to break through his current predicament?

As if he had suddenly found a path through a dense fog, Duan Rong quickly began his search!

Duan Rong first touched every tree in the front and middle courtyards of the Yuanshun Escort Agency that looked like it had some age to it!

But they were all blanks!

The devour effect for all of them was none!

Aside from the Ancient Ginkgo Tree, the oldest tree was an Old Locust Tree on the other side of the Martial Arts Arena, with a tree age of forty-two years!

However, the devour effect was still a blank!

This indicated that for a forty-two-year-old tree, its spirit artifact had yet to awaken its intelligence!

After touching the trees in the Yuanshun Escort Agency, Duan Rong walked out and began to wreak havoc on the trees on West Street!

Duan Rong only touched old trees with some years on them!

After all, even that Old Locust Tree in the Martial Arts Arena, thick enough for two people to embrace, hadn't awakened its intelligence yet, let alone those lush trees still in their growth period; he knew they were blanks without even touching them!

Blood-colored sunset clouds hung in the western sky, and twilight was slowly rising from the fields...

In the dim light, Duan Rong stood at the entrance of the City God Temple, his face full of shock!

Artifact: Ancient Mulberry (tree age: 1,227 years).

Spirit Artifact Tier: Fifteenth Tier.

Devour Requirement: Host Mental Power Level 15 (not met).

Devour Effect: Sea Changes into Mulberry Fields (can increase host's Mental Power).

"A thousand-year-old tree, a Fifteenth Tier spirit artifact!"

Duan Rong looked at the set of data appearing before him, stunned into silence!

A Fifteenth Tier spirit artifact—this was the highest spirit artifact tier he had ever read!

By the time the sky turned dark, Duan Rong had almost touched every old tree in the entire city district!

Although he had touched all the old trees in the district, Duan Rong still hadn't figured out the tier rules for tree-type spirit artifacts!

Only two ancient trees had devour effects: the three-hundred-year-old Ancient Ginkgo Tree and the twelve-hundred-year-old Ancient Mulberry; other than those, the oldest tree was an old banyan tree with a tree age of ninety-two years, but its devour effect was still a blank!

The three-hundred-year-old Ancient Ginkgo Tree's spirit artifact was already Ninth Tier, while the ninety-two-year-old banyan tree's spirit artifact had not even reached the First Tier!

What he needed to figure out now was the distribution pattern of tree-type spirit artifact tiers between ninety-two and three hundred and sixty-one years!

Clearly, the samples in Xiangu County were insufficient!

"I need to choose a place!" Duan Rong stood on the street as night fell and the lanterns were lit, his eyes flickering with thought.

Duan Rong ate dinner on the street, then went to Xiao Zongting's courtyard and specifically asked Xiao Zongting for a few days off, saying he needed to handle some private matters.

The impression of Duan Rong being obsessed with martial arts and practicing diligently had long been deeply engraved in Xiao Zongting's mind; when he said he needed to handle private matters, Xiao Zongting naturally did not doubt him, waving his hand and telling him to arrange it himself.

An Apprentice's time was originally meant to be arranged by themselves; Xiao Zongting's management style had always been hands-off.

He only set examination days to verify your cultivation results!

For an old fox like Xiao Zongting, once an Apprentice walked through the door, he could figure out their talent completely within a few encounters!

Just by examining your cultivation results, he could know whether you had been practicing diligently during that time!

Why would he need to supervise you like a foreman?

Anyone who didn't practice diligently and just slacked off—whether they needed a warning or to be dismissed—he would never be lenient.

But for an Apprentice like Duan Rong, he even waived the examinations!

Why bother examining a monster!

Duan Rong was, of course, very clear about Xiao Zongting's management style, but he felt it was better to say something, because he didn't know how many days he would be out this time.

The next day.

Just as the sky was beginning to brighten, the breakfast shops and stalls at the street corners were already steaming...

Duan Rong got up early and left the Yuanshun Escort Agency, went to a beef soup stall he frequented, and sat down on a folding stool.

"Boss, a large bowl of beef soup! Extra green onions, extra cilantro!"

"And three flatbreads!"

"Coming right up! Sit down first! It'll be ready in a moment!" The boss of this stall was a thin, tall middle-aged man; seeing that Duan Rong was a familiar face, he greeted him enthusiastically.

His hands were covered in calluses from hard work; he skillfully weighed a sufficient amount of beef and sliced it into the bottom of a celadon bowl. Then, carrying the bowl, he went to a large pot set over thick firewood, where the broth was boiling.

Inside the large pot, two ox horns were faintly visible; a whole ox head had clearly been placed inside.

The boss used a large iron ladle to scoop up the boiling hot soup, poured it into the bowl, grabbed two large handfuls of green onions and cilantro, and sprinkled them in.

Then he placed the steaming large celadon bowl in front of Duan Rong.

Duan Rong swallowed his saliva, added two large spoonfuls of chili oil to the bowl, and began to eat.

With a large bowl of beef soup and three flatbreads down, Duan Rong's belly was suddenly round and full.

By the time Duan Rong finished eating, the sky was already bright; he strolled to the carriage rental shop and rented a sturdy bay colt!

The carriage firm was busy early on, with quite a few people already walking back and forth, and the shouting of the shop assistants made it even more chaotic...

In ancient times, transportation was inconvenient, so people traveling usually set out early!

This wave of business in the morning market accounted for over eighty percent of the carriage firm's daily revenue!

Duan Rong led the date-red horse out, stepped on the stirrup, mounted it, and headed slowly toward the East City Gate!

Within the city area, one cannot gallop a horse; once someone is injured by galloping, one must either pay a huge fine or face tattooing and imprisonment, as the punishment is quite severe!

Duan Rong rode the horse out of the East City Gate, traveled a distance further, and seeing that there was no one left on the road, he picked up the horse whip and lashed it fiercely onto the date-red horse's rump!

The date-red horse felt the pain, galloped wildly, and sped away along the Official Road, leaving a trail of dust!

The destination of Duan Rong's trip was Wild Boar Mountain, eighty miles southeast of Xiangu County.

Wild Boar Mountain had precipitous peaks and steep terrain, stretching nearly a hundred miles from east to west; in the deep mountains and old forests, fierce beasts often appeared!

Duan Rong swung the whip to urge the horse on, traveling rapidly all the way, and by around the time of the unrefined hour (1:00 PM to 3:00 PM), he could already see the lush, blurry mountain range from afar!

Duan Rong lashed the horse's rump three more times with all his might, and the already exhausted date-red horse snorted white mist from its nostrils and began to gallop wildly again!

Just before the time of the monkey (3:00 PM to 5:00 PM), Duan Rong finally reined in the horse and stopped!

He jumped off the horse beside a mountain village not far from Wild Boar Mountain!

The date-red horse was already listless, with faint white foam seeping from the corners of its mouth; if it kept running, it would likely be exhausted to death!

"Seeing a mountain and running a horse to death" is truly no exaggeration!

Duan Rong led the horse to a household at the east end of the village, and across the wattle and daub wall, he shouted to a thin, dark-skinned old man in the courtyard: "Old man, could I trouble you for a bowl of water to drink?"

(End of this chapter)