Chapter 281: The Tree in the Hand

Inside the seed, which was the size of a watermelon seed, was filled with a vigorous power of the origin of life; its vastness was like an ocean! Accompanying this power, the massive Yin Qi was also an existence that could not be underestimated!

"What a bizarre seed!"

Chunyangzi exclaimed aloud. At the same time, Zhang Nuo also discovered this point. The Spirit Insect, after its Transformation Stage, seemed to think very highly of this seed; otherwise, it would not have brought it out from the depths of the mine.

Zhang Nuo tentatively took the seed from the Spirit Insect's hand. After examining it carefully, he still did not find anything special about it. He placed the seed flat on his palm, and streams of Yin Qi surged from his body, wrapping it inside.

However, these Yin Qi were all blocked at the seed's outer skin and could not penetrate it in the slightest. Seeing that Yin Qi did not work, Zhang Nuo switched to Spiritual Qi, but the result was the same!

Suddenly, a wisp of Yin Qi flashed at the center of Zhang Nuo's brow, and the 'Hell Butterfly' flew out in a flash. The black butterfly body circled in mid-air, seemingly also holding this seed in extremely high regard.

This time, both Zhang Nuo and Chunyangzi were somewhat speechless. A Mysterious Heaven Grade Spirit Insect and a 'Hell Butterfly' from the Underworld both thought very highly of this seed. Especially as the 'Hell Butterfly' flew, it kept emitting soft chirps.

"Senior?..."

Zhang Nuo had intended to ask Chunyangzi properly to see if he could guess the origin of this seed. Just as he was halfway through his sentence, the 'Hell Butterfly' in mid-air flashed and landed on his palm, its slightly flapping Butterfly Wings shaking out patches of black light.

In this instant, it was as if the whole world had stopped. The time, which was originally extremely short, became very long in Zhang Nuo's eyes. His body froze slightly on the spot, and the bright light in his pupils dissipated and lost its luster!

"Kid Zhang! Be careful!"

Chunyangzi's mind was still quite clear. Once he realized something was wrong, he immediately shouted a warning, but it seemed a bit late. The 'Hell Butterfly' suddenly spat out a black light from its mouth, directly wrapping the seed inside. In the very instant Zhang Nuo lost his focus, the seed wrapped in black light sank directly into his right palm!

"Ugh!"

Sensing that something was wrong, Zhang Nuo flicked his hand, wanting to shake the seed out of his palm, but no matter how hard he tried, the seed seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace at all!

"What is going on?"

Zhang Nuo was shocked and terrified. Having something of unknown origin invade his body was never a good thing. After the 'Hell Butterfly' finished all this, it slowly flew to the top of Zhang Nuo's head. As its pair of Butterfly Wings vibrated, it emitted a bizarre sound from its mouth.

That kind of sound was one Zhang Nuo had never heard before; it was like some kind of ancient incantation. Chunyangzi listened carefully to the incantation, and his heart immediately sank to the bottom.

"This is an ancient Underworld incantation! I don't know what it means either! You hurry and ask it!"

From the seed entering Zhang Nuo's body to the 'Hell Butterfly' floating and chanting, all of this happened in a very short time. Zhang Nuo raised his right hand and saw that the surface was completely undamaged; he could not see any scars, and there was not even any discomfort inside his palm! He looked up at the black butterfly in mid-air, and with a thought, he asked it.

But the 'Hell Butterfly' did not respond at all and kept chanting the incantation! 'Click!' A tiny sound came from Zhang Nuo's right palm, as if something had cracked!

Zhang Nuo was scared out of his wits. Everything the 'Hell Butterfly' did was clearly related to that seed. Although it had merged into one with the butterfly, this butterfly still possessed its own conscious awareness. Was it trying to harm him by doing this?

Many thoughts arose in his mind in an instant, but none of them were good! Gathering all the Yin Qi in his body, he directed it toward his palm. Zhang Nuo wanted to forcibly expel this seed from his body. Suddenly, the sound of the 'Hell Butterfly's' incantation grew louder in his ears, like a large bell ringing directly beside him!

Zhang Nuo covered his ears in pain. The incantation echoing in his mind was like a maggot on a tarsal bone, eating away at his consciousness bit by bit! Chunyangzi, however, could not hear the incantation that loudly at all. Seeing Zhang Nuo in such pain, he was at a loss for what to do.

The 'Mysterious Heaven Gold-Devouring Insect' watched everything happening to Zhang Nuo coldly, with no intention of helping at all. The 'Hell Butterfly' above his head ignored him even more, its incantation chaotic and complex! In the end, what it spat out from its mouth were actually Fowen formed by streams of Yin Qi.

These Fowen moved bit by bit toward Zhang Nuo's right palm and vanished inside in a flash. Unknowingly, a round lump the size of a fist bulged on Zhang Nuo's palm. Looking from afar, his hand looked like a small steamed bun!

A piercing pain spread from his palm to his whole body. Zhang Nuo kept hitting the ground with his hand, wanting to reduce the pain a little, but when his hand hit the ground, it made a 'Boom—' sound, yet the pain did not diminish at all!

"Ah!"

Human endurance has its limits. When this limit is broken, a roar is the best way to vent. After a roar that shook the heavens, Zhang Nuo sat on the ground. He grabbed his right wrist tightly with his left hand, and he could see streams of Yin Qi lingering on the bulging lump, with countless Fowen flashing incessantly on the surface.

"Stop!"

Like the roar of a wild beast, Zhang Nuo forced the 'Hell Butterfly' to stop all this, but the black butterfly acted as if it had not heard and was still chanting the incantation!

'Whoosh!'

The blood in Zhang Nuo's body was flowing rapidly through his blood vessels. Their target was entirely the palm of his right hand. He did not know what the origin of that seed was, but in an instant, it had sucked away seven or eight tenths of the blood in Zhang Nuo's body!

His face turned deathly pale, his lips turned blue, and a feeling of weakness and powerlessness made him almost faint. The complex chanting in his mind was still ringing, like silver needles pricking his flesh.

'Pop!' A tiny bursting sound came from Zhang Nuo's palm, followed by a pillar of blood shooting into the sky. The pillar of blood was not very thick, only a thin stream, but it sprayed over three zhang high!

Where the pillar of blood shot out, a green sprout slowly grew. The sprout was emerald green and dripping with dew; although it was only two inches tall, the vigorous vitality contained within it was unparalleled!

Zhang Nuo endured the pain and looked at the sprout in his palm, his face full of astonishment. That black seed had actually used his palm as fertile soil, absorbing the blood from his body to grow.

His entire right arm felt as if it were being wrapped by something and could not move a single bit. The remaining blood in his body was still surging toward the sprout! This time Zhang Nuo was truly anxious; if this continued, he would be sucked dry alive! Thinking of this, Sword Qi surged on his left hand, and he was about to cut off his right arm to save his life!

However, the 'Hell Butterfly' in mid-air saw this scene and rushed downward rapidly. Its pair of wings moved slightly, and two clusters of black Qi flashed and struck Zhang Nuo's left hand. The seemingly fierce attack did not have much force; it just blocked his hand.

"You..."

Zhang Nuo's expression changed drastically. What exactly did this butterfly want to do? At this moment, Chunyangzi said something unusual:

"Kid Zhang, don't resist! I don't think it has any malice!"

Under the current circumstances, Chunyangzi actually said the 'Hell Butterfly' had no malice toward Zhang Nuo. He just wanted to retort, but what happened next made him lose that thought!

The Yin Qi in the four Divine Seas within his body was surging toward the green sprout like a flood. In just a short moment, the Yin Qi in all four Divine Seas was drained!

Zhang Nuo had never even heard of such a massive absorption capacity. Those were four full Divine Seas of Yin Qi, and they were ones he had tempered; their purity was terrifyingly high! Even if these Yin Qi were injected into a cultivator's body at the same time, it would make them explode and die!

Looking at the green sprout in his palm, Zhang Nuo could not believe it had such a large capacity. The sprout that absorbed blood and Yin Qi became even more vibrant; it was like some kind of plant that was gestating and growing.

When the Yin Qi in Zhang Nuo's body was empty, the sprout stopped asking from him and instead absorbed Yin Qi from the outside world. Before long, streams of Yin Qi as thick as an arm formed around Zhang Nuo. They were all gathered by the sprout, as if there were some kind of magic in the dark. The sprout began to grow bit by bit, and in the end, it was actually half a chi tall.

Zhang Nuo was weak all over, his eyes looking in astonishment at the sprout on his palm. He saw its top slowly split open, revealing two emerald green leaves!

These two leaves were emerald green and dripping with dew. Waves of the power of the origin of life radiated from the leaves and, following Zhang Nuo's breathing, transmitted bit by bit into his body.

The power of the origin of life is the total driving force of all living bodies. Zhang Nuo, who was originally extremely weak, felt he had some strength after taking a few breaths, so he sat up.

Seeing Zhang Nuo like this, the 'Hell Butterfly' in mid-air seemed very happy and flashed into the center of his brow.

"Master! Don't be afraid! I won't harm you!"

As if it had completed its mission, the moment the butterfly returned to Zhang Nuo's body, it immediately sent a message through their mental connection.

Hearing the 'Hell Butterfly's' voice, Zhang Nuo's hanging heart finally let go. Everything just now was truly a narrow escape; that feeling of having no ability to resist and being at the mercy of others was really not pleasant!

After having strength in his body, Zhang Nuo began to cooperate with the growth of the sprout in his palm. He also constantly drew Yin Qi from the outside world and poured it into the sprout.

This situation lasted for about three days, and the sprout in Zhang Nuo's palm had already grown into a small green tree about a chi tall!

Although the tree was not big, the lush branches and leaves and the rich power of the origin of life made Zhang Nuo exclaim aloud! The world is truly full of wonders; a tree had actually grown on his palm. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he was afraid no one would believe it!

Chunyangzi's Divine Sense probed out from the Sword Box and swept over the small tree in Zhang Nuo's palm several times in succession. A moment later, he suddenly burst into laughter! This laughter also confused Zhang Nuo! It seemed this old fellow must know the origin of this small tree!