Chapter 17: Jin Tong Mu and Ancestor Bitong

Moreover, this breathing rhythm also seemed somewhat off.

Su Jin touched the trunk of the ancient tree, sensing silently. A strange feeling rose in her heart.

Hoo... haa... hoo... haa...

Why does the breathing rhythm of this ancient tree resemble so closely... the cultivation rhythm of the Great Expansion Soul-Refining Art?

Su Jin quickly began circulating the Great Expansion Soul-Refining Art. At first, she could not keep up with the ancient tree's breathing rhythm, but when she silently changed her visualization object to this ancient tree, she soon felt as though she had established a special connection with it.

They seemed to be one body.

Breathe, breathe... her breathing synchronized with the ancient tree's.

A cool, water-like soul power flowed from the ancient tree into her body, washed over her entire form, and then flowed back into the ancient tree.

Then flowed back again...

Suddenly, Su Jin felt as though she had broken through some mist; previous doubts or vague and unclear cultivation difficulties were being answered correctly in her mind at an extremely rapid pace.

Her mind was exceptionally clear at this moment; all her memories since birth were rushing past her eyes at high speed.

She also understood what this ancient tree truly was, because the ancient tree had told her everything.

This ancient tree was her companion split soul. When her soul was born, it split into two: half was a human soul, half was a tree soul.

The human soul was primary, the tree soul secondary.

Therefore, the tree soul was also a split soul.

She was a descendant of the Wood Witches, and Little Wu Tian had been born alongside her by nature.

However, Little Wu Tian did not exist independently. The core of Little Wu Tian's birth came from her companion split soul. As a descendant of the Wood Witches, only those descendants who gave birth to Little Wu Tian would be born with a companion split soul. Or rather, only those who gave birth to a companion split soul would give birth to Little Wu Tian.

A companion split soul could be any kind of flower, grass, or tree.

It could also be an ancient plant from legends that had already gone extinct.

Su Jin's companion ancient tree split soul was an ancient, already-extinct spiritual wood: Jin Tong Mu.

Therefore, the black earth covered in a golden light here was the true form of her Little Wu Tian, born within her sea of consciousness.

The small dome she could usually send out was actually a power projection of this Little Wu Tian.

Jin Tong Mu was said to be an ancient spiritual wood that had been born since the beginning of the world, but for some unknown reason, it had become completely extinct later.

Even in the Wood Witch clan's documents, there were only a few scattered records.

Su Jin remembered her mother introducing Jin Tong Mu while explaining Ancestor Bitong to her.

Why did she introduce Ancestor Bitong to Su Jin? Because the Wood Witch clan had once produced a Primordial Saint Witch whose companion was the ancient Ancestor Bitong. In the Wood Witch tribe's records, this figure was called the Ancestor Bitong Primordial.

The Primordial Saint Witch was the supreme ancestor of the Witch clan; it was said that every one of them was a Witch standing at the peak of the world.

However, her mother had said, unfortunately, the era of the Witches had passed.

She also remembered that at age four, her mother had said to her father in a teasing tone that most of the soul-refining cultivation techniques practiced by cultivators today were largely dismantled and modified versions of past Witch clan methods for cultivating companion Witch souls.

The companion Witch soul her mother mentioned was actually her companion split soul.

Her mother had also told her that people often said the Witch clan had no souls, which was why they did not cultivate soul-refining methods.

In fact, this was a misunderstanding; the strongest Witch souls of the Witch clan were all cultivated outside their bodies, cultivated within the Little Wu Tian that could manifest in the mortal world.

However, her mother had not told her at that time that the core of Little Wu Tian's birth was the companion split soul.

Therefore, when she cultivated the Great Expansion Soul-Refining Art, she did not need to search for any visualization object at all; she only needed to cultivate her companion object.

No wonder the ancient tree stubbornly tried to interfere with her visualizing the willow tree.

One mountain cannot hold two tigers; in her soul sea, there was absolutely no allowance for a second core companion object or visualization object to appear.

When she cultivated the Great Expansion Soul-Refining Art, she could only rely on the ancient tree as her foundation.

But why did her companion split soul not reveal itself early, instead waiting until she began cultivating a soul-refining technique to actively make a scene?

Hadn't her Little Wu Tian been known to her since long ago?

When she was young, she even used Little Wu Tian as a toy to play with.

Alas, if only my dear mother were here.

She knew more about the Witch clan matters than I do.

"Little Jin, it's time for breakfast." Her sister-in-law's voice came from the main hall, and Su Jin immediately snapped back to her senses.

She quickly tidied herself up. After eating breakfast, she still had to rush to school.

As for the matter of the companion split soul, she would deal with it when she returned home.

As soon as Su Jin stepped into the school, she sensed that the atmosphere was wrong.

She took a few steps to sit at her seat and asked Su Yunhu, who sat in the row next to her, with her eyes, "What's wrong?"

"The clan school is going to issue a set of Tier One High-Grade Spirit-Gathering Arrays to all students who have already broken through to the First Layer of Qi Condensation. Only our first-year students will get them.

As soon as this news spread, some people in our class started crying." Su Yunhu nodded toward certain students burying their heads at their desks and sobbing.

"Why are they crying?" Su Jin did not understand.

"If we get a Tier One High-Grade Spirit-Gathering Array, our speed of breaking through to the Second Layer of Qi Condensation will increase by more than double. Those students who have not yet broken through to the First Layer of Qi Condensation will be left far behind by us.

Naturally, they have to cry.

I also heard someone say it's unfair.

Saying, on what grounds does the clan school only issue Tier One High-Grade Spirit-Gathering Arrays to first-year students who have broken through to the First Layer of Qi Condensation?"

Su Yunhu sighed helplessly and said, "Issuing Tier One High-Grade Spirit-Gathering Arrays to students who have broken through to the First Layer of Qi Condensation is a decision made by the elders in the clan school. What does it have to do with us?"

"But they are issuing them after all. I really like Spirit-Gathering Arrays, let alone a Tier One High-Grade one." Su Jin said somewhat happily. "Which elder did this good deed? Thank you so much."

"I don't know either; I'll ask my father to look into it for us later." Su Yunhu's corners of the mouth also curled up.

With a Tier One High-Grade Spirit-Gathering Array, he might be able to break through to the Third Layer of Qi Condensation before the end of the year.

Breaking through three layers in one year; with that speed, even among the senior students several grades above them, very few could achieve such a feat?

Hahaha.

Just at this moment, Su Wuji also arrived.

They were all schoolchildren who had broken through to the first layer of Qi Condensation.

Master Liu had long ago moved their seats together.

Su Wuji sat in front of Su Yunhu, and Su Cheng sat in front of Su Jin.

As soon as Su Wuji arrived, he put down his schoolbag and said, "Have you heard? The clan school is going to give each of us a first-grade superior Spirit-Gathering Array to help us accelerate our cultivation speed."

"We heard," the two replied in unison.

"Do you know the reason?" Su Wuji asked.

Who would know that?

Su Jin and the others simply shook their heads.

"I heard that in another year, the Hongtong Secret Realm will open. To enable us to catch up with the Hongtong Secret Realm, which opens only once every twenty years, they are giving this generation Spirit-Gathering Arrays. Moreover, they are directly issuing first-grade superior Spirit-Gathering Arrays."