Chapter 3913 — The Millennium Tree Crystal

When he had observed it from outside earlier, this cedar, though enormous and standing unique amid the Half-Moon Lake, was only fifty or sixty meters tall in total. Yet judging by the feel of his fall now, it was at least a hundred meters, or to be precise, around a hundred and fifty.

Had Wei Zhao not kicked off the walls in time to slow his descent, a drop from such a height would likely have left him with internal injuries.

Boom! A muffled impact, and Wei Zhao's landing sent dust swirling up—the bottom of the hollow, unexpectedly, was dry.

Everywhere within sight was open and empty. The walls and floor alike played host to the same luminescent microbes as outside at Half-Moon Lake, making the place like a spirit-jade mine veined with fluorite—visibility was remarkably good.

But precisely because of this, Wei Zhao grew all the more suspicious and wary.

Unless he was mistaken, he was now at the very bottom of the lake—which meant this giant cedar did not grow above the water's surface as they had seen before, but began from the lakebed itself. What they had seen from outside was merely a small portion of its very top.

At least a hundred meters of trunk lay below the water, running straight from the lakebed through to the surface. Even Wei Zhao, who had seen more than his share of strange creatures, had never seen or heard of such a thing.

It was worthy of being an ancient tree that had existed ever since Half-Moon Lake was first discovered—thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands, of years old. Had it been a spirit beast instead, it would long since have grown into an invincible existence. A pity—it was only a tree.

Standing in the empty hollow, Wei Zhao was just about to make a proper exploration when a voice suddenly rang out, chilling him to the bone.

"It's been so long since I last saw a living soul—three whole years, by my count. After such a lonely stretch, I've finally got myself a visitor. Today I can finally have some fun." The voice came from every direction within the hollow, impossible to tell as male or female, cackling with a strange, sinister laughter.

Every muscle in Wei Zhao's body tightened in an instant, though his face betrayed nothing. "Who are you?" he asked in a low voice.

"Who am I?" The voice paused, then seemed somewhat troubled. "I've pondered that question for a long time, and I still can't figure it out. Forget it—such a bothersome question isn't worth thinking about. A chance like this is rare, so let's have ourselves a good game first."

"What game?" Wei Zhao's heart gave a jolt.

"First, a question—you came here looking for the Millennium Tree Crystal too, didn't you?" the voice suddenly asked.

"That's right." Wei Zhao nodded. The Millennium Tree Crystal—the core material Shangguan Lan'er planned to use for forging artifacts, and the main purpose of their journey.

The records said the Millennium Tree Crystal was an exceedingly rare heavenly treasure. Only a very few tree species rich in spiritual essence, after thousands of years of long life, could possibly condense one. It was a truly priceless treasure, gathering the essence of sun and moon and seizing the craftsmanship of heaven and earth.

Even in the back mountain, with its countless treasures, the places where a Millennium Tree Crystal might be found could be counted on one hand—and in the outer reaches of the back mountain, there was only Half-Moon Lake. That alone spoke to how rare the Millennium Tree Crystal was.

In truth, after learning this news, it was not only for Shangguan Lan'er—even for his own sake, Wei Zhao had to take the risk, because the Millennium Tree Crystal had one exceedingly rare and precious use: to raise an artifact's grade during forging.

Ever since coming to Cloud-Tier Island, because he had stayed in the Welcome Pavilion the whole time, Wei Zhao and the other newcomers had almost never had occasion to use divine weapons. For one thing, they were strictly forbidden in the Welcome Pavilion—otherwise, if weapons were truly used in combat, the challenge tournament alone would likely have killed off a great many newcomers.

For another, Heaven-Tier divine weapons simply could not withstand the true qi of the Foundation Establishment stage; channeling true qi into them would destroy them outright.

Thus the fine steel staff in Wei Zhao's hand had never made an appearance. It had no use for the time being, so naturally he had no thought of raising its grade.

Even after meeting the Rag-and-Bone King, the artifact forger, in the marketplace, though the two had reached an agreement, Wei Zhao had not been in a hurry to put the matter on his schedule. After all, while dealing with the newcomer assessments, he also had to cultivate the Soul-Devouring Linglong Grass and find a way to refine Foundation Establishment Golden Pills, all while staying on guard against trouble from Nan Tianguan and his lot. Wei Zhao had not had a moment's leisure all this time.

But now that the opportunity had chanced to present itself, Wei Zhao naturally would not let it slip by for nothing. In any case, weapons would surely be needed in future battles, and if the fine steel staff remained only Heaven-Tier, that would clearly be far from enough. Raising its grade was imperative.

Under normal circumstances, once a weapon was forged, it was set—no further possibility of change, unless it was destroyed and reforged. But even then, only some of the main materials, such as fine steel and dark iron, could be salvaged; most of the auxiliary materials would be wasted.

The Millennium Tree Crystal, however, was an exception. Not only could it raise a weapon's grade during forging, but even a weapon already set could have one chance at advancement.

Only one chance—but that was already exceedingly precious.

So whether for Shangguan Lan'er or for himself, Wei Zhao was determined to obtain the Millennium Tree Crystal.

The ghostly voice sounded again. "As long as you can win the game that follows, I can give you a Millennium Tree Crystal."

"Two," Wei Zhao said without even lifting his head.

Though he still did not know who or what the other party was, judging by its tone and what it had said, it was likely a powerful spirit beast hiding here—perhaps even the guardian spirit beast Wei Zhao had speculated about earlier, unable to leave this place for some reason, which was why it spoke of loneliness.

Since the other side had proposed a game, that at least showed no intent, for the moment, of fighting him to the death. Wei Zhao knew well that with his present strength, his odds against this nameless spirit beast—one that showed its head but never its tail—would be pitifully slim. Agreeing to its game, on the other hand, might leave a sliver of a chance at success.

Still, being led by the nose so easily was not Wei Zhao's style. Even if he could not set the rules of the game, he would make up for it elsewhere.

"Two? Heh heh—weak as you are, you're a greedy one indeed." The voice laughed strangely for a while, then said, "Very well, very well. After such a long loneliness, I'll count it as a reward for you. As long as you win, two Millennium Tree Crystals are yours."

"It's a deal." Wei Zhao nodded, calm on the surface, though inwardly he was deeply shocked.

What he had said just now was offhand, no more than a simple probe. Deep down he had never believed that two such rare heavenly treasures as Millennium Tree Crystals would appear at once—yet unexpectedly, the other party had actually agreed. R1152