Chapter 3916 — The Millennium Tree Crystal

"Gongyang Jun? He's been here too?" Wei Zhao's heart stirred.

The Enforcement Hall's master, Gongyang Jun—though the two had never crossed paths, some instinct told him that a contest with this top figure of the Tri-Layered Pavilion's younger generation was inevitable.

The reason they had never crossed paths was simply that Wei Zhao's foundation was still shallow, his cultivation far too low to catch Gongyang Jun's eye.

"Mm, a rare thing indeed—one whose name left an impression and that I still remember to this day. But speaking of which, what's your name?" the ghostly voice suddenly asked.

"Wei Zhao," he answered without concealment, then said directly, "The two Millennium Tree Crystals—you can give them to me now."

"Heh heh, an impatience cut from the exact same cloth!" The ghostly voice gave a strange laugh, then said, "Rest easy, I'm not one to welsh on a debt over a paltry two Millennium Tree Crystals. But before that—care to play another game?"

"What do you mean?" Wei Zhao narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I mean that since the opportunity is so rare, wouldn't it be a terrible waste of heaven's bounty to let you go after only one game?" As the ghostly voice echoed, the ground surged once more, and just like the mirror puppet before, another human-shaped puppet drilled its way up. But this time it was no mirror of Wei Zhao—it had no face, no expression.

"Millennium Tree Crystals!" At the sight of the two dark-green, glistening objects in the puppet's hands, Wei Zhao's eyelids gave a sudden twitch. He had studied the illustrated manual Shangguan Lan'er brought along on the way here. These were exactly the Millennium Tree Crystals he had come seeking.

The faceless puppet weighed the two Millennium Tree Crystals in its palm, and the ghostly voice issued from it: "Let's stake these two Millennium Tree Crystals on another match. Win, and I'll bring out a supreme treasure worth far more than the Tree Crystals—one you absolutely will not be able to refuse. How about it?"

"What treasure?" Wei Zhao asked, betraying nothing in his expression, though inwardly he was quietly speculating whether this faceless puppet was truly the other's original body.

The faceless puppet gave a cackling laugh and casually tossed the two Millennium Tree Crystals aside. Then it reached into its own chest and dug out a somewhat charred piece of wood: "This—the Myriad-Year Tree Crystal."

Myriad-Year Tree Crystal! At those words, Wei Zhao's heart nearly skipped a beat.

A Millennium Tree Crystal was already an exceedingly rare treasure of heaven and earth; a Myriad-Year Tree Crystal could only be nurtured by an ancient tree at least ten thousand years old!

Trees that could live so long were themselves exceedingly rare—across the whole world, there were likely only a scant few species capable of it.

And the older the tree, the higher the likelihood of it being targeted by human cultivators and other powerful spirit beasts on account of such treasures. The number of ancient trees that could safely reach ten thousand years of age was minuscule not only in the back mountain but anywhere else, and what was more, the vast majority of them could not even produce tree crystals.

How rare the Myriad-Year Tree Crystal was should thus be evident. If the charred piece of wood in this creature's hand really was a Myriad-Year Tree Crystal, its value might not even be beneath that of a Star-Ink Stone!

"A Millennium Tree Crystal can only grant a weapon one chance at a rank upgrade, but a Myriad-Year Tree Crystal, if put to good use, grants at least three chances—perhaps even more. To stake a mere two Millennium Tree Crystals for a chance at a Myriad-Year Tree Crystal—miss this opportunity, and there may never be another," the faceless puppet said, weighing the charred wood in its hand, luring Wei Zhao on.

Unexpectedly, Wei Zhao did not so much as lift an eyelid. He simply reached out toward it and said, "Toss me those two Millennium Tree Crystals."

"Hm?" The faceless puppet paused, still unwilling to give up: "This is a genuine Myriad-Year Tree Crystal. To let it slip through your fingers just like that—are you truly willing?"

Wei Zhao remained unmoved: "Don't you think you're being a bit long-winded? If you don't intend to welch, then give me those two Millennium Tree Crystals. As for the Myriad-Year Tree Crystal and the like—it's beyond my reach, and I won't go chasing fantasies."

"Oh? To remain so calm in the face of a Myriad-Year Tree Crystal's temptation—I find myself admiring you more and more." The faceless puppet praised him with a strange laugh, then suddenly paused, its tone turning utterly grim: "And if I say no—what do you plan to do?"

"In that case, there's nothing to be done." There was no trace of panic on Wei Zhao's face; he seemed to have been prepared for this all along.

From the very beginning, he had never fully trusted this elusive creature. Not even knowing what the other's true form was, Wei Zhao would have been a fool to believe it without reservation.

"Heh heh, accepting reality so quickly? Quite right—a clever thing like you should have realized from the start that the rules of this place are mine to make. Since the terms are mine to propose, willing or not, in the end you can only do as I say—otherwise there's only one outcome." The faceless puppet smiled darkly.

"If I don't do as you say, I end up killed by you—a creature so fond of talking to itself really is a rare sight," Wei Zhao sneered. Though he could very well use the jade pendant's space to seize the tree crystals, if he did not play along with this thing, it would still be a dead end. Truly a headache-inducing creature.

"Why be so harsh with your words? To gamble a mere two Millennium Tree Crystals for a shot at a Myriad-Year Tree Crystal—if such a chance were offered to anyone else, they'd count themselves blessed! Hurry and recover—I won't be holding back when the time comes. I can hardly wait to begin the game!" Though the puppet had no face, Wei Zhao could clearly sense the ferocious grin upon it at that moment.

A short while later, seeing that Wei Zhao seemed to have healed himself about as much as he could, the faceless puppet urged impatiently: "Win, and you take the Myriad-Year Tree Crystal; lose, and you get nothing. Let the game begin!"

Before the words had faded, the faceless puppet's form flickered and in an instant descended above Wei Zhao's head.

So fast! Before Wei Zhao could even react, a heavy blow had already struck his body.

The mirror puppet Wei Zhao had faced earlier had its strength limited to the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage up to the mid Foundation Establishment stage; even if somewhat stronger than that, it had still remained within Wei Zhao's capacity to handle.

But this faceless puppet before him—by the look of it, even if it was not the other's true body, it was at least a being infused with a portion of its divine sense. As for Wei Zhao, he could not even gauge the puppet's strength now, let alone contend with it. (To be continued) R752