Chapter 3913 — The Millennium Tree Crystal
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
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.