Chapter 24: The Divine Wood Recognizes A Master Part 1

Huo Zhi examined the log carefully. She touched it and probed it with her spiritual sense. It was utterly ordinary, without even a ripple of spiritual qi. Cut down and lifeless, it was just a piece of fire-resistant material!

“006, can you tell what this thing is? Why is it following us? It’s too bizarre!” Huo Zhi asked 006.

“The database indicates this is Parasol Tree Wood. Scanning components and functions requires an exchange of points. I cannot determine why it is following you,” 006 stated.

“How strange!” Huo Zhi couldn’t see anything special, nor did she know what hidden dangers the large log might hold. What if this large log was controlled by someone with ill intentions?

Huo Zhi picked up Linlang and moved to a different spot. The moment she stopped, the large log also stopped right beside them.

“…” Huo Zhi was speechless. What was this paranormal thing?!

Unconvinced, Huo Zhi moved several more times, but it caught up every single time.

Because it wasn’t a teleport like a Teleportation Talisman, and the large log was truly enormous, its movements through the wilderness caused the very earth to shake, creating a huge commotion.

“…” Huo Zhi glanced at the large log, which had become quiet and still after sticking to her and Linlang. She stopped trying to evade it. If someone truly controlled this large log, their cultivation level was unimaginably high. A swing of this thing would be a fatal blow; there was no need for it just to follow them. If they wanted to kill, they would have done so already. She simply couldn’t escape anyway.

Huo Zhi decided to just sit on the large log with Linlang. She continued to activate every Protective Barrier she could and used Healing Talismans to treat their injuries.

Just as they were recovering, Huo Zhi sensed a fluctuation of spiritual qi. It was the Sound Transmission Talisman Ji Shuling had given her, now activating.

A voice emanated from the talisman.

“Elder Sister Yuheng, you are in great danger right now. The bounty mission Qin Ceyi posted at the Exquisite Pavilion hasn’t been withdrawn, and he’s even added ten thousand Spirit Stones to the price. Many cultivators are currently searching for you. If you are in danger, tell me your location, and I will bring people to rescue you. Father has agreed. If you come to the Artifact Talisman Sect, the sect will certainly protect you.” Ji Shuling’s voice came through.

Hearing Ji Shuling’s words, Huo Zhi felt a chill in her heart, but was also a little moved. Sister Ji truly was the embodiment of truth, goodness, and beauty. Her words were surely sincere.

However, apart from Ji Shuling, none of the people in the Artifact Talisman Sect were good characters. The Ji family probably hadn’t salvaged the talisman brush and might suspect she had found it, which was why they previously offered such a high price to settle with Qin Ceyi.

If she went to the Artifact Talisman Sect, she might be locked up and interrogated for her secrets, and she would surely lose all her possessions.

The talisman artifacts she had salvaged were all Profound-Grade items, which weren’t of extreme value to the Artifact Talisman Sect.

Without the exposure of her Heavenly Fox Physique, the Artifact Talisman Sect would no longer risk making an enemy of the Sky Mist Sect just to protect her.

After thinking for a moment, Huo Zhi didn’t reply to Ji Shuling. She grew worried about where to seek refuge.

The Exquisite Pavilion Ji Shuling mentioned was an organization that issued bounty missions, with branches across the entire continent. Once a mission was issued, no matter where she went, she’d be dead if discovered.

She had to increase her strength, and before that, she needed a safe place to cultivate.

Huo Zhi recalled the original plot and thought of the Immortal Talisman Sect. It was a place she had planned to go before. Only there could she learn the highest Talisman Arts, methods for making talisman materials, and also purchase higher-grade talisman materials.

The Sky Mist Sect she belonged to was merely an unranked, low-tier cultivation sect, with its highest authority, the Ancestor, being only at the Nascent Soul Stage. The Immortal Talisman Sect was a high-tier cultivation sect on this continent. It was said that Nascent Soul cultivators were everywhere there, and Foundation Establishment cultivators were like ants.

Ji Shuling was only receiving recognition and envy from others because she obtained the qualification to take the exam. If she truly entered the Immortal Talisman Sect, the entire Artifact Talisman Sect would rise in rank.

In the original story, Ji Shuling foolishly gave this qualification to Mo Zhenfeng. Huo Zhi now hoped Ji Shuling would seize the opportunity for herself.

The Immortal Talisman Sect was extremely far from here. Without being a member of the Immortal Talisman Sect, one could only use a Teleportation Array to reach Immortal Talisman City, where the sect was located, by possessing an Examination Token.

Unfortunately, Huo Zhi didn’t have an Examination Token and didn’t know where to get one. She needed to find someone to ask.

As Huo Zhi was thinking, she sensed another fluctuation of spiritual qi.

Probing the surroundings, she discovered several cultivators closing in on her.

Huo Zhi hurriedly lifted Linlang onto her back and ran a few steps. The thudding sound of the pursuing log followed immediately.

“It’s exactly as the Bounty Order described: two beautiful female cultivators with a large log! That log must be a treasure, they won’t abandon it even while fleeing! Senior and Junior Brothers, all of you, be alert! Don’t let them escape!” A faint voice reached them. Huo Zhi’s forehead twitched.

“Can you stop following us?” Huo Zhi had no more Teleportation Talismans, nor could she fly. With such a massive target, how could she possibly flee?

Naturally, the large log didn’t reply. It simply rolled up to Huo Zhi’s feet, looking perfectly well-behaved and harmless.

Huo Zhi was speechless. She could only huddle inside her talisman artifact barriers and think of ways to use her various talismans to fend off the enemy.

She laid Linlang down on the large log, steeled herself, and prepared for a fight.

Five cultivators: four at the Foundation Establishment Stage, and one at the Early Core Formation Stage.

Looking at this lineup, Huo Zhi felt it was over. Even if she threw all her talismans at them, she might not succeed.

Before Huo Zhi could even activate her talismans, the enemy struck first, unleashing their most powerful killing blows from the start.

Streaks of remote sword light slashed towards them. Huo Zhi’s barrier only withstood two strikes before shattering on the third. The remaining sword light destroyed her other barriers as well. At the same time, a massive Inescapable Net Talisman descended, aiming to trap her.

As her barriers broke, Huo Zhi finally hurled her own activated talismans outward.

The opponents seemed very experienced in combat. They dodged the somewhat imprecise talismans Huo Zhi threw one by one. More sword light came slashing down.

Without a protective barrier, Huo Zhi only saw the large log beside her. She immediately grabbed Linlang and rolled to hide behind it.

The large log blocked several waves of sword light. The impact pushed Huo Zhi and Linlang a dozen meters. A stray sword slash hit Huo Zhi’s arm as she shielded Linlang, drawing blood that stained the large log.

The blood on the log slowly disappeared into the wood. At the same time, Huo Zhi had a wondrous sensation, as if her mind had connected with the large log. It felt like an extension of her own fingers, her own arm!

“Host, I know now! This is the Three Wastelands Nine Springwood mentioned in the book, a supreme divine wood! It’s the Immortal-Grade Talisman Brush that Mo Zhenfeng gets in the original story!” 006 suddenly exclaimed.

“…” Huo Zhi froze. In the original story, that talisman brush usually looked like a writing brush. It could indeed change form, but mostly into small protective gear, blades, and the like. It never said it could become this huge!

And how did it turn into Parasol Tree Wood, get brought out by Linlang, and then follow them the whole way?

Could it have its own consciousness?!

Huo Zhi couldn’t figure it out and had no time to dwell. She immediately took out Spirit Stones and threw them onto the large log.

A key point from the original story was that the talisman brush was sustained by Spirit Stones. Without Spirit Stones, it couldn’t even draw a talisman. Only with Spirit Stones could it change form.

“Turn into five arrows and kill those five cultivators!” Huo Zhi saw the Spirit Stones vanish into the log. She tried to command it, but the large log didn’t budge.

“Host, that few Spirit Stones are nowhere near enough for a transformation. Now that you’ve bound its Gene Lock with your blood, even though you haven’t fully refined it, you can lift it more easily. You can still use it as a weapon,” 006 said.

The five attackers struck again. With no other choice, Huo Zhi picked up the large log. Indeed, it was much lighter now. She swung it in a wide circle, smashing the airborne cultivators to the ground.

The five attackers never expected a female cultivator to lift a ten-meter-long log as a weapon. She looked incredibly valiant.

The effect was good; all of them were sent flying.

Huo Zhi hadn’t used much strength to swing the log, but the recoil force from the impact sent her staggering back a dozen meters. Her chest felt tight and painful, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

While the log was easy to lift, using it still required brute force, and Huo Zhi couldn’t withstand the backlash from striking someone.

Huo Zhi was now separated from Linlang by some distance. Seeing the cultivators getting up to attack again, she couldn’t give them time to activate more talismans. Enduring the pain, she hoisted the large log and swung it again, felling the rising cultivators once more.

While they were down, she hammered them several more times, unsure if they were dead or alive. She then quickly lifted Linlang onto her back, gathered up the large log, and continued to flee.

“Large Log, you’re way too big a target! Can’t you get a bit smaller?!” Huo Zhi took out Spirit Stones and fed over a dozen to it.

The dozen stones vanished like mud into the sea, with no visible change.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, Huo Zhi fed it more. Only after feeding it over a hundred stones did the log shrink by half, though it was still seven or eight meters long.

Huo Zhi now understood: this thing could indeed transform, but it consumed a terrifying amount of Spirit Stones!

She could only continue feeding it Spirit Stones as she ran. It wasn’t picky at all; it devoured any Spirit Stone regardless of attribute. After feeding it over a thousand Spirit Stones, she finally shrank it down to the size of a brush handle, making it a small log, though its weight remained the same as the large log.

Huo Zhi didn’t dare waste any more. At this size, it was a small enough target.

She tried to put it into her Storage Bag, but couldn’t fit it in.

“Host, this kind of divine wood has its own internal space. Try probing it,” 006 reminded her.

Using her spiritual sense, Huo Zhi probed the small log and indeed discovered a space. This space was immense, dozens of times larger than any of the Storage Bags she used.

“If I want it to become large again, I’d have to feed it Spirit Stones again, wouldn’t I?” Huo Zhi placed the small log into her sleeve pocket.