Eternal Heavenly Emperor-Chapter 358 - 348 Thousand Illusion Tree

Chu Hao also placed his hand on the trunk, and the sensation beneath his palm told him that it was undeniably real.

False? An illusion?

He couldn’t help but be surprised, was this truly fake?

With that thought, he couldn’t help but take out his golden pupil eye and held it up in front of him, then looked towards the giant tree again.

Everything was different now.

The immense heavenly tree had disappeared, only an ordinary tree up to three meters tall remained. But to call it ordinary was not quite accurate, because its leaves were black as ink, bearing a fruit the size of a date, equally pitch-black, if not for the golden pupil eye’s ability to discern subtleties, he might have missed it altogether.

Was this the true Thousand Illusion Tree?

"Fat Cat, can you see that fruit?" he asked.

After looking for a good while, Fat Cat nodded and said, "This seat can certainly see it."

Chu Hao was even more surprised to hear this, knowing that although Fat Cat’s cultivation was only the same as his, it possessed many inexplicable abilities, yet this time it took so long to notice the existence of that fruit.

But with the golden pupil eye, he saw it instantly.

Previously, Fat Cat had told him about the gaps between different constitutions, which could be divided into many grades, and even that his current constitution could only be classed as the twentieth flow, but he hadn’t taken it to heart, always feeling that constitution wasn’t that important.

Now, however, he was deeply wary because constitution could bring terrible combat power.

— What if someone possessed the golden pupil eye? In front of that person, all techniques would lose their meaning, the opponent could perceive the essence and strike at weaknesses. This was even more fearsome than his own Derivation ability, because he needed to calculate derivations to discover the opponent’s weaknesses and the patterns of things, but the other only needed a single glance.

The gap was terrifyingly vast.

The golden pupil eye stemmed from constitution, a Talented Ability brought by constitution, and speaking of constitution, the golden-eyed beast could only rank in the second flow. If a Wood Spirit Body or Thunder Spirit Body were to appear, what kind of power would they possess?

Chu Hao knew well how much his Derivation ability could enhance his combat power, but compared to the golden pupil eye, it was far inferior, if he were to confront a Seven Spirits Body, could he still stand a chance in an equal-rank battle?

He was always confident, but not blindly so, a Spirit Body definitely had an advantage in constitution, which was a substantial difference, and once it reached a certain degree, it became an irreparable disadvantage.

Like now, if an opponent of the same realm could perform Elemental Transformation, could he still crush them?

Fortunately, constitution could be improved.

"Fat Cat, can the Thousand Illusion Fruit enhance one’s constitution?" Chu Hao asked.

"Correct." Fat Cat nodded, but thought for a moment, then added, "However, there might be a small side effect."

"What kind of side effect?"

Fat Cat spread its paws and said, "No worries, just a minor issue."

Since it put it that way, Chu Hao didn’t inquire further, but he failed to notice Fat Cat’s forced smile, its mouth twitching.

With the golden pupil eye in hand, he walked forward, the trunk that appeared utterly real vanished under the golden pupil, unable to obstruct Chu Hao.

This feeling of realism didn’t just deceive his vision and touch, but even his soul too, making him firmly believe this was a colossal heavenly tree, until the golden pupil eye saw through the falsehood, turning the fake into the fake.

Mental level, soul attack?

Although this attack was harmless, could it still be considered a type of attack?

Chu Hao couldn’t help but think, a person’s soul and body together comprised a whole, and moreover, the soul was even more important. Because high-tier Martial Artists could even if their bodies were destroyed, have their souls take possession and be reborn.

But if the soul were extinguished, that person would definitely die—at least they’d be a vegetable, which was essentially no different from being dead.

The Mad Thunder Sword Technique’s Second Layer realm is Intent Realm, is this about extinguishing a person’s consciousness or soul?

As he thought thus, Chu Hao kept moving forward, even though the golden pupil eye could see through falsehoods, the Thousand Illusion Tree was no small matter either, he felt as if he had stepped into a bizarre and disjointed world, sometimes mountains and rivers appeared ahead, sometimes cliffs and precipices, and even Gloomy Hell, with countless fierce spirits rolling in fiery magma, terrifying to behold.

Chu Hao merely guarded his mind firmly, leading the way with the golden pupil eye.

The Thousand Illusion Tree disguised as the World Tree was vast, hence the distance from his position to the real Thousand Illusion Tree was lengthy, and this path was anything but safe, because some impasses were not merely illusions created by the Thousand Illusion Tree, real cliffs existed, as did fathomless fissures with boiling magma spewing hot air from below, and numerous poisonous trees covered with spikes that would instantly poison someone upon being pricked.

"These are all guards of the Thousand Illusion Tree." Fat Cat spoke from Chu Hao’s shoulder, "The Thousand Illusion Tree is sentient, it can even perform earth escape, traveling the world to find a safe place to grow."

"However, since this Thousand Illusion Tree has already fruited, it must root here, so it can only utilize its ability to disguise itself, waiting until the fruit matures and falls off, then it will be free again."

Is this also considered "motherly love"?

Chu Hao looked at the fruit and said, "So, has it matured?"

"It has matured; if not picked, it might take a few hundred years for the fruit to decay and fall to the ground," Fat Cat replied.

"Then let’s lend a hand, pluck the fruit, and after finishing it, we can find a place to bury the seed," Chu Hao said with a smile.

"That is exactly to this seat’s liking."

Chu Hao continued forward, cautiously avoiding the obstacles along the way. These, combined with the illusions created by the Thousand Illusion Tree, were absolutely indistinguishable from reality. Without his golden pupil eye, he had no idea how much time it would have taken to reach the end.

But now, even with utmost caution, his pace was still fast.

Half an hour later, he finally arrived in front of the real Thousand Illusion Tree.

"Don’t be careless. The Thousand Illusion Tree is also a spirit object of heaven and earth. Although it’s not as aggressive as the Grey Vine, if you truly anger it, it’s still not something you can handle," Fat Cat said. "So, be gentle."

Chu Hao’s mouth twitched. How could he be gentle to a tree? He spoke to the Thousand Illusion Tree, "Esteemed Tree, I wish to pick the fruit you’ve borne, but rest assured, I will certainly plant the seed properly, allowing it to one day grow into... a tree."

With that, the leaves of the Thousand Illusion Tree suddenly rustled on their own, gently swaying as if responding to something.

"The old tree agrees; go ahead," Fat Cat patted Chu Hao’s shoulder.

Chu Hao was surprised and asked, "Didn’t you say that plants and spirits could only communicate through soul communication?"

"Nonsense, this is a mature Thousand Illusion Tree, surely at the level of a War God, wouldn’t it understand your words?" Fat Cat rolled its eyes.

Chu Hao was startled and said, "War God level?"

"Level and combat power aren’t the same thing, but if you do piss it off, don’t think it’s a joke," Fat Cat paused before adding, "Alright, quickly pick the fruit."

Chu Hao nodded, leapt onto the tree, which was just about three meters tall, and easily plucked the fruit.

"Esteemed Tree, I take my leave now and I will not break my word." He kept the fruit close to his body, fearing that placing it inside his Mustard Seed Ring might extinguish the life force of the fruit.

Once again, the Thousand Illusion Tree gently shook its leaves, as if to show trust in Chu Hao.

"Let’s go," Fat Cat urged.

Chu Hao backed away, still guided by his golden pupil eye, but as he walked, he began to see a series of astonishing visions.

The sky was collapsing, the earth was splitting apart, the sea surged high with waves thousands of meters tall, even revealing the seabed, making his heart tremble and almost stopping him from moving.

"The Thousand Illusion Tree is about to leave," Fat Cat said.

Because it had borne fruit earlier, the Thousand Illusion Tree couldn’t wander around and thus rooted here, creating illusions to protect itself. But now that the fruit was gone, it was "free" again, and as many people had come to this spot, it was no longer a sacred land and naturally, it was about to run.

The collapse of the illusionary scene was as dramatic as if the world were truly ending before his eyes. Chu Hao was greatly shocked, yet also deeply moved and enlightened.

"Hao, don’t think this is fake," Fat Cat suddenly said. "This is what the Thousand Illusion Tree once saw; these events once really happened in history."

Chu Hao nodded. The Thousand Illusion Tree could move through the ground and trees lived frighteningly long lives, witnessing the changes of the world.

As the illusion swiftly dissolved, the immense World Tree completely disappeared within five minutes, revealing the true form of the Thousand Illusion Tree, but it immediately retracted into the ground, vanishing in an instant.

The real world became visible again, and it was evident that a circle of people was surrounding the area. However, because the previously mimicked World Mother Tree was so vast, those with poorer eyesight could barely see the people on the opposite side.

Chu Hao moved forward quietly. At this moment, everyone was confused about what had happened and likely wouldn’t notice his position.

With no more illusions, people began to move forward, quickly coming together.

"What happened?"

"Wasn’t there a huge sky-reaching tree just now?"

"Could it have been an illusion?"

"I guess it could be a Treasure Tool that creates illusions,"

"Yes, I think so too."

People discussed amongst themselves. If that was indeed a Treasure Tool, its value was immense. They had seen it and touched it, and the tree felt unbelievably real; otherwise, how could it have blocked them?

Creating a realistic illusion for the enemy during a fight could greatly increase the chances of victory, even winning battles without a fight.

"Exactly, a treasure must have appeared to activate this relic site. The manifestation of the treasure earlier allowed us to search for it,"

"We must dig three feet into the ground to find it!"

Everyone began searching, as such a treasure was beyond valuation.

Chu Hao’s mind agreed; if the Thousand Illusion Tree was truly a Treasure Tool, it was undoubtedly one of the strongest, creating illusions nearly indistinguishable from reality, detectable only with the golden pupil eye.

"Eh, this is Purple Soul Gold! Hahaha, I’ve struck it rich, I’ve really struck it rich!" someone suddenly laughed loudly.

This shout immediately drew everyone’s attention.

Chu Hao too felt a stir in his heart. Purple Soul Gold was a Fifth Grade precious material, suitable for crafting weapons used by War Generals, and was incredibly valuable.

Could it be that this place was truly a treasure trove? (To be continued. If you like this work, we invite you to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)