Monsters Die When Killed-Chapter 60 - 36: Future and the Repeatedly Failing Tracking Secret Technique
Divine Trees.
Having studied numerous mystical classics, Su Zhou naturally knew that just as Snake Gods featured in countless different mythological systems, myths and legends about Divine Trees were never in short supply.
Within Zhengguo’s greater cultural sphere alone, there was Jianmu, the pillar connecting heaven and earth; Fusang, from the land of sunrise; Ruo Wood, from the land of sunset; and Xun Wood, a single tree that formed a forest. Beyond those, there were also the Peach Tree and the Ginseng Fruit Tree, which granted longevity to those who ate their fruit, and the Parasol Tree Wood where the Phoenix nested.
Although these Divine Woods sometimes had a subtle presence, they did indeed exist, living quietly just like plants... wait, that’s not right. They *were* plants to begin with. It sounds a bit awkward, but that’s just how it is.
Other parts of the world also had their own unique types of Divine Trees.
The saplings he was now raising at home—the ’Tree of Discriminating Good and Evil,’ which bestowed wisdom, and the ’Tree of Life,’ which bestowed wholeness—were just one type.
Then there was the ’Bodhi Tree’ of Zhu Country, which brought enlightenment; the ’World Tree’ of Northern Europe, which pierced through the nine worlds; and the ’Golden Apple Tree’ of Southern Europe, a gift from the gods. All of them were extremely famous Divine Woods.
Veneration of plants like the ’Fig Tree of Osiris’ in Aii Country, the ’Soros Tree,’ ’Nigrodha Tree,’ and ’Uzum Brahman Tree’ in Zhu Country, or even secondary flora like the ’Lotus’ and ’Sakaki Tree,’ were all offshoots of Divine Wood worship. If one had to list every single Divine Wood by name, there would be far too many.
They were rooted in every mythological system, spanning all heavens and All Realms. So, when Yara mentioned that all Divine Woods had two supreme origins, just like itself, Su Zhou wasn’t actually surprised.
He was simply curious. "Yara, I’m not surprised that *you* were sealed," he said, "but the Divine Woods don’t usually cause any trouble. How did they get sealed, too?"
"What do you mean, you’re not surprised I was sealed?!"
This immediately caused Yara to swell up in anger again. It furiously jabbed Su Zhou’s earlobe with its tail. "Even if I think it’s not strange that I was sealed, you’re not allowed to think so!"
"Besides, you must understand! For powerful beings, sometimes their mere existence is ’turmoil’ and a ’threat’ to other minds!"
Yara’s words were vague, as if alluding to something, but Su Zhou had no intention of digging for the truth. He was curious, yes, but he also knew better than to pry into the relationships among the Celestial Gods.
It was just like the ’Cause and Effect’ the Snake Spirit had whispered about when they made their pact. If he were to learn something he shouldn’t, some unrelated source of Cause and Effect might come knocking on his door. Heaven only knew how much trouble that would cause him down the line.
’After all, I might have to go to one of those worlds with a Divine Wood before long. It won’t be too late to learn about these things when the time comes.’
’Now that I think about it, the Wood Centipede’s ability to purify filth and its incredible Life Force really are very much like a Divine Tree.’
’If I end up going over there, should I bring some herbicide? Or maybe firebombs... Hmm, when I forge the head for my Long Spear later, I’ll make it a Cross Spear. I can use it for mowing down weeds, too.’
With his curiosity satisfied, Su Zhou continued to feast, his mind racing with all sorts of stray thoughts.
He could feel his digestive organs ’burning’ through the food at an unbelievable rate, converting it into usable nutrients without the slightest waste. Then, bit by bit, this abundant nourishment was transformed into Spiritual Power.
This was a form of the most basic Cultivation.
As the saying goes, having a big appetite is a Talent in itself. In this regard, among the tens of millions of people within a few hundred miles of Hongzhou, Su Zhou could humbly claim, "Pardon me, but I’m number one in the whole prefecture."
Everyone’s Spiritual Power has its own unique characteristics. Even among those who follow the same Cultivation Technique, their Spiritual Power will have subtle differences depending on the individual.
Su Zhou’s Spiritual Power leaned toward ’Enhancement and transformation.’ This was why his Evil-Devouring Demon Lord Divine Techniques could be used to enhance his weapons and gear. He could even use special methods to refine various Weapon Secret Techniques using Evil Souls as raw material.
Furthermore, according to Zhengguo’s Five Elements Theory, the external manifestation of his Spiritual Essence was ’Fire.’ This meant his Spiritual Power had extremely high burst power and destructive force. However, it couldn’t create lasting effects like ’Wood,’ possess the extreme physical lethality of ’Metal,’ be as gentle yet erratic and unpredictable as ’Water,’ or be as solid and supportive as ’Earth,’ the foundation of all things.
’I don’t know if it’s because my Spiritual Power is growing, or if it’s because of Yara... but I keep feeling like something is there.’
With such an ample supply of nutrients, Su Zhou even had the faint sensation that something was growing on his forehead, right between his eyes. ’A third eye? A Dragon’s horn? Or maybe a Dragon Pearl, something like an Evil Demon Crystal?’
Truthfully, Su Zhou didn’t care in the slightest. His capacity for acceptance was far beyond that of any normal person.
"Not bad. I’d say I’m about eighty percent full!"
After finishing the massive spread of food before him, Su Zhou patted his belly in satisfaction.
Then, he turned and plucked the Snake Spirit, which had been circling his ear, and placed it in the palm of his hand.
"Yara, can I find the source of the ’Curse’ now?"
Full of food and drink, Su Zhou’s voice was now brimming with confidence and eagerness. "The person—or people—who cursed Aunt Wen and Qiming. Can I find him? Or them?"
"Mmm... not just yet." The Snake Spirit sized up Su Zhou, who was in tip-top shape. It nodded, then shook its head. "Your Spiritual Power is more or less sufficient, but to trace the source of the Curse, you first need to find the object carrying it. Either that, or go to the place where the Curse first broke out and use that sliver of Cause and Effect to trace its flow backward."
"Just wait a little longer. Once you’ve stabilized your newfound power, you’ll find that in the not-too-distant future, these treacherous cowards who curse people from the shadows won’t even be worth your time."
Su Zhou didn’t pay any mind to the last part of Yara’s sentence. He only heard the one word: "future."
"The future."
Repeating the word to himself, his spirits soared. "In that case, I can wait a little longer!"
—Even though he was still in an ordinary private dining room, with ordinary food and drink before him and his good friend by his side.
And yet... despite all that.
The world around him was Awakening, his friend’s body had healed, and he himself...
...were all vastly different from the ’past’!
「A short while ago.」
Professor Zhang Fucheng of Zhengyi Academy returned once again to a stretch of the Fuhe River bank. The area, near the sewer where the Wood Centipede had been found, was now cordoned off with yellow warning tape.
He stood on the bank, his expression grave as he stared at the damaged sewer interceptor in the distance, which was now undergoing construction to be sealed off.
’So this is where the Wood Centipede and the unknown Transcendent escaped.’
’There are obvious clues here, but no matter how I try to trace them back, I find nothing. It’s one thing for those two Demon Fiends—they seem to possess some ancient, mysterious bloodline—but why can’t my technique reveal a single clue about the unknown Transcendent either?’
He muttered to himself, utterly baffled that his retrospection Talisman had failed yet again.
Of course, Zhang Fucheng was starting to get used to his Magic Techniques failing again, and again, *and again*. He just couldn’t comprehend this particular result.
The Retrospection Technique of Zhengyi Academy essentially used Spiritual Qi to reconstruct a portion of a being’s spiritual residue. By leveraging the Extraordinary Law known as the ’One True Spirit of All Realms,’ it could then recreate a rough image of the original entity. The greater the disparity in power, the more detailed the recreated image would be. However, if the target’s Bloodline was complex and powerful, the technique could at best produce only a vague silhouette.
But unless he was dealing with one of the Ancient Demons and Evils or someone with a Celestial God Bloodline, it should have been impossible to get absolutely no image at all.
’Perhaps the Spiritual Qi hasn’t fully returned yet, and my Magic Technique can’t operate at full strength.’
Forcibly suppressing his doubts, Zhang Fucheng frowned in thought. ’At the very least, this proves that the unknown Transcendent is not cultivating a technique from our Zhengyi Academy, or even from the legacy of the Zhengguo National Dao Lineage.’
’But it wouldn’t be right to say he’s one of the Demons and Evils, either. Based on the evidence we’ve found of his actions, he is definitely human, and likely a benevolent one at that. But... what if he’s a human who carries the bloodline of an Ancient Great Demon?’
It was a guess born of desperation. After all, for someone to Awaken in the Old Era without any established teaching, their Bloodline must be absurdly powerful. It wasn’t that Zhang Fucheng discriminated against the Demon Race—hadn’t the ancient Emperor Xuanyuan taken a wife from the Qingqiu Clan? And didn’t Saint Yu King marry the Tushan Maiden? To say nothing of the even more ancient Sovereign Fuxi and Sovereign Nüwa, who were both descendants of the Thunder Marsh Bloodline.
’When you got down to it, whose ancestors in all of Zhengguo didn’t have the bloodline of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors? This is the modern era. We have artificial organs. There’s no need to be so picky about lineage.’
’But I at least need to figure out where he stands.’
With his mind made up, Zhang Fucheng prepared to turn and leave. But just as he did, he caught a glimpse of something moving in the river out of the corner of his eye.
"Hm? How strange!"
It was a water snake, swimming along with a large school of carp. The fish all looked gaunt, but they moved with surprising speed.
Zhang Fucheng’s gaze narrowed. But since it wasn’t a venomous snake, he wasn’t about to waste his time bothering with it. Before he could give it another thought, however, more strange things began to happen.
RUSTLE RUSTLE—
It wasn’t just the snakes and fish in the water. On the ground and in the mud of the riverbank, all sorts of crawling things began to emerge. Some squirmed across the ground, others buzzed their wings and took flight. But no matter the type—be it bug, snake, or fish—their actions were all the same: they were leaving.
They were all fleeing in a panic, desperate to get away from this area, this stretch of the river, and even the entirety of Hongcheng.
It was as if the area had been claimed by some immense presence, one they were too terrified and awestruck to approach. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
"...Th-This is...?!"
In his shock, Professor Zhang Fucheng of Zhengyi Academy accidentally tore out a hair from his beard while stroking it. But this was no time to worry about a little sting of pain. He stared, wide-eyed and stunned, at the scene before him. Then he raised his head and scanned the surrounding city of Hongcheng.
He couldn’t help but gasp.
—There was absolutely, without a doubt, some extraordinary presence in this city!
"Sigh... This is beyond me."
He hastily pulled out his gaudy gold-colored smartphone. After recording the scene, Zhang Fucheng—surprisingly up-to-date with technology—tapped the ’Send’ button with a trembling finger.
"This has to be reported to the General Security Bureau."
