Reincarnated as a Divine Tree

Three months had passed, and Ji Yang’s vitality had grown considerably. Though the increase was not overwhelming, his roots had spread wider beneath the earth, stretching further into the depths.

Now, his roots had reached the outer edges of Chaotic Burial Mountain. Once they extended a little deeper, he would no longer need his clansmen to offer sacrifices; he could harvest directly with his own power.

However, before that moment arrived, he needed to expend some of his vitality to strengthen several new root tendrils.

Just a few days ago, upon learning of the Zhou Clan’s destruction, Ji Yang passed down several combat techniques to his people, strengthening the family.

The Seven Emotions Six Desires Sword, however, could only be wielded by a warrior of the Innate Realm. Ji Yang entrusted this art to Chen Tianyu.

Lowering his gaze, Ji Yang examined his current attributes.

After the last deduction, nearly all of his points had been depleted. The accumulation of the past three months was barely enough for a single fivefold deduction.

Ji Yang’s spiritual power should have been higher, but several new clansmen had been born over the past three months. Awakening the spirits of the children had depleted his reserves considerably.

His gaze fell upon the Deduction button, and he made his choice without hesitation.

A fivefold deduction was the most suitable option for him and the clan at this stage. However, the deduction points were far too few barely enough for a single attempt. There would be no room for trial and error.

Still, with the clan on the verge of a great battle, even the slightest gain from this deduction could strengthen their power.

[This deduction will consume: Blood and Qi: 50; Spiritual Power: 25; Deduction Points: 25. Continue?]

[Yes or no?]

(Note: This is a fivefold deduction. During the process, you will randomly carry four of your own abilities into the deduction.

(Note: The higher the deduction multiplier, the greater the chance of unlocking rare maps.)

Faced with the familiar prompt, Ji Yang no longer felt any emotion. Yet, as the screen before him began to roll forward, he silently prayed that this deduction would yield something worthwhile.

As the vision grew clearer, Ji Yang chose not to linger on it. His consciousness blurred, and in the next instant, he was fully drawn into the deduction.

[You are born in a small mountain village! In order to one day become a towering tree, you begin to grow diligently!]

With the message flashing before his eyes, Ji Yang quickly surveyed his surroundings.

It was a tranquil mountain hamlet encircled by lofty peaks that blocked the path of wind and light.

Within the village, a dozen or so households were scattered unevenly, their dwellings crude yet sturdy. A rough stone wall stretched around the settlement, offering a semblance of protection.

This place was even more desolate and remote than Chaotic Burial Mountain.

There, at the village entrance, stood a modest pagoda tree. Several wooden benches sat beneath his trunk, suggesting that his presence there was deliberate, perhaps as a resting spot for weary villagers.

After carefully observing the situation, Ji Yang frowned slightly. The more advanced the location, the more extraordinary the surroundings, and the greater the harvest he could expect.

But here, in this small mountain village, there was nothing remarkable. That meant the gains he could reap here would be few and far between.

So this is it? If a village could survive here, then the danger must be minimal. Perhaps I’ll simply grow old and wither away in this place.

Yet, as he sensed the abilities that had been carried into this deduction, a flicker of joy lit his eyes.

The abilities were: High-Temperature Resistance, Low-Temperature Resistance, Venom Resistance, and Martial Saint True Body.

He dismissed the first three without much thought. But the last, Martial Saint True Body, was a formidable safeguard power that could grant him solid protection in this trial.

Time began to accelerate. Ji Yang’s consciousness anchored itself in the small mountain village. In just a short while, he grasped the full scope of the settlement.

There were barely twenty villagers in total: men, women, children, and elders. They lived simple lives, rising with the sun and resting at dusk. The adult men occasionally ventured into the mountains to hunt, sometimes returning with spoils and sometimes empty-handed.

A few elderly villagers wandered the village daily. When the sun blazed overhead, they gathered beneath the pagoda tree, fanning themselves lazily and exchanging idle chatter. More often than not, their voices trailed off into drowsy silence as they drifted off to sleep.

Though no new events unfolded, Ji Yang found himself immersed in the scene. Here, there were no clan rivalries, martial cultivators, or worldly strife only peace, comfort, and seclusion.

If I had been reborn here, perhaps my life as a tree would have been plain and uneventful.

But that tranquility was soon broken. Several newborns appeared in the village, their cries piercing the quiet.

Time surged forward once more, and the infants began to grow at an unnatural pace. Their childhoods unfolded in the blink of an eye.

Before long, they had grown into seven- or eight-year-old children—an age when cats avoid them and dogs dislike them.

Most days, aside from wandering idly through the village, they climbed trees to steal bird eggs. Ji Yang’s locust tree was often among those "taken care of" by them.

Yet, among these children, one stood out and quickly drew Ji Yang’s attention.

Unlike the others, this child did not enjoy roughhousing. Each day, aside from strolling through the village, he would sit quietly under the locust tree and gaze at the distant scenery. Only when the hunters returned to the village would his face light up with the innocence and curiosity befitting a child.

On this day, the child sat beneath the tree as usual. Suddenly, a new prompt appeared before Ji Yang’s eyes:

[You observe that this child is quite extraordinary. You decide:]

[Must not be kept alive] [Ignore] [Reveal true form]

Looking at the new prompt, Ji Yang felt surprised. This time, the storyline seemed interesting.

Year after year of living here made Ji Yang feel as if his already limited lifespan was slipping away at a rapid pace. If things continued as they were, he would inevitably die of old age.

Perhaps it is worth a try to have a new prompt appear before death.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Ji Yang chose to reveal his true form.

As soon as he made his decision, martial patterns of the techniques he had mastered began to manifest across the trunk of the locust tree.

Beneath the tree, the child seemed to sense something and hurriedly looked up.

Usually calm and unruffled, the boy showed a flicker of surprise upon seeing the strange markings on the tree. Yet, as he studied them more closely, he became absorbed.

Realizing the extraordinary nature of the patterns etched into the bark, a trace of delight and excitement appeared on the child’s face.

From that day on, the child sat beneath the tree every day, carefully observing the patterns and occasionally throwing a few punches.

Yet, as he watched the boy, Ji Yang could not help but shake his head.

Empty forms without Blood and Qi were useless.

All of the battle techniques that Ji Yang had mastered required the power of Qi and Blood as their foundation. Without them, these techniques were nothing more than ordinary movements—mere imitations that could not truly be learned.

Still, since no other storyline seemed to unfold here, Ji Yang chose not to dwell on it.

Each time the child came, Ji Yang deliberately manifested martial patterns on the tree trunk for the boy to study.

As time passed, Ji Yang gradually stopped growing. The green leaves on the tree slowly turned yellow, and some branches began to wither. A faint scent of decay began to seep from the locust tree's body.