Jing Shaoyu didn't know what Yun Ming and Guan Yue had discussed that day. He only saw Guan Yue leaving with a beaming smile, while Elders like Cai Yue'er and Zhuo Shi appeared equally delighted.
However, these matters held little relevance to him. After completing his patrol mission and resting for a few days, he prepared to enter seclusion for cultivation.
The roots of the Golden Tree, due to its unique properties, had become Shrek Academy's most ideal location for meditation retreats. Ordinary Inner Academy disciples needed to spend Contribution Points to cultivate here, but as one of the Shrek Seven Monsters, Jing Shaoyu could access it freely.
Inside a meditation chamber within the Golden Tree's roots...
Jing Shaoyu had just settled into position when Yun Ming materialized, tossing him a manual.
"Your martial uncle asked me to deliver this," Yun Ming stated impassively.
"What is it?" Jing Shaoyu picked up the manual while asking.
"His insights on spear techniques and his personal style. You may reference them, then combine what I've taught you to develop your own distinctive approach," Yun Ming explained. "For a spearman, failing to develop one's unique style is the greatest incompetence."
"Understood, Teacher." Jing Shaoyu nodded solemnly.
"Good. I'll leave you to it then." With these words, Yun Ming vanished.
After Yun Ming's departure, Jing Shaoyu sat cross-legged on the central cushion without immediately opening Guan Yue's manual. Instead, he closed his eyes to contemplate and organize his growth and achievements from Soul Master to Soul Emperor.
He sought to discover his own Dao—an essential step toward becoming a top-tier expert.
His aura quickly stabilized, his breathing becoming almost imperceptibly slow and faint, his heartbeat decelerating until he entered an extraordinarily profound state. He resembled a vividly lifeless tree stump—present yet intangible.
Yun Ming remained standing in the Golden Tree's root hall, once again astonished by Jing Shaoyu. He murmured, "Entering meditative trance in three seconds, achieving Unity of Heaven and Man! This boy carries greater destiny than I imagined... Child of Nature indeed. No wonder Jin Lao favors him so."
Deeply moved, a wry smile crossed his face before he shook his head and disappeared from the Golden Tree's roots.
Jing Shaoyu's consciousness immersed itself in his inner world where various elements coalesced into floating constructs—fire, water, earth, wind, thunder, ice, wood, light, darkness—all unfolding the majesty of heaven and earth before him, demonstrating nature's boundless power.
His Dao had always existed. As the planet's spirit and nature's will, Jing Shaoyu neither required nor desired alternative paths.
Concepts flashed through his mind—Nature, Creation, Genesis, Destruction, Celestial Sovereign, Earth Mother. The shadows of his Primal Spirit and Doomsday Godslaying Spear Martial Souls manifested before him, primal origins and ultimate ends intertwining into distinct black-and-white taiji fish swimming freely through his mental cosmos.
Within the meditation chamber, a gentle white glow enveloped Jing Shaoyu's body as his presence grew increasingly elusive, nearly merging with the Golden Tree's aura until he became one with heaven, earth, and nature itself.
Within the spiritual world, Jing Shaoyu had already undergone Martial Soul possession. Both the Origin Elf Soul and the Doomsday Godslaying Spear Soul had simultaneously merged with him. Only now did he feel that he had broken through some barrier, allowing the two great Martial Souls to truly integrate seamlessly, moving as effortlessly as his own limbs.
The creative power of the Origin Elf Soul began to manifest, while the destructive force of the Doomsday Godslaying Spear no longer remained hidden. They transformed into two small yet dense points of light—one green and one purple—like seeds awaiting germination, seemingly just needing a spring rain to sprout and grow into robust branches.
Jing Shaoyu's body stirred, the soft white light emanating from him gradually turning inward. With his movements, it gathered at his heart and spread through his limbs, enveloping the entire meditation chamber in a hazy white glow, gentle yet carrying an unknown rhythm.
An indeterminable amount of time passed before all anomalies vanished. Jing Shaoyu's body returned to a cross-legged posture, palms facing upward. His form was spotless, exuding a faint, pleasant fragrance akin to rare medicinal herbs. Most striking was his demeanor—unpretentious, gentle, and sincere, evoking a sense of natural harmony as if this was how things were meant to be.
In Jing Shaoyu's spiritual world, an ancient tree stood tall and lush. Seated calmly beneath it, he faced a stooped, white-haired elder with an immortal aura—none other than the tree spirit of the Golden Ancient Tree, Jin Lao!
Yet, compared to their first meeting when his eyes had sparkled with vitality and clarity, they now appeared clouded and dim, no different from those of a man on death's doorstep. It was clear his condition had deteriorated severely.
"Heh, how wonderful... to see you again," Jin Lao said with a kind, benevolent smile, his eyes crinkling amiably.
"You're Jin Lao!" Jing Shaoyu spoke up. "You don't seem well?"
"Indeed," Jin Lao's voice carried the weight of ages, yet remained unburdened. "Soon, I may fade away. Unlike you, I am merely a fortunate sapling in this world—whereas you are the world itself!"
"..." Jing Shaoyu fell silent briefly before asking, "Why say that? Do you know who I am?"
"Of course!" Jin Lao's tone rose with excitement. "You are this planet's nascent will, its newborn life core—the future sky and earth, the Dao and nature of this world!"
"And what of the planet's original will and life core?" Jing Shaoyu probed.
"Heh," Jin Lao chuckled bitterly. "The planet's life core is being usurped, its primordial will strangled. And the ones responsible are souls once blessed by its grace—how ironic!"
"Inviting the wolf into the house," Jing Shaoyu remarked, reassured that Jin Lao still retained his consciousness.
"Precisely!" Jin Lao spat with resentment. "Your predecessor's true spirit has already been eroded, on the verge of dissipation. As an external manifestation of the life core, I too am nearing my end. Time is short for you—but fortunately, your growth has been smooth. May you restore the source and purge the corruption!"
"Definitely." Jing Shaoyu nodded solemnly in agreement.
He understood the meaning behind Jin Lao's words. The original planetary will of Douluo Star was on the verge of dissipating, and the primordial life core was being usurped. As a result, the Golden Ancient Tree—blessed as the Child of Nature by the primordial life core—was undergoing strange mutations. Jin Lao, as the tree spirit, was also being assimilated, his original consciousness gradually eroded.
The future awaiting him was one of usurpation and replacement.
That damned Tang family really was nothing but trouble!
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"I believe in you!" Jin Lao said, his tone tinged with melancholy. "What a pity I won't live to see that day. Truly regrettable!"
Jing Shaoyu wasn't sure how to comfort the old man, so he tried changing the subject. "May I ask you a question? Why did you choose me as the new planetary spirit?"
"It wasn't a choice. You were born as this planet's spirit!" Jin Lao answered with grave certainty.
"So... I'm not human?" Jing Shaoyu froze, the words slipping out unconsciously. Now that he thought about it, he truly had no memories of parents. Even Shrek Academy and the Spirit Transfer Pagoda's intelligence networks had found no trace of his origins.
If he had never had parents to begin with, everything made sense.
How could you find something that never existed?
"No, of course you're human!" Jin Lao shook his head, firmly dismissing Jing Shaoyu's doubt. "Though I don't know the details of your birth, I do know this—your blood carries both divine and mortal lineage."
"Oh." Jing Shaoyu nodded pensively, though his mind only grew more tangled. The mystery of his origins now seemed even more impenetrable.
From Jin Lao's words, he wasn't some spontaneously manifested being. So who were his parents? Where were they?
Unless... A ridiculous suspicion suddenly struck him. Life cores could take living form, and the Blue Silver Empress A Yin was attempting to seize the life core. If something had happened between them, even Tang Hao wouldn't have noticed.
He shook his head vigorously. That line of thought was too absurd—he refused to entertain the idea of being related to the Tang family!
"Jin Lao, could you do something for me?"
Sea God Pavilion.
"Jin Lao, what instructions do you have for me?" Yun Ming inquired respectfully, facing the elderly figure before him.
"I foresee that in the near future, powerful individuals within the Douluo Federation will collude with malevolent forces to attack Shrek Academy. They will deploy a devastating weapon—some high-tech human creation called a 'Soul Guidance Missile.' A single strike will reduce the academy to rubble. You'd best prepare defenses." Jin Lao spoke impassively, his tone measured.
"What?!" Yun Ming's expression darkened instantly, accepting the warning without doubt.
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