. The earth bears all things, stretching in harmony with the will of Heaven, boundless and vast. All things are nurtured and supported by it; this is known as the Earth's Kun.
On the Dou Qi Continent, however, the thick earth is the ancient Bodhi tree's playground.
Thousands of feet below, even a Dou Sheng mighty would feel immense pressure, but for the ancient Bodhi tree, it is as at ease as a fish in water.
The ancient Bodhi tree is a colossus, its passage creating a vast passageway. This, in turn, saved Chen Guan considerable energy as he journeyed underground.
Following the rich aura of life, Chen Guan could sense the ancient Bodhi tree's immense speed. This being had surpassed the Dou Sheng realm, and even the power it unintentionally displayed was beyond the reach of ordinary humans.
Fortunately, Chen Guan was no ordinary person either.
As he followed the passage, he released his consciousness to contact the ancient Bodhi tree.
This continued for nearly half an hour. Finally, as the man and the tree drew closer, the ancient Bodhi tree, sensing the familiar presence behind them, stopped on its own accord.
Soon, a flash of golden light appeared, and Chen Guan appeared before the ancient tree.
The tree's crown swayed slightly, countless leaves rustling in the darkness, as if delighted to see a friend.
Chen Guan, too, smiled broadly. Though the darkness had no effect on them, he summoned a strange fire that burned fiercely, illuminating the dark underground.
"Bodhi, long time no see."
In the Dou Qi Continent, the ancient Bodhi tree was ranked among the top three most precious treasures. Seeing it once was a stroke of luck, and many people never got to see it in their lifetime.
Thanks to Xiaojiu, Chen Guan had seen it for the second time.
The ancient Bodhi tree extended a verdant branch and drooped down beside Chen Guan, nuzzling his arm like a child, affectionate and affectionate as always.
Seeing this, Chen Guan smiled heartily.
To some extent, the Ancient Bodhi Tree resembles the Nine Profound Golden Thunder: both possess terrifying power, yet possess the intelligence of a child. Once they consider you a friend, they will respond with the purest kindness.
Looking at the ancient tree before him, Chen Guan deliberated for a moment before expressing his thoughts.
"Bodhi, can you gather your spirit?"
Unlike his initial attitude in the Void Thunder Pool, Chen Guan now stands at the pinnacle of the continent and naturally no longer covets the Ancient Bodhi Tree's power.
His question stems from a sincere desire to free the Ancient Bodhi Tree from its current state.
Compared to the Nine Profound Golden Thunder, the Ancient Bodhi Tree has undoubtedly existed for much longer, yet for countless years, it has wandered aimlessly underground.
Its power is even greater than the Nine Profound Golden Thunder, and the laws of heaven and earth suppress it even more intensely. Perhaps, before today, the Ancient Bodhi Tree had never even considered gathering its spirit and transforming.
Chen Guan saw this as a tragedy.
If possible, he wanted to free the Ancient Bodhi Tree from its current state, allowing it to live a more lucid life and experience the wonders of the Dou Qi Continent and even the greater world.
At Chen Guan's inquiry, the branches of the ancient Bodhi tree swayed slightly, seemingly completely clueless about gathering spirits.
"Let me put it another way. Do you wish to possess greater spiritual intelligence? Do you wish to become human?"
Such straightforward words finally made the ancient Bodhi tree understand.
A rich, emerald green mist emanated, and a wave of soul energy entered Chen Guan's mind.
"Can I... become... you?"
Perhaps opening the door to a new world, Chen Guan could sense the ancient Bodhi tree's doubts. Before this, it had never even considered gathering spirits and transforming.
"Not me, but a human like me. Only after gathering spirits and transforming can you break free from the constraints of the laws of heaven and earth and determine your own future."
The ancient Bodhi tree remained silent for a long moment, as if absorbing the meaning of the words.
The laws of heaven and earth were far too profound for it. Its current simple spiritual intelligence had only been achieved after countless years.
Just as Chen Guan was considering how to express himself more bluntly, the wave of soul energy stirred again.
"I don't...understand, but I want...the same as you."
Chen Guan smiled with relief after receiving this message.
As long as the ancient tree is willing, this is possible.
"Then I'll teach you how to gather spirits. Try it first. If you find it difficult, disperse some of your energy and try again to see if it helps."
Honestly, Chen Guan wasn't sure it would work, but the ancient Bodhi tree and Xiaojiu were both considered celestial spirits. Unlike the strange fire, Xiaojiu's method of gathering spirits should work on the ancient Bodhi tree as well.
With this in mind, Chen Guan used soul communication to transmit the spirit gathering method to the ancient tree's consciousness. To make it easier for it to understand, Chen Guan captured Xiaojiu's memories of gathering spirits and transferred them to the ancient tree, just like the video tutorial.
The ancient Bodhi tree received the message and retracted its drooping branches. It remained motionless for a full half-minute, reminiscent of diligently learning children.
Finally, half a quarter of an hour passed.
The ancient Bodhi tree moved.
Its massive crown trembled, and its thick branches swayed. Just as Chen Guan was puzzled, he saw streams of vast, emerald green energy, hundreds of feet long, separate from the ancient tree's body and immediately flow into Chen Guan's body.
It was as if one ocean were transferring its moisture to another.
Chen Guan was stunned by the overwhelming energy that surged in.
The ancient Bodhi tree had already begun!
Perhaps this was the benefit of simple thinking: once a decision was made, it didn't hesitate like a normal person, its decisiveness was unbelievable.
Chen Guan admired the ancient tree's decisiveness, but his movements didn't slow at all. While practicing his techniques, refining the immense energy, he quickly formed seals, condensing spiritual energy seeds and injecting them into the tree.
Back and forth, a perfect cycle.
Even so, the energy transferred from the ancient Bodhi tree far exceeded Chen Guan's output, forcing him to devote even more of his attention to refining.
If Chen Guan hadn't already reached the late Nine-Star Dou Sheng realm, his current realm would have skyrocketed.
Meanwhile, as the ancient Bodhi tree's terrifying power receded, and Chen Guan's relentless spiritual energy seeds aided it, its spiritual energy surged. Chen Guan could even sense its barely suppressed excitement, an emotion it had never experienced before! The
ancient Bodhi tree saw hope for a successful spiritual gathering, and the energy gushing from its body suddenly became even more immense, so immense that even Chen Guan, with his current strength, found it somewhat overwhelming.
Glancing at the ancient tree now on its way, Chen Guan sat cross-legged in the air above the passage, closing his eyes and devoting more of his attention to the energy threatening to burst him. He mobilized, compressed, and sealed the immense amount of energy he couldn't digest within a corner of his body.
Time ticked by, and suddenly, Chen Guan's body trembled slightly. He felt as if he had crossed an invisible barrier and entered an incomparably mysterious state. His soul perception, already at the Emperor Realm, had significantly increased again!
The Emperor Realm soul is the limit of Dou Qi Continent's cognition, but it's not the limit of the soul itself!
After an unknown amount of time, Chen Guan slowly awoke.
He opened his eyes, only to be greeted by a handsome face that bore an 80% resemblance to his own!
Even the robes, condensed from energy, were identical, like a body double.
"Bodhi?"
"It's me. Thank you, Chen Guan. And I'm sorry. I saw the image of the golden thunder dragon gathering its spirit and thought I had to transfer that energy into you. I just did it without considering whether it would burst you,"
the young man, who bore an 80% resemblance to Chen Guan, replied somewhat embarrassedly.
Chen Guan observed his words and actions, shook his head slightly, and said with some confusion, "It's okay. I've digested some of it and sealed the rest. With this energy, I don't need to worry about exhaustion even if I face four or five opponents of the same level. And you, on the other hand, just after gathering your spirit and transforming, look just like a normal person."
Chen Guan was puzzled. Xiao Jiu had been as pure as a blank slate when he transformed.
But Bodhi, now, was very different.
Bodhi replied truthfully, "I've been influenced by the negative emotions of Dou Di masters and have controlled many Zhongzhou masters, gaining access to their memories. I didn't know the purpose of this thing before, but after gathering its spirits, I can quickly digest it."
Upon hearing this, Chen Guan suddenly understood.
Thinking back to the ancient Bodhi tree's ability to reincarnate a hundred times, it didn't seem strange at all.
"I see. What's your current strength?"
"Early Nine-Star Dou Sheng. Don't worry, I'll be back to my peak in no time. How about you? I see you've transformed a bit too."
Chen Guan, sensing his own state, felt a bit lost.
"Thanks to you, I'm now... I think I'm a Half-Emperor."
(End of Chapter)