Chapter 1578: Disobeying Orders (2)

“No, something’s not right!” The Little Demon Cultivator realized belatedly that something seemed off when he glanced back just now!

He quickly turned back again, and was instantly dumbfounded—the Death Forest had a patch of green! It was the fresh green that only appears when trees sprout in the spring!

“There is a Supreme Treasure in the forest, obtaining it can lead to Ascension. Those who ascend within the forest will be granted infinite vitality, and the Death Forest will gradually revive, becoming a Spiritual Energy-rich and vibrant Immortal Forest!” For no reason, he recalled the ancient legend of the city.

Staring blankly, the Little Demon Cultivator saw a bluish-green light burst out from the forest!

“Ascension! An Immortal has ascended!” He shouted in shock, even from afar, the surging power contained within that beam of light seemed to come right at him.

The Little Demon Cultivator trembled with excitement, unable to shout even if he wanted to, watching as the light dissipated, and an invisible wave suddenly rippled out. The chains shackling the Death Forest were unlocked, and the green within began to spread outward.

In the blink of an eye, the once withered forest burst with life, new leaves appeared, and flowers bloomed. As if sensing the spiritual energy and vitality in the forest, many birds and Demon Beasts flapped their wings and flew into the woods!

“Someone come quickly! Lord City Lord! The dead wood has bloomed!” He instinctively looked towards the withered trees in the city, shivering as he yelled, “Everyone come look!”

Kumu City lived up to its name, situated nearest to the Death Forest, causing the vitality of flowers, trees, and plants in the city to decline sharply. Except for slow growth in the summer, they remained in a state like hibernation, appearing withered.

Now, in the last stretch of winter, with little more than half a month until spring arrives, the flowers, trees, and plants in Kumu City should have remained dormant for at least another three months before slowly awakening.

Accompanying the ‘revival’ of the Death Forest, flowers and trees in the city began to bud and bloom. Even the oldest withered tree instantly burst into full bloom!

“What the hell’s all this noise? Can’t people cultivate in broad daylight?” A Demon Cultivator opened the window, responding irritably, and then fell silent—he saw the withered tree outside the window extending tender green leaves, with buds growing among the branches.

It wasn’t a dream, nor an Illusion Realm.

The person froze for a few seconds, then immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, “Everyone come see this rare sight! The tree at my house is budding in the middle of winter!”

The Little Demon Cultivator’s face flushed with excitement, forgetting all about his delivery, pointing to the distance and saying, “I saw an Immortal ascend in the Death Forest! The whole forest has turned into an Immortal Forest, and many birds and beasts are eagerly flocking there!”

The Demon Cultivator who was just disturbed jumped out the window and upon seeing the scene, it was indeed true, he immediately turned into a megaphone, shouting to all directions, “An Immortal has ascended! The Death Forest has turned into an Immortal Forest! The trees in Kumu City are blooming early!”

The entire city gradually awakened, boiling with excitement. All the Demon Cultivators couldn’t wait to fly into the air, looking at the once deathly forest, now teeming with greenery and the sounds of nature.

“Didn’t hear any noise of Thunder Tribulation, De, you really saw an Immortal ascend?”

“I saw it! It was definitely an Immortal Ascension! I saw with my own eyes a huge, bright, and starry green light shoot up to the sky, vaguely seeing the silhouette of an elegant Immortal flying upwards!”

“You’re just making things up, aren’t you? The divine is not to be gazed upon. If a mere Gathering Spirit Realm Little Demon Cultivator like you saw an Immortal, you’d drop dead immediately.”

“I’m not making it up, I truly saw it! The legend says there’s a Supreme Treasure in that forest, which can lead to Ascension, maybe someone got it and didn’t need to go through Tribulation Crossing to ascend. As for gazing upon the divine, perhaps they ascended to immortality but haven’t undergone Divine Enthronement, so without the Divine Format, looking wouldn’t cause death!”

“That makes some sense, but alas, we don’t have such luck.”

“Regardless of whether an Immortal ascended, the forest already has bird and beast activity, clearly indicating no danger. Let’s go in and check it out!”

“Let’s go, let’s go! Maybe we can find the cave dwelling of the Immortal before Ascension, there must be treasures…”

……

All the Demon Cultivators in Kumu City were fired up; this was the biggest event in millennia.

Afraid of missing the opportunity, some acted alone; worried about losing out, others formed groups to set off. In an instant, ignoring the numerous dangers lurking in the wilderness during the day, they rushed into the Death Forest.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Death Forest, in the farther Lisha City, Demon Cultivators also discovered this miraculous scene.

Word spread quickly, and soon the entire forest was in an uproar.

Every Demon Cultivator wanted to discover the secret of the forest’s revival, while the Little Demon Cultivator who witnessed it hoped to find treasures left behind by the Ascending Immortal.

Huo Jun woke in a daze, vaguely feeling the surrounding commotion.

He opened his eyes and got up, discovering the owner had left a message and left; the noise wasn’t within the Secret Realm Space but in the forest outside the realm.

This forest was the source of power for the Eastern Cyan Dragon. After clearing the blocked Secret Realm, it became Huo Jun’s personal garden. Naturally, he could observe the commotion made by the rushing Demon Cultivators.

“There’s no such thing as an Ascending Immortal and a cave dwelling, just hearsay passed along.” Huo Jun chuckled lightly, transforming into human form as instructed by the master, and returned to the small courtyard through the Teleportation Array to start a closed cultivation session.

At this moment, Jiang Yuan and Yan Xuan stood in the Extreme West Secret Realm, looking helplessly at Shi Hu.

Though it didn’t directly slack off, it was deliberately dragging its feet.

Clearly able to pounce and kill the little monsters in one bite, Shi Hu lazily lay on the ground, waiting slowly. Only when the little monsters wandered close did it lazily lift a paw to swat, if it didn’t die, it’d swat again…

This chain of slacking off resulted in barely defeating a dozen monsters a day. No wonder the task progress barely advanced.

“Western Main Metal, you’re the future White Tiger, that’s a War God!” Yan Xuan chastised, poking Shi Hu’s forehead with a claw, angrily saying, “If you don’t want to ascend to a Divine Beast, just say it. The master is busy every day; how dare you waste his time?

Forget it, don’t even bother anymore, strip your Divine Power and give it to another Tiger Demon. From now on, you’re on your own path, play however you want, no one will care!”

Shi Hu had witnessed the miserable state of the former Azure Dragon Elder Dragon Zhou Jian firsthand. Hearing this, he shuddered in fear, “Master, I don’t dare anymore! I will truly never slack off again. Please don’t strip my Divine Power.”

“You are so ungrateful and unaware of your fortune. Look at Huo Jun; he seizes every opportunity, hoping to ascend in one step! Huo Jun barely a few days ahead in clearing the Secret Realm? Today, the master and I watched as he has already cleared the Extreme East Secret Realm, soon to ascend the Cyan Dragon. What about you?”

Feeling utterly ashamed, Shi Hu mumbled softly, “Actually, it’s not my fault, master, my body has been enticed by worldly desires, becoming too lazy. I, in my heart, want to quickly defeat monsters and grow stronger, but I can’t command my body; it doesn’t listen to me!”

After speaking, it steeled its heart, taking two steps forward with its head drooping, “Otherwise, how about you beat me up, maybe suffering will unite my body and mind, and then it will obey my command.”

Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but laugh, “If that’s the case, scolding won’t help. Let me try to lend you a hand.”

He clicked to use the Shi Hu Exclusive Task Progress Acceleration Card.

“Whoosh~”

A whirlwind suddenly swept through the Secret Realm.

“Roar!” Swept by the wind, Shi Hu’s body leapt uncontrollably, letting out provoked roars into the depths of the Secret Realm.

Its mind blanked, thinking to itself to stop roaring, a monster frenzy will ensue!

Last time, led by the master, it fought a good round of monsters; cocky, it roared once proudly. Unexpectedly, all kinds of monsters surged, almost beating it half to death, after which it cowered again.

However, just as prophesized, its body wouldn’t heed its command, swatting a leaping little monster away, then continuously letting out provoked roars.

“Boom boom boom~”

Sure enough, the depths of the Secret Realm quivered, revealing pairs of shiny red, green, and yellow eyes as more and more monsters gathered! Shi Hu instinctively wanted to cower, to sprint to the master behind the Secret Realm entrance for cover.

But it had no control over its body!

Shi Hu watched itself leap into the monster crowd, biting and tearing without regard for injuries, attacking furiously.

“Aha! That’s more like it, fight well, don’t waste the master’s painstaking efforts!” Seeing this, Yan Xuan beamed, lying down by the master’s feet, entering spectator mode.