Chapter 505: Returning to the Day of Transmigration

"I understand, I'll be careful," Zi Yan finally took heed.

As Xiao Ming explained, the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree was one of the top three treasures on the continent. How could something survive for so long without a reason?

"Alright, let's get closer and take a look."

With a distance of only a few thousand meters, Xiao Ming and the girls came within a hundred-meter range of the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree almost in an instant.

Examining the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree up close was undoubtedly another breathtaking sight. Its colossal trunk reached thousands of meters high, resembling a towering pillar supporting the sky.

On this trunk, there was a profoundly ancient aura. The branches of the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree were incredibly vast, stretching out enough to cover half a city. Wave after wave of rich, fresh air spread out from the ancient tree. As a result, many mysterious phenomena occasionally appeared in the sky.

Sunlight was currently scattering down from the sky and landing on the ancient tree, giving it a somewhat crystal clear appearance.

However, upon closer examination, with the formidable strength of the three of them, they could sense a sinister and ominous feeling underneath this coverage of life force.

"Young Master, there is something wrong with the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree. This clear air that seems to be full of life is hiding a somewhat dark and cold miasma. It's filled with many negative emotions, similar to those of humans..."

As they approached the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree, Qing Lin's face suddenly turned solemn. With her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, the power of her pupils was naturally extraordinary. It allowed her to see the negative energy hidden in the seemingly vibrant and serene clear air.

Zi Yan frowned as well, feeling unusually uncomfortable.

Xiao Ming wasn't surprised. He knew it was the negative emotions of a Dou God expert. However, it wasn't easy to explain, so he simply nodded before suddenly stopping his steps.

At that moment, the towering, vast, lush, and green tree covered the sky above them. The surroundings were shrouded in an extremely obscure chill that slowly seeped into their bones.

Lifting his head, Xiao Ming's gaze focused on the enormous Bodhisattva Ancient Tree. Its branches were hundreds of meters long, with a bright cluster near the center. This light cluster looked like an energy heart three meters in size. A powerful heartbeat was vaguely emanating from the light cluster.

"The Bodhisattva Heart!"

As their gazes converged on the light cluster hidden by the body of the enormous tree, a faint smile formed on Xiao Ming's lips. Although the Bodhisattva Heart was of no use to him, its effect on others was immense.

Even an ordinary person with no cultivation would break through to the Dou Saint realm within three to five years if they obtained the Bodhisattva Heart.

'It can be left for the Master to use.'

A thought flashed through Xiao Ming's mind.

Even though Elder Huo had improved his aptitude with the medicinal liquid refined from the Dou Saint essence blood, it was still quite difficult to break through to the Dou Saint realm.

If it were possible to enter the Dou Saint realm simply by transforming one's body with the Dou Saint essence blood, the Bodhisattva Heart would not be so coveted.

'The Bodhisattva Heart has many uses. I wonder if this Bodhisattva Ancient Tree has more Bodhisattva Hearts. If there are enough Bodhisattva Hearts, there will be more room to maneuver...'

Crack!

While Xiao Ming and the girls were concentrating on the Bodhisattva Heart, there was a faint crackling sound coming from the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree, which stood quietly on the grassy plain.

Immediately they saw countless branches intertwining and coming down from the top of the tree. When these branches touched the ground, they slowly split open and five expressionless figures stepped out.

With the appearance of these five figures, the space in this world began to fluctuate violently, and a terrifying pressure suddenly permeated the surroundings!

"Five Half-Saints?"

The terrifying pressure felt like a gentle breeze blowing against Xiao Ming and the others, causing no ripples. However, it did confirm what Xiao Ming had said earlier - the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree was far from simple.

Remaining vigilant, Qing Lin took a step forward.

"Young Master, let me take care of them."

A green light flashed in her eyes as she said these words. This light flew straight at the five puppets.

These puppets were quite rigid and sluggish, and their strength was far too inferior. All of the Half-Saint puppets had their heads directly targeted by the green light.

Crack! Crack!

The hands of the Half-Saint puppets that had just been raised suddenly stiffened. An unusual ripple appeared on their foreheads, which quickly disappeared into nothingness. With the disappearance of this energy, the bodies of the Half-Saint puppets aged at a visible rate, eventually turning to powder and drifting down.

"I originally wanted to try to take these puppets for our use, but I didn't expect that after countless years of weathering, their bodies had already turned into dried corpses. They were only held together by a strange energy. As soon as this energy was removed, they turned into ashes."

Looking at the dust, Qing Lin shook her head, not sounding too disappointed.

"These Half-Saint puppets are weaker than real Half-Saints. Let them turn to dust. Now, as we approach the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree, remember, no matter what we encounter later, we must stick to our true selves, lest we end up like these Half-Saints." Xiao Ming laughed.

"Understood!" The girls nodded obediently.

"Let's go!"

Xiao Ming took the lead, followed by Qing Lin and Zi Yan. The three of them gradually flew towards the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree.

Chi!

The moment the trio reached the bottom of the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree, a bright light suddenly erupted from the body of the tree hundreds of meters above the ground. It turned into a bright pillar that wrapped around them.

This sudden scene made their hearts jump. As they were about to unleash their Dou Qi, they were shocked to find that the Dou Qi in their bodies had disappeared...

Swoosh!

The light pillar quickly shrank and pulled back into the tree with lightning-like speed, causing Xiao Ming and the girls who had just arrived at the base of the tree to vanish at the same time.

...

Drip, drip, drip!

Traffic flowed along a wide and busy street, with the occasional honk of a car. The neon lights on the storefronts blinked in bright colors.

Xiao Ming stood at the intersection and looked around with a complex expression on his face.

The environment felt so realistic, the conversations of the people, the advertisements on the street, everything seemed to confirm that this was reality.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out his mobile phone, and checked the date on it. The date was 22nd September.

Even after all these years, Xiao Ming still remembered that date. It was the day it all started, the day Truck-kun sent him to another world. (1)

"Worthy to be the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree. It can create such a realistic illusion, it should be connected to one's subconscious..."

"I should be grateful to it for bringing me back to my hometown. But unfortunately, it is still an illusion. Besides, I have people on the Dou Qi Continent that I can't abandon."

The environment around him began to distort dramatically as he spoke. Finally, with a shattering sound, it cracked like a broken mirror.

As this world crumbled around him, Xiao Ming's vision blurred. When he regained his senses, he found himself in a lush greenery-filled environment.

In this space stood a tree, about a dozen meters tall, as if it had existed for eternity. The tree was vibrantly green, like the finest jade, and radiated incredible vitality.

This tree was identical to the colossal Bodhisattva Ancient Tree in the outside world, except that it had been reduced in size countless times. It looked very similar to the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree seedling he had obtained earlier.

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(1) A/N: On September 22nd, I uploaded the first chapters of this story to WN. More than a year has passed since then, and thanks to your support, we've reached this far :)