Chapter 2

Roar!

The immense pain drove the black bear into a frenzy.

However, the black bear was already severely injured.

With its heart pierced by the root, its life force drained away like a receding tide.

In the face of the root's greedy absorption, it could no longer resist.

Gradually, the black bear's struggles weakened.

Its massive body withered at an alarming rate.

In just a moment, it became a shriveled skeleton, dragged into the ground by the root, becoming precious nourishment for this cultivation sanctuary.

[Ding! Killed a mid-level Tier-1 beast, gained 100 cultivation points]

A mid-level Tier-1 beast!

One hundred cultivation points!

The information that flashed in Lu Qingyang's mind made his heart tremble slightly.

He hadn't expected that the black bear had reached the mid-level Tier-1 stage.

Compared to the rabbits he had previously killed, which were only at the Mortal stage.

"Moreover, the black bear was already severely injured when it attacked. Even in such a disadvantaged state, it still provided one hundred cultivation points!"

"This implies that if a mid-level Tier-1 beast were at full strength, the cultivation points would be even more abundant!"

Lu Qingyang understood.

No matter what, killing a mid-level Tier-1 beast finally met the requirements for his advancement.

Sure enough,

When his mind returned to his body, he found that his attribute panel had changed.

[Name: Lu Qingyang]

[True Form: Ancient Tree]

[Lifespan: 10/500]

[Realm: Mortal Stage (160/100 - Ready for Advancement)]

[Divine Ability: Soul-Devouring Entanglement (Mortal Stage)]

At this moment, the realm section clearly showed a prompt for advancement.

Lu Qingyang focused his mind and chose to advance.

As soon as he made the decision, he felt a tremor in his sea of consciousness!

Following that, a mysterious power of the world's laws gathered around him.

The ten-meter-tall ancient tree seemed to be bathed in the blessings of heaven and earth!

It grew visibly larger at a remarkable speed.

Twelve meters!

Fifteen meters!

Eighteen meters!

In the blink of an eye, Lu Qingyang's height soared to thirty meters.

At the same time, his roots deep in the ground expanded rapidly!

From originally covering a range of thirty meters, they quickly expanded to cover an area of one hundred and fifty meters.

Moreover,

The roots in the soil became thicker and tougher, more than twice as strong as before the advancement.

After a long while,

The turbulence in his sea of consciousness gradually subsided, and Lu Qingyang regained clarity from the advancement.

"Thirty meters tall!"

"Roots extending within a radius of one hundred and fifty meters!"

Feeling the transformation brought by the advancement, Lu Qingyang was overjoyed.

He then focused his attention on the attribute panel.

[Name: Lu Qingyang]

[True Form: Ancient Tree]

[Lifespan: 10/1000]

[Realm: Early Tier-1 (60/500)]

[Divine Abilities: Soul-Devouring Entanglement (Tier-1), Life Burst (Tier-1), Spirit Integration (Tier-1), Ancient Tree Aptitude (Tier-1)]

Compared to the attributes at the Mortal stage, the current panel was clearly more diverse.

The lifespan had increased from five hundred years to one thousand years, doubling his life expectancy.

Additionally, there were several new divine abilities.

First and foremost, Soul-Devouring Entanglement had advanced from a Mortal stage ability to a Tier-1 ability.

This allowed Lu Qingyang to control ten roots simultaneously, greatly enhancing its power.

Next, as he scanned the other new abilities, detailed information appeared.

[Life Burst: Passively absorbs the essence of the sun and moon, condensing one cultivation point daily]

[Spirit Integration: Passively refines the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, gaining corresponding cultivation points proportional to the concentration of spiritual energy]

[Ancient Tree Aptitude: You possess a foundation surpassing others of the same tier, but you will face more challenging advancements]

These new abilities were clearly described.

The essence of the sun and moon referred to the solar essence during the day and the lunar essence at night.

As for the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, although Lu Qingyang had only heard of it in ancient texts and had never encountered it before,

After stepping into Tier-1, he could clearly sense a special energy in the air.

The lush leaves on his body and the deep roots in the ground instinctively absorbed this energy.

It continuously nourished him.

"This must be the so-called spiritual energy of heaven and earth!"

Lu Qingyang thought to himself.

He then examined the details of Ancient Tree Aptitude.

This ability was straightforward, granting him a foundation that surpassed others of the same tier.

However, it also meant that his advancements would be more difficult, like a double-edged sword.

Despite this, the generation of talents was beyond Lu Qingyang's control.

Even if Ancient Tree Aptitude increased the difficulty of advancement,

The existence of Life Burst and Spirit Integration to some extent compensated for his shortcomings.

"Relying on Life Burst alone, I can gain one cultivation point daily. Even without other gains, in about two years, I can advance to mid-level Tier-1."

This was a positive signal.

Even without devouring other beasts, solely with Life Burst and Spirit Integration, Lu Qingyang could steadily progress.

However, all this depended on no external interference.

"The forest is full of beasts, and many ancient trees that have survived for centuries have perished due to beast conflicts. Now that I'm at early Tier-1, my strength is far from enough. I must reach a higher level in a short time."

Lu Qingyang was determined.

Relying solely on passive accumulation was like entrusting his future to fate, silently praying not to be disturbed by beasts and hoping for enough time to grow.

The only way to ensure his safety was to enhance himself through divine abilities while actively hunting other beasts. This dual approach was the only way to truly secure his safety.

With this thought, Lu Qingyang's excitement from the advancement gradually subsided.

He turned his attention to the newly expanded territory.

The roots spread like tentacles across the land.

Wherever the roots reached, it was as clear as seeing with his own eyes, even more precise than visual perception.

At the same time, the dense leaves on his body also had visual capabilities.

Though not as precise as the roots, they could detect farther distances.

Suddenly, Lu Qingyang felt a surge of anticipation.

If one day, his roots could cover the entire mountain range,

And even break free from the constraints of the mountains, he might uncover the true nature of this world.

4o