Old Dragon-Blood Tree

Han Sen rested at their cabin for a few more days, and although he hadn't fully recovered, he could now walk around.

Han Sen had suffered tremendous injuries, and because there were no medical tools in the vicinity, he had to rely on simple medicine and the Blood-Pulse Sutra for healing. He wagered it would take another two whole months before he was back to a clean bill of health.

Over the past few days, Han Sen was able to obtain some information about the area he had ended up in from Chu Ming and Qu Lanxi.

The area belonged to Thorn Shelter. It was a royal shelter, and its namesake was derived from the nearby woodland: Thorn Forest.

Han Sen had ended up at the edge of Thorn Forest, near a Knight-class shelter called Qing Ming Shelter.

They were the only humans at Qing Ming Shelter. Qu Lanxi had been living there for eight years, whereas Chu Ming had been there for six years. They belonged to Qing Ming Shelter. The Knight-class spirit, Qing Ming Knight, made them sign a contract. Then, they became members of the shelter, and the shelter's master offered them a chance to survive by working for him.

Humans were the peasants of this land, treated like thralls, and treated even more poorly than creatures. After all, humans who ascended to this sanctuary would generally start off weaker than the lowliest of creatures.

They had no chance of competing against a spirit. There were Squire-class spirits in Qing Ming Shelter, and although some of them were weaker than humans, for as long as their spirit stone remained in the spirit shelter, they could fight without fear of death. As such, their bravery in combat was unmatched. Therefore, humans were considered peasants; particularly those who had just joined. When contracted, all they could be expected to do was hard, menial labor.

Growing geno seeds was one such task. Qu Lanxi and Chu Ming had been sent to a garden to grow such seeds, and to avoid the cruel punishment of Qing Ming Knight, they would had a quota of produce to deliver.

It was tough in the beginning, but fortunately, Qing Ming Knight did not require much, and any bonuses they produced could be kept for themselves.

For the first few years, when they did not have much experience, times were tough. Their punishments came often, but after getting a grip on things and learning to grow the seeds effectively, they had much produce leftover. As a result, they were able to save up what they wanted.

Three years ago, they pooled all of their savings together to purchase an ordinary Ink-Sword Tree seed. Over the next three years, they labored to grow it and spent even more on its healthy cultivation. They would have been able to harvest its swords in a matter of days, but before that, Han Sen showed up and ruined all they had slaved to accomplish.

Growing geno seeds was not easy, and their level was important. You needed a lot of resources and spare time to grow and care for them.

Ink-Sword Trees had to be watered with Black-Scale Blood. With that, the tree would grow healthily.

When they first planted the geno seed, they had to bury the bodies of Black-Scale Beasts near it. Their corpses would provide the necessary nutrients for its initial growth.

Black-Scale Beasts were only ordinary creatures, but obtaining a bucket of their blood everyday was a trial-and-a-half for them.

After all, Qing Ming Shelter's creatures mostly belonged to Qing Ming Knight. They could not kill Black-Scale Beasts randomly. Instead, they had to trade for the blood and flesh.

If they wanted to hunt creatures, they would have to venture into Thorn Forest. But that territory was home to the most rancid of monsters. With their power, any encounter with a beast from that place would be dangerous. Even mutant creatures were known to live there.

They thought by growing an Ink-Sword Tree, their lives would become considerably easier. They never expected the disaster that awaited them, following Han Sen's arrival. This was also why Chu Ming was never nice to Han Sen. After all, Han Sen had just crushed their hopes and dreams.

Han Sen was remorseful, and did feel very sorry for what he had inadvertently done, but there was not much he could do. He never expected the black crystal to suddenly start absorbing the tree's lifeforce.

Han Sen got out of bed this day, and went outside to sunbathe.

The yard was skirted by a wooden fence, and Lanxi said that the house once belonged to an old spirit. The spirit used to be in charge, but after he passed away, Qing Ming gave it to Lanxi.

Qu Lanxi and Chu Ming were both toiling in the garden that day. Although the sword tree had been destroyed, there were many other trees they had to take care of. Of course, the rest they grew were only enough to keep them going and allow them to live hand-to-mouth. They wouldn't provide the benefits that the Ink-Sword Tree would have.

Han Sen, in his observation of the yard, did not see a chair he could recline on. But he did see an old crooked tree, bent low near the ground. He was able to sit down there.

Han Sen approached the crooked tree and sat on its branch. He had been cooped up in the house for far too long, so his opportunity to sunbathe felt extra good.

The tree looked solid, and was dark red in color.

But the tree had no leaves, and it looked bald and dead.

As Han Sen sunbathed, he tried casting dongxuan aura. If he could simulate the holy light, he could heal faster.

But when he tried to cast it, he was unable to. His body and the energy inside him was too much of a mess.

Although he might not have been able to cast skills, his general senses had recovered quite a bit. He sat down on the tree and felt a small lifeforce stemming from the tree's root.

It was very faint, though. It was too weak and looked likely to die soon.

But Han Sen felt that the tree's lifeforce was special.

"Was this tree grown by a geno seed?" Han Sen wondered, as he brushed the tree root with his fingers.

"This is the Dragon-Blood Old Tree. It grew from mutant class seeds. The old spirit that used to live here wanted to grow this tree, and to do so, he had to venture into Thorn Forest to collect the necessary nutrients for it. Unfortunately, he perished someplace within that perilous, knotted domain. A few days following his demise, the tree died, too." Qu Lanxi approached and told Han Sen.