Vol. 1 - Ch. 67 - New Changes

At night, Ji Yang's consciousness turned toward the sky. The stars were clearer and brighter than before, and as a streak of cold moonlight rose, the locust leaves on Ji Yang's branches began to emit a faint glow. 

The glow was much brighter tonight, illuminating the entire Ancestral Hall. This change was due to Ji Yang's vitality reaching one hundred, resulting in a new set of leaves.

Ji Yang silently absorbed the moonlight as he reviewed his own status tablet:

[Name: Ji Yang]

[Race: Netherworld Locust Tree]

[Vitality: 100.5]

[Divine Abilities: Eye of Insight, Reversing Dan Progress, Blindfolded Perception, Soul Condensation, Protective Armor]

[Cultivation Techniques: Lunar Eclipse, Yin Gathering]

[Combat Skills: Taizu Long Fist (Can be transmitted once)]

[Vital Energy: 78 (convertible to vitality)]

[Spiritual Power: 22]

[Simulation Points: 6]

[Simulation Available]

[Status: Absorbing Lunar Essence]

After breaking through the one-hundred mark, not only did Ji Yang gain a new leaf cluster, but his underground roots also spread to a twenty-meter radius around the Ancestral Hall. 

Though twenty meters wasn't far enough to cover the entire clan grounds, the roots extended outward in a broad radius, not a straight line. 

If someone dug up the ground, they would uncover Ji Yang's massive network of roots hidden below.

At that moment, Ji Yang finally understood why he could not move after binding with the clan. 

People move to live, and trees move to die, he thought. Sёarᴄh the nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Even as the clan's Divine Tree, he likely wouldn't survive if uprooted. Still, as he grew stronger, Ji Yang believed that one day he might pull up his roots and walk freely. 

With this ambitious thought in mind, he turned his attention to his vital energy and divine power reserves.

These reserves, collected from the clan's sacrifices, had been set aside for emergencies or unexpected needs. 

With over a month's worth of sacrifices, Ji Yang was not short on vital energy or divine power, enough even for four simulations. 

However, his simulation points remained in the single digits. Without sufficient points, Ji Yang couldn't perform new simulations or compare multiple outcomes.

Simulation points were gained when clan members broke through their martial realms---a slow process. 

In the Body Tempering Realm, several members had progressed in the past month, but advancements in the Blood Coagulation Realm were far more time-consuming. 

It could take anywhere from a couple of years to several years to advance, making simulation points a scarce resource and the most significant bottleneck for Ji Yang's simulations.

Faced with this challenge, Ji Yang had no immediate solution and could only wait. As he considered using his simulation button, he hesitated. Should he continue saving his points, or proceed with a simulation now? 

He recalled his last simulation and shook his head. 

Attempting simulations without sufficient abilities was too risky, especially since his limited simulation points meant he couldn't compare multiple outcomes to make the best choice.

Ji Yang decided patience was the best course of action. With the clan's steady progress, he had ample life force and could afford to wait for a more favourable moment. 

A little patience, he reasoned, could prevent a grand plan from falling apart.

An hour later, Ji Yang checked his status again. His vitality had grown from 100.4 to 100.9---a faster rate than before, though not the threefold increase he had hoped for. 

With more branches and leaves, his moonlight absorption had improved, though diminishing returns were setting in. Still, at his current pace, he absorbed roughly three points of vital energy each night---a respectable improvement.

Yet, Ji Yang remained uncertain about how much vital energy was needed for further growth of his trunk and branches. 

If he had known that one hundred points of vital energy would yield a new cluster of leaves, he wouldn't have hesitated to convert more. As for the next critical growth point, Ji Yang could only grow in silence, observing his branches for any signs of change.

Before reaching that threshold, however, Ji Yang was ready to experiment.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed. A trace of cold air had drifted into various parts of Chaotic Burial Mountain, unnoticed by most. 

In the Chen clan, many clan members had already donned thicker clothing, much of it made from beast skins. 

These animal skins not only provided resistance to the elements but also offered some protection. The warriors in the Blood Coagulation Realm, in particular, wore these beast skins with pride.

Chen Changming felt a pang of regret as he observed this. If these skins had belonged to the clan in the past, they could have been sold for a handsome price. Yet now, the clan had no mountains to fall back on. 

However, every cloud has a silver lining. The clan's current location made it impractical to sell anything.

In his dreams, Chen Changming had only instructed them to gather unique items from the beasts, without further comment.

In the Ancestral Hall, Chen Xingzhen carried out his usual reverence towards the Divine Tree before leaving. Recently, he had withdrawn all the clan hunting teams. Several reasons justified this decision. 

The weather had grown colder, making the animals in the mountains more irritable and aggressive as they prepared for the winter. Additionally, the hunting parties had ventured too deep, leading to diminishing returns. 

The Divine Tree's protection had been a boon, but the exaggerated displays of its divine power had made many clan members overly bold, risking their lives in the process. This recklessness had resulted in numerous injuries.

Chen Xingzhen, infuriated by this, had issued a stern order: any further injuries would be met with severe punishment, and the right to worship the Divine Tree would be revoked. 

As clan leader, he was well aware of the spiritual nature of the Divine Tree and the cost of its divine power. He could not allow the clan's recklessness to deplete the tree's strength.

Following the order, the clan members had finally settled down. 

Just as Chen Xingzhen was leaving the Ancestral Hall to check on the warriors' cultivation, a figure hurriedly approached him.

"Clan Leader, there is a message from elder Tianyu. He wishes for you to come personally."

"Understood," Chen Xingzhen replied, though he was taken aback internally.

Elder Tianyu was responsible for overseeing the Blood Rice and had been residing there recently, only returning to the clan occasionally. 

The urgent message indicated that something significant had happened with the Blood Rice, requiring Chen Xingzhen's immediate attention.

With the weather growing colder, timely harvesting of the Blood Rice before the onset of heavy snow was crucial. 

Winter typically lasted two to three months, and relying solely on stored meat would not suffice for the warriors' needs. Therefore, this blood rice harvest was vital and could not be overlooked.

Accompanied by two clan members, Chen Xingzhen set off in haste.