After being reborn, all I want to do is run away.

Chapter 215 Ancient Trees Reaching the Sky

When Shen Xu woke up in the early morning, he found that the sun had not yet risen, so he got up and walked into the ancient forest outside the house.

A light mist hung over the woods, and all was quiet; even the chirping of birds was rarely heard.

Shen Xu loved this quiet and refreshing environment. He could find a sense of peace in it. The air was filled with moisture and the scent of earth and green leaves. His breathing gradually became steady, as if he were one with the breathing of the forest.

Shen Xu casually sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes lightly closed, his whole being entering a state of ethereal tranquility.

In this ethereal state, his soul seemed to be isolated from the outside world, entering a tranquil and mysterious realm. His soul wandered in that peaceful world, free from all distractions and thoughts, leaving only a blank space.

Shen Xu's consciousness seemed to merge into a seed of an ancient tree during this process, buried deep in the dark, sunless soil.

He could only desperately absorb the nutrients in his body. After a long period of time, he finally broke through the darkness and stretched out his green buds.

Fortunately, there were no other trees around it competing with it for nutrients and sunlight. Under such favorable conditions, it basked in the radiance of the sun and moon and received the nourishment of rain and dew.

Nourished by sunshine and rain, it began to grow strong and healthy, its trunk becoming thicker and its branches and leaves becoming more and more lush.

After an unknown amount of time, he sensed the existence of the primordial energy between heaven and earth. Knowing the benefits of this primordial energy to him, he began to continuously absorb it.

Gradually, the vital energy began to gather around him automatically, and countless drops of vital energy condensed into water droplets that flowed slowly among his branches and leaves. He had become the most important part of the vital energy circulation on this land.

Having absorbed an unknown amount of vital energy, and having been immersed in it for an unknown period of time, he finally grew into an incomparably enormous, towering tree.

Its trunk soars into the clouds, as thick as the world's largest mountain range; its canopy blocks out the sun and connects with the sky; its roots crisscross all the spaces beneath the earth and are rooted in the deepest water sources of the earth.

He can enjoy all the sunlight and nutrients of this land all to himself, and no tree can survive under him.

At this moment, tender green grass began to slowly emerge from the ground around Shen Xu's body, growing at a visible speed. Their stems gradually lengthened, becoming lush and verdant, swaying gently with his breath, as if breathing with him.

As time went by, the grass around Shen Xu spread out like a green velvet carpet, gradually covering the entire ancient forest.

The green grass tightly surrounded the many towering trees in the forest. A faint green aura rose from the grass and trees, like wispy clouds swirling around his body, and then slowly seeped into his skin and merged into his body.

Numerous colorful birds flew down onto and around Shen Xu, hopping lightly and excitedly settling on his body.

A white crane shimmering with golden-red light appeared beside him at some unknown time, and began to lead many other birds to spread their wings and fly around him, displaying their magnificent figures. A series of clear birdsong echoed in the air.

In the pavilion across the ancient forest, the three women who were sleeping peacefully were immediately awakened by the terrifyingly dense azure energy within the pavilion. They got up and came outside the pavilion, looking solemnly at the ancient forest across the river shrouded in a thick, azure fog.

But nothing in the world can escape the ravages of time. As time passed, its life gradually came to an end. Its trunk began to wither, its branches and leaves gradually fell away, and finally, it collapsed and became a black seed again.

After he fell to the ground, countless tender shoots broke through the soil, inheriting his vitality and continuing to grow and reproduce.

These tender shoots took root and sprouted on this land, becoming a dense forest where countless animals lived and reproduced, and where even the weakest plants could thrive.

The ancient seed, however, was buried deep in darkness, waiting for the moment to bloom again.

After the seed was buried deep, the dense, water-like azure energy that permeated the ancient forest began to surge wildly into Shen Xu's soul, only to be completely swallowed up by the void in his soul and then disappear.

The bluish mist that permeated the ancient forest gradually thinned at a visible rate as his soul continued to devour it, until it finally disappeared completely.

As the first rays of morning sunlight pierced through the somewhat withered tree canopy and onto the ground, the grass around Shen Xu suddenly began to grow rapidly.

Their stems changed from green to withered yellow, their bodies became nutrients for the land again, and their tiny seeds were scattered by the wind throughout the forest, continuing their lives.

Shen Xu opened his eyes and looked at the three women not far away. Just one glance was enough to shake the three women who had just arrived, and their bodies began to tremble involuntarily.

They couldn't describe what kind of look it was; it seemed to contain the vicissitudes and profoundness of eternity, vast and distant, carrying the aura of endless years, and imbued with boundless indifference and coldness.

But that feeling only lasted for a moment, and they quickly realized that Shen Xu had returned to normal.

Shen Xu rubbed his head. He felt that his dream was very strange. How could he dream that he had turned into a seed?

Moreover, he seemed to be able to sense the extremely faint collective consciousness of the entire ancient forest, which was constantly conveying a sorrow that life was about to pass away. That barely perceptible consciousness was like a candle flickering in the wind, as if it would dissipate in the next moment.

Shen Xu got up and touched an ancient tree next to him. Sure enough, the vitality it contained was extremely weak, and it was almost dead.

Shen Xu looked up and saw that the once lush green leaves of the giant tree had turned yellowish-green, and its own vitality was no longer enough to provide it with enough nutrients to maintain its enormous size.

Looking around, all the ancient trees in sight are like this, which means that all the ancient trees in this forest will die soon.

The newly awakened Wood Element probed into the trunk of the ancient tree. Shen Xu slowly explored the heart of the ancient tree. Ordinary trees naturally do not have such a thing as a heart of wood.

But the collective consciousness of the ancient forest told him that every ancient tree in this forest had just condensed a heart of wood.

His soul told him that the Wood Heart, imprinted with his Wood Intent, could actively absorb vital energy from the outside world, thus quickly helping these ancient trees recover from their near-death state. However, the vital energy of Qingling Creek was limited, and he had to control it carefully.

As his benevolent intentions gradually permeated the trunk of the ancient tree, the tree also revealed its heart, a special part radiating a soft white light, located in the center of the tree, without any form.

Upon contact with Shen Xu's Wood Intent, it seemed to transform into a real wooden heart, beating slowly. With each beat, wisps of vital energy entered its heart and then spread to all parts of its body.

This situation immediately put Shen Xu at ease. His Wood Intent was truly useful; at least this ancient forest could survive.

Moreover, the Wood Heart absorbs very little energy with each beat, so it shouldn't cause significant changes to the energy environment of Qingling Creek in a short period of time.

But looking at the ancient forest around him, which had at least a thousand ancient trees of all kinds, Shen Xu couldn't help but feel a headache.

He still doesn't understand what happened just now that not only did he awaken a strong Wood Intent, but his cultivation also reached the mid-stage of the Qi Condensation Realm.

Surely he couldn't have drained the entire ancient forest of life just because he broke through a small realm!