Chapter 129: Purifying The Tree

Chapter 129: Chapter 129: Purifying The Tree

With everyone in agreement, the decision was settled, and Sui Sui once again found himself at the center of everyone’s attention.

To be honest, he wasn’t entirely confident about this method. He had heard what the other elders had said earlier, and if their assessment was correct, the Spirit Jade Fruit Tree was in an unusually aggressive state. Even experienced cultivators had struggled to approach it, so what chance did a mere Qi Refining cultivator like him have?

Still, now that everyone had agreed to let the tree itself determine the truth, he couldn’t very well refuse. If he backed out at this point, wouldn’t it look as though he really had something to hide?

With that thought, Sui Sui took a quiet breath and walked over to Elder Shan Li’s side. Leaning closer, he lowered his voice and whispered, "Elder, I’m not sure I can calm the tree down. Its aggression seems much worse this time. What if I can’t do it?"

Elder Shan Li glanced at him, his expression as composed as ever.

"Don’t worry. Just do what you usually do when purifying the medicinal essence. The tree will listen to you. Have a little faith in yourself."

His tone was so certain that Sui Sui couldn’t help but pause.

The tree... would listen to him?

He wasn’t sure where Elder Shan Li’s confidence came from, but hearing those reassuring words did make him feel a little more hopeful. Perhaps the elder was right and there was something about his usual method that could help him reach the tree, even in its current state.

Sui Sui took another breath before finally stepping forward.

Ahead of him, the barrier of twisting vines still blocked the path, its dense tendrils coiling and shifting ominously. Just looking at it was enough to make him feel a little uneasy, but he knew there was no turning back now.

He carefully approached the barrier, trying to steady his nerves as he prepared to make contact with the tree.

Since Sui Sui couldn’t approach the tree any further inside, he stopped a short distance from the barrier of tangled vines. He took out the Spirit Stones Elder Shan Li had given him and carefully arranged them on the ground, preparing everything himself in full view of the gathered disciples and elders.

Once he was satisfied with the arrangement, Sui Sui took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes. He raised both hands toward the nearest vine, his expression growing serious as he began to circulate his spiritual energy.

A faint glow emerged from his palms, and thin strands of spiritual energy extended toward the vine, gently enveloping its surface. The moment his energy made contact, the vine trembled slightly, as it had sensed his presence.

Sui Sui remained still, carefully guiding his spiritual energy into the tree and beginning the purification process.

Meanwhile, Jiang Huan watched from the side, his eyes fixed on Sui Sui’s every movement. Seeing how cautiously the young cultivator approached the tree, he couldn’t help but feel that the outcome was already decided. He leaned closer to his mother and whispered, "Mother, he should fail, right?"

Madam Jiang glanced at Sui Sui, a trace of malice hidden beneath her composed expression.

"He should," she replied quietly. "How could a mere Qi Refining cultivator possibly calm the Spirit Jade Fruit Tree? Unless he had somehow managed to tame it beforehand, but that’s impossible. Apart from Shan Li, I doubt anyone else in the sect could accomplish such a thing."

The more she thought about it, the more certain she became.

Jiang Huan nodded, his earlier doubts gradually disappearing. After all, even the other elders had admitted how difficult it was to calm the tree in its current condition. There was no reason to believe that Sui Sui, of all people, would succeed where everyone else had failed.

The two exchanged a knowing glance, both convinced that it was only a matter of time before Sui Sui’s attempt ended in failure.

Meanwhile, Sui Sui had already managed to extend his spiritual energy beneath the tree’s outer surface.

The moment his spiritual sense entered the tree, his expression turned serious: There were far more impurities than he had expected.

Unlike the last time he had examined the Spirit Jade Fruit Tree, when its interior had been filled with a vibrant green aura, the energy within it was now dark and murky. Thick patches of impurities had spread throughout its inner structure, obscuring the once-clear flow of spiritual energy and leaving only a few scattered traces of green.

Sui Sui couldn’t help feeling alarmed.

It had only been a short while since he had last tended to the tree, yet its condition had deteriorated so badly. Just how many Low-Grade Spirit Stones had Chu Ran and Disciple Leng used to cause this much damage?

He quickly put those thoughts aside and began purifying the tree as he usually did.

However, this time, the process was far more difficult than he had anticipated. Previously, the impurities had been relatively scattered, allowing him to isolate and remove them one section at a time. Now, they had spread across such a large area that there was hardly any part of the tree’s interior left untouched.

Sui Sui carefully guided his spiritual energy through the murky mass, attempting to cleanse it layer by layer. At first, he managed to remove some of the impurities, and the darkened spiritual energy gradually regained a faint green hue.

But before he could make much progress, more impurities surged in to fill the purified areas.

Sui Sui frowned.

He tried again, adjusting the flow of his spiritual energy and carefully purifying the affected areas. Yet each time he managed to cleanse one section, the surrounding impurities would creep back in, quickly undoing his efforts.

As time passed, beads of sweat began forming on his forehead. His back was also growing damp, and the strain of continuously channeling his spiritual energy was becoming increasingly difficult to bear, but still, the impurities showed no sign of diminishing.

Sui Sui gritted his teeth and continued for a while longer, but eventually, he had to stop. At this rate, he would exhaust all his spiritual energy without making any meaningful progress. He couldn’t keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. He needed another approach.

Sui Sui took a moment to steady his breathing and reconsidered the situation. The problem was not that he couldn’t purify the impurities themselves. He had already proven that he could do so. The real difficulty was their sheer volume. Trying to cleanse the entire affected area at once was simply too demanding for his current cultivation.

If I can’t purify everything at once, why not start with the areas that have fewer impurities to begin with?

The thought immediately gave him a new direction.

Sui Sui once again extended his spiritual sense throughout the tree’s interior, carefully examining the distribution of the murky energy. This time, instead of attempting to cleanse everything he encountered, he focused on identifying the areas where the impurities were least concentrated.

He searched patiently, moving his spiritual sense through the darkened interior until he finally discovered a small section where traces of the original green aura still remained.

It was faint, almost completely obscured by the surrounding murkiness, but it was there.

Sui Sui’s eyes lit up slightly.

He immediately redirected his spiritual energy toward that section and began purifying it with great care, gradually removing the impurities without disturbing the remaining clean energy.

Slowly, the murky darkness receded.

The faint green aura grew brighter, spreading through the newly purified section until it regained some of its former vitality.

Then something unexpected happened. The moment the purification was complete, the green aura seemed to respond to Sui Sui’s presence. The previously stagnant energy began to move, flowing gently toward the spiritual energy he had introduced, as though it had finally found something familiar to connect with.

Sui Sui paused in surprise because the purified energy was not merely returning to its original state. It seemed to possess a faint restorative instinct of its own.

Taking advantage of this discovery, Sui Sui continued purifying the surrounding area, gradually expanding the section of clean energy. Each time he cleared another portion, the revitalized green aura would spread farther, helping to restore the tree’s internal flow of spiritual energy.

The process was still slow, but it was finally working.

Bit by bit, the dark and murky interior began to transform, and the tree’s original green vitality gradually returned.