Death... and me

Rean scratched the back of his head before he took a bow out of the Dimensional Realm. In the end, Rean didn't find anything better than that bow, so he returned and fought the Zasfins of that tribe. "I was too unlucky. Out of all the tribes I challenged, only one had a piece of Heaven-level equipment. None of the other tribes even had one."

Kentucky then puffed his chest once more as he said with great glee, "Then, I'm the winner! Hahaha!"

Roan didn't care that much about losing, so he changed the topic, asking, "So, how did the fusion of Spiritual Energy and Soul Power affect your combat? In my case, it improved my combat power a lot. I don't think I would have an issue challenging an average Peak Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. I fought a few Zasfins at the Initial and Middle Stages, but they weren't my match. Only Late Stage ones could hold on for some time, but I ultimately won anyway."

Rean agreed with Roan, saying, "We're more or less similar on the combat power side. I also found a Late Nascent Soul Zasfin who had a Middle Stage Zasfin as a subordinate. It was only because of the support of that Middle Stage Zasfin that the Late Stage one was able to fight me on equal grounds. If he was alone, I don't think the battle would have been a draw."

Kentucky then opened his wings as he bragged, "You two are too weak! I won a battle against a Peak Nascent Soul Realm Zasfin. Hahaha!" 

Rean and Roan didn't find it strange as Roan responded, "Unsurprising. We refrained from using each other's elements. In your case, you already have both Light and Dark Affinity, so you could use them as you wish. You didn't need us at all."

Rean agreed with Roan, saying in response, "That's true. Don't forget, Kentucky. If we do exchange elements, both Roan and I can even fight an Initial Stage Soul Transformation Realm cultivator and win in most scenarios. We didn't even use my new swords' Elemental Gathering ability since we created a situation where we could only rely on ourselves. Suppose we do use the swords' abilities and exchange elements. In that case, it wouldn't be surprising if we could put up a fight against a Middle Stage Soul Transformation Realm cultivator if we fought together."

Kentucky didn't seem to want to let it go, saying, "So what? It only means that in a situation where we only have our bodies, I'm stronger."

Rean shrugged his shoulders, responding, "You're a Divine Demon Beast and have a certain amount of support from the Soul Gem System. If you didn't win in body-only combat, then your bloodline as a Minokawa would be meaningless. Especially since Minokawas excel in defense more than anything else."

Kentucky finally agreed after hearing that, replying with, "Well, I guess that's true."

Roan ignored the Minokawa and looked at the totem, saying, "Still, what a great treasure. The amount of Yang Energy it gathers isn't that impressive. Rean can do better than that alone. However, if he cultivates with it by his side, it would save him a bit of effort. The same goes for me since Yang complements Yin, which is also part of my cultivation technique manual."

Rean nodded. "Should we go to the Tribe where Kentucky got it?"

Celis, who had been hearing so far, finally talked. "I think it will be useless." 

Naturally, the attention of Rean's group was piqued. With that, they waited for Celis to continue talking as he told them, "The wood used in this totem is not something you'll find in this world. In fact, I feel like it was a tremendous waste to use this wood to create the totem. Those who created this thing truly didn't know what they had in their hands. Such a pity, such a pity..."

"So...what kind of wood is this?" Rean asked, voicing everyone else's thoughts.

Celis then explained, "This is Divine Parasol Tree Wood. I'm not talking about the Parasol Trees, but a Parasol Tree that awakened its sentience like me. Not only that, but this one seems to have been nurtured by a real Phoenix. That's why it can gather Yang Energy on its own. This isn't a piece of equipment but a simple carving made out of wood. Its abilities come from the wood itself."

Rean's group couldn't help but think about Phex after hearing that. "Does it have something to do with him?"

Celis, who already heard about their encounter with Gulan's grandfather, wasn't sure as he replied, "I don't know. But chances are high. The only question I have is why would such a rare piece of wood appear in a medium-sized tribe like that. I don't think that Phoenix called Phex would have let the wood go. First of all, I don't think he would have let anyone kill the Divine Parasol Tree in the first place."

"Kill?" Those words took Rean and Roan aback.

Celis understood why, though. "Yes, kill. This wood is part of a dead Parasol Tree. If it was taken from a living Divine Parasol Tree, the main body would be able to feel where it is. It's similar to how I spread my saplings and can watch everything they can. A Divine Parasol Tree's pride wouldn't allow its wood to be used for such an idiotic thing." 

He then lifted one of his roots out of the ground as he continued, "As you can see, I can move my body as I wish. If I was still at Stage Ten, I could even take on a human form. That being said, the Divine Parasol Tree would have definitely come after this totem."

Rean pondered a bit before asking Roan, "Do you think we should bring it to Senior Phex?"

Roan understood what Rean was trying to achieve. "You think we can get a few favors from him. Or at the very least, it would prevent future problems if we explain how we found it. After all, if he sees this thing with us, he might have the wrong idea." 

Roan then added, "However, that's considering Phex has something to do with this. If he doesn't, giving this Divine Parasol Tree to him might be a big loss for us."

Kentucky couldn't help but ask, "Can't you create some nice equipment from it?"

Rean nodded, replying, "Yes...but I would prefer to keep it intact to help out with our cultivation."

In the end, Rean shrugged his shoulders as he said, "Oh well, let's just keep it with us for the time being. If Phex finds out, let's just say we didn't know what it was. After all, we only know what it is because of Celis."

Roan, Kentucky, and Celis agreed with Rean as Roan said, "Then, it's decided."