Chapter 651: Since We're All in the Same Boat, Repairing the Leaking Hull Is Part of the Job

As the last wisp of deep blue Ruo Shui spiritual energy was withdrawn back into his body like an ebbing tide, the nauseating stench of putrid death energy that had pervaded the dried-up marsh finally dissipated completely. In its place came the damp vitality welling up from deep underground, carrying a faint fragrance of fresh earth.

Su Ming slowly straightened his body. The prolonged, intensely strained output of his divine sense had left his back soaked through with cold sweat. His grayish-blue robe clung to his spine, bringing a chill. He didn't immediately wipe the sweat from his brow. Instead, he casually snapped off a half-withered shrub branch from the muddy ground beneath his feet.

"Elder, please take a look." Su Ming's voice was somewhat hoarse, yet carried an unshakable calm.

Holding the branch, he didn't channel a single trace of spiritual energy. Relying purely on the underground contours he had painstakingly memorized through the "Perceiving the Minutest Detail" visual field, he began rapidly sketching on the patch of mud that had regained some of its elasticity before him.

"Shh, shh, shh..."

The sound of the branch cutting through the earth was strikingly clear by the silent spiritual spring. The few spirit race formation masters nearby, who had moments ago harbored veiled contempt, now looked like dumbstruck geese with their necks seized. One by one, they craned their necks forward, their eyes riveted on Su Ming's movements, not daring to let out even a single breath.

"These seventeen nodes are precisely the core positions where the life-devouring fungal filaments had taken root." Su Ming rotated his wrist, using the branch to poke seventeen deep pits into the muddy ground, then shifted the stroke and connected them with a series of complex arcs.

"Now observe these connecting veins." Su Ming tapped the arcs with the tip of the branch, then lifted his gaze to Elder Genxu, whose face was full of shock. "This is not the disorderly growth of plant instinct. If the goal were simply to siphon vitality from the spiritual spring, the filaments should have spread out in a radial umbrella structure, maximizing surface area to envelop the spring's eye."

The branch carved a single straight main line through the mud, funneling all the arcs into one single point.

"But in reality, after they had gorged themselves on vitality, all their main trunks converged deep beneath the earth at a depth of thirty zhang, ultimately coalescing into a single concealed energy channel." Su Ming's gaze gradually deepened, and the tip of the branch finally pointed toward the northeast.

"Every single main trunk has a clear directional intent. They are all pointing toward the deepest part of the earth veins."

Upon hearing these words, the joy that had just appeared on Elder Genxu's green visage, weathered with bark-like wrinkles, instantly faded. In its place was a barely concealed horror and unease.

"The depths of the earth veins..." Elder Genxu's grip on his wooden staff tightened suddenly, his knuckles whitening from the strain. "That direction... that's the direction of the Nether Abyss!"

"The Nether Abyss?" Su Ming's brow gave the barest, almost imperceptible twitch as he silently committed that place name to memory, though his expression remained composed. "Judging by your tone, Elder, that is an extremely dangerous place?"

"Dangerous doesn't even begin to describe it..." Elder Genxu's Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty, as if the name itself carried some kind of curse. "Elder Woodheart has sternly warned all of Greenwood Court. That place is an absolute forbidden zone where vitality and death intertwine. Even the most powerful warrior in our court, should they step to the edge of the Nether Abyss, would be stripped of their sanity by those twisted laws and transformed into a mindless killing monster. Could the Dark Current Sect actually be sending the vitality they extracted... there?"

Just as Elder Genxu was sinking into extreme shock and panic.

"Thud, thud, thud..."

A steady, powerful set of footsteps echoed from the passage behind the tree platform.

Su Ming turned his head and saw Elder Panshi's boulder-like, towering figure striding toward him with great momentum. Close behind him followed Elder Qingluo, clad in armor woven from green vines.

"So it really was them..." Qingluo's voice carried a gnashing hatred. "The Dark Current Sect's Devour-character ultimate killing formation lines. Not only have they sealed off the outskirts, they've already extended their tentacles right into the spiritual spring right under our noses!"

Qingluo slowly rose to her feet. When she raised her head again and looked at the human youth who still maintained his humble bearing off to the side, the fierce hostility and wariness that had lingered in her eyes for so long finally melted away like ice and snow, leaving only a fraction behind.

What replaced it was a complex sense of apprehension, along with a trace of reluctant concession to reality.

"Human..." Qingluo took a deep breath. Though her tone remained stiff, it no longer carried that previous arrogance. "What you said yesterday was true. Had it not been for your method of unraveling layer by layer, we would have kept believing this spiritual spring had simply dried up naturally until it was completely dead. You have preserved a portion of Greenwood Court's foundation."

Su Ming smiled faintly, his hands tucked into his wide sleeves. He bowed with neither humility nor arrogance. "Elder Qingluo flatters me. I am merely seeking a place to call home and doing what little I can. Since we're all in the same boat, repairing the leaking hull is simply part of the job."

"Well said. Part of the job." Elder Panshi's tone carried a note of approval. "Go back and rest. The Council of Elders will reach its own conclusion on today's matter."

...

As it turned out, when faced with the external pressure of life and death, even the long-lived, slow-moving spirit races could unleash efficiency that boggled the mind.

That very afternoon.

Ye Qing's wiry figure burst through the wooden door of Su Ming's tree hollow like a green whirlwind.

"It's done! Su Ming! It's done!" Ye Qing was so excited his voice cracked, the green soft tendrils atop his head writhing wildly as he held aloft a wooden token radiating a soft green glow.

Su Ming was seated cross-legged on the stone bed in meditation. At the sound, he slowly opened his eyes, his gaze landing on the token. "Brother Ye, what has you in such a fluster?"

"Fluster? This is the greatest news ever!" Ye Qing closed the distance in three quick strides and solemnly pressed the token into Su Ming's hand. "The Council of Elders passed a resolution at unprecedented speed! Unanimous approval! You have been officially appointed as the guest Formation Master of Greenwood Court!"

Su Ming gently ran his thumb over the token. It was neither metal nor wood, with a warm, smooth texture. The front was carved with intricate tree patterns, while the back bore an ancient spirit race character: "Guest."

With this identity as cover, his covert search for clues about the World Gate would become far more convenient. As long as he didn't expose his true purpose, this arrangement was a deal with no downside.

"Then I thank the elders for their great kindness." Su Ming tucked the token into his storage pouch and gave a slight bow.

"That's not all!" Ye Qing rubbed his hands together excitedly, reporting in rapid-fire succession. "As a guest Formation Master, your treatment just went through the roof! First, your residence has been reassigned. No more living in this noisy outskirt area. You're moving directly to Qingyou Residence, deep within the trunk of the Banyan and close to the archive tree hollows! That's a place only core formation masters can live, with vitality so dense it practically drips with moisture!"

"Second, aside from rare heavenly treasures that require Council of Elders approval, you can use this token to draw any regular materials needed for outer formation maintenance directly from the warehouse. Unlimited!"

"Finally, and most importantly!" Ye Qing deliberately dragged out the suspense, lowering his voice. "Nine-tenths of the archive tree hollows in Greenwood Court are now fully open to your reading access!"

Su Ming's pupils contracted slightly in that instant, but quickly returned to calm.

Reading access to nine-tenths of the archives?

Now that was truly an invaluable treasure beyond measure!

"Brother Ye, I appreciate all your efforts. In that case, there's no time to waste. Let's move over right now." Su Ming rose to his feet. All his belongings were in his Xuantian ring and storage pouch, so there was nothing in the tree hollow that needed packing.