Chapter 666: This Old Tree Spirit Is a Ruthless Character Too

The aged voice echoed directly within Su Ming's Consciousness Sea, carrying not a trace of emotion, yet it seemed capable of piercing through all worldly illusions.

"Those multi-layered illusory flow circuits you left on the outskirts' defense nodes these past two days, you did it cleanly. If this old one hadn't lived long enough to know every pulse of this land like the back of my hand, you would have nearly fooled me with your near-perfect deception."

Su Ming's pupils contracted sharply, and his heart pounded heavily in his chest.

The backdoor had been discovered.

In that instant, millions of thoughts flashed through Su Ming's mind like lightning, and the triple calculation method activated almost by instinct.

Run? Absolutely impossible. Under that thought-lock enveloping his entire body, even using the Grand Teleportation Talisman would result in being instantly ground to pulp by that immense power of the laws of life.

Try to argue his way out? Even more foolish. Faced with absolute power disparity and undeniable facts, any lie would be an insult to the other's intelligence.

The only chance of survival lay in the fact that the other party had not directly struck to kill, but had chosen divine sense transmission instead.

Su Ming forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart. He did not attempt to resist that thought-force. Instead, he drew a deep breath, cupped his hands in salute, and bowed deeply toward the void.

"This junior was showing off in front of an expert, making Senior Woodheart laugh at me." Su Ming's tone was neither arrogant nor servile, carrying neither the panic of being caught red-handed nor deliberate flattery.

In the void, that immense thought-force seemed to pause briefly.

"You can be considered a smart one, not making those pointless struggles." Elder Woodheart's voice remained cold. "This old one does not kill you not because you did it secretly, but because this old one now needs you, this variable."

"A variable?" Su Ming's heart stirred.

"Indeed." Elder Woodheart let out a long sigh, that voice carrying endless exhaustion. "This old one's lifespan is nearly exhausted. This broken body can no longer protect this forest for much longer. The reason that madman from the Nether Abyss dared to attack so recklessly this time is because he knows we have already discovered the sabotage they planted underground."

"Their original plan was to use the life-devouring fungal filaments to silently weaken this old one's strength without alerting me, until the Greenwood Court withered from within. However, you, a human Formation Master who appeared out of nowhere, used that so-called bone-clearing, poison-curing method to disrupt their plans, forcing the Nether Abyss to reveal himself ahead of schedule and break the deadlock with brute force."

Su Ming kept his head lowered, his eyes flickering rapidly.

Elder Woodheart's words had revealed far too much information. This old tree spirit was not blind at all. On the contrary, he had been coldly observing everything from the sidelines, and even Su Ming's act of repairing the spiritual spring had been factored into his calculations.

"Senior means that this junior not only did not ruin things, but actually helped the Greenwood Court block a strike?" Su Ming probed.

"Blocked a strike? No, you merely delayed the time of death." Elder Woodheart snorted coldly. "But since this game of chess has already been thrown into chaos because of you, this old one might as well turn the scheme around. This old one knows you are a human who does not act without profit. As long as you can help this old one clean up those filthy fungal filaments underground, as well as that woodworm hiding in the shadows, eating from the inside..."

Elder Woodheart's thought carried a sudden trace of irresistible temptation.

"This old one can bestow upon you a stroke of fortune. A stroke of fortune sufficient to make your cultivation skyrocket in a short period of time."

The muscles in Su Ming's face twitched slightly.

He suddenly raised his head, and on his face appeared a perfectly-timed expression mixing reverent fear and extreme longing. His knees bent as he made to prostrate himself. "This junior will surely serve with absolute dedication until death!"

Yet deep within his Consciousness Sea, where no one could peer, Su Ming's soul was laughing wildly.

Ecstasy!

Undisguisable ecstasy!

He had been worrying about finding a perfect excuse to deal with Elder Dry Leaf, to touch the Greenwood Court's most core earth veins, and even to pave a retreat route for his own escape.

Now, Elder Woodheart had personally handed this Imperial Sword right into his hands.

With this thought-endorsement, all his subsequent "small maneuvers," all his formation alterations, would have the most legitimate cover. This was simply a heaven-sent opportunity!

Inside the Xuantian ring, Lin Yu watched Su Ming's award-worthy performance and could not help but shudder twice.

"Tsk tsk..." Lin Yu smacked his lips within the Consciousness Sea, his voice full of admiration. "This ten-thousand-year-old tree, so deep in schemes, thinks he has calculated everything, yet he does not know he is inviting a wolf into his house. Disciple, this scheme-turning achievement, we have hit the jackpot."

"Master speaks truly." Su Ming replied calmly in his heart. "Since he gave us the sword, then your disciple will go and properly cleave these malignant growths spreading underground for him."

The night grew ever deeper, and the Greenwood Court's sky was shrouded in a suffocating gloom.

Before that thought-force completely dispersed, Elder Woodheart's voice sounded once more in Su Ming's Consciousness Sea. This time, there was a rare gravity in his tone.

"Little one, since you have accepted this assignment, some trump cards should be made known to you."

Su Ming's heart tightened, knowing the real show was coming.

"Do you truly believe that for these ten thousand years, the Greenwood Court has relied solely on this old bag of bones to hold on?" Elder Woodheart sneered. "Those fools from the Dark Current Sect thought that by purging the Qiming Sect, they could rest easy. They have no idea that the Qiming Sect's most core force was not slaughtered to the last back then."

Elder Woodheart dropped a secret that shocked both Su Ming and Lin Yu. "They have been hiding within this old one's deepest root veins, deep in slumber. That is the Greenwood Court's true trump card, and the confidence that allows this old one to stand firm here against that madman from the Nether Abyss."

"Then why does Senior not awaken them?" Su Ming forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart and immediately pressed further.

"The price of awakening is too great. Unless it comes to the moment of mutual destruction, it absolutely cannot be used." Elder Woodheart's voice gradually weakened, as though the transmission had consumed a great deal of his energy. "What you need to do is ensure that woodworm underground cannot secretly sever the law circuits that would awaken them. Go... do not disappoint this old one."

The immense thought-force receded like the tide, and the night breeze before Qingyou Residence once again returned to its original coolness.

Su Ming stood in place, a thin layer of cold sweat already seeping onto his forehead. But the light in his eyes burned bright as a lone star in a cold night.

"What a grand game of chess." Lin Yu sighed within the Consciousness Sea, his soul body's luster flickering. "The Qiming Sect's remnants are actually hidden at his roots. This old tree spirit is a ruthless character too. No wonder he dared to entrust his back to you, a human, because he believed he held a trump card that could flip the table at any moment."

"No matter how strong the trump card, you still need the chance to play it."

Su Ming sneered, and from his storage pouch he took out that jade-green token representing his guest official status. The token in his hand now seemed to weigh a thousand catties.

He closed his eyes, connected his divine sense to the token, and with the earth vein control he had just obtained as well as the powerful perception of the late stage of the Golden Core realm, he silently probed deep underground.