Chapter 670: Fragment of the Emperor's Seal!

The shock of Elder Dry Leaf turning to dust left the spiritual plant cultivation area dead silent for the time it took half an incense stick to burn.

As that emerald light beam slowly receded, the oppressive weight hanging over Greenwood Court finally dissipated somewhat. Elders Panshi and Qingluo directed the Enforcement Team, beginning methodically to clean up the mess and reseal the earth vein nodes that had been corroded by murderous aura.

Though the internal strife had been quelled, and Elder Woodheart's earth-shaking strike had indeed lifted the spirits of Greenwood Court's people who had been living in constant dread, Su Ming keenly sensed something else. Whether it was Elder Genxu's increasingly hunched back, or the unconcealable worry in Elder Panshi's eyes, both silently spoke a cruel truth:

That strike had consumed what little origin power Elder Woodheart had left.

This was nothing but a final flicker of light before death. The sword hanging overhead, the ten-day deadline, had not disappeared.

Su Ming was supported back to Qingyou Residence by two respectful spirit-race guards.

The moment the heavy wooden door closed, Su Ming's weak, pale complexion instantly returned to a healthy flush. He patted the dust off his clothes and walked to the stone bed in the meditation room, sitting down cross-legged.

"Cheep-"

Ying flew out from the shadows nearby, landing steadily on Su Ming's shoulder.

After undergoing her bloodline awakening, the little one had grown a full size larger, and the purple-gold flight feathers along the edges of her wings were like sharp blades.

She affectionately rubbed against Su Ming's cheek, then turned to look toward the door, a trace of humanlike wariness flickering in her purple-gold vertical pupils. She too had felt the terror of Elder Woodheart's strike.

"This old tree spirit, sure enough, is a ruthless character." Lin Yu's soul body drifted out from the ring, stroking his illusory beard as he sighed, "Forcibly drawing out his origin power to suppress and kill the insider, that was both a show of force and a way to reassure the people's hearts. It's just that the price is likely substantial. His remaining strength, I'd guess, is only enough to flip the table one last time."

Su Ming nodded. He was about to speak when a familiar fluctuation suddenly came from his Consciousness Sea.

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"Little one of the human race, come to the root vein hall to see this old one."

Elder Woodheart's aged, weary voice echoed directly in his mind. This time, there was no pressure of testing him, but rather a quiet calm that spoke of release from a burden.

Su Ming did not dare delay. He straightened his appearance, then pushed the door open and stepped out.

Led by Ye Qing, Su Ming arrived once again at the root vein hall at the heart of Greenwood Court. Only this time, the scene within the hall was vastly different from before.

The brilliant emerald light orb that had originally hovered at the center had now dimmed considerably, even faintly revealing a tinge of withered yellow. And beneath the orb, countless ancient tree roots interlocked and wove together, actually forming the physical figure of an elderly man.

The old man wore coarse cloth hemp garments, his face so aged it seemed he might disperse with the wind at any moment, wrinkles carved into his features as if by knife and chisel, yet those eyes, those eyes were so clear and profound they seemed capable of seeing through the cycle of all things in this world.

"This junior Su Ming, greets Senior Woodheart." Su Ming stepped forward quickly and made a deep, respectful bow.

Elder Woodheart did not put on the airs of someone high and mighty. Instead, he slightly raised his withered finger, signaling Su Ming to dispense with formalities.

"You did very well. Even cleaner and more decisive than this old one anticipated." Elder Woodheart's voice echoed through the hall, carrying a faint hint of barely perceptible praise. "You not only forced out that deeply hidden malignant growth, Dry Leaf, you also conveniently saved this old one a great deal of investigation effort. You, you gave Greenwood Court a dignified way to die."

"A dignified way to die..." Su Ming's heart clenched. Elder Woodheart's choice of words was so pessimistic. Clearly, even this mighty being himself held not the slightest confidence in victory for the decisive battle ten days hence.

Su Ming did not respond immediately, but quietly waited for what was to come. He knew that when a superior summoned you, it was never merely for verbal praise.

"This old one said he would grant you a stroke of fortune. This old one has lived nearly ten thousand years and has never gone back on his word."

Elder Woodheart slowly opened his right hand.

From deep within the canopy at the top of the hall, a drop of liquid suddenly dripped down. This drop of liquid was not water, but rather displayed an indescribable, strange green hue, as though it were itself compressed from the purest laws of life. The moment it fell into Elder Woodheart's palm, the air throughout the hall instantly became incomparably fresh.

"This is the Divine Sap of the Sacred Tree." Elder Woodheart gazed at the liquid in his hand, a flicker of nostalgia passing through his eyes. "Bottled from three drops of liquid, coalesced from the vital essence of three thousand years of this heaven and earth?"

Su Ming's breathing suddenly quickened. Lin Yu, in his Consciousness Sea, was so excited that even his soul body trembled: "The Divine Sap of the Sacred Tree! Disciple, we've struck it rich! This thing has long been extinct in the human realm! With this, even before you break through to Spirit Transformation, your physical body and meridians will never face another bottleneck. This is a truly supreme treasure!"

Su Ming forcibly suppressed the wild joy in his heart. Elder Woodheart was giving away such a heavy reward, surely he wanted something in return.

"Senior's generous gift, this junior is overwhelmed with favor. It's just that without merit, one dare not accept..."

"Refined. This thing than to leave it in this old one's body, only to benefit that madman of the Nether Abyss ten days from now."

As Elder Woodheart's wrist turned, that drop of Sacred Tree Divine Sap transformed into a green streak, precisely hovering before Su Ming, emitting an alluring fragrance.

Su Ming no longer pretended modesty. He took out a top-grade sealing spirit jade box and carefully stored it within.

"Aside from this drop of divine sap, this old one has a second item to give you."

Elder Woodheart's gaze deepened. His withered palm opened once more. This time, what appeared in his hand was not some heaven-and-earth treasure of the spirit realm, but a grayish-brown stone fragment, only the size of an adult's thumb.

Yet the instant this unremarkable fragment appeared.

The Border Defense True Seal in Su Ming's Consciousness Sea, Lin Yu in the Xuantian ring, even the Golden Core in his dantian, all at the same moment emitted a violent resonance!

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It was a call of bloodline connection, a deep summoning that crossed the vast ages!

"This... this is..." Su Ming's eyes widened, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

Elder Woodheart spoke slowly, his tone carrying a trace of complex emotion. "This old one does not know what you humans call it, but this old one can sense that it once bore the fortune of an entire race. This old one calls it, the Fragment of the Human Race's Ancient Jade."

A monstrous wave surged in Su Ming's heart!

Emperor's Seal!

("This fragment, this old one found by chance years ago in the ruins of an ancient battlefield in the Wind's Breath Wasteland of the Far West." Elder Woodheart extended the fragment toward Su Ming. "Though this old one does not know its specific purpose, the human fortune upon it, that cannot be faked. Since you carry the karma of the Star River Shen family and are proficient in the human path of formations, this thing, given to you, may hold more meaning than leaving it with this old one."

Su Ming accepted that fragment of the Emperor's Seal with trembling hands.

"Senior... why entrust such a heavy treasure to a foreign race?" Su Ming forcibly suppressed the storm in his Consciousness Sea, gazing intently at Elder Woodheart. The Sacred Tree Divine Sap could be called payment, but this Emperor's Seal fragment involved too much.

Elder Woodheart slowly closed his eyes, and that humanoid phantom began to grow somewhat unstable.

("Because ten days from now, Greenwood Court will cease to exist. And this old one must turn over the final hidden card." Elder Woodheart's voice became ethereal and resolute, "Our race. The human race's little one, to open a path for this fire seed race, thank you for these things, this old one trusts ten days from now the path of human race's formations... to preserve it.)

Su Ming clenched the fragment of the Emperor's Seal in his hand, feeling that desolate, ancient aura, and nodded heavily.

The storm was coming, and this time, he was no longer a bystander.