Chapter 589 - 596: A Strange Woman

Song Wanning broke off a branch from a shrub and examined it closely in her hand.

She combed through the various scriptures in her Sea of Consciousness but found no mention of this shrub.

Her brow twitched slightly. After a moment’s thought, she gathered several more of the shrubs and placed them directly into her Storage Ring.

Then, she resumed her search.

「Meanwhile, at the other end of the thicket.」

"Senior Sister, are you sure there’s a Bodhi Tree here?"

A doubtful voice rang out, belonging to a teenage boy whose voice was breaking.

Beside him stood a red-haired beauty. She was tall and voluptuous, her appearance a striking sight.

The beauty, Fang Wei, kept her eyes downcast, but she couldn’t hide the excitement on her face.

’Ever since I found that Heavenly Book, my life has been getting better and better. Now the Heavenly Book has pointed the way—the Bodhi Tree is right here. The mist before my eyes is exactly as described in the Heavenly Book!’ Thinking of this, her confidence soared.

However, the plants here were incredibly sharp. They hadn’t been inside for long, but they were already covered in scratches. Now they looked like a mess, caked in blood.

"Senior Sister, I think this place is a little strange."

Her junior brother at her side was still complaining. He didn’t believe for a second that a Bodhi Tree could be here; after all, it was a thing of legend that no one had ever claimed to have seen.

But Fang Wei looked so confident, leaving him feeling rather helpless.

"What do you know? How could a place with treasure possibly be the same as some ordinary location?"

Fang Wei shot her junior brother a cold glance. ’If I didn’t need a helping hand, I never would have brought an outsider here.’

’This junior brother is such a nag. All day long, nothing but questions. It’s giving me a headache.’

’Just listening to him is infuriating.’

"Let’s go. We need to pick up the pace, before someone else beats us to it!"

Fang Wei’s heart pounded in her chest, as if the Bodhi Tree was already beckoning to her!

But it wasn’t long before the smile vanished from her face. She had discovered signs of someone else.

Though it was only a few broken, dead branches, it was obvious that someone had passed through.

’Or perhaps a demon beast is on the prowl?’

Fang Wei would have much preferred the latter.

She made a silencing gesture at her junior brother, then proceeded with much greater caution.

...

The mist grew denser. As she ventured deeper, Song Wanning found her Divine Sense was no longer usable.

Her brow furrowed, and her expression grew more serious.

Fortunately, her Dragon Spirit was able to roughly sense the direction of any Spiritual Objects.

But the Bodhi Tree was no ordinary thing; the Dragon Spirit could only get a faint, indistinct reading, not a definite lock on its location.

She carefully navigated around the surrounding shrubs, feeling her way forward one step at a time.

Before long, Song Wanning suddenly heard a sound.

A soft rustling came from not far away.

’Was that Wu Qingfeng?’

Song Wanning’s brow tightened. She had agreed with Wu Qingfeng to split up and contact each other with a Communication Talisman if either of them found anything.

’So, this definitely isn’t Wu Qingfeng!’

’Has someone else arrived?’

Her heart sank. She immediately concealed herself, hiding off to the side.

After a short while, someone did indeed approach.

The woman was moving stealthily, her bright red hair incredibly conspicuous.

With every step, she scanned her surroundings with extreme caution, as if on guard against someone.

A flicker of doubt crossed Song Wanning’s eyes. She was rather surprised by this person’s appearance.

But she remained hidden in the shadows, unmoving. Only after the woman had passed did she begin to tail her quietly.

She hadn’t been following for long when the woman took out a Communication Talisman and said in a hushed voice, "I haven’t found the Bodhi Tree yet. I’ll tell you when I do!"

With that, she immediately put the Communication Talisman away and scanned her surroundings warily. Only after confirming that no one was around did she continue onward.

Despite the vast white mist, the woman’s path forward was remarkably clear; she didn’t even hesitate.

Her only reaction was to constantly scan her surroundings, as if worried someone might suddenly appear.

Song Wanning’s eyes narrowed, the suspicion within them deepening.

’This woman’s appearance is highly suspicious. And the direction she’s heading is more or less the same as the one my Dragon Spirit sensed. Is that really a coincidence?’

’I don’t think so.’

’It seems she definitely knows something. Perhaps she even knows the exact location of the Bodhi Tree.’

At this thought, Song Wanning’s eyes brightened. She had been worried about pinpointing the Bodhi Tree’s exact location, but now she had a guide.

’I might as well follow her and see what happens.’

Having made up her mind, Song Wanning carefully concealed her presence and tailed the woman.

She followed for four hours. The entire time, the woman knew the path forward with perfect clarity, as if someone were guiding her, winding her way through the mist.

But her persistence paid off. After passing through a final, strange layer of mist, she froze completely.

Fang Wei was likewise frozen in shock, staring blankly at the distant Bodhi Tree, unable to regain her senses for a long time.

Before them stood a great tree that soared into the clouds. It was suffused with boundless Tao Essence and wreathed in a faint golden halo. It was as if endless streams of light were spilling from it, immersing the entire space in Tao Essence.

The trunk of the Bodhi Tree had a gentle, lustrous quality. It was not wood, nor stone, nor jade, giving it a unique appearance. The patterns on its bark were natural Tao patterns that seemed to constantly flow and shift.

The color of its leaves also seemed to shift with the light.

A gentle breeze rustled the swaying leaves, which emitted a clear, crisp sound like a sacred chant.

’The Wondrous Sound of Bodhi!’

Song Wanning stood a short distance away, her heart filled with nothing but utter shock.

’A treasure connected to the "Tao" is truly in a league of its own, far beyond any ordinary treasure!’

A sharp glint flashed in her eyes. She was just about to move closer and investigate when she saw Fang Wei snap out of her shock, stomping her feet and spinning in place with excitement.

"It really is the Bodhi Tree, hahaha, I’m so lucky!!"

"The Wordless Heavenly Scripture was right! There really is a Bodhi Tree here! As long as I take the heart of the Bodhi Tree, I can achieve enlightenment and ascend in a single stroke!"

"Hahaha!!!"

Fang Wei wanted nothing more than to throw her head back and laugh to the heavens, to vent the excitement boiling inside her.

But she quickly calmed herself and began circling the Bodhi Tree from a distance.

’Looks like I have to trust what the Wordless Heavenly Scripture says. To find the tree’s heart, I have to offer a heart in sacrifice.’

A cold glint flashed in her eyes. She immediately took out her Communication Talisman and sent a message to her junior brother, telling him to come over at once.

Her junior brother, still oblivious to her scheme, grew ecstatic upon learning that she had found the Bodhi Tree.

"Wait for me, I’m coming right now!!!"

The voice from the Communication Talisman cut off. Fang Wei stared coldly at the Bodhi Tree, her face a mask of absolute determination.

’My great opportunity has finally arrived!’

’I can’t let anything go wrong!’

Fang Wei hadn’t forgotten the anomaly she’d noticed earlier, and she immediately began scanning her surroundings again, on high alert.

Unfortunately for her, Song Wanning’s Divine Sense had already reached the Mahayana Realm. With Song Wanning intentionally concealing her aura, Fang Wei couldn’t detect her at all.