Chapter 209 Cultivation Path A (Part 3) Path A's combat power is maxed out...

The moment the green halo landed in his palm, Song Ce felt a warm, life-giving energy slowly flowing through his fingertips. This halo appeared weak, but the spiritual energy of plants and trees contained within it was astonishing, more than a hundred times richer than the spiritual energy on Cenfeng Mountain.

Song Ce held his breath and focused his mind, guiding the halo of light into his dantian. Almost instantly, the spiritual energy in his dantian expanded at a speed visible to the naked eye, and wisps of vitality overflowed from his body, causing all the surrounding plants to suddenly become active.

Another night passed, and Song Ce's cultivation level had risen to the fifth level of Qi Refining. What an terrifying cultivation speed! Last night, his single wood spirit root was transformed by the Heart of Grass and Wood, making it one of the best on the entire continent.

This Heart of Plants not only allows Song Ce to maximize his affinity with the plants of this world, but also enables him to cultivate more rare spiritual plants based on their characteristics. Furthermore, these spiritual plants can absorb his spiritual energy to catalyze their growth, and he can also absorb their source energy to aid his cultivation.

It's the best of both worlds, they complement each other perfectly!

Song Ce opened his eyes and was about to get up and stretch when he heard a knocking sound coming from outside the courtyard gate.

He casually cast a purification spell, got up, went outside, opened the courtyard gate, and found Mu Qingdai standing at his door with a smile, dressed in a light green casual outfit.

"Is Senior Brother busy? I wonder if Qingdai has disturbed you?"

Her attire today was elegant and refined; though she had shed some of her former nobility, she possessed an even more ethereal beauty. However, when her slightly upturned eyes looked over, they still held a hint of inquiry.

"Junior sister, is something the matter?"

Mu Qingdai tilted her head and looked around the courtyard. After a while, she pointed to a paper spirit bird on a tree branch and said softly, "Senior brother, I accidentally dropped the paper spirit bird with the letter I wrote home into your courtyard. I'm so sorry."

Song Ce paused, his gaze falling on the paper spirit bird. He casually beckoned it over and said indifferently, "It's alright, Junior Sister, just keep it safe."

Yi Liu stood behind Mu Qingdai, her gaze subtly sweeping over Song Ce, her brows furrowing almost imperceptibly. When she saw this young man yesterday, he was only at the second level of Qi Refining; how come his spiritual energy fluctuations were so much deeper today?

Upon further investigation, she discovered that the fluctuations of spiritual energy on his body had suddenly disappeared, presumably because he had activated some kind of magical artifact that isolated him from detection.

Seeing the two still standing motionless at the door, Song Ce calmly asked, "Junior Sister, is there anything else?"

Mu Qingdai was taken aback; this was the first time someone had spoken to her in such an almost dismissive tone. She gripped the handkerchief in her hand tightly and said sweetly, "Thank you so much for today, Senior Brother. May I ask how to address you?"

Song Ce nodded: "My surname is Song, and my given name is Ce."

Mu Qingdai nodded gently and smiled, "So it's Senior Brother Song. My surname is Mu, and my given name is Qingdai. I wonder if Senior Brother Song is free right now? We are disciples of the same generation. Today I would like to take a stroll around the sect. Would Senior Brother Song be willing to accompany me?"

"Thank you for your kindness, Junior Sister Mu. I have other matters to attend to, so please excuse me."

Mu Qingdai bit her lip, said nothing more, and only hurriedly said, "Senior brother, go ahead and get busy," before leaving quickly with Yi Liu.

Song Ce closed the door and turned back into the courtyard.

As morning light filtered through the branches and leaves of the courtyard, casting dappled shadows, Song Ce didn't linger and quickly descended the mountain. Although his spiritual root was top-tier, his cultivation level was far too low. His most pressing task wasn't to stay in the sect, but to improve his strength as quickly as possible.

Before that, there was one more thing he needed to do.

With a flick of his sleeve, Song Ce maneuvered his newly purchased white jade flying boat swiftly toward Shanshui Village, where the original owner of this body had grown up. In less than an hour, he landed on a hillside very close to the village.

Not far from the hillside, there was a boulder about half a person's height. Beneath the boulder lay a young man covered in wounds, his fate unknown.

Song Ce quickly stepped forward and knelt down to examine the young man's injuries. Fortunately, although his pulse was weak, he was still alive and could be saved.

He took a pill from his storage bag and popped it into the man's mouth. Then, he condensed a wisp of spiritual energy at his fingertips and quickly tapped the man's neck twice. Soon, a pale green light rose from his body, and the previously torn flesh began to heal at a visible speed.

A short while later, the young man groaned, his eyelashes trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes.

Upon recognizing his savior, the young man exclaimed urgently, "Brother Xiao Ce! Why are you back? Hurry! There are monsters in the mountains... there are monsters in the mountains!" He struggled to sit up, but Song Ce grabbed his shoulder.

"Changyu, tell me slowly, what kind of monster has come to the village? What has been happening these past few days?"

Changyu was sweating profusely, and his voice trembled as he said, "Brother Xiaoce, not long after you left, things became quite unsettled in the village! These past few days, my family has been starving, and I had no choice but to risk going into the mountains. I never expected to encounter a monster..." He choked up before he could finish speaking.

"Tell me slowly, what kind of monster was it?"

Changyu gritted his teeth and said, "That monster was covered in vines, as thick as three people could hug, and its eyes were like two green lanterns! I... I had just picked some wild vegetables and sweet potatoes in the mountains when it pounced out from behind a tree and grabbed my arm tightly! Look, the wound is still here... Eh? Where is my wound?"

Song Ce smiled and said, "It's alright. I've already healed your injuries. Just rest more these next few days."

"Such deep scratches... My God! Brother Xiao Ce, have you really become an immortal now?"

Seeing the curious and longing look on Changyu's face, Song Ce nodded and asked, "Besides you, has anyone else in the village encountered this monster?"

"Yes, yes!" Changyu nodded hurriedly and said urgently, "Do you remember Liu You? That kid was supposed to go to the prefectural city to take the exam, but for some reason he went into the mountains alone before he left. When he came back, he had become stupid! He couldn't even speak! Apart from him... I haven't heard of anyone else... Now everyone in our village is in a panic. As soon as the sun sets, everyone closes their doors and windows, afraid that the monster will run into the village and hurt people!"

Song Ce nodded. Shanshui Village had been nestled against the high mountains for generations. Although wild animals occasionally appeared, no demons had ever caused any trouble. He circulated his spiritual energy to carefully investigate and indeed detected a faint trace of demonic energy on the north side of the forest.

He checked Changyu's injuries again, and after confirming that he was out of danger, he took out three nourishing pills from his storage bag: "Take one pill a day, and you will be fully recovered in three days. Do not go into the mountains again before I return."

"Brother Xiao Ce, don't go! That monster is too ferocious, let's report it to the authorities!"

Song Ce helped him up, took out a bag of dry rations from his storage bag and handed it to him, saying with a smile, "How can ordinary government officials handle matters involving demons? You should go back to the village quickly, take good care of your mother, and don't let her worry."

"Oh!" Changyu's eyes reddened as he grabbed Song Ce's sleeve and choked out, "Brother Ce, you must come back safely!"

"Okay, you should go back now!"

Changyu clutched the bag of dry rations tightly, walking towards the village with several glances back. When he reached the large willow tree at the village entrance, he couldn't help but look back towards the hillside, but Song Ce was nowhere to be seen.

Sunlight filtered through layers of leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground. A faint, eerie aura emanating from afar added a touch of the strange to this vibrant forest.

Song Ce stretched out his right hand and circulated the spiritual energy within his body. Soon, a faint fragrance of grass and trees spread outwards from him, and the trees in the mountains and forests seemed to feel the warm, motherly aura, their branches and leaves swaying gently and making a rustling sound.

He could clearly feel that these plants were conveying all the information about this land to him—any unusual activity, any danger—all of which instantly flooded into his mind through a strange connection.

This is the benefit that the Heart of Plants brings to the Wood Spirit Root. When Song Ce's affinity with plants reaches its peak, he can thrive in all the mountains and forests of this continent.

The deeper they went into the mountains and forests, the stronger the eerie aura became. The once lively animals had vanished, even the chirping of birds had disappeared, leaving only the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves, which sounded particularly strange.

After walking for about half an hour, Song Ce arrived at the entrance of a valley.

The demonic aura here is extremely strong. The stone walls on both sides of the valley are covered with dark green vines. Even the surrounding plants are different from ordinary plants, with a deep color and a faint bloody aura. They have obviously been eroded by this demonic aura.

"It really is here."

Song Ce muttered to himself, releasing his spiritual energy to heal the plants before stepping directly into the valley.

Immediately afterwards, a violent demonic aura surged out from the depths of the valley, carrying intense anger and killing intent, heading straight for this uninvited guest who had entered without permission.

"Roar! Roar!! Roar!!!"

Several muffled roars echoed from the valley, and the next instant, a huge figure slowly crawled out from within.

Just as Changyu had described, the monster was covered in eerie green vines, its body twisting and crawling on the ground like a writhing tree snake. Its head had no distinct facial features, only two bright green eyes that gleamed with a ferocious light, staring intently at him.

Upon seeing Song Ce's face clearly, the monster suddenly paused, its eyes flashing even more fiercely. It suddenly opened its mouth wide, roaring loudly, and quickly crawled towards him.

Without hesitation, Song Ce quickly cast a spell, freezing the monster in place.

"Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!"

The monster's roar grew more urgent. Its bright green eyes widened, its massive body remained stiffly paralyzed in place, yet it continued to howl incessantly.

"Liu You, it's you."

As soon as Song Ce said this, the monster's roar suddenly stopped.

What exactly did you encounter after you went into the mountains?

Song Ce formed hand seals, and a wisp of gentle wood spirit energy quickly condensed around his body, swiftly probing towards Liu You's brow.

Before long, Liu You suddenly trembled violently, letting out a painful roar from his throat. The vines on his body twisted and turned wildly on the ground.

A quarter of an hour later, Liu You's struggles gradually weakened, and a few drops of water appeared in his eerie green eyes. Taking this opportunity, Song Ce injected more spiritual energy into his body, slowly removing the clump of blood-black demonic energy that had been entrenched in his chest.

"I see."

Song Ce understood immediately. Clearly, a demon had forcibly implanted demonic energy into Liu You's body and taken over his physical form, which was why he, who was originally human, had become what he was now.

After Liu You regained his senses, Song Ce directly placed his soul into a cultivated soul-nourishing grass.

As the soul departed, the demonic aura of the demonic body gradually faded, slowly revealing the true form of the monster—a half-green, half-black parasitic vine.

"Let's go, let's settle the score with him."