Chapter 460: Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree
“It really is a Great Emperor—!” Big Black Dog jumped up excitedly, his entire body trembling.
“Dog, dog…” Little Nannan cried out in alarm, nearly thrown off. Fortunately, Ye Fan was nearby and caught the little one in his arms, preventing her from hitting the ground.
“It really is a human figure. He… he should have noticed us! Wh-what do we do?” Tu Fei, usually so talkative, now stammered with difficulty.
“You say he’s a Great Emperor?!” Li Heishui asked in shock, his voice lowered to a whisper.
At this moment, they were less than three hundred zhang from the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree. Although other trees blocked their view, their eyesight was as sharp as lightning, allowing them to see everything there clearly.
It was a hazy figure, impossible to discern clearly. He paced around the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree as if he hadn’t seen them at all. Above his head… even a Great Accomplishment Saint Body would meet their end here.
This shadow, as deep as an abyss, made it impossible even to tell whether it was male or female. He stood before the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree for a long time, deep in thought, and eventually departed as well.
“He didn’t chase after us? Impossible. I dug up his Dao field, excavated his grave. According to his temperament, how could he let me off?” Big Black Dog muttered in a barely audible voice.
“He disappeared. What’s going on?” The others all sensed something unusual. Two ancient Great Emperors had appeared one after another, then vanished without a trace. This was very strange.
“That’s not right. They didn’t even glance at us just now. How could that be? Even if they are ancient Great Emperors with peaceful minds, they shouldn’t treat us like air.” Pang Bo found the number of suspicious points too great.
“I understand…” Big Black Dog sighed softly. “Those were afterimages from before the ancient times. The ancient Great Emperors left indelible marks beside the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree.”
The group was shocked. If that were the case, those were shadows from at least a hundred thousand, even two hundred thousand years ago. To remain undimmed until now was truly astounding.
“The ancient Great Emperors once cultivated here. How terrifying…” They were awestruck. Ordinary people would avoid this place, yet they had come here to meditate.
Judging by their earlier demeanor, they seemed to have encountered difficulties in their cultivation and had come here seeking inspiration.
“What a pity, what a regret. Those Great Emperors ultimately could not withstand the erosion of time. Even if they dominated past and present with unparalleled brilliance, in the end, they returned to dust.” Pang Bo sighed softly.
Having deduced that those were shadows left by two Great Emperors before the ancient era, they all felt deeply moved. Those were the supreme protagonists of heaven and earth in bygone days. Looking across past and present, how many could compare to them?
Yet, even if they shook the ages and overlooked the world, they could change nothing. No matter how great the hero, no matter how supreme the monument, in the end, it was difficult to escape the final fate—inevitable decay.
They walked forward together, drawing closer and closer to the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree. Each of them became ethereal. The earlier restlessness and unease vanished.
Even Big Black Dog, whose emotions had been the most turbulent, now calmed down. His heart was filled with peace, without joy or worry, forgetting all troubles.
Such was the extraordinary nature of the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree. Approaching this place, everything changed. It seemed nurtured by the Great Dao itself, allowing one to feel tranquility and serenity.
Three hundred zhang was not very far. Guided by Little Nannan, they passed through the swaying ancient trees and gradually arrived before it, truly seeing this ancient tree that had stood undying since antiquity.
The bark was cracked and dry, like dragon scales spreading open. The trunk was no more than half a meter thick, shaped like a coiled flood dragon, winding and stretching into the air. Its highest point was less than three meters from the ground.
The entire tree was crystalline. Every leaf was different, flowing with the radiance of the Dao. It was so uniquely strange—small cauldrons, divine phoenixes, immortals, divine bells, mountains and rivers, clouds, the Eight Trigrams… all lifelike. Each leaf was like a small world, representing a distinct Dao, swaying with dreamlike brilliance.
The various leaves, strange and varied in shape, each possessed a unique and precious Dao resonance. The entire tree was resplendent, dazzlingly bright, enough to make one lose themselves.
The trunk of the Enlightenment Tea Tree was ancient, filled with grandeur and antiquity, while the leaves were natural, brimming with life and Dao resonance. They merged together, mysterious and profound.
“One, two, three…” Little Nannan looked up and began counting the leaves above. The others also felt a stir. This ancient tree had very few leaves—just over a hundred—yet it didn’t appear bare, because each leaf was unique, making one forget everything else.
“There are exactly one hundred and eight leaves, just as the legends say. Every year it’s the same, neither more nor less, precisely this number.” Tu Fei exclaimed in awe, unable to resist wiping his drool.
At this moment, joy shattered their ethereal state of mind. None of them could remain calm; everyone’s emotions surged.
Big Black Dog’s eyes gleamed green like a wolf’s, saliva nearly dripping. With a whoosh, he dashed forward and reached out a large paw toward the tree.
“Swoosh”
Light flashed, and a leaf shaped like a small gourd fell. It was entirely golden, slipping through Big Black Dog’s paw gap, falling to the ground, and instantly disappearing.
Big Black Dog was furious. He reached out again and plucked a leaf shaped like a true dragon, shimmering like azure gold. Yet the same thing happened—light flashed, it slid out, fell to the ground, and vanished.
“Black Emperor, don’t waste them like this!” Li Heishui complained. Although there were one hundred and eight leaves, they couldn’t be squandered so recklessly.
“Do you think I want this? It’s these damned leaves—they run away on their own. I can’t catch them!” Big Black Dog fumed.
“Let me try.” Pang Bo stepped forward, pinched a crimson leaf shaped like an immortal phoenix, and gently plucked it.
“Swoosh”
The moment the leaf left the ancient tree, light flashed. It flew out instantly, sinking into the earth, just like with Black Emperor. He couldn’t hold it; it escaped.
“Damn it!” Tu Fei also stepped forward, grabbing a leaf shaped like a small Eight Trigrams, flowing with five colors, mysterious and unfathomable.
Yet the result was the same. As soon as it was plucked, the tea leaf would flee, impossible to keep.
“Stop picking randomly! I remember now!” Big Black Dog shouted, struggling to think and recall, muttering to himself, “Yes, that’s it.”
“What’s going on?” the others asked simultaneously.
“The Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree can nurture the Dao, but it must be harvested when mature. Otherwise, once plucked, it will sink into the roots and cannot be taken away.”
“Why is that?” The group was extremely disappointed. Being able to come before the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree was a tremendous stroke of luck, yet they couldn’t harvest it.
“Unless you have an Immortal Divine Root, which can also attract the leaves and stabilize them,” Big Black Dog said.
Ye Fan’s heart stirred. He had dug up some roots of the Immortal Divine Medicine from the Ancient Forbidden Land. Perhaps he could try. First, he took out the Qilin Divine Medicine seed.
“Swoosh”
He gently plucked a leaf shaped like a small cauldron, wreathed in mist. It instantly adhered to the Qilin Divine Medicine seed and did not fall to the ground.
“Great, excellent!” Everyone was overjoyed.
Big Black Dog was even more excited. “Pick them all! As long as we get far from the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree and seal them in jade vessels, they won’t be able to escape.”
“These leaves aren’t mature yet. Will the Dao they nurture be useful?” Ye Fan didn’t want to waste such treasures.
“Don’t worry, they’re absolutely effective. Two such leaves combined are enough to equal one mature Dao leaf,” Big Black Dog replied.
Everyone was overjoyed. There were over a hundred leaves. Two combined into one would still amount to more than fifty—a peerless divine treasure!
After all, every year when the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree matured, the leaves would automatically soar into the sky, leaving the mother tree. The supreme figures waiting outside Immortal Mountain would join forces and, at best, obtain only about thirty leaves. The saints and great powers of the entire Eastern Wasteland could hardly get enough.
“We’ve struck it rich! A heaven-sent opportunity! My grandfather spent immense effort and a sea of source stones just to trade for one leaf from someone else. And we’re stripping the entire tree bare!” Tu Fei grinned foolishly.
Li Heishui also laughed heartily. “This year, if those great powers wait outside Immortal Mountain, they won’t get a single leaf. I can’t wait to see their faces! Haha… I’m really looking forward to it!”
A faint bell tolled, giving a sense of the Dao fading into emptiness, as if one had reached the end of the immortal path. The figure of an ancient Great Emperor manifested again—Emperor Wu Shi!
A black hole silently appeared, annihilating everything, also emerging before the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree. Ruthless Great Emperor stood in the darkness, reappearing as well.
The difference was that this time, both Great Emperors appeared together, sending chills down everyone’s spines. They involuntarily froze in place.
“This… what happened? Did the two Great Emperors meet?”
“Impossible. The ancient Great Emperors never met each other. When one lived, the other had already died; when one died, the other was born. This should just be their imprints encountering each other… What happened?” Black Emperor was bewildered.
“Impossible. The ancient Great Emperors never met each other. When one lived, the other had already died; when one died, the other was born. This should just be their imprints encountering each other… What happened?” Black Emperor was bewildered.