Epoch of Twilight

The stench of dead bodies around the Wisdom Tree was slowly subsiding. The bodies had been piled as high as a hill, yet now all that was left was a five-meter high mountain of bones that covered a 60-meter radius. The entire gray giant tribe was there, their bodies had decomposed, the only thing left was their bones, scattered all around. Amid the mountain of bones, there was a spiral-shaped tree standing alone. Its lush green leaves and prosperous branches exuded a strong air of vitality.

The image of life and death had a strong spiritual impact on people. Perhaps the Windom Tree symbolized that the birth of an intelligent race would mean the death of another. By absorbing the flesh and blood around it, the Wisdom Tree had grown leaps and bounds since the last time they had seen it. From nine meters tall and less than 40 centimeters in diameter, it had now grown to 20 meters tall and one meter wide. Even the color of the texture on its surface was much more mesmerizing.

Looking at the Wisdom Tree, Luo Yuan sighed softly. The tree itself was a miracle. It was the very source of wisdom. To humans, it was the treasure of their race. Through the Wisdom Tree’s ability to assimilate life around it into itself, the Wisdom Tree had been able to evolve continuously within a short period of time. It could easily evolve to a green rank or higher. It could enable major improvements in human intelligence as well as technological advancement. No words could describe how valuable it was.

Too bad that it was located deep inside the mountain, its gargantuan size making it impossible to move. It would not last long there. The only thing Luo Yuan could do was destroy it. He pulled out his saber, climbed up the mountain of bones and walked towards the Wisdom Tree.

The Wisdom Tree had not been eating, so it seemed peaceful and harmless. It did not make a move as he approached it. Soon, he was standing right in front of it. He took a deep breath and pulled out his Zhanmadao. The saber was shining bright as he swung it at the tree. He left the place immediately before the roots could react to what he had just done.

Once he stopped, the branches of the Wisdom Tree fell with a loud rumble. The roots were rolling like pythons on fire, casting the bones surrounding it away. The whole scene was a big mess.

Luo Yuan watched it from a distance. He didn’t react as he looked at the last struggle of the Wisdom Tree. His emotions were indescribable. The roots tangled together as they rumbled. The loss of its branches made the tree get weaker within a few minutes. It didn’t take long for it to fall hard against the ground. It had lost whatever strength it had remaining to fight.

As Luo Yuan walked towards the fallen tree, he noticed something unbelievable. Within a short period of time, the leaves on the Wisdom Tree had lost their pigmentation and turned brown. Even the wisdom fruit between the leaves had started to shrink.

Instead of being surprised, Luo Yuan was actually happy. "It’s just like what I saw through the detection technique."

This was an exclusive survival technique of the Wisdom Tree. Whenever it was being destroyed, most of its nutrients would be absorbed into the core of the tree. Once it had escaped danger, it would grow new roots from the nutrients it had accumulated. It was a survival tactic that people would usually overlook. Not Luo Yuan, though.

...

He had some time while he waited for the nutrients to be absorbed into the core, so he took out a clean Wailing Herb and started chewing on it slowly. Its spiciness soon had drops of sweat dripping down his forehead. Since his last attempt, he had discovered that this had a shocking effect on his Will. The following day, he had realized that there had been a huge improvement in his Will. While he had been fighting against the pain, his Will had become easier to control.

Even more surprisingly, he had realized that there had been a slight improvement to his Sensory Perception. These obvious improvements brought Luo Yuan immense joy. Ever since his painful experience though, he was more careful. He consumed a smaller amount and he usually chewed the leaves slowly in his spare time, like a snack. Although the effect was less potent than the first time, it was better to be safe than sorry.

As the rate of absorption was slower, the pain lasted for half an hour before it started to subside. He wiped away the beads of sweat on his forehead, let out a sigh and sat down on the ground. He did not need his Will to endure this amount of pain anymore, but his energy was consumed at an alarming rate. Each time he did this, it would exhaust him so much that it would be as if he had just fought a hard battle.

He rested for a while before he stood up and walked towards the Wisdom Tree. Most of its leaves had fallen, and its branches had died and shrunk. Looking at it, nobody would have believed that this tree had fallen less than an hour ago.

Luo Yuan waited patiently until the lines of the tree trunk had been completed. Then he took his saber and walked towards the tree. He walked to the incision he made earlier on the branches and skived pieces of wood fiber. He was very cautious. He was afraid of hurting the core of the tree. There was no rush. He would even wait for the fruit to grow, if he had to.

Although he was cautious, he was not moving at a slow pace by any means. The skiving was so fast, all one could see was his shadow. Pieces of wood fell from the tree swiftly, each of them as thin as a moth’s wings. They were all the same size, as if they’d been made using a mold. Even a five-star head chef would have been put to shame by Luo Yuan’s skill.

His saber paused slightly as he stopped what was doing. There was a hole as big as a marble on the trunk, exuding a sweet fragrance. Happy, Luo Yuan observed the hole for a little while, slowing down the speed of his skiving.

As time passed, the hole expanded and its fragrance got stronger. Through the hole, intertwined wooden sieves looking like blood vessels could be seen. Luo Yuan became even gentler. Ten minutes later, the inside of the tree was completely exposed. There were around 10 wooden sieves and a unique tissue link.

Luo Yuan was not surprised. The tissue looked very similar to that of a human brain. Both the gully and the shape looked similar. If it wasn’t purple and its size was a little smaller, Luo Yuan would have thought that it was a human brain.

He took a deep breath and calmed himself down as he looked at it. His eyes were sparkling. After a while, he plucked it with his hand. Once it was detached, the trunk shook for a while before the Wisdom Tree died.

Its ‘brain’ was the size of a palm. It was soft, yet strong, as if it was covered by a layer of skin.

Luo Yuan used the identification technique.

"Wisdom Heart"

"Rarity: Dark Blue"

"Weight: 200g"

"Type: Unique Wisdom Item"

"Additional Abilities: Wisdom +1; Minimal chance of unique mutation"

"Evaluation: This is the rare heart of a Wisdom Tree, which has accumulated the essence of the Wisdom Tree. Its value is immeasurable. If eaten, it could further trigger the cerebral cortex and increase wisdom. Applicable to +15 or below with a minimal chance of unique mutation."