After being caressed and healed by the gentle Canglang Water, Shi Ming and Rong Bing recovered their strength and dove into the depths of the ocean.
The depths of the sea should have been utterly dark, a pitch-black void.
But the deeper Shi Ming dove, the more he sensed a peculiar rhythm perating the water, as if the very laws of the universe were woven into it. After descending three thousand ters, he saw a faint glimr in the distance, like a brilliant moon resting on the seabed.
The Bodhi Tree of Suffering!
Unlike the Immortal Fusang Tree at the center of the Sea of Boiling, where the Three-Eyed Golden Crow resided, the Bodhi Tree of Suffering’s branches and leaves emitted a warm, gentle, jade-like luster. It swayed slowly in the deep-sea currents. Occasionally, a leaf would break off and be swept away by the undercurrent, becoming a great fortune for lesser sea beasts. Its leaves were not green, but a soft, moon-like color, immaculate and untainted.
The tree also bore about eight fruits.
In the center of the trunk, which was so thick it would take three people to encircle it, there was an arm’s length gash. A thick, heavy marrow from the tree’s heart, which could easily withstand the deep-sea pressure, seeped out bit by bit from within.
This sap was the Purifying Marrow that Shi Ming was looking for!
It could purify the Lamp of Wishes and restore the uses of the *Codex of All Nations*. The Full Moon Treasure Pearl he had obtained from the Scorpion King’s Pyramid could also be upgraded with the Purifying Marrow, cleansing it of its corrosion!
"Eye of the World, acquire intelligence!"
Shi Ming still had one chance to acquire intelligence with his Eye of the World today.
’When dealing with precious treasures, one had to be extrely careful. Not only was there Purifying Marrow here, but the Bodhi Tree of Suffering also bore eight unknown fruits. Da Yu didn’t know much about these fruits either. To avoid missing any other potential treasures on the Bodhi Tree of Suffering, I’ll use the Eye of the World decisively!’
BEEP~ BEEP~
[Compiling intelligence...]
[Searching. Confirming detailed coordinates... Search successful. Summarizing intelligence... Intelligence report generated.]
[Bodhi Tree of Suffering]
[One of the five great magical trees. It has three main effects:]
[Purifying Marrow: The marrow that flows from the heart of the Bodhi Tree of Suffering is the ’Purifying Marrow.’ It can purify all discordant elents. Consuming it offers a chance to obtain the 69th-ranked S-rank skill, ’Purity Domain.’ However, no power in the Endless Ocean can be obtained easily. The probability of acquiring Purity Domain by consuming the Purifying Marrow is minuscule—only a 0.001% chance for every 100 milliliters consud, with odds comparable to the loot boxes in a predatory mobile ga!]
[Bodhi Fruit: The fruit of the Bodhi Tree of Suffering. Nad ’Bodhi Fruit,’ it contains the Essence of the Moon. After consumption, the body will remain in a ’Dustless’ state for three years, capable of dispelling or being immune to S-rank and lower pollution-type powers. During this period, the growth rate of one’s Spiritual Power will increase drastically, and one will occasionally enter a state of epiphany.]
[Enlightennt Wood: The branches and leaves of the Bodhi Tree of Suffering are the ’Enlightennt Wood,’ which contains an evolutionary domain field. Residing under the shade of the Enlightennt Wood for an extended period can enhance A-rank, B-rank, and C-rank skills.]
’A magical tree indeed!’
’Every part of it is a treasure!’
’The Moonlight Ripple Beast’s sudden surge in strength must have been due to these three treasures. And because it resided under the Enlightennt Wood for so long, its two lesser skills evolved and were enhanced. With its three skills working in concert, it was indeed as impenetrable as a fortress and difficult to kill.’
’Too bad it ran into .’
Looking at the Bodhi Tree of Suffering, Shi Ming recalled the Immortal Fusang Tree from the depths of the Sea of Boiling.
Back then, he had only managed to pick three fruits before being interrupted by the Three-Eyed Golden Crow and the Abyss Lord! After the great battle, the Immortal Fusang Tree was destroyed by the Abyss Lord. The world lost a magical tree that day, and only Shi Ming was left with the three remaining fruits. Perhaps their pits could grow a new Immortal Fusang Tree, but for it to mature would require special conditions and an extrely hot environnt. Who knew how many years that would take.
’I have to make the most of this Bodhi Tree of Suffering.’
"Shi Ming, that marrow from the tree’s heart is probably the Purifying Marrow."
"And those fruits, they have to be good stuff too."
Rong Bing was staring with undisguised longing.
The Moonlight Ripple Beast had already been handed over to Beidou Star to be taken away. The Purifying Marrow would naturally be collected by Shi Ming, and they would divvy up the rest of the spoils after returning to Da Yu.
He took out a container he had prepared beforehand and slowly reached into the heart of the Bodhi Tree of Suffering. In the fissure of the trunk, there was still a considerable amount of Purifying Marrow that the Moonlight Ripple Beast hadn’t consud. At the sa ti, this giant deep-sea tree, which had existed for who knows how long, was still continuously producing new marrow...
’As long as the tree remained, I would have an endless supply of Purifying Marrow.’
’This wasn’t a one-ti deal; it was a long-term dividend.’
4,000 milliliters.
He also picked all of the Bodhi Fruits.
’As for the shade of the Enlightennt Wood, it wasn’t easy for humans to survive for long in the deep sea, unlike the sea beasts. Perhaps Da Yu could use its technology to develop a deep-sea subrsible for cultivating under the Bodhi Tree of Suffering, but that was a matter for the future.’
After stowing away the Bodhi Fruits and the Purifying Marrow, Shi Ming also broke off a section of the moonlit branch before beginning his ascent.
...
...
...
CRACK!
The thick ice frozen on the Moon Shadow shattered completely under Shi Ming’s full-powered strike.
’Without the decryption key, it was no easy task to crack the system of a General-class drifting ship and beco its master. Besides, all the smart devices on the Moon Shadow had shut down in the extre cold. Even if I used the Infinite Brain to upgrade and repair it, that wouldn’t grant captain’s authority.’
’In my eyes, the Moon Shadow was equivalent to a Sailing Star—the key for a General-class drifting ship to advance to King-class!’
’That would be its greatest value.’
’But I can’t dismantle it just yet. The ship’s cabins might still hold secrets or treasures the Empress couldn’t take with her. I’ll need to explore them slowly. Fortunately, while I don’t have full captain’s authority and the smart devices are down, the basic navigation functions are still operational. I can still manage to pilot this General-class drifting ship, but it will require manual control and will be extrely slow.’
He wasn’t in a hurry right now.
’So what if it’s slow? A General-class drifting ship... even its fra could be dismantled and sold for a great deal of Pure Do Crystal. How could I possibly leave it behind?’
’Just wait for the Empress to co back and reclaim it?’
Shi Ming personally took control of the physical helm, steering the Moon Shadow as it slowly followed behind the Kunwu.
The Da Yu had already received the support signal and was about to rendezvous with him.
As Shi Ming piloted the ship, he took stock of his haul from this expedition.
The spoils from this campaign fell into four main categories.
1. A General-class drifting ship, the Moon Shadow.
The Empress had made a great sacrifice to escape, but not only had Shi Ming avenged the ambush at the Sea of Yellow Sand, he had also wiped out the mysterious organization’s nest, the Snow Country, in one fell swoop! The majority of the wealth the Snow Country had accumulated since the Land Era was probably on this ship!
2. The Purifying Marrow and Bodhi Fruits.
According to their agreent, he would get half of the Purifying Marrow and Bodhi Fruits—that ant 2,000 milliliters of Purifying Marrow and four Bodhi Fruits. 2,000 milliliters was enough for him to repair several of his corroded wondrous items and add a few more trump cards to his arsenal!
3. The reward from Da Yu.
This included, but was not limited to, the Sea-Rising Cherry Root, a portion of the Moonlight Ripple Beast’s flesh, and 11,000 Da Yu Contribution Points—the equivalent of killing an S-rank sea beast. These points could be exchanged for treasures in Da Yu’s Treasure Vault. With his Infinite Brain, he was confident he could select the most suitable treasures from the vault and make the most of his Contribution Points.
4. Favorable standing and the future of the Great Stele.
One successful cooperation leads to another. On the Endless Ocean, every organization and faction is driven by profit and growth. With this successful partnership, he would have a better chance in the future to enter the Xirang and read the Divine Revelation Text on the Great Stele. The stele contained 33,000 characters; the value of the information on it was self-evident. The complete *An Overview of Wondrous Items in the Endless Ocean* alone was of unimaginable value, and it was estimated to take up less than 3,000 of those characters.
’As expected, going on missions is the best way to get rich.’
anwhile, aboard the Kunwu, Rong Bing was also gleefully tallying his own gains.
Unlike an external collaborator like Shi Ming, he had only received 8,000 Contribution Points for subjugating the Moonlight Ripple Beast. But even so, this was an extrely high amount for an internal mber. With these 8,000 points, not only could he exchange them for so treasures, but his performance quota for the year would be solidly ranked first within Da Yu! And it was only September!
The Moon Shadow moved very slowly.
Rong Bing wasn’t in a hurry either. The mission was over, and Beidou Star had already handled the handover. The feeling of pure, whole-body relaxation after solving such a huge problem was like that of an office worker from the old days who had just received a huge project bonus on a Friday afternoon, with a holiday just around the corner, heading ho on a non-crowded subway.
’It had been a long ti since he’d felt this good!’
’How could he not savor this mont?’
...
The two ships slowly made their way back.
「Aboard the Da Yu.」
Li Jiuyuan and the others were getting anxious. "Beidou Star has already completed the handover. Why isn’t Shi Ming back yet?"
anwhile, on the Jiuzhou Platform, Elder Zhou, dressed in a Tang suit, picked up a carving knife and crossed out the symbol for the Bodhi Tree of Suffering on the stone slate before him. Of the thirteen sigils, more than half had now been struck out, leaving only six.
They were:
A blurry human figure, and a collapsing celestial pillar.
A Nine-tailed Fox, a soaring Kun-Peng, a ding cauldron, and a twisted mass.
The first two represented golden fortune, while the latter four, like the Bodhi Tree of Suffering, were of purple fortune.
The Destiny Golden Toad could not only sense fortune but also display it as light clusters of different colors based on its magnitude. In thirty years, golden light clusters had appeared only three tis: the "Great Stele" found on Mount Everest the first ti the Destiny Golden Toad was used, and the collapsing celestial pillar and the blurry human figure sensed the fourth ti it was used.
The impact of the Great Stele on Da Yu had been imnse.
Therefore, the "Double-Yolk Egg" found three months ago when using the Destiny Golden Toad—two distinct sources of golden fortune—was regarded with the utmost importance by Elder Zhou and the other leaders of Da Yu!
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