Reincarnated as a Ginkgo Tree: I Create an Eternal Divine Kingdom - Chapter 37

Su Mu’s spirit beasts couldn’t tolerate the arrogance of the Sea Monk.

The Sea Monk was indeed strong, but they had all made significant progress in their strength.

The White Spirit Python, Ironback Ape, Earthquake Bear, and Snow Mink all entered the underground world, eyeing the Sea Monk with hostility.

Seeing this, Lin Che and Huang Shuling couldn’t help but swallow nervously and quickly retreated.

It was clear this battle was beyond their capabilities.

The fight began immediately.

The headstrong White Spirit Python was the first to charge at the Sea Monk.

But it ended up being grabbed by the tail, as if the Sea Monk was wielding it like a whip.

The Sea Monk even used the White Spirit Python as a weapon to strike at the Ironback Ape.

Even though the Ironback Ape had reached the middle-stage of the second tier, it couldn’t withstand the Sea Monk’s attack and was sent flying.

“Roar!”

The Earthquake Bear immediately lunged at the Sea Monk.

It wasn’t easy to deal with either.

As a supreme-grade second-tier beast, combined with the Snow Mink’s assistance, it managed to hold its own against the Sea Monk for a while.

Unable to defeat the Earthquake Bear and Snow Mink quickly, the Sea Monk finally grew enraged.

But instead of becoming more aggressive, it strangely calmed down, exuding an air of serenity.

A moment later, a sound akin to the tolling of a great bell echoed from its mouth.

The sound resembled the chanting of a high monk, yet it carried a terrifying soul-impacting force.

Lin Che and Huang Shuling were the first to be affected, clutching their heads in agony as they rolled on the ground.

Soon, the White Spirit Python, Ironback Ape, Earthquake Bear, and Snow Mink also couldn’t withstand the attack.

“Interesting,” Su Mu thought.

In this critical moment, Su Mu couldn’t remain idle.

He didn’t resort to any fancy tactics.

Absolute power could crush everything.

Boom!

He channeled his spiritual energy into a massive shockwave, unleashing it throughout the underground world.

The shockwave’s force was akin to a tsunami, instantly suppressing the Sea Monk’s chanting.

The four spirit beasts regained their senses.

Su Mu didn’t hold back, using his Phantom Snow Eyes to further disrupt the Sea Monk.

Under this combined assault, the Sea Monk quickly fell to the four spirit beasts.

Half a quarter-hour later, the Sea Monk followed in the footsteps of the Earthquake Bear, being dragged before Su Mu.

Gazing down at the Sea Monk, Su Mu was very pleased.

The Sea Monk’s arrival was highly beneficial to him.

While Su Mu had absolute control over the surface and the underground world of the Misty Territory, his grasp over the underground river was lacking.

Up until now, he hadn’t had a strong water-based general under his command.

The Sea Monk was the perfect fit to fill this gap.

When Su Mu shared this news with Su Yao, she was momentarily stunned.

Although she already knew how terrifying the Divine Tree was, learning that the Sea Monk, which had caused the human race so much trouble in the Eastern Sea, had been so easily subdued by the Divine Tree left her deeply shaken.

Lin Che and Huang Shuling felt the same.

Even though they were unaware of the situation in the Eastern Sea, they knew how fearsome the Sea Monk was.

To see such a creature rendered powerless before the Divine Tree only deepened their reverence for it.

The Sea Monk, though powerful, was not violent by nature.

Recognizing Su Mu’s overwhelming strength, it offered little resistance.

This made subduing the Sea Monk far easier than dealing with other spirit beasts.

Su Mu didn’t hesitate to reward the Sea Monk with a drop of Life Essence.

For a being like the Sea Monk, the significance of Life Essence lay not in its ability to enhance strength but in the profound mysteries it contained.

Additionally, Life Essence had a crucial function: purification.

Whether cultivator or beast, impurities and hidden dangers accumulate in the body over the course of cultivation.

Life Essence could expel these impurities and heal hidden injuries.

This function alone made Life Essence as valuable as the most exalted elixirs.

This is why spirit beasts, once granted Life Essence, became unwaveringly loyal to Su Mu.

When Su Qin and Su Xue had received the Life Essence yet still harbored ill intentions, it was purely due to their ignorance—they were both foolish and malevolent.

At the same time, the Sea Monk’s presence brought Su Mu a new source of longevity.

After granting the Sea Monk a drop of Life Essence, Su Mu was able to engage in some degree of mental communication with it.

Through this exchange, Su Mu learned that the Sea Monk had indeed come from the Eastern Sea.

It had traveled through a deep sea trench off the coast and followed it to the underground river beneath the Misty Territory.

The Sea Monk wasn’t alone—it had brought a large number of sea monsters with it.

However, these sea monsters were still in the underground river.

Having submitted to Su Mu, the Sea Monk had lost interest in being a ruler of the seas.

It now intended to offer these sea monsters to Su Mu.

A month ago, the Sea Monk had led a sea monster army to attack Longzhou.

Although the number of sea monsters that followed it into the underground river wasn’t large, it was still significant.

When Su Mu eventually slaughtered these sea monsters, his lifespan increased by a staggering 9,000 years.

This was the largest gain of lifespan Su Mu had ever experienced.

He could sense that his strength was on the brink of a major breakthrough.

And so it was.

With 9,000 years of lifespan, Su Mu’s first priority was enhancing his survival capabilities.

He poured 3,000 years of lifespan into advancing his Earth Fiend Transformation ability.

Boom!

The Earth Fiend Transformation skill immediately upgraded to the second stage.

He then spent another 3,000 years to elevate his Earth Force to the fourth tier.

At that moment, Su Mu’s level broke through.

He evolved into a middle-grade third-tier existence.

With the remaining 3,000 years, he used 1,000 years to upgrade his Sword Mastery to the third tier.

In total, he had spent 7,000 years of lifespan.

Su Mu then examined his status:

[Species: Spirit Gingko Tree]

[Height: 450 feet]

[Lifespan: 2,250 years]

[Tier: Third-Tier, Mid-Grade]

[Abilities: Second-Tier Earth Fiend Transformation, Heaven and Human Induction, Life Essence Condensation, Innate Talent Duplication, Fourth-Tier Phantom Snow Eyes, Third-Tier Heart of Faith, Fourth-Tier Power of the Mist, Third-Tier Heart Peering, Fourth-Tier Earth Force, Third-Tier Sword Mastery]

After advancing to the second-tier of Earth Fiend Transformation, Su Mu’s tree body became incredibly formidable.

Perhaps only a supreme-grade third-tier being could now damage his tree body.

Meanwhile, Su Mu’s roots had undergone significant changes.

In each evolution of Earth Fiend Transformation, Su Mu’s roots had undergone the most significant transformations.

After all, the roots were the foundation of any tree.

Su Mu directed his consciousness towards his roots.

He noticed that they had become entirely different from before.

Each root now resembled a green dragon, intricately woven into the soil.

“Main root, extend!”

Su Mu realized that he could now actively modify his roots.

By injecting lifespan into them, the roots could continue to grow.

“All 2,200 years of lifespan, inject!”

Without hesitation, Su Mu funneled all 2,200 years of lifespan into a single main root.

Buzz!

The root grew at an astonishing rate.

Eventually, this main root alone extended to a length of two thousand feet.

The secondary and tertiary roots branched out accordingly.

In the end, Su Mu’s roots reached three thousand feet deep into the soil.

“Still can’t reach the underground world.”

Su Mu felt a tinge of disappointment.

However, with no lifespan left to spend, he had no choice but to leave it for another time.