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Chapter 1160: A Deal
“What’s wrong?” Zu An asked, confused.
Yu Yanluo explained, “The Silverflame Flowertree normally lives in places abundant in ki, gathering the essence of the world. Even though it isn’t a vicious beast, it still has a certain degree of fighting strength. It’s extremely territorial. If you get close, it will attack. In the past, some of our miners were injured by trees just like this one.”
“It’s that strong?” Zu An asked, giving the red tree a look. He could feel the heat coming from it. This thing should be fire-elemental, right?
“I don’t know about that. The strength of each tree varies greatly depending on its age and size,” Yu Yanluo said. “The tree in front of us looks thick and sturdy, I don’t think it’s weak.”
“But there’s no way it’s as strong as those Scaled Deathworms, right?” Zu An replied with a chuckle. Either way, he had to obtain the Wuyang Jade, so there was no way he would cower now.
“Scaled Deathworm?” Yu Yanluo asked in surprise. “How do you know the name of those strange bugs?”
“I just randomly came up with a name based on its appearance,” Zu An said. He couldn't really explain it, so he came up with an excuse.
Yu Yanluo recalled the strange bug’s characteristics and said, “It is pretty fitting.”
Zu An let go of her hand and slowly walked toward the tree. Despite being called a tree, however, it was more like a large flowering shrub. Ruby-like patterns ran along its body, making its surface flow with sparkling luster. It was as if flames rushed along its surface.
There were many fine silvery-white flowers on the branches. However, upon closer inspection, they weren’t white flowers, but rather flames! Their temperature was so high that they had become pure white!
Zu An thought to himself, No wonder I’ve felt a bit lightheaded ever since I came here. All the oxygen here has been nearly burned up.
He finally understood why Wuyang Jade was so rare. First of all, the Silverflame Flowertrees were hard to find; second of all, even if they were discovered, forget about mining the jade, an ordinary person would suffocate just by getting close.
The space wasn’t that large, however, and there were no air vents leading outside. How did the flames continue burning without going out? Additionally, wasn’t there a rule that no one could light any fires in the mine? Shouldn’t the tree have blown up the entire mine?
Seemingly sensing his approach, the Silverflame Flowertree reacted. Its branches rustled as it moved, the cluster of flowers rising high into the air. It became several meters taller, but narrower at the base. It had become a tree with thick roots! No wonder it was called both a tree and a flower.
A giant red flower suddenly appeared at the very top of the tree, somewhat resembling a sunflower. For some reason, Zu An got the impression that the flower was the tree’s brain. He thought, What kind of creature is this?!
Still, this was a world of cultivation, and so he was used to seeing all sorts of strange things. Seeing as it seemed to be waiting for him, he tiptoed forward carefully. He cupped his hands and said somewhat awkwardly, “Brother tree, this humble one wants to borrow the Wuyang Jade around you. I won’t hurt you, so I’m hoping you can be generous.”
Yu Yanluo giggled, thinking, This guy really is interesting. He’s actually talking to a tree.
But her eyes soon widened, because the tree began speaking. Even though its voice was somewhat obscured, they could make out the words, “I won’t lend it to you!”
Yu Yanluo was stunned, thinking, Even trees can talk? Even though she had heard of ents before, they were just creatures of legend. Just how many years had it been since they last appeared?
Zu An jumped in fright. He wanted to say something else, but the Silverflame Flowertree was already growing impatient. Its long and slender branches lashed out at him. There were fine silver flames running along their surface, making them resemble whips of flame. Being hit by them definitely wouldn’t feel very good. As such, Zu An dodged to one side.
When the Silverflame Flowertree saw him move, all of its branches began to thrash around, forming a densely woven net of fire. Zu An raised the Tai’e Sword to protect himself, quickly cutting down several branches.
The Silverflame Flowertree recoiled in pain, quickly pulling its branches back. It was scared of Zu An’s divine weapon and didn’t dare to attack head-on with its branches anymore. Instead, it shook its body and the silver flowers detached from it, flying at Zu An. At first, they were just small embers; but as they moved along with the wind, they turned into blazing fireballs.
The raging flames’ extreme temperature was something not even high-level cultivators could face directly. Even Yu Yanluo couldn't help but take a few steps back even though she was farther away. She cried out to warn Zu An, “Ah Zu, be careful!”
Zu An found it a bit strange, because he only felt a hint of warmth. To him, the fireballs weren’t as threatening as they looked at all.
Suddenly, however, he felt the pendant around his neck turn somewhat warm. He realized it was the flame-shaped pendant Big Manman had given him in the past because she was worried that he would be hurt by her special black flames. It seemed the pendant not only provided him immunity to Big Manman’s flames, but also granted some resistance to other flames.
Sigh, I left in too much of a hurry this time. I didn’t even have time to bid her goodbye. I wonder if she’s worried.
Even though his mind wandered, his hands didn’t. He used the Snowflake Sword, making the surrounding temperature plummet. Snowflakes fluttered through the air, wrapping around the fireballs. The ferocious flames all sizzled into nothing.
Ice was usually at a disadvantage against fire, but in the end, the result would depend on power. The Snow Phoenix’ ability made Zu An’s ice different from normal ice, which was why it had such a powerful effect.
Yu Yanluo’s beautiful eyes were sparkling as she watched the scene. When she saw the carefree and confident figure before her, she thought to herself, Ah Zu really is handsome.
Zu An quickly found an opening. He broke through the barrage of flames and thrust his sword at the other party’s trunk.
“Stop, stop, stop! I’ll lend it to you! Is that not enough?” The Silverflame Flowertree no longer sounded as valiant as before, and immediately shrank back.
Its trunk shriveled up and softened, then fell forward as if it were prostrating on its knees. It placed its two thickest branches in front of its head like arms, looking as if it were begging for mercy.
Zu An and Yu Yanluo were speechless.
It would be one thing for a tree to be able to talk, but this one could even beg for mercy? The worst part was that it made absolutely no sense. They didn’t know who it could even have learned the gesture from.
Zu An asked calmly, “Why are you willing to lend it to me now?”
The Silverflame Flowertree replied, “I can’t beat you, of course, so there’s no point even if we keep fighting.”
Zu An replied seriously, “If my cultivation were a bit weaker,I might already have been burned to nothing. You still have the nerve to beg for mercy?”
The Silverflame Flowertree said in a strange tone, “The strong prey on the weak, so you should acknowledge your fate if you lose. Isn’t that the most natural law of the world?”
Zu An was speechless. This fella really did make some sense.
Yu Yanluo asked, “Why are you able to speak?”
“Why wouldn’t I be able to speak?” the Silverflame Flowertree asked matter-of-factly.
Yu Yanluo was speechless.
Zu An laughed out of annoyance, saying, “You don’t seem to have any awareness of your current situation.” He raised his Tai’e Sword and gestured with it.
“No, stop, stop! Your sword is really strong! It hurts every time you cut me.” The Silverflame Flowertree immediately backed up, as if trying to avoid the blade. Then, it quickly explained, “I couldn't speak at first either, but after staying here for a long time, I often heard those miners chatting with each other, so I learned how to.”
“How long have you been here?” Zu An asked curiously.
“Five hundred years… Or is it a thousand… It’s been a really long time. I don’t even know how long it’s been anymore. Time doesn’t have much meaning for me,” the Silverflame Flowertree said.
Zu An and Yu Yanluo exchanged a look. This fella really had gained sentience!
Yu Yanluo put on an expression of displeasure and asked, “Since you know that the strong prey on the weak, then why should we let you go?”
The Silverflame Flowertree replied, “I’ll allow you to take the stuff over here! These things are very precious for you humans.”
Zu An sneered. “I could take them even without your permission. Why should I spare your life?”
Yu Yanluo felt sweet warmth inside. Ah Zu and I really are compatible. It’s almost as if we’re husband and wife…
“Ah, that makes things a lot more troublesome…” The Silverflame Flowertree scratched its head with its branches. It continued, “Right, if you let me go, I can continue to produce this jade for you. It has to grow beside me to become like this.”
Zu An thought to himself that he still needed Wuyang Jade whenever Daji broke through, and the requirements would only increase. There were only a dozen or so pieces of Wuyang Jade present, which was definitely not enough.
“How long does it take to make this Wuyang Jade?” Yu Yanluo asked, quickly getting to a critical point.
“Around a hundred years, I reckon.” the Silverflame Flowertree replied.
“A hundred years?” Zu An sneered. “Are you messing with me?”
Even though the lives of humans in this world were longer than in his previous world, a hundred years was still too long. It would already be way too late by then.
“If you prepare some top-quality jade around me and I work hard, it should be ten years…” The Silverflame Flowertree seemed to be observing his reaction as it spoke. When it noticed his frown, it immediately changed its answer. “No, one year, one year! But I really can’t go any faster! I should be able to succeed in one year.”
Zu An thought to himself that one year was still acceptable. However, he wanted to take the chance to scare it one more time. “Do you have any hidden in storage? Hand it all over.”
“I’m just a tree! Why would I hide anything?” The Silverflame Flowertree turned its large corolla, looking as if it were giving Zu An a sidelong glance. It almost seemed to be remarking, ‘Why would you ask such a stupid question?’