Judging by its visible length alone, the creature was at least thirty meters long.

No skin, no flesh, no sinews. Only pale white bones remained.

Yet, even though this thing had been dead for a long time, and despite the distance of several dozen meters, Jiang Chen could still feel an icy, chilling aura radiating from it. It made him tremble involuntarily.

Goosebumps rose all over his skin.

It didn’t feel like he was looking at mere skeletal remains, but rather facing a ferocious beast or a raging flood frozen in time. One could only imagine how terrifying this creature must have been when it was alive.

Could this be the dragon demon? Jiang Chen wondered.

However, the posture of the remains was strange.

The skeleton appeared to be coiled around something. Its upper body, in particular, was piled up like a tower of bones. Its jaws were unhinged to their maximum limit as if it had been trying to swallow something massive right before it died.

It had failed at the last moment and perished instantly, maintaining this desperate posture even in death.

Clearly, there was something hidden within the coil of bones.

Feeling a stir of anticipation, Jiang Chen carefully maneuvered the [Demon Wood Boat] closer.

Although the water temperature rose steadily as he closed the distance, the boat’s advanced water-avoidance properties, coupled with the chilling aura emanating from the bones, created a balance. Jiang Chen felt no discomfort.

He could hold on for now. Enduring this environment a while longer wouldn’t be a problem.

As he drew closer, Jiang Chen realized the true scale of the scene. Both he and the Demon Wood Boat looked like tiny toys in the shadow of this massive skeleton.

Bear in mind, the Demon Wood Boat was already larger than the five-meter-long Fish Demon.

Nevertheless, Jiang Chen had no intention of leaving. The beast was dead; it posed no active threat. Moreover, he had a strong premonition—whatever was inside that coil of bone would be of immense use to him.

He had to take a look.

As he continued his approach, the water temperature grew scorching hot. Fortunately, he finally arrived directly beneath the remains.

Standing on the deck, Jiang Chen leaned over the railing to look down into the center of the coil.

He was completely stunned.

He had expected a rare artifact or a beast core, but he never imagined it would be a tree.

Upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn’t just any tree.

It was a lightning-struck tree.

As was common knowledge in the cultivation world, lightning-struck wood was an object of extreme Yang nature, specifically acting as a counter to Yin and evil entities. Because of this, its market price was always astronomical.

A mere ten-centimeter piece of lightning-struck wood was worth 100 Mid-grade Spirit Stones.

The specimen before him was at least three meters tall. It was an entire tree that had been refined by heavenly lightning.

The intensity of the Yang energy contained within was hard to fathom. It could likely be sold for at least ten thousand Mid-grade Spirit Stones, perhaps more.

Jiang Chen looked at the heat-radiating tree, then at the chilling skeleton surrounding it.

One side is extreme Yin, the other extreme Yang…

The dragon demon belonged to Yin. The lightning-struck tree belonged to Yang.

This dragon demon had truly grand ambitions, Jiang Chen mused. It tried to swallow the Yang to ascend, but failed and died for its greed.

At that moment, Jiang Chen noticed something flickering inside the hollow of the lightning-struck tree.

Sometimes it emitted a red glow; other times, the light intertwined to form a hazy white halo.

What is that? Jiang Chen’s heart began to race.

He sensed intense Spirit Qi of the Wood attribute contained within. Of course, there was also a surge of scorching Fire Spirit Qi.

The Spirit Root within his own body suddenly stirred with a ravenous desire. It was the feeling of a starving man suddenly spotting a feast.

Because Jiang Chen constantly yearned to improve his aptitude, he had studied items that could generate or enhance Spirit Roots. If he remembered correctly, this object seemed to be a [Wood-Fire Spirit Crystal].

It was a treasure capable of allowing a cultivator with a Wood Spirit Root to give birth to a second Spirit Root. Absorbing it could generate a Fire Spirit Root.

Jiang Chen looked at the dragon demon’s remains and chuckled dryly. “You didn’t manage to consume it, so it doesn’t belong to you. I encountered it; therefore, it’s mine.”

He immediately controlled the Demon Wood Boat to approach the tree.

As he drew closer, the devouring desire from his own Spirit Root grew increasingly intense, making even his stomach feel a phantom hunger.

Soon, both man and boat hovered right beside the glowing object.

It was a mass of light emitting both green and red hues. Inside sat an extremely small crystal, about the size of an adult’s fingernail.

Jiang Chen turned the Demon Wood Boat sideways, extended his right hand, and simultaneously released Wood Spirit Power from his Qi Sea to protect himself.

Even before contact, his energy resonated with the crystal.

The moment he touched it, waves of cool and scorching energy began drilling into his body simultaneously.

Suppressing the discomfort, Jiang Chen grasped the crystal firmly.

Boom!

Instantly, the impact of the conflicting energies became violent.

Green, from Wood, transformed into nutrients for growth. Red, from Fire, produced the power of transformation.

Losing his balance, Jiang Chen collapsed onto the deck.

His entire body grew incredibly heavy; he couldn’t even keep his eyes open.

Suddenly, the hair on his body began to lengthen at an astonishing rate. In moments, it reached his waist, and it showed no sign of stopping, growing relentlessly like wild vines.

Though he was extremely drowsy, Jiang Chen dared not sleep.

The spiritual power released by this crystal was too immense. It was like a dam that had been accumulating water for years suddenly opening its floodgates—tremendously powerful, yet fraught with the danger of total destruction.

He struggled to operate the [Green Lotus Art], using his own Wood Spirit Power to guide the two streams of Qi entering his body.

The foreign Wood Spirit Qi was manageable; it cooperated reluctantly. But the Fire Spirit Qi was like an unruly child, darting wildly throughout his meridians.

Jiang Chen’s skin turned lobster-red.

But quickly, his own Wood Spirit Power, combined with the Wood Spirit Qi released from the crystal, rushed in to repair the damage.

Destruction followed by repair. Repair followed by destruction.

An unknown amount of time passed in this cycle of agony and renewal.

Finally, the two streams of Qi settled down.

Simultaneously, the crystal in his hand emitted a white halo once more. Its physical form grew smaller and smaller, eventually transforming entirely into pure energy that was completely absorbed into Jiang Chen’s body.

At that moment, a system notification flashed in his mind.

[Green Wood Thunder-Fire Spirit Root]

Effect 1: Nature Affinity

Effect 2: Thunder-Fire Affinity

Not just a Fire Spirit Root… but a Thunder-Fire Spirit Root? Flames containing the might of thunder? Jiang Chen was utterly astonished.

This meant that after giving birth to this second Spirit Root, his Lifespan had increased by another hundred years.

Even if he did nothing else—relying on his total Lifespan alone—he could now live for four hundred and twenty-six years.

I haven’t even found a Dao Companion yet, and I already have my second Spirit Root, Jiang Chen marveled, clicking his tongue.

He leisurely opened his eyes.

But he felt somewhat bewildered by what he saw.

Unbeknownst to him, his hair had spread across the entire deck of the Demon Wood Boat. It looked like a black silkworm cocoon, enveloping both himself and the vessel in a thick, dark mat.

Fortunately, this was only a minor issue.

Jiang Chen raised his left hand. A weak strand of Fire Spirit Power from his Qi Sea spread to his palm.

Instantly, his skin began to redden, and his body temperature rose accordingly. But this time, there was no pain or discomfort whatsoever.

Using his left hand, he touched the excess hair.

Whoosh.

The fire melted through the mass instantly. Soon, his hair was trimmed back to shoulder length.

However, he didn’t discard the massive pile of cut hair. Instead, he carefully stored it away.

First, it was quite commemorative. Second, he could probably make a horsetail whisk artifact out of it later. Waste not, want not.

Afterward, stretching lazily as he rose from the floorboards, Jiang Chen cast his gaze once again upon the prize that remained.

The lightning-struck tree, worth over ten thousand Mid-grade Spirit Stones.