My Portable Spirit Farm: Rise of the Humble Servant

Chapter 163: The Ancient Tree’s Tree Heart!

Chen Ping had not expected the Qingyun Ancient Tree’s reaction to be so visceral.

The vast, majestic voice that filled his mind was no longer arrogant. It was filled with shock, fury, urgency… and even a trace of genuine panic.

It was the reaction of a man having his lifeline severed.

Merely watching the Black Soil being set down seemed, to the Ancient Tree, an intolerable desecration.

The feeling was akin to a traveler dying of thirst in a desert, watching the last drop of water evaporate into the sand before he could reach it.

Is it really that exaggerated? Chen Ping muttered internally. This old tree has lived for tens of thousands of years. Why are its emotions more volatile than a mortal’s?

He bent down and scooped up the handful of deep black soil. The faint purple light swirled within the grains, mysterious and ancient.

With a thought, the soil vanished from his palm, returning to the Jade Pendant’s internal space.

Since performing the Blood Binding with the Jade Pendant, storing and retrieving inanimate objects required only a flicker of intention. However, for living spiritual herbs or special soil like this, he still needed to physically enter the space to manage them properly. But for a quick storage? Instant.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!!”

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

The Ancient Tree’s voice struck like a thunderclap, booming in Chen Ping’s Sea of Consciousness. The shock and rage were palpable, shaking his mental defenses.

“Why did you put it away?! That is… that is the aura of the Cradle of Life! Quickly! Bring it out! That does not belong to you; it belongs to the Heaven and Earth!”

Chen Ping was speechless.

Where had this Qingyun Ancient Tree’s ten thousand years of cultivation gone?

Why was it acting like a child guarding its snacks, exploding at the slightest provocation?

If the Qingyun Ancient Tree could hear Chen Ping’s thoughts at this moment, its trunk would likely split from sheer indignation.

Ten thousand years!

A full ten thousand years!

It had been tormented day and night by the Heavenly Tribulation Dao Marks. Its origin was depleted, its vitality constantly draining away like blood from an open wound. It had tried countless methods to heal itself, all ending in failure.

Despair and pain had long since permeated its massive body and every strand of its consciousness.

And now, right before its eyes, appeared a sacred object that could truly heal its Origin Dao Injury. A substance that brought the hope of rebirth!

This wasn’t just about healing wounds.

This was its only glimmer of hope to resume the Immortal Path, to break through to the 6th Rank, and perhaps even glimpse the legendary Immortal Dao!

How could it not be agitated? How could it keep its composure?

Although it was a tree, it possessed high intelligence, desires, and dreams.

It wanted to break free from these eternal shackles of pain. It wanted to once again absorb the essence of Heaven and Earth, to grow strong, to ascend and become a lofty Immortal!

Now, that hope was within reach… and this junior had just shoved it into his pocket.

The fact that the Tree didn’t immediately mobilize the entire Secret Realm’s power to crush Chen Ping into paste was a testament to the ironclad binding of its own Rules.

Chen Ping’s eyes shifted, his mind racing.

He had initially taken out the soil with a “let’s try and see” attitude, thinking he might need a massive amount to move this behemoth.

He hadn’t expected that a single handful would make this ten-thousand-year-old monster lose its mind, even calling it the “Cradle of Life.”

The effect far exceeded his expectations.

It seems the Black Soil inside the Jade Pendant is far more valuable than I imagined, Chen Ping pondered. This is an unexpected leverage. I’ll have to be careful in the future; I cannot casually reveal this soil to the outside world.

With this realization, the dynamic of the negotiation flipped. The initiative was now completely in his hands.

Two key questions surfaced in his mind.

First, what exactly is this Black Soil? For the Qingyun Ancient Tree to go this crazy, its value must be immeasurable.

Second, how much Black Soil is actually needed to heal the Heavenly Tribulation Dao Marks? One handful? Or a mountain?

However, before exploring these questions, he needed to secure his payment.

After all, he had walked to the tree roots under that terrifying Pressure. He had earned his keep.

“Senior!”

Chen Ping’s voice was calm, ringing out clearly beneath the silent giant.

“This junior already said it once, but I will say it again. I have arrived before you as agreed. According to the rule you set yourself—’the closer, the greater the opportunity’—I am now as close as physically possible.”

He paused for effect.

“Don’t you think it is time to fulfill your promise and bestow upon this junior the ‘Greatest Fated Chance’?”

He deliberately emphasized the words “you set yourself” and “Greatest Fated Chance.”

“…”

The entire Secret Realm fell into an eerie, deathly silence.

Even the glowing spirit grass stopped swaying. The air itself seemed frozen.

Time passed, breath by agonizing breath.

Chen Ping stood his ground. He felt nothing amiss.

He held the old tree’s lifeline in his hands. If the tree wanted to recover, it had to bow its head. A mere Fated Chance, compared to the healing of a 10,000-year injury, was an insignificant price to pay.

Within the space, a vast and complex consciousness churned violently.

After several full breaths, the grand, archaic voice finally sounded in Chen Ping’s Sea of Consciousness again.

This time, the voice carried an emotion that was suppressed to the limit. One could almost hear the grinding of teeth.

“Junior… your cunning… I have never seen the like in my life…”

The voice paused, forcibly calming a heart turmoil that hadn’t fluctuated so violently in eons.

“…Enough. Rules… are rules.”

As the thought settled, the air in front of Chen Ping twisted slightly.

A point of soft yet profound cyan light slowly emanated from within the massive tree trunk, floating toward Chen Ping.

As the light stabilized, it revealed the object within.

It was a crystal about the size of a fist. Its shape was irregular, yet it pulsed with a rhythm like a beating heart.

Its body was a pale, translucent cyan, the surface smooth and warm like the finest jade. Inside, a rich, deep cyan spiritual essence flowed like living liquid.

An ancient, pure, and vast aura of vitality washed over Chen Ping.

This was the Qingyun Ancient Tree’s Tree Heart!

Chen Ping looked at the Tree Heart suspended before him, but instead of grabbing it, his brows furrowed. A strange look of hesitation crossed his face.

He knew the lore regarding Tree Hearts.

For spiritual trees over a thousand years old, the Tree Heart is the core where their life essence and cultivation condense. Once taken, the spiritual tree would, at best, suffer severe damage to its vitality and fall in rank. At worst, it would wither and die instantly.

This was an ironclad rule of the Heavens and Earth.

The entity before him was an Innate Spirit Root that had lived for untold eras. It was the foundation of the Qingyun Sect.

What would be the consequence if he took its heart?

Chen Ping wanted the Fated Chance, yes. But if taking this prize caused the Sect’s foundation to crumble and this Heaven and Earth Treasure to perish, the “opportunity” would become a curse. The subsequent troubles would be endless.

“Senior!”

Chen Ping spoke cautiously, keeping his hands at his sides.

“This object… is the opportunity you bestow? This junior has heard that the Tree Heart is the lifeline of a spiritual tree. If I take this object… Senior, you won’t die, will you?”