Chapter 295: Chapter 292: The Weakness Is Lifted

It was cut just like that?!

Although she had seen it with her own eyes, Yan still found it hard to believe.

’That monstrous Demon Tree from the war between gods—the one that slaughtered nearly ninety percent of the continent’s experts and almost destroyed this world—had its life cut short, chopped into pieces by that silly kid as easily as dicing vegetables? Gone, just like that?’

She didn’t know what had happened in Mo Qi’s Sea of Consciousness, so in Yan’s eyes, it all seemed so unreal, like a dream!

The Pig Emperor was the first to rush to Mo Qi’s side, circling him and looking him up and down.

"How are you? Are you okay?"

Mo Qi shook his head and smiled. "I’m fine, but I’m going to need a lot of Energy."

"Hm?" The Pig Emperor was stunned for a moment, then his face filled with suspicion. He snatched the roots, leaves, branches, and trunk of the Five Elements Tree and held them protectively behind his back.

"You’re not planning to take it all for yourself, are you?"

Exasperated, Mo Qi shook his head. "Don’t worry. I’ve had my fill of the Five Elements Tree. It has no effect on me anymore. I need other forms of Energy."

The Pig Emperor breathed a sigh of relief. ’Good, as long as he’s not after my food.’

But then a question arose. ’Why does he need Energy?’

It guessed at part of the reason. "Is your weakness gone?"

"That’s right." Mo Qi nodded. "A strange power from the Five Elements Tree merged with my physique, causing a small change in my Nine Transformations into Spirit. So now I urgently need Energy to break through, and it has to be of extremely high quality."

Realization dawned on the Pig Emperor, who reminded him, "Don’t you have a piece of Spirit Marrow? That stuff should be pure enough."

Mo Qi shrugged and said with a wry smile, "It’s long gone. I used it all to make Medicinal Cuisine and gave it to Wu the Old Ghost and the others."

"No problem!" The Pig Emperor said, discreetly putting away all of the Five Elements Tree.

Then it puffed out its chest and declared, "Leave it to me! Come on, we’re heading into the Ancient Ruins now. I’ll definitely lead you to some great treasures!"

"I guess that’s our only option." Mo Qi paid no mind to the Pig Emperor’s furtive movements.

The Five Elements Tree truly held no more appeal for him.

To put it bluntly, during his "bout" with the Five Elements Tree, his physique had acted like a filter, retaining all the essential power that was useful to him. The remaining Medicinal Power might not be any weaker for others, but for Mo Qi, it was no longer effective.

"Nephew, time to go!"

Mo Qi shouted to Li Yuanhao, who was hiding in the distance.

By now, Li Yuanhao had recovered from the Pig Emperor’s chanting. Recalling his earlier loss of composure, he wished he could just die.

’Me, a man known for his cold and powerful demeanor, actually hugged someone’s legs and cried my eyes out, burying my face between their thighs.’

’This was more than shame; this was the most humiliating experience of my entire life.’

’If my old man, the King of Kaosan, finds out, he’ll skin me alive!’

"Xiaoyan, are you okay?" Mo Qi rubbed Yan’s head, asking with a wide, goofy grin.

Yan had long since concealed her astonishment, shaking her head with a blank expression.

Inside, however, she was anything but calm.

Faced with Mo Qi’s sunny, silly smile, her heart skipped a beat for some unknown reason.

"Good, as long as you’re okay. Stick close to me from now on. It might get dangerous," Mo Qi cautioned.

Yan said nothing, simply slipping her small hand into Mo Qi’s large one.

’Though I’m reluctant to admit it,’ she thought, ’I’m growing rather fond of the feeling of being cherished by Mo Qi.’

’I’ve never experienced such a feeling before.’

’Although Ah Bai has done similar things, and far more perfectly than Mo Qi, to me, that felt more like a show of loyalty than genuine care.’

"Hey, nephew! We’re calling you over! Why aren’t you moving? You want me to give you a personal invitation?"

Seeing Li Yuanhao cowering in the distance without reacting, the Pig Emperor demanded.

The moment he heard the Pig Emperor’s voice, Li Yuanhao flinched reflexively.

He scrambled to his feet and sprinted over, his head lowered.

’An invitation from the Pig Emperor? You’ve got to be kidding me!’

’I have no desire to die young.’

Mo Qi gave the deliberately mischievous Pig Emperor a speechless look, then led Yan over to Li Yuanhao.

"Don’t worry about it. The Pig Emperor was just messing with you."

Li Yuanhao’s face flushed. ’Too damn embarrassing!’ he thought, not daring to look Mo Qi in the eye.

Mo Qi gave Li Yuanhao a long, hard look. With a frown, he said seriously, "Pig Emperor, give him a leaf from the Five Elements Tree!"

Now that his weakness was gone, even though he hadn’t broken through due to a lack of Energy, his perceptive abilities had taken a qualitative leap.

He could tell that the Pig Emperor’s shenanigans had left an indelible shadow deep in Li Yuanhao’s psyche.

If it wasn’t removed in time, it would cause major problems in the future, possibly even developing into a Heart Demon!

"Cutting into my rations again, hmph!" the Pig Emperor grumbled, but it still gave Li Yuanhao a leaf.

"Don’t eat it yet. Keep it on your person," Mo Qi reminded him.

’Li Yuanhao’s Cultivation just had a breakthrough,’ Mo Qi thought. ’It isn’t suitable for him to advance again so soon; he needs to solidify his foundation.’

’So I can’t let him eat the leaf now. Keeping it on his person can still subtly help him dispel the shadow in his heart.’

"Thank you, Uncle!" Li Yuanhao did as he was told, solemnly placing the leaf inside his robes.

Although he had never heard of the Five Elements Tree, he had seen the phantom of the great tree display its power earlier and knew this tree was anything but simple.

"Alright, you stick close to me too. We’re entering the Ancient Ruins now!"

The three people and one pig arrived before the stone gate. Mo Qi formed an extremely complex Seal Technique with one hand and slapped his palm against the gate.

HUM!

The stone gate trembled violently, releasing a large amount of Extremely Yin Energy that surged toward Mo Qi and the others.

Li Yuanhao’s face paled in alarm, and he subconsciously started to retreat.

"Don’t move!" Mo Qi snapped. Li Yuanhao immediately froze.

BOOM!

Just then, a beam of blackish-purple, eerie light shot out from the stone gate, enveloping Mo Qi and the other two.

The Extremely Yin Energy seethed, rolling in like a world-ending tide to submerge them.

Within the purple light’s radius, however, they were safe. All the Extremely Yin Energy was blocked outside.

Seeing this, Li Yuanhao broke out in a cold sweat.

His heels were practically on the edge of the purple light. If he hadn’t trusted Mo Qi and had taken another step back, he would’ve been engulfed by the Extremely Yin Energy by now.

"Remember what I said. No matter what happens next, don’t move!" Mo Qi warned in a low voice.

No one noticed that the moment the purple, eerie light appeared, a flash of the same color flickered in the depths of Yan’s eyes, along with unconcealable shock.

’What are these Ancient Ruins? Why do I feel a familiar aura, one from the same source!’

Yan frowned slightly. She closed her eyes, searching for relevant clues within her vast and jumbled ancient memories.

VMM! VMM! VMM!

The stone gate’s trembling grew more and more violent.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them gave way. Their vision plunged into darkness as they began to fall at an extremely high speed.

Although Li Yuanhao was panicked and disoriented, he remembered Mo Qi’s words, held his breath, and didn’t dare to move.

Mo Qi grabbed the Pig Emperor, stuffed it into his pocket, and then tightened his grip on Yan’s hand. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

In the darkness, Yan suddenly opened her eyes.

’I remember now,’ she thought. ’This is the aura of the Nether Ancestor!’