After bidding farewell to Zhao Wuji and Dugu Bo, only Ye Yu and Xiao Wu remained.
Ye Yu could now fly using the domain field of his Spirit Core, and with the second Spirit Ability of the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone—Flight—combined with his two self-created Spirit Abilities, Thunder-Magnetic Body and Thunderburst Step, he could use the electromagnetic field to propel himself while traveling.
"Go this way," Xiao Wu said.
Carrying Xiao Wu on his back, Ye Yu turned into a streak of lightning and sped through the skies above the Star Dou Great Forest, rushing in the direction she indicated.
At Ye Yu's request, Xiao Wu was now guiding him to find a plant-type Spirit Beast with the highest possible cultivation—preferably a God-level plant-type Spirit Beast.
However, under Xiao Wu's guidance, Ye Yu had already hunted a Phoenix Perching Parasol Tree and a Sun Fusang Tree, on top of the Undying Laurel Tree he had previously killed.
Even in the Star Dou Great Forest, God-level plant-type Spirit Beasts were exceedingly rare.
So this time, Xiao Wu brought Ye Yu to one of the top-tier plant-type Spirit Beasts—second only to God-level—an 80,000-year-old metal-attribute spirit beast known as the Golden Tree.
Guided by Xiao Wu, Ye Yu, moving at high speed as lightning, soon passed over a vast stretch of forest and entered a range of towering mountains.
This was the Star Dou Mountain Range.
After navigating through the range, a cluster of relatively barren mountain peaks came into view. These peaks had sparse vegetation, and their exposed surfaces shimmered with gray-silver and gray-brown metallic ores.
Atop the tallest of these peaks stood a massive tree—over eight meters in diameter and more than three hundred meters tall. Its entire form seemed forged from pure gold, gleaming resplendently in the sunlight. Even its branches and leaves radiated a sharp, cutting aura."It really is the Golden Tree!"
Ye Yu's eyes lit up with excitement the moment he saw it.
Although the Golden Tree wasn't a God-level Spirit Beast, its rare wood-metal dual attribute endowed its trunk, branches, and leaves with exceptional durability and razor-sharp edges.
It was the perfect complement for Ye Yu's Blue Silver Jade Tree Martial Soul.
Even though his Martial Soul had gained the Hardening property after consuming the Black Jade Divine Bamboo Shoot, allowing it to form piercing Blue Silver Spear, the sharpness still couldn't compare to that of the Golden Tree.
Not to mention, the Golden Tree's natural durability and defense were top-tier.
So far, Ye Yu had only developed the Blue Silver Wood Dragon form of his Martial Soul. But in the future, he aimed to create even more powerful forms—techniques resembling Advent of a World of Flowering Trees, Top Transformed Buddha, or True Several Thousand Hands.
If his Blue Silver Jade Tree could inherit the full traits of the Golden Tree...
...then when he someday unleashed Top Transformed Buddha or True Several Thousand Hands, with thousands of arms launching a storm of furious attacks, the destructive power would be unimaginable.
Given how essential the Golden Tree's traits were to his Martial Soul's growth, Ye Yu didn't plan to "hunt" it.
He wasn't going to absorb its Spirit Power, Life Force, and Bloodline Essence using his External Spirit Bone: Demon Willow Fluff.
Instead, he intended to subdue it alive and replant it into his Blue Silver Domain.
His Blue Silver Domain had already expanded to over three thousand meters high—more than sufficient to house the Golden Tree.
"Blue Silver Domain!"
"Blue Silver Jade Tree Martial Soul—Release!"
Excited, Ye Yu landed near the Golden Tree.
With a low shout, he instantly activated his Blue Silver Domain and summoned his Martial Soul.
Underfoot, seven Spirit Rings rose into the air: two purple, four black, and one red, circling his body.
"Seventh Spirit Ability: Blue Silver Jade Tree True Body!"
"Sixth Spirit Ability: Parasitic Devour!"
With the Martial Soul summoned, Ye Yu immediately activated both his Martial Soul True Body and Parasitic Devour.
In an instant, his Martial Soul glowed with radiant blue-silver light and began rapidly expanding upward.
As the light faded, the Blue Silver Jade Tree had transformed into a towering behemoth—over ten meters in diameter, standing more than 300 meters tall. Its massive canopy blotted out the sky, shimmering with tiny stars, crescent moons, and golden suns, as if it held an entire starry cosmos within it.
Under Ye Yu's control, the True Body of the Blue Silver Jade Tree sent out countless branches like giant blue crystal serpents, twisting and writhing in mid-air as they shot toward the Golden Tree.
But the Golden Tree was no ordinary opponent.
As a top-tier plant-type Spirit Beast with over 80,000 years of cultivation, it instantly sensed Ye Yu's intent and retaliated.
Its dense canopy of golden leaves suddenly trembled—unleashing a storm of razor-sharp leaves.
Like a golden hurricane, they howled through the air in a devastating Golden Leaf Tempest, clashing head-on with Ye Yu's barrage of massive crystalline branches.
Faced with this attack—powerful enough to shred steel—even the True Body of Ye Yu's Martial Soul struggled to resist.
Thick tree branches, each over three meters thick, were quickly torn apart, reduced to scattered chunks of shimmering blue crystal, splashing vibrant blue sap across the forest floor.
However, defense had never been the core strength of the Blue Silver Jade Tree Martial Soul.
Its true power lay in its monstrous vitality and regenerative abilities, and in its unique talent: every branch, leaf, or flower could sprout entirely new Blue Silver Jade Trees, allowing it to create an entire forest from a single tree.
Though the Golden Leaf Storm could indeed shred nearly anything, it couldn't destroy the Blue Silver Jade Tree faster than it could regenerate.
The regeneration rate—now quadrupled thanks to Martial Soul True Body—completely outpaced the damage.
Even the tree fragments that had fallen to the ground sprouted into entirely new Blue Silver Jade Trees, which quickly joined the attack.
The Golden Tree responded by launching wave after wave of new razor-sharp leaves.
It even turned some of its own branches into golden spears, hurling them at Ye Yu's True Body and the new trees growing below.
But in the end, it wasn't enough.
The Blue Silver Jade Tree True Body broke through the storm of golden leaves and impaling branches.
Soon, the Golden Tree was fully entangled, wrapped tight like a dumpling.
Countless root tendrils invaded its body—parasitizing it and madly siphoning its Spirit Power and Life Force.
Before long, the once-glorious Golden Tree stood limp and defeated.
Even its golden, blade-like branches drooped powerlessly toward the ground.