Wu Han's brow twitched. It was his own oversight. He had failed to account for the intelligence of these trees.
Trees weren't stupid. They had survived for centuries, adapting to every change in the world.
And through the fungal web beneath their roots, the mycorrhizal network, they communicated, sharing information faster than most human civilizations ever could.
With the spiritual energy saturating this land, their evolution must have gone far beyond anything he knew.
"We saw you come. We saw you steal. We saw your lies."
The tree's voice carried no hatred, but neither did it hold any intention to cooperate.
The world was not blind; it always recognized outsiders.
"Hmph…"
Wu Han spread his divine sense outward, tracing through the trees, following the root channels deeper and deeper.
Before long, he had mapped the entire network. It connected the whole forest, from his landing site to the valley beyond the mountains, before cutting off at the rocky terrain.
Every tree here was linked. They knew everything that happened in and around Azure Peak Town.
"Isn't mother nature supposed to welcome all life?" Wu Han asked.
The tree ignored him. "You are not life. You do not belong here."
Wu Han's face hardened. "Does the world know?"
The world itself, as much as it was a floating rock in the void, had a will and a mind of its own.
"…She doesn't, does she?" His smile turned cold. "You're not connected far enough to the vein."
He had tested the laws of this universe many times since arriving, and all of them operated on principles similar to his old world, only amplified by the density of spiritual energy here.
His theory was that something, or someone, governed even this vast universe, controlling the flow of creation across infinite realities.
That meant this forest had been cut off from the Vein of Life, the planet's natural artery of energy.
Volcanic regions were the strongest connection points, and since there were none on this side of the continent, the link here had long since died.
"We are not your enemy," the tree said quickly. Its leaves trembled as if shivering in fear.
Birds scattered from the canopy, and the cries of beasts echoed through the forest.
I'm not so sure," Wu Han said, calm but cold. "But I don't plan to waste time uprooting your entire forest. So, either we make a deal, or I cut one out for you.
There was no point in trying to change nature.
Once it labeled you an anomaly, the best you could do was make it kneel.
That was the art of proper communication.
"Follow us north," the forest finally answered. "We will guide you as far as we can."
Branches began to shift, weaving into a glowing path.
Wu Han smiled, stepped onto his silver spear, and rose into the air, following the lighted trail through the trees.
Within half an hour, Wu Han reached deep into the mountain valley. From here on, the path was nothing but shattered rock and deep pits.
Traveling on foot would have been nearly impossible if he hadn't been riding a flying spear.
He turned back and canceled the spell. The trees behind him returned to their natural stillness.
He hadn't been afraid to threaten them.
He had already checked, this was nothing more than an ordinary forest, dense but not magical.
He would only need to worry if it had evolved into a true spiritual forest, which it clearly hadn't.
Even with high spiritual energy, these trees hadn't reached the stage of fighting back.
When the spell ended, they reverted to simple trees once again. Still, if given a billion years, they might pose a threat. But evolution takes time.
Good luck catching up with him.
Wu Han ventured deeper into the valley. The cliffs on both sides towered high enough to block out the sun.
Below, the ground sank into pitch darkness, while above he could hear the faint echo of running water.
As he advanced, something felt off. The spiritual energy grew thinner the deeper he went. Signs of life faded, leaving only patches of grass and wildflowers clinging to the cliff walls.
Then he saw it, a cluster of trees and stones forming a wide oval, like a massive nest built from trunks and boulders.
He descended carefully and scanned the area. There were no plants to question this time, but it was his first real trace of the creature, so he decided to take the risk.
To be safe, he tossed a spirit stone to the ground and prepared a trap.
A faint magic circle shimmered beneath the nest before vanishing from sight. Then he cloaked himself completely, his body fading into the shadows until even his presence was erased.
Hours passed.
The once-still air began to stir, building into a steady gale. Branches and rocks shifted under the pressure as the owner of the nest returned.
The Emerald Cloud Eagle descended, talons gleaming like tempered gemstone, beak sharp enough to slice bark from trees with a casual motion.
In its claws hung a massive four-horned deer, a spirit beast judging by its aura.
It had just returned from the hunt and was hungry.
The eagle laid its prey down and began tearing at the meat, each bite slicing the giant deer as if it were paper.
A normal cultivator without proper armor would have been bitten in two by a single strike.
If it could move freely.
Wu Han thought for a moment, then activated his trap. Ribbons of light shot up from the ground and solidified, binding the eagle's joints and organs: wing, leg, beak, suppressing its movement.
He stepped out of the shadow and revealed himself.
The eagle thrashed, straining to break free; the cliff trembled under the force.
"Even bound by a spell, you still have such power," Wu Han observed.
"Real beasts are nothing like an illusory soul."
Even when the Iron-Scaled Thunder Wolf had been pushed to ninth-stage output, its power had still been less than this eagle at the seventh stage.
He drew his bone spear and used Sky Piercer. The spear tore through wing and leg, disabling the eagle so it could not move even under the binding spell.
The beast opened its beak to scream, but Wu Han stamped down and closed its mouth.
He cast another spell.
Rank 1 magic: Speak with Animals.
"Now we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. The choice is yours."