Chapter 36: Chapter 32 The King of Banyan Trees in the Deep Mountains !
Translator: 549690339
He wasn’t content with not finding an appropriate place to practice meditation and cultivate his sword.
He decided to walk further inside.
After walking about two li, he found an Ancient Banyan Tree with a trunk diameter of over two meters.
Long-lived trees that are relatively common include apricot trees, banyan trees, parasol trees, and cypresses.
The ancient camphor trees are more commonly seen in human habitats, but in deep forests, they can’t compete with other trees and are therefore rare. Moreover, because camphor trees grow quickly and their wood is brittle, they are prone to breaking large branches during heavy snow and strong winds.
Once there’s a wound, it easily invites insects and ants.
Insect damage can be fatal for many trees.
This Ancient Banyan Tree, with its trunks woven together like ropes, stood towering into the clouds. Its branches and leaves spread out in all directions, like a magnificent umbrella, covering an area several hundred meters in radius.
The vegetation under the canopy was pressed down and appeared dull and dim. No other larger trees were visible at all.
Qin Niu’s heart pounded at first sight of it.
Choosing it as a practice stronghold in the deep mountains, its sheer size alone could shield him from many attacks by snakes, insects, ants, and beasts.
Not to mention, the mosquito bites alone in the deep mountains could be enough to make one’s life miserable.
He was very fond of this Ancient Banyan Tree.
As he approached, that pounding feeling in his heart grew even stronger.
It was a very peculiar and unusual sensation.
In the vast mountains, only this tree had given him such a stirring feeling.
Choosing a flat branch high up on the tree to construct a high-altitude platform for meditation seemed like it would provide a wonderful experience.
He might even breathe in unison with the trees of the entire mountain.
He took off his basket and quickly climbed up like an agile monkey.
At a height of about eight or nine meters above the ground, he chose a flat spot where the branches split. This height was just right, providing a good vantage point to observe every move within several hundred meters.
He also didn’t have to worry about falling off if the tree swayed too much in the wind while he meditated.
After a short rest, he took out his Treasured Sword to chop off the most central main branch.
He had to remove the thickest branch to create a spacious platform for meditation.
With auxiliary branches surrounding it, it would be very safe for him to meditate inside.
Bang!
He chopped down with one blow, immediately achieving an Explosive Slash Effect.
Using this Treasured Sword, custom-made for him, was truly a pleasure. The performance of his Slash Martial Skill was notably more stable, and its power had greatly increased.
The chance of an Explosive Slash occurring had even doubled.
“Eh, why is the tree bleeding?”
Qin Niu looked at the wounded spot in astonishment.
A pale green liquid was seeping out.
This Ancient Banyan Tree must be the largest and oldest one nearby.
He had encountered many ancient trees along the way, but only this one had caught his eye at a glance.
Initially, he had thought it was because of the tree’s immense height, towering above all others, that it looked appealing to him and caused his heart to pound. Now, it seemed it wasn’t that simple.
It was strange enough for a tree to invoke such a sensation in him.
Now, after one chop, the tree’s green ‘blood’ was leaking out, which made him realize that this tree might be quite extraordinary,
It had its own life.
“Was I attracted to it because I’ve practiced the Everlasting Spring Technique?”
Qin Niu considered the possibility.
This kind of thing had never happened to him before.
His practice of the Everlasting Spring Technique was still brief, and his power was very weak.
Perhaps only when encountering such a particularly large and special tree could he feel a faint sense of resonance.
“Could this tree have become sentient? Is that why I feel this resonance?”
He had read stories about plants becoming sentient in books.
The tree’s age must exceed a thousand years, daily absorbing the essence of heaven and earth in these mountains and basking in the favor of the sun and moon; it might really have cultivated sentience.
Despite being chopped, it didn’t react at all.
Qin Niu felt somewhat apprehensive inside, but driven by curiosity about the mysterious, he wanted to explore further.
His current position was at the waist of the tree.
Its total height had to be over fifteen meters.
What lurked within that dense canopy, was utterly unclear.
Generally, trees like this one were a paradise for birds.
However, strangely, whether because the birds had all gone to forage or for some other reason, not a single bird was in sight.
This cast a foreboding layer of eeriness over his heart. When he looked at the tree again, it seemed all the more sinister.
Instinctively preferring safety over risk, he felt it best to leave quickly.
Any place would do for practice; there was no need to insist on meditating in this ominous Ancient Banyan Tree.
With that thought, he hastily climbed down the trunk.
It’s easier to go up the big tree than to come down, which is far more difficult.
Fortunately, his climbing skills were not weak and after some effort he finally descended from the tree, safe and sound.
He reached the ground without any danger, which emboldened him slightly.
Looking up once more at the Ancient Banyan Tree, radiating a mysterious aura, it still stirred his heart just like when he first saw it, although nothing out of the ordinary seemed to happen while watching it.
“I should hurry on, instead of ending up like the woodsman Liu Dazhuang from the village, eaten by a monster with only his feet left.”
He shouldered his basket and started back along the path he had come.
He walked out at least one li plus, that’s more than five hundred meters!
He thought to himself that he should be safe now..