Xu Mu listened to the words of the Wine Immortal Daoist and nodded seriously.
He turned his head, glanced at the moving towering trees, sensed the deterrent power emanating from them, and asked solemnly:
"Senior, can you impart some of your experience to me? These celestial trees don't seem easy to deal with."
The Wine Immortal Daoist took a sip of wine, then chuckled:
"Don't worry, this is nothing difficult for you. To obtain the inheritance, you must first gain the recognition of the Celestial Tree's spirit."
"First, you must stand before a Celestial Tree, use your innate ability and divine soul to communicate with the tree spirit, and attempt to establish a connection. Once the tree spirit senses your presence, and there are no other innate ability users accepting inheritance there, your consciousness will be drawn into an illusion."
"This illusion is a great test of one's Dao heart. Everyone chooses a different Celestial Tree, sees different illusions, and the difficulty naturally varies."
"Before you arrived, many people chose Celestial Trees whose power was not a match for them. They failed to pass the illusion and became foolish or insane."
"Of course, I believe this illusion won't be a problem for you."
The Wine Immortal Daoist paused slightly at this point.
This illusion tested one's Dao heart, character, and talent the most.
And Xu Mu's talent was monstrous, unparalleled in the world.
As for his character, he believed his senior brother wouldn't accept a disciple with poor character.
He didn't need to worry about his Dao heart at all. The Wine Immortal Daoist smiled. In the desperate situation of the first layer, Xu Mu hadn't given up. He would surely pass the illusion with ease!
Thinking this, the Daoist let out a satisfied burp and continued to preach:
"After passing the illusion, you will have the qualification to receive the inheritance."
"But having the qualification does not mean you can truly receive the inheritance."
At this point, the Wine Immortal Daoist's expression suddenly became very solemn.
He leaned close to Xu Mu's face and said coldly:
"This inheritance is extremely dangerous."
"Based on my observations during this period, even the weakest inheritance hidden within these Celestial Trees is beyond the control of some Domain Lords."
"The consequences of being unable to control it range from minor injuries to severe cases of qi deviation and madness!"
"Therefore, before you choose an inheritance, you must be extremely cautious and vigilant. Do not choose one simply because it appears powerful or suits you."
"For example, like the 'Biting Flame' from your Demon Exterminator Division's realm rankings. He previously chose one of the thickest Celestial Trees."
"That Celestial Tree was fiery and matched him perfectly. Biting Flame, against all advice, seized the Celestial Tree. But as soon as he passed the illusion, he was burned by the intense flames. After forcibly withdrawing from the Celestial Tree, he was still injured."
The Wine Immortal Daoist sighed:
"Fortunately, he withdrew quickly. Otherwise, even a few more seconds of burning, and he would have lost half his life. But he still needed to recuperate for ten full days afterward, and only then, before you arrived, did he successfully choose a Celestial Tree."
The Wine Immortal Daoist pointed to Biting Flame who was meditating under a Celestial Tree. These events had happened right under his nose, so he knew them all too well.
Hearing the Wine Immortal Daoist's words, Xu Mu couldn't help but turn to look at Biting Flame, who was comprehending the Dao under the Celestial Tree, and was greatly shocked.
A strong cultivator at the half-step Human King realm couldn't even withstand the inheritance within that Celestial Tree?
Then, what level of existence must the cultivators who left behind these inheritances have been when they were alive!
Immediately afterward, he inexplicably thought of Yun Miaomiao, who was suffering from the charm poison.
Apart from Biting Flame, perhaps she was another typical example of someone who couldn't control the inheritance?
Xu Mu lowered his head, looked at his right hand, and suddenly blushed.
The Wine Immortal Daoist, unaware of what Xu Mu was thinking, added:
"Oh, right. Once the tree spirit recognizes you, you will also receive the protection of the Celestial Tree. All external attacks will be blocked by the Celestial Tree."
"The defense of the Celestial Tree is so tenacious that even a Human King realm cultivator might not be able to shake it. It's absolutely safe."
Xu Mu nodded. That was good. He had been worried about being ambushed.
"Alright, I've said enough. It's time for you to try," the Wine Immortal Daoist pointed to a Celestial Tree not far away and said, "I've already scouted for you. The inheritance of that tree is related to lightning attribute Dao techniques, and the difficulty doesn't seem very high, suitable for your fourth stage."
"If you don't have a specific target, you can go and try. If it's not suitable, just withdraw. Safety is the most important thing."
Hearing this, Xu Mu was surprised that the Wine Immortal Daoist had arranged everything. His heart warmed, and he clasped his hands gratefully:
"Thank you, Senior. You've gone to great lengths!"
"No need for pleasantries. This junior will be on his way!"
With that, Xu Mu rubbed his hands together, eager to fly towards that Celestial Tree with the wind, and landed quickly.
Xu Mu looked up at the tree canopy, which was faintly flashing with lightning in the sky, his eyes burning. He circulated the innate ability within his body, and then, cooperating with his divine soul, began to establish a connection with the Celestial Tree's spirit.
The process was very simple. Xu Mu quickly sensed an ancient spiritual entity. But just as he was about to establish a connection and enter the illusion test, the Celestial Tree before him suddenly trembled violently.
Then, the Celestial Tree that the Wine Immortal Daoist had carefully selected for him, under Xu Mu's expectant gaze... ran away.
Yes, the Celestial Tree ran away.
It pulled out its thick roots buried underground and used them as legs, causing tremors across the earth as it ran at an incredibly fast speed.
Xu Mu stared at all this in utter bewilderment.
What was going on?
Senior Wine Immortal hadn't told him about this!
"Senior, what's happening?"
Xu Mu turned his head and asked in surprise.
The Wine Immortal Daoist, not far away, was also full of astonishment, then stammered:
"Uh... this... I'm not really sure either."
"These Celestial Trees do have spirits, and they can move and attack on their own. Perhaps it's been here too long and wants to change places. It's just a coincidence for you."
The Wine Immortal Daoist didn't believe himself as he spoke. These Celestial Trees had been rooted in the ground for countless years, how could they change places just because they'd been there too long...
"Why don't you try another one? The tree five hundred meters to your left. I think its inheritance is related to the Great Dao of Wind, and it's also quite suitable for you."
Hearing this, Xu Mu scratched his head, not understanding.
Then, he turned and walked towards another Celestial Tree. The innate ability in his body surged out, cooperating with his divine soul, and he again attempted to establish a connection with that Celestial Tree.
But soon, the Celestial Tree, which had been quietly rooted in place, sensed Xu Mu's arrival and also uprooted itself, then fled as if insane.
Two Celestial Trees fleeing at the same time, the ground trembled because of it.
Nearby, two Domain Lords who were comprehending the Great Dao opened their eyes in confusion.
"What happened?"
"I don't know. Why did that tree run away!"
Those Domain Lords looked at the two fleeing Celestial Trees before them in surprise.
Then, they discovered that the Celestial Trees were not attacking enemies, nor were they evading attacks. They were simply running away as if they were afraid of something.
This left everyone baffled, because they had never witnessed such a situation before. What was wrong with the Celestial Trees now?
"I don't believe it!"
Seeing the Celestial Tree run away again, Xu Mu knew the problem lay with him.
So he gritted his teeth, held his breath, and looked at a nearby Celestial Tree.
This Celestial Tree had been ruled out by the Wine Immortal Daoist from the beginning because of its immense size. Many Domain Lords had attempted to obtain the inheritance of the blade from it, but all had failed.
At this moment, Xu Mu wanted to try, so he activated his innate ability and divine soul, wanting to establish a connection with it.
And, as expected, the majestic Celestial Tree also uprooted itself.
Rumble!
With a roar, the Celestial Tree's numerous thick roots were pulled from the ground, causing the earth for hundreds of meters around to crack. Some Domain Lords almost stumbled and fell.
And then, that Celestial Tree, like the other Celestial Trees, ran away.
"Why!"
Xu Mu was stunned. What was going on? Was his talent so poor that so many Celestial Trees rejected him?
"If you have the guts, all of you run for me to see!"
Anger surged in Xu Mu's heart. He ignored everything else and expanded his innate ability, his body floating in the air. Wherever he went, he established connections with all the Celestial Trees within his sight. And the Celestial Trees that his innate ability swept past also began to flee.
Rumble...
The entire Celestial Tree Tomb seemed to tremble because of his arrival.
Countless Celestial Trees were communicated with by Xu Mu, then they all uprooted themselves and fled madly. Some Celestial Trees that Xu Mu hadn't touched also inexplicably began to flee, as if extremely fearful. Thus, the ground began to tremble incessantly, and even giant rocks were ejected from the earth, showing the magnitude of the commotion.
As a result, in the vast Celestial Tree Tomb, there were only a handful of Celestial Trees that were accepting inheritance and remained in place.
The rumbling sounds, like the cracking of the earth, startled all the Domain Lords who were not undergoing inheritance.
They withdrew from their states of digestion and enlightenment, opened their eyes in a daze, and just as they were about to inquire about the situation, they saw a large group of fleeing Celestial Trees.
Yes, the word used was "flee."
Trees ran ahead, and people chased behind.
Everyone was bewildered, then incredibly shocked, thinking how poor this person's talent must be to be disliked by so many Celestial Trees, to the point of being directly fled from without even the chance to enter the illusion test?
"This... isn't this Xu Mu!"
And then, all the Domain Lords discovered that the person chasing the Celestial Trees, or rather, the person disliked by countless Celestial Trees, was none other than the peerless prodigy of the Demon Exterminator Division, Xu Mu!
The young man who had been so formidable in the first layer, who had forcefully passed the true test, was now rejected by all the Celestial Trees!
But how could this be?
The Wine Immortal Daoist drank a mouthful of wine in astonishment, trying to figure this out, but he couldn't. So he drank several more mouthfuls... Until finally, his face was a little flushed, and he still couldn't understand.
Xu Mu, a person whose name even contained the character "Mu" (wood), how could he not gain the recognition of the Celestial Trees?
Could it be... this kid was a reincarnated axe spirit!