The sunlight was warm and gentle that day.

Inside the ancestral hall, the branches and leaves of a dense locust tree shimmered faintly beneath the sun’s rays. Beneath its thick shade, the air was cool and quiet, as though the tree had absorbed all the heat and light from above.

Ji Yang basked in the warmth, his thoughts gathering into focus as a familiar window opened before his consciousness:

[Name: Ji Yang]

[Race: Netherworld Locust Tree][Vitality: 1298.5][Divine Abilities: Eye of Insight, Reversing Dan Progress, Blindfolded Perception, Soul Condensation, Protective Armor, Thousand-Mile Red Land, Spirit Awakening, Spring from Withered Wood][Cultivation Techniques: Lunar Eclipse, Yin Gathering, Incense-Fed Golden Body, Spirit Devourer, Solar Eclipse][Combat Skills: Taizu Long Fist, Seven Emotions Six Desire Sword (Fragmented) – transferable once, Taiyi Seal – transferable once, Big Dipper Fist – transferable once, Venomous Yin Wind Palm – transferable once][Vital Energy: 301 (convertible to Vitality)][Spiritual Power: 38.5][Stimulation Points: 8][Simulation Available][Status: Absorbing Solar Essence... Poisoned...]

His spirits lifted slightly. In less than a month, his vitality had risen noticeably. With daily absorption of both solar and lunar essence—alongside nourishment from the Blood Spring beneath—he gained seven to eight points of vitality per day. Even when he had to maintain Thousand-Mile Red Land during winter, the drain on his vitality was minimal.

Although his body had yet to show outward changes, the rise in vitality allowed his underground roots to slowly expand. Radiating outward from the Chen family estate, they reached steadily toward the edges of Chaotic Burial Mountain. The furthest tips had almost touched the clan's fertile farmland.

The expansion was slow, yes—but stable and continuous. At this pace, the entire mountain would soon be under his influence.

Ji Yang glanced at his meager stock of Stimulation Points and shook his head. It would likely be months before he could afford another simulation. But he wasn’t impatient. Time was on his side. So long as he had enough of it, the family's prosperity would be assured.

He withdrew his gaze—but a moment later, his eyes snapped back. A new status had appeared.

"Poisoned."

Absorbing solar essence was expected, but what was this?

Ji Yang quickly turned his awareness inward to inspect himself. At first glance, nothing seemed amiss. His trunk remained thick and resilient, his locust leaves still radiant and healthy. But when his consciousness descended deeper, into the network of roots buried below, he found something alarming.

The once-gray-black roots now bore faint, thread-like strands of red—subtle, hair-thin filaments that clung to the surface like parasites. Slowly, steadily, they crept upward.

There was no pain. No discomfort. But Ji Yang knew instinctively that this was no accident.

He wasn’t without defenses. Abilities like Root Reinforcement, Unyielding Toughness, Boundary Breakthrough, and All-Encompassing Defense bolstered his body. He even had a dedicated resistance to poisons.

And yet he had still been poisoned.

Which meant—this was no ordinary toxin.

If left alone, it might compromise his entire being. More than that, if he, the divine tree watching over the Blood Spring, had been poisoned... what about the rest of the clan?

His consciousness spread outward at once.

...

“Patriarch, something’s wrong!”

Inside the main hall, Chen Tianlu burst in, face stricken with panic. Seeing his frantic entrance, a grim premonition crept into Chen Xingzhen’s heart.

After the Divine Tree Grand Rite, Chen Tianyu—who had originally overseen the Blood Rice—had begun focusing entirely on refining his internal qi and blood. The duty of watching over the fertile fields had since fallen to Tianlu. At this hour, he should’ve been in the fields.

But as clan leader, Chen Xingzhen could not panic.

He rose slowly and asked, “What happened? Speak clearly.”

“Patriarch, it’s the Blood Rice—it’s not right! You have to come see for yourself!”

A flicker of alarm flashed across Chen Xingzhen’s calm features. The Blood Rice was the family’s most important resource. The clan had yet to grow truly strong—any loss would be disastrous. Without a harvest, what would they offer the Zhou family in a month?

Though they resented being under the Zhou clan’s thumb, they still needed the Zhou’s protection. And the Blood Rice... could not fail.

“Quick. To the fields.”

Chen Xingzhen wasted no time. He strode out of the hall with long steps. Nothing more needed to be said. Only by seeing it himself could he understand the scale of the problem.

Soon, he and several other clan members who had heard the news were rushing toward the farmland. In the distance, they saw a crowd of anxious servants. At the forefront stood Chen Yihu, his face filled with barely concealed panic.

He had been personally overseeing the Blood Rice. Though Chen Tianyu and Tianlu came by occasionally to inspect, the day-to-day cultivation had always been Yihu’s responsibility.

If something had gone wrong... it would be on him.

Seeing the patriarch’s approach, Chen Yihu quickly stepped forward. “Patriarch—”

“No need to explain. Let’s see it first.”

“Yes, Patriarch.”

They moved into the fields.

At first glance, everything looked fine. The Blood Rice had been growing for a month already, and each stalk stood nearly half a man tall. The fields were lush and green, a scene of abundant vitality.

But when they knelt to inspect the stalks closely, the mood shifted.

The roots were not as they should be. Thin, curling red threads clung to them like veins of blood. Some of these filaments had grown several inches long, winding upward along the stalks. Though the soil here was naturally red, this... was not normal.

Worse yet, the affected stalks were beginning to wilt.

If this continued, they would die before reaching harvest.

Chen Xingzhen’s voice cut through the tension. “When did this start?”

“Reporting to the Patriarch, around noon today. I was checking the fields with the servants when we noticed the issue. I immediately reported to Elder Tianlu.”

“Is it just a few patches—or is it every stalk?”

“All of them. We’ve checked. Every single one is affected.”

The expressions of the gathered clansmen darkened.

If it had only been a few plants—or even a few dozen—it might’ve been a natural mishap. But all of them? This was no accident.

This was sabotage.

“What should we do now, Patriarch?” Chen Tianlu asked nervously from behind.

Chen Xingzhen stood slowly, gazing out over the vast sea of fields. After a long pause, he spoke calmly but firmly.

“Tianmo, take our Blood Coagulation Realm cultivators and begin setting up a perimeter around the farmland. While you're at it, investigate the area for anything unusual.”

He turned to another.

“Tianlu, dig up a stalk of Blood Rice and have our best pharmacologists examine it. See if they can find anything that’ll help us trace the source.”

Finally, he looked to the side.

“Tianquan, take a few men and head toward the outskirts of Chaotic Burial Mountain. Ask the villagers if anything strange has happened lately—anything our clan might have missed. Also see if there’s anyone with medical expertise nearby. We need every possible lead.”

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