Yes, a sapling had sprouted.
But this was no ordinary sprout. The God-Demon Tree sapling was entirely jade in texture, perfectly translucent and crystalline—so flawless that it looked like a master-crafted sculpture, a treasure in and of itself.
And from it radiated a faint thought:
"More. I need more spirit jade."
It thirsted for more—spirit jade as nourishment, to evolve toward its final form.
Yi Tianxing grinned.
"Spirit jade? I have plenty. Take as much as you want. I'm curious—what will you become?"
He poured out a mountain of spirit jade at the base of the sapling—white, green, blue, red, and purple—all kinds.
Root tendrils eagerly pierced the pile, devouring jade at terrifying speed.
Every few breaths, another layer of jade disappeared, converted into energy that fueled the sapling's growth. In mere moments, the tree was growing before his eyes:
One meter.
Two meters.
Three... Seven... Eight meters high!
Branches and jade leaves expanded outward in all directions, sparkling and lustrous.
And then—flowers began to bloom.
Jade Flowers in five colors:
White
Green
Blue
Red
Purple
Each one gathered jade essence, budding and blooming into breathtaking blossoms. Within each bud, tiny flame-lights flickered, swaying gently like fire lanterns in the wind.
"That's fire—flame seeds!"
Yi Tianxing's eyes gleamed. He instantly realized what this God-Demon Treasure Tree was producing:
"Exotic fire!"
"Congratulations, Master!"Little Mi popped out with an excited voice."This is a top-tier treasure tree—the Jade Spirit Flame Tree ! It produces Exquisite Jade Flames, a type of exotic flame seed."
Each color signified a type of flame:
White Flower → Exquisite White Jade Flame (lowest grade)
Green Flower → Exquisite Green Jade Flame
Blue Flower → Exquisite Blue Jade Flame
…and so on.
The Purple Jade Flame was the rarest and most powerful.
These Exquisite Jade Flames had several extraordinary properties:
Purity: They carried jade's natural cleansing power, excellent for dispelling evil and corruption.
High Temperature: Their destructive force was immense.
Refining Power: They could purify one's true essence, enhancing both magical energy and cultivation speed.
And the most astonishing part—
"The flame seed is sealed within the jade flower.Just refining the flower grants the flame—safely."
The fire could be merged into one's body, becoming a life-bound exotic flame. Unlike the natural formation of flames in extreme conditions, these were directly harvestable and safe.
In comparison, even the Burning Gold Glazed Flame that turned Blazing Flame City into a refining hub was only a single flame.
But now—Yi Tianxing had a tree full of them.
"With this tree, Great Yi will birth a generation of top-tier refiners and alchemists."
Yi Tianxing took a deep breath. His eyes sparkled.
"If every craftsman in the Heavenly Works Pavilion had exotic fire, the pace of invention and production would multiply."
The only downside?
Spirit jade would become more valuable than ever.
The flames required it to grow.
With a thought, Yi Tianxing plucked a jade flower and absorbed it into his body, embedding it into his Fire God Life Aperture.
Immediately, a new divine function was recorded in the Heavenly Emperor Dragon Diagram within his Sea of Divine Will:
An ability to refine and purify true essence.
Though his own true essence was already extraordinarily pure, this would still assist in refining external spiritual energy more efficiently.
"From now on, this shall be known as the Exquisite Jade Flame Tree."
Yi Tianxing's curiosity only grew.
"Legend says no two God-Demon Trees are ever the same.Let's test that theory—same cultivation method, same jade, same everything. What comes out next?"
With that, he planted a second God-Demon Seed, again feeding it only spirit jade and nothing else.
The process repeated: a sapling, flawless and crystalline, began to grow. But as it did, mystical patterns etched themselves onto its surface—more complex than before.
The second tree grew quickly into a towering masterpiece, and soon…
Small jade caskets appeared on the branches.
Each casket was about 20 cm wide, 30 cm long, perfectly sealed and glowing with mystical inscriptions—imbued with mysterious and unpredictable power.
"Congratulations again, Master!" Little Mi's voice rang with excitement."This is one of the most mysterious of all God-Demon Trees—the Secret Casket Treasure Tree!"
Each Secret Casket (秘匣) was a treasure box forged by mysterious divine energy.
When opened, it could yield:
Pills
Divine weapons
Magical artifacts
Cultivation techniques
Innate abilities
Rare natural treasures...
"It could be anything."
The casket's color determined its grade and potential:
Monochrome – Lowest grade
Nine-colored – Highest, with a chance for supreme treasures
And as long as a casket remained unopened, it would continue to absorb nutrients and evolve, increasing in rarity and value.
The more resources the tree consumed, the higher the quality of treasures it could produce.
"A gambling tree…" Yi Tianxing murmured, eyes narrowing.
He understood instantly:
"This is a tree of chance. Of temptation. Of dreams."
It was just like stone gambling—you wouldn't know what lay inside until it was opened.
Could be worthless junk—a beast bone or an eyeball.
Could be a world-shaking divine weapon or peerless cultivation method.
The thrill of the unknown would attract countless cultivators.
"This could become a source of vast profit. An exclusive enterprise under Great Yi."
Even more intriguingly, Little Mi revealed:
"The Secret Casket Tree can even absorb corpses—drawing from their bloodlines, weapons, techniques, and powers—to form the contents of the next casket."
Yi Tianxing exhaled deeply.
"Same seeds, same jade, same method—yet one tree gives exotic fire, the other gambling treasure caskets.Truly… no two God-Demon Trees are ever the same."
He smiled.
"The remaining seeds will have to wait until I return to Great Yi. Only then will I have the time and resources to cultivate them properly."