The Life Light was shining quite bright overhead and the temperature was much warmer. The humidity in the air was annoying, but I expected as much. We had reached the outer edge of the Great Jungle after hundreds of years of traveling. “Senior, our ship can go no further,” Junior Wei said. She was quite old but had clung to life so far. “There is no canal to the next body of water?” I asked. “No. Only the Great Jungle lies ahead and beyond that, the Great Desert,” she replied. I rarely exited my room to observe our travels. The last time I had gotten involved, I had been poisoned by the temporal wood sap. I did not want such a situation to occur a second time. Better to focus on my cultivation as much as possible while removing the remaining remnants of the poison from my body. “Do people live in the Great Jungle?” I asked and Junior Wei shook her head. “There are scattered tribes, hidden sects, and fugitives, but there is no civilization,” she said and I frowned at this. “Why? I would have thought people would have settled this area by now after millennia?” I asked. “Several reasons. The first reason is that there are powerful creatures inside the jungle. The Man Eater Snake. The Blood Sap Tree. The Black Ooze. The Fire Bats. Cultivators can handle such threats if they are careful enough. The second are the large amounts of bugs and diseases. Progress has been made pushing back the Great Jungle, but it is a struggle.” I nodded at this. “Finally, criminals from the surrounding areas have fled into the Great Jungle and there are several sects that practice demonic cultivation,” Junior Wei explained. “There are stories about such things, but no one has broken through. If they have, then they have remained in hiding,” the Sect Leader said, and I nodded at this. Unless they broke through, one cultivator would struggle against a sect. Only when there was a large gap in cultivation would it be possible to take what one wanted. But if they had reached even a fraction of my strength, then such items would not be that interesting. Also there was a much more insidious reason why consuming such an item was a bad idea. Looking at the blood seed, I had already made several determinations about what it actually was. It was condensed energy. My best guess was that some cultivator made such a plant in order to try and process more energy from the environment, no matter the low amount. The tree would draw in energy, possibly tapping into the same formation that the nexus crystals used to circumvent the Great World’s oppression. Most likely less efficient if there was only one blood seed every hundred years. If I was any weaker, not received Yang Heng’s advice, or had less experience I would have probably missed the trap present. The energy inside the blood seed was not free-floating energy. It was tainted with the tree’s energy. It would be easy to overlook. But the fact that the energy was tainted like that and wasn’t pure, proved to me that the blood seed was a trap of some kind. Preserving the memories while the body grew younger was not something these weak cultivators should be able to do, even with a powerful item . My guess was that after consuming so many blood seeds, the cultivator would turn into a tree that would grow blood seeds. Demonic sects appeared and disappeared all the time. Crazed cultivators probably ran into the forest hoping to find these seeds and eventually found a grove. They would rapidly consume several blood seeds to get younger and then a new tree would appear. Perhaps after a period of gestation or when the cultivator was far enough away from other trees if the plant were truly clever. The fact that these people didn’t realize what was happening was due to the rarity of such items and how the Great Jungle was massive. But they still had a couple of blood seeds. The demonic sects probably knew the truth and most likely tried to suppress the tree’s energy inside of them. But once their bodies were contaminated, it would only get worse. With how much of a pain it was to purge the wood sap from my brain, something that changed the entire body would be much more ingrained. In fact it would be impossible to tell the difference once consumed. “Has anyone ever attempted to use alchemy to change the nature of the blood seed?” I asked. “Perhaps, but nothing I know about. They are too valuable for such things,” the Sect Leader said. That was when I realized what Guide Zee actually was. A sentient tree. Bringing up the price of a blood seed served multiple hidden goals. If they were chosen as a guide, they would eventually lead me into a trap. That was without question. The price of two blood seeds was designed to draw a cultivator’s interest. Then they would be drawn to the item. Time was the most precious resource of all cultivators. And they would get more time once they consumed a blood seed. But then they would want more and more. Guide Zee might not be a tree in full, but they were most likely a demonic cultivator who needed to draw out the energy of other cultivators to counter the energy they had taken in from the blood seeds. That explanation was much better in my mind. All cultivators liked to show off to some degree. Even I wasn’t immune to such things. It was like a threat display. The fact that Guide Zee hid their cultivation and appearance completely was a huge red flag. While I didn’t flash my cultivation about, I didn’t hide myself either or downplay my strength. The only reason to do so was to ambush other cultivators in some way. It would have been a different matter entirely if Guide Zee had put on their robes after we had bet and started traveling togeather. But here in this city, there was no need for such a thing. While there might be other more convoluted explanations, the answer felt obvious. I had gone through too many mysteries already. A simple one was easy once I had gathered enough information. The real trick would be if there was a way to purify the energy inside the blood seed. It would be quite useful if that were the case. “We will purchase the blood seed. I believe there was interest in the energy gathering formation I have?” I asked the Sect Leader. He offered two blood seeds in exchange, which I easily accepted along with a small compound at the edge of the city for one month. “Why did you want the compound, Senior?” Junior Wei asked me. “I will be looking at these blood seeds in more depth. Also, does Guide Zee have any connections or backing I should be concerned about?” I asked. “No. They are independent of the local sect,” Junior Wei said, and I nodded at this. “Summon them to the compound we have been provided. I will make a deal with them directly,” I replied. Junior Wei bowed towards me and scampered off. It was nice having minions to handle things and the strength to seize what I wanted. I was in a large empty room, looking at the two blood seeds I had sitting on a table in the center of the room. All the other furniture had been removed. Guide Zee and Junior Wei entered the room, and both bowed to me. “Guide Zee, I will have to ask you to remove your cloak,” I said and they froze up. “It is connected to my flesh,” they replied and I nodded at this. They were a tree person of some kind. “How many blood seeds have you consumed?” I asked. “Twelve,” they replied, and I nodded at this. “You are more plant than person now, I take it,” I said. They let out a long sigh. I had one hand resting on the pommel of my sword, but I hadn’t drawn it yet. If we could talk, that was preferable to violence. “The curse of the blood seeds. Now I need more of everything to stay alive. Are you going to kill me?” they asked. “I don’t plan on fighting unless you start one. As long as we can discuss various topics peacefully, then you can keep your life,” I replied kindly. They untensed slightly at that. “There is nothing to hide,” they replied. “Oh, not even how you use regular cultivators to counter the blood seeds you have consumed?” I asked. “How…yes,” they said with a heavy tone. They seemed to wilt in my presence as I considered them. They knew they had no chance of escaping me. I had been in their spot in the past. If you were before a much stronger cultivator, the only thing you could do was answer their questions honestly and bow your head, hoping it wouldn’t be cut off. “What would you even do with these?” I asked, gesturing at the blood seeds on the table. “Traded them with other demonic sects for useful items. While I used demonic techniques to stabilize my cultivation, my hope is that by breaking through, I will be able to fix myself,” they explained. I shook my head at that. “I won’t say anything is impossible, but breaking through would not fix your problem. You want to return to human, while purging the tree energy?” I asked. “That was my hope,” they replied. I shook my head once more. They had messed up their cultivation far earlier than me, and it just made their foundation even more shaky. My problem had been that my foundation was too immense, too strong. It had helped me of course, but it had also made my cultivation difficult. Guide Zee here had a similar but opposite problem. They had messed their cultivation up, which had caused immense problems in their biology. They entire existence reminded me of the tortured souls in the Forever City. Cloaked and trying to live out what meager lives they could before their death. Hoping they would find some way to advance. This half person in front of me had an even smaller chance than them, stuck here in the Great World. They would eventually die, that was without question, but they still persisted. I could respect their determination at the very least. However, it wasn’t my problem. I finally felt what all my seniors had felt when looking at me. It was interesting, but ultimately it was a disaster. I had gotten lucky by someone managing the correct path that the elite of the Heavenly Alliance used. But for every success, there were millions upon millions of failures. This was just another one, just in another cultivation system. Unless I was so far above, or knowledgeable like Yang Heng, there really wasn’t anything I could do to fix their problem. Eventually the energy would build up enough they would break through, but the problem would be that breakthrough to having a soul. It wouldn’t be their soul, since the soul would be part tree. Their biology had been changed too much. Now that I was looking closely. The dark green cloak they wore wasn’t a cloak at all. But giant leaves growing out of them and melded togeather to make it appear like a ragged cloak. It was a good disguise, but ultimately they couldn’t hide from me. “Can you get us to the Great Desert?” I asked. That was what mattered. All of this was just an amusing distraction at best on my journey to the center of the Great World. “Yes. But it is dangerous. There are things in the Great Jungle, that even I am afraid of,” Guide Zee replied. “Take your payment. And you will guide us. We leave in a month,” I said. Guide Zee nodded and took both crystals. They bowed towards me before leaving the room. “Senior, are you sure? They could just run away,” Junior Wei said. “I pushed a small bit of my energy into the blood seeds. It will bond with them and create a critical weakness. There is a reason why demonic cultivators make sure to kill the people they used to advance their cultivation. If two cultivators share a cultivation, it creates a link between them. The stronger one can sense the weaker,” I replied. That was what Aoyin had done. “You can?” Junior Wei asked in surprise. “I can. The crystals are ultimately alive in a way. I can sense where they are. It was only a small bit of energy, and it will disappear after a decade. Less if the blood seeds are consumed. Ultimately it will most likely be a distraction, but if Guide Zee runs, they will have to give up the blood crystals, or I will kill them,” I explained. “That is quite clever of you, Senior,” Junior Wei said. “Not really, Junior Wei. Please make sure we have all the necessary supplies and anyone coming with us is aware of the dangers. The month we will remain here will let people make their decision if they wish to keep going and relax before we no longer see civilization,” I said. “I have made them aware of such things. It is only a minor delay and there were no complaints. If I may ask, you aren’t interested in the blood seeds Senior?” “No. They will ruin your cultivation. As for fixing them, it isn’t worth the effort. They are a concentrated source of energy, but the alchemy required is beyond me and I do not want to waste the time after having looked at them. Also, their biological properties are directly related to the energy stored inside of them. Purging the energy while keeping the biological properties intact, would require an expert. I might know a small amount of alchemy, but this isn’t simple,” I replied with a shake of my head. “Thank you for explaining Senior,” Junior Wei replied. I waved her off. I then had a couple of servants bring in sedan to lay on for the next month. I would keep working at removing the wood sap from my head while I waited. If anything interesting happened Junior Wei would let me know. It always felt strange being the senior cultivator but I had come to enjoy the position. Being able to boss people about, getting better deals just by being present, and not having to worry about every minor thing. I had no doubt that most if not all of the cultivators following me were going to die. If this was the welcome of the Great Jungle, I knew the entire trip would be a series of headaches. A giant primordial forest would be incredibly dangerous. I considered traveling on my own, but it was better to sacrifice the lesser pieces first if possible. The wood sap had made me a tad more cautious. I had felt I had could just plow over anything in the Great World with my strength and knowledge. I would lose about five or six years with how slow these people were able to travel compared to me. But their sacrifices would give me a slight advantage. Junior Wei had pointed out the dangers of the Great Jungle. While I didn’t think they would be that dangerous to me as long as I kept my guard up, they were unknowns. This month would give the people traveling with me time to get information. It was also why I had ultimately accepted Guide Zee. It wasn’t the danger I could spot that was dangerous. It was the weird creature with some crazy ability that was dangerous, the hidden threat. The cultivators traveling with me would deal with those threats first. I would also be checking people’s cultivation who traveled with me and instituting a buddy system for everyone. Guide Zee would be my buddy for this trip. If they led me into a trap or were unable to explain a phenomenon to my satisfaction, they would be the first to die. Well maybe not die, but I would cripple them to teach them a lesson not to mess with me.