I have Taoism and can understand other worlds

Chapter 653 Ginseng Fruit Tree
Following the flow of the viscous black water, Jiang Wen reached the deepest part of his heart.

The space here is suddenly open and spacious, and the dome is a huge, slowly contracting and pulsating membrane.

Its veins twisted and turned, emitting a deep, thunderous sound. The previously widespread scarlet trees and spider lilies came to an abrupt halt here, as if they dared not overstep their bounds.

At the very center of the field of vision was a flat, dark red area that resembled a lake of congealed blood.

The source where all the black water from various directions eventually converges.

Even the surging black water flowing in all directions could not dry it up in the slightest.

Countless waves of blood surged at the bottom of the lake, eventually turning into a deathly silence on the surface.

In the heart of this lake stands an indescribable giant tree.

Its trunk is not made of wood, but is formed by countless white bones twisted and coiled together. The gaps between the bones are filled with dark red flesh and blood that are still pulsating slightly, like a blasphemous totem.

The branches, bare and skeletal, exuded an aura more ancient and ominous than the surrounding scarlet bodhi trees.

Memories surfaced in Jiang Wen's mind, the poignant recollections of a deity. They trembled, they raged, they told Jiang Wen what lay before him.

This tree, whose spiritual root has undergone a strange transformation—a large tree with bones as its trunk and flesh and blood as its veins—is called the Ginseng Fruit Tree.

The tree's root system was enormous, not sinking into the soil, but extending directly into the dark red blood lake below, like countless greedy blood vessels, drawing in that filthy divine blood.

The strangest thing is that at the very top of that skeletal branch, there is only one fruit.

The fruit was about the size of a baby's fist, crystal clear, as if it were carved from the purest crystal.

Through the peel, one can clearly see that what is inside is not flesh, but a vague, baby-like outline curled up, radiating an incomparably pure spiritual light.

It stands in stark contrast to the tree of bones and flesh, possessing a hauntingly eerie and sacred quality.

It hangs there quietly, exuding an extremely alluring vitality and spiritual energy, as if it were the end of all contradictions and the source of all misfortune.

This extreme purity, in the heart of such extreme defilement, appears both incredibly jarring and incredibly harmonious, leaving one's soul reeling.

"A ginseng fruit tree, it's actually a ginseng fruit tree!" Jiang Wen inhaled the faint fragrance, suppressing the hunger in his heart. His reason was screaming, his consciousness was urging him on, and his body's instinctive greed was at play.

Everything was just urging him to hurry up and take down the substance that had formed on the ginseng fruit tree.

Jiang Wen's expression turned slightly cold, but his Dao heart remained as unmoved as iron.

Despite the desperate yearning of every cell and pore in my body, I remained calmly standing before the ginseng fruit tree.

His soul and body separated, clashing like enemies. His body instinctively craved the fruit, crying out to Jiang Wen about the immense benefits he would gain from eating it.

"Benefits? Ha." Jiang Wen scoffed, his third eye on his forehead suddenly opening. A golden light descended, and his physical body calmed down. It was as if everything that had just happened was an illusion, only the beads of sweat flowing all over his body told him that it was not.

Looking at the ginseng fruit tree with apprehension, Jiang Wen realized that this thing was no ordinary plant.

This mind-controlling power almost tricked him. If his spiritual sense hadn't been different from that of ordinary cultivators, he probably would have already climbed the ginseng fruit tree with insatiable hunger, irrationally trying to pick the fruit.

But things don't always go as planned. If he had truly given in to his body's instincts, he would likely have met a violent end.

This thing, residing deep within the heart of the Heavenly King of Growth, is no ordinary object. Its strangeness even surpasses Jiang Wen's imagination. Any rash action would surely result in turning into blood at the foot of this tree.

Thinking of this, Jiang Wen summoned Jiang Su.

"Look, what's that? Can you sense anything unusual?" Jiang Wen asked Jiang Su, pointing to the ginseng fruit tree.

A surge of excited, trembling emotion welled up within me; it was my feeling about Jiang Su.

Even the aloof woman stared blankly at the large tree where bones had been gathered.

“I can feel the desire; the fruit on this tree is no ordinary thing. I can even sense that if I eat this fruit, I might be able to forge a physical body. Venerable One, I want this fruit,” Jiang Su murmured to himself.

"This tree is dangerous," Jiang Wen said calmly. He stirred up a whirlwind in his divine sea, waking the lost Jiang Su.

"You've been bewitched by it."

"..." Jiang Su came to her senses and fell silent. She knew she had lost her composure and had been bewitched by the things on the ginseng fruit tree.

Even though she was in Jiang Wen's divine sea, even though she had already become a deity through incense offerings, she still could not escape the temptation of this fruit.

"That was terrifying. I almost thought I was two different people," Jiang Su said, still shaken.

“Even I almost fell for its trick just now, so it’s normal for you to be bewitched without realizing it,” Jiang Wen said slowly, gazing at the ginseng fruit tree. “It’s sucking up divine blood and then corrupting it.”

Dark red divine blood continuously gushed from this lake and was then absorbed by the ginseng fruit tree.

Gradually, the divine blood turned into black water, flowing in all directions along the steep terrain.

So all this black water was polluted by the ginseng fruit tree? Jiang Wen stared at the tree, feeling that it wasn't that simple.

The land of fallen immortals is filled with black water, so it's impossible that it's all contaminated by the ginseng fruit tree.

Perhaps the ginseng fruit tree is only one source, and perhaps there is something even more astonishing behind it.

Walking around the ginseng fruit tree, Jiang Wen surveyed his surroundings. He had no intention of investigating the ginseng fruit tree for the time being; there were many other things in the deepest part of this heart that were enough to attract his attention.

He looked at the dark red lake of blood, and through the crystalline blood he could see the deep black hole in the lake, as well as countless skulls.

What an enormous number of skulls they were, beyond counting and beyond description.

Just like the countless grains of sand on a beach.

They are piled up densely on the lakebed, on both sides of the black hole in the center of the lake. No one knows why there are so many skulls here; enough to form the Five Sacred Mountains.

Beneath the ginseng fruit tree, a gigantic head was revealed.

If Jiang Wen hadn't been staring at the bottom of the lake, he wouldn't have even noticed that there was such a big head buried under the ginseng tree.

That head was not a skeleton, but a still-living skull.

This head is as large as a mountain.

Although her skin had lost its vitality, it still shimmered with a faint, lustrous sheen.

The golden divine patterns beneath the skin are faintly visible, like ancient incantations sealed away.

Its face was dignified and square, its nose was high and straight like the ridge of a mountain, and its lips were pressed into a cold straight line. Even in death, it still carried an awe-inspiring divine power that could not be profaned.

The area at the center of the forehead, where the third eye used to be, is now a regular circular hole.

The edges are smooth, not like they are damaged, but rather like they have been gouged out by someone, leaving only a void of darkness, so deep that it seems to devour everything.

Several solidified dark golden bloodstains meandered down from the edge of the cavity, tracing across the majestic face like eternal tear stains.

Her hair was still neatly tied up with a broken hairpin, but a few loose strands of hair had turned into gray-white stone edges, hanging down to her temples.

What is most unsettling are those huge, half-closed eyes, the pupils like dusty amber, with the solidified afterimages of broken pieces within.

Gone is its former majestic splendor; it now only reflects the crimson and darkness of this heart-shaped space.

It seemed to be merely asleep, yet it was clearly utterly destroyed; every detail silently spoke of its former supreme status and the desolate emptiness of its present state.

This is the head of the Heavenly King of Growth, the head of a deity.

(End of this chapter)