Chapter 242: The Golden Ancient Tree

Yang Podi looked at the corpse of the Fire Dragon and couldn't help but shake his head. The strength of this Fire Dragon was indeed impressive, likely reaching the power of a Rank 98 Titled Douluo, especially with its possession of Ultimate Fire. Yet compared to him, it was still slightly lacking.

After a brief adjustment, Yang Podi began to absorb the spirit ring. This would be the sixth ring for his body martial soul.

A mere 300,000-year-old spirit beast could no longer pose much pressure on Yang Podi. In just one day, he had completely absorbed the spirit ring.

With the absorption of this spirit ring, Yang Podi's spirit power officially reached Rank 99.

As he completed the absorption, Yang Podi opened his eyes and felt as if everything around him had changed. His perception of spirit power had become much more refined, almost as if he could see its very essence. This was likely the difference between a Limit Douluo and an ordinary Titled Douluo.

What stood out the most was that the dual cores within Yang Podi's body seemed to be spinning much faster, devouring surrounding spirit power like a whale swallowing water. His physical body and spiritual power had both improved significantly, and his combat power had increased exponentially compared to Rank 98.

No wonder it was said that after reaching Titled Douluo, each level of advancement was enormous. Especially after entering the Super Douluo realm, each level was like a massive chasm. Based on Yang Podi's estimation, even facing Qian Daoliu at Rank 99 would now be an easy victory.

Yang Podi carefully examined his physical changes. With the addition of the fire-attributed spirit ring, his body seemed to have become even more compact, and his body martial soul had grown far more formidable. However, he noticed a significant mental flaw in his martial soul.

Through his analysis, Yang Podi determined that after absorbing six spirit rings consecutively, their attributes now included space, darkness, metal, wood, earth, and fire—six primary elements. Additionally, there were traces of strength and wind attributes.

Yet the foundational attributes should consist of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Now that he lacked a water-attributed spirit ring, the sense of incompleteness was growing more apparent.

As Yang Podi suspected, the five elements complemented and countered one another. Only by completing the cycle of the five elements could true perfection and balance be achieved. This would lead to a significant breakthrough in power. The final water-attributed spirit ring was of utmost importance.

Yang Podi even believed that once the five-element spirit rings, each with at least 100,000 years of cultivation, were assembled, it might trigger an unexpected transformation, resulting in unprecedented strength.

Shaking his head, Yang Podi sighed. He was now at Rank 99, just one step away from the heavenly chasm of Rank 100. He would need to find his divine position quickly; otherwise, all his efforts would ultimately be in vain.

After collecting the Fire Dragon's corpse, Yang Podi discovered a bright red torso spirit bone inside it. The bone was exceptional in both age and attributes, particularly with its dragon-related properties. Its quality was unmatched across the Douluo Continent.

After some thought, Yang Podi decided to store the spirit bone for now. His current strength left little room for improvement. Perhaps better spirit bones awaited him in the future. For now, this spirit bone felt somewhat unnecessary.

Yang Podi also gained two powerful spirit skills from the spirit ring.

Body Martial Soul Sixth Spirit Skill 1: Flame Dragon Claw. This skill allowed Yang Podi to summon a massive dragon claw to attack enemies. The claw possessed immense strength and Ultimate Fire attributes. Furthermore, it was highly compatible with his body martial soul, enabling him to transform one hand directly into a dragon claw.

Body Martial Soul Sixth Spirit Skill 2: Hellfire Prison. Similar to the Fire Dragon's Flame Domain, this skill granted Yang Podi control over all fire within the area. Within the Hellfire Prison, enemies were subjected to large-scale fire attacks, as though trapped in a blazing inferno.

Unexpectedly, Hellfire Prison resembled a domain-type ability, yet it felt more like a control skill.

During his battle with the Fire Dragon, Yang Podi realized that without his overwhelming power, defeating it so easily would have been impossible. The Fire Dragon's Ultimate Fire was a force capable of suppressing all fire-attribute spirit masters. Hellfire Prison shared a similar effect.

Yang Podi was very satisfied with these two spirit skills. From now on, no fire-attribute spirit master or spirit beast would stand a chance against him; they would all be severely suppressed.

Moreover, these skills had an unusual aspect: their potent flames could greatly counter water-attribute spirit masters, furthering Yang Podi's future plans.

After organizing his new spirit ring, Yang Podi began exploring the underground space.

Surprisingly, despite his intense battle with the Fire Dragon—where he even used his ninth spirit skill—the underground space remained intact.

Although the battle had left various craters and holes, the structure of the underground area was untouched. This was nothing short of miraculous.

Upon closer inspection of the ground and surrounding walls, Yang Podi was stunned to find they were made of black crystal stone. Its strength explained the resilience of the space, even against the heat of the lava.

The central cave was relatively simple, resembling a small courtyard. Its entrance bore a plaque with four ancient characters: Soul-Stabilizing Courtyard. The plaque exuded a sense of antiquity, as if it had weathered countless years.

The courtyard's design was plain, resembling an ordinary home with walls, tiles, and a door. However, upon closer inspection, everything—from the courtyard walls to the bricks, tiles, and plaque—was crafted entirely from Soul-Stabilizing Stone.

Soul-Stabilizing Stone was known for its extreme hardness and unique ability to calm the mind, suppressing dark-attributed spirit masters. Its value rivaled the most precious jade, and its hardness was comparable to Deep Sea Silver.

This small courtyard, though modest in size at just over a hundred meters in length and width, consumed an enormous amount of Soul-Stabilizing Stone. Its value rivaled that of a large city.

Even crafting such a courtyard would be incredibly difficult due to the stone's hardness and rarity. For Yang Podi, it would require immense effort and time.

This underground location grew more puzzling. How could such a high-level structure exist deep beneath the lava?

As Yang Podi entered the courtyard, he was stunned. The dim lighting underground had initially obscured his view, but now he clearly saw a massive tree.

The tree was entirely golden, from its trunk to every leaf. Its radiant vitality surpassed even the core area of the Star Dou Forest.

Yang Podi couldn't help but swallow hard. "Could this be the legendary Golden Ancient Tree?"

But that didn't seem right. The Golden Ancient Tree was said to reside deep within the Star Dou Forest and would later become the foundation of Shrek Academy. How could it appear here?

Yang Podi had explored the Star Dou Forest core multiple times, finding no trace of the Golden Ancient Tree. He had assumed it was hidden by the savage beasts.

Moreover, this courtyard seemed inseparable from the Golden Ancient Tree, making it nearly impossible to move.

Strangely, everything in the courtyard, from the floor to the pavilion and furniture, was made of Soul-Stabilizing Stone.

Who could have built such an extraordinary structure? And why use Soul-Stabilizing Stone for a hidden retreat?

Yang Podi explored further, shocked to find a small spring in the center of the courtyard. The spring radiated immense vitality, even surpassing the Lake of Life in the Star Dou Forest.

Scooping a ladle of water, Yang Podi studied it closely. The life energy within the water exceeded anything he had ever encountered. Combined with the nearby Golden Ancient Tree, this must be the fabled Water of Life.

Cautiously, Yang Podi took a sip, and in an instant, he felt an unparalleled sense of comfort wash over his entire body, as if every fiber of his being had been rejuvenated and filled with vitality. This was undoubtedly the Water of Life.

Yet, this discovery only deepened Yang Podi's curiosity. A place like this could not have been built by an ordinary soul master. It had to be the work of a god. But even if it was a god, why construct this courtyard here? And why plant the Golden Ancient Tree in such a location?

Judging from the surroundings, this area was thousands of meters underground. If it weren't for the aura emanated by the Fire Dragon, Yang Podi might never have noticed it. It should be noted that Yang Podi was already a Level 98 Titled Douluo at the time, and even the Fire Dragon seemed to revere this courtyard greatly.

Even more puzzling, the courtyard appeared to possess a special ability to conceal the aura of the Golden Ancient Tree entirely.

Suddenly, a thought struck Yang Podi, causing his expression to change drastically.

In the world of Douluo, the Abyssal Plane was known to be a terrifying existence. It did not appear in the first Douluo story but emerged in the second due to the collision of continents. Judging from the current situation, it was highly possible that the area beneath this small courtyard was the so-called Abyssal Plane. The courtyard, built entirely of Soul-Stabilizing Stone and accompanied by the Golden Ancient Tree, was likely constructed to suppress the Abyssal Plane.

If that were the case, the cave and even the entire rock space above it might be part of a massive formation, with the Golden Ancient Tree serving as its core.

No wonder the entire Flowing Fire Mountain Range experienced such frequent volcanic eruptions. It turned out that something this terrifying lay hidden beneath it.

Yang Podi stayed in the Soul-Stabilizing Courtyard for half a month without making any further discoveries. However, he did manage to collect all the Water of Life. As for the Golden Ancient Tree and the courtyard built from Soul-Stabilizing Stone, Yang Podi couldn't take them away even with his current strength. Nor did he dare to.

That being said, cultivating beneath the Golden Ancient Tree was extraordinarily beneficial. It boosted the speed of his cultivation by approximately 50%, making it an unparalleled treasure for training. Unfortunately, the only entrance to this place was sealed by magma, making it nearly inaccessible to others.

To truly enter this area, one would either need to temper their body in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, attain the realm of Ultimate Fire or Ultimate Ice, or reach the level of an Ultimate Douluo. Outside of these possibilities, it was almost impossible.

In the end, Yang Podi decided to leave. He had other matters to attend to for now, and he could return here to cultivate later. Even the Golden Ancient Tree couldn't help him ascend to godhood on its own.

As for the details of this cave, Yang Podi had no intention of sharing them with anyone for the time being. This place would serve as his secret base and ultimate trump card. If he failed to secure a divine inheritance in the future, this would likely be his best retreat.