Chapter 2820 – Scratching
Translator: Silavin & Danny
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Yang Kai’s face turned solemn at this sight, because despite the simple move the old man made, it revealed perfect control over his power.
Initially, Yang Kai thought that by joining hands with Tiea they would at least give the old man some trouble even if they could not win against him, but now that he saw this old man’s capabilities, Yang Kai realized he had been naïve.
This old man… Was unimaginably strong.
If the old man really wanted to harm him, Yang Kai knew that he would not be able to withstand a single blow from him, even if he joined hands with Tiea.
However, the old man was obviously only interested in the medicine refined by Yang Kai. First, the old man took a sniff, but he was not satisfied with just that and proceeded to scrape some of it onto his finger and taste it. Immediately, the old man raised his brow and turned to Yang Kai, “Did you make this medicine?”
Yang Kai nodded, “Yes!”
“What an outstanding healing medicine.” The old man praised, “But it can’t be used frequently. Otherwise, it will cause some damage to one’s foundation.”
He spotted the disadvantages of the healing medicine at a glance, but that wasn’t surprising since Yang Kai’s medicine was only made from ordinary herbs. It did not theoretically have too potent of a healing effect, but it could stimulate the Blood Qi of an Ancient Barbarian, thus hastening their self-healing speed. This was similar to the Bloodlust Spell. It was fine to be used once or twice, but if it was used too frequently, it would damage one’s foundation and sap one’s vitality.
However, this wasn’t too big of a drawback as it was just an emergency medicine, not something one would use frequently.
“I can’t believe Herbalists nowadays are so powerful.” The old man was truly interested in the healing medicine, and began to identify the ingredients used in it.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yang Kai pulled Tiea aside, and whispered, “Who the hell is this old man?”
Tiea asked with a smile on her face, “Didn’t Grandpa Qing tell you?”
Yang Kai shook his head.
Tiea continued, “Since Grandpa Qing didn’t explain, then I can’t say much either.”
Yang Kai stretched out his hand, “Give me back all the Green Coins you earned.”
Tiea was appalled and quickly jumped back in vigilance.
“No way. They’re mine,” She stared at him as she replied.
Yang Kai grinned, “Looks like you want people to know about your little secret.”
Tiea could not help gritting her teeth at his blackmail, and eyed Yang Kai contemptuously, “Shameless! Despicable! …Shameless!”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Can’t you be more creative?”
“Young man, why do you tease little Tiea when you already have a guess in your heart?” The old man put down the stone jar at the moment, and turned to him with a smile.
Yang Kai frowned slightly before he took a deep breath, still unable to hide the shock in his eyes as he slowly replied, “Although I have a guess, I’m still not certain.”
The old man smiled, “The truth is what your heart believes it is.”
Yang Kai was taken aback, stared at the old man in awe, and questioned in a deep voice, “Are you really… The Evergreen Divine Tree?”
With the evidence that the old man could appear mysteriously in his Tree Cave and that Tiea calling him ‘Grandpa Qing’, it would be strange if Yang Kai could not think of anything given his meticulous thinking. However, it was still hard for him to believe it.
The old man waved his hand, “Divine Tree was just an exaggerated title the Frost and Snow Clan gave to me. Many years ago, I was just an ordinary Evergreen Tree.”
[This ‘many years’ probably meant tens of thousands of years ago…]
Yang Kai was relieved by his admittance, but on second thought, it was reasonable because it was rumoured that not even a Shaman King or Shaman Saint could intrude into the Tree Caves of the Evergreen Divine Tree. Now that this old man suddenly appeared in his Tree Cave, who could he be other than the Evergreen Divine Tree?
Because of this, Yang Kai had nothing to worry about. Although he did not communicate much with people despite staying in the Frost and Snow Clan for a long time, he had heard a lot of legends about the Evergreen Divine Tree. It was a guardian of peace and blessing; therefore, it would hold no malice towards him.
“Senior Qing, please forgive this Junior for speaking recklessly. If I have offended Senior Qing, please be generous and forgive me,” Yang Kai cupped his fists solemnly.
Qing laughed, “Don’t worry. You have been taking care of little Tiea, how can I blame you?”
Yang Kai asked curiously, “Senior and Tiea are…”
One of them was the Evergreen Divine Tree, while the other one was an Ancient Barbarian from the Nomad Clan. The two were supposed to have nothing to do with each other, but in fact, Tiea seemed to be very close with Senior Qing, and even called him Grandpa.
“Someone abandoned a baby girl at my roots sixteen years ago!” Senior Qing explained briefly as he patted Tiea on the head.
Tiea did not seem to mind and she just smiled happily, enjoying the rare doting.
A realization then dawned on Yang Kai. It seemed that Tiea was raised by Senior Qing, so it made sense that she addressed him intimately. Perhaps, the Illusion Art Tiea used was a blessing granted by Senior Qing.
Previously, Yang Kai was curious about what kind of Shamanic Spell Tiea had used to change her petite figure into a burly body; after all, she simply placed a single green leaf on her forehead to perform this transformation. Now, it seemed that it was not a Shamanic Spell cast by Tiea but something Senior Qing did.
Below the canopy of the Evergreen Divine Tree, Senior Qing was in complete control, so by giving Tie a green leaf with mysterious powers, it was easy for him to conceal her appearance.
“Grandpa Qing, didn’t you wake up just last year? Why did you wake up again so soon?” Tiea asked curiously.
Hearing this, Senior Qing darted his eyes at Yang Kai, and revealed, “I sensed a familiar aura…”
Yang Kai did not believe him when he mentioned it before, but when he emphasized it for the second time, Yang Kai naturally did not doubt it anymore.
“A familiar aura?” Tiea turned to Yang Kai curiously.
Yang Kai’s brow twitched as he thought to himself, [Does he mean the aura of the Immortal Tree?]
If there was an aura that could be familiar to Senior Qing, it was undoubtedly the Immortal Tree. The Immortal Tree was a Supreme Treasure that although different from the Evergreen Divine Tree, was still ultimately a tree.
But what did not make sense was that the Immortal Tree was still in Sealed World Bead, and its aura should not have been exposed.
Although there was some doubt in his heart, Yang Kai did not try to explain much, because it was better not to reveal the secret of the Immortal Tree to too many people.
Senior Qing looked at Yang Kai intently for a moment before shaking his head, “It’s strange. This aura seems to be homologous with me, but it is notably different.” While speaking, he immersed himself in deep thought, as if he was pondering about something, his expression shifting constantly.
Yang Kai and Tiea exchanged looks, but dared not to disturb the old man, just waiting for him silently.
Half a day later, Senior Qing suddenly regained his senses and laughed again, “It seems I’m getting too old and almost fell asleep again.” Although he was an ancient and powerful being, Senior Qing actually spent most of his life sleeping, and the awakening this time was just a coincidence.
Tiea peeped coquettishly, “Grandpa Qing is not old.”
Senior Qing smiled lightly and continued, “Since I’m awake, little Tiea, help grandpa to scratch his body. I don’t feel so good again.”
“Good, good,” Tiea’s eyes suddenly lit up, as if she found coins on the ground, and turned to Yang Kai. “Shaman Niu, do you want to help too?”
Yang Kai was puzzled, wondering why someone would need help in scratching their body? But seeing that Senior Qing was a great elder, he did not feel right to refuse him and decided to follow the tradition of respecting the old. Walking forward, Yang Kai stood behind Senior Qing, reached out his hand, and started scratching his back.
Tiea was stunned for a while, but soon burst into laughter.
Even Senior Qing had a hard time holding his laughter.
“What are you laughing at?” Yang Kai glared at Tiea angrily. He was willing to help them without complaining, but he was being laughed at in return. Furthermore, Tiea’s mocking face was looking truly irritating to him.
Tiea doubled over laughing even harder at his comment before taking some time to explain, “This is not the way to scratch Grandpa Qing’s body. Not like this…”
“Then, teach me!” Yang Kai took a step backwards and gestured to Tiea.
Tiea stopped laughing, but the wide smile was still etched on her face. She then looked at Senior Qing and said, “Let's begin.”
Senior Qing nodded, stretched out his hand, and pointed forward. The narrow Tree Cave suddenly split, revealing a channel that led into a seemingly bottomless darkness.
Tiea beckoned Yang Kai, “Follow me!”
While speaking, she walked into the channel and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Yang Kai did not doubt her, so he simply kept up.
The moment Yang Kai entered the channel, he began slipping downwards, as if a slide was paved beneath him, leading him to some unknown depths.
A moment later, when Yang Kai landed on the ground, Tiea who arrived earlier performed an Illumination Spell to cast away the darkness of the surrounding space, then pointed around, “The reason Grandpa Qing feels itchy is because of them. Our task is to clean them up!”
When those words fell, numerous pairs of red eyes suddenly lit up in the surroundings.
Yang Kai looked up and was taken aback at the scene, “So many Monster Beasts!”
Tiea replied, “They are the parasites in Grandpa Qing’s body, and they reproduce super fast. I clean them up about once a year. Now that you are here to help, just consider it a favour from me.”
Yang Kai was puzzled, “Since you said I’m here to help, how is it a favour from you?”
Tiea pursed her lips as she smiled, “I saw you buying a lot of Barbarian Beast Cores, which seem to be used for cultivation. There are so many Barbarian Beasts here, don’t you have any thoughts?”
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened at her words. Apparently, it was true that a window opens when a door closes. He was worried about how to earn more Green Coins to purchase Monster Cores as no one was buying his healing medicines anymore, but he did not expect that an opportunity would simply appear before him.
The inside of Senior Qing’s body was just like a Sealed World. Inside this world, countless parasitic Monster Insects were surviving by absorbing Senior Qing’s power, and they grew extremely fast. It could almost be said that these Monster Insects with different sizes and appearances were all Monster Cores.
While the two were still chatting, the surrounding Monster Insects could not hold themselves back anymore. They swarmed out of their hiding place one after another, buzzing with a faint noise in an attempt to surround the invaders.
For a moment, Yang Kai and Tiea seemed to fall into the world of Monster Insects, surrounded by a huge crowd of them.
“I’ll make it clear now. Whoever kills it, gets it. Don’t rob mine later!” Tiea warned Yang Kai warily. When she raised her hand, three bursts of Qi were already propelled forward.
When she made this move, Yang Kai sensed a vigorous wave of power.
[So, she is a Shaman Grandmaster!] Yang Kai raised his brow. He never thought that Tiea, who was driven by him to sell medicines without complaint, was actually a Shaman Grandmaster. Although he could not identify her specific grade, her power was definitely beyond the ability of a Shaman Master.