Withered Toon's name came from the opportunity behind its rise. 3

Deep within the mountains, there was once an ancient toon tree[1] that had lived for ages untold. Over time, it became sentient, and then embarked on a path of absorbing the essence of the sun and moon—the way of plants cultivating into spirits of nature. 2

Many thousands of years passed, and this great toon tree finally reached the peak of the third great stage of cultivation. It was only one step away from fourth-tier transformation and breaking free of its earthly bounds. Naturally, when the time came to take that final step, the great toon tree did not hesitate.0

Yet the lightning tribulation that had the power to transform also had the power to destroy, and the great toon tree succumbed to the latter. Its spirit intelligence was obliterated and its body was shattered, rendering it nothing more than a third-tier husk. It was barely clinging to life in the mountains when a little Grayleaf Wolf stumbled upon it. 0

The wolf was young and weak; its spirit intelligence was barely...0