"Now then," Elder Molric continued, already moving on to the next lesson, "let's talk about the Woodweave Seal."

His tone was light, almost casual, but something in his expression made me tense. The vine around my neck clearly sensed it too, tightening slightly in anticipation.

"The thing about healing runes," he said, raising his hand, "is that they require a very particular understanding."

"Wait!" I held up my hands, backing away slightly as I caught on to what he was planning. "I can make my own injuries for practice."

The elder's hand dropped, a frown on his face. "Oh. Well, I suppose that works too." He sighed. "Though my method would have been much more interesting..."

Ignoring that concerning statement, I pulled out a small knife I'd started carrying for rune carving practice. The vine around my neck tensed as I brought the blade to my forearm.

"It's okay," I whispered to it. "Just a small cut for training. It won't hurt much."

The vine remained skeptical but loosened its grip slightly, though it kept one tendril hovering near my arm as if ready to intervene.

With careful precision, I drew the knife across my skin, creating a shallow cut about three inches long. Blood welled up immediately, but the wound wasn't deep - just enough to practice on without risking any real damage.

"Good control," Elder Molric nodded. "Now, channel energy through your Fundamental Rune into the Woodweave Seal. Focus on the wound and activate the pattern."

I did as instructed, drawing on the refined energy my Fundamental Rune had gathered. The tree pattern glowed softly as energy flowed through its branches into the new healing rune on my chest.

The Woodweave Seal flashed with a dull red light... and almost nothing happened. A few tiny wood fibers materialized above the cut, then immediately dissolved.

"Hmm." I adjusted the energy flow, trying to maintain a more steady stream rather than the burst I'd used before. The rune flashed again, but the result was even less impressive - this time the fibers barely formed at all.

"As I thought," Elder Molric stroked his beard thoughtfully. "The combat runes came naturally to you because you already understood their fundamental principles - restraint, force, explosion. But healing?" He shook his head. "You can't just activate the rune and expect it to work. You need to understand the process you're trying to accelerate."

That made sense. I tried to recall what I remembered about wound healing from high school biology. There was something about blood clotting first, then...

"Master," Azure said in his lecture voice, "allow me to assist. The wound healing process is made up of the following phases: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and maturation."

Images and diagrams flashed through my mind as Azure shared his knowledge. Blood vessels constricting to slow bleeding, platelets gathering to form clots, white blood cells rushing to fight infection...

"The Woodweave Seal," Azure continued, "should be able to accelerate these natural processes. Perhaps if we structure the energy flow to mirror each phase?"

I nodded slowly, studying the cut on my arm. "So first, we need the wood fibers to act like fibrin proteins, creating a framework for the clot..." I channeled energy differently this time, visualizing the molecular structures Azure had shown me.

The rune activated again, and this time fine wooden threads began weaving themselves across the wound. They formed a delicate lattice, similar to the fibrin mesh in blood clots, but made of plant matter instead of protein.

"Better!" Elder Molric leaned closer, watching with interest. "Now maintain that pattern while transitioning to the next phase."

I tried, but as I adjusted the energy to mimic inflammation, the wooden mesh started unraveling. The fibers lost cohesion and began falling apart.

"Analyze the failure point, Master," Azure suggested. "The transition between phases appears to be the weak link."

He was right. I'd been treating each phase as separate, dinstinct steps. But in the body, they overlapped - inflammation began while clotting was still happening, new tissue grew while inflammation was ongoing...

"Let's try again," I muttered, reformulating my approach. This time, I layered the energy patterns, letting each new phase build on the previous one rather than replacing it.

The rune pulsed with steady crimson light as wood fibers once again formed across the wound. But now, instead of trying to force them through distinct transformations, I let the patterns evolve naturally.

New fibers grew while the initial mesh was still strengthening, creating depth and structure that mimicked actual tissue regeneration.

Gradually, a solid patch of woven wood formed over the cut. It was flexible but strong, with a surface texture surprisingly similar to skin. The edges blended almost seamlessly with my actual flesh, held firmly in place by microscopic root-like structures that anchored into the surrounding tissue.

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"Excellent work!" Elder Molric examined the patch closely. "Good cellular mimicry, proper tensile strength... though you'll need to work on speed. In battle, you won't have time for all this careful layering."

I nodded, prodding the wooden skin experimentally. It felt strange but not uncomfortable.

"And don't get too ambitious," the elder continued. "The red sun's energy isn't exactly known for its healing properties. If you're hoping to become some kind of miracle healer, you'll likely be disappointed."

"Is that what the blue sun's energy is for?" I asked, thinking about the massive blue star that dominated half the sky.

"That's one of its properties, yes." Elder Molric's eyes took on a distant look. "If only those blasted priests would let me run a few experiments... but no, it's all 'heretic this' and 'blasphemer that' and trying to purify me with holy fire the moment I get close..." He trailed off, muttering something about 'improved capture techniques' and 'better restraints this time.'

Suddenly seeming to remember I was there, the elder coughed. "Ah, yes, well... that's enough training for today. Practice these techniques on your own time." He waved a hand dismissively. "And go deal with that annoying brat who's been prowling the corridors looking for you. I can sense him getting closer to my laboratory."

I started to bow and leave, but hesitated.

The World Tree Sutra needed both wind and earth energy to advance, winning the battle against Chen Wu would secure me the wind essence, leaving only the earth element left.

I clearly didn’t have enough spirit stones to buy it in the cultivation world, my only other option was to acquire it here.

Who better to ask than a Rank 7 Skybound? Someone of his level must either have earth essence or know where to obtain it. The real question was how to approach the subject without revealing too much about why I needed it.

"Thank you for the instruction, Elder," I said carefully. "But before I go... I was wondering if you might have any pure earth essence?"

The elder frowned. "You're focusing on wood element techniques. Why would you be interested in earth essence?"

"Isn't there significant overlap between them?" I asked carefully.

That launched him into full lecture mode. "A common misconception! While both elements deal with physical matter, their fundamental natures are quite different. Earth essence represents stability, foundation, raw mineral power. Wood essence embodies growth, adaptation, vital energy..." He continued for several minutes before finally concluding, "Though I suppose they can complement each other effectively when properly combined."

"So... do you have any?"

"Of course I do!" He looked almost offended. "But it's not free, boy."

"What do you want for it?"

Without answering, Elder Molric suddenly tossed several glowing crystals in my direction. I caught them, frowning at the familiar objects - they were not elemental stones, they were absorption stones.

"What are these for?" I asked, not liking where this was going.

A slow smile spread across the elder's face. "Well... as much as I'd love to run a few experiments on a Natural like yourself, I did promise to be a better teacher this time." His expression grew distant for a moment. "Don't want you ending up like my other students."

Something about the way he said that made me very glad I'd refused his offer to create training injuries.

"I've taught you the skills. Now let's see how you bring them all together. Those stones should help keep you alive long enough to make things interesting." He straightened up, eyes gleaming. "Survive, and the earth essence is yours. Fail..." He shrugged, the gesture somehow more unsettling than any threat could have been. "Well, I'll just have to use your corpse to further my research. Waste not, want not!"

Before I could properly process that concerning statement, his finger was already moving. It left trails of burning crimson light in the air, forming a complex rune pattern that hurt my eyes to look at directly.

"Try not to use them all at once!" he called out cheerfully, then snapped his fingers. "Good luck!"

The rune exploded in a burst of crimson energy that seemed to tear reality itself apart. The laboratory's carefully constructed training ground shattered like glass, its fragments dissolving into streams of red light that swirled around me like a tornado.

When my vision cleared, I found myself standing in a forest.

The trees were unnaturally still, their leaves a deep purple that seemed to absorb what little light filtered down from above.

No birds sang, no insects chirped.

The only sound was my own breathing, which seemed far too loud in the silence.

The vine around my neck tightened protectively as we both sensed it - whatever this place was, we weren't alone.