“The Old Deer says that as soon as Lord Xuan Cai’s creation woke up, it gave him this black plate.”
“The creation told him that no explanation was needed, as Lord Xuan Cai already knew. If he wanted to leave, he could do as he pleased and need not worry about Qingzhou.”
“Because Qingzhou will soon become a land of strife, and Lord Xuan Cai will hardly have the spare energy to continue protecting them.”
“Then Xuan Cai’s creation gave him this black plate as a token, and they set off.”
Chen Zhou’s brow furrowed.
So, it wasn't the Qianqiu Locust and the Longevity Deer who had informed on him, letting Xuan Cai know of his existence; rather, Xuan Cai had known all along.
The other party likely not only knew of his existence but also knew his background, knew he was in Gloomlight Province, and even knew that Old Pine and Old Crane would invite their old friends to seek refuge with him.
That was why Xuan Cai had taken this opportunity to have the Longevity Deer and the Qianqiu Locust bring the token.
This level of calculation and insight caused a sliver of wariness to rise in Chen Zhou’s heart.
He remained silent for a moment before asking, “Who was that creation that protected you?”
The Longevity Deer let out a few cries.
The Golden Dragon translated, “Old Deer says the lord who first protected them was Lord Prime Qilin.”
Chen Zhou raised an eyebrow. “Prime Qilin?”
There was also a hint of surprise in the Golden Dragon’s voice.
“Prime Qilin, the ancient divine beast, an existence on par with the Dragon Ancestor and the Primal Phoenix.”
“My Lord, what this Old Deer says is true. I can feel that the memories in its bloodline are not faked.”
“Prime Qilin indeed once protected these descendants of auspicious beings, though that was a very, very long time ago.”
The Longevity Deer continued to cry out, and the Golden Dragon followed with the translation.
“Old Deer says that after Lord Prime Qilin perished, they, the auspicious beings, scattered to the ends of the earth, each wandering on their own.”
“Later, he and Old Locust ended up in Qingzhou and met Lord Xuan Cai’s creation, Dou Mu Xie.”
“Dou Mu Xie protected them. For over a thousand years, they have lived under Dou Mu Xie’s protection.”
Chen Zhou’s gaze narrowed slightly. Dou Mu Xie.
One of the twenty-eight constellations, the third of the Northern Black Tortoise Seven Constellations.
He remembered clearly that the Xiezhi, a mythical beast, was rumored to be a symbol of law and justice.
It could distinguish right from wrong; when it saw people fighting, it would use its horn to strike the party in the wrong, and when it heard people arguing, it would bite the one who was dishonest.
However, after being modified by Central Province, how much of its original nature remained was yet to be seen; it was too early to draw conclusions.
He turned to the Golden Dragon and asked, “Based on your understanding of them, how much can they be trusted?”
The Golden Dragon pondered for a moment, its whiskers fluttering gently.
“Forty percent.”
“My Lord, I believe the Old Deer. Although the Nine-Colored Deer bloodline in its body is thin, its natural disposition to befriend the good and shun the evil will not lie.”
“But I do not trust Central Province. The Dragon Ancestor’s memories contain too many of Central Province’s dirty secrets.”
“Those people, every single one of them has hands stained with blood, and every one of them stands upon countless withered bones.”
“They might have once been heroes who cared for the world, but after sitting in those positions, none of them could maintain their original heart.”
“Therefore, My Lord, I can only trust forty percent.”
Chen Zhou thought for a while and then said, “I will attend the appointment in Qingzhou.”
Regardless of the other party’s intentions, whether friend or foe, since they already knew some of his background, Chen Zhou would not sit and wait for death.
If he was a friend, Chen Zhou didn't mind having another ally.
If he was a foe, Chen Zhou also didn't mind personally slaying another false god.
“But not now. We must wait a while until Chan Yi has finished recuperating. Then I can have him lead the Mingchan Clan to calculate Xuan Cai’s background.”
“If Xuan Cai can calculate me, I can naturally calculate him.”
“Returning a favor in kind isn't too much to ask, is it?”
The Golden Dragon nodded. “My Lord is wise.”
The Longevity Deer let out a sigh of relief and slumped onto the ground, its four legs trembling. It had finally passed the test for now.
Chen Zhou stopped paying attention to the Longevity Deer and turned back to the unaging pine.
“Old Pine, we haven't finished what we were talking about earlier.”
The unaging pine stiffened all over. It leaned its trunk back and retracted its branches, putting on an act of “I didn't hear anything.”
Chen Zhou said expressionlessly, “Give me a few more of your pine cones.”
The unaging pine shook its crown frantically, pine needles rustling as they fell.
No!
Absolutely not!
Its pine cones were its lifeblood, treasures it had painstakingly grown!
Last time so many were plucked, and it still hadn't recovered from the heartache.
And now again?
No way!
Chen Zhou remained expressionless. “I am not negotiating with you.”
The unaging pine’s branches drooped, wrapping around its own crown as if trying to hide the pine cones. The entire tree was radiating a stubborn aura of “I’m not listening, I’m not listening, I’m not giving them to you.”
However, this was the first time it had seen this lawless evil god wear such a solemn expression.
Could it be that it really had caused trouble?
The old pine tree’s heart was in turmoil.
It only wanted to invite a few old friends to retire together, so how did it inexplicably get involved with the Sky-Monitoring Four-Direction Envoy?
It didn't know the Old Deer and Old Locust had such connections behind them!
If it had known, it wouldn't have called them.
The unaging pine dejectedly lowered its branches and plucked a few pine cones from deep within its crown, its branches trembling as it handed them to Chen Zhou.
The movements were sluggish, as if it were performing a heart-wrenching scene of life and death.
One, two, three.
By the fourth one, the unaging pine’s branches were shaking violently, as if it had taken immense resolve to let go.
Sigh.
Its precious descendants were lost once again.
Without the pine cones, when would it ever be able to advance?
It had lived for nearly ten thousand years and had been lingering at the sixth-stage. It had finally saved up enough pine cones to prepare for a push to the seventh-stage, only for them to all be plucked away by the evil god.
Last time was the same, and so was this time.
Every single time.
Had it owed this evil god in its past life?
Chen Zhou weighed the pine cones in his hand—four of them, all of excellent quality, round and full, emerald green and dripping with a dense aura of vitality.
He summoned the Jianmu.
The small branch on his shoulder immediately perked up, its emerald light flashing as its twigs shook gently.
Chen Zhou handed the pine cones over.
The Jianmu wrapped around one pine cone, and as the emerald light surged to envelop it, the cone shriveled up in just a few breaths, turning into a pile of ash that rustled down from the branches.
The Jianmu’s aura grew a fraction stronger.
Chen Zhou handed over the remaining three, and the Jianmu absorbed them one by one. The emerald light grew brighter, and the branch thickened by a circle.
“Its lifespan has increased by several thousand years.”
The Golden Dragon commented from the side, “But for a long-lived species like the Jianmu, several thousand years is but the blink of an eye.”
Chen Zhou nodded and said to the Jianmu, “Once you’ve recovered a bit more, I’ll take you to see A Yao.”
The small branch trembled violently, its emerald light flashing madly as its twigs shook with excitement.
Chen Zhou turned around and once again reached out his hand toward the unaging pine.
“Give me a few more.”
The unaging pine: “???”
The unaging pine grew frantic and tried to pull up its roots to run.
The Wanshou Tortoise lay on its rock, opened one eye to glance at the scene, and then closed it again.
What’s the point of running? Can you even escape?
Seeing this, the Qianqiu Locust immediately extended a thick branch, wrapping it around the unaging pine’s trunk with a whoosh.
The old locust tree’s strength was staggering; its branches tightened, pinning the unaging pine firmly in place.
The unaging pine struggled desperately, its roots plowing deep furrows into the ground and sending soil flying.
But the Qianqiu Locust was rooted extremely deep and didn't budge an inch.
Chen Zhou slowly took the Jianmu Divine Fruit from his robe.
The fruit was the size of a fist, shaped like a heart, and entirely emerald green, flowing with a faint radiance.
As soon as the fruit was brought out, the spiritual rhythm of the entire Gathering Fortune Pavilion grew denser.
The unaging pine’s struggling ceased abruptly, and its pine needles stood on end like the fur of a startled cat.
Its trunk shook violently, and its roots scratched at the ground as it tried to break free from the Qianqiu Locust’s binding to rush over and seize the fruit.
Chen Zhou weighed the Jianmu Divine Fruit in his hand and spoke calmly.
“Since you’re unwilling, then forget it.”
“It’s just a pity for this divine fruit.”
“The Jianmu had intended to give this fruit, which contains most of its lifelong divine power, to the plant-based auspicious being that helped it recover its lifespan.”
“It seems you don't have that fortune, Old Pine.”
He turned to look at the Qianqiu Locust.
“Old Locust, I wonder if you have anything that can increase lifespan—”
Before he could finish, the unaging pine suddenly erupted.
It struggled madly, forcibly breaking free from the Qianqiu Locust’s binding, and then the entire tree charged forward. A branch lashed out like lightning, snatching the Jianmu Divine Fruit from Chen Zhou’s hand with a snap.
Once the divine fruit was in its possession, it immediately hid it beneath its roots, wrapping it tightly with dense root hairs.
After finishing all this, the unaging pine shook its crown vigorously.
Crash—
Pine cones rained down from the entire tree, clattering onto the ground—large ones, small ones, green ones, yellow ones—numbering over a hundred and piling into a small mountain.
Its branches curled around the pine cones, submissively delivering them to the side of the Jianmu and stacking them neatly.
Look at this mess; you should have said it was a divine tree earlier.
It wasn't an unreasonable tree.
It was just a few pine cones; was it, the Old Pine, the kind of tree to be stingy?
The unaging pine’s branches shook gently, radiating a fawning aura.
Although it didn't recognize the Jianmu or the divine fruit, it could feel that the power contained within the fruit was of infinite benefit to it. As long as it could fully absorb it, it would definitely have a chance to complete its advancement.
Why did it grow a tree full of pine cones?
Wasn't it to advance sooner?
Now that a ready-made divine fruit was placed before it, was it stupid? It was not!
The Old Pine would never do something as foolish as ignoring a shortcut.
One had to admit, the evil god was truly a good friend.
He really thought of it when he had good things.
It was touched.
It wasn't for nothing that it had given the evil god so many pine cones.
None of them were given in vain.
Chen Zhou looked at the unaging pine’s “I am very generous” act and chuckled, not exposing it.
He bent down and began picking through the pile of pine cones.
He picked out the ones of good quality and dense vitality, setting them aside, while tossing back the shriveled and weak ones.
Finally, he gathered about a dozen, leaving one for Chan Yi to replenish his lifespan and keeping the rest as spares.
The remainder were all pushed toward the Jianmu.
The Jianmu’s twigs shook gently as they reached into the pile of pine cones and began absorbing them one by one.
The emerald light grew stronger and stronger as the pine cones shriveled one after another, turning to ash.
On the other side, the unaging pine was also absorbing the Jianmu Divine Fruit.
It kept the divine fruit hidden beneath its roots, wrapping it tightly and extracting its power bit by bit.
The trunk began to glow.
From the inside out, the emerald light shone through the bark, making the entire tree look like a lantern.
The pine needles became greener and fuller, and the crown was slowly gaining height while the trunk thickened slightly.
The Jianmu Divine Fruit contained most of the Jianmu’s lifelong divine power; although it couldn't compare to a complete Jianmu, it was enough for a sixth-stage pine tree to undergo a complete transformation.
Both trees were absorbing the power, and both were extremely satisfied.
The Qianqiu Locust watched from the side, its trunk twisting back and forth as if it couldn't sit still.
It surreptitiously extended a branch and gently poked Chen Zhou.
Then it lowered its branch and wrote a line of characters on the ground before him.
The handwriting was crooked, but one could see it was written very seriously.
“My Lord, I will work hard to bloom in the future. If the Jianmu bears fruit again, could you give me one as well?”
“I won't take it for nothing; I promise to dedicate every flower I bloom in the future to My Lord.”
Chen Zhou casually replied, “Sure.”
The Jianmu Divine Fruit was only beneficial to plant-based auspicious beings.
It was of no use for him to keep it himself, so it was best to put it to good use.
Besides, the Qianqiu Locust’s flowers were indeed quite effective; it wouldn't hurt to have more.
Upon hearing Chen Zhou agree, the old locust tree trembled with excitement, its flowering branches swaying.
It gently curled a locust leaf and carefully tucked it into Chen Zhou’s lapel, then curled another and tucked it into the Jianmu’s branch, and yet another into the Golden Dragon’s horn.
Golden Dragon: “...There is no need.”
The unaging pine was instantly enraged when it saw this.
What was the meaning of this? Was it not working hard enough to bear fruit? Was it not close enough to the evil god?
Why should good things be given to another tree?
That rascal Old Locust!
It had kindly invited the other to retire here, only for this Old Locust to start competing with it as soon as it arrived.
How could there be such a shameless tree!
The unaging pine got angrier the more it thought about it, and its branches suddenly lashed out, striking the Qianqiu Locust’s trunk with a sharp snap!
The Qianqiu Locust shuddered from the blow, losing another layer of locust leaves. It was also enraged.
The branches lashed back.
Snap!
The unaging pine’s crown tilted from the strike.
The two trees began to brawl.
Branches lashed wildly, leaves flew everywhere, and pine needles and locust leaves became entangled as they fell to the ground in a flurry.
The Golden Dragon coiled behind Chen Zhou and helped translate.
“My Lord, the unaging pine is cursing the Qianqiu Locust.”
“It says it wants to break off its friendship with Old Locust.”
Chen Zhou chuckled and ignored the two trees’ commotion. Seeing that Jiu'er had already moved all the beast eggs into the Gathering Fortune Pavilion, he turned to leave.
At the entrance of the Gathering Fortune Pavilion, Chen Zhou looked out over the City of the Wrongfully Dead.
The city was still expanding.
New houses were rising from the ground, and new streets were crisscrossing.
The commoners were busily moving about the city, some repairing roads, some building houses, and others patrolling.
Mortals and little demons lived together; although there were occasional frictions, overall, it was quite harmonious.
At the city gate, the sea of flowers was in full bloom.
In the distance, the bell of the Hall of Talent Cultivation rang.
Children ran from all directions toward the school, preparing for class.
Jiu'er also hurriedly ran out of the Gathering Fortune Pavilion, heading toward the Hall of Talent Cultivation.
“Xiaoyun, wait for me!”
Jiu'er tried his best to catch up, while Xiaoyun ran ahead, turning back to make a face at him.
“Big Brother Jiu'er is too slow; you're going to be late!”
The two children chased each other, their laughter echoing along the way.
The corners of Chen Zhou’s mouth curled up slightly. Such days were good, but they were not enough.
Gloomlight Province was just the starting point; Tianchi Province was being incorporated, and Cangzhou was still being explored.
Xuan Cai in Qingzhou, the false gods in Central Province... and that Battle of Qingtian that had swept through the heavens, the old divine path mentioned by Jianmu and A Yao.
All of these were waiting for him.
Chen Zhou withdrew his gaze.
The system panel expanded before his eyes.
【Grade: Calamity Grade (fifth symbiosis contract)】
【Godhead: Oasis Goddess's inner godhead (Nüba)】
【Divinity: Hatred, Lethal Poison, Filth, Decay...】
【Divine Path Authority: Omitted】
【Source of Divine Power: 2/10】
【Evil God Points: 47.6 million+】
The numbers were still ticking up.
Every minute and every second, new believers were joining, and new faith was converging.
Under the tireless promotion of Ku Chan and the others, the reputation of the City of the Wrongfully Dead had long since spread outward at an astonishing speed.
Those beings struggling in despair had heard that there was a true god in the Dead Man’s Forest who protected all living beings, who did not collect exorbitant taxes, and who did not practice blood sacrifices or human burials.
All that was required was faith and to live well.
So they brought their families, crossing mountains and rivers, flocking toward the City of the Wrongfully Dead on a pilgrimage, wanting to see what the holy land where the true god resided actually looked like.
Chen Zhou closed the panel.
“It is still not enough.”
“I must be faster.”
“Stronger.”
The Golden Dragon poked its head out from behind him and rubbed against Chen Zhou’s shoulder.
“My Lord, take it slowly.”
“You have already progressed very quickly.”
Chen Zhou shook his head.
“Not fast enough.”
“The people of Central Province have already targeted me.”
“Xuan Cai is only the first.”
“There will be more later.”
“I must become strong enough before then.”
“Strong enough that they won't even have the courage to test me.”
The Golden Dragon was silent for a moment before nodding.
“My Lord, I understand.”
“I will always stay by your side.”
“Until you ascend to that supreme throne.”
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