Chapter Ninety-One: The Wild Primeval Tree of Life

Hearing those words, Chen Mu was clearly startled. Others might not understand what they meant, but he did.

That phrase, "eldest son," plainly referred to the firstborn among all beings in heaven and earth. It was unmistakably speaking of the divine bloodline.

This voice had revealed his bloodline identity in a single sentence; it seemed to belong to some ancient monster that had lived for endless ages.

Though Chen Mu could sense no malice in that voice, being seen through so thoroughly still made him tense. At that moment, Rour stood beside him and gently signaled for him not to be nervous.

Rour spoke softly: "That voice is being carried by the will of this ancient tree. It should be a primal life tree left behind by the demon race in primordial times, though it has not yet fully matured. From the looks of it, this life tree has suffered grievous wounds. To have survived until now in such a feeble state is already no small feat. The primal life tree is a heavenly treasure bestowed by the Ancestral Spirit to us true spirits and the demon race, used to transform the land and make this world more suitable for cultivation. It is, in a sense, the foundation on which true spirits and demon beasts survive. In the Immortal Domain, most larger demon clans will have a primal life tree planted at the very core of their territory. You carry the blood of a flood dragon, and even more, the blood of the divine race, brothers of the Ancestral Spirit. So rest assured, the life tree will bear you no ill will."

Only after hearing Rour's explanation did Chen Mu finally relax. Together, Chen Mu and Rour stepped forward, following the vines upward into the interior of the natural shrine.

The others were all curious and eager to follow, but at that moment a bear demon blocked their path.

"This is a sacred ground of my demon race. Humans are not allowed inside."

Although the bear did not release any aura, Gu Xingyuan among the group of humans felt an astonishing pressure from it. That was absolutely not the bearing of a level-three demon beast; this bear demon was definitely a level-four demon beast.

The bear demon was only stopping the human group from looking at the others. As for Qing, Chihuo, Yuan Shan, and Bronze Feather, the four demon beasts, it merely glanced at them once and no longer bothered itself with them.

Everyone could feel the atmosphere growing tense, and none of them dared even to breathe too loudly. It was still Gu Xingyuan who, forcing himself to remain calm, cupped his fists and asked the bear demon, "Senior, the one who just went in is my disciple. May I ask if he will be in any danger?"

The bear demon looked at Gu Xingyuan and said, "The being who invited that exalted one inside is the Life Tree of our demon race. That one is a distinguished guest of ours; how could anything happen to him? You should be grateful that he is connected to that person. Otherwise, by the time you set foot deep in these mountains, you would already have been lost in them and turned into fertilizer for this land."

At those words, everyone felt a chill run down their spines. Still, they could tell that thanks to Chen Mu, they had safely made it here.

Though most did not notice, both Gu Xingyuan and Chen Haoran caught one word in particular: "exalted one." There was no doubt that this referred to Chen Mu.

They were deeply puzzled. Since when had Chen Mu become an "exalted one" in the eyes of the demon race? His many hidden secrets left Gu Xingyuan and the others with a strange, unfamiliar feeling toward him.

Since they had learned that Chen Mu was not in danger, Gu Xingyuan, Chen Haoran, and the others who were close to him all breathed a sigh of relief.

Gu Xingyuan again cupped his fists and said, "Senior, we were being pursued by a cultivator at the divine soul realm and fled here. May we ask whether you could grant us a place to hide?"

The bear demon pondered for a moment and said, "A human divine soul realm cultivator? I have heard that the human cultivators outside the Xingluan Mountains have grown much weaker. Even though you and I stand at the same realm, your strength is far inferior to mine, and yet you must address me as senior. How ironic. I suppose that divine soul realm cultivator cannot be all that formidable either?"

Gu Xingyuan felt awkward. As an outsider from long ago, he knew well that the cultivators of this world were indeed far weaker than those of the continent he had once come from. There were many reasons for this. First was the world itself: in this continent, it had long become difficult to birth divine soul realm cultivators. Second was the poor quality of cultivation methods and the lack of means to open the meridians. In theory, a meridian-opening cultivator could open as many as one hundred and eight meridians, but because of the limitations of these inferior methods, they could only open the thirty-six Heavenly Dipper meridians. Third was the scarcity of resources: the natural treasures of this continent were simply pitifully few.

Gu Xingyuan's strength was actually quite decent. On this continent, he could fight cultivators of the same realm while surpassing them by one minor level, because back in his homeland he had already opened more than thirty-six meridians, though exactly how many no one knew.

What could be said with certainty, however, was that he had not opened the full one hundred and eight meridians. In his homeland's sect, Gu Xingyuan had only been an ordinary disciple, so being able to open even half of the one hundred and eight meridians was already quite impressive.

The bear demon knew its teasing had made the atmosphere rather awkward, so it changed the subject and gave the answer Gu Xingyuan wanted.

"You may move about in this vicinity, but you are not permitted to approach the Life Tree Lord. As for that human divine soul realm cultivator, I shall deal with him—provided, of course, he can even make it here."

Hearing this answer, everyone felt much more at ease. Under the arrangement of this level-four bear demon, they set up camp in a corner of the woods and rested there.

As for Chen Mu, he had already entered the shrine within the body of the life tree. Inside, glowing moss lit the entire space. After passing through a corridor lined with several doors sealed by vines, Chen Mu reached the end and found that the vine-covered door before him had been withdrawn, revealing a grand hall.

Within the hall, an old man formed of wood slowly rose up from beneath the plantlike floor. His skin was like bark, and it was clear he had been transformed from a part of this towering ancient tree.

Seeing Chen Mu and Rour arrive, the old man greeted them kindly. "Welcome, inheritor of the bloodline of the eldest son of heaven and earth. And welcome as well, my friend of the true spirits. The demon race and the true spirits were once one family, though this old one has not seen a true spirit in a very long time."

"Senior, you are too kind. May I ask why you summoned me here?" Chen Mu bowed respectfully. After all, this was a being that had survived from the ancient era to the present. As a mere youth not yet fully fifteen years of age, he dared not be the least bit disrespectful.

Rour, though not as restrained as Chen Mu, still rubbed its head against the life tree, showing both closeness and reverence.

After all, the primal life tree was a gift bestowed by the Ancestral Spirit upon the true spirits and the demon race. Where there was a life tree, there could be a clan.

But judging by the situation, the clan that once possessed this life tree was no longer here.

The old man formed from the life tree said slowly, "No rush, no rush. Come, sit down and we shall speak."

As he spoke, vines grew from the ground and wove themselves into a chair. The life tree motioned for Chen Mu to sit. The matters to be discussed would take some time, so naturally he could not be made to stand while listening.

Chen Mu approached the chair and touched the seat woven from vines. Though life energy pulsed within it, there was also a distinct aura of decay.

The chair and the life tree were one and the same. It was clear that the life tree had suffered severe injuries, otherwise such decay would not seep from it.

Chen Mu did not think much more of it and sat down heavily. The chair carried a cool, soothing sensation that felt quite comfortable.

Seeing Chen Mu seated, the life tree nodded kindly and said, "Inheritor of the bloodline, you have greatly surprised me. I had thought there would be no more divine race left in this world. Yet today I have seen a young divine being who inherited divine blood. As a subject of the Ancestral Spirit, I truly am overjoyed to see the descendants of the Ancestral Spirit's elder brother."

Chen Mu waved a hand and said, "Senior, please do not call me inheritor of the bloodline. It sounds rather awkward. Just call me Chen Mu."

The life tree paused, then nodded and sighed before continuing. "Little friend Chen Mu, ah, I have not spoken with outsiders for a very long time. The war between humans and demons, the great change of heaven and earth... by then I had already been drawn into the battle and gravely wounded. When the war ended, I no longer had the strength to make this land once again suitable for the survival of the demon race. Those clans that once possessed me were unwilling to remain trapped on this tiny continent, so they took my seed, abandoned me, and departed this resource-starved place to forge new homelands.

"Yet because I lingered on in such feeble survival, I sheltered these scattered and weak demon kind. Though they were not a clan, I still chose to protect them. Little by little, these mountains became a refuge for the weaker demon races, and also a forbidden ground that humans could not enter. Though the weaker demon races grew, they still could not compare to the strength of the former demon clans. But with the great changes in heaven and earth on this continent, they nonetheless came to stand among its top ranks.

"And yet the years passed one after another. I knew that I did not have much time left, and before long this final refuge of the demon race would surely vanish. Though there are many level-four demon beasts stationed here, if the maze barrier I set were to disappear, it would inevitably lure humans deeper into these mountains to explore. When that happens, a great war between humans and demons will surely break out here, and that is not the outcome I wish to see.

"But when I saw you arrive, little friend Chen Mu, I sensed a trace of life force upon you. That made me see hope once more. However, do not misunderstand me. This old one does not wish to covet or seize your life force. I can tell that this life force is connected to the divine race, so I would like to borrow your power to heal the wounds I have suffered. If I can recover, I will be able to undergo rebirth and once again make this land a refuge for the demon race. If little friend Chen Mu is willing to help me, I am prepared to offer a substantial reward."

After listening to the life tree's long and rambling account of the land's past and its request, Chen Mu fell into thought.

He now had a rough understanding of the origin of the Xingluan Mountains, and he admired the life tree's resolve to protect this place. Moreover, after sensing Chen Mu's life force, it had not resorted to seizing it by force, but had asked him to help heal its wounds instead. Its sincerity was plain to see.

Do not think that because the life tree was injured its strength must be low. Chen Mu could clearly feel that its power was absolutely the strongest in this world, without a doubt—provided, of course, that little dragon fox Rour had not unsealed its suppression.

While Chen Mu was pondering, he heard Rour communicate with him through divine sense: "Agree to it. Getting the reward of a primal life tree is an absolute bargain."