Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1416 Past and Present
Mount Wanyao is no longer as prosperous as it once was. At this time, the name "Wanyao" (meaning "ten thousand demons") can only be considered a barely accurate description, and the demons there are nothing more than minor demons. However, this has no impact on the two ancient beings in the mountain. Both Jiuli and the Human King have experienced times when there was no living life at all, until some demons found this place.

"It really brings back fond memories," the King said with a smile.

Lu Ning had no idea what was so nostalgic about those guys.

“They must all be wild beasts from under the Jianmu tree,” Jiuli said in a deep voice. “Thinking about it carefully, it’s only natural to be panicked when you wake up now and find your place of refuge gone.”

"Jianmu?" Lu Ning asked, puzzled.

"Back then, it could be seen from anywhere on this land. Its branches pierced the sky, and its spreading leaves could block out the heavens. The light of the sun, moon, and stars could only shine on its topmost leaves... And it also brought light to the ground. The fruits of the Jianmu tree would grow at any time, and each fruit had a radiance like sunlight, warm and bright, until it ripened," the King of Men said.

Lu Ning suddenly felt that the world the King of Men was talking about was not the same world she came from.

"Before the fruit ripens, all tribes in the corresponding location must evacuate, because the ripe fruit will fall, and it will no longer be warm, but will become scorching and ferocious. The moment the fruit falls to the ground, the terrain there will change, forming mountains and valleys. It will take about ten years for the molten lava surface to cool and solidify again. At this time, under the influence of the Jianmu tree, its surface will quickly regrow plants, which we can harvest." The Human King continued to tell the story of the past, "The invisible things you saw should be beasts that live at the highest point. They can enjoy the warmth of the Jianmu fruit up close. The leaves of the Jianmu tree can provide a moist and comfortable environment. They build nests among the branches and feed on the sap. Their ability can soften the Jianmu tree's tough bark. Because they live so high, they don't communicate much with us. Yes, they almost never fly down to the bottom of the tree."

"Then the other three are too..."

"Pretty much. In that era, both our people and the Jiuli tribe mostly relied on a few colossal creatures for survival. The ones you met were all old acquaintances of ours." The Human King glanced at the Jiuli. "However, Bu Yu and Ying Ling should be closer to your tribe?"

“The Rain-Bearing Tree is indeed very close to us. Its rainwater must be filtered through hemp cloth made from the bark peeled off the Jianmu tree before it can be used. Of course, embedding it directly into the Jianmu tree and letting the water seep out naturally is also a method. You may find it annoying, but back then, whenever the fruit fell, they had to accelerate the cooling down of the area so that we would have enough space to survive,” Jiuli replied. “As for the Shadow Spirits, they are purely a nuisance. They hate the brilliance of the Jianmu fruit and only wait in dark places. When they rise from their flat state, they are used to mimicking the posture of any major nearby tribe, which is a kind of hunting camouflage. If you are far away, you can really be fooled.”

After saying that, Jiuli and the Human King exchanged a glance.

"Are those mud-like ghosts the cave monsters under the tree roots, or monsters that crawled out of the abyss?"

"It's hard to be sure, since they've lost their physical form. Since the Shadow Spirits dare to hunt, it means they must know each other."

Listening to this, Lu Ning couldn't help but ask, "Is it possible that they've all gone mad?"

The Human King paused for a moment upon hearing this, then sighed, "Indeed, so many years have passed, and both of our races have witnessed the changes of heaven and earth, but they have not. If when they awaken, everything is no longer as they remember it, they will inevitably go mad."

“Their intelligence is not enough to withstand such a great change,” Jiuli said in a low voice. “Although time has blurred our memories and freed us from the great terror of that time, you should still remember that we never imagined the day when Jianmu would collapse… Even if it did collapse, I would still believe that it would destroy this land beneath our feet.”

“Oh…” The King of Men glanced at Lu Ning. “I think based on our description, she still can’t fully grasp what happened back then, let alone know how it would change her state of mind.”

Lu Ning was slightly taken aback.

"Go take a look, just for a moment." Jiu Li's gaze suddenly met Lu Ning's. Then, Lu Ning felt herself fall into a cloud of mist. Only because of her control over her mental power did she not completely lose consciousness.

However, the power of the demon star still far surpassed hers. With just a glance, Lu Ning suddenly found herself in another time and space.

The towering tree was right in front of us... No, it couldn't even be described as towering. The branches of the Jianmu tree had already pierced through the clouds, and its height probably reached into outer space. It was obvious that this plant did not depend on the surrounding environment to grow, but rather created the environment.

At a glance, Lu Ning also saw the state of this era. Based on what she had seen before about the Returning to Origin and these ancient evil creatures, she originally thought that the environment of this era would probably be very harsh. However, in reality... the Jianmu tree provided a sufficiently rich natural environment. Even the so-called "Fallen Fruit Disaster," which sounded terrifying, had reshaped the surface and caused the environment to undergo a complete transformation. Although the blue sky could not be seen when looking up, the emerald glow emitted by the fruit shining through the branches and leaves created a spectacular scene of azure sky. There were also many plants growing on the ground. Although they were strange in shape, and some preyed on the surrounding creatures, they were also preyed on by other creatures, forming a complete food chain.

Humans and demons were merely part of the universe in that era, existing only because of the Jianmu tree, and were not much different from other creatures.

However, just as Lu Ning was beginning to understand what was happening, she witnessed an apocalyptic scene.

This was unlike any apocalypse she had ever seen. The first thing she saw was a bright blue sky amidst the lush foliage.

The sky revealed itself for the first time within the Jianmu tree. At this time, the creatures on the ground were not entirely unfamiliar with the sky; after all, the Jianmu tree had not completely covered it, and the edges of its branches and leaves still bore traces of the sky.

This scene, however, undoubtedly attracted the attention of many perceptive creatures. There was no panic at first, because the sight was so peaceful that no one could anticipate what would happen next. Those living at the very top of the canopy were the first to be disturbed. The instant half of the massive top vanished, Lu Ning could even hear a delayed scream from the distant sky. The environmental impact of the neatly sheared half of the Jianmu tree hadn't yet manifested, but once the sunlight shone directly on the earth, all life was plunged into confusion.

The creatures whose homes were first destroyed were the first to riot. Lu Ning saw many things even stranger than the invisible evil creatures emerge from the tree trunks. Their innate instincts seemed to sense the source of the threat, and they all rushed towards the sky. However, before the power that could instantly erase half of the Jianmu tree, these creatures' abilities were nothing more than fireflies. In just a dozen seconds, the other half of the Jianmu tree's branches and leaves vanished from the world in an instant, along with the fruit on the tree. The disappearance of the massive entity had already caused atmospheric turbulence. Large and small cloud vortices formed in the sky, filling the void left by the Jianmu tree's disappearance. The friction between the clouds brought thunder and torrential rain. With sunlight shining through the still thin clouds, a bizarre weather scene was created. Under the power of nature, some flying creatures that were not wiped out a second time also fell with the thunder and clouds. The unlucky ones encountered the vacuum vortex and were instantly torn to pieces.

Then, Lu Ning vaguely saw something, perhaps what later generations called a True Immortal. A pillar of light descended from the sky, landed on the ground, pierced through the bottom layer, and then orange-yellow substance followed the pillar of light and flowed into the ground. In just over ten seconds, the pillar of light began to extract black substance from the ground.

“That is Yuan Yu.” The ancient voice of the King of Men rang in Lu Ning’s ears. Lu Ning was slightly taken aback, but not very surprised.

"Do you see those white, multi-ringed halos in the sky? Those are traces of the True Immortals when they first appeared in the world. In reality, the True Immortals have never revealed their true form in the world. If they want to talk to us, they will randomly choose one of our races, possess it, and speak to it. We will then have to bow down and listen."

"This...couldn't there be imposters?"

"Only those possessed by true immortals can inspire our reverence, a feeling that imposters cannot match," the Human King said. "See."

It took only one day for the underground abyss to be emptied, and within that day, only a section of the Jianmu tree trunk remained exposed on the surface. Although this trunk was still a massive structure nearly a hundred meters tall, it was already extremely small compared to what Lu Ning had initially seen.

As for why it was left behind, thinking about the future, Lu Ning could tell that the True Immortal probably wanted to dig up the roots.

The white halos in the sky multiplied, and even as the sun set, they showed no signs of fading. However, unlike the warm glow of the Jianmu fruit, they merely hovered coldly in the sky. Perhaps all sorts of wondrous things, like the Jianmu and Yuanyu, were being harvested by those halos. The process was initially rapid, but its progress slowed down later on; it seemed that the easiest parts to harvest had already been processed.

In contrast, the arrival of the first night filled countless creatures with terror. Having lived under the Jianmu tree for so long, people had no concept of day and night, only the concepts of being under the fruit and under the shadow of the tree. Now, a "shadow of the tree" covering the entire earth appeared. This unprecedented sight plunged many tribes into chaos. Perhaps only now did they truly realize that the end of the world had come.

"How did you get through that time... or rather, why did the True Immortal choose you?" Lu Ning asked.

"Humans and demons are both races that live under trees. Although we also rely on the light of Jianmu to survive, we are divided into tribes, searching for food everywhere and attacking other races. We are not so directly dependent on Jianmu."

“I think this is also why the True Immortals ultimately chose us to determine the final outcome,” Jiuli’s voice echoed. “While they were gripped by panic, our race began to adapt to the new environment.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Lu Ning saw the method by which the True Immortal took away the Jianmu tree.

The halo in the sky began to descend, encircling the remaining trunk of the Jianmu tree from top to bottom. When one of the halos touched the ground, the earth began to split open on its own, without any earth-shattering sound. It simply began to silently part, revealing the root system beneath the soil.

How long were the roots of the Jianmu tree? A few thousand meters? Or tens of kilometers? Lu Ning couldn't estimate the exact length. She saw the "felling" that Jiuli and the Human King had mentioned. The upper part disappeared continuously with the rhythm of the first light circle, while the roots below actively detached from the soil, as if being transported into the logging platform at the top. This process continued for another day and night. The seemingly slow movements actually pulled the massive root system out of the ground at an astonishing speed, devouring it completely. Even though the root system stretched for over a thousand miles, it was completely contained within the light circle.

"I... have touched the light of a true immortal," the Human King suddenly said. "It has no physical form, but I can sense the presence of some kind of intelligence within it. I still don't understand its meaning."

“No need to worry about it…” Jiuli’s voice gradually faded into the distance, and Lu Ning’s consciousness was once again shrouded in thick fog, returning to the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain.

"That's all we can tell you." The King's voice was much clearer this time. Lu Ning opened her eyes and saw the rocks and the old man again.

"Perhaps you will be disappointed, but in the long course of time, we have not come to understand any truths that can shock the world, nor can we imagine what those once familiar things have become. As you can see, I am dead, and the Jiuli have lost the will to venture into the human world. We are just guarding this paradise, and the animosity between us is far less deep than the generational hatred that has accumulated between humans and demons over millions of years," the Human King said leisurely.

"Excuse me, what kind of place is Wan Yao Mountain? It seems that it cannot be reached in an ordinary way, yet the demon race can find this place..." Lu Ning asked.

“That won’t help you. Ten Thousand Demon Mountain is my remains,” Jiuli replied. “I have different lives, and what I shed and abandoned has piled up here to form the foundation of Ten Thousand Demon Mountain. Therefore, the demon race can easily find this place, but the human race does not have that perception ability. Only the old carriage I sent out can guide the way.”

"Thank you for clearing up my doubts. I have no further questions now," Lu Ning said, bowing.

She knew that these two ancient beings, now aged, probably only wanted to guard the last piece of pure land. This was understandable; they couldn't comprehend the methods of the true immortals, nor could they explain their departure. Even those evil beings of the past were limited by their past understanding and failed to comprehend it clearly.

However, Lu Ning had seen something similar to "True Immortal Techniques" in the previous scene... That all-encompassing power might just be another centrifugal tower thrown out by some "person" with some ulterior motive.