As an official, what's wrong with raising a few monsters?

Chapter 409 The Old Tree's Past

"In any case, please help me erase the cultivation method from this bell."

This bell is a magical item for calming the mind.

Deceiving yourself is like burying your head in the sand; you are only deceiving yourself.

Mingchen didn't want to cut off Lingyu's infinite future possibilities, but he also wanted to keep this magic weapon so that he could protect her if necessary.

"can."

The old tree simply explained both possibilities to Mingchen.

The choice is entirely up to him.

He naturally wouldn't say anything more.

Removing the mark left by a powerful being is not earth-shattering.

A gentle breeze blew, and fallen leaves drifted down, landing precisely on Ling'er. A subtle, almost imperceptible flow of magical power passed through them, and they instantly turned into powder and disappeared.

Mingchen shook the bell and asked, "Is that all?"

"okay."

"Thank you!"

At this point, Mingchen's stated purpose for returning home can be considered accomplished.

Mingchen leaned against the old tree and poured himself another bowl of wine.

Time flowed slowly, and neither the man nor the tree spoke, remaining silent for a long time.

Mingchen finally couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Don't you want to talk to me about something else?"

He's actually quite talkative, but Lao Shu is the ultimate silent type.

This old thing is a plant, and it has been rooted in the ground for who knows how many years.

When it comes to composure, probably no one can surpass him.

This guy can't even transform into human form, so Mingchen can't even observe his expression.

The old tree remained as calm as ever: "The past is the past. Whatever you want to know, I can tell you."

He knew what Mingchen meant by his question.

He knew that Mingchen had seen many sights and would naturally be curious and want to explore more.

Now that Mingchen is at the card table, things are different now, and Laoshu no longer holds back against him.

"I want to know exactly how many years of cultivation you have?"

What have you been through?

Do you have any connection with those immortals, Buddhas, gods, or ghosts?

Without any hesitation, Mingchen took a sip of wine and then laid out all his questions.

"Ha~"

The old tree chuckled softly upon hearing this: "How many years of cultivation... It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that I myself can't remember."

Mingchen: ...

"As for the others... do you know about the Holy Emperor Qingyuan?"

Mingchen rolled his eyes upon hearing this: "Old man, stop pretending to be profound and answer questions with questions."

The old tree was speechless, but showed no emotion whatsoever. It simply said calmly, "The answer lies within the question itself."

Mingchen shrugged and said only, "The Supreme Emperor of the Northern Pole, who vanquishes demons and cleanses the source, is one of the Nine Emperors. He guards the Northern Star River, subdues demons and bandits, and possesses boundless magical power... I am naturally aware of that."

Mingchen is now quite familiar with these myths and legends.

The legend of this emperor is quite ancient, and the records are incomplete. What has been passed down are stories that have been heavily modified and have a legendary flavor.

He is said to be the ruler of the Great Jin, one of the divided states before the Xia Dynasty. He was born with an extraordinary appearance and was extremely brave and martial. At that time, natural disasters and man-made calamities occurred, demons ran rampant, and the people suffered.

This wise ruler descended to earth in response to the call of heaven and earth, leading heroes to vanquish countless demons on towering mountains and restore peace to the world.

Of course, these are all legends.

Because of the vast distance in time and the incompleteness of historical records, people like to imbue some legendary stories with a legendary quality.

Just like the Yellow Emperor and Chi You of another era.

Both winners and losers are given a different kind of power.

The old tree's withered branches trembled slightly in the wind, and it asked Mingchen again, "Do you know what demons the Emperor subdued and what bandits he vanquished back then?"

Mingchen shrugged: "It's said to be three thousand demons, billions of monsters and ghosts, and all sorts of random Great Sages and Great Demons... I don't remember."

"Haha~"

The old tree simply smiled slightly upon hearing this, its withered branches trembling gently in the wind: "They were swinging me."

"The towering mountains of the far north are my territory."

"There is no legend in this world that there is a Heaven-Subduing Evergreen Saint Venerable above those three thousand demons and billions of monsters."

Those glorious past events now seem like worthless words.

When the old tree spoke of these dreadful topics, its voice remained calm, as if it were talking about something trivial.

"Really?"

Unexpectedly, Mingchen's expression was also extremely calm.

He seemed completely unsurprised, simply leaning against the old tree and taking a sip of wine, as if discussing something utterly ordinary.

"Correct."

"That emperor subdued demons and bandits to gain fame and disturb my peaceful cultivation. I cut off his head and chopped off his limbs. I attracted the army and murderous aura of an entire nation, summoned two Dao Ancestors to descend and fight me, and summoned the Buddha of the Western Paradise to descend with his Buddha light. I have seen and fought all the extreme beings in this world. Only the Supreme Being of the Underworld has not made a statement."

"Although I am no match for the myriad laws of the heavens, and I am afflicted by the three thousand Dao seals and the Buddha's light covering my head, my body is connected to the spirits of all plants and trees in the world, and all plants and trees are also me. If I die, the plants and trees will wither, the world will have no food, this world will collapse, all spirits will be annihilated, and even the immortals will cease to exist. Although I am at a disadvantage, I am not defeated, and the immortals thus call me the Holy Venerable."

The autumn night breeze was slightly cool, and the old tree spoke calmly of the past that had shaken heaven and earth.

"That's it..."

From the moment the old tree mentioned the emperor, Mingchen's thoughts raced, and he could guess the gist of it pretty accurately.

The old tree spoke lightly, but only he himself knew how magnificent the battlefields he had experienced, how fierce the battles he had fought, and how much death and disillusionment he had witnessed.

"If you can't beat them, you can't beat them; if you lose, you lose. Old man, why are you trying to save face?"

He didn't say anything sentimental; instead, he gently patted the branches of the old tree.

They teased and joked like close friends.

Mingchen has been through a lot to get to where he is now.

Old Tree is a man of few words, but he is more than capable of understanding the whole picture based on his insights.

That Northern Demon-Slaying and Pure Source-Cleansing Supreme Emperor is clearly following a similar script to the current Northern Emperor.

He vanquished demons and bandits, and ascended to the position of the Supreme Ruler of the Nine Heavens.

However, nothing in this world is predetermined, and nothing is perfect. The larger the plan and the wider the scope it involves, the more unexpected variables will arise.

Just like now, Qin Lou has encountered Ming Chen, a variable.

Thousands of years ago, that emperor encountered the variable that was the Old Tree. The Old Tree was probably a low-key individual, adept at hiding its abilities so that no one noticed it, and its power far exceeded the expectations of all those in power.

Mingchen may seem eccentric, flamboyant, and reckless, but in reality, he is shrewd and calculating, adept at building relationships and understanding human connections. He knows where the bottom line is, the basic rules for getting things done, and how to unite with both primary and secondary enemies.

He sat down at the card table and played against his opponent.

In comparison, the young old tree was perhaps much more impulsive and straightforward; he chose to overturn the entire game.

They immediately beheaded the emperor, offering no channels of communication, refusing to negotiate or compromise, determined to fight to the death… Having slapped everyone in the face, it was only natural that he was besieged by them. And this old man's strength was indeed terrifyingly powerful; even the personal intervention of five supreme beings couldn't kill him. The Netherworld, being close to the Myriad Mountains, maintained an ambiguous stance, unsure of whose side they supported.

In the end, we were left with this awkward situation.

"Humph!"

The old tree, whose voice had always been calm and composed, seemingly devoid of joy or sorrow, finally broke down because of Mingchen's words, letting out a cold snort.

The soil beneath Mingchen's bottom churned, and the tree root he was sitting on suddenly trembled and snapped off.

However, Mingchen remained smiling and sitting in the empty space, without embarrassing himself by sitting down.

"Who says we can't beat them?"

"That emperor worshipped by billions is nothing but a head. His body and limbs are buried under countless mountains. Without my permission, do you think anyone would dare to take them? Would Xuan Yuan dare? Would Xuan Gu dare?"

Old Tree's abilities truly live up to the boast he made to Mingchen back then.

Mingchen had no idea that he had latched onto such a powerful ally right from the start.

Mingchen leaned against the old tree, listening to his rare moment of losing his composure, and kept patting the trunk, saying in a sarcastic tone, "The past is the past~"

"Old man, why bring it up again?"

He repeated in a strange tone what the old tree had said not long ago.

His tone clearly carried a hint of sarcasm.

Having known each other for so long, the old tree now seems to be the most authentic version of himself.

That ethereal, weathered, and aloof elder always gave people a sense of distance.

After all these years, the old tree has only met one person like Mingchen.

This guy... he's really annoying.

The next instant, a strong wind rushed towards him, and a tree trunk broke off somewhere, with a withered branch hurtling towards him in front of Mingchen.

Mingchen neither dodged nor evaded, but simply smiled brightly and said to the old tree, "Since you can't get through, do you need me to help you fight your way back?"

Jokes are jokes.

The old man is avoiding the world.

Having lost face earlier, Mingchen was willing to be his pawn and try to regain it.

If there were truly some deep-seated grudge, Mingchen would be willing to overturn the table, destroy the original plans and schemes, and ruin some relationships.

"Crack~"

The withered branch seemed to fall with immense force, yet when it touched Mingchen's shoulder, it was as light as a drifting cloud, causing him no harm whatsoever.

"Ha~"

Mingchen is too young, excessively young.

His eyes were bright and clear, and he was full of vigor.

Even though he lacked magical powers, and even though he seemed weak, he dared to say "fight back" when his opponents were the omnipotent and all-encompassing gods high above the heavens.

This kid knows how to touch people's hearts!
Looking at him, the old tree felt a warmth in its heart and chuckled softly, "Why would I need you to help me fight back?"

Mingchen is not his pawn.

As a supreme saint in this world, he doesn't need others to solve his own problems.

"Do you think I'm helping you because I want you to help me fight back?"

The battlefield for those in power is the chessboard; the immortals above the nine heavens, those powerful beings with profound magical abilities, their focus is ultimately on the mortal realm.

After all these years, the old tree has come to understand.

Fighting and killing are ultimately just a cliché.

Too many people were too sharp-tongued and reckless back then, which led to everything ending badly.

In terms of strength, he fought against many opponents without being defeated, which is not shameful; he has already earned his own victory.

He just acted foolishly and lost face a bit.

To be honest, Mingchen has already helped him regain his dignity along the way.

Seeing Mingchen break through the shackles of the rules and step onto the poker table to compete with those high and mighty beings, Old Tree was happy that Qin Lou couldn't become the ruler of this world or ascend to the final master.

However, this was just an unintended consequence; it was not his original intention.

Initially, he settled here listlessly, only to encounter an interesting child who seemed to possess a power beyond comprehension—the child's true form. His initial thought was simply to see how far this intriguing child could go.

Gradually, the abilities the other party displayed exceeded his expectations, even...

Mingchen chuckled and retorted, "Isn't that right?"

The old tree paused for a moment, then simply said, "Perhaps some."

"Hahaha~"

Mingchen laughed heartily, kicked over a jar of wine, and poured it all into the old tree's cup.

"You should take this wine to your wife who loves fine wine!"

Mingchen raised his cup to the moon, a gentle evening breeze ruffling his hair, and laughed, "My wife didn't even get a drink, but you got one, and you're still not satisfied?"

"Go! Go! Go!"

Pouring wine on someone seems to count as watering them.

Mingchen produced another fruit from his hand and casually munched on it. He kept asking the old tree, "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"

The old tree said with a hint of disdain, "If I told you, you would probably go and join Bei Lie right away."

This guy is a pure speculator.

If they really heard that someone was plotting against Bei Lie, they would definitely follow the trend and choose the easiest way to succeed.

Mingchen rolled his eyes upon hearing this: "Old man, those words are hurtful. Do you think I'm so worthless? So utterly shameless?"

"Correct."

Mingchen: ...

Thank you for trusting me so much.

Time flowed slowly, and the man and the tree chatted casually, their conversation falling silent once more.

At this point, Mingchen had learned everything he wanted to know.

He had achieved all his goals in returning to see the old tree.

As night deepened, Mingchen patted the old tree's branches and said, "Old man, that's enough for today! I'm sleepy, I'm leaving!"

They are both teachers and friends, trust each other, and get along in a casual and straightforward manner.

Just as he was about to leave, the old tree's voice echoed in his ear: "I'm telling you, the past is the past, and that's it."

"The path you choose is none of my business. Do whatever you want."

"Cultivation is the cultivation of the mind."

Old Tree and Mingchen are on completely different paths.

Their trump cards are different, and their methods are also different.

The old tree neither won nor lost.

But the past is the past, and time will always wash everything away. He has now risen to the poker table, becoming a force to be reckoned with among many high-ranking individuals. He can openly recount his story without any bitterness or resentment. He doesn't want his affairs to influence Mingchen's decisions, nor does he need Mingchen to do anything for him that might ruin a good situation.

Mingchen swayed slightly, then turned his head and smiled, "I know, I know~"

(End of this chapter)