Man on the ark, forced to become king

She can imbue the creatures in her paintings with all sorts of powers, and at the same time, she can control their behavior and their life and death. How can anyone accept something like that?!

"Let's change the stakes this year."

Xi pursed her lips and spoke with unusual seriousness.

She knew this older sister was always impulsive and acted recklessly, but she never expected her to be this reckless!

That's a matter of freedom and life and death, how can you use it to gamble with others? Do you think you don't have enough shackles on your body already?

She absolutely could not accept this, no matter what!

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Surprisingly, after agreeing to the bet, Nian's expression was unusually calm, showing no sign of stubbornness or impulsiveness—she genuinely agreed to the bet from the bottom of her heart.

'Let me see, Lin Lu, what other surprises you have in store for me. The power to kill a god is terrifying enough. If you truly possess that power, then… it's not entirely impossible.'

Nian's gaze was dark, his eyes filled with an inscrutable meaning.

She didn't make this a spur-of-the-moment decision; only she knew that this time she wasn't gambling with her freedom, but with her life.

Their time is running out; rather than prolonging their lives, they might as well give it their all!

Chapter 116 Losing isn't necessarily losing, winning isn't necessarily winning

"This is the Golden Tree?"

In a courtyard reminiscent of the Yan Kingdom, a small tree over two meters tall sits in a flower bed made of white stones, its branches swaying and its golden leaves shimmering in the sunlight.

Full of vitality, that's the first impression of the year.

She had seen something similar on the windowsill of Lin Lu's rented room before, but that tree was much smaller than the one in front of her, and it was far from such a magnificent upgrade; it was just a bonsai with a rather outstanding appearance.

Could it be that it has grown up? Or is that one a newly sprouted seedling, and this one is the real plant?

No, no, perhaps this one is also a seedling.

With her keen eyesight, she could naturally see that although the tree contained powerful vitality, it was not actually very old. To say that it was the origin of the name "Golden Tree" was a bit far-fetched.

"I guess so. This is the golden tree I planted in Lungmen. Its function is limited."

Lin Lu nodded, glanced at the courtyard gate, and then closed her eyes to begin communicating with the Golden Tree.

As the saying goes, if you take someone's money, you should do their bidding. Logically speaking, after receiving Wei Yanwu's favor, he shouldn't have returned after only a few days away. But who told him to make that bet with Nian?

Since they had nothing else to do, they decided to discuss it with Wei Yanwu and have the three of them take a secret path to this specially protected courtyard, and then use the blessing teleportation to go directly to Kazdel.

Wei Yanwu hesitated for only a moment before agreeing.

Although his original intention was to have Lin Lu take the Nian beast away from Longmen temporarily and try not to leave Yan Kingdom territory, it was ultimately not easy to force her.

Moreover, leaving Yan Kingdom wouldn't pose any major obstacle. Even if he disagreed, Lin Lu could travel to Kazdel by land on her own, and there was no way to stop her. The fact that he was willing to specifically seek him out for discussion was a gesture of respect.

He had to give them that face!

The Golden Tree had shown something extraordinary. Both Lin Lu's own strength and the sword were enough to make him treat it with caution. Unless absolutely necessary, even with the backing of Wei Yanwu of Yan Kingdom, he did not want to have any conflict with the Golden Tree. It would be better for the two to cooperate to a limited extent and live in peace.

Moreover... the one sitting in the imperial court might not necessarily want to see Longmen safe and sound...

For Longmen, self-preservation is the best option.

"You two, put your hands on my shoulders, and we'll teleport directly to the real location of the Golden Tree."

A faint golden glow emanated from the tree trunk, swirling around them. Sensing a distant connection, Lin Lu gave a word of advice and began to truly establish the link.

Actually, once the two golden trees have established a stable connection, the blessing teleportation doesn't need to be this slow; it could even be activated in a few seconds. However, this teleportation function has already had several mishaps, so it's better to be cautious this time to avoid causing any more trouble.

Nian and Xi exchanged a glance and silently reached out their hands.

Immediately afterwards, the scenery in front of her quickly shifted, and the completed world was instantly distorted into a bizarre and colorful scene, which was then completely smoothed out by the dazzling gold. This feeling was very familiar to Nian. Wasn't this a similar method to her beacon transmission?

Since ancient times, time and space have been the most mysterious forces, difficult for mortals to grasp. Only those with extraordinary talent and strength can glimpse even a small part of them, and only those who rely on their innate abilities and authority can truly master them. And now, this golden tree can do just that.

Thoughts raced, and in the blink of an eye, time and space shifted. The courtyard vanished without a trace, the golden light dissipated, and a vast desert of sand and dust came into view.

In the distance, the sky was a hazy yellow, and everything was desolate, but nearby, life was vibrant, with lush green grass and a giant tree several meters tall reaching for the sky. Its golden leaves fluttered like an umbrella, casting rays of light. It was no exaggeration to call it a paradise on earth or a fairyland.

Upon closer inspection, several simple houses stood beneath the giant tree, some only half-built. Two people, a man and a woman, were busy carrying rough building materials inside. They looked like two Sarkaz.

"Good job, very well done."

Seeing the two hardworking figures, Lin Lu was very satisfied. She didn't expect that the house would be built in just a few days. Hedley and Ines are really capable!

With this skill, if I didn't become a mercenary, I might be able to make a living as a foreman and not starve.

"Mr. Lin..."

The golden tree shone brightly, possessing a talent for magic. Ines, who was most sensitive to energy fluctuations, was the first to notice the anomaly. When she saw Lin Lu approaching, she couldn't help but tremble, almost dropping the piece of wood she was holding, her whole body tensing up.

There was no other reason than that this man's impression on her was far too terrifying. Just thinking about those things dwelling in the shadows sent chills down her spine. He was not human at all!

Although based on her interactions over the past few days, the Golden Tree organization didn't seem to be a vicious, cruel, or tyrannical group, she still didn't dare to act recklessly.

"Hmm, well done. Keep up the good work. Once these houses are finished, you'll be official members of the Golden Tree."

Lin Lu casually made a promise, looked around, and didn't see a single person except for Hadley and Ines.

"What about the rest?"

"The adults have all gone to the Great Blessing Ceremony."

Ines, holding the piece of wood, bowed respectfully in response, and Hadley followed suit, bowing his head without uttering a word.

"Okay, then, you guys do a good job."

The Great Blessing not only contains a collection of weapons, but also many books and documents collected from the border regions. Mostima and the others must be interested in those things.

Thinking this, Lin Lu waved behind her, waking up Nian Hexi, who was staring blankly at the big golden tree.

"I'm leaving now, so you'll be convinced of your defeat."

"coming."

Nian absentmindedly replied, staring intently at the trunk of the golden tree as he walked.

Magnificent, truly magnificent.

The magnificence of this tree doesn't refer to its size; it's only a dozen meters tall, not even as large as the tree itself, so it's certainly not spectacular. What's truly awe-inspiring is what's engraved on this tree!

Ancient, vast, and weathered, it is immortal, having endured millions of years of change, and a history that witnessed the budding of civilization.

It is very young, incredibly young, not even older than the roadside weeds.

It is ancient, so ancient that it seems to have come from the beginning of civilization, carrying tens of thousands of years of history.

That unparalleled vitality of life, as if it were the beginning of all things, made her see not a tree standing there, but life itself, far surpassing even the divine essence of immortal gods.

This is the Golden Tree?

"Just a moment please."

Xi suddenly spoke, and without waiting for the two to ask, she walked to the tree trunk, looked up, and closed her eyes.

With a gentle wave of her hand, the ink flowed, and a scroll painting emerged from the void, spreading out continuously.

The longsword is drawn from its sheath, its tip becoming a pen!

The ink washes away mountains and seas, the brushstrokes create waves!

Where the sword's edge passes, the ink flows like smoke, painting a vast expanse of mountains and seas!

A colossal tree reaching for the sky leaps off the page, encompassing thousands of miles of mountains and rivers; though painted in black and white, it already possesses seven-tenths of the spirit of the subject.

pity……

"In the end, it was just one step short."

Xi looked at the painting and sighed softly, feeling for the first time that she couldn't bring herself to put her brush to paper.

The world within the painting, the people within the painting—as long as she wanted, nothing was impossible to include in the painting. Yet, she just couldn't capture this small tree in the painting; forcing it into the painting would only result in a mere resemblance to its form.

This tree has surpassed the authority of God!

Its essence is higher than that of God!

I wonder what it will be like when I truly grow up.

While the Year Beast is indeed terrifying, it is not invincible. The twelve siblings are trapped by the Year's original consciousness and cannot break free. But what if there is a power above them that forcibly interferes?

Nian pinned his hopes on the power of that blade to slay the Year Beast in the future and sever the causal connection, but Xi felt that there was more than one way to go.

Hope—isn't this tree in front of us hope?

If we could borrow even a fraction of the essence of this golden tree, we might be able to use it to suppress Sui's awakening!

I never imagined that after all that effort, she would actually find it.

As she put away the scroll, a glimmer of light ignited in Xi's desolate eyes.

If there were no darkness ahead, who would willingly confine themselves to a painting?

In her early years, she had also traveled the earth and searched all over the world. Because she could not find any sign of life, she stayed at home. Whenever she thought about the day she would disappear into nothingness, she could not control herself. She was even so frightened by the shadow of the beast that she dared not fall asleep.

Fear? She was indeed afraid, afraid that one day the incident would fade away, afraid that all the traces she left behind would be erased. If that was the case, it would be better to stay out of the world from the beginning.

The entire world in the painting is contained in a single stroke; it depicts all the gods, but also herself.