I am the sacred tree, evergreen for eternity.

Deep in the dense forest, the murky air was as black as ink, completely obscuring the sunlight.

Broken weapons and shattered armor were scattered on the ground, and the air was thick with the stench of blood and decay.

Hong stood in a swamp, his white hair disheveled and his body covered in blood.

Ahead of him, a great serpent demon flicked its tongue.

Its vertical pupils, like two eerie green lanterns, looked down at the swan from above, its eyes full of a playful, cat-and-mouse game.

Hong stared into those deep green vertical pupils for a moment, then suddenly parted his dry, cracked lips.

He turned his head and said something to the people behind him, his voice hoarse but steady:

"Children, are you scared?"

No one answered.

Among a dozen pairs of eyes, there was only one indomitable will.

Hong said no more and refocused his gaze on the great snake demon.

He gripped the chipped iron knife in his hand, pushing the last vestiges of spiritual energy within him to their limit.

Spiritual energy surged through his meridians, impacting the invisible shackles that had bound him for decades.

He was too old; his vital energy was declining, his meridians were withered, and the spiritual energy within him was like a stream about to dry up.

"By the Tree God—"

Hong murmured the prayer that had been recited for nearly a hundred years, his voice as soft as a wisp of smoke about to go out.

"Xia Shi, Hong".

"Today, I will give my life in the name of this."

The spiritual energy surged wildly within his body, causing his meridians to rupture inch by inch, and blood seeped from his pores, turning him into a blood-soaked figure.

The excruciating pain surged like a tidal wave, but Hong did not stop.

The past years flash by like a revolving lantern—

Sixty years ago, he escaped from a natural disaster, carrying the last hope of his people.

Forty years ago, he led his people to wander to that valley, knelt before that sapling, and prayed for protection.

Thirty years ago, he heard the voice of the tree god for the first time and was bestowed the name "Xia".

Twenty years ago, he killed a demon beast for the first time, placed his prey on the altar, and knelt proudly at the feet of the tree god.

Ten years ago, he handed over the leadership to Xuan and prepared to leave peacefully, guarding the Tree God.

Those memories, those emotions, those wills... all merged into the dying embers of life.

The spiritual energy is burning.

My blood is burning.

Life is burning.

Hong sensed that the shackles had finally begun to crack.

Those things that once bound him: the fear of death, the concern for his people, the faith in the tree god...

At that moment, everything turned into firewood, propelling him to an unprecedented realm.

Suddenly, the shackles shattered.

The spiritual energy within Hong's body erupted with a dazzling light.

The light, like a rainbow or a rosy cloud, illuminated the dark forest as bright as day.

The snakes hissed mournfully and retreated frantically.

The serpent demon's vertical pupils contracted, and for the first time, a look of horror appeared on its face.

The first human to reach the Mingling Realm has appeared!

Hong raised his gaze, and spiritual light merged into the battle blade in his palm.

The chipped edge repaired itself, the rust peeled off, and the iron knife that had been with him for half his life suddenly shone with a divine light.

Hong's body was cracking; the dazzling spiritual light was not something his aged body could easily bear.

But he didn't care, and calmly swung his knife.

That single strike encapsulated all the suffering, struggles, faith, and pride he had endured over a century.

That was a brilliant slash called "life"!

The blade flashed and clashed with the head of the great serpent demon.

After a muffled tearing sound, the massive snake body collapsed with a crash, its head and body separated, and its eerie green vertical pupils went out completely.

Hong stood beside the snake's corpse, the spiritual light gradually fading away.

His body was mangled beyond recognition; his left arm was nothing but bone, and his ribs were exposed.

But his eyes remained bright, looking back toward the direction of his faith.

"Tree God... I did it..."

His voice was weak, but a relieved smile appeared on his face, like the last rays of the setting sun.

On his deathbed.

Hong felt as if he had returned to the foot of that towering tree.

He knelt beside the tree roots, his forehead covered in dirt.

Just like that young savage a hundred years ago.

Yu Su's voice descended from above: "Hong, what other wishes do you have?"

Hong's consciousness trembled slightly, and with his last strength, he uttered his heartfelt words: "I only wish... that the Tree God may be immortal, and that humanity may be eternal."

The branches and leaves of Yu Su remained motionless. After a long while, a sigh rang out: "Throughout the ages, only by striving for self-improvement can one endure..."

Hong's consciousness shattered completely with that sigh.

Yu Su gathered and refined Hong Jin's insights into advancing to the Mingling realm, and then resonated them through branches into the consciousness of every member of the Xia clan.

In the eastern mountains, Xuan knelt, tears streaming down his face; in the northern wilderness, totem travelers knelt in reverence; in the west, the southern frontier, and the Valley of the Divine Tree…

In the Xia clan, everyone, regardless of age or gender, wept uncontrollably.

The old man who led them out of the darkness is gone.

Yu Su did not dwell on the loss.

He is a tree, and trees do not grieve.

Trees only take root, grow, and stretch towards higher places.

His senses swept across the entire Valley of the Divine Tree, and his voice resounded in the minds of all the Xia clan members:

"Leave."

"Sacred Tree Valley is no longer safe."

"Go to your people, that is your battlefield."

The tribesmen knelt beside the tree roots, refusing to get up for a long time.

Yu Su did not urge him, and waited quietly.

Finally, someone stood up.

One after another, piece after piece.

The Xia clan members wiped away their tears, shouldered their packs, and headed towards the four major branches.

No one looked back.

As the last person disappeared at the valley entrance, the canopy of Yu Su tree shone with spiritual light.

The light illuminated all directions, like a farewell lamp being lit!

The entire Sacred Tree Valley was empty, with only the sound of the wind whistling through the deserted sheds.

Yu Su didn't feel too uncomfortable; he was originally a tree.

Trees are never alone.

The calm did not last long.

On a cloudy evening, the war between the Xia clan and the demon clans from all directions entered its most intense phase.

More than a dozen extremely powerful streams of turbid energy suddenly appeared in Yu Su's perception.

Beyond the extraordinary, a great demon!

A total of twelve.

They precisely located the Valley of the Divine Tree by following the trajectory of the earth's spiritual light.

The first giant tiger emerged from the eastern mountains, its scales a deep crimson gold.

The second one emerged from the northern forest, a giant python with a completely black body;

One after another, they descended from the dense forest, the swamp, and the sky...

They greedily inhaled the abundant spiritual energy in the valley, feeling as if the impurities within their bodies had been diluted.

A colossal demon resembling a giant wolf raised its head and howled, "Such dense spiritual energy... This tree is mine!"

The massive demon, its body covered in iron armor, grinned, revealing its gleaming white fangs: "Don't fight over it! Everyone gets a share!"

One after another, the great demons stared intently at the giant tree shimmering with spiritual light, abandoning their respective tribes and the fierce battle with the Xia clan...

In their eyes, devouring this divine tree that radiates spiritual light is more important than anything else!

"Attack together, swallow it whole!"

Twelve streams of turbid energy surged into the sky like an inky tide, colliding with the spiritual light surrounding Yu Su.

Thunder roared, the wind howled, and the ground trembled.

Yu Su's roots are deeply embedded in the earth's veins, stimulating the spiritual light to its fullest extent.

He didn't back down, nor could he.

The battle lasted a long time—from dusk till night, from night till dawn, in a continuous cycle.

Yu Su's spiritual light grew dimmer and dimmer, the tree trunk became covered with cracks, and most of its branches and leaves were burned.

The great demons were not faring much better: three of them were severely injured and collapsed, while the rest were all wounded and had exhausted their turbid energy.

But in their eyes, greed burned even more intensely.

The stronger this strange giant tree is, the more it proves its value.

Just as the battle entered its most intense phase—

An indescribable primordial aura suddenly descended!

The aura was as heavy as a mountain and as vast as the sea, as if it had traveled from the ages, carrying a pressure that could change the very fabric of the world.

The twelve great demons froze simultaneously.

His limbs were stiff, his demonic soul trembled, and he couldn't even muster the thought of escaping.

A voice emanated from that aura, very soft and faint, carrying the languor and impatience of being disturbed from sleep:

"It's so noisy..."