I am the sacred tree, evergreen for eternity.

Sixty years.

For the vast wilderness, it's just a fleeting moment.

But for a mountain that has been casually discarded by mythology, sixty years is enough for the dead land to embrace life again.

At the summit, on the top of a huge rock, a crack had appeared at some unknown time.

A tender sprout peeked out from the crack.

Two tender leaves, emerald green and glistening with dew, swayed gently in the morning breeze.

The sun gradually rose higher.

The main stem of the tender shoot begins to grow taller, extending upwards at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It was as if some power had been accumulating within it for too long, and now it had finally found an outlet.

Its branches gradually change from tender green to light brown, and faint lines appear on the bark, which are the longitudinal cracks unique to elm trees.

At noon, the sun shone directly on the mountaintop.

The sapling had grown to a height of three zhang (approximately 10 meters), with branches as thick as a child's arm, and its crown was beginning to take shape. Its leaves shimmered with a luminous green light in the sunlight.

The moment the roots touched the earth's veins, the entire mountain trembled slightly.

As evening fell, the setting sun bathed the entire sacred mountain in a warm orange-red hue.

The elm tree grew to ten zhang (approximately 33 meters).

It doesn't have a trunk like Optimus Prime or a canopy that blocks out the sun; it's just more upright and handsome.

His aura was restrained and profound, like a vast sea, calm and undisturbed, breathing in all rivers.

In a single day, the elm tree matured.

Yu Su's consciousness was fully restored at this moment.

A burst of light emanated from the tree trunk, illuminating the entire tree as translucent as jade.

The natural tree patterns came to life in the light, their iron-like strokes revealing mysterious paths.

The light spread out, merging into the mountain, the stream, and every blade of grass and tree in the mountains...

In an instant, the entire sacred mountain shone brightly.

Yu Su used her consciousness to examine her torso, sensing the ethereal "tree heart" that had transformed from the illusory to the real.

That was the tangible essence formed from the condensation of spiritual light, like a real heart beating and drumming, in harmony with the will of Heaven.

The spiritual light spread outwards from the treetops, like an invisible giant net, enveloping the entire sacred mountain.

From a distance, the sacred mountain appears perfectly normal.

The mountain is still the same mountain, the tree is still the same tree, and the sunset is still the same sunset.

But with a single thought from Yu Su, the wind stopped.

The mountains no longer breathe, the trees no longer sway, and even the setting sun dims.

In an instant, everything was restored.

It was as if nothing had ever happened.

A profound and inexplicable realization welled up within Yu Su.

At this moment, the spiritual light is no longer a separate spell, but intertwines to form a special field.

Within the area covered by the spiritual energy field, all the power of heaven and earth is at his disposal.

Wind, fire, thunder, lightning... the primal forces of heaven and earth, like his torso in the field, move with his will, and all things follow.

This is the third stage of the Mingling Method—

"Spiritual field".

Yu Su stood atop the mountain, reflecting on the decades-long planning and waiting.

When he pushed the Mingling Method to its limit, he vaguely sensed the insurmountable barrier in front of him.

The constraints of the life hierarchy have once again locked away the future; his massive physique and profound spiritual power have instead become a hindrance to breaking through the boundaries.

Yu Su knew that he needed an external force.

A higher level of power capable of breaking the shackles of life.

And in this desolate wilderness, there lies a being that sleeps...

Thus, his plan came into being.

When he purged the Xia clan ahead of time, he had already designated the Divine Tree Valley as his place of tribulation.

Yes, it's a tribulation.

That fierce battle with the great demon was both bait and cover.

In the eyes of that deity, it was just a bunch of ants making noise, disturbing His peaceful sleep.

He wouldn't notice that while an ant is fighting, it is also waiting for the natural disasters that He might casually summon.

At the moment that world-destroying power descended, Yu Su sensed a trace of aura—a barely perceptible aura of a supreme deity.

This was the secret he fought against all odds to win!

Faced with mythology, Yu Su felt like a speck of dust gazing up at the heavens.

But why can't dust encompass heaven and earth?

In that split second, he locked that wisp of energy deep within his origin, refining it into a seed.

The seed was too small, too small for the will of the gods to see.

The seed's heart is so large that even a mountain weighing billions of pounds cannot crush it.

Now, sixty years have passed.

Yu Su finally broke through the soil, naturally born and extraordinary.

Deep within his origin, a trace of mythical Daoist essence still flows slowly, like an ever-burning star.

The spirit field is not the end.

Standing at the peak of the Mingling Realm, Yu Su saw a much deeper path ahead.

On the distant shore, the stars shine brightly.

However, the path to enlightenment is profound and cannot be deduced overnight.

Yu Su was not in a hurry, because he was still a tree.

As night deepened, the sky was filled with stars.

Yu Su pulled her thoughts away from the distant journey and lay down in the silent darkness.

At this moment, he felt a pang of longing for the little ones who used to chatter away under his shade—

That human tribe called the Xia clan.

Back then, he "drove" the Xia clan out of the Divine Tree Valley and sent them to the tribes where the branches were located.

He didn't tell anyone about the plot.

All he could do was deliberately draw out the light of day, waiting for those greedy monsters to fly into the fire like moths to a flame.

Then, he stood quietly in the valley, watching the children who had grown up under his shade go by.

Over the years, Yu Su has maintained a resonance with the four branches.

He "watched" the Xia family split into four, "watched" them embark on expeditions across mountains and seas, and "watched" them re-establish themselves...

He could even sense the unwavering faith through the branches.

But he did not respond.

Yu Su heard Hong's last wish.

Yu Su knew.

Huddled in his shade, Xia was forever that child who never grew up.

Only by leaving him can they truly grow and truly gain a foothold in the wild mountains and seas.

Now, in Yu Su's spiritual thoughts.

Although the four branches are located in distant mountains and rivers, their spiritual essence is clear and their life force is strong.

It seems that the roots and seedlings have indeed grown stronger after weathering the storm.

Sixty years is nothing for a tree.

But for the human race, that was several generations.

The children who used to run and play under his shade are probably now gray-haired, and some may even be no longer alive.

Those young people who once knelt devoutly at his feet are now probably elders in the tribe, using the story of the tree god to lull their grandchildren to sleep...

"I wonder what their situation is like now..."

Yu Su's thoughts flashed through her mind, as if she were giving herself a reason.

The moonlight shone on the summit of the sacred mountain, making the ten-zhang-tall elm tree appear translucent and jade-like.

On the hillside, the grass swayed gently in the night breeze, the wildflowers closed their petals, and the stream in the mountain valley shimmered with silver light under the moonlight.

The night breeze stopped.

The tree was still swaying.

Yu Su separated part of her consciousness from her main body and descended into the distance along the invisible link deep within her origin that connected with the branches.