I am the sacred tree, evergreen for eternity.

The atmosphere in the council chamber suddenly froze.

The four leaders in the Seeking the Law stage instantly sensed the foulness brought about by the fluctuations in the turbid energy.

The scout team in front of us is clearly in serious trouble.

"Take it down."

Xuan's voice was very soft, as soft as a falling leaf.

But the moment those two words were uttered, four beams of light simultaneously burst forth.

The tangible aura transformed into a dense electric grid, enveloping all eight "people" within it, the leaping arcs binding them so they could not move.

The totem walkers guarding the door rushed in, swords drawn and arrows nocked, completely surrounding the council hall.

Liang sheathed his sword and was about to crouch down for a closer look when a sudden change occurred.

The eight bodies lying on the ground suddenly began to convulse violently at the same time.

A thick, nauseating stench gushed from their seven orifices, condensing into a cloud of purplish-black mist in the air.

The black mist churned and writhed, condensing into shape in mid-air—

A grinning skull.

"Hehehe—"

A sharp, piercing laugh rang out, seemingly mocking something.

Then, the purplish-black turbid gas, like exploding ink, scattered and splashed in the air before disappearing without a trace.

Having lost control of the turbid energy, the eight bodies lying on the ground ceased their struggles.

They shattered like clay figurines.

Scattered haphazardly on the ground.

Xuan's pupils suddenly contracted.

He saw it—there was no eighth person at all!

The demons dismembered and separated the seven scouts, then pieced them back together with the strange, turbid energy, creating eight walking corpses that barely maintained human form.

Outside the council chamber, some people began to vomit.

The young totem walkers witnessed for the first time the ferocity and ruthlessness of the demon race, which not only devoured human lives but also desecrated the Xia clan.

Suddenly, his eyes turned red.

He turned and walked out, his spiritual light surging across his bulging muscles, his killing intent and rage almost solidifying into a tangible form.

"stop."

Xuan's voice wasn't loud, but his body suddenly stiffened.

It wasn't the power of the command, but something in that voice—a restraint and calmness born from extreme anger.

"If you rush over now, you'll fall right into their trap."

"What they want is for us to go crazy, for us to lose our minds."

His hands, gripping the iron axe tightly, were bulging with veins, and his teeth were clenched so hard they were grinding together, but he ultimately didn't take a step.

In the silence, Liang stepped forward.

He walked to the stone table, pressed his finger on the location of the fox clan's lair on the map, and scanned the faces of everyone present.

"The fox clan's lair is deep in the swamp, in the area with the densest miasma."

"We cannot launch a hasty attack; we must bypass the core of the miasma."

"We split our forces into three groups and surrounded these beasts."

His finger traced three arcs on the map, each marked with a node and a distance.

"Ten days later, the miasma will weaken briefly due to the northwest wind, and that will be the time to attack."

"We set off at dawn and must complete the encirclement before noon, otherwise..."

"If the wind changes direction, the miasma will flow back in, and we will be trapped inside."

Liang raised his head, a flash of inspiration appearing in his amber pupils.

"I'm familiar with that miasma swamp. I'll lead the vanguard and go down the middle route."

He spoke calmly, as if he were recounting something perfectly ordinary.

But everyone present could hear the unwavering determination beneath that calm.

however--

"no."

Xuan slammed down two words, like two iron ingots hitting a stone table.

Liang frowned slightly as he looked at Xuan.

Xuan's gaze did not look away, but stared directly at the still-healing poison wound on Liang's face, his voice neither hurried nor slow:

"Your injuries haven't fully healed yet, so you can't utilize much of the spiritual power you have during the Seeking the Dharma stage."

"The mid-lane vanguard is meant to charge through the thickest miasma; if something happens to you, it will be a disaster for the entire team."

Liang wanted to argue, but when he opened his mouth, he only let out a low groan.

—The toxic gas deposited in his lungs was agitated by his emotions, causing a sudden tightness in his chest and a few coughs.

Xuan rolled up the map on the stone table, tucked it into his robes, and said in a voice as steady as a rock:

"I'll take the middle road, I'll go the north road, and I'll go the south road."

"Liang, you stay in the western frontier—you know this land best, and you also know best about the changes in the miasma."

"You're in charge of coordinating support and supplies. If anything goes wrong on any of our three routes... you're our last resort."

Liang remained silent for a long time, finally squeezing out a single word through gritted teeth:

"it is good."

……

Late at night.

The western border tribe's guard camp is located on the very edge of the tribe, right next to the swampy miasma that never dissipates.

The houses here are lower than in other places, and the windows are small and are sealed with cloth soaked in medicinal juice all year round, leaving only a few narrow gaps for ventilation.

When Liang entered the guard camp, the tribesmen on night duty were sitting around an oil lamp.

The wick was soaked in herbs, and the flame it produced had a faint bluish hue, which could neutralize some of the toxicity of the miasma.

Several people sat on the ground, around a burning earthenware jar containing antidote medicine.

When they saw Liang walk in, they all stood up.

"leader."

Liang waved his hand, found a seat, and sat opposite the travelers from the tribe.

He didn't speak, he just looked at each face one by one.

Those faces appeared sallow and gaunt under the bluish lamplight, with sunken eyes and purple lips.

The totem walkers of the western frontier almost all look like this.

Fighting against demons in miasma year after year, even the deepest spiritual energy cannot withstand the constant erosion of turbid air and toxins.

Most practitioners who have reached the Body Forging Realm live to be a hundred years old.

But they don't live past sixty.

Liang was helpless and could only try his best to comfort these warriors who had sacrificed everything for the tribe.

"Chief, is it time for another war?"

"How long are we going to fight?"

Finally, an old man sitting in the corner spoke up. He was not yet fifty years old, but he looked like he was on his last legs.

His voice was very soft, more like he was talking to himself.

The air in the room seemed to freeze for a moment, and no one else chimed in.

But they did not refute it.

Liang remained silent for a moment.

He did not answer with prayers such as "for the tree god," "for the Xia clan," or "for the human race."

He walked up to the old man, squatted down, and placed his palm on his chest.

A spiritual light emanated from his palm, seeping into the old man's body like warm water.

The turbid qi that had accumulated deep in the lungs and meridians was gradually stripped away and drawn away by the spiritual light, eventually flowing into Liang's palm.

The old man's complexion visibly improved, and his breathing became much smoother.

But he didn't laugh; he just looked at the leader quietly, a thin layer of tears in his eyes.

Liang stood up and walked towards the next member of his tribe, one after another.

He absorbed all the turbid energy that had settled in the bodies of his clansmen into his own body.

This is the root cause of his intractable poisoning injury...

In the center of the tribe, the verdant tree's divine branch swayed gently in the night breeze.

Yu Su watched everything quietly.

He saw Liang walk through every room in the guard camp, watching him stand in the moonlight, bearing all the pain alone.

From deep within the tree canopy came a sigh with an enigmatic meaning.