I am the sacred tree, evergreen for eternity.

"All sins have fallen upon me..."

Liang knelt there, his body stiff, finally letting go of his last obsession.

Xuan stepped forward, and froze the moment his fingers touched Liang's shoulder.

The bright flame of life was dying out, and his body was rapidly withering away like a dead tree.

His body was already exhausted and depleted, and then it was invaded by the foul air, causing decades of miasma to erupt all at once...

"By the Tree God!" Xuan suddenly looked up, his voice hoarse.

"Please save him—"

"Uncle Xuan".

Liang's voice was very soft, as soft as a string about to snap.

He looked at the elders, and at the brothers from the western frontier kneeling on the edge of the altar, their faces streaked with tears. Every familiar face was reflected in his amber pupils.

"If you're wrong, you're wrong."

"Sins... must be repaid."

Liang's fingers, with an unknown strength, gently pressed down on the back of Xuan's hand.

"Uncle Xuan, Uncle Meng, Aunt Feng—"

"I didn't intend to kill you."

"I just hope the Xia clan will be weakened... so that the human race can slow down its progress..."

"I just want my people... to rest... and not be bound by war anymore..."

"I'm just... so tired... so tired..."

Those amber eyes finally closed slowly.

His arm hung down silently, his fingers slightly curled, like a child still trying to grasp something.

The leaf that had fallen on his head had withered sometime earlier.

……

Ten years later.

Deep in the wilderness.

A dozen or so figures moved slowly along the mountain ridge, sweeping across every inch of land like a net.

Their animal hides were torn to shreds by thorns, and their scabbards were covered in mud, indicating that they had been trekking through the forest for a long time.

The leader was an elderly man with gray hair. He was a veteran from the same era as Tongxuan and had personally experienced that mythical natural disaster.

He crouched down, took out a yellowed animal hide map from his pocket, and gestured at the surrounding terrain for a long time, his brows furrowing more and more tightly.

Why?

"It should be right here..."

His voice was hoarse, filled with barely suppressed disappointment.

The young travelers behind them stopped in their tracks. Some sighed, some plopped down on the ground, and some looked up at the gray sky.

"Uncle, is the Tree God really here?"

"We've counted almost every single stone in the mountain, and we couldn't even see a shadow of that sacred mountain..."

The old man did not answer, but carefully rolled up the map and tucked it back into his bosom, close to his chest.

The animal hide was worn and frayed—it was an original map passed down from the first leader, Hong, marking the location of the Sacred Tree Valley back then.

Since the extermination of the demon fox, the Xia clan has slowed down its offensive.

They then turned their attention to finding the sacred mountain and the tree spirit.

But... it's been ten years.

Groups of people from the four tribes searched along the map, but to no avail.

The location and distance were correct, but the mountain seemed to have vanished into thin air from between the mountains and the sea.

Some say that a mythical natural disaster changed the landscape, some say that the tree god didn't want to see them, and others say...

The old man faced the mountains and the sea and slowly knelt down.

"By the Tree God!"

His tears streamed down the lines of his face.

"Humanity should not waver in its faith..."

Please forgive us... Don't abandon us...

"Please... give us some guidance..."

One by one, the travelers behind him knelt down, their foreheads pressed against the rough ground.

No one speaks.

Only the mountain wind lingered in the forest, sobbing softly, as if weeping.

……

Eastern tribes.

Xuan sat on the stone steps under the branch of the tree god, holding a withered yellow leaf in his hands.

This is the first leaf bestowed by the tree god—it has the character "夏" (summer) carved on it.

After the fall of the Divine Tree Valley, Hong entrusted it to Xuan, and it has been enshrined in the Eastern tribes for decades.

The luster of the leaf veins had long since faded, and the spiritual energy had dissipated completely.

But the character "Xia" is still clearly written, like a brand, imprinted in the blood of every member of the Xia clan.

Xuan gently stroked the edge of the leaf with his thumb, staring blankly into the distance, lost in thought.

A series of hurried footsteps came from afar.

The young traveler ran from the direction of the tribe's gate, his body bearing the marks of time.

"Chief... the search party is back."

Xuan's fingers paused for a moment.

"Found it?"

The young man lowered his head, not daring to look at him.

Xuan shook his head, not blaming his clansmen.

He stood up, placed the leaf back on the altar, and then looked at the crowd in the tribal square who were busy making preparations.

"The day of the ten-year alliance meeting is approaching once again."

"This time, our Eastern tribe is in charge... so please have your tribesmen make the arrangements in detail."

Xuan instructed his clansmen to clean the altar and prepare a banquet.

He returned to the stone house, spread the map of mountains and seas on the table, and stared at the blank area in the center, lost in thought.

three days later.

The gates of the Eastern Tribe were wide open, and the welcoming party had been waiting there since early morning.

The first to arrive were the troops from the Northern Region.

He rode a tamed four-legged lizard from the direction of the dense forest, followed by twenty burly Northern Travelers, each carrying bundles of fur and monster materials on their backs.

He jumped off the lizard's back and slapped Xuan's shoulder hard, so hard that Xuan staggered.

"You old codger, you're still alive!"

"You're still alive, how dare I leave first?"

The two looked at each other and smiled.

As they laughed, their smiles faded.

The team from southern Xinjiang arrived in the evening.

Feng led a dozen elite naval troops from the Southern Frontier, sailing upstream along a tributary of the Tianhe River, and docked at the pier of the Eastern Tribe.

She was even thinner than she was ten years ago, with prominent cheekbones, but her eyes remained bright and alert.

Once ashore, he didn't say much, only nodded to Chao Xuan, and then arranged for people to unload the river products.

Finally, we arrived at the western border.

There were no mounts, no vehicles or boats, only a dozen or so figures walking on foot from the mountain path to the west.

Leading the way was a tall, robust middle-aged man.

He had a pair of short knives hanging at his waist and a bulging cloth bag on his back. His steps were steady and his gaze was calm.

start.

Xuan stood at the entrance of the tribe, and his gaze flickered slightly when he saw the person who had arrived.

Qi walked up, stopped, and bowed to each of the three leaders with a junior's salute.

"Uncle Xuan, Uncle Meng, Aunt Feng."

"The acting leader of the western tribes, Qi, has come to the meeting."

Xuan had heard about how Qi became the acting leader several years ago.

After Liang's death, the elders of the western tribes felt guilty and none of them were willing to take over as leader.

After more than a month of passing the buck, affairs in the western region almost came to a standstill.

As a result, this young man, Qi, stood out.

His initial thought was simply to do what he could to comfort his compatriots in the western borderlands with food.

As a result, his dried meat and soup gradually became famous. The old patients in the western border who had been tormented by foul air and miasma for many years were fed spoonful by spoonful by him and their faces regained some color.

His strength was also considerable; his cultivation at the Bright Spirit Heavenly Light stage was considered outstanding among the young. His repeated repelling of the demon spider's sneak attacks restored the sense of security to the Western Frontier tribes.

Gradually, the people of the western tribes began to spontaneously gather around him.

The elders, going with the flow, made an exception and allowed this talented man from the Eastern tribe to temporarily assume the position of leader, until a suitable candidate was found to hand over the reins.

This "temporary replacement" lasted for several years.