I am the sacred tree, evergreen for eternity.

"It came at night... the turbid air swallowed the spiritual light... the thing was too fast... it captured people..."

"I...only had time...to shove the child in the cellar..."

"They struck the totem pole..."

The old man's breathing became increasingly rapid, his chest heaving violently, and his broken leg began to bleed again.

A proud aura coursed through the old man's meridians, causing him to shake his head and frown.

The old man's body was already exhausted; he had only managed to hold on until now thanks to sheer willpower.

"I have no regrets in this life..."

"I only beg you... to save... to save my people."

A pure light of hope shone in the old man's eyes before he slowly closed them.

Ao remained silent for a moment, then clenched his fist and pounded it heavily against his chest.

This was the most solemn return gift from the Xia family.

He swept his gaze across the young faces and said in a deep voice, "Check the results on-site."

An experienced old traveler stepped forward, unfolding a map made of animal hide, on which several markings had already been made.

"The traces of the turbid air extend northwestward, covering a distance of at least a hundred miles."

"No signs of battle were found along the way, indicating that the enemy did not encounter any resistance."

"Judging from the residual concentration of the turbid gas, the number of the opponents is not large, but their individual strength is very strong."

The old traveler paused, then added, "Moreover, they were carrying hundreds of villagers, yet they were still moving very fast, which is illogical."

Ao's fingers traced across the map, his brows furrowing.

"You mean, they're not ordinary demons?"

"Ordinary demons wouldn't just capture them without killing them. Nor would they be able to run this fast while carrying a bunch of burdens."

The old man's voice was deep, "Captain, something seems off about this."

Ao didn't reply, but stared blankly at the crisscrossing spiritual field tracks on the map.

Just then, a small head peeked out from the doorway of the stone house.

She was the oldest of the children who was initially protected by the old man.

The little boy was about seven or eight years old, and quite strong.

He walked timidly to Ao, looked up, and his lips trembled several times before he managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"Uncle...can you bring my mother back to life?"

Ao looked down at the child.

His face was filthy, with a scabbed wound on the bridge of his nose, and his clothes were covered in dried blood.

That wasn't his blood; it was the old man's blood.

He stayed in the dark stone house, listening to the noises outside the window and smelling the blood, hiding away silently all night.

Ao crouched down, meeting the little boy's obsidian-like eyes.

His palm gently pressed on the boy's head, warm and steady.

"Don't worry, child."

"I will bring them home."

Tears finally welled up in the boy's eyes, but he didn't cry out loud. He just bit his lip tightly and nodded forcefully.

He stood up abruptly, turned to the group behind him, and spoke with a voice as firm as iron.

"Everyone mount up, let's depart immediately."

"Follow the trail of the foul air, no matter where it leads, we must bring them back!"

The twenty totem walkers beat their chests in unison, and a spiritual light shone on them, like twenty torches being lit.

Ao took one last look at the old man in the stone house who had lived a fulfilling life, and at the children huddled in the corner.

Then he flipped onto the lizard, clamped his arms around its belly, and was the first to rush out of the village.

Behind them, a rainbow of light shone, and dust billowed.

……

Eastern Tribe, Council Hall.

The fluorescent minerals embedded in the stone wall emitted a dim yellow light, casting an irregular glow on the dozens of faces in the hall.

Xuan sat in the main seat, tapping his fingers lightly on the table as he listened to the reports from the patrol captains in turn.

"In the territory of the Seventh Team in the Western Region, three demon attacks occurred this month, two villages were robbed, and more than two hundred people have gone missing."

"Five teams in the North, two incidents, 150 people missing."

"Three teams in the southern border region, four incidents, more than three hundred people missing."

Reports came one after another, all with similar content—border villages were attacked in the dead of night, the spiritual light of totem poles was suppressed by strange means, villagers were abducted in batches, and no bodies or bloodstains were left at the scene.

Xuan's brows furrowed into a deep frown.

These attacks broke out almost simultaneously and covered the borders of the four major tribes, clearly indicating that they were not isolated acts of the demon race.

As if by prior agreement, they simultaneously launched an attack on the Xia clan's territory.

"What about the casualties in each unit?" Xuan asked, his voice steady.

A traveler in charge of intelligence opened the animal-hide book in his hand:

"According to the data compiled by the three divisions, nearly a thousand people have gone missing."

"In summary, this is likely the demon race's last counterattack."

"After the totem poles were laid out, their living space was compressed to the limit, so they were just desperate."

Xuan's gaze fell on the blank area in the center of the map—

That's the direction of the sacred mountain, and also the center of the totem pole network.

"Each border jurisdiction will dispatch an additional patrol team to conduct a full-scale search and rescue operation for the abducted members of our people, and we will not give up on any one of them!"

The group accepted the order and left the council hall one after another.

Xuan sat alone at the stone table, his fingers still tapping lightly on the map.

He always felt that something was wrong.

These attacks were highly organized.

Demon clans are always wary of each other, and even fight each other year-round. What could make them act in unison...?

However, this intuition lacked supporting evidence, and he could not mobilize the entire Xia family's resources to deal with it based on this alone.

Xuan rubbed his temples, stood up, and walked out of the council hall.

In the square, the verdant branches of the sacred tree stood quietly in the sunlight.

Several young totemists were kneeling before the altar, chanting prayers in hushed tones.

Xuan didn't disturb them and went straight to the stone platform next to the branch.

There are several polished stone slabs there, which serve as the message center for the totem pole network.

Totem poles cannot transmit information in real time, but through the resonance of the earth's spiritual energy, information engraved on a specific stone slab can be transmitted one-way to a designated totem pole node.

Xuan casually flipped through the accumulated messages on the stone slab.

There was a list of supplies needed from the Northern Regions, a report from the Southern Frontier on the progress of river clearing, and the location of newly erected totem poles marked by the Western Frontier...

His fingers paused when he turned to the last stone slab.

That was Ao's message.

The handwriting is messy, clearly indicating that it was carved in a hurry.

"Father, I have tracked down the traces of the demonic energy that attacked the village and am leading my forces deeper into the northwest. Judging from the traces, their lair should be within a hundred miles. I will report back to you after I have slain these fiends."

Xuan stared at those few lines of text, his brows furrowing slightly.

That brat.

He certainly knew Ao's strength—the Heavenly Light Perfection realm, second only to Qi Neng among the younger generation, and even stronger than himself in his youth.

Over the years, he has accumulated a lot of experience from patrolling the border, and in terms of combat skills alone, he ranks among the best in the entire patrol team.

However, tracking down the lair of the demon race is not something that can be solved by individual bravery alone.

Xuan opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he only let out a hum through his nose.

"You brat."

He put the stone slab back in its place and turned to walk towards the council chamber.

It's just a village-wide demon attack. Even if there are a few powerful demons in the lair, it shouldn't cause any major trouble.

Young people should always have to venture out on their own.

When Xuan reached the door, he paused and glanced back at the direction of the branch.

The upright branches swayed gently in the breeze.

The spiritual light remained gentle and constant.