I am the sacred tree, evergreen for eternity.

"Forever condemned to the abyss, never to return, neither in life nor in death."

Xuan stood in front of the stone slab, his finger tracing the dark red characters.

The morning light pierced through the cracks in the ruins, illuminating the inscriptions with exquisite detail.

The guards in charge of the search and rescue searched through the ruins, the sound of rubble colliding intermittently, like a tuneless elegy.

Footsteps came from behind, hurried, crunching on the broken tiles.

"Leader..." The voice was hoarse, with a trembling sound that was suppressed to the extreme.

"The entire town has a population of one thousand and thirty-seven..."

"They were all reduced to charred corpses; there were no survivors."

Xuan stood in the middle of the ruins, without turning around.

His gaze passed over the collapsed totem pole, over the charred corpses lying scattered about, and landed on the distant, hazy horizon.

A gentle aura emanated from within, spreading outwards like ripples on water.

The perception of someone at the peak of the Seeking the Law stage is enough to capture, restore, and reenact all the remaining traces on this ruin.

He "saw" it.

The turbid air surged in from the northwest, as thick as ink, rolling along the ground and swallowing the moonlight.

The giant serpent emerged from the mist, its several pairs of vertical pupils glowing in the darkness like will-o'-the-wisps.

He "heard" it.

The sharp whistling of arrows piercing the air, the muffled thud of blades cutting, the humming of totem poles as they radiate light.

Then came the wailing—the desperate, hoarse cries of the tribesmen infected by the turbid air before they turned into monsters.

He "felt" it.

The proud iron sword flipped over, the blade facing forward at that moment.

That proud child, as proud as the rising sun, closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and slashed down with his sword.

Not a monster—

They are their own people.

It was a child who had been begging him for help during the day.

She was a mother who still held onto a sliver of hope.

He was a father who believed he could be saved.

One cut after another.

With each strike, Ao's spiritual light dimmed a little.

That line of defense called "humanity" is crumbling inch by inch.

Xuan suddenly opened his eyes, his chest heaving violently, like a volcano about to erupt.

The guards around them stopped what they were doing and looked hesitantly at their leader.

After a long while, Xuan finally spoke, his tone as calm as a cracked stone slab.

"Pass on my orders."

"Arrogance—slaughtering mortals and defying the tree god."

"His crime deserves death!"

The guards knelt on one knee and responded in unison.

A series of flashes of light appeared, and dozens of figures sped out of the ruins, as fast as arrows released from a bow.

Xuan turned around, picked up the stone slab from the ground, and held it in his arms.

At this moment, he was not the chief commander of the Xia clan.

He was just a father.

……

The news spread very quickly.

Within half a day, all four tribes' border outposts received arrest warrants.

But no one knows where Ao went.

He evaporated into the air like a drop of water, leaving no trace.

Until the evening a few days later.

To the southeast, lies Tai'an Town.

As dusk settles, the totem pole in the center of the town emits a warm, spiritual light, enveloping the entire town in tranquility.

The guard captain leaned against the steps at the base of the pillar, munching on a piece of dry rations, calculating when the shift would change.

A loud crash suddenly came from the direction of the town gate—the heavy wooden door was smashed open from the outside, the bolt broke, and splinters of wood flew everywhere.

The captain of the guard stood up abruptly, his right hand already gripping the hilt of his sword.

Until he saw who it was.

A figure covered in blood strode into the town gate.

The animal hide clothing was soaked in blood, its original color no longer discernible. Blood droplets dripped down the hem of the garment, leaving a long trail on the ground.

The blood was purplish-black—the blood of a demonic beast.

His face, hands, and hair were splattered with this purplish-black stain, making him look like he had been pulled out of a pool of blood.

But his eyes were incredibly bright.

It shone with an almost manic, burning excitement.

The captain of the guard recognized him; it was clearly written on the arrest warrant.

"Captain Ao...?"

Ao didn't look at him and walked straight towards the center of the town.

His steps were swift, as fast as the wind. Before the guards along the way could react, they were pushed aside by an invisible force.

They were not injured, but the light they encountered in that instant—profound, intense, and imbued with a resolute will—made them unconsciously step aside.

Ao walked to the totem pole and stood still.

He looked up at the eight-zhang-tall stone pillar, the spiritual patterns on its body slowly flowing in the twilight, and the resonance of the earth's veins deep and steady.

Then he reached out and grasped the pillar.

A burst of spiritual light erupted from his palm, resonating intensely with the spiritual patterns on the totem pole itself.

The entire stone pillar began to tremble, and gravel fell from the top of the pillar, leaving fine cracks in the ground.

"Stop! What are you doing—"

The captain of the guard drew his sword and charged forward, the blade gleaming with spiritual light.

Ao turned around and glanced at him.

Just one glance.

There was no hostility, no madness in those eyes, only an absolute calm that sent chills down your spine.

It was as calm as a stagnant pool, yet it was covered by a layer of excited luster, a contradiction that made one's scalp tingle.

The captain of the guard abruptly stopped in his tracks.

"Could I borrow this?"

"I'll return it to you when I'm done using it."

Ao's voice was rough, yet it carried an undeniable certainty.

Before he finished speaking, he exerted force in his arm, and a burst of inspiration erupted.

He uprooted the massive totem pole from the earth's veins, exposing the broken rock layers at its base, where spiritual energy dispersed and vanished without a trace.

Ao carried the eight-zhang-tall stone pillar on his shoulder and walked out of the town.

With each step, the bluestone slabs were trodden and cracked.

No one dared to stop them.

The captain of the guard gripped his knife, his arm trembling, his lips quivering, but ultimately he did not issue the order to intercept.

It wasn't fear of death, it was that person's eyes—

Beneath that burning excitement lies something that one dares not touch.

Ao's figure disappeared into the twilight.

The remaining aura at the top of the totem pole trailed a faint tail of light in the darkness, like a shooting star streaking across the night sky.

……

Deep underground.

The darkness was as thick as ink; you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

Ao carried the totem pole through the narrow crack in the ground, his steps faltering, but his direction never wavered.

The blood of the demonic beast had dried on his body, forming a hard, purplish-black shell that peeled off with his movements.

That blood wasn't his—at least most of it wasn't.

The spiritual patterns on the totem poles emitted a faint glow in the darkness, like a lamp that might go out at any moment, but enough to illuminate the path beneath one's feet.

I don't know how long it took.

The ground cracked open, revealing a bright and clear space.

It was a huge underground cave, so large that his spiritual sense could not reach its boundaries.

The dome was covered with countless stalactites, each dripping purplish-black liquid droplets that hissed as they fell to the ground.

And in the very center of the cave—

The giant, twisted serpent was coiled there.

Ao Jiang stood the totem pole on the ground, a slight upturn of his lips revealing a chilling smile that carried a hint of relief.

"By the Tree God!"

"finally found you."