I am the sacred tree, evergreen for eternity.

"We've been exposed."

After Xuan finished speaking, the council hall fell into a deep silence.

The elders looked at each other, some opening their mouths but not knowing what to say.

Qi spoke first, his voice low: "Uncle Xuan, please tell me in detail..."

Xuan stood up and walked to the map of mountains and seas hanging on the wall.

His finger pointed in the general direction from which Wangyoulang had come—from the edge of the map all the way to the border of the Xia Kingdom.

"That tree-man claims to come from the Wood Kingdom deep in the mountains and seas."

"It has traveled for twenty years; how many territories must it have passed through?"

Xuan emphasized, "A monster that feeds on life, traversing tens of thousands of miles just to 'gather herbs'?"

No one responded. One of the elders frowned: "What do you mean?"

"It's not afraid of death at all." Xuan's voice deepened. "Or rather, its death was part of the plan."

The air in the council chamber grew even colder.

"In this primitive world, two truths are eternal—"

"First: Survival is the primary need of all civilizations."

"Second: Civilizations continue to grow and expand, but the resources of mountains and seas are always limited."

"For the Xia Kingdom to develop, it needs more land, rivers, and spiritual veins—but this world won't conjure up 'more' out of thin air."

Xuan stood up straight, his gaze sharp as a knife, sweeping across everyone's face.

"The law of the jungle prevails; there's no escaping it."

"We are all hunters, and also prey in this dark mountain and sea."

"Any group... will become the target of all hunters once its core location is exposed!"

Xuan raised his head and looked at the tree branch that stood quietly in the morning light in the distance.

"Wangyoulang is merely the vanguard of the Wood Country."

"Its mission is not to steal the Tree God's source energy, at least not primarily."

"It's just confirming—confirming the races along the way, confirming the resources along the way—whether it's worth attacking."

Inside the council chamber, someone clenched their fist, their knuckles cracking.

"So, they're definitely coming?!" An elder's voice was filled with barely suppressed anxiety.

"They don't yet know our strength..." Xuan replied quickly, "Perhaps not so soon, they also need time to assess and prepare."

"But they will come—like a pack of hungry wolves that have smelled blood."

"They will bring malice, evil energy, and unimaginable methods, swarming towards the Xia Kingdom from that distant depths of mountains and seas!"

"However—" Xuan's voice suddenly changed, carrying the calmness unique to an old hunter.

"The Land of Wood is a greedy race... a greedy race that does not easily share its prey."

His finger pressed heavily on the map.

"They want to eat it all up, they want to monopolize the tree god, they want to devour this territory."

"This means we still have time."

"Before the Land of Wood is fully prepared and mobilizes its entire force, we have one more chance—"

"Find them and solve them before that day!"

"There are never two paths..."

"Expansion is essential for the survival of the Xia Kingdom!"

Xuan's voice echoed in the hall, like a bronze bell resounding in the wilderness.

Suddenly, he stood up abruptly and kicked the stone bench in front of him aside, making a dull thud.

"Why are you spouting so much nonsense?" he glared, his voice booming like thunder. "Just tell me, where should we fire?"

The wind didn't stand up, but her back was straight, and her weathered old eyes gleamed with a sharp light.

The elders exchanged glances and nodded in unison.

The Xia family has never lacked decisiveness and courage.

Qi sat in the main seat, his gaze fixed on the gray-white area on the map.

"Uncle Xuan, you already have a direction, right?"

It's not a question, it's a statement.

As early as that night, when he and Xuan deduced the 'Dark Mountain and Sea Law', they had already begun planning.

Xuan calmly took out a branch.

The leaves were only the size of a palm, emerald green as jade, with a faint iridescent light flowing through their veins.

But what is most striking is the surface of the leaf—where a faint, almost imperceptible purplish-black line remains.

"When the Tree God destroyed the Dharma form of that Worry-Free Grass, he captured this." Xuan held the branch and leaves in his palm, letting everyone see the patterns on them.

"This is the residual aura left behind when that Dharma image dissipated, pointing to its origin."

He gently placed the branches and leaves on the map, his fingertips starting from the northwest corner of the Xia Kingdom's territory and extending outward along a winding arc.

"The traces left by Forgetful Gentleman when he came, plus the direction indicated by this aura mark—"

Xuan's finger stopped at the edge of the map, beyond the gray area marked "unknown".

"The most likely direction is eight thousand miles from here."

"Eight thousand li." Someone gasped. "How long would that take?"

"The Forgetful Gentleman has been gone for twenty years," Xuan said.

"But we don't need to move around and hide like it does."

"If we explore with all our might, the vanguard should be able to reach the target area in two or three years."

Qi sat in the main seat, listened to Xuan's analysis, and remained silent for a moment.

He braced himself on the edge of the stone table with both hands, slowly stood up, his knuckles turning slightly white.

"Now that things have come to this, everyone should understand."

"At this moment, in my capacity as President, I hereby request the council to vote on this matter—"

"Should we launch the 'Expansion Plan,' form a vanguard team, explore the mountains and seas, and search for the Land of Wood?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xuan raised his hand.

Suddenly, hands were raised; the wind raised its hands; one elder after another raised their hands.

Without hesitation or doubt, one withered arm after another was raised, like a forest that had weathered many storms.

Qi looked around and slowly nodded.

"pass."

"By the Tree God."

"Xia Kingdom, accept the challenge!"

……

The top of the sacred mountain.

The ten-zhang-tall elm tree was as translucent as jade, and spiritual light emanated from its trunk, spreading in all directions along the earth's veins.

Yu Su sank her spiritual sense deep into the earth, tracing the imprints of energy implanted by Wangyoulang, inch by inch.

One, two, three...

Those subtle, almost imperceptible fel energy imprints, like spider silk, are buried deep within the fissures of the earth's veins.

Yu Su's spiritual light suddenly condensed, transforming into a giant sled that stretched across the earth, sweeping away those filthy marks like withered grass.

There was no ripple, no sound.

Just like a tree silently stretching its roots in the soil, expelling impurities that do not belong to this land.

The moment the last trace of the mark vanished, a slight, satisfying tremor emanated from the depths of the earth.

The Xia Kingdom's territory—from the surface to the depths, from spiritual sites to the earth's veins—was completely cleaned up.

The Wood Kingdom can no longer use these methods to probe the true nature of the Xia Kingdom.

But Yu Su knew very well that this was just a temporary solution.

As long as the Xia Kingdom continues to expand, as long as the spiritual fields continue to unfold...

One day, the Xia Kingdom will have to face those powerful "hunters".

This is the price of survival.

It's also the price of growing up.

Yu Su withdrew her spiritual sense from the earth's veins and returned it to the tree trunk.

The branches and leaves swayed gently in the wind, rustling softly.

He looked towards the northwest.

There, the Xia family's pioneering team was assembling.

Humans, in the end, are unwilling to be caged birds.