Chapter 592: Questioning the Way for Four Thousand Years

**Chapter 588: Four Thousand Years of Seeking the Dao**

The two strong mountain imps remained silent.

"My nephew was only subjected to a quick attack, just a single bite," said Old Mo. He was no saint himself, having taken many lives, and was an expert at examining wounds. "Based on a rough assessment, the assailant had densely packed teeth, not fangs like ours."

It opened its mouth, revealing four large fangs.

"Could it have been a prisoner?"

"Unlikely. I remember my nephew once let slip that he was working at the base of Zhimifeng Peak. That's one of Tianshu Peak's secondary mountains, very desolate, with no buildings whatsoever. When I asked a curious follow-up question, he clammed up."

He Lingchuan pondered, "Since the work is so dangerous, have there been other disappearances in the Heavenly Palace these past few years?"

Old Ge widened his eyes. "My friend told me not to inquire further. The Heavenly Palace's secrets are too much for me to bear."

He was a smart man; he knew what to inquire about and what not to pry into.

He Lingchuan understood; this topic was closed.

"Oh, by the way, last time you asked about the origins of Fang Canran, the chief steward of Dunyuan, didn't you?" Old Ge was very efficient. "I've asked around. His family settled in Lingxu City seventy years ago. Anything before that is untraceable; it's too far back."

"What kind of businesses did his family run?"

"Oh, they did a bit of everything," Old Ge said, counting on his fingers and reeling off facts as if they were treasured possessions. "When the Fang family first arrived in Lingxu City, they had some money and opened two shops: a cloth store and a ready-to-wear clothing store. After operating for over a decade, perhaps there was a change in management, or they couldn't make it work, so they had to sell the shops and switch professions. Later, his family worked as accountants, ran private tutoring schools, opened shops again, and then failed again... until Fang Canran's uncle restarted his business and it began to pick up, and he brought Fang Canran into the trade. As a result, Fang Canran surpassed his uncle by far, achieving such great success at a young age."

The Golden Horn family is a renowned aristocratic family on the Floating Island. Fang Canran managing their assets was equivalent to being a golden-tier professional manager or agent, bringing him both prestige and wealth.

He Lingchuan nodded. "Yes, this is like smoke rising from his ancestors' graves."

He just didn't know if Fang Canran's ancestors had any connection to Shao Jian!

If the Fang family intended to conceal their history from before seventy years ago, outsiders would have no way to trace it.

It seems probing into Fang Canran's family history could only go this far.

He then pulled out another silver ingot. "Old Ge, I need you to do something for me again."

When the gleaming silver appeared, Old Ge, with a righteous expression, said, "Just name it!"

Once a stranger, twice an acquaintance, thrice a friend.

Mainly, He Lingchuan was generous.

The generous customer whispered to him, and Old Ge listened, then smiled, "Isn't it just running errands and delivering messages? I thought it was something difficult. Just leave these things to me in the future."

"Many thanks."

So, next, he had to inquire about the past of the Ke family and the divine artifact.

That was ancient history, almost two hundred years old. Even in Lingxu City, probably few people knew about it, and it was even less likely they would tell him.

Fortunately, He Lingchuan knew someone he could ask.

After returning to Panshan Residence and having dinner, He Lingchuan went back to his room, closed the doors and windows securely, and then took an item out of his storage ring.

It was the leaf obtained from the Dao-Seeking Tree on Tianshu Peak in Xushan.

The Dao-Seeking Tree would give green leaves or red leaves to others when divining fortune, or at most, a half-red, half-green one.

For him, it was golden-red.

Red, green, golden (yellow) red... hah, he wondered what kind of crossroads he was at.

He Lingchuan examined the leaf for a long time but found no spiritual power fluctuations. Aside from being aesthetically pleasing, it was just an ordinary leaf.

Old Ge had said that many visitors who sought divination took the leaves home as souvenirs, meaning the item itself should have no other use.

In terms of color, red, green, yellow.

Could he interpret it as his destiny fluctuating repeatedly between good and ill fortune, making it impossible to summarize simply, but that the overall trend leaned towards misfortune, hence the Dao-Seeking Tree just gave him this result?

Symbolically, yellow leaves represent withering...

Damn it, he didn't want to die.

It was said that what Hong Chenglüe received was also a yellow leaf, a standard yellow leaf.

Although it was still different from his, if the opportunity arose, He Lingchuan wanted to ask Hong Chenglüe whether the yellow leaf's prophecy was accurate.

Several great sages of the Grand Rejuvenation Sect, including Venerable Wood Spirit, Master of True Man Dongli, apparently all attained nirvana beneath the Dao-Seeking Tree. Were their divination abilities stronger than those of True Man Dongli, who comprehended the "Collection of Flowing Waters"?

The greedy Divine Bone Necklace had been heating up constantly. He Lingchuan found nothing new from examining the leaf, so he simply fed it to the necklace.

Watching the golden-red leaf vanish with a "whoosh," he complained to the Divine Bone Necklace, "You're like a Pixiu, only taking in and never giving out! All you do is demand food, but you never spit out anything useful!" Except for that inferior version of the Dragon-Slaying Pillar.

His current situation was delicate and dangerous, and he desperately needed assistance.

Yet this thing was completely useless.

What exactly could the Great Square Pot, which had driven Lingxu City to madness, actually do?

With the night wind and rain, he was too lazy to move and simply flopped onto his bed to sleep.

He hoped to enter Panlong City to inquire about the history of the Ke family and the divine artifact, seeking direction for his future actions.

It was pitch dark all around.

Was this Panlong Soul Realm? He Lingchuan's perception was strange; it wasn't as if he was seeing with his eyes, yet he clearly knew what was around him.

He seemed to be in a colossal cave, surrounded by layers of jumbled rocks. The exit was far away, more than five *zhang* distant.

This meant the light source was also very distant.

The cave was very humid, and occasionally, water droplets fell from the cave ceiling, hitting the rocks with a "dong" sound and splattering.

Where exactly was this?

He Lingchuan wanted to walk out and look, but his entire body was unable to move.

After an unknown period, the light at the cave entrance dimmed, and someone actually walked in, looking down at him:

"It's a spiritual tree, so tenacious, yet trapped here. What a pity."

He Lingchuan then realized that he seemed to be a scrawny little tree, with only two pitiful branches, its leaves constantly growing and falling.

The person turned and walked out.

Just a few breaths later, above him, it was as if a bolt of thunder flashed, and light burst forth brilliantly.

The mountaintop fell away, and the cave ceiling was gone.

Both were sliced off by a single sword stroke.

For hundreds of thousands of years, sunlight illuminated this dark cave for the very first time.

The small tree bathed in sunlight, gently trembling for the first time due to the breeze.

The person stood among the rocks, leaning on their sword, and smiled at it: "Grow well. My sect has a destined connection with you."

Thereafter, suns rose and moons set, countless thunders and rains passed, and seasons changed innumerable times.

He Lingchuan's vision was no longer confined to the tree itself; instead, it was like viewing a holographic image, taking in the entire mountaintop.

Although there were many differences, the mountaintop still looked somewhat familiar, especially the peak whose cap had been sliced off—

Gasp, wasn't this Tianshu Peak from later generations!

So, what he had previously experienced must have been the Dao-Seeking Tree's infancy. The person who paved a way for it to live was likely... Immortal Shou'an?

As the tree grew larger and larger, its spiritual consciousness spread out, no longer confined to itself.

It grew faster than other trees, already having emerged from the cave, freely stretching its branches and leaves.

At that time, this peak was still called Dao-Seeking Peak.

Disciples of the Grand Rejuvenation Sect gathered in groups of three or five, often chatting and playing, practicing swordsmanship, and seeking enlightenment beneath the tree. Numerous immortals set up altars here, commencing their teachings.

The Dao-Seeking Tree listened in silence.

Many among them possessed the ability to soar high and low, able to ride artifacts on the wind.

One day, dark clouds suddenly covered the mountains, not only shrouding Shou'an Mountain but also the entire territory of the Grand Rejuvenation Sect.

Something within the clouds stirred restlessly, occasionally revealing a limb or a tail—grotesque demon gods.

The Grand Rejuvenation Sect ordered all members to intercept, and immediately, countless beams of rainbow light ascended from the ground, soaring directly into the clouds.

It was a spectacle He Lingchuan had never witnessed before.

The first major battle lasted for half a month, and over a hundred Grand Rejuvenation Sect disciples were killed or wounded.

But this was just the beginning of the bloody war.

Not long after, several terrifying lightning bolts descended from the sky, striking the Dao-Seeking Tree.

The great tree was blasted into scorched wood, its spiritual consciousness instantly lost.

Thus, He Lingchuan's vision once again plunged into darkness.

When his vision returned, it seemed a long time had passed, as the entire Dao-Seeking Peak had changed its appearance.

Previously lush and green, it was now barren and desolate, the land riddled with gullies and ravines, as if it had been washed by lava. The vast mountain range had almost no vegetation; the few remaining trees had withered yellow leaves and drooped dispiritedly, as if on their last breath.

Immortal Shou'an was gone. Several elders of the Grand Rejuvenation Sect stood beneath the Dao-Seeking Tree, debating whether to cut it down.

"It's stained with so much demon blood. I fear it might turn into a malevolent monster and devour people."

"Other spiritual trees that came into contact with demon blood either withered away or transformed into vicious beings. If Martial Uncle Shou'an knew the Dao-Seeking Tree had become like this, he would surely be saddened."

"Isn't it still perfectly fine and unchanged? There's an exception to everything! Have you forgotten? Even when the Dao-Seeking Tree was struck by lightning and destroyed, we still kept its leaves with us, which blocked Mulian's divine ability 'Eye of Truth.' That's how we successfully infiltrated Mulian's side and subsequently defeated him! The Dao-Seeking Tree's resilience and tenacity far surpass our own human capabilities!" One elder strongly held his opinion. "After the cataclysmic tribulation, very few spiritual objects remain in existence. If the Dao-Seeking Tree can withstand the demonic blood corrosion and survive, it will also be a blessing for our Grand Rejuvenation Sect."

The others asked him, "How so?"

"The spiritual energy of heaven and earth has already dried up. Who among us can live as long as it?" The elder smiled. "Thousands of years from now, it can still shelter and protect our sect, far surpassing us."

Thus, the Dao-Seeking Tree was preserved.

Stars shifted and constellations changed; another thousand years passed.

Traces of the rampaging demon gods had long vanished, and Shou'an Mountain remained verdant.

The elders who had debated cutting down the tree that year had indeed all passed away, yet the Dao-Seeking Tree's branches and leaves remained evergreen, growing even stronger.

The aerial roots hanging from the tree grew thicker and stronger, already enveloping the stone cave where the Dao-Seeking Tree originated, creating a nested wonder: a cave within a tree, and a tree growing within a cave.

Upholding the sect's ancient teachings, Grand Rejuvenation Sect disciples were extremely reverent towards it. Many great cultivators throughout generations had attained nirvana here.

The current master of Dao-Seeking Peak was Venerable Wood Spirit.

This person had a very pointed head, with patches of white on his face, and his eyes were usually squinted into slits, making it almost impossible to tell if he was asleep or awake.

By appearance, he was truly unassuming, completely lacking the demeanor of a distinguished master. Yet everyone in the Grand Rejuvenation Sect treated him with great reverence.