Chapter 593: The Gui Luo Tree's Return Gift

Revered Elder Mulong was not much involved in worldly affairs; he dedicated himself to cultivation. His cultivation was said to surpass that of the Sect Master, and in his later years, with white hair, he diligently studied ancient texts and mastered divination, correcting many computational principles that had been in disarray since the Great Calamity.

Unfortunately, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth waned, human kingdoms began to rise, and the Grand Reversal Sect was no longer as prosperous as it once was.

No matter how profound Revered Elder Mulong's cultivation, he ultimately could not escape the clutches of time. His most frequent saying was, "Time waits for no one."

Eventually, the day came when he would pass away in meditation beneath the Dao Inquiring Tree.

The disciples wept uncontrollably.

Revered Elder Mulong smiled, "I am fortunate. If I had been born in a later age, I might not have had such a peaceful departure."

Everyone quickly asked why.

Revered Elder Mulong said, "Sects, like people, experience rise and fall, birth and death. I observe our sect's destiny; after more than a thousand years, it has already achieved a rare longevity in this world. Many exceptional talents will also emerge during this time."

A disciple, unwilling to accept, asked, "Master, the immortal sect has already weakened into a Daoist school. Will it also vanish along with the spiritual energy?"

"Perhaps heaven and earth will decline, or perhaps things will take a turn for the better after reaching their worst." Revered Elder Mulong stroked the trunk of the Dao Inquiring Tree. "Old friend, you know what I want to say."

Immediately, a leaf, golden-red like the evening clouds, floated down from the Dao Inquiring Tree.

Revered Elder Mulong bit his fingertip and wrote a few lines on the broad leaf:

"Meet Huan, leave the residence.""A single leaf obscures the eye.""Dongli enters the Kan waters."

Not only were they cryptic, but they also didn't rhyme. The disciples were utterly bewildered. "Master, it seems there's a line missing?"

Aren't oracles supposed to have four lines? There are only three; where's the last one?It's agonizing to read them incomplete like this.

"I can't deduce it," Revered Elder Mulong sighed. "If Dongli were here, he could help me verify and calibrate, perhaps seeing more accurately and further."

Everyone mumbled, not daring to respond.

"Although he has fallen into the demonic path, he will awaken and return one day. I will wait for him here." Revered Elder Mulong gestured forward. "Young people, you must allow them to make mistakes."

The disciples exchanged glances, a retort unspoken in their hearts: *Dongli isn't young anymore, is he?*

Revered Elder Mulong blew gently on the leaf, and a disciple stepped forward, ready to receive it.

After their master's passing, these lines of oracle were meant to be enshrined.

Unexpectedly, Revered Elder Mulong withdrew his hand and instead tossed the leaf into the pond beneath the tree.

The golden-red leaf spun twice on the surface before sinking to the bottom, vanishing into the darkness before anyone could react.

Everyone was stunned.

Revered Elder Mulong said lightly, "Why are you reaching out? It's not for you."

"..." *Then who was it for, Master? Such important dying words, not even entrusted to the sect?*

"Then what will become of the sect a thousand years from now?"

"If the mountains and rivers are well-protected, perhaps they can avert disaster, but I fear by then, the will may be there, but not the strength." Revered Elder Mulong's breath was already faint. "It is a matter of timing, and of destiny!"

He mumbled quietly again:

"Alas, even exhausting my life's efforts, I could only divine this much. Beyond that... beyond that, you'll have to rely on yourselves."

Another disciple urgently asked, "Venerable One, are there truly no more immortals in this world?"

"Are there still immortal elders within our sect, perhaps in seclusion?" The Grand Reversal Sect was one of the most powerful sects passed down from ancient times. If there were no immortals even here, how many could remain in the world?

But Revered Elder Mulong's eyes were half-closed, and he no longer replied.

Only then did everyone realize that he had passed away in meditation.

Everything before his eyes gradually blurred.

He Lingchuan regained his senses, discovering that not only had his perspective changed, but the scenery had too. Celestial Pivot Peak and the Dao Inquiring Tree were gone, and he was back in Panlong City.

What had just happened?

He stood by the familiar South Gate Plaza, facing the Guro Tree.

"Huh? The leaves have changed color?" The Guro Tree had an additional golden-red leaf, standing out like a highlighted streak in someone's hair.

The Guro Tree had also grown larger; He Lingchuan had to look up to see its crown. He patted its trunk. "So you ate the Dao Inquiring Tree's leaf. Was it very nutritious?"

A gust of wind rustled the Guro Tree's canopy, but he didn't know if it was responding to him.

At least He Lingchuan didn't understand.

But that golden-red leaf actually floated down into his hand.

"For me?"

He turned the leaf over and over in his hands, noting that its shape was slightly different from the original Dao Inquiring Tree leaf. Yet, it was still palm-sized, with golden veins, entirely without blemishes or burnt edges, exquisite like a piece of craftsmanship.

Was this the Guro Tree's return gift to him?

"Thanks!" He tucked the leaf into his embrace and patted the tree trunk again. "So considerate, unlike the Grand Square Flask, which only takes and never gives, and is lazy and gluttonous."

The next morning, He Lingchuan woke up in the large bed at Panshan Manor and remained dazed for a while.

He had actually dreamt of something else!

In almost a year, this was the first time he had dreamt of anything outside Panlong City.

Tears welled up in his eyes; he had thought his soul could no longer go anywhere else or have other dreams at night!

Of course, once he calmed down, he remembered that this dream was related to the golden-red leaf from the Dao Inquiring Tree he had received yesterday.

What one sees by day, one dreams by night.

Had he fed the leaf to the divine bone necklace, and thus the Grand Square Flask showed him the information contained within the leaf during the night?

What a powerful card reader.

Wait a minute, so this dream was still connected to the Grand Square Flask after all!

He Lingchuan closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

He just couldn't escape its clutches.

However, recalling the dream's content carefully, what he saw was an excerpt from the Dao Inquiring Tree's life.

It was likely an excerpt because the Dao Inquiring Tree had lived for an incredibly long time, spanning at least four thousand years across the ancient, medieval, and modern eras.

Too much time had passed, too many events had occurred; if every piece of information surrounding it were to be shown to He Lingchuan, his soul might not be resilient enough to bear that volume of memory.

Having been in dreams for so long, He Lingchuan had some understanding of his soul's endurance—it was constantly being forcibly trained by the Grand Square Flask, after all.

Perhaps it was the Dao Inquiring Tree itself, or perhaps the Grand Square Flask, that filtered the most important nodal information and presented it to him.

He Lingchuan still had an impression of Revered Elder Mulong's name; wasn't he True Lord Dongli's master?

In the cave dwelling beneath Xianling Lake, True Lord Dongli had left a last testament, repenting his fall into the demonic path and expressing shame for Revered Elder Mulong's guidance.

Otherwise, He Lingchuan wouldn't have followed this clue all the way into Mount Xu.

Fortunately, it wasn't a wasted effort.

In the Dao Inquiring Tree's memories, he saw the ethereal grace of many immortals, disciples of sects from the age of longevity who lived detached from worldly desires and focused solely on cultivation, and even felt, like the Dao Inquiring Tree, the joy of surging spiritual energy and burgeoning life.

Those were indeed the best years for cultivators.

In fact, the medieval period wasn't bad either; spiritual energy would wax and wane, and imperial dew often descended. Although cultivators might find it uncomfortable, powerful individuals like Revered Elder Mulong still lived for over eight hundred years.

His disciple, True Lord Dongli, only lived for six hundred years.

After that, the lifespans of both demons and humans became increasingly curtailed.

Of course, what truly interested He Lingchuan were the three lines of oracle Revered Elder Mulong had written on the golden-red leaf.

He didn't leave them for the sect, but instead returned them to the Dao Inquiring Tree, a leaf returning to its roots.

The elders had previously said that while human bodies decay, the Dao Inquiring Tree endures. So, were these words left for future generations?

After all, it was the only one that could survive through thousands of years of time and space until now.

Speaking of which, whether it was Revered Elder Mulong or the old turtle demon who took True Lord Dongli's "Collection of Flowing Waters," both left behind oracles of three lines!

Only the last line was missing.

Truly, a shared lineage.

He Lingchuan clutched the divine bone necklace and said:

"How about you interpret them for me?"

Of course, the necklace didn't respond.

As he touched the necklace, he felt something unusual in his embrace. He reached in and pulled it out, "Huh—"

He pulled out a golden-red leaf.

He Lingchuan froze on the spot for a moment.

The Guro Tree's leaf had actually followed him into reality?

Of course, the Guro Tree itself possessed the ability to traverse the ethereal realm, and He Lingchuan had even used its branches to bring nightmares out to play. But for the small tree to be so proactive seemed to be a first.

Hmm, the leaf...

He Lingchuan rubbed the leaf, recalling a line from Revered Elder Mulong's oracle:

"A single leaf obscures the eye."

He held the leaf in front of his eyes. Was this how it was meant to be used?

Besides blocking light, it didn't seem to block anything else.

Even the Guro Tree's leaf had no mystical fluctuations. Besides its attractive appearance, it was no different from an ordinary leaf.

It was hard to imagine that the Grand Reversal Sect's masters of old could use a Dao Inquiring Tree leaf to block the divine abilities of the Great Demon Muluo.

Never mind, perhaps this leaf would come in handy later.

He casually tried to put it into his storage ring, but failed.

It wouldn't go in?

At that moment, a servant reported:

A visitor had arrived.

He Lingchuan tucked the leaf back into his embrace. "Please show him in."

The visitor was under forty, with a long face and a goatee that made him look a bit older than his years. In short, he was an ordinary man: plain-faced, plainly dressed, and someone who would be lost in a crowd.

He introduced himself as Shan Qixiang, sent by the Lord of Songyang Prefecture.

He Lingchuan met him in his courtyard. "Are you a steward from Songyang Prefecture?"

"Oh, not exactly. I helped when the Songyang Prefecture's branch opened, but I don't work in the branch and have no direct connection to Songyang Prefecture." Shan Qixiang smiled, his eyes narrowing. "The Marquis once saved my family, and we've been in touch ever since. She said you needed someone, so I came. You can just call me Old Shan."

Li Qingge had indeed mentioned sending someone to him, but he hadn't expected it so soon.

Before He Lingchuan could ask, Old Shan handed him a grappling hook with both hands:

"This is yours. The grappling hook has been repaired, and the Marquis asked me to deliver it to you."

This grappling hook had been damaged by He Lingchuan while capturing the snail toad in Zhitian Village. The hook, crafted from fine gold by Li Fubo, had been caught between the snail toad and an explosion, breaking beyond repair. Although he had spares, none were as easy to use as this one.

He Lingchuan took it and smiled.

This item also served as a token, subtly indicating that Old Shan was indeed sent by Li Qingge, assuring him he could trust and use him freely.