Chapter 1255: Poor Atmosphere

Venerable Lianjing's eyes flickered with hesitation, but it was quickly replaced by determination.

"This is none of your business."

"I'll ask you one last time: are you handing over the merit, or not?!"

The ginkgo tree said hoarsely, "I won't hand it over to anyone."

"If you try to take it by force, I'd rather destroy it."

Venerable Lianjing gritted her teeth and said, "Fine, just don't regret it!"

She turned, cleaving through the swirling demonic liquid with her serrated sword, and walked away. Before leaving, she looked back at Jiang Fan once more. Divine blood had just pooled on the ground where she stood, and she vanished as a fleeting afterimage.

Jiang Fan felt a chill from her gaze and a pang of guilt. "That old hag, she's not going to target me, is she?"

The ginkgo tree's tone immediately sagged. "You ruined her big plan, so it'd be strange if she didn't target you."

Originally, Venerable Lianjing had the merit of Venerable Wutong within her grasp. But because of Jiang Fan's life-saving law, not only did she fail at the last moment, but she also ended up severely injured.

Jiang Fan's scalp tingled slightly. Venerable Lianjing was no ordinary Spirit Transformation realm cultivator. She was a titan of the Four Heavenly Declines! He decided that after returning to Taicang Prefecture, he would bind himself to the Grand Wine Sacrifice. Only then would he feel a modicum of security.

"Tree Brother, what about you?"

"From what you're saying, there's also a Five Heavenly Declines existence behind that old woman?"

The ginkgo tree said, "Except for the Supreme Being of the Five Heavenly Declines, others don't need merit."

"This merit was accumulated over a thousand years from the master's invisible protection of the living beings around the forbidden area."

"I cannot let anyone else obtain it."

Jiang Fan recalled the many offerings of pigs, cattle, and sheep he had seen outside the forbidden area. Venerable Wutong had invisibly protected the weaker beings of an entire prefecture, benefiting countless lives, which had thus accumulated merit. He couldn't help but ponder, "Tree Brother, if accumulating merit is as simple as performing good deeds, then it wouldn't be hard at all."

"Just perform good deeds for show, then hire people to publicize them everywhere, and wouldn't the merit just pour in?"

The ginkgo tree said, "How could it be that easy?"

"Merit, true merit, requires both contribution and virtue."

"Contribution is judged by heaven and earth, while virtue is judged by the hearts of people."

"Indeed, deceit can win over people's hearts and embellish one's virtue."

"But contribution, that cannot be faked in any way."

"The ancient sages are three feet above your head; without sufficient contribution, true merit will not descend."

Jiang Fan suddenly understood. So, merit required the recognition of both heaven and earth, and the hearts of people. Without truly making contributions to the common people and prolonging the lives of living beings, one would not gain recognition. If faking it could earn merit, Venerable Lianjing wouldn't have bothered traveling thousands of miles from Tianzhou to seize it.

Thinking of this, he asked again, "Tree Brother, what exactly does it take to enter the Sage Realm?"

"I once heard people say it required destiny, but now you're saying it requires merit."

The ginkgo tree said, "Both are possible."

"Entering the Sage Realm through destiny means sacrificing a piece of heaven and earth to fulfill oneself."

"Entering the Sage Realm through merit means protecting heaven and earth, and elevating oneself."

"The method of entering the Sage Realm depends on the individual."

"However, I heard my master say that entering the Sage Realm through destiny comes with significant limitations."

"Furthermore, entering the Sage Realm through destiny is unwelcome, and may even be prohibited."

Jiang Fan nodded slightly. Entering the Sage Realm through destiny was entirely a method of harming others to benefit oneself. Unless Central Land faced a life-or-death situation, requiring someone to quickly enter the Sage Realm, they would not resort to drawing upon the destiny of heaven and earth. During peacetime, someone who enters the Sage Realm through destiny is absolutely the most selfish person imaginable! That Supreme Being from Tianzhou likely resorted to this because Central Land had already prohibited entering the Sage Realm through destiny. Having no other choice, they could only seize merit to enter the Sage Realm.

"Hanging out with you, Tree Brother, I'm learning so much again," Jiang Fan chuckled.

The ginkgo tree, however, gazed at Jiang Fan and said, "Rather, you've impressed me greatly."

"To think you could get a Sage to protect you with their law."

"My master couldn't even connect with a single Sage."

Hearing this, Jiang Fan sighed wryly and roughly explained the situation with Sage Tianmu. Only after learning that all those who endured the trials received protection from a Sage did the ginkgo tree breathe a sigh of relief:

"When you put it that way, I feel much better."

Jiang Fan couldn't help but roll his eyes. When did this tendency to begrudge a friend's good fortune spread from Taicang Prefecture all the way to Dahara Prefecture?

Just then, he noticed Venerable Wuyu and the other five, plus the venerable whose divine halo had been shattered. He tentatively asked, "Tree Brother, are you really going to kill them?"

The ginkgo tree, hearing the hidden meaning in Jiang Fan's words, retorted, "What's your brilliant idea?"

Jiang Fan said seriously, "The ancient giants are coming again."

"If you kill them, the number of Venerables in Dahara Prefecture will be halved. Who will protect Dahara Prefecture then?"

The ginkgo tree showed no surprise whatsoever. As if it had long known the ancient giants would come, it asked, "What if they leak the secret that the master has fallen?"

"If the demonic cultivators of Dahara Prefecture find out, they'll come to wreak havoc on them."

Jiang Fan said helplessly, "There's no need to keep the secret anymore."

"This time, the ancient giants are coming with a vengeance, far more formidable than a thousand years ago. The area outside the forbidden zone will also become their hunting ground."

"Before the demonic cultivators can harm them, they'll be completely devoured by the ancient giants."

Hearing these words, after a brief moment of thought, the ginkgo tree swayed its colossal body. Six golden ginkgo fruits hovered before it. It raised its gaze to Venerable Wuyu and the others, who were currently pricking up their ears, listening to their conversation. Whether they would live depended on whether Jiang Fan's plea would be effective.

The ginkgo tree said, "Since my brother has pleaded for you, I'll let you off this once."

Venerable Wuyu and the others felt as if they had been granted a great pardon! But before they could rejoice, the ginkgo tree added, "However, I don't want anyone to know what happened today."

"Therefore, some preventative measures are needed."

"You will swallow these ginkgo fruits."

With a whoosh, the six ginkgo fruits each flew to their respective individuals. The unconscious venerable had no choice; a ginkgo fruit flew directly into his mouth. The remaining five flew before the five conscious venerables.

Venerable Wuyu's face showed fear as he asked, "What will happen after we swallow them?"

The ginkgo tree said, "With a single thought from me, they will take root and sprout within your bodies, bursting you open from the inside out."

Hearing this, everyone's expressions changed. Didn't this mean their lives would be tied to the ginkgo tree's whim?

"You can choose not to eat them," it added, "and stay here forever."

Seeing their reluctance, the ginkgo tree said menacingly.

Venerable Hongchen looked at the ginkgo tree, gritted her teeth, and said, "Fine, I'll eat it!"

"This old lady hasn't yet experienced what it's like to be suppressed by a tree!"

She immediately swallowed it.

Rustle, rustle! The ginkgo tree's eyes widened, and its massive body suddenly trembled. "What kind of audacious words are those?" It was just a pure, thousand-year-old virgin tree, wasn't it?

With her leading the way, Venerable Wuyu also gritted his teeth and swallowed his. The other three venerables then successively swallowed their ginkgo fruits. Only then did the ginkgo tree relax. It looked at Jiang Fan, and a ginkgo-tree-shaped green light flew from the orb in its eye, entering Jiang Fan's body.

Immediately, Jiang Fan felt six familiar fluctuations. They came from the six venerables, including Venerable Wuyu, respectively.

"This is..." A huge question mark appeared in Jiang Fan's mind.

The ginkgo tree chuckled hoarsely, "Their lives are now yours to decide."

"If anyone disobeys, activate the seeds within their bodies."