Chapter 311: Tree Dweller

"You can't trust a single word from that Qin fellow!"

Ban Gongcuo, enraged, flung open a random door and rushed through it, shouting sternly: "What happened to our agreement to work together and share the same boat? What happened to being friends on the ship and only attacking each other once we left? You're completely untrustworthy! The moment you spotted a benefit, you gleefully ran off by yourself, closing the door behind you to hoard everything! May you choke on it, you scoundrel!"

He had clearly seen Qin Mu close the door behind him after entering that mysterious room. The door didn't close automatically; Qin Mu deliberately closed it, using the ship's spatial alignment technique to block him outside! This kid clearly intended to keep everything for himself!

Soon, Ban Gongcuo calmed down and began to diligently calculate the second layer's spatial alignment method within the treasure ship. He said coldly, "Since I now know there's a second layer of space, I can calculate the exact location of that long corridor. You won't get to hog all the benefits alone!"

While calculating, he opened room after room, searching for his subordinates. The ship had a vast number of rooms, and his subordinates had already gotten lost, wandering from one room to another, trying to find a way out but only getting deeper into the maze. Ban Gongcuo had already found a way to crack the ship's outer spatial alignment method, but it still took him considerable time to find his people. Along the way, he also encountered two white bats and Long Qilin. Surprisingly, Long Qilin was also calculating a way to crack the spatial alignment method and was close to finding the bridge. The two sides fought a fierce battle, and Ban Gongcuo and his group were routed, losing their armor and weapons. Fortunately, a Shaman King burst into the room and rescued Ban Gongcuo and his men.

Even after he found several other Shaman Kings, he still couldn't pinpoint the long corridor's location, which left him feeling deeply frustrated. "It doesn't matter if I can't find it there," he thought. "That Qin kid will definitely appear. Then I'll capture him, force him to hand over the silver helmet, and reveal all his secrets!"

In the room at the end of the long corridor, Qin Mu blinked. He had intentionally locked Ban Gongcuo out. The old man in the painting had guided him all the way to uncover the ship's secrets, and now that the secret was about to be revealed, there was no need for Ban Gongcuo to tag along and get in the way. His initial purpose in agreeing to team up with Ban Gongcuo was to push him forward as a shield if they encountered danger. Since there was no immediate danger, it was natural to kick Ban Gongcuo out. "Great Venerable, I assume you had the same idea? But I'm still one step ahead."

He turned around and looked, seeing an incredibly vast room, somewhat similar to the Qu Mountain Temple he had seen underwater. It was unbelievably spacious, nearly ten miles long and wide, like a small world hidden inside the ship, though slightly smaller than the Qu Mountain Temple. However, this room was many times larger than the treasure ship itself. Hiding such a massive space within the ship was truly astonishing. Qin Mu looked up; the room's ceiling was constructed from long pieces of wood, whereas the Qu Mountain Temple was built from the bones of a gluttonous beast. The two were different. A gluttonous divine beast naturally contained vast space within its body, so building a temple around its bones would inherently create an expansive interior. This room, however, was created by distorting space through powerful magic and divine abilities, making its construction far more difficult.

In the center of this vast and magnificent room, an enormous wooden pillar descended from the ceiling to the ground, where roots snaked and coiled like dragons, giving it an ancient feel. Continuous streams of light flowed across the surface of the massive tree trunk, moving from the roots towards the room's ceiling, constantly illuminating the empty space. Within these streams of light, runes seemed to flow, moving along the long wooden beams in the ceiling towards the edges of the room and injecting into the ship's hull. After a moment, a heartbeat echoed from within the tree trunk—a deafening thump.

Qin Mu surveyed it, a look of confusion on his face. It seemed this ship was built upon an impossibly large ancient tree, and the long wooden beams in the ceiling must be its branches. Furthermore, judging by the flowing light on the tree and the sound of a heartbeat, the ancient tree was still alive and had become the treasure ship's core, perhaps even its power source! But how many years would it take for such a colossal tree to grow? Why did the ancient tree possess such immense power, enough to serve as the treasure ship's power and sustain its long voyages? "As expected," he mused, "the ship's rudder and silver helmet in the bridge aren't what control the treasure ship. This is."

Qin Mu's gaze fell on the ground before him; it was as smooth as a mirror. The old man from the painting was clinging to the ground, waving at him, then scurrying forward. Qin Mu quickly followed him, his heart full of curiosity: "Is this old man from the painting truly drawn? This art of painting seems even more profound than Grandpa Deaf's. While Grandpa Deaf's paintings can imbue a touch of soul, any figures he draws, if they come to life, soon turn back into ink. But this old man from the painting truly seems like a living being; aside from being confined to walking on surfaces, he's no different from any normal life form. Can there truly be someone in this world whose painting skill surpasses Grandpa Deaf's? ...Impossible!"

He suddenly realized the key point: the person who drew the old man in the painting might not have surpassed Grandpa Deaf in painting skill, but rather in the Path of Creation. This person drew the old man and used the Path of Creation to imbue him with life, bringing him to life as a guardian and guide to the secret! Grandpa Deaf's paintings weren't based on cultivation level, but on his profound mastery of the Path of Painting itself!

Qin Mu followed the old man from the painting, heading towards the ancient tree in the center of the room. As they approached the tree, he frowned slightly, noticing puddles of green slime on the pristine floor ahead, like tracks left by something crawling. The closer they got to the ancient tree, the more green slime there was. The old man from the painting also became cautious, bypassing the slime as he neared the ancient tree. Qin Mu cautiously scanned his surroundings. The area was very spacious, and a glance revealed everything; there seemed to be nothing frightening. However, the slime gave him an unsettling feeling. He had seen this kind of slime on the deck of the flying ship, and at that time, they had encountered an invasion of demonic energy, with a terrifying presence hidden within it. Furthermore, the room at the entrance to the long corridor had also been covered in this slime. And here it was again. From the distribution of the slime, which surrounded the ancient tree, it seemed the ancient tree was extremely important to the slime's owner. Qin Mu looked elsewhere, his unease growing. The more he looked, the more he felt this place resembled a nest—the nest of the slime's owner!

Finally, Qin Mu followed the old man from the painting to the base of the tree. At that moment, he was slightly startled: he saw the white-clothed man he had seen in his vision. More accurately, he only saw the man's face. The owner of this treasure ship, the white-clothed man named Qin from Wuyou Township, had now merged his body with the ancient tree, becoming one with it. Only his face was visible, and even that wasn't fully exposed. His face was almost completely assimilated into the ancient tree, and his eyes lacked any vitality. The ancient tree's heartbeat was likely his own heart beating, very slowly. Qin Mu was stunned. This white-clothed man must have used a unique method to prolong his life, connecting himself to this tree, linking his life with the ancient tree. However, this method had severe drawbacks: it would make him a part of the ancient tree, render him unable to move, and even gradually transform him into wood! His injuries at the time must have been extremely severe, to the point of being unsustainable! He was chased by enemies, fought his way here, and ultimately defeated his pursuers. But he had no choice but to use a forbidden technique, turning himself into part of the ancient tree to prolong his life!

Qin Mu looked at him, and the eyes of the white-clothed man within the tree also moved stiffly, like two eyeballs carved from wood. They could barely perceive a faint image, but nothing clearly. "Did you send the old man in the painting to guide me here?" Qin Mu felt an inexplicable sense of closeness to this man, as if there was a strange connection between them, stirring his heart. He asked, "Are you Qin Fengqing? Are you from Wuyou Township?" The man in the tree seemed to gradually make out Qin Mu's face, becoming somewhat agitated. He struggled to open his mouth, but his tongue had turned to wood, rendering him unable to speak. Qin Mu was stunned. The backlash from this forbidden technique was too strong. Although the white-clothed man's life had been prolonged, his senses and bodily functions had largely disappeared.

"Do you recognize this jade pendant?" Qin Mu quickly took the jade pendant from his neck and held it before the man, suppressing his excitement. "Do you recognize it? This was with me when I was a baby. I've always worn it. Is this 'Qin' character the same 'Qin' from Wuyou Township?" Suddenly, the white-clothed man in the tree became agitated. The ancient tree trembled slightly, as if the person within was struggling fiercely, trying to break free from the tree's confines and snatch the jade pendant! Streams of light flowed across the ancient tree's trunk, suppressing his struggles. He opened his mouth, as if he had a thousand words he wanted to say to Qin Mu, but he couldn't utter a single one.

Qin Mu's expression saddened. He spoke quietly, as if to the man in the tree, yet also to himself: "I heard from Granny that a woman's body carried me in a basket and delivered me to Crippled Old Village in the Great Ruins at night. I never saw her. Later, I saw her beneath the river, but I still couldn't make out her face. I only have this jade pendant, which I've worn since childhood, always hoping to find out where I came from, and if any of my relatives are still there..." He sat down at the base of the tree, hugging his knees, the jade pendant dangling from his fingertips, swaying gently. "I feel like my parents might still be alive, waiting for me to go back and see them. I've never met them..." "Then a little girl who became the Sun Guardian told me I might be from Wuyou Township, so I desperately wanted to go back there. I sought information about Wuyou Township, searched for the path to Wuyou Township, but I failed again and again, even almost causing Village Chief and the others to lose their lives because of me..." "This time, I came here without telling them, because I was afraid of implicating them again. Qin Fengqing, your name is Qin Fengqing, isn't it? I found you, but I didn't expect you wouldn't be able to tell me anything. Is it really that hard to go home and learn about my past?" He buried his head in his arms, falling silent.

*Plop.* A tear fell. Qin Mu looked up, wiped away his own tears, and saw tears rolling down from the eyes of the man in the tree. Suddenly, something on the tree began to writhe, coiling and winding down the trunk like a large snake, uttering strange, obscure sounds from its mouth: "Qin Hanzhen, you have seen Qin Fengqing. Surely your wish has been fulfilled now?"