Chapter 928: Tree of Knowledge
Wearing an expressionless face, while elegantly seated on a luxury wooden chair leaning lightly on one side as if languidly resting one’s boredom with this action while ignoring all other presence except for the man that stood beside her. Everyone can only feel the cold indifference, as if in her eyes the world itself was not something to care about. However, she gave a bit of her attention on the man beside her as well as the people inside the towering tree behind her, that’s why she went upfront even with all of the enemies eyes on her she stood her ground coldly and remained at the position that stood before the path that leads to the Pill Tower behind her. Her stance was so clear that the people surrounding the place didn’t know right away what they should.
They all come here trying to take over the ordinary Pill Tower that suddenly turned into a sentient tree of knowledge that most people desire to take away. But no one had told them that they would be blocked by people like this Ancient High Elf and that Sword Cultivator who gave away the feeling of danger just with them standing there before them.
What made it ridiculous is that the pair in front of their target even started making tea without care for their surroundings. They were all cautious towards these two blocking them and didn’t make a move just in case. There are those who were sharp ones who choose to leave instead like the people from the Black Cloud Academy.
Wu Zhou who was observing the young pair at the entrance of the towering tree. He didn’t do anything but just focus on the Elf Woman who calmly took a seat before the eyes of every powerhouse in the Inner Haven. Calm, composed and a strong feeling of detachment. This made one overthink things like these two might be a pair of big shots pretending to be gatekeepers of the Pill Tower.
In reality, he had some guesses that this elf woman might be his elder brother’s disciple in disguise. However, it is almost impossible to fake one’s bloodline which means this person indeed possessed the bloodline of an Ancient Elven. But he is still unsure if this person is really his brother’s disciple, because he didn’t have an answer, that’s why he didn’t choose to leave.
But for some reason he got the feeling that he must move his eyes from this woman. Then as expected that woman glanced only at him once and a cold yet gentle voice echoed in his ears.
{Retreat.}
The moment Wu Zhou heard that voice he didn’t hesitate and turned to his people and grabbed them all and left. He didn’t even voice anything but just grabbed his people and took his leave. Thankfully, there were only two other people who came with him. He immediately retreated as far as possible when he heard that one word warning. He just had to make sure he and his people were out of the formation range. There are some sensitive ones who trust their instinct and immediately run away.
"Second Master, what’s wrong?"
"Why did you suddenly grab us, Second Master?"
"See for yourself!" Wu Zhou said.
As expected the moment they got out of the formation range, the still and almost invisible formation around the Pill Tower had glowed brightly and this brightness had instantly froze everyone within the range except for the ones at the center of the tower and those outside of the range.
Wu Zhou and the others who had escaped successfully from the formation all had grim expressions on their faces mixed with uncontrolled relief as if escaping death.
Then they once again heard that cold yet calming voice of the Ancient High Elf woman at the center of the formation.
"Jueyang, kill all those within the formation. Leave no one alive," said Yue Xuexia.
Everyone suppressed within the formation were unable to move except for one person who just pretended not to move which is the man in hood. On the other hand, the Immortal Sun Emperor followed the command like a loyal knight. He took a step forward and pulled his sword, with just two slashes everyone on the ground or in the sky surrounding the Pill Tower no one was spared.
As if the heaven had fallen the sound o
was heard by everyone in the Inner Haven. A large gush in the space near the ground and the sky had appeared. The group of people standing on both the ground and the sky instantly turned to dead bodies with those in the sky descending and those on the ground falling. The Immortal Sun Emperor would never spare them as they are targeting something his beloved had owned. That’s why not even their souls survived and they were dead to the world. Unable to reincarnate, perishing to nothingness. For the cultivation world, it’s the worst kind of death, the kind that would erase a person if they didn’t have a back up that can save their life.
The moment the sword in the hand of the Immortal Sun Emperor had been sheathed no one within the range of a hundred meters remained alive or unbroken. Even the sword slashes were left on the space which instantly destroyed the mirror world. Everyone who was alive saw an image as if the world had fragmented and completely broke. After that a strong flash of light almost blinded them, the next moment they opened their eyes they had suddenly returned to reality.
The only change is that everyone who had surrounded them had now all turned into corpses and a circle that surrounds the Tree of Knowledge made of blood and corpses remained. Shen Jueyang looked at the only person who was standing within the formation. Covered in black and red from head to toe, face hidden within a hood. Without anyone seeing his face, just the fact that he can block the Immortal Sun Emperor’s attack showed that they are of the same realm.
Shen Jueyang looked at this man with his hand on his sword. He said, "Why would a dignified emperor realm cultivator hide his face like this?"
"Why would the merciless tyrant of the battlefield play the role of a bodyguard like this?" retorted the man in the hood.
The two men confronted each other for a while staring at one another with tension in the atmosphere between the two of them. Meanwhile, the Goddess of the Moon had calmly drank her strawberry milk tea ignoring the pool of blood and corpses surrounding the tower as well as the two men about to jump on each other with the intention of cutting each other’s head in the process.
"If you two are going to fight, don’t forget to get far away from here. My formation is broken. If they fight here now it will destroy the whole street," said Yue Xuexia and added, "Destroy my front yard and I will turn you to fertilizers like the others lying on the ground."
This threat was real as the ground suddenly moved and countless tree roots had moved underground to the surface. It suddenly grabbed the corpses under its roots to the ground. After a short rumbling of the area, every corpse was absorbed underground by the Tree of Knowledge’s roots. Not even a single drop of blood remains.
After the blood of these people were absorbed by the Sentient Ghost Gum Tree roots, small flower buds had started to grow in different shades of color until it fully bloomed and a few fruits had appeared on it. Each fruit looked like an apple, the only difference was its color and some kind of insignia found on the surface of the fruit.
Some fruits had a sword insignia. Others are pill insignia which signifies alchemy, beast insignia which signifies beast taming, hammer insignia which signifies blacksmithing, etc. Yue Xuexia who was holding her milk tea noticed this fruit and finally stood up from her seat and flew towards the tree’s little fruit and recognized that this might be the fruit of knowledge. The blood that was absorbed from those invaders had been transformed into these small apples with various colors and insignia. Each fruit only has the size of an adult fists. When Yue Xuexia tried to pluck one apple, the fruit remaining in the branches could not be pulled at all. It was at that moment that Yue Xuexia realized that these fruits cannot be pulled unless they are ripe.
The Goddess of the Moon mumbles, "It cannot be pulled unless it’s ripe? So this tree feeds on the blood and flesh of its enemies. All the knowledge within the blood and flesh would grow into small flowers and eventually small fruits of knowledge which are waiting to mature on their own."
At some point, the two men who were glaring at each other had appeared beside the Moon Goddess. It seems that the changes on the Tree of Knowledge made them interested as well. This is especially true to these fruits which were condensed through the knowledge it had stolen from that group of fertilizers dragged by its roots.
Shen Jueyang commented, "So, that’s who the Tree of Knowledge bears fruit."
"This tree eats human blood and flesh?" The man in the hood commented.