Reincarnated as a Ginkgo Tree: I Create an Eternal Divine Kingdom - Chapter 84

“Lord Divine Tree, may I handle this person’s body?” Lin Che knelt and asked.

Su Mu’s thoughts swept over Lin Che before replying, “You may.”

Dongfang Xuan’s corpse was undoubtedly valuable. Whether it was his Heaven and Earths’s Eyes or his cane, both were rare treasures. However, these items held little value for Su Mu. Lin Che desired them, so Su Mu was willing to grant them to him.

Dongfang Xuan’s possessions were most suitable for Lin Che, as inheriting them required exceptional willpower and wisdom—qualities Lin Che possessed more than any other subordinate in the Misty Area.

“Thank you, Lord Divine Tree,” Lin Che said, deeply grateful.

Su Mu then turned his attention to Xia Yuerong. Su Yao was extremely anxious, fearing that the Divine Tree would kill Xia Yuerong as well. However, she did not plead for her master’s life. In her heart, the Divine Tree was of utmost importance. Even though she cared for Xia Yuerong, she would never do anything that might make the Divine Tree uneasy.

Xia Yuerong, on the other hand, showed no fear. She looked up at the ancient ginkgo tree, and for the first time, a spark of life flickered in her once lifeless eyes. She had many questions that no one could ever answer, questions she had asked thousands of people, only to find no resolution. But now, she felt she might have found a way to unravel the mysteries that had haunted her for so long.

If neither humans nor demons could provide her with answers, then perhaps a god could. In her eyes, this ancient ginkgo tree, if not a god itself, was at least a being close to divinity.

“Divine Tree,” Xia Yuerong spoke, “does someone as hopeless as I still have a reason to live?”

The breeze stirred, causing the ginkgo leaves to rustle gently. At the same time, a calm voice echoed in the air.

“All those who attain great enlightenment have once been beyond hope.”

“The heart must die for the path to be born.”

“The end of man is the beginning of the divine.”

Xia Yuerong trembled, then tears welled up in her eyes. She suddenly dropped to her knees before Su Mu. “Please, save me,” she pleaded.

The air rippled, and a drop of green liquid materialized out of nowhere, floating in front of Xia Yuerong. She did not resist as the drop merged into her forehead. Immediately, she felt as though her withered heart was being revitalized, much like a parched tree finally receiving water.

At the same time, Su Mu read Xia Yuerong’s information.

[Species: Human]

[Height: 6 feet]

[Lifespan: 2,400 years]

[Cultivation: Mid Golden Core Stage]

[Abilities: Supreme Detachment, Supreme Mind Realm, Green Hills Art, Sword Mastery, Fatal Sword, Fire Manipulation, Artifact Crafting, Formation Mastery]

Xia Yuerong was indeed a worthy opponent, sharing many of the same skills as Dongfang Xuan. It seemed their former sect had ties to the Supreme Path.

However, they had walked different paths. Dongfang Xuan followed the path of supreme emotionlessness, while Xia Yuerong chose the path of supreme detachment. The difference between the two was vast despite the similar terminology.

Dongfang Xuan had chosen to cut off all emotions, even going so far as to kill his fellow disciples to sever his emotional ties completely. Xia Yuerong, however, created the “Supreme Mind Realm,” where she sealed her emotions away, choosing to forget them.

Both the Supreme Mind Realm and Formation Mastery intrigued Su Mu. However, since his lifespan was limited, he did not rush to replicate them.

Xia Yuerong then sat beneath Su Mu, closing her eyes to meditate. It was unclear what she had comprehended, but the aura of desolation around her gradually receded, and she began to resemble the Grand Elder of Green Hills Mansion once more.

A day later, Xia Yuerong opened her eyes, and her gaze was now clear and cold—not with the icy detachment from before, but with the mature, composed demeanor of a seasoned woman. Su Yao noticed the subtle change. The master she knew seemed to have returned.

Before either of them could ponder further, the mist began to swirl, and the Phantom Mist Eyes manifested. Xia Yuerong immediately fell into a deep sleep.

“Su Yao, take her away,” Su Mu’s voice commanded.

“Divine Tree?” Su Yao was confused. She was still trying to piece everything together. Although Xia Yuerong was her master, if she had not pledged allegiance to the Divine Tree, Su Yao would never have allowed her to leave the Misty Area. After all, Xia Yuerong had seen the core secrets of the Misty Area.

“You can think of it as having two masters,” Su Mu explained. “The person now is her past self, while the true Xia Yuerong has sealed her consciousness within her Mind Realm. The current Xia Yuerong has no memory of the Misty Area and is just like any of you, so there’s no need to worry.”

Su Yao finally understood—it seemed her master truly had become mentally fragmented. She then guided Xia Yuerong out of the Misty Area.

Once they were gone, Su Mu’s thoughts swept over the surrounding subordinates. “You’ve all done well during this time.”

He had awakened to find over a thousand unfamiliar human cultivators within the Misty Area. There were also more than two thousand human corpses scattered about. He didn’t need to guess what had happened.

“Divine Tree, it seems the humans have turned the Misty Area into an amusement park,” the Purple-Gold Mosquito grumbled. Being a mosquito, it naturally harbored no goodwill toward humans—especially since countless mosquitoes had been killed by them.

“Indeed, it’s time they understood that the Misty Area is a forbidden zone,” Su Mu responded.

The arrival of these humans had provided him with considerable lifespan. Although he hadn’t directly killed many of them, a large portion of their life force had been absorbed by the Immortal Mushroom, and as the mushroom’s symbiote, Su Mu had indirectly gained half of that life force.

However, the presence of so many humans had disrupted the balance of the Misty Area’s ecosystem and threatened to erode the humans’ fear of it. This was detrimental to the long-term development of the Misty Area. Therefore, a clear warning was necessary.

In the sky above, the mist began to churn. One by one, misty skeletons appeared—thirty-nine in total.

When Su Mu’s Power of Mist was at the fifth tier, he could create thirteen mist skeletons. Now that it had reached the sixth tier, he could summon thirty-nine.

“Those who enter the outer perimeter, let them live or die as they will.”

“Those who enter the inner perimeter, kill them without mercy.”

Su Mu’s voice, as if decreed by the heavens, echoed across the land. The misty skeletons bowed in unison before dispersing in all directions.

By the Sui River, a group of human cultivators were still fighting against beasts. Suddenly, the beasts seemed to sense something and fled in a frenzy. The cultivators looked at each other in confusion, only to be struck with horror in the next moment.

“What…what are those?” one of them gasped.

The others were equally shocked, their faces pale as they spotted several misty skeletons approaching.

“There’s a rumor that these Misty Area spirits exist. Could it be…” a woman started to say, but before she could finish, the skeletons attacked. The cultivators quickly realized the overwhelming strength of these creatures. Within a quarter of an hour, all of them were dead.

Similar scenes played out throughout the inner perimeter of the Misty Area. On this day, the Misty Area truly became a nightmare for humankind.