Reincarnated as a Ginkgo Tree: I Create an Eternal Divine Kingdom - Chapter 9

“Grandfather,” Su Yao said, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Tell me everything that happened,” Su Yan demanded solemnly.

Without hesitation, Su Yao recounted everything, omitting only the information about the ginkgo tree while being truthful about the rest.

“So, you’re saying that five people from Zhang Family Village were chasing you, then a beast tide occurred, and everyone else was killed by the wild beasts, leaving you as the sole survivor?” Su Yan’s face darkened with anger.

Su Yao nodded.

“And how did you become a cultivator?” Su Yan pressed.

“I don’t know,” Su Yao replied, her expression filled with confusion.

At that moment, a vague image surfaced in her memory—a deeply etched image of a ginkgo tree.

“A divine tree?” she whispered under her breath.

No one noticed her murmuring.

“How could this have happened?” Another elder, Su Ming, wailed in grief.

Su Ming was Su Xue’s grandfather, and his heart was shattered by the loss.

“Please, calm down,” Su Yan sighed.

Su Ming suddenly turned his gaze toward Su Yao, his eyes filled with sorrow and suspicion. “Why did Su Xue and Su Qin die in the beast tide while you remained unharmed?”

“What do you mean by that?” Su Yan’s eyes grew cold.

Su Ming clenched his teeth. “This matter involves the death of Su Xue and Su Qin. I can’t help but wonder…”

“Su Yao, you say that all seven others died in the beast tide, and when you woke up, you were near their bodies. You should remember where their bodies were,” a middle-aged man named Su Tao, Su Qin’s father, suggested. “Why don’t you take us there to have a look?”

Su Yan’s face darkened further. Su Tao’s words clearly indicated that he too suspected Su Yao.

Su Yao didn’t hesitate. “Alright, I’ll take you there.”

Given that two lives were at stake, the villagers ignored the dangers of the dark forest. More than a hundred of them, carrying torches, followed Su Yao into the woods.

An hour later, they arrived at the site where Su Qin, Su Xue, and the five villagers from Zhang Family Village had fallen.

The gruesome state of the seven corpses and the dense tracks of wild beasts around the area spoke the truth.

“It seems it really happened like this.”

“There are beast tracks everywhere, so there was indeed a beast tide.”

“The marks on their bodies clearly show they were killed by wild animals.”

The villagers sighed collectively.

“Brother Ming, Brother Tao, I understand your feelings,” Su Yan said coldly. “But if anyone dares to accuse Yao of anything over this matter in the future, don’t blame me for turning against you.”

Su Ming and Su Tao remained silent, their suspicions now quelled by the evidence before them.

“Yao, do you remember anything about how you became a cultivator?” Su Yan asked again.

Su Yao shook her head. “I don’t know. I was wounded and lost consciousness while being chased by the people from Zhang Family Village. When I woke up, all of this had already happened.”

“You must have encountered some sort of opportunity, but unfortunately, you were unconscious and unaware of it,” Su Yan said regretfully. “But such is the way of the world; we cannot force things.”

He knew this well from his own experience. Years ago, he had stumbled upon and consumed a fruit that granted him spiritual power. There had been several such fruits at the time, but he hadn’t known to eat them. It wasn’t until he became a cultivator that he realized he had missed many opportunities.

The villagers of Su Family Village also expressed their regrets. It seemed likely that Su Qin and Su Xue had also become cultivators before they died. If they had survived, Su Family Village would have had four cultivators. Instead, only Su Yao remained.

“It’s all Zhang Family Village’s fault,” Su Tao muttered resentfully.

“That’s right,” the villagers agreed. “If it weren’t for Zhang Family Village, Su Xue and Su Qin wouldn’t have died.”

“Five people from Zhang Family Village are dead, but we can’t use this as a reason to go after them,” Su Yan said coldly. “We’ll find another excuse in the future and settle the score with Zhang Family Village.”

The next day, Su Mu was busy absorbing lifespan.

By now, he didn’t need to personally take action; the ten Spirit Crows and the Snow Spirit Mink regularly brought him prey.

“Hm?” Su Mu suddenly sensed something.

After a short while, a figure appeared within his perception. It was none other than Su Yao.

The ten Spirit Crows and the Snow Spirit Mink watched her warily. Su Yao was now a cultivator, no longer the ordinary girl she once was, and they could no longer dismiss her presence.

But when a branch lowered to calm them, they relaxed.

Su Yao walked unobstructed to Su Mu’s side.

“Divine tree,” she murmured as she knelt down before the ginkgo tree.

Su Mu was surprised. He sensed a strange power emanating from Su Yao, a power that allowed him to feel her heart and mind.

He immediately checked Su Yao’s panel.

[Species: Human]
[Height: 5 feet]
[Lifespan: 100 years]
[Rank: Qi Refining, Early Stage]
[Ability: Heart of Faith]

Heart of Faith?

Su Mu quickly understood. He could sense Su Yao’s thoughts likely due to this Heart of Faith. It seemed that Su Yao had genuinely come to believe in him as a divine tree.

“Copy Heart of Faith,” Su Mu decided without hesitation.

Three hundred years of lifespan instantly vanished.

[Species: Spirit Ginkgo]
[Height: 150 feet]
[Lifespan: 730 years]
[Rank: Second-Tier, Middle Grade]
[Abilities: Complete Spirit Infusion, Congeal Spirit Ginkgo Fruit, Innate Talent Duplication, Second-Tier Phantom Snow Eyes, First-Tier Heart of Faith]

Su Mu now possessed the Heart of Faith ability as well, though his version differed from Su Yao’s. While Su Yao’s Heart of Faith allowed her to hear Su Mu’s will, Su Mu’s Heart of Faith let him sense the thoughts and intentions of his believers.

Not only that but there was another delightful surprise. Su Mu noticed that he was faintly receiving lifespan from Su Yao, though the amount was too small to make an immediate impact.

“Faith can be converted into lifespan?” Su Mu was thrilled.

This meant he now had another source of lifespan in addition to hunting beasts.

“Su Yao, you must not reveal my existence to anyone,” Su Mu transmitted his will to her.

“I will obey the divine will,” Su Yao replied, bowing deeply before him.

After offering her prayers, Su Yao took her leave.

Su Mu realized that he could now perceive what Su Yao saw through her eyes. This meant that wherever Su Yao went, his perception could extend there as well.

“The Snow Spirit Mink and the Spirit Crows are deeply devoted to me, but they haven’t awakened the Heart of Faith,” Su Mu noted with some regret. “My connection with Su Yao is stronger, likely due to her higher intelligence.”

While the Snow Spirit Mink and Spirit Crows had some intelligence, it was clear that they couldn’t match a human like Su Yao. This was probably why they hadn’t awakened the Heart of Faith.