Chapter 99: The Colossal Tree

The sky gradually brightened.

As the rain ceased and the wind stilled, the first glimmer of dawn pierced through the thick clouds and the mists that hovered over the deadly swamp, casting a soft glow upon the land.

In the forest, silence reigned, but slowly, with the arrival of that faint light, life began to stir. From an unknown corner, the first chirp of a bird echoed, and with the beams of light filtering through the leaves, the entire forest seemed to awaken from its slumber. Distant and near, the joyful songs of the morning greeted the new day.

At this moment, the forest was veiled in a thin, gossamer mist, and as one walked through it, the air carried a faintly moist, refreshing touch. The air was particularly pure, and inhaling it made one feel a sense of broadened horizons.

Gui Li took a deep breath of the fresh morning air, his face expressionless as he gazed ahead. Even the little gray monkey perched on his shoulder stretched lazily.

Not far ahead, in the direction where the golden pillar of light had appeared the previous night, the mist suddenly thickened, creating a hazy, indistinct view. However, this mist was different from the miasma at the edge of the swamp; it was a pure, milky white. From afar, it appeared to drift gently between the trees, layer upon layer.

Perhaps, that was where the treasure lay!

Gui Li slowly turned his head and looked to the side. Lu Xueqi stood two zhang away, her white robes as pure as snow, silently staring at the swirling mist.

They had not raised their hands against each other.

Throughout the long night, after the initial surprise and faint excitement of their meeting, they had remained in prolonged silence.

Though only three feet separated them, it felt like a chasm deeper than the Dead Soul Abyss, etched between them and in their hearts.

Even when the brilliant golden light had surged into the sky, as they turned to look, their faces illuminated by the golden radiance, there was a coldness in the air of this strange, unfamiliar place.

The past, indeed, had changed…

Lu Xueqi seemed to sense something, turning her head to meet Gui Li’s gaze. Her eyes were clear as water, perhaps with a hint of ripples deep within, but at this moment, none of that could be seen.

She looked at the man before her, standing beside her in the forest. As she observed him closely, she finally realized that he was no longer the boy she once knew!

His once-familiar face now bore the marks of time and a quiet, somber demeanor, devoid of the innocence and laughter of his youth.

She lowered her head slightly, her gaze lingering on the Celestial Sword in her hand, lost in thought. After a moment, she spoke softly, her voice floating like a whisper, “Come back.”

She did not raise her head, nor did any expression change on her face. Only her fingers, slender and pale, tightened around the hilt of the Celestial Sword.

“… Junior Brother Zhang!” she murmured, her voice so gentle, so tender.

Come back…

Those four words, carried by the morning breeze, encircled him, then sank into his heart like pebbles thrown into a pond.

Gui Li took a deep breath, closing his eyes. The icy-cold, soul-devouring staff in his sleeve, his most loyal companion, never left his side.

After a long while, he opened his eyes, a faint smile on his lips. “I haven’t used that name for a long time,” he said slowly.

Lu Xueqi’s lips moved, and she slowly raised her head, but she said nothing, remaining silent.

They stood like that, the distance between them seeming to grow wider. The morning light cast a mesmerizing beauty on the face of the exquisite woman, and the mist in the forest seemed drawn to her, dancing around her.

For a moment, her face seemed to blur.

Lu Xueqi turned and took a step forward, walking into the deep mist without another word, leaving the man behind.

Just as her figure began to fade into the mist, she heard the man’s voice, slow and distant, “Will you kill me?”

Her figure disappeared into the white mist, and no one could see her eyes, her expression, or her body anymore.

In the silence of the morning, after what seemed like an eternity, her voice floated back, ethereal and faint, “I will. So, when you can kill me, do it without hesitation…”

The sky had fully brightened, but the mist still shrouded the area in a dim, shadowy veil. The mist here was much thicker than elsewhere, and visibility was limited.

As Gui Li walked through the forest, he noticed that, though it was still a forest, it was vastly different from the outer regions. Apart from the towering trees that loomed in the mist, the ground was surprisingly free of the dense shrubs and thorny undergrowth found in the outer forest. It was as if the heavy mist prevented sunlight from reaching the ground, stunting the growth of the usual vegetation.

But the most astonishing thing was the absence of the countless poisonous creatures and rare plants that had once thrived in the Forest of the Dead. Gui Li had walked for at least half an hour without encountering a single venomous creature.

This place seemed devoid of any living beings, a dead, oppressive stillness hanging in the air.

Frowning, Gui Li continued onward. The little gray monkey on his shoulder had grown quieter, clinging tightly to his robe, but its sharp eyes kept darting about, ever vigilant. The lack of thorny shrubs and irritating creatures made walking on the ground much easier. Since entering the inner swamp, this was the first time he had felt such ease.

Lu Xueqi had entered the mist before him, and Gui Li had waited for a while before following, losing sight of her completely.

Yet, as he walked, he couldn’t help but think of the woman in white, her words echoing in his mind.

“Come back…” Gui Li whispered to himself, his voice barely audible.

Qingyun Mountain, Bamboo Peak, the Tranquil Hall, the small courtyard, the bamboo grove…

A faint, bitter smile crossed his lips. “I can’t go back, can I, Little Gray?”

“Chirp, chirp!” the monkey responded, the meaning of its sounds unclear.

Gui Li reached out and patted Little Gray, then, with a sudden burst of energy, smiled and strode confidently into the depths of the mist.

After walking for another half an hour, the trees grew larger and more imposing, with trunks that would take several men to encircle. Gui Li observed his surroundings, a growing sense of unease in his heart.

Over the past ten years, influenced by the battle at Qingyun Mountain and the subtle influence of the Blood-devouring Bead and the soul-devouring staff, Gui Li had delved deeper into his cultivation, becoming more ruthless and skilled in killing. He had also learned many other arts from the Ghost King, who was a prodigious talent, well-versed in both Daoist cultivation and worldly knowledge.

Because of Bi Yao, the Ghost King treated him almost like a son, imparting his vast knowledge. Under his guidance, Gui Li had become far more knowledgeable and experienced than the naive young disciple of the Qingyun Sect.

As he examined the massive trees, he noted that they were not entirely unique. There were oaks, maples, and locust trees, common in the outer regions. But here, these trees were exceptionally large, twice the size of ordinary trees. The sheer number of these giants was astonishing.

Stranger still, in a place where such immense trees should have been teeming with life, there was not a single animal, nor even the occasional thorny shrub. The ground, except for the occasional roots of the giant trees, was covered with firm, slightly yellow earth, devoid of grass.

The cold mist carried a grim, foreboding atmosphere.

Frowning deeply, Gui Li pondered, surveying the towering, straight trees. It felt as if he were wandering through a colossal maze.

Suddenly, he swept his sleeve, rising into the air, unwilling to linger in this eerie place. Summoning the power of the soul-devouring staff, he soared forward, enveloped in a bluish-black aura.

This allowed him to move much faster, though he kept low to the ground, searching the forest floor as he flew.

Time passed quietly, the forest still and silent, save for the sound of his passage. The trees grew larger as he ventured deeper, with trunks that would take six or seven strong men to encircle. Clearly, these trees must have been hundreds, if not thousands, of years old.

In the thickening, eerie atmosphere, Gui Li suddenly halted.

Despite the dawn, the mist showed no sign of dissipating, as if it had coexisted with the forest since ancient times.

In the heart of the forest, Gui Li floated in mid-air, gazing ahead.

Before him stood a wall!

A wooden wall!

Rough and textured, with cracks visible, the wall emerged from the mist, standing three zhang tall, like a powerful dragon entrenched in the forest, deeply rooted in the earth.

Gui Li stared, unmoving, examining the wall closely. His eyes narrowed, and he slowly approached, running his hand along its surface.

The touch was warm and rough, and a thought occurred to him, though he dared not believe it. Withdrawing his hand, he drifted along the wall, the white mist parting and reforming behind him. The wall rose higher and grew broader, eventually forming a circular shape, ascending in height.

Finally, at a height of six zhang, the wall ended, and Gui Li stopped.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. Through the mist, the wall merged seamlessly into a larger structure.

A beam of sunlight momentarily pierced the mist, then vanished, blocked once more by the fog.

Gui Li confirmed his unbelievable guess.

The massive wall was part of a tree root…

The mist swirled, and he gasped in astonishment, raising his head. His gaze, like a beam of light, shot upward, piercing the mist.

A silent flash, a thunderous roar, and the forest trembled. Before him stood a tree beyond imagination, its trunk so immense that it stretched to the horizon, wrapped in rough bark, towering like a mountain, disappearing into the mist and clouds.

Gui Li, like an ant, was insignificant in the presence of this colossal tree.

What kind of tree would have a root six zhang high?

Gradually, he pulled his gaze away. The little gray monkey chirped, sensing something amiss. Gui Li tilted his head, then smiled. “The world is full of wonders, and we are mere frogs in a well. Come, Little Gray, let’s explore this tree!”

The bluish-black aura of the soul-devouring staff flared, and with a light cry, Gui Li and the monkey soared upward, disappearing into the mist.

The wind rushed past, sharp and fierce due to their speed. The mist was thick, much like the miasma at the edge of the swamp, but without the poison and with better visibility. Yet, the mist was dense even at great heights, and Gui Li continued to fly, the mist showing no signs of dissipating. He wondered if it connected to the clouds above.

Gui Li also noticed changes in the tree trunk. On the ground, the base was unimaginably large, with only rough bark covering it. But as he flew, branches began to appear, and vines, similar to creeping ivy, started to wrap around the trunk. The leaves were enormous, and at the tips of the branches, colorful flowers bloomed—red, yellow, orange, and purple, all exuding a faint, sweet fragrance.

Yet, even now, he could not fully comprehend the tree’s enormity.

The marvels of nature were truly unfathomable. This tree must be millions of years old to be so vast!

A sharp, whistling sound, and the bluish-black light flashed as Gui Li emerged from the mist. The mist below stirred, then settled, like waves calming on the sea.

Gui Li had finally broken through the mist!

The sky, a vast, cloudless blue, stretched before him, while the white mist below clung to the tree, thickening closer to the trunk.

Now, high in the sky, Gui Li could finally see the tree in its entirety.

Even at this height, the tree’s trunk was still a hundred zhang wide, and considering the distance he had flown, it seemed more like a towering mountain than a tree.

Yet, it was undeniably a tree, and it continued to rise, its trunk and branches stretching endlessly toward the sky.

Gui Li looked up, seeing faint shadows in the blue sky. He laughed, facing the heavens.

Which man, in the face of such a scene, could not feel a surge of emotion?

He flew upward, breaking through the sky, his speed increasing, the wind cutting like a knife.

As he ascended, the tree’s trunk gradually narrowed, becoming only tens of zhang wide, still impressive. Clouds began to form, drifting around the tree.

This tree seemed like a mythical ladder to the heavens, reaching into the sky!

Flying another five zhang, Gui Li stopped, the straight trunk splitting into two massive branches, spreading to either side.

He paused, then slowly flew over, landing on the split. The branches were so large that dozens of people could stand comfortably. As soon as Gui Li landed, Little Gray leapt down, curiously exploring the tree, amazed at its size.

Gui Li smiled, not minding the monkey’s antics. He had been profoundly moved by the sight, unable to imagine such a massive tree. Now, he wondered if the treasure was indeed somewhere on this incredible tree.

The two branches were roughly the same size, both tens of zhang wide, stretching out like dragons in the sky. From here, the branches grew denser, extending far, and the edges were out of sight.

Gui Li pondered for a moment, then decided. Turning, he called, “Little Gray.”

The monkey, jumping around, seemed unafraid of the height, sometimes peering over the edge. Hearing his master’s call, it chirped excitedly and jumped back onto Gui Li’s shoulder.

Gui Li smiled, “Let’s go!”

Little Gray’s eyes sparkled, nodding eagerly, clearly curious. It grinned, very excited.

Looking around, Gui Li decided and, without hesitation, summoned the soul-devouring staff again, soaring toward the left branch.

As he flew, the branches were still filled with immense leaves, though strangely, no fruit or flowers. The vines that had been present since the base of the tree were now adorned with colorful blooms, filling the air with a mysterious fragrance.

Suddenly, Gui Li halted mid-flight, a sharp sound cutting through the air.

The tree trunk was now completely covered in vines and flowers, forming a floral wall. In the midst of the flowers stood a stone gate, five zhang high and three zhang wide, embedded in the trunk, surrounded by the lush, vibrant blossoms. On the gate, four ancient characters were inscribed: “Treasure of the Heavenly Emperor!”

A resonant, majestic sound seemed to echo through the sky, stirring the soul.

Gui Li’s gaze fell on the white figure before the gate, surrounded by the flowers.

Hearing the noise, the woman in white turned, her radiant face framed by the beautiful flowers, which seemed to laugh and bloom in her presence.

Among the flowers, she was the most stunning sight.

Gui Li, hovering in the air, was overcome with mixed emotions, momentarily stunned.