Chapter 1521: The Strange Tree

Where are we going? Are we truly being cast into the cycle of reincarnation?

The golden lion’s massive claws tore desperately at the void, trying to rend it apart, but it was futile. There was no stopping this, no way to escape.

“Stop this!” it roared. Precisely because it understood the ancient monks’ lineage, it was even more terrified—terrified of being reborn.

Would it still be itself after that? It had heard its ancestors speak of the Six-Zhang Golden-Bodied Monk King’s theories—that reincarnation would sever all ties to the past, erasing everything.

That would be akin to annihilation, a complete farewell to the past, forgetting everything. In a sense, it would no longer be itself, but a new life entirely.

“No, stop!” the golden lion bellowed.

Because if that were all, it might have accepted it. But the problem was, this so-called cycle of reincarnation was still evolving—it hadn’t even been perfected yet.

To be sent into such a cycle now would likely mean death!

Shi Hao also exhausted every means at his disposal, but there was no reversing this momentum. Multicolored light enveloped them, carrying them forward at breakneck speed, as if they were traversing the river of time itself.

“Hold!” Shi Hao commanded, unleashing every divine ability he had, but nothing worked. Their speed remained unchecked.

Whoosh!

Like arrows loosed from a bow, they hurtled forward uncontrollably, swiftly leaving the underground cavern behind.

“Did we just pass through a stone gate?” Shi Hao muttered to himself.

The sudden shift had been too bizarre—one flash of divine light, and they had vanished from their original location. If not for his keen senses, he wouldn’t have even noticed.

Finally, their speed slowed, and they could see the path ahead. Along this road, they spotted one figure after another, their faces stiff, shrouded in deathly energy, devoid of any vitality.

It was like a procession of lost souls walking the path of the underworld.

And Shi Hao and the golden lion were now their fellow travelers. Soon, they saw a murky river ahead, spanned by a floating bridge. The corpses all crossed here.

“Hmm? Where did they go?” Shi Hao was startled. The corpses that crossed the river vanished instantly at the other end of the bridge, as if disappearing into thin air.

Meanwhile, across the Heavenly Beast Forest, ancient beasts reappeared one after another, along with a few foreign cultivators whose consciousnesses were now muddled.

The heavenly beasts had returned—the very same ones from before!

When these creatures had roared earlier, the mountains had crumbled, lava had erupted, and they had all turned to ash. But now they were back—the lava receded, mountains rose anew, verdant forests glowed, and the slain heavenly beasts had returned.

This was a cycle, but a strange one—nothing like the true Great Cycle of Reincarnation.

It was more like a confined, limited cycle, and the state of these creatures was clearly unusual. Some had fragmented souls, others had lost all consciousness, becoming mere walking corpses.

On the path of reincarnation, Shi Hao and the golden lion halted before the river, hesitating to step onto the bridge. They didn’t know what lay at the other end.

Taking that step could mean life or death.

But when they looked back, they froze. There was no path behind them—only an endless procession of walking corpses appearing abruptly, all heading for the floating bridge.

“Let’s go. It’s not like they’ll turn the living into the dead,” Shi Hao said, pushing the golden lion forward to lead the way.

The golden lion seethed inwardly but dared not protest. It grumbled—why wasn’t he taking the lead?

Boom!

The two of them were different from the others. The walking corpses vanished at the bridge’s end, but when the golden lion reached it, a burst of dazzling light erupted, transporting them away.

Shi Hao quickly followed, stepping off the bridge. A blinding, eerie radiance illuminated the entire murky river and the ancient bridge.

Thud!

They reappeared in a mountain range. The golden lion, upon landing, got caught in a dead tree, suspended mid-air.

Then Shi Hao crashed down on top of it, riding it all the way to the ground.

Shi Hao’s expression immediately darkened. A chill ran from head to toe—this place was all too familiar. He recognized it instantly.

It was that dead tree—the one that had impaled the Heavenly Rat and slaughtered a group of foreign cultivators. It was unnervingly eerie.

Back then, Shi Hao had only observed from afar, never daring to approach.

Yet now, here he was, standing right beneath it. The place was unnaturally silent.

The ancient tree was massive, its branches devoid of any leaves—a withered, dead relic. Its color was peculiar too, a dull black, completely bare.

No other plants grew around it. The ground was a dark red, soft and damp like a swamp, slightly muddy.

“Blood! This is the blood of countless lives!” the golden lion cried out.

The impact of Shi Hao crashing onto it had nearly knocked it unconscious—when two powerhouses collided, their protective divine energies clashed violently.

Now, its golden fur was stained red, especially the thick mane that draped over its massive paws, now dripping like fresh blood.

This so-called swamp was formed from blood!

After so many years, it still hadn’t dried up. It was unimaginable how many lives had been lost here to create such a blood-soaked marsh.

And this ancient tree, rooted in the swamp, was undeniably sinister.

The golden lion sprang to its feet, instantly on guard. It felt an inexplicable sense of dread, as if something ominous lurked nearby.

At the same time, it was furious—Shi Hao was treating it like a mere mount, riding it without dismounting, keeping himself clean of the bloody mire.

“Get off!” it roared, its voice thick with rage. If not for the fact that it couldn’t defeat Shi Hao, it would have fought to the death long ago.

But it didn’t want to die yet—it still hoped for a chance at revenge. So it endured the humiliation.

“Being my mount is an honor. A thousand, ten thousand years from now, this might be remembered as your clan’s greatest glory,” Shi Hao said nonchalantly.

The golden lion’s fury flared. Its body glowed as it prepared to unleash a treasure technique in rebellion.

“Do you want to die? Stirring killing intent in a place like this is suicide!” Shi Hao smacked its head, cracking its skull and leaving it dazed.

“I’m warning you—my patience has limits. Stay obedient if you want to live!” Shi Hao threatened. The only reason he kept this fearless lion as a mount was to intimidate certain factions on the battlefield in the future.

Otherwise, he would have killed it long ago. This clan had rivers of blood on its hands—slaughtering it would be no loss.

The golden lion was so enraged that smoke practically rose from its ears. Its mane bristled, golden light radiating from its body like a miniature sun, making Shi Hao—perched atop it—look even more divine, like an immortal riding forth.

In the end, the golden lion yielded, swallowing its pride and biding its time for vengeance.

“What’s that?” Shi Hao studied the area carefully, his gaze fixed on the blackened ancient tree. A sense of unease prickled at him.

Then he noticed something new—a shriveled, desiccated creature hanging from one of the branches, barely recognizable.

“Blue-Gold Marten!” The golden lion gasped, recognizing it as a fearsome beast once tamed by the ancient monks.

Now, its fur was dull, its once-gleaming blue-gold hue faded, making it look like a dried-up log at first glance.

“There’s more!” Shi Hao looked up and spotted a skeleton higher up in the tree’s branches, its bones wrapped in tattered robes.

“A great virtuous monk—at least beyond the Dunyi realm!” The golden lion was stunned.

The mummified corpse, though emaciated, still bore a faint golden sheen on its skin—proof of a perfected Buddhist golden body. This had been a terrifyingly powerful master.

His robes were a kasaya woven from star sand, once a priceless treasure but now reduced to tatters by time.

A monk of such stature, hanged on this ancient tree—it was both eerie and horrifying.

Both Shi Hao and the golden lion grew solemn, circling the tree and examining its massive branches carefully.

Sure enough, there wasn’t just one or two—many more powerful beings had been hanged here.

The golden lion shuddered violently when it recognized one of them—a massive creature now shriveled and lifeless.

“White Jade Dragon-Elephant!”

This was one of the ancient monks’ sacred guardian beasts, a legendary species often associated with their lineage.

A White Jade Dragon-Elephant—hanged here too!