As an alchemist, the Tumulus Pill God was an expert in judging herbs.
“No way this is a grade-eight divine herb, it isn’t even grade-one. It doesn’t even have the tribulation or heavenly patterns to make up a divine pattern. Did it really manifest strange phenomena?” he asked with confusion.
“Yes, hundreds of thousands of people saw it. Rainbow colored light sprang out from these unassuming fruits. The exact same phenomena at eighteen different locations, all from the same kind of fruit,” Yun Tianque said.
The Tumulus Pill God nodded. “Let me think about it.” He spent a full two hours in contemplation before shaking his head in the end. “I can’t find anything special based on my experience. However, they’re all unripe yet, and are fruits that have never appeared in the Azurecloud Divine Tree’s history. These strange phenomena never happened before either. Leave this to us. The wargodeans and Blueblood Starocean will deploy our troops to guard it. Sect Master Yun, I’ll have to trouble you to be responsible for the rest of the herb picking efforts.”
The meaning was clear. No matter what it was, it was theirs now!
“Yes.” Yun Tianque lowered his head, feeling very stifled inside.
“What is it? Let me take a look,” a cold female voice drifted over.
Everyone turned around and saw Li Wushuang. The Tumulus Pill God’s straightened back even slightly bent. Those not in the know may have thought he had a hunchback.
The Tumulus Pill God hurried forward with a welcoming smile. “Welcome, Lady Wushuang.”
The wargodeans and Blueblood Starocean cultivators all hurriedly saluted with respect, too, as Yun Tianque stealthily retreated to the side.
Li Wushuang approached the fruit while the Tumulus Pill God continued to give her his opinion. He finally concluded with, “It’s all just in case. What if it is a treasure? Don’t worry, I’ll guard all of them well, Lady Wushuang. Also, if the Azuresoul Palace has these things too, we need to seize the initiative and grab them all early.”
Li Wushuang looked at it for a long time, then mildly said, “Aren’t you overthinking things? It’s just an ordinary fruit. This tree is already old and hasn’t produced anything good for a long, long time.”
“True,” the Tumulus Pill God awkwardly said.
“Even a fruit wants to form a pair? How annoying.” Li Wushuang extended her hand as she said that. Her two fingers were like a sword that cleaved through the person-shaped fruits, separating them.
The sword ki disintegrated the man-shaped fruit, leaving behind only the woman-shaped fruit without its arms. Li Wushuang couldn’t help but laugh. “This fruit resembles Long Wanying.” The thought made her even more pleased.
“Lady Wushuang, you.…” Yun Tianque hurried over and blocked the remainder of the fruit. He quickly spoke up, “Everyone, historically, every time a strange phenomena occurs from the divine tree, it’s followed by great changes. Please don’t damage it anymore.”
Yun Tianque hadn’t wanted to say that at first, but seeing something that was just sitting there by itself all fine ruined for absolutely no reason had made Yun Tianque’s heart pained.
“You want to question me?” Li Wushuang was just in a happy mood when Yun Tianque had stepped out and told her not to do something. What difference was there from spoiling her mood?
“That’s not what I meant! I—”
“Get lost!” Li Wushuang’s voice was frosty.
“Yun Tianque, move.” The Tumulus Pill God’s words were both warning and reminder.
“Lady Wushuang, this.…” Yun Tianque just couldn’t get it. Why destroy an ordinary fruit? What was wrong with just waiting and seeing? He could only conclude that Li Wushuang simply liked to do things willfully. He was just about to explain more when Li Wushuang strode forward. Without warning, she gave him a slap on the face! Yun Tianque’s face was half-swollen as he was sent flying away, blood dripping from the corner of his lips.
“You.…” Yun Tianque’s eyes widened.
“Sect Master!” The hundreds of thousands around them may not all have been cultivating at the Supracloud Sanctuary, but they were all still a part of it. Seeing their leader lose his dignity like that and getting slapped for no reason had made them feel extremely aggrieved.
“Brother Yun, come here and let me tell you some things.” Lan Sha hurriedly dragged him away, signaling him. “Brother, don’t blame me for saying this, but you deserved that. Who’s Lady Wushuang? Just look at the Tumulus Pill God’s attitude and you’ll know. In the celestial orderians, apart from the emperor, not even the empress dares to go against her! Don’t blame her for whatever she does. Maintain your respect even if she cuts the tree down right now, okay?”
“I get it.” Yun Tianque wiped away the blood. The swelling quickly receded and he smiled as if he was unaffected, adjusting his clothes.
“Smart man.” Lan Sha patted him on the shoulder.
“It was my fault from the very start,” Yun Tianque said.
“It’s understandable, you don’t really know Lady Wushuang.” Lan Sha smiled. He didn’t realize that he and Yun Tianque were talking about different things.
The Supracloud Sanctuary members were still feeling very humiliated, but Yun Tianque waved a hand to calm them down.
While that was happening, Li Wushuang was happily hacking away at the remainder of the paired fruits. Yun Tianque made some guesses. Perhaps in the past, Lady Wushuang hadn’t been able to get a man she wanted. After failing to compare to Long Wanying, she ruined not just the man, but wanted to kill the woman too.
There was definitely something wrong with her brain.
“Divine tree.…” Yun Tianque looked up at the massive tree. It was an unforgettable imprint on every native of this continent. Every time they opened their eyes, the tree would fill their sight. Yun Tianque’s youth had been spent growing up on this tree. After becoming sect master, he had begrudged it for stealing the nova source of the continent. However, he knew the truth in his heart—the Azurecloud Divine Tree was never at fault. Those at fault were the ones that rested under its shade and couldn’t protect it.
“The ancestors claim that strange phenomena are caused by the fury of the divine tree.…” Was there any truth to that story? Yun Tianque’s face was still stinging, but this special feeling inside him made him forget it. In his eyes, this lofty tree was like an elder that had lived for millennia. “If it’s alive, can it see everything?” He couldn’t forget that human-shaped fruit that looked like two people hugging each other.
Suddenly, his eyes widened. “Those… are saplings! They have to be saplings!”
If the tree was alive, why couldn’t human-shaped fruits be never-before-seen saplings? The guess made Yun Tianque enter a state of shock. When he finally turned around, Li Wushuang had finished venting. She was lecturing the Tumulus Pill God and telling him not to waste time and preparing to leave herself.
Suddenly, a mournful cry came from all directions and filled their surroundings. Everyone instinctively covered their ears. It was like the whole world was shaking, as the continent underfoot heaved. Mountains were collapsing and rivers were roiling. The branches and even the entire Azurecloud Divine Tree were shaking.
“What’s going on?”
This had never happened before, so everyone was stunned. They were aware that it wasn’t someone else causing the earthquake and the mournful sounds, but the tree itself.
The mournful sounds were like a whale’s cry, filling the entire continent. Every native’s blood was churning right now, their blood seeming to sense that sorrow.
“I, I didn’t manage to protect it.…” Yun Tianque was plunged into misery. He himself didn’t understand why he felt this way. It hadn’t hurt this much when Li Tianming had taken control of his life.
The pain was born from his bloodline and caused by a lifetime of absorbing the tree’s fruits and using them to construct his body. He descended from seniors that had also absorbed a countless amount of the tree’s bounty.
Tears spilled down.
When the mournful cries passed and he lifted his head, he saw that all of the Supracloud Sanctuary’s people had also gone red as if they had lost someone precious. Even breathing was difficult through the pain that filled their chests.
“It is our roots, and its blood flows through us.…” Today’s events had toppled Yun Tianque’s worldview. He had even proposed cutting down this tree countless times before to return the continent’s nova source. But now he hated his past self.
It took fifteen minutes for the mournful cries to end. The tree didn’t seem to have done anything. It had chosen to submit and go quiet. However, everyone had noticed this disturbance. Clearly, it was due to Li Wushuang destroying that fruit. What did it mean?
Li Wushuang’s eyes shone. “Deploy everyone to guard these fruits, including those of the Azuresoul Palace.”
“Kill whoever dares block us!”
“Yes!” Everyone from the wargodeans and Blueblood Starocean hurried to accept their orders.
