“There are certain things that only need a small trigger. Do you know how many people are waiting to prey on my Seed Garden? All four of the ruling powers. None of them are easy to deal with, especially the Celestial Frost Sect. They’ve long wanted to move against my Nong family. Over the years, my Seed Garden has done its best to clean house internally, and I do not want to give the Celestial Frost Sect, or any other outsider, any excuse to intervene in my Seed Garden’s matters,” Nong Ya explained.
Lu Yin felt surprised. “Isn’t Seed Garden in the same situation as the Liu family and the Virtue Archives? If the Celestial Frost Sect tries to do anything to the Nong family, won’t they have to worry about the other three ruling powers making a move? There’s still the White Dragon Clan, the Wang family, and Shenwu’s Sky to keep the Celestial Frost Sect in check.”
Nong Ya looked at Lu Yin with a bit of surprise. “I had thought that all you were thinking about was catching traitors, but your words show that you have a very clear picture of the situation in the Perennial World.”
Lu Yin scolded himself for saying more than Long Qi should know. “I’ve just heard the rumors.”
“Have you ever heard the phrase, slowly warm the water to boil a frog? The Celestial Frost Sect is slowly warming the water to boil this universe, and no one can escape. They will use any excuse, no matter how small it might be. My Nong family is doing our best to avoid giving them any excuses at all,” Nong Ya said.
Lu Yin sighed. “You’re still putting this junior in a very awkward position. How am I supposed to explain myself to the Fourteenth Gate?”
Nong Ya replied, “When it came to Liu Ke, the Fourteenth Gate never said that you did not complete the mission, and the same will be true of my Seed Garden. Of course, to compensate you for the trouble, you can offer your conditions.”
Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. “Senior, in addition to Master Shi and Chi Shui, there are two other traitors in your Nong family.”
Nong Ya instantly grew furious. “Are you certain?”
Lu Yin nodded as he looked at Nong Ya. “It’s not easy to oversee Senior’s family.”
Nong Ya let out a long breath. “The Nong family accepts people of all backgrounds, so it’s not unusual for spies to sneak in. We never let down our guard, but we’ll also never be able to find all the traitors.”
Lu Yin remained silent and did not provide the other two names.
Nong Ya was no fool. “Gate Master Long, cultivation is a struggle, and so if you need assistance from my Nong family, please feel free to speak up. My Nong family has an endless duty to provide for those who protect us.”
“Senior, now you’re being too courteous,” Lu Yin stated politely.
“Gate Master Long is one of the most exceptionally outstanding young elites I’ve ever met. Helping to supply you with resources is no different than helping the human race. Naturally, our help will assist in the efforts to defend against those monsters. If you ever need anything at all, please just say it. You are always welcome here.”
Lu Yin coughed. “Since that’s how it is, this junior will speak up.”
Nong Ya heaved a sigh of relief. He was unafraid of any request Lu Yin might make, but was terrified that the youth might insist on arresting a traitor, as that would lead to countless problems. “Please go ahead.”
…
After Lu Yin and Nong Ya returned to everyone else, the perceptive fatty noticed that Nong Ya did not have a pleasant expression on his face, while Lu Yin seemed to be delighted.
Of course Lu Yin was happy. The four traitors in Seed Garden had just gained him 600 million star essence. That was 600 million star essence! While it might not be a large amount for the Nong family, and was pitiful compared to the resources on a Junior Progenitor Planet, everything was relative, and 600 million star essence was truly a large sum.
“Lie’er, entertain Gate Master Long,” Nong Ya ordered in a deep voice before leaving. He shot Lu Yin one last glance with an odd glint in his eyes before disappearing.
It was incredibly rare for one of Humility’s Gate’s Gate Masters, not to mention someone from a branch family of one of the four ruling powers, to be so concerned with material wealth. Nong Ya could not understand Long Qi’s motivation for asking for so much money. Was the youth broke?
Due to the matter regarding Master Shi, Nong Lie had little interest in his duties as a host, and he did not bring up the possibility of returning to the isolated garden in order to allow Lu Yin to plant a seed, though there was no mention of Lu Yin returning the seed he had been given.
Their subsequent tour of Seed Garden felt rather lackluster, but Lu Yin did not care. He had already achieved his goal for the visit, and it could even be said that he had exceeded his goals. Since he had seen that small patch of grass, his next goal was to learn about the person who had planted the grass, as well as uncover precisely what had happened to the Lu family in the past.
“Hey, is that Sanniang?” Wang Dashuai exclaimed.
Everyone turned and saw the Nong Sanniang and another woman traveling through the sky off in the distance.
Lu Yin went bug-eyed when he saw who was accompanying Nong Sanniang; was that Bai Xue?
He had never dreamed he might meet her in Seed Garden.
Long ago, both Bai Xue and Zhang Dingtian had disappeared into Jupiter. Later, Lu Yin had met Zhang Dingtian at the Liu family’s Sword Monument. At that time, Zhang Dingtian had mentioned that he believed Bai Xue had traveled to the Higher Realm, and that she had likely joined the Celestial Frost Sect. So, why was Lu Yin seeing her in Seed Garden?
Bai Xue did not see Lu Yin. She accompanied Nong Sanniang, and the two women eventually disappeared.
“Brother Nong Lie, where are Sanniang and that other woman going?” Lu Yin asked curiously.
“They’re going to see Big Face Tree.”
“Big face tree?” Most of the people present had no idea what Nong Lie was talking about.
He explained, “There’s a tree in Seed Garden that’s lived for a very long time. It also has a fat face, so we call it Big Face Tree. Our ancestral records dictate that every junior of the Nong family has to frequently visit Big Face Tree to chat with it and keep it company.”
“Can we go take a look?” Lu Yin asked.
Nong Lie nodded. “Sure. Let’s go.”
Big Face Tree stood in a distant location, and they had to cross almost half of Seed Garden. After half an hour of travel, Lu Yin and the others saw the so-called Big Face Tree, and it truly was a tree with a fat face.
There was a forest within Seed Garden that ran up against the bottom of a wet cliff, and the forest met a river. Big Face Tree stood at the bottom of the cliff, and the group found Nong Sanniang and Bai Xue there with their backs to the new arrivals.
Big Face Tree was big, but other than that it looked just like any ordinary tree. There was nothing surprising about the tree.
Nong Lie stopped a few kilometers away from Big Face Tree, a strange expression on his face. “Go on ahead and see. If you can’t endure, just leave. It’s not a problem.”
The visitors were all stunned, and Wang Dashuai grew a bit nervous. “Why aren’t you going any further? Is it going to attack us?”
“Of course not. It’s just that Big Face Tree might have lived too long, and it—how should I put this?—it nags.”
The fatty let out a sigh of relief. “What’s the big deal? It’s just nagging. This brother is the best at chatting with old people!”
After bragging, he was the first to step forward. Lu Yin followed close behind, and Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu quickly joined as well.
Nong Lie watched as the small group walked towards Big Face Tree. There was a glint of anticipation and schadenfreude in his eyes.
Just when Lu Yin and the others drew close to Big Face Tree, Nong Sanniang turned. There was an expression of pain on her face. She was surprised to see Lu Yin and the others, but she did not say a word and instead quickly walked away.
The fatty called out a greeting, “Sanniang, what are you up to?”
Nong Sanniang’s face was pale. She looked like she had just survived a battle that had resulted in her crushing defeat.
Seeing Nong Sanniang’s face left Wang Dashuai furious, and he stopped walking towards Big Face Tree. He instinctively looked over at Lu Yin. His intention was clear; he intended for Lu Yin to go first.
Lu Yin pursed his lips as he walked up behind the fatty. “Go.”
“You go, Bro,” the fatty countered with a smile.
Lu Yin smiled. He looked truly benevolent. Then, he shoved the fatty towards Big Face Tree.
At this same moment, it appeared that Bai Xue was unable to endure some sort of torture, and she also turned to leave, and she almost ran into Wang Dashuai. She was as eager to flee the area as Nong Sanniang, but she suddenly saw Lu Yin, and shock became written all over her face. Just like Zhang Dingtian, Liu Tianmu, and others, Bai Xue was absolutely stunned to see Lu Yin in the Perennial World.
However, some unseen agony roused her from her stupor, and she fled, chasing after Nong Sanniang.
Wang Dashuai was pushed all the way over to Big Face Tree, and there he saw two eyes, a nose, and a mouth on the tree. Most notable were two fat cheeks that bulged and looked very fat. Was this Big Face Tree?
“Hey, another newcomer’s showed up! Hey kid, how’s it going?” the tree said. His mouth continued to move nonstop, but only the fatty heard anything at all. Lu Yin and the others heard nothing.
When Big Face Tree spoke, the fatty felt like someone had taken a hammer to his head. Every syllable felt like an explosion within his brain. Just a single sentence was enough for Wang Dashuai to nearly pass out, and yet the tree just kept talking. “This kid’s face isn’t looking too well. Is he feeling sick? Alright, Uncle Tree will teach you an exercise. You-“
As the tree spoke, the fatty grew dizzy and he started bleeding from his seven orifices.
Lu Yin was startled to see this change, and he grabbed the fatty and threw him away from the tree. Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu had both been behind Lu Yin, and they fled at top speed, leaving Lu Yin on his own.
Big Face Tree turned both eyes over to Lu Yin. Lu Yin happened to already be looking at the tree, so the two locked eyes. The tree smiled. “You’re here again.”
Lu Yin had been just about to leave when he heard those words. He froze and turned to look at Big Face Tree in shock. “Do you know me?”
Big Face Tree grinned. It actually had teeth! Although they were very yellow, it still cracked a big, toothy smile. “Don’t underestimate Uncle Tree! While Uncle Tree’s lived for a long time, he still has a good memory! I remember it wasn’t like this the last time you came to see me.”
Lu Yin was instantly able to feel what Wang Dashuai had experienced. Every word Big Face Tree spoke felt like it was shattering Lu Yin’s brain and felt like lightning erupting inside his head. It was no wonder the fatty had passed out and Nong Sanniang and Bai Xue had reacted in such a strange manner; none of them had been able to endure the tree’s words.
Lu Yin estimated that Nong Sanniang was able to hear a few sentences at best, while Bai Xue might have only heard one or two. As for Wang Dashuai, he should be about the same as Bai Xue, or possibly had endured a bit more.
“In that case, do you remember my name?” Lu Yin asked.
Big Face Tree’s eyes darted about. It was clearly thinking hard.
Lu Yin stared at the tree.
The tree then looked up at Lu Yin and smiled as it replied, “Little one.”
Lu Yin was left speechless.
“Little one, after the last time we spoke, Uncle Tree still missed you for a while. You’re one of the few who’s able to chat for a bit with Uncle Tree. Same with that girl who came with you that one time. What about her? It’s been a long time since I last saw her. She was really beautiful…” Big Face Tree spoke, but did not finish.
Lu Yin wanted to stop the tree from speaking, but instead just listened to it. Lu Yin exhausted all of his strength, and then tried to use the Inception Array. Unfortunately, Lu Yin was not facing a spiritual force attack, so the sourcebox array proved pointless.
“Let’s get down to business. The last time we spoke about the Third Mainland’s war, right? I remember mentioning something about a little guy named Ce Wangtian. That kid is incredible! He’s the poster child for shamelessness, and he can certainly claim to be the master of his generation. He’s especially shameless when it comes to playing chess and withdrawing his moves. He had even created a secret technique for it…
“That old monster who destroyed the Third Mainland shouldn’t have noticed that Ce Wangtian slipped away. Who knows where that little brat had gone, but how could Uncle Tree not know? He had to have gone to Immemorial Citadel. Everyone tried their best…”
After the Third Mainland was mentioned, Lu Yin could no longer digest anything else that Big Face Tree said.It took all of Lu Yin’s mental strength to avoid passing out and remaining conscious. As he did every time he encountered a bizarre situation, Lu Yin quickly decided to recite the Stonewall Scriptures.
