Big Face Tree continued speaking, but only to itself as Lu Yin was completely focused on reciting the Stonewall Scriptures and was unable to hear anything the tree said.
Off in the distance, Nong Lie and others were stunned. “How can he last so long? Even my father wasn’t able to endure so long.”
Nong Sanniang was truly shocked. Long Qi kept delivering more surprises. In the past, Wang Su had managed to endure five sentences. Bai Shaohong had also visited, but he had not lasted for more than a few sentences. And yet Long Qi had already managed to endure for several minutes. This was beyond a matter of several words or sentences. How was he doing it?
Bai Xue’s eyes were locked onto Lu Yin’s back; Why is he here? Don’t mention your surname!
“Uncle Shu told you…” Lu Yin suddenly let out a low growl as an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet. He used the Ce Secret Art to move himself, and escaped.
Back where Lu Yin had disappeared, Big Face Tree was shocked, and its mouth dropped open. “Shameless rascal! Kid, you’ve fallen.”
Lu Yin moved right next to Nong Lie and the others with the Ce Secret Art. This was the first time that Nong Lie and the others had seen this secret technique, and it shocked all of them.
Lu Yin supported himself with his hands on his knees as he gasped for breath. He looked up at Big Face Tree off in the distance with eyes full of fear. Every word that tree had spoken had carried a shocking power. Having a conversation with the tree had felt like confronting death itself. It had been terrible.
However, Lu Yin had a vague impression of hearing something about the Third Mainland. Had that just been a delusion?
“How are you feeling?” Nong Lie asked. He was feeling a bit better after seeing Lu Yin’s misfortune. After all, with Master Shi being exposed as a traitor, Nong Lie’s mood had soured. It was clear at this moment that he was feeling much better.
Lu Yin rolled his eyes. “You knew before we got here.”
“Didn’t you want to come and see Big Face Tree? My Nong family’s ancestors teach us that every disciple should occasionally chat with Big Face Tree. I spoke with it just a few days ago, so you can see your suffering won’t last,” Nong Lie said with a smile.
Shang Qing grew curious. “What just happened?”
Lu Yin retorted, “Go find out for yourself.”
Shang Qing stopped talking. Try it himself? He was no idiot. Liu Tianmu did not even ask any questions after seeing what had happened to Wang Dashuai, not to mention that not even Lu Yin had been able to endure whatever the two had just suffered.
“Very few people can walk away from Big Face Tree their first time speaking with it, and even fewer can spend that much time chatting with it. You really surprised us, Long Qi.” Nong Sanniang mentioned as she walked over while looking at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin smiled. “Maybe it’s because I was born with bad ears.”
Nong Sanniang smiled. There was no way she would believe such an excuse.
Lu Yin looked over at Bai Xue. “Who’s this?”
“My name is Bai Xue, and I’m the one in Seed Garden who’s responsible for taking care of Big Face Tree.” Bai Xue answered with a small smile. Her voice was gentle, and she had always been a beautiful woman. Back on Earth, Zhou Shan had admired her beauty, and at this moment, when she smiled, she radiated a pure type of beauty.
Shang Qing stared at Bai Xue. He had seen many, many beauties, a large number of whom looked quite similar to Bai Xue. Even Starsibyl was objectively more beautiful than Bai Xue, and yet, for some unknown reason, Shang Qing found Bai Xue inexplicably beautiful at this moment, Her pure nature was very attractive to him.
“Bai Xue? Are you part of the Celestial Frost Sect’s Bai family?” Lu Yin acted surprised.
Nong Lie was the one to respond, “Of course not. There are many people in the Middle Realm with the Bai surname, just as there are many with the Liu and Xia surnames. Bai Xue is just a regular cultivator. My Nong family coincidentally rescued her, and she’s since stayed to care for Big Face Tree.”
Lu Yin nodded. “I see.”
“Long Qi, I heard you came here to arrest a traitor?” Nong Sanniang interjected.
Nong Lie’s expression instantly soured. “Sister, I’ll tell you about that later.”
He then turned to Lu Yin. “Let’s keep going. My Seed Garden is quite vast.”
Lu Yin refused, “No. I still have tasks that need to be done, and so I need to get back to Huaiyuan Gate.”
Nong Lie nodded, but did not try to convince Lu Yin to stay. “Since that’s the case, I’ll see you off.”
Nong Sanniang watched as Lu Yin and his group left, and then turned to look back at Big Face Tree. She was still stuck on the scene of Lu Yin chatting with the tree. If one could spend so long with the tree, what kind of information would they be able to receive?
“Sanniang, who’s that Long Qi?” Bai Xue asked.
Nong Sanniang explained, “He’s the son-in-law of the White Dragon Clan’s main family. He seems harmless at first, but he hides his strength very well. He’s already exposed more than just one Redback, and he’s bold enough to stand up to even the four ruling powers and risk becoming their enemy. He’s-“
At this point, Sanniang hesitated to consider her words. “He’s a very kind man, and since he qualified to be invited to visit Seed Garden, he’s also allowed to grow a plant from his own seed.
“Actually, I don’t know what plant sprouted from his seed. I’ll ask Nong Lie in a bit.”
Bai Xue stared off into the distance with a strange look in her eyes. The son-in-law of the White Dragon Clan’s main family? Him? He was part of the White Dragon Clan? That was absolutely incredible.
Lu Yin saw Cai Shu as soon as he exited Seed Garden. Cai Shu had not accompanied Lu Yin inside despite Nong Lie extending the invitation.
“Supervisor Qing Chen asked Senior to keep me safe,” Lu Yin joked.
Cai Shu smiled gently. “If something went wrong in Seed Garden, my presence would not matter at all. What happened in there?”
Lu Yin shrugged. “I didn’t plant a seed. I forgot about it.”
“You forgot?” Cai Shu was stunned. How was this even an answer?
Wang Dashuai finally woke up, and he rubbed his temples and ears. “It hurts! What’s wrong with me?”
Lu Yin replied, “You spoke with Big Face Tree.”
The fatty then remembered, and his face went pale. He was quite frightened by the memory. “That thing’s terrifying! It’s a tree that can kill people by talking to them! Why is it that there are so many freakish creatures in Seed Garden?”
“Big Face Tree? You saw Big Face Tree?” Cai Shu asked.
The fatty replied, “I saw it, and I heard a few words, but I can’t remember what was said.”
Cai Shu laughed. “Few people dare speak with that old tree.”
“How long has that tree existed?” Lu Yin felt curious about this detail, as he had clearly heard the tree mention the Third Mainland and Ce Wangtian.
Cai Shu thought for a while. “Master said that the old tree was already there when the Daosource Sect was first established.”
Lu Yin grew horrified; the Daosource Sect? That was truly, amazingly old.
“The Daosource Sect? Was that the former ruler?” Shang Qing asked. It was unusual for him to break his silence.
Cai Shu nodded as he stared straight ahead. “That’s right, it was a former ruler. Back then, when the Daosource Sect still existed, so did the Lu family and the ancestors of the four ruling powers. There were those who fell, and others who were born, but at the peak, they formed the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.”
Lu Yin’s heart skipped a beat; the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? That had been the peak power of the Fifth Mainland’s Daosource Sect! Did that mean that the Perennial World had once been connected to the Fifth Mainland? Or, could it be that the Perennial World was born from the Fifth Mainland?
Regardlesss, there were Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and people guessed that there had been nine powerful Progenitors. At the present moment, in the Perennial World, the four ruling powers all had their own Progenitors, as did the Liu family, the Nong family, Specter Abyss, and there was also the Commander of Humility’s Gate. The number of Progenitors between the ancient past and the present seemed quite similar, so why was Cai Shu waxing nostalgic? Could there be another secret to the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas?
“Wait, the Daosource Sect was the ruler? I thought it was that family?” the fatty spoke up.
Cai Shu explained, “You’re talking about the Lu family. The Lu family was indeed the ruler of the Perennial World, but during ancient times, the branches of the Daosource Sect ruled over all of the Mainlands. How the two had shared the rule they had… Just forget it. These are matters that are too ancient. I’ve also heard Master say something about it, but not even Master knows too much about such ancient history, so don’t get too caught up on such things.”
…
“Senior Cai Shu, we shouldn’t be too far from Twin Mansion right now, right?” Lu Yin suddenly asked during their trip back to Huaiyuan Gate.
“That’s right, we’re not far. Do you need something there?”
“There’s a traitor there,” Lu Yin replied.
Cai Shu stopped being surprised. Lu Yin had already arrested a great number of traitors in a short amount of time, and the Envoy had grown numb to such revelations.
The traitor in Twin Mansion was another person who’s identity had been revealed to Lu Yin by the old man. The Semi-Progenitor had asked Lu Yin to arrest this specific traitor on the way back from Seed Garden. This traitor had only been mentioned in an off-handed manner by the old man.
If people in Humility’s Gate were told about a traitor in such a casual manner, they would curse the informant.
Twin Mansion was a small place, and much like the Shangling family, Lu Yin had no interest in making the arrest himself. His rewards from Seed Garden had left him uninterested in such a small place, so after arriving, Lu Yin told Wang Dashuai the traitor’s name. With that, the fatty, Shang Qing, and Liu Tianmu took action.
At this time, Lu Yin’s communication crystal vibrated, and Lu Yin answered the call. He saw the image of a middle-aged man appear. Lu Yin was shocked to see this particular man; was this really Long Ke? He was the patriarch of the White Dragon Clan!
It was a huge honor to have the patriarch of one of the four ruling powers take the initiative to call someone.
Lu Yin quickly bowed. “Long Qi greets the patriarch.”
Long Ke’s eyes swept the area and fell upon Cai Shu.
Cai Shu nodded politely and moved away.
“Long Qi, what should you call me given your relationship to Long Xi?” Long Ke said in a low voice.
Lu Yin quickly changed his term of address, “Father-in-law.”
Long Ke snorted. “You’ve been quite busy lately.”
“It’s my duty to arrest traitors.”
“In the past, in order to expose Yun Mubai as a Redback, you threatened to arrest people who were transporting stellular liquid. Of the two people you arrested, one of them was working for my White Dragon Clan,” Long Ke casually mentioned.
This felt like settling matters from the previous debacle, but why had it been delayed for so long?
Lu Yin maintained a respectful tone, “I ask father-in-law to deliver his judgment.”
Long Ke showed a slight smile. “Is it a crime to arrest a Redback?”
“Thank you, father-in-law.” Lu Yin acted relieved.
“You just visited Seed Garden?” Long Ke asked.
“Yes.”
“The Nong family. How many traitors were hiding there?”
Lu Yin thought for a moment, and though he had promised Nong Ya that he would say nothing, it was clear that Long Ke already knew about the matter. “Four.”
Long Ke showed no surprise. “The Nong family has accepted too many outsiders, so it’s nothing unexpected for them to have four traitors in their midst. In that case, what about my White Dragon Clan? Are we hiding any traitors?”
Lu Yin felt puzzled. “Father-in-law, what’s this about? What are you talking about?”
Long Ke and Lu Yin stared at each other, and the patriarch spoke earnestly, “I represent the White Dragon Clan. Do we have any traitors or Redback among us?”
Lu Yin felt taken aback. What did this mean? Was Long Ke going to feed Lu Yin information like that old man and allow Lu Yin to accumulate more achievements?
“There must be at least one Redback within my White Dragon Clan. Long Qi, given your source of information and your innate gift to see through people, do you believe Elder Long Quan to be a Redback?” Long Ke continued.
Lu Yin’s mind raced, and he quickly understood; the patriarch wanted to frame someone.
He had already heard long ago of a discord between the White Dragon Clan’s branch families and the main family. Of the dissidents, Long Quan’s branch family was the most prominent. Long Ke was clearly hoping to use Lu Yin’s recently gained reputation to frame Long Quan and eradicate that particular branch family.
From the time Lu Yin had first joined Humility’s Gate, he had directly and indirectly been responsible for the arrests of dozens of traitors, as well as the three Guan brothers and Yun Mubai, all of whom had been famous and held elite statuses within the Middle Realm. Long Qi was already known to be someone who did not fear the four ruling powers, as his efforts to expose Yun Mubai had led countless people to approach Long Qi or follow him, and he had even received a formal invitation from the Nong family.
At the moment, Lu Yin was quite famous for arresting Redbacks and traitors, and Long Ke wanted to capitalize on Lu Yin’s momentum and finish the matter of Long Quan’s branch family.
Lu Yin’s head hung low. This was a vicious method to employ on anyone, and Long Ke wanted to do this to someone from the same clan. Lu Yin believed that Long Ke must have already compiled some evidence before even reaching out. Once this evidence was revealed, Long Quan would have nowhere to run.
Lu Yin had used a planted scarlet eye insignia when he had accused the Guan brothers of being Redbacks, but that had been under the premise that he had already known that they were Redbacks. On the other hand, Long Ke was deliberately framing someone. This was a completely ruthless move.
