novelzi Chapter 68
Chapter 68
After the flash of white light, the familiar towering giant tree appeared before his eyes. Gu Jiang stood on a teleportation array that happened to be on one of its roots. The root was pitch black, with a petrified texture. The jade token flew out of his hand, returning to the dense canopy and transforming into a glowing white flower.
Long Hidden Island was long and narrow, resembling a winding dragon crouching in the depths of the East Sea. At the head of the dragon grew a massive Migu Tree, located at the northernmost tip of the island. Its roots stretched from north to south, running through the entire island. Even at the tail end of Long Hidden Island, one could dig up its black tendrils from the soil.
The Migu Tree was a forest in itself. When it bloomed, its snow-white petals could cover the entire island with the help of swirling winds.
"It's so beautiful," Nie Yinzhi looked up at the colossal tree that blotted out the sky. The dense canopy shimmered with light, and petals fluttered down, with beams of light filtering through the leaves. "What kind of tree is this?"
"It's the Migu Tree. Carrying its flower can prevent you from getting lost," Gu Jiang turned his head just in time to see Nie Yinzhi's divine consciousness dissipate. She sighed, "Ah, I have to go now. Be good and listen to your master. I'll come find you next time."
Nie Yinzhi waved at him, and Gu Jiang smiled in response.
Gu Jiang crouched down and touched the Migu Tree's stone-like roots. Despite its massive size and deep roots, full of vitality, the tree was slowly dying.
After leaving Long Hidden Island, Gu Jiang traveled across the entire cultivation world, carrying a Migu Tree flower, searching for a way to save the tree. He explored countless collapsed and intact secret realms. By the time he found the Five-Colored Dew, the Migu Tree flower in his hand had already withered. Long Hidden Island sank into the sea, never to be found again.
The past that could shake one's heart wasn't just about unbearable pain—it was also about regret. He couldn't stay here for long.
Gu Jiang gazed at the tree for a while, then turned his head to look toward the other side of the trunk.
From behind the wall-like trunk emerged a middle-aged man, dressed in flowing robes and a tall hat, exuding an immortal aura. His posture was upright, and his gaze was scrutinizing. "Young man, not bad. You actually recognize this tree?"
From his tone, it was clear he had been here since Gu Jiang arrived.
Gu Jiang cupped his hands in a respectful salute. "Senior."
Soon, two men and a woman followed behind him. The four of them flew onto the thick roots and began inspecting Gu Jiang as if selecting livestock, evaluating him from his appearance to his bone structure.
"Your meridians were shattered?" one of them clicked his tongue, his face showing disdain. "I don't want shattered meridians." With that, he transformed into a beam of light and disappeared into the mountains behind the Migu Tree.
Another person said, "Average bone structure, shattered meridians, and a pretty face. No, no, no."
The female cultivator smiled as she examined him. "You're too handsome. If you followed me, I might not be able to resist devouring you."
"This year, we sent out fifty flowers, but less than half returned with their bearers. Ah, you'll have to wait. There's still an eccentric old man who hasn't arrived yet."
Gu Jiang respectfully saw them off and sat down on the spot. He knew these people were just going through the motions. The one who truly had his eye on him was the eccentric old man, and he would have to sit here for forty-nine days to wait for him.
From the first day, the cultivation energy and sword aura he had painstakingly cultivated would begin to drain from his meridians, absorbed by the Migu Tree roots beneath him. Over these forty-nine days, he would experience the shattering of his golden core and the collapse of his spiritual foundation. He couldn't show the slightest hesitation until the last trace of sword aura was exhausted, and he was half a step into the gates of the underworld. Only then would someone pick him up.
Besides him, five others were left under this tree. The slightest wavering of resolve would result in being teleported away by the array beneath their feet.
[Ugh, why is his cultivation disappearing again? It's like a rollercoaster ride.]
[When will he ever reach Nascent Soul at this rate?]
[Exposed to wind and sun, the Demon Lord's face has turned dark. He must be marinated in sea breeze by now, lol.]
"Hmm?" Gu Jiang thought for a moment. "You mean when I first arrived on the island? That was an illusion. You just have to break the illusion or wait for it to end."
"An illusion so realistic it felt real?" Nie Yinzhi's interest was piqued.
Gu Jiang looked at her sparkling eyes. "The entire Long Hidden Island is one massive illusion."
"An illusion? I couldn't tell," Nie Yinzhi reached out to catch a petal drifting from the distant sea. Naturally, the snow-white petal passed right through her hand.
Even with her current divine consciousness, she couldn't encompass the entirety of Long Hidden Island, nor could she discern that it was an illusionary array.
"I only realized it later," Gu Jiang said. "The core of the illusion is that tree."
From here, they could see the Migu Tree at the head of Long Hidden Island. Under the night sky, its canopy resembled thick clouds, with glowing buds scattered like stars, reflecting the light of the full moon.
Gu Jiang stood up, "If you're interested, I can take you to see the core of the formation."
"Sure!"
The trunk of the Migu Tree was at the center of countless aerial roots. Over time, these roots had connected with the ground, growing into new trunks, while the younger aerial roots hung from the branches, swaying like curtains in the sea breeze.
Gu Jiang struggled to make his way into the center of the Migu Tree. A triangular hollow had formed in the thick trunk, glowing faintly with a soft light. This was the heart of the entire illusionary realm's formation.
He touched the trunk, "I discovered this place by accident while trying to hide from my master. Whenever I couldn't stand him anymore, I'd come here to sleep in peace for a few days."
Nie Yinzhi squeezed into the hollow and looked up at the glowing formation above her head, "You sleep right under the formation?"
"Yep," Gu Jiang replied, already comfortably leaning against a protruding root on the ground.
Nie Yinzhi floated up to the top of the hollow to study the formation.
[Got it, time to learn something new.]
[The demon lord is like a little boy showing his crush his secret hideout.]
[This illusionary realm is so beautiful, like a paradise compared to the outside world.]
[I saw on Weibo that the AI company didn't even create the map data for Long Hidden Island. They're already making up their own story because Xiao Ling died, and the focus is now on Nie Yinzhi.]
[Really? I didn't see any official announcement.]
[Does that mean we can keep watching until they get married, have kids, and then follow their children's stories?]
[Whoa, are we getting a Boruto-style sequel? Shivering in fear.]
[Damn, now this world feels so real.]
[Wait, what "plot" are they trying to create? If it falls apart, will we still be able to watch?]