The Sacred Tree

Qin Guangwang was bold enough to motion for Xiao Chen to advance together. Since they had already come this far, there was nothing left to fear, and so Xiao Chen moved forward with them into the forest of stone.

It was the Light Holy Dragon. Up close, the colossus seemed even more formidable and terrifying. Its massive dragon body seemed cast from pure silver, wreathed in a layer of sacred radiance that made the entire stone forest blaze with brilliance.

When the Light Holy Dragon had fought the Fallen Angel, it had manifested in human form, but at that time the sky had been filled with flying rays of light, and Xiao Chen had not been able to make out its human shape. Now, looking at this silver mountain of a dragon, it was hard to connect it to the figure that had streaked across the sky.

The Light Holy Dragon’s posture was strange. Its silver dragon wings were folded tightly against its back, its hind legs knelt on the ground, its foreclaws pressed into the earth. It was less like a beast lying down and more like a devotee kneeling in worship. Its silver head was bowed low, its gleaming dragon horns touching the ground.

And yet it had fallen asleep like this, its expression suggesting something close to serene satisfaction.

What was going on?

Suddenly, Xiao Chen noticed a faint, flowing light among the stones just ahead of where the dragon knelt. He and the three skeletons circled around the silver dragon and came to a spot in the stone forest four or five meters from its head.

There, a small tree no taller than the palm of a hand—with only two leaves—was bathed in seven-colored light. It was rooted in the stone ground, emanating waves of primal energy.

A miraculous little tree!

Though only a handspan tall, anyone seeing it for the first time would know it was a tree, not a flower. Its trunk, thick as a thumb, coiled and twisted like a curling dragon, without any hint of youthfulness. Instead, it carried an ancient strength, the weathered air of a millennial tree.

From the bend in the trunk grew a single black leaf, glossy and dark as if carved from ink jade, crystal clear and shimmering. At the very tip of the trunk, a newly sprouted leaf was milk-white, like the finest mutton-fat jade, translucent, radiant, and haloed with light—indescribably divine.

The same tree had produced two sacred leaves of different colors, a marvel in itself. And there were other colors swirling around the sapling, making one wonder if new leaves would bring still more hues.

The little tree was so extraordinary—it seemed at once a seedling brimming with boundless life and an ancient holy relic steeped in endless years.

The three skeletons looked at one another, then looked at Xiao Chen, and finally gestured for him to… dig up the little tree!

Xiao Chen shook his head emphatically. This divine tree was no ordinary thing. If the roots were damaged during excavation, it would be a terrible waste. Besides, here on Dragon Island, where could he possibly transplant it?

Seeing that he would not move, Wheel King reached out with clumsy claws to start digging. Qin Guangwang and Yanluowang prepared to join him.

Xiao Chen quickly stopped them. In the end, he gritted his teeth. "Dig!" Better he do it himself than let them ruin it. Since even the Light Holy Dragon knelt in worship before this little tree, it could not possibly be a mortal thing. He would take it first and think later.

With extreme care, he excavated the tree, lifting it with a large clump of earth. Then, without looking back, he charged out of the valley.

The three skeletons fled like thieves right behind him.

The World of Immortality stretched out endlessly. In the far southern sea, azure waves crashed to the heavens, vast and magnificent.

Dragon Island lay like a green pearl deep within the ocean. The whole island was verdant and lush, bursting with life. Ancient trees and millennium-old vines were everywhere; the roars of savage beasts rose and fell without end. It was an ancient island sealed away for endless ages.

Xiao Chen, clutching the palm-high divine tree, rushed out of the valley. His body blazed with brilliant light, flickering like flames as he pushed his speed to the limit, leaving a blur across the forest. In moments, he reached the Death Swamp.

The three skeletons had also come fleeing all the way. They seemed to sense that something was about to happen—they kept glancing back as they ran.

In the swamp, ancient trees blocked the sunlight, leaving everything dark and gloomy. Watching the three skeletons catch up, Xiao Chen felt a trace of doubt. Why were these undead so flustered? Was something wrong?

No matter how he pressed, he could not communicate with them. Every time he tried to ask, Qin Guangwang, Yanluowang, and Wheel King simply shook their heads or waved their hands. Once they reached the swamp, their tension faded.

Xiao Chen no longer considered the three skeletons simple-minded. Ever since he had seen them feign death and set that vicious ambush for Guluo, he had regarded them as intelligent beings, equals in cunning.

Judging by their behavior today, they had known about the divine tree long before. But why act now? Suddenly, Xiao Chen shivered. Could these three be so treacherous? Was this a case of framing the Light Holy Dragon—a dragon that had only fallen onto Dragon Island today—as the scapegoat? It seemed the sacred tree… had an owner!

In the gloom of the swamp, the palm-high miraculous tree glowed with seven-colored light, its twisting trunk vigorous as a curling dragon, its two jade-like leaves of different colors shimmering with divine radiance.

Right now, the most urgent thing was to replant this sacred sapling. Letting such a heavenly treasure wither and die would be a crime. But where was the right place? Xiao Chen hesitated. The deathly swamp was thick with yin energy, and at night miasma drifted through it—utterly unsuitable.

The three skeletons crowded around. They seemed very interested in the sacred tree. All three reached out their bony claws, trying to pluck the ink-jade leaf. Xiao Chen hastily stopped them. What a waste! These skeletons were truly exasperating.

Sensing Xiao Chen's difficulty in finding a place to plant the tree, Wheel King tugged at his sleeve and gestured deeper into the swamp. They led him to a hidden, shadowy spot, pointed at a large tree, and then at the sacred sapling.

When Xiao Chen did not understand, Qin Guangwang simply took his hand and pressed the sacred tree against the giant tree’s trunk. Then something astonishing happened. The sapling’s crystal-clear root tendrils, still wrapped in the soil Xiao Chen carried, extended on their own, glowing with colored light, and burrowed into the ancient tree’s bark.

Now Xiao Chen was certain: the three skeletons had seen this little tree before. There was no other way they could know its mysterious properties.

Radiant light swirled. The dark forest was no longer thick with ghostly gloom. A single handspan tree had made the place shine.

At that moment, a dragon’s roar erupted from a few li away. Xiao Chen leaped into the canopy of an ancient tree and looked into the distance. The sound came from the valley where he had found the little tree. The Light Holy Dragon seemed to be in trouble; its roars pierced the clouds.

In the Death Swamp, the three skeletons displayed uncanny synchrony. They quickly separated, lay down beside the piles of bones in the swamp, and did not move—just like ordinary skeletal remains.

Seeing this, Xiao Chen was dumbfounded, utterly speechless. The three skeletons were playing dead! And in that moment, he understood. It was just as he had guessed: the skeletons had known about the sacred tree all along, and they had truly made the Light Holy Dragon the scapegoat… Three scheming, cunning skeletons.