The Sacred Sapling and the Gaze of Contempt

Roars shook the valley from end to end. The Light Sacred Dragon had lost its divine abilities, but on this savage, sealed island, it remained a ferocious beast of terrifying power. If it truly ran amok, sweeping through the forest and shattering ravines would be well within its means. It was difficult to imagine what had driven it to such a state.

A dazzling silver light shot into the sky as the Light Sacred Dragon burst from the valley. It circled above the forest, roaring in fury, seemingly searching for something. Again and again it dove, casting vast shadows over the land, sweeping its enormous, blade-like wings across the trees. Groves were flattened, and beasts fled in panic, their cries a cacophony of terror.

Finally, it charged over the Death Swamp, still bellowing. Its colossal body stirred up gales that sent dead leaves flying and shook the ancient trees. Yet it did not linger long; soon it roared off into the distance.

Xiao Chen pushed hard at King Yan Luo and King Qin Guang, but they did not move. All three skeletons lay as still as ordinary bones, flat on their backs, playing dead. Only after a long silence, when the region had completely settled, did they cautiously sit up.

Their joints clicking, the three peerless skeletons gathered around Xiao Chen. Finally, they sat beneath the ancient tree and gazed up at the Little Sacred Sapling rooted in it. In their skulls, the light of their souls flickered and danced. Gradually, they began to draw down the radiance emanating from the divine tree, pulling it through their eye sockets and into their heads.

The sacred sapling was wreathed in seven-colored light, but the three skeletons drew only one of its beams—the dark light. The glow of that leaf, crystalline like ink-jade, pleased them. They worked diligently to absorb the luster of the Ink-Jade Leaf.

It truly was a sacred tree!

Xiao Chen watched in wonder. He too began to circulate his profound art, attempting to draw in the brilliant, flowing light.

In an instant, the murky swamp was illuminated. Colored light blazed; luminous mist swirled. From the two jade leaves, a milky-white beam and a dark beam rose together, cascading like water over Xiao Chen's entire body. Two gentle streams of divine radiance enveloped him. He felt warm everywhere, utterly comfortable. His organs, flesh, and bones seemed to undergo a sacred baptism; the purest primal energy flowed slowly through him.

Xiao Chen and the three skeletons sank into a wondrous meditative state, absorbing the most pristine energy slowly yet effectively. Only when the light gradually dimmed, the watery radiance receding, did they each stir back to wakefulness.

The Little Sacred Tree still shimmered with colored light, but the ancient tree in which it was rooted had completely lost its life!

The towering trunk, which would have taken five or six men to encircle, was now utterly lifeless. Cracks split its bark; the once green and lush leaves had turned withered and brown. Yellow leaves drifted down in the wind, falling into decay. In mere moments, a thriving ancient tree had died completely.

Xiao Chen was startled. The three skeletons, however, seemed unsurprised, as if they had known this would happen. They casually pulled up the Little Sacred Tree and touched it to a neighboring giant trunk, where brilliant light began to flow again.

There was no need to speculate further—the little tree drew its vast energy through the host tree. Xiao Chen and the skeletons had, in effect, indirectly absorbed the life essence of the ancient tree.

A miraculous little tree. A fearsome little tree.

The three skeletons seemed unsatisfied, wanting to absorb more of the Ink-Jade Leaf's dark light. Xiao Chen stopped them. Now was the time to act. The matters of Gu Luo and Zhao Lin'er could not be delayed any longer. They had to be resolved.

He hid the little tree in a dark corner of the swamp, then set out with the three skeletons.

The dense primeval forest echoed with the cries of apes and tigers. Savage beasts roamed everywhere. This was an island of endless danger.

They followed the direction they had deduced, pursuing their quarry. But after half a day, they found no trace.

In the afternoon, as they passed through a mountain range, the sound of thunderous water reached them. A great waterfall, like a river of silver pouring from the sky, cascaded down half the mountainside. A vast white curtain of water roared, mist spreading, magnificent to behold.

One could not help but marvel—sealed though Dragon Island was, many of its landscapes were breathtakingly beautiful.

As Xiao Chen neared the waterfall, he glimpsed two familiar figures.

The peerlessly beautiful Yan Qingcheng stood before the grand waterfall. Her tall, slender figure was draped in purple robes that fluttered in the wind, indescribably nimble and ethereal. Her dreamlike silhouette seemed to belong to another world.

Beside her stood Land, the God-Gifted Spellmaster. His golden hair shimmered, and his entire presence blazed like a sun.

There was no denying that these two were supremely beautiful and transcendent, as if they had been made for each other.

Mist flowed gently. Xiao Chen halted. Behind him, in the forest, the three skeletons concealed themselves, sensing danger.

Clearly, Yan Qingcheng, standing on the high cliff, had already noticed Xiao Chen. In the drifting mist, she appeared otherworldly. But the glance she cast him was one of undisguised contempt.

It was not deliberate. It was a direct reflection of her heart. With no one else around, she had no need to hide her feelings.

"A man should know his place. Only then can he live. The Ancestral Dragon and the Companion Dragon are not something everyone can contend for!" Yan Qingcheng's voice was beautiful, but her tone was icy cold.

To be despised by a woman of such devastating beauty—Xiao Chen could not remain unmoved. There was killing intent hidden in her words, and he felt a sting of humiliation. If he could, he would have drawn his sword and charged.

But he was neither a reckless brute nor an impetuous youth. In this real world, there were times when one had to endure even the unendurable. This was not the moment for pride. He had just arrived in the World of Immortality and could not afford to make enemy after enemy. Most of all, he lacked the strength to fight two such experts at once.

"I have no interest in the Ancestral Dragon or the Companion Dragon. I simply wish to look around this island. If a ship leaves this shore, I will depart with it."