The Sacred Tree and the Night Terrors

Yan Qingcheng was truly at a loss for words. In truth, if their positions were reversed, she knew she would never trust him either.

She understood that there might be one way—if she offered herself, perhaps a marriage alliance could buy his trust. He should understand that a woman of her proud disposition valued her physical purity above her life. Perhaps that alone could convince Xiao Chen to believe her.

But how could she resign herself to that? Especially with this former enemy? Though she now had to humble herself, she could not bear such an outcome.

Yet without such a course, how could she earn his trust? Given Xiao Chen's nature, he would eliminate all threats. He would not allow her to live.

The King Ship moved slowly across the golden sea, stirring ripples of light with each wave. The pitch-black vessel stood out starkly against the shimmering radiance of the Forbidden Sea.

From a distance, it looked like an enormous, inverted black skull drifting along, gleaming with an eerie, sinister light. It was a strange tableau, a scene that captured the mind, though no spectators remained to witness it.

Silence fell over the ancient ship. Xiao Chen seemed at ease, gazing out at the golden ocean as though the previous incident had not occurred—as though he were admiring the majestic, wondrous sight of the Forbidden Gold Sea.

But Yan Qingcheng knew that his killing intent had not diminished. He simply held absolute advantage; he could strike her down at any moment—a captive whose cultivation was sealed. Her heart waged a desperate war. She did not want to die. She was young, with boundless potential and a bright future. But how could she survive?

Would she truly have to make that great sacrifice? Yan Qingcheng was an ambitious woman with extraordinary talent. She did not wish to live an ordinary life. She wanted to surpass her predecessors and carve out a world that matched her name. But the current crisis left her uncertain how to navigate—did she have to cross the line she had set for herself?

Leaving Dragon Island changed everything. The delicate dynamic between them was no longer a matter of mere survival on a deserted island. Now they had to consider the future—every possibility that could unfold.

All was quiet, save for the sound of the two little beasts eating. Keke, free of such concerns, savored various exotic fruits with relish. The proud little dragon, gradually influenced by Keke's way of life, no longer resisted good food and happily partook alongside the snow-white beast.

Qin Guang Wang, Yan Luo Wang, and Lun Hui Wang sat silently beside the burial shroud, motionless as three fossilized statues, as though locked in a deathly stillness of cultivation. Occasionally, soul-light flickered in their eye sockets, and the lotus brands on their foreheads shone brightly.

Time passed. The sky darkened, and Xiao Chen cracked open several unnamed nuts to begin his own evening meal. It was a strange sensation—sailing across the Forbidden Sea, where even demigods could not stand, while enjoying fragrant wild fruits and coconut water, watching the sunset stain the golden sea red. It carried a unique flavor.

Night fell. Stars appeared in the sky—a different firmament, filled with breath of freedom. Xiao Chen felt his heart ease. He had finally escaped Dragon Island.

Just then, Keke suddenly cried out in alarm.

Startled from his stargazing, Xiao Chen spun around. Keke had taken off its treasure-tree hat and was babbling urgently. The Little Defiant Dragon watched with curiosity; the proud little dragon did not covet the Sacred Tree as the other Companion Dragon Kings had.

"What is it, Keke?" Xiao Chen asked, puzzled.

The snow-white beast kept pointing at the treasure-tree hat, chirping without pause. It seemed astonished—something was happening to the Little Sacred Tree. Xiao Chen walked over, crouched, and gently touched the sapling. It felt warm, and faint energy rippled within.

"Huh?" Xiao Chen was equally puzzled.

Yan Qingcheng also looked on in surprise.

The fluctuation was so faint it was nearly imperceptible. Neither Keke nor Xiao Chen had noticed it before, but the Little Sacred Tree appeared to be absorbing energy from its surroundings.

Under the night sky, Xiao Chen sharpened his instincts to their limit. He finally saw it: from all directions, tiny, nearly invisible golden specks drifted slowly toward the Little Sacred Tree, converging upon it.

This was… power from the golden sea.

Xiao Chen was astonished. The Little Sacred Tree was truly extraordinary—it could actually absorb the divine energy of the Forbidden Sea.

The fluctuation had been too weak before for anyone to notice. Now all of them—Xiao Chen, Yan Qingcheng, the two little beasts, and the three skeletons—understood what was happening.

The snow-white beast babbled excitedly and tried to lower the Little Sacred Tree into the golden sea, but stopped itself with a frustrated gesture, recalling how terrifying the sea was.

Once he fully understood, Xiao Chen's heart stirred. The Forbidden Sea seemed to brim with infinite divine power. If the Little Sacred Tree absorbed some, it might very well grow.

"Let me try," Xiao Chen said, lifting the sapling and moving toward the ship's railing. The Sacred Tree began to glow more brightly, drawing in many more golden specks.

He did not dare recklessly expose the sapling beyond the ship. He had already seen that anything outside the protection of the ancient vessel's dark light would be shattered. Though this was a legendary sacred tree, it was hard to say whether it could withstand that divine force.

Xiao Chen's arm reached the edge of the railing. More golden light gathered, and the Little Sacred Tree eagerly absorbed the divine energy.

Risking a bit more, he extended the sapling past the railing while keeping it within the ship's dark-light protection. The golden power converged even faster—like countless fireflies flying toward the tree.

It was a heartening result. Seeing the divine power truly absorbed by the sapling brought a strong sense of reward and satisfaction.

Keke ran about, blinking its big eyes, utterly delighted. But Xiao Chen could not hold the sapling like this forever. Finally, he stepped back, wrapped the burial shroud around the Little Sacred Tree, and hung it at the ship's railing.

It was a joyful night. Stars dotted the firmament. The King Ship sailed slowly onward, and at its stern, the Little Sacred Tree glowed with golden light, surrounded by ever more luminous specks.

A gentle night breeze stirred. The depths of the Forbidden Sea were not as deathly still as one might imagine—there was wind, the sound of waves. Though the area around the cabin was filled with a murderous aura that made Xiao Chen's hair stand on end, the stern, protected by the burial shroud of Ancestral God Suiren, remained relatively peaceful. Under soft moonlight, the two little beasts had already fallen asleep, breathing softly. The three skeletons had also entered deep stillness.

Xiao Chen glanced at Yan Qingcheng. He was not worried about any sneak attack; he allowed himself to sink into sleep. With his keen spiritual sense, he would awaken instantly at the slightest anomaly, and her cultivation was sealed—she could not harm him.

Some time later, Xiao Chen woke from a deep slumber. He heard a low growl, as though ghostly voices drifted through the air. From the direction of the cabin, a huge funeral lamp glowed with a ghastly white light that could not truly illuminate the area. The feeble, pale radiance was confined to a very narrow space within the darkness.

Beyond that, it was like a dark gateway to the underworld—deathly still and terrifying. No scenes were visible, and the low ghostly sounds came from there. At the same time, the sound of footsteps seemed to echo from within the cabin. It was a hair-raising atmosphere—unseen, only heard, and all the more chilling.

Suddenly, the enormous King Ship lurched violently. Something massive seemed to turn over in its sleep within the cabin, the sound of rolling and dreamlike ghostly moans clearly audible. A fierce murderous aura surged upward, dimming even the stars.

Black death-mist drifted, swirling around the ancient ship, darkening the nearby golden sea.

Not only Xiao Chen was awake; Yan Qingcheng sat up nervously. The two little beasts stared wide-eyed at the cabin ahead. The three skeletons' soul-light flickered unsteadily.

This was truly a ghost ship—so sinister and terrifying. Without a doubt, something very malign occupied the vessel. Death-mist could clearly be seen drifting across the entire ship. If not for the burial shroud of Ancestral God Suiren protecting the stern, this area too would have been plunged into darkness.

The ghastly ghostly sounds growled. Terrifying footsteps continued to emanate from the cabin. The King Ship revealed its most forbidding aspect.

But dawn was approaching. The dark sky gradually gained some vitality, and the abnormal sounds began to subside.

Xiao Chen and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief. If something truly malevolent had emerged from the cabin, they would have been in grave danger, despite the protection of the burial shroud.

Just then, Keke jumped to the ship's edge, searching for the Little Sacred Tree. Xiao Chen turned and was startled as well. Half of the burial shroud had somehow slipped over the railing; the Little Sacred Tree had sunk down and was no longer in sight, now beyond the protection of the ship's dark light.

His heart sank. He hurried over, but then his mind eased again. Half of the burial shroud and the Little Sacred Tree, though beyond the dark light's reach, had not been destroyed. In fact, the area outside the railing was dazzling with golden light.

As expected of a shroud once soaked in the blood of an Ancestral God—it remained ordinary-looking, without luster, yet undamaged by the power of the Forbidden Sea. That was extraordinary in itself.

The Little Sacred Tree was even more miraculous. Because the King Ship was so massive, the shroud had suspended it in the air above the golden sea, not touching the water. But the golden light rising from the Forbidden Sea connected to the sapling like water waves, as if the two had become one.

Though the energy fluctuation was not intense, it was clearly perceptible—a steady stream of power flowing into the sapling. The golden force was being absorbed.

It was not the vast, boundless divine power one might imagine, but given enough time, the Little Sacred Tree would still draw in an immense amount. With a slow, steady accumulation, it would surely grow.

The sun rose, casting morning light across the sea. A new day began. The great ship still moved slowly forward.

The rising sun seemed to radiate infinite vitality, tempering the King Ship's sinister aura. Golden ripples sparkled across the sea—everything was serene and peaceful. No one who did not know the truth would believe that every inch of this space could shatter demigods, or even gods.

The snow-white beast and the Little Defiant Dragon clearly found the journey uncomfortable, for both were restless by nature. They several times ventured beyond the burial shroud's protection toward the cabin, only to be called back by Xiao Chen.

Yan Qingcheng's mind was in turmoil. She could not make a decision; she could not weigh the cost, for it was too great. Xiao Chen did not know what the peerless beauty was thinking, but he was in no hurry. He had time. Perhaps she would eventually devise a safe and reliable plan for him.

Days passed. Four days went by.

Another night fell. On previous nights, the ancient ship had been turbulent, always emitting terrifying sounds. Several times, Xiao Chen had genuinely felt a fierce murderous aura pierce the burial shroud's domain. Once, in his sleep, he had awakened to see several dreadful silhouettes standing nearby, staring at them.

On the fourth night, the starlight was faint. Amid the undulating waves of the Forbidden Sea, the ancient ship seemed oppressive, unnaturally calm.

Deep in the night, the ghostly sounds did not come as usual. But Xiao Chen could not fall into true slumber. He sensed something was different. He eventually drifted into a half-sleep, half-wake state.