Chapter 461: Affection Tree

Three months later.

Lin Chuan finished handling all matters of the Myriad Symbol Pavilion.

After that, he took Monkey aboard a flying vessel and headed straight for Tushan.

The little sister Shangguan Meng stayed behind to guard the Myriad Symbol Pavilion; she works hard, and under Lin Chuan's instruction her talent has been better cultivated,

far surpassing her brother Shangguan Qing.

Yet compared with a true genius, she is still far behind; reaching a higher realm will require a long period of accumulation.

The flying vessel approached Tushan's borders.

A Fox Clan patrol was on guard duty.

"Eh?"

Seeing Lin Chuan's flying vessel, they were somewhat surprised—not because of Lin Chuan, but at Monkey's arrival.

"The Battle Saint Monkey Clan?"

"Didn't they offend some mysterious powerful foe, abandon their Ancestral Land, and become fugitives?"

"Why do they still dare to join the Grand Competition?"

The Fox Clan of Tushan does not bear hatred toward a declining race; they only feel a sigh of regret.

Once upon a time, the Battle Saint Monkey Clan was a powerful race not inferior to the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, but now they have reached the brink of extinction.

Times change, the world transforms.

In the long flow of years, anything can happen.

"Is the newcomer the Saint Monkey Clan?"

A Tushan guard stopped the flying vessel.

"Indeed."

Lin Chuan nodded and sent forth a Jade Talisman.

The guard took it, startled; it was a handwritten note from Lady Bai Wanqing, the mountain master's wife.

It cannot be forged.

It can resonate with Tushan's Grand Array that protects the mountain.

The guards quickly cleared the path, watching the flying vessel disappear into Tushan's deep realm until its shadow vanished on the Horizon, then they whispered among themselves.

"Elder Wanqing invited the Saint Monkey Clan to the Grand Competition; aren't they afraid of incurring the wrath of that legendary mysterious great power?"

A little spirit expressed concern.

"What nonsense mysterious great power dares to hold a grudge against Tushan?"

Another spirit sneered, "Tushan is a super force, allied with Qingqiu; why fear a mysterious great power?"

"A true supreme great power need not hide; it would have already revealed itself."

"Only those who act in the shadows cannot step onto the stage."

Although the spirit is only at the Mortal Dust realm, it bears arrogance; even though not of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, it has received Tushan's favor and feels a strong sense of belonging.

"Just brag then."

A spirit laughed, "If that great power had arrived early, a single glance would have scared you into wetting yourself."

"Afraid it wouldn't dare to come?"

"Your mouth is the hardest part of you."

The guards immediately began arguing.

Tushan's main mountain.

At the summit.

There stood a towering tree.

Its trunk was upright, but its branches bore no leaves, only pink blossoms that bloomed year-round.

This tree is Tushan's treasured heirloom.

Under the shade, a delicate young girl cradled a book, reading the story of Tushan's origin over and over.

…

It is said that long, long ago, a branch of the Nine-Tailed Fox first settled in Tushan and befriended a tree spirit.

After a bout of conflict, the elder of that Tushan branch and the tree spirit became friends.

The elder was a woman.

Her husband was the first Nine-Tailed Fox born after the transformation of heaven and earth, named Tianhu Shizu.

Because the Fox Clan was targeted by the then Mo Zu, Tianhu Shizu was forced to separate from his clan.

The Tushan elder missed her husband, remaining gloomy all day, and the tree spirit, being unusual, excelled in the art of love‑fate Karma.

The tree spirit told the Tushan elder it could help her find Tianhu Shizu.

But the eventual outcome was…

Tianhu Shizu's presence still lingers, but due to some unpredictable reason, his life‑force and passions have been severed, and he will never return.

The Tushan elder was heartbroken.

Even though she later successfully evolved into a Nine-Tailed Fox, she could not find happiness.

The Tushan elder realized that her forced separation from her husband stemmed from the clan's weakness, a desperate choice made in a dire situation.

Strengthening the Fox Clan was her husband's lifelong dedication.

For this, her husband abandoned everything.

Guided by the tree spirit, the Tushan elder understood that to make the Fox Clan lineage strong, the Nine-tailed Fox Bloodline must be able to be stably passed down.

Relying solely on individual evolution of the clan would be too dangerous.

Once a rupture occurs, without the protection of the strong, that is a clan‑annihilation crisis.

In the following period, the Tushan Ancestor exhausted his lifelong effort and derived a method for a stable bloodline inheritance.

But this requires the aid of the Affinity Tree spirit.

The Affinity Tree spirit, moved by the Tushan Ancestor's sincere heart, decided to help the Tushan Nine‑Tailed Fox lineage.

In the end, the Tushan Ancestor exhausted his vital energy and died.

Her Immortal Soul merged into every flower of the Affinity Tree, protecting the Tushan Nine‑Tailed Fox Clan in another form.

The Affinity Tree spirit's Immortal Soul also dissipated after the long ages.

But the tree itself persisted forever.

It transformed into an extremely unique treasure, containing the Great Vow made by the two Great Aspirants for Immortals, not for heaven and earth, but only for the sentient beings within Tushan's realm.

From then on, if a loving couple of the Fox Clan comes beneath the Affinity Tree and makes a vow, each swallows a piece of Affinity flower, promising to treat each other sincerely and never betray,

they can receive protection.

They receive a soul‑cleansing, with the hope of attaining the true understanding of the Nine‑Tail inheritance, which can, to some extent, stimulate the evolution of the bloodline.

Such a special inheritance, relying on the existence of the Affinity Tree, is passed down through generations.

By the present era, it has become the foundation of Tushan.

……

Tu Shan Jiao Jiao closed the book.

Each time she reads this story, her state of mind is stirred.

"Treat each other sincerely, never betray."

"Under the ravages of endless years, do such beings truly exist in the world?"

"If Lin Chuan comes, would he be willing to take the Affinity flower for me?"

After leaving Jin Tian Zhou's Myriad Symbol Pavilion, Tu Shan Jiao Jiao constantly missed Lin Chuan, yet she was tangled in many matters, deeply ensnared.

She didn't know what to do.

Perhaps she needs something to stimulate herself.

To enable her to take the crucial step and put an end to it.

While thinking, Tu Shan Jiao Jiao's heart suddenly leapt; she sensed a familiar aura arriving at Tushan.

"Is it Lin Chuan?"

An uncontrollable smile surfaced on her face, but she quickly forced herself to suppress it.

"If he's come, he's come! I don't care about him!"

But another voice quickly rose within her.

"Why gamble with the one you like? Why not speak properly?"

Whether it's love at first sight or deceit, she simply loves Lin Chuan, her longing deep to the bone, unchangeable.

The more they are apart, the more piercing, the harder to forget.

"Perhaps he is also tangled?"

Tu Shan Jiao Jiao thought, "If it's all about stubbornness, even the best fate will eventually disperse."

"He came to Tushan, which granted me a step."

"I should also give him a step."

"I'll speak openly with him; whatever the outcome, I will accept it. Whether it's sincere, true‑hearted or not, the Affinity Tree will witness everything between us."