Chapter 800

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Protagonist:

Shen Yao

Traveling from south to west, they had to avoid certain unsafe places along the way, and Shen Yao finally understood what it meant to rush until despair.

It wasn't that she had never been this tired before, but those previous tirednesses were still within what Shen Yao could accept; the current journey could be called torture.

"No, let's rest our feet."

Shen Yao raised her hand to hug Lu Yan's arm, looking at him pleadingly, hoping he would soften; ahead was a bustling city, yet they planned to pass by without entering—how could they?!

Lu Yan:...

"Don't make a scene; this city isn't as lively as Huaiqing City ahead, and entering will waste time," Every time they reached a city, big or small, Shen Yao would act spoiled to stay and rest.

Lu Yan always chose to indulge Shen Yao, but little by little, the time spent on the road grew, and they hadn't noticeably drawn closer to Jin Jue City.

Thinking there were other things to do later, Lu Yan could only reluctantly refuse Shen Yao's spoiled behavior, and the cities they stopped at along the way decreased significantly.

Shen Yao:...

Hmph!

Who was she doing this for? If not to avoid certain troublesome situations, would she have thrown away her dignity to keep delaying their journey?

Some things could only be understood, not spoken; she couldn't explain it clearly to Lu Yan.

'Host, it's clearly that you yourself are too fond of playing,' Even if they really bumped into trouble, it would just be more troublesome to solve, not enough to endanger both their lives.

Her own Host really liked to exaggerate; as the system, it had long seen everything clearly.

Shen Yao:...

"How would it delay anything? We're just staying one night."

Surely they weren't supposed to rush without resting? Compared to the wild ridges lacking clothes and food, clean rooms and tidy beds could certainly satisfy Shen Yao more.

Lu Yan couldn't wear Shen Yao down, and besides, after Lu Yan showed his fondness for Shen Yao, Shen Yao was like standing on the moral high ground, able to manipulate Lu Yan at will.

Disagree? Just act spoiled more, and Lu Yan would surely agree.

Shen Yao knew best how to step on Lu Yan's bottom line; as long as she didn't cause trouble at key moments, Lu Yan was very easy to persuade.

Hehehehe

Shen Yao secretly felt smug in her heart; she was truly smart.

"Wucheng"

Meaning governance through non-action? Then why would it be built in such a wild ridge?

Shen Yao read the yellowed name on the city; the tall city wall was severely damaged, and deep inside, several cracks remained, though they had been repaired with materials, one could still see the danger of that time.

"I heard there was once a Wuzheng Pine here; the Jiuzhou Continent ten thousand years ago was not like this," Back then, the cultivation atmosphere was prevalent, and the big shots pursued attaining the Dao and longevity.

The Wuzheng Pine played an outstanding role in comprehending cultivation; once it appeared, it attracted much attention.

Because there were too many cultivators coming to seek the Dao, Wucheng was built like this; however, Wucheng with the Wuzheng Pine didn't have this name back then; this place was called Changsheng Prefecture at that time.

Later, the Wuzheng Pine had problems, fewer and fewer people stayed in Changsheng Prefecture, and finally Changsheng Prefecture was renamed Wucheng, while the Wuzheng Pine only existed in legends.

Shen Yao blinked her eyes; the carriage was lining up to enter the city in order, "The Wuzheng Pine had problems? What problems?"

Lu Yan shook his head, "Not clear; the travelogue only vaguely said the Wuzheng Pine withered, finally becoming an ordinary dead pine, no longer having the ability to comprehend the Dao."

As for how the Wuzheng Pine's withering was caused, too much time had passed, and the travelogue didn't record it in detail; it was conjectured it should be related to the direction of the entire world.

Nowadays, human cultivation methods are completely different from the orthodox cultivation of ten thousand years ago; perhaps this is the reason for the Wuzheng Pine's withering.

After listening to Lu Yan, Shen Yao turned her head to look at the carriage entering the city, and simply summoned the system, 'Lu Yan said it, do you know?'

System:...?

'About Wucheng? Host, I'm just an intelligent life form, not omniscient,' Moreover, it was old business from ten thousand years ago.

Unless they came here ten thousand years ago, how could they dig out deeper insider info.

The system complained that the Host was looking for trouble for no reason; Wucheng was obviously a broken-down city, and even the forces in the city were not famous, let alone the Wuzheng Pine and Changsheng Prefecture from ten thousand years ago—not a trace left.

Shen Yao was a bit disappointed, lazily leaning in Lu Yan's arms, not wanting to get off the carriage.

Fortunately, Wucheng was really managed loosely; as long as enough spirit jade was given, not to mention getting off for inspection, even driving the carriage straight through was fine.

Ah?

Just how lacking in spirit jade was this place? One might think it was some poor backwater; truly, it disgraced the rumors from ten thousand years ago.

There weren't many inns in Wucheng; from the city gate all the way to the center, Lu Yan finally found a place to rest.

Shen Yao jumped off the carriage using Lu Yan's arm, looked into the distance, "What is that?"

The inn's shop assistant helped arrange the carriage and the wedding guests, smiling and replying it was the "Wuzheng Pine."

Shen Yao's eyes widened slightly, "Wuzheng Pine?" It was more like dead branches.

Clearly no life force at all, just an ordinary dead tree that was somewhat large.

"Yes, a pity the Wuzheng Pine died ten thousand years ago; now it's just a pine tree remnant," The inn shop assistant's words were full of disappointment, "Placed there, it can be looked at but not used."

Shen Yao followed up, "No one moved the Wuzheng Pine's remnant?"

Although the Wuzheng Pine was dead, its fame was not small; the remnant of a strange plant was also a rare resource, a raw material for many magic artifacts.

"How could there not be?" The inn shop assistant slapped his thigh upon hearing this, seeing Lu Yan and Shen Yao both staring at him, he somewhat embarrassedly lowered his tone, "Speaking of which, it's also strange; that Wuzheng Pine's remnant couldn't be moved.

No matter how powerful a cultivator, they couldn't dig out the Wuzheng Pine's remnant.

Just five years ago, the City Lord of Wucheng invited a High Person over, but as a result"

The inn shop assistant showed a look of disdain; obviously this High Person couldn't do it either, letting the wedding guests of Wucheng see a joke.

"Anyway, no one is thinking about the Wuzheng Pine now," Not only spending money but also wasting effort.

The inn's shop assistant finished speaking, turned, and went to settle their carriage.

Shen Yao and Lu Yan exchanged a glance at the sight; both were interested in the Wuzheng's remains.

Although the inn shop assistant's description might exaggerate a bit, the core idea wouldn't be wrong — the Wuzheng's remains, could there be a secret inside?

"Mm, it is indeed a dead thing; the whole tree, roots included, hasn't a shred of vitality."

After a simple meal, Lu Yan and Shen Yao rushed to the Wuzheng, only to find no protective measures at all — just a single tree standing alone in the middle of the street, its trunk hung with countless red silk tags.

Clearly, some people have already taken the Wuzheng's remains for firewood, coming daily to pray and make offerings.

Without needing to reach out, Shen Yao could sense the entire tree's condition, and it was because of this that she found it inconceivable.

By rights, the Wuzheng is already dead; even if some residual energy remains in the trunk, it shouldn't reach the point of being immovable.

Yet the miraculous thing is, this Wuzheng's remains truly, genuinely cannot be moved.

Shen Yao secretly tried using a technique; the instant the technique touched the Wuzheng, its trace vanished completely, as if entering a sponge that absorbs everything — no matter how much, the sponge would absorb it all.

Shen Yao's expression turned grave; she stepped a few paces closer and, to Lu Yan's surprise, raised her hand and touched the Wuzheng's branch trunk.

Then she closed her eyes, mobilized all her own energy, and sent it into the Wuzheng's remains through her palm.

A technique aura more violent than before instantly enveloped the entire Wuzheng; Lu Yan, seeing this, wanted to subconsciously draw near Shen Yao, but before she could reach her, she was repelled by the power spilling from Shen Yao.

Lu Yan: …?

Shen Yao had no time to attend to Lu Yan; she was inch by inch examining the Wuzheng's condition. Such exhaustive expenditure of all her spiritual power and techniques, ultimately requiring her Shenfu to assist, finally let her discover something out of the ordinary.

Tsk.

Hidden quite deep — even she herself was almost kept in the dark.

Withdrawing her hand and stepping back, Shen Yao wiped the sweat beading on her temples, turned her gaze onto Lu Yan, and said, "We'll talk when we get back."

"Mm."

Lu Yan and Shen Yao left; on the road they ran into commoners holding red silk — presumably devotees going to the Wuzheng's remains to pray.

"The Great Derivation is fifty, the Great Dao forty-nine, one escapes —" Shen Yao smiled and pointed at the red silk held in the commoners' hands — "the Wuzheng is reviving."

Relying on a mere fraction of uncertainty to change the dead end that originally belonged to it.

Lu Yan: …?!

No matter how great Lu Yan's shock, Shen Yao felt some curiosity about those legends from ten thousand years ago; it seems this world is undergoing change, wanting to reconnect the path that once went astray.

"Host, impossible — at least not before we leave will there be any major change."

The System spoke up in time to interrupt its own Host's speculation; it wasn't that it wanted the Host to be unhappy, it was entirely afraid the Host would let herself go and do something beyond expectations.

"System, do you know something? Back in Shang Lu Cheng, you once spoke with the World Consciousness."

System: …

Hiss.

One's own Host is just that sharp — on one side marveling at her own superb judgment, on the other fearfully shrinking her round body back; the System struggled to steady its tone, insisting the Host was overthinking, it didn't know that much at all, the World Consciousness only spoke selectively with it.

Shen Yao peeled back the layers: "Oh, so you do know, just not the whole picture."

System: …

Fine then.

It knew it was no match for its Host; they'd crossed moves who knows how many times before, and the System lost more than it won (in truth, any wins were only because Shen Yao deliberately held back).

"Host, don't put all your energy into these matters," the System went frantic, finally giving up: "The World Consciousness is merely attempting — if such a day truly comes, the time needed counts in the tens of thousands."

Take that reviving Wuzheng — it has only a candle-flame sliver of a life chart; not to mention returning to its state from ten thousand years ago, even for genuine vitality to appear would take a millennium at minimum.

That's not a day or two — it's a thousand years! Even the Host doesn't know how many worlds she's been through; even if the Host bore children, whether they'd have bloodline inheritance is uncertain.

"Speed can be accelerated — as long as the relevant news is released, many forces will want the Wuzheng to revive."

Those red silk and tokens aren't ordinary objects; they carry people's most genuine thoughts, and it's because of this very reason that the Wuzheng could change its dead end — otherwise its remains would long since have been taken away as raw materials.

"The Host wants the Wuzheng?" No way — is the Host planning a millennium-long layout? With so many uncertainties, isn't that a bit bold?

"Don't want it, but if I can snatch it, it's not a loss either," Shen Yao had a mindset that she could accept whatever the outcome — perhaps life is just too boring.

No more beating around the bush with the System, Shen Yao pulled Lu Yan back to the inn room.

Quickly and briefly finishing the account of the Wuzheng, Shen Yao set down the half-drunk teacup: "Those legends from ten thousand years ago are most likely all true; on our journey henceforth, we'd do well to keep a sharper eye out."

Lu Yan raised her hand and pinched her fingers; her beautiful lashes drooped slightly, conveniently masking the complex emotions in her eyes.

"Perhaps the attainment of the Dao and immortality, eternal life from ten thousand years ago, are all true."

It's just that the Jiuzhou Continent underwent an earth-shattering upheaval; the ancestors' path forward was severed, forcing them to start over from scratch.

Shen Yao nodded — of course it's true; people in the cultivation world can indeed achieve eternal life, but that's only the most talented, fortunate batch; the vast majority still die.

No matter which world, people's busy toil cannot avoid their own extinction — only some worlds perish a little slower, some like mayflies, born at dawn and dead by dusk.

They stayed one night in Wucheng; early the next morning they left the city again to continue their journey.

In the distance, the Wuzheng's remains still stood there, covered in red silk tokens; only the candle-flame life chart hidden in the tree's heart kept flickering on and off.

"Who knows when we'll pass by next?" Shen Yao tilted her head, leaning on the carriage window, sighing.

"Host, maybe not coming is right," having harvested so many of the Wuzheng's branches — if the Wuzheng had any countermeasures right now, it would definitely have fought the Host.

Shen Yao: …

Didn't expect one's own Host to be this cautious — in the dead of night, not sleeping, but sneaking out to play thief and harvest wool; luckily the Wuzheng's remains were large enough that the Host didn't just hack at one spot.

"What's there to fear? Equivalent exchange — I didn't take advantage of it for nothing."

Shen Yao considered the Wuzheng's remains quite good; taking some might come in handy later.

Of course, Shen Yao isn't a villain who forces unfair deals; the Shi Yu Ling Ye she gave is very helpful to the Wuzheng's revival — one might say the Wuzheng should even thank her.

System: …?

Thank for what?

Thank the Host for manually completing a transaction without the other party's knowledge?

The Host is still too Thick-Skinned; although the Wuzheng will indeed thank the Host for the Shi Yu Ling Ye once it truly revives, after all the Shi Yu Ling Ye can guarantee the Fate Plate does not perish, until the Shi Yu Ling Ye is completely exhausted.

For the Wuzheng to revive, during all these years if there is even the slightest problem, it would be Gong Kui Yi Ji.

The Shi Yu Ling Ye gave the Wuzheng a certain margin for error, and it was also because Shen Yao's Action was generous enough; even Ten Thousand Years ago, the Shi Yu Ling Ye was a rare Spirit Resource.