Chapter 859: The Holy Tree

Chen Yan withdrew his gaze, his mind feeling hollow, his spirit struggling to maintain itself.

His heart and mind were struck with terror.

It was an Ancient God, absolutely an Ancient God!

Even though shrouded in black mist, even though they had been suppressed by the human race for ten thousand years, even though this was a world created by Unity.

But Chen Yan had only taken a single look, just one look, and he had nearly failed to maintain his own sanity.

Fortunately, as long as Chen Yan did not look directly at them, he was fine.

It was just that Chen Yan was astonished in his heart.

Was the world's number one divine technique truly created by the human race?

Why did Unity's chosen ones include not only Ancient God Beasts, but also Ancient Gods?

This was the information conveyed to him by 【Unity】 after this vision appeared in Chen Yan's mind.

Apart from these, 【Unity】 also conveyed several other pieces of information.

The first: Chen Yan had now been bestowed a title by Unity, Unity World-Suppressor.

This meant that Chen Yan, like the other forty-nine people, possessed the strength to suppress a world.

The second: Unity World-Suppressors could not communicate with one another, nor could they reveal anything regarding 【Unity】 or the True Explanation of Unity to the outside world.

The third: becoming the number one Unity World-Suppressor would allow one to obtain 【Unity】, and this mist world would also disappear.

Soon, Chen Yan withdrew from the vision within his mind.

At this moment, Chen Yan felt no joy at having become one of the fifty strongest beings in the world.

On the contrary, a question appeared in Chen Yan's mind.

Since Ancient God Fanni and Ancient God Bai'e had already become the two strongest living beings recognized by 【Unity】.

Then why had they not obtained 【Unity】?

Because the information given by 【Unity】 was very clear: one only needed to become number one to obtain 【Unity】, and the mist world would disappear, and there would be no such thing as the fifty strongest existences.

Did 【Unity】 reject the two Ancient Gods, or did the two Ancient Gods reject 【Unity】?

Shaking his head, Chen Yan stopped thinking about this question.

The appearance of 【Unity】 had not given Chen Yan any benefits, but it had made Chen Yan clearly aware of what level he was currently at.

Among these fifty strongest existences, there were certainly Lord Chen and the leaders of the other three clans.

On the Great Xia side, Lu Xunyang was certainly included, Xia Hanzhou, second on the Tier 8 ranking, might also be, and perhaps some ancient gatekeepers of the Xia clan were as well.

Next were the Ancient God Beasts.

The current four great Ancient God Beasts possessed strength even surpassing the leaders of the three clans like Lord Lu, so they were certainly among them.

Adding the two Ancient Gods, the Ancient God faction had at least six existences among them.

As for the Longevity Seekers, it was difficult to define; many powerful Longevity Seekers had hidden away long ago and did not participate in the struggles of the human world.

This was only counting existences in the outside world.

Even without counting the Longevity Seekers, there were already twelve existences.

As for within the Evil World.

The Array Master was certainly among them, and might even be one of the top five strongest existences.

The seven Dao Children and three Law Enforcement Masters of the Evil World might also be among them.

Within the Evil World, there were also powerful Ancient God Beasts; perhaps there were existences comparable to the four great Ancient God Beasts of the outside world.

No.

It was not "perhaps."

The malice in the Evil World was even denser and more terrifying; how could there not be powerful Ancient God Beasts?

These were the powerful existences Chen Yan could calculate.

Aside from these people...

Chen Yan narrowed his eyes.

The Master of Hardened Body and the Master of Blood Qi were actually both still alive.

The Master of Elements was within the Purple Universe World-Fixing Mirror and was also still alive.

The Master of True Intent only had a remnant soul left, parasitic within Shen Yiwei, and possessed no powerful strength.

The Master of Thought Power... Chen Yan did not know if they were alive or dead, but Chen Yan estimated the Master of Thought Power was not strong.

One existence after another flashed through his mind.

Not counting the powerful Ancient God Beasts and Longevity Seekers within the Evil World.

Chen Yan could only estimate twenty-six strongest existences.

The remaining twenty-plus were mostly Ancient God Beasts and Longevity Seekers.

Chen Yan rubbed his brow.

So, there were still so many unknown existences more powerful than himself.

However.

Chen Yan was currently only at the peak of the Creation Realm.

Thinking of this, Chen Yan felt it was actually alright.

If he advanced to Tier 8, he might be able to move forward ten places.

"Perhaps I should cripple my cultivation again, recultivate once more, and try again; I will surely be stronger."

Chen Yan chuckled out loud.

Chen Yan walked out of the room.

"My Lord." Mu Yanwan sensed Chen Yan had come out of seclusion and hurried over.

"Prefect Fang Rui is still waiting."

Chen Yan nodded, then entered the main hall.

Soon, Fang Rui arrived, bowed to Chen Yan, set down a formation disk, and then left.

Inside the main hall, it became instantly quiet.

The ancient formation disk rose into the air and bloomed with seven-colored light; the light and shadow gathered into a man in white, his body wreathed in profound formation patterns, and the space even trembled slightly when he landed.

"I am the Fifth Daoist, Mu Yun Hai." The man in white spoke with a smile:

"It is difficult for my true self to come and meet you, so I first had Fang Rui bring this puppet formation disk located in the Zhiyang Prefecture to meet with you."

Chen Yan cupped his hands:

"Chen Yan."

Mu Yun Hai looked Chen Yan over, a gentle smile remaining on his face:

"Brother Chen comes from Chen Prefecture; I wonder if Chen Prefecture..."

"Let's just get to the point. How many Realm Fruits can you give me?" Chen Yan spoke directly.

Mu Yun Hai was taken aback; he was the noble Fifth Daoist of the Evil Realm.

He was one of the ten strongest people in the Evil Realm, and he had not yet been treated like this by anyone else.

However, Mu Yun Hai did not mind, and smiled:

"The Yun Hai Dao Fu is currently collecting Realm Fruits; everything depends on how much Brother Chen can help me."

"What do you want me to do?" Chen Yan was straightforward.

"Good!" Mu Yun Hai laughed:

"I like Brother Chen's style of doing things."

He sat down, his tone changed, and he said in a low voice:

"Does Brother Chen know of the Danger of the Thousand Days?"

Chen Yan did not speak.

Mu Yun Hai sighed at length and said:

"The Master of Formations informed us that after a thousand days, the Ancient God will awaken; at that time, the world will be in chaos, and everything will change...

Now..."

Mu Yun Hai gave a bitter smile:

"There are already less than a thousand days left, which is why I did not dare to come and see Brother Chen in person; the variables are too great."

Chen Yan's pupils constricted.

The claim of the Ancient God's appearance in a hundred days mentioned by the Lord of Ji had actually spread to the Evil Realm as well.

Mu Yun Hai noticed the change in Chen Yan's gaze and continued:

"It is precisely because of this that everything has changed.

The Master of Formations has already gone into seclusion to prepare for that day, and there is panic among us Daoists.

Although the Master of Formations did not tell us what to do, he brought out an Emperor Fruit and a Soul of the Life Chapter."

Chen Yan narrowed his eyes.

Fang Rui had already informed Chen Yan of the secrets among the Daoists of the Evil Realm.

Once a Daoist dies, that Daoist's physical body and cultivation will be divided among the remaining Daoists.

This only makes the strong even stronger.

Mu Yun Hai would view others as precious medicine, and others thought the same.

Originally, there was a balance among the Daoists, as the Master of Formations was still there.

Now, the prophecy of the Ancient God's awakening has appeared in the Evil Realm, the Master of Formations has gone into seclusion, and even brought out the Soul of the Life Chapter—an item that can allow an eighth-rank to advance to the ninth-rank—all to incite conflict among the Daoists.

To determine the strongest person to deal with the awakening Ancient God.

"What is an Emperor Fruit?" Chen Yan asked; this was something he did not know.

"A fruit borne by the Sacred Tree, one every fifty thousand years; it possesses great opportunity and can allow an eighth-rank to become a truly supreme eighth-rank, a supreme being far exceeding other supreme beings!

But it cannot allow an eighth-rank to advance to the ninth-rank.

And the Soul of the Life Chapter contains the remnant soul of a supreme Ancient God Beast, which can allow one to advance to the ninth-rank." Mu Yun Hai spoke calmly:

"One cannot blame the Master of Formations; he knows that when the Ancient God awakens, the eighth-rank cannot save the world, but the ninth-rank might have a chance.

This is the destiny of us Daoists."

As Mu Yun Hai spoke, he actually revealed a sense of emptiness, as if he had seen through life.

Chen Yan's eyes narrowed slightly.

The Sacred Tree!

"Where is the Sacred Tree?" Chen Yan asked.

"In the Central Divine Soil, the place where the Master of Formations sits in meditation."

"Is the Sacred Tree the tree that bears the Realm Fruits?"

"Yes." Mu Yun Hai looked at Chen Yan in surprise, then realized:

"Brother Chen comes from Chen Prefecture, so it is normal that you do not know about this."

Chen Yan looked at Mu Yun Hai:

"You want me to help you obtain the Emperor Fruit and the Soul of the Life Chapter?"

"Yes." Mu Yun Hai nodded, then shook his head:

"I admire Brother Chen's talent immensely; if you assist me, I will give you as much as you want."

"Deal." Chen Yan nodded.

Mu Yun Hai was surprised by Chen Yan's readiness, then smiled bitterly:

"I fear that if the other Dao Children learn of Brother Chen, they will also come."

"You need not concern yourself with that," Chen Yan said calmly.

"Oh?" Mu Yun Hai was stunned:

"I am merely the Fifth Dao Child; to say nothing of the others, take the First Dao Child, Xuan Yi, who is called the greatest Eighth Rank in history.

A master of all six paths, once he ascends to the Ninth Rank, he could surpass the existence of the Master of Formations."

Chen Yan looked at Mu Yun Hai and said quietly:

"What you say makes sense, but if he comes, I will simply have to set aside more time to discuss matters with him."

Mu Yun Hai was taken aback, not expecting such an answer from Chen Yan.

He looked at Chen Yan for a long time, then said:

"Brother Chen is truly extraordinary; even if we do not cooperate, it is necessary to be on good terms with Brother Chen.

I hear Brother Chen has been contemplating the Divine Formations.

Once this formation puppet dissipates, it will automatically evolve into three God-level grand formations: 【Annihilation】, 【Force】, and 【Defense】.

Brother Chen need not remain in the Divine Formation Hall any longer."

As he spoke, Mu Yun Hai's voice began to dissipate.

Amidst the flowing light and flames, it transformed into three formation disks overflowing with divine radiance.

The 【Annihilation】 Divine Formation was among them.

As for the other two, they were the 【Force】 and 【Defense】 Divine Formations.

The 【Annihilation】 Divine Formation was a divine formation evolved from the Master of Formations' analysis of the status of the Qi and Blood path.

While 【Force】 and 【Defense】 were divine formations evolved from the Master of Formations' analysis of the Ninth Rank status of the Hardened Body path.

"I shall await Brother Chen's arrival at the Yun Hai Prefecture," Mu Yun Hai's voice rang out.

Chen Yan took the three divine formations into his own universe.

Just as Mu Yun Hai had said, with the formation disks, Chen Yan no longer needed to stay in the Divine Formation Hall.

Since he had chosen to cooperate with Mu Yun Hai, Chen Yan prepared to depart immediately, taking Bai Ling, Mu Yanwan, Peng Linjun, and the others to the Yun Hai Prefecture.

Soon, Fang Rui arrived, and upon learning that Chen Yan had already made a deal with him, his face was full of joy.

"If Your Excellency does not mind, Fang Rui is willing to personally pilot the boat to take Your Excellency to the Yun Hai Prefecture!" Fang Rui bowed.

"Very well," Chen Yan nodded, preparing to summon Mu Yanwan.

Yet at this very moment.

Mu Yanwan arrived with a panicked expression:

"Your Excellency, a Prefecture Master has arrived and wishes to see you."

"I will not see them," Chen Yan said calmly.

Fang Rui's expression changed; he had not expected the lobbyists for the other Dao Children to arrive so soon.

They had likely arrived in Luo Town long ago and came as soon as they discovered Chen Yan had left seclusion.

Fang Rui sighed softly; there were bad actors within the Mu family.

The news of Chen Yan leaving seclusion could only have been leaked by the Mu family or their servants.

Mu Yanwan bowed and was about to leave.

Chen Yan, however, looked toward the bottom of the main hall and narrowed his eyes.

A woman had appeared there, though no one knew when.

"This humble one greets Your Excellency Chen Yan."