Chapter 200: Apeipu

Azha'er did not want to stay in the nursery.

After reaching a simple agreement, he was sent away by Luo De, and as usual, he was handed over to Tighnari to be watched over.

To be frank.

Luo De did not believe that Azha'er, this blasphemer, would suddenly change his ways.

And the reason he chose to believe Azha'er and reach an agreement with him was simply because the Great Merciful Tree King told him he could temporarily trust Azha'er.

It was precisely because of her guarantee that Luo De did not give it much thought.

However, Luo De still had some doubts about this; after handing Azha'er over to the resting Tighnari, he turned around and went to find the Great Merciful Tree King again.

Just like before.

The Great Merciful Tree King still had the exact same posture, completely lacking the appearance of a deity; to Luo De, she felt more like a playful girl, with none of the feeling he had when seeing the World Tree.

"Sorry, I used Nabu's spiritual light, but I was still affected somewhat."

Seeing Luo De's gaze toward her not quite right, the Great Merciful Tree King gave a brief explanation.

"Eh?"

Luo De stared for a moment.

This sound was ringing in his ears, not arising in his mind through consciousness.

"Can you speak out loud now?"

Luo De's question was quickly answered.

"One should say that the sound can now be transmitted outward."

The Great Merciful Tree King smiled: "Only yesterday could you do that; you hadn't come back yet then."

"Oh, is that so?"

Luo De didn't ask further, but raised his own doubt about what just happened: "Can you still read minds now?"

This was what he had just thought of.

Azha'er is a person whose outward and inward selves are severely inconsistent.

If it weren't for mind‑reading, Luo De couldn't figure out why the Great Merciful Tree King would be so certain.

But this also made Luo De doubtful again.

Because this speculation is the most unreasonable.

The Great Merciful Tree King's authority and divine station have already been transferred to Nadixa; theoretically, even if she were reborn, she would be merely an ordinary Archon, so how could she still retain the Dendro Archon's exclusive ability?

"Too bad, I can't see what you're thinking."

At that moment, the Great Merciful Tree King leisurely said: "But I can still guess that you're probably wondering why I can also read minds, right?"

"."

No wonder she is the former Wisdom God.

Luo De didn't hesitate; he directly admitted his thought.

"You should know that I, Nabu, and Ameng once shared the title of Wisdom God, right?"

Upon the Great Merciful Tree King saying that, Luo De recalled it.

Indeed.

Before going to find Apeipu, Nadixa had mentioned this matter.

During the period of the three gods' joint rule, aside from their own titles, the three gods were all the Wisdom Gods of Sumeru.

Back then, Luo De didn't think much of it.

He simply thought it was because the Red King didn't want to compete with his two friends for the divine position, so they all became Wisdom Gods together.

But now, looking at the Great Merciful Tree King's meaning,

this shared Wisdom God of the three deities seems to have some special meaning.

"You guessed right."

"The title Wisdom God can only be used by a deity who holds the permit for the World Tree."

Although she was speaking of a secret among the gods, the Great Merciful Tree King laughed happily.

And this smile,

from the moment Luo De saw her, has never stopped.

It seems that after imprisoning herself in the World Tree for five hundred years, she truly wants to talk more with people to alleviate the loneliness and solitude of those five hundred years.

Upon hearing this secret, Luo De was so surprised he could hardly close his mouth.

According to the Great Merciful Tree King's account,

at that time, the three gods of Sumeru all possessed the permit to control the World Tree!?

The so‑called joint rule of the three gods.

In essence, all three are Dendro Gods!

The three deities share the Dendro God's power!

This claim is somewhat hard to believe, yet it also explains another doubt that has long lingered in Luo De's heart.

This is actually a question he had thought of long ago.

And Luo De has always considered it an insignificant matter.

That is, in theory, only one Archon per region can be victorious in the Archon War; the victor then receives Heaven's mandate and attains a position among the Seven Sovereigns of the world.

Even the twin Archons of Inazuma, Raiden Shogun and Raiden Ei, during the Archon War only Raiden Shogun accepted the Electro Archon's position, while Raiden Ei acted as a shadow warrior at his side; when no force was needed, she generally did not intervene in Inazuma's internal affairs.

But Sumeru is ruled by three Archons jointly.

On the surface, the Great Merciful Tree King is the Dendro God, but in reality she is a powerful kingdom established by the three deities.

Luo De's earlier doubt.

Is the reason for Sumeru's current division that the three deities share power, but actually it's that the Great Merciful Tree King alone holds the Dendro Archon's position?

Could the oppression and contempt of the rainforest people toward the desert people be because the Dendro Archon is the Great Merciful Tree King, rather than the Red King and the Flower God causing it?

Now he understood.

Damn it, the Great Merciful Tree King monopolizes the Dendro Archon's position.

When Vali Weijie was still around, the three deities who ruled as sovereigns were all Dendro Archons, and fundamentally, the regions they ruled had no faith barriers.

That is why Sumeru was once able to establish a strong, unified kingdom, and the kingdom's division began only after one of the three Dendro Archons, the Flower God, died.

"Then can you still connect with the World Tree now?"

After figuring this out, Luo De couldn't help but ask this question.

"Although I don't really want to admit it."

"But unfortunately, I still retain a portion of the Dendro Archon's authority."

The Great Merciful Tree King said this openly.

"Like that"

Luo De stroked his chin and began to ponder.

The Great Merciful Tree King still has authority, meaning she is still dividing the Dendro Archon's power.

This may not be related to her being the Great Merciful Tree King.

It's likely because her physical form is a manifestation of spiritual light.

After all, the Flower God once held the Dendro Archon's authority, and passing it via spiritual light to the newly born Great Merciful Tree King is not impossible.

"You don't need to worry."

As the Great Merciful Tree King said, she can't read Luo De's mind, but she can easily infer his thoughts from his facial expressions.

"When Nabu was still around, she never competed with me for Sumeru's supreme authority."

"Besides, we two are essentially one entity."

"Well..."

The Great Merciful Tree King chuckled: "This Hope City is not bad; I like it, so from now on I'll take charge of it."

"Uh"

"I have no objections."

Nadixa couldn't possibly refuse this request, and Luo De naturally wouldn't say anything awkward; he then asked: "By the way, how long until you can get rid of that flower? I need to make preparations."

"About tomorrow."

That answer was quite precise.

However.

The voice answering that question was not the Great Merciful Tree King's.

That familiar sound made Luo De's pupils contract sharply; he hastily turned his body, looking warily.

Apep!

It really is her!!!

Exactly like the image seen before inside Apep's body, still with green hair, green clothes, and green eyes; at a glance she appears a tall woman with a gentle, tranquil demeanor.

"How come? You don't recognize me?"

Apep glanced at Luo De, then walked up to Patisalan and reached out to touch the flower bud about to bloom.

Hmm, just a touch, with no aggressive action.

"You?"

Luo De's mind turned over many questions, finally boiling down to one sentence: "How did you come here?"

(End of chapter)