Chapter 374

On the streets of Xu Mi Cheng.

Those who could walk the streets all sang and danced, fully enjoying the joy of the Flower God's Birthday Celebration.

Even the desert folk who had come just to watch the fun felt too embarrassed to go forward and cause trouble.

What a joke.

To cause trouble in such a situation.

This is nothing but asking for a beating.

Even the most radical, anti-Dendro Archon desert people honestly stood aside and watched.

Even saying.

Upon seeing such a grand celebration, they actually felt a stir of restlessness in their hearts.

Once upon a time.

Under the Red King's rule, the desert would also hold such a celebration.

Just thinking about these.

These desert people inevitably lowered their heads with sorrowful faces.

Although they had not witnessed the desert's glorious age, this did not hinder their longing for that golden era.

These myriad changes in expression could be called a hundred forms.

Kantisi, mingling among the desert folk, saw all of this with her own eyes.

Her arrival in Xu Mi Cheng was a little later.

But this did not hinder her surveillance of those radical desert people.

Moreover, it was not just her.

The personnel she brought were basically all used to monitor her own compatriots.

The Red King and the Flower God are absent.

The Flower God's Birthday Celebration is Xu Mi Cheng's most important festival nowadays.

At such a festival celebration, it is intolerable for anyone to come out and cause trouble.

Kantisi monitors these radicals, not only to prevent them from causing trouble, but also to protect them.

The moderate and neutral factions she brought also understand this principle.

So even when that splendid, beautiful flower cart passed before their eyes, they did not relax their vigilance in the slightest; instead, they became even more focused, fearing that some reckless lunatic might suddenly go mad and bring misfortune upon the entire desert.

Especially Kantisi.

Although Luo De and Dixiya had invited her to come for a vacation, she voluntarily took on part of the security work.

No other reason.

Because she knows.

After this Flower God's Birthday Celebration ends, the desert will welcome back its deity.

And this deity.

has a not-so-good temper.

If someone spoils his mood, Luo De will take out his anger, and all the desert folk will suffer as a result.

Kantisi, with a myriad of thoughts, gazed up at the lofty Pure Virtue Palace.

Memories surged once again.

Once upon a time.

When Luo De first arrived, he was merely a wanderer who couldn't even afford a meal.

Now he, however, is about to ascend to the divine throne, becoming a ruling deity equal in fame to the Seven Executives of the mortal world.

"Ah."

Thinking this, Kantisi couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

The desert folk are truly hopeless.

Even though she herself is part of the desert folk, she has to say that.

The original Luo De would not have been like this.

Kantisi feels a bit nostalgic for that original Luo De.

That Luo De, humble and courteous to others.

It's just a pity.

That house-stealing incident.

That let Luo De's innate ruthlessness first show itself.

Although good people cannot survive in the desert, Luo De's ruthlessness surpasses even that of the desert people.

After all, not everyone has the mettle to kill, without changing expression, a former comrade who once fought side by side with them.

Since then.

Kantisi then knew that the little A Ru Cun could not keep Luo De.

Thus her attitude toward Luo De changed from initially taking him in, to later trying to retain him, and finally hoping he would not bring disaster to the village.

Saying he would bring disaster is a bit excessive.

No matter how you say it.

Luo De still has a bottom line.

Each time he goes on a killing spree, it is because someone from the village or another desert person has touched his reverse scale.

No one can find fault with him for that.

This is also what Kantisi means when she says the desert folk themselves are hopeless.

If all the desert people could be like Dixiya, how could Luo De, bearing the title of Red King Divine Envoy, have sought refuge in the embrace of the Dendro Archon, and always held vigilance and killing intent toward the desert people?

"What are you thinking about?"

Dixiya's voice pulled Kantisi's thoughts back.

Facing her friend's doubtful gaze, Kantisi tugged at the corner of her mouth and smiled: "Nothing much, just thinking that those radicals have been well-behaved today, saving us a lot of work."

"Oh, that's indeed true."

Dixiya also laughed.

She, like Kantisi today, was also responsible for maintaining security on the desert people's side.

To do this job well.

She also brought all the personnel of the Flaming Light Beast Hunt over.

Of course.

The Dendro Archon paid.

This is a bit of Dixiya's bad taste.

Or rather.

A way of reminiscing about the past.

She is a mercenary, and freedom is her motto.

And now.

Since joining the construction of Hope City, she has long gone without feeling such freedom.

Led by Luo De, this payment from the Dendro Archon finally let her regain that long-lost feeling.

"What are you laughing at?"

Seeing Dixiya suddenly laugh, Kantisi asked curiously.

"Oh."

"Nothing."

Dixiya's smile grew wider; although she had just said 'nothing,' her mouth began to boast involuntarily: "Luo De's heart is still meticulous; he considers everything, big or small, in advance."

"Indeed."

Kantisi, who had long known of Luo De and Dixiya's relationship, glanced at her, then shook her head and looked toward the gradually receding flower-cart path: "It's just a pity that the desert cannot keep him."

"That's still better than him despising the desert."

As the conversation heated up, Dixiya began to recount to Kantisi the scene of how she and Luo De first met: "You don't know; when we picked him up from the desert back then, this guy's wariness toward the desert people was extraordinarily strong. Don't ask how I know—I've been around for years, and you can tell what a person is thinking from the changes in their facial expression."

"But that's strange."

"That guy was obviously very wary of the Flaming Light Beast Hunt's members, even always ready to bolt."

"But after seeing me, he suddenly seemed to put his mind at ease, showing no hostility toward me at all, and even letting down his guard toward the entire Flaming Light Beast Hunt."

Dixiya spoke of those events with a nostalgic expression.

But Kantisi caught a hint of strangeness in her words: "Wait, you mean he no longer harbors hostility as soon as he sees you?"

"Hmm."

Dixiya nodded.

"You haven't met before, have you?" Kantisi asked again.

"No." Dixiya gave Kantisi a strange look: "That was our first meeting."

"In other words."

"Luo De's subconscious reaction to the desert people is vigilance, except when he sees you, when he feels very at ease, even letting his guard down toward the entire Flaming Light Beast Hunt, right?"

Kantisi said this, and Dixiya also faintly sensed something off.

"You mean to say."

Dixiya frowned and said: "Luo De must have learned about my conduct somewhere, or else I don't know him but he knows me."

"The second possibility is more likely."

Kantisi spoke as if she had discovered a new continent, her words coming thick and fast: "We're both close with Luo De; you should know he's very suspicious. If he feels at ease with you because he's heard your reputation, then he should at least have verified your identity."

"But he didn't."

"On the contrary, just one glance at you convinced him you were the Flame Mane Lion Dixiya, and he even let his guard down completely toward you."

Saying this, Kantisi lightly licked her lips: "I'm ninety percent sure he already knew you were Dixiya long ago, but he never actually saw you in person!"

Dixiya fell silent.

After a while, she gave an example: "Could it be that he saw my photo in the desert?"

The photographic device is a good thing.

It's not impossible for a photo of the Flame Mane Lion to have ended up in the desert.

But Kantisi rejected that notion.

Just see her shake her head and say: "According to what you said, the moment he sees you he drops all his wariness, which completely clashes with his suspicious nature."

"Moreover."

"Dixiya, my friend."

"Don't you think there are things Luo De knows too much about?"

Those words reminded Dixiya.

Past memories flashed before her eyes one by one.

Kantisi was right.

Luo De indeed knows many things he shouldn't know given his status at the time.

Including the matter of him going to save the Dendro Archon.

Dixiya always felt that his purposefulness at that time was extremely precise, as if he had opened a heavenly eye.

"Kantisi, why don't you just say it straight?"

"After saying all that, what exactly do you want to say?"

Dixiya sighed.

There are too many riddle people around.

So many that she often couldn't be bothered to guess; it's better to just ask directly.

"I want to say."

"Could Luo De really be the reincarnation of the Red King?"

Kantisi's face suddenly fell.

She wasn't afraid of guessing wrong.

She was afraid of guessing right.

Luo De always said it was because the Dendro Archon needed the Red King's identity to reunite the desert rainforest, and Kantisi previously thought so too.

But judging from his various actions.

Kantisi suddenly came up with this idea.

If Luo De really is the reincarnation of the Red King.

Then it would make sense for his memory to contain these things he shouldn't know.

As for the talk of descenders and otherworldly visitors.

Kantisi now leans more toward the idea that even if Luo De isn't the Red King's reincarnation, he at least has a great connection to the Red King.

Otherwise he shouldn't know so many secrets that even the Red King's descendants don't know.

Moreover, if Luo De has no relation to the Red King, then all his identities related to the Red King, as he claims, are fake.

Then why would the Dendro Archon seek him to inherit the Red King's legacy and succeed the Red King's divine position? Precisely because of this.

Kantisi grew increasingly regretful.

In Luo De's desert activities, the despicable conduct of the desert people would make the Red King feel how disappointed.

Compared to Kantisi, who feels regret for not having done her past duties well.

Dixiya, on the other hand, utterly trusts Luo De: "He said he has no relation to the Red King, so he doesn't; as for why he knows so much, that's his secret—I won't ask further or pursue it, after all, everyone has their own secrets."

Dixiya smiled brightly.

Such a smile also somewhat steadied Kantisi's chaotic thoughts.

"Also."

"It's just a pity."

Before Kantisi could finish her words, the surrounding crowd suddenly erupted in cheers like a mountain‑shouting, sea‑roaring tide.

She and Dixiya raised their heads and together looked at the light curtain before them.

Nadixa's Maya Hall is the manifestation of the dream authority she controls.

Under this divine power, the buildings in Xu Mi Cheng, though still preserved, are all filled with dreamlike colors.

In such an environment.

The originally cold, stiff light curtain stimulated by the Void Terminal also turned into a 3D image; people away from the floats, seeing it in the light curtain, felt as if they were sharing Nadixa's perspective, an immersive sensation that amazed them.

However, what made the people cheer so loudly was not the brand‑new 3D experience.

But rather the appearance of the Dendro Archon's retinue, the Lan Na Luo.

Initially.

The appearance of these little mushroom heads left people wondering what they were, with some even thinking they were monsters.

But when the Lan Na Luo, carrying blessings amidst the luxuriant blooms, came before the King of Plants and added a verdant hue to Xu Mi Cheng belonging to the divine retinue, the people began wave after wave of cheers.

"That's the Lan Na Luo!"

Following Luo De's prior arrangement, Ke Lai and Ta De La, hidden in the crowd, shouted out in cheer.

It was like a single stone stirring up a thousand layers of waves.

After the first shout of "Lan Na Luo".

The name Lan Na Luo spread farther and farther until everyone knew it—this retinue of the Dendro Archon, which only existed in records, reappeared with the Archon's return.

This isn't over yet.

After the Lan Na Luo appeared.

It was the flower spirits, resembling them closely, that under Si Lu Sha's leadership fell from the rear chambers, flower beds, and the heavens, representing the mistress of the Eternal Oasis, Na Bu·Ma Li Ka Ta, who offered the King of Plants a blessing of the Flower God.

At the same time.

Under Luo De's manipulation, the reshaped human bodies of Li Lu Pa Er and Fei Li Ji Si also knelt on one knee before Nadixa, presenting the Flower God's offering of the Flower Lady's gift.

If the reappearance of the Dendro Archon's retinue after five hundred years is a great joy that can make the rainforest people revel.

Then when the Great Guardian Spirit representing the Flower God and the flower spirits appear.

All the tribal folk who came to participate in the festival went crazy.

How many years has it been!

After Ju Er Cheng fell, the traces of the Flower God's retinue vanished completely in the desert.

The desert tribal folk, seeking traces of the Flower God's retinue, once crossed mountains and rivers, searching everywhere in the yellow sand for ancient relics.

They were not merely seeking the gods' acknowledgment.

More importantly.

As long as they have a guardian spirit in hand, they need no longer suffer from death and famine.

Several hundred years have passed.

Generations of tribespeople have died out; everyone knows of the Eternal Oasis, yet no one has ever found any trace of the Eternal Oasis or the Spirit Pacifier.

Now the Spirit Pacifier has actually appeared.

It is none other than the Great Spirit Pacifier Lilu Paar from the legends of Juer City.

What is even more shocking is that.

They actually offered the Flower God's blessings to the Dendro Archon.

Not only them.

Those flower spirits who likewise claim to be the Flower God's retinue are saying the same thing.

What does this mean! If I heard correctly, their magnificent meaning is clearly that the Flower God is still alive in the mortal world, and she will personally come to participate in the Dendro Archon's Flower God birthday celebration! (End of chapter)