Chapter 459: The Call of the Soul Land, 【Seeds and Wisdom】

On the vast, open wilderness, Jier lay on the ground in a sprawl, fast asleep; not far from him, a campfire was burning with a whooshing sound.

The campfire was burning vigorously, much like the life of Jier himself. But if anyone were to observe this campfire closely, they could see a silver lady's ring among the firewood, half-buried and half-exposed in the center of the ashes.

The wilderness was quite empty, far less lively than in previous days; on the lush green grass, one or two tiny mushrooms would occasionally peek out from between the blades of grass, but they seemed to be growing poorly due to a lack of nutrients.

A warm spring breeze blew across the extremely empty wilderness, and a rustling sound from an unknown source woke Jier, who had been fast asleep.

"Hmm, what, what's going on?" Jier climbed up from the ground in a daze; he rubbed his eyes, but the usual sensation of rubbing his eyes did not come. He looked around in confusion, discovering that the surrounding scenery had a peculiar sense of familiarity.

"This is? Where is this? I have an impression, I remember I have an impression?" Jier patted his body, brushing off the grass clippings, and reached out with his fingers to flick away a few small mushrooms from the surface of his body.

He walked two steps toward the campfire, stretching out his hands to feel the warm sensation the campfire brought him.

Jier suddenly remembered where he was at this moment.

This was his Soul Land!

The lingering souls and resentment of those he had killed before had chased him here for many days, causing his rest to become extremely poor during that period. But later in Yemei Town, he obtained a magical Potion from the Sasi Family Heir, and after drinking it, he transformed into a lion in his dream, tearing all those annoying guys to pieces. Since then, he had never been disturbed in his dreams or sleep by lingering souls of resentment.

"But there is nothing around, why did I come here again?" Just as Jier was puzzled, a small pitch-black bird flew out from above his head, circling around Jier continuously.

"Hey, Shadow Bird! It seems that great bird deity still has some credibility; this thing can really manifest in the Soul Land. But there are no lingering souls of resentment disturbing me around here, so now I can't test if you little thing can deal with those ghosts that stick to my soul like maltose."

Jier shook his head, extending a finger to let the Shadow Bird land on his fingertip, observing it carefully from left to right.

Perhaps because the Soul Land was a pitch-black wilderness, or perhaps because it was currently night in the outside world, Jier felt this little thing was much more energetic now than during the day.

He didn't know if it was an illusion.

Rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle—a faint sound of leaves swaying came from afar.

If it were during the day, if it were in the real world, Jier might have subconsciously ignored this faint sound of leaves shaking and flapping. But this was his Soul Land; a place empty of everything, with only a roaring campfire existing. There should only be the sound of his breathing and the crackling of the burning campfire here.

Any extra sound was strange.

Jier swallowed a mouthful of saliva, pricking up his ears to pay attention to where the sound of the leaves swaying was coming from.

It seemed to be from the front, yet it also seemed that any direction around him was correct. Jier could not suppress his curiosity; playing with his only 'weapon' at the moment, the Shadow Bird, in his hand, he cautiously walked slowly in a random direction.

"Come..."

In the darkness ahead, a thick, deep voice was calling to him.

Jier was startled at first, but then he relaxed, because his intuition told him that the existence calling him was not dangerous.

So Jier continued to walk forward, but for the sake of safety, Jier gripped the Shadow Bird in his fist, both hiding his only means of attack here and being able to quickly swing his arm to throw it out for battle at any time.

"Come here... young man."

The calling voice was clearer; it seemed that the person was right in front.

Jier hesitated and looked back at his campfire, discovering that he had walked for quite a while, yet the campfire seemed to have remained thirty or forty meters behind him the whole time, never changing?

This discovery made Jier raise his eyebrows, so he walked forward another ten meters and turned his head to look; the distance between himself and the campfire really hadn't changed at all, still about thirty or forty meters away.

Jier then turned his body sideways, twisting his head to look at the campfire behind him while moving his body straight forward, wanting to see if this would cause any change.

"Hehehehe, interesting child."

The calling voice was even clearer, seeming to be not far ahead. As for Jier, he discovered that even if he turned his head and kept staring at the campfire behind him, and his body moved forward, away from the campfire, the straight-line distance between him and the campfire would not change at all.

"Hmm, well, it's the place where the soul resides; some strange phenomena are very normal, very normal." Jier forced this explanation in his mouth and turned his head to look at where the thick, deep voice came from.

Following his movement, in the shadows of the wilderness ahead, a small tree over two meters tall gradually appeared. What was different was that this small tree had a body outline similar to a Human: the tree roots were like legs, standing apart on the ground; the trunk was like a torso, straight, tall, and sturdy; the branches were like arms, stretching straight toward the pitch-black sky.

And in the position of the head was a tree burl shaped like a Human Head, with tree bark patterns resembling Human facial features on it, having eyes, eyebrows, a nose, a mouth, and surprisingly, ears on both sides.

As for the small tree's leaves, they were the fingers it stretched toward the sky.

Jier cautiously kept a certain distance from this existence that was calling him, not getting too close, maintaining a safe distance where they could communicate and see each other.

"Are you the one calling me here? I don't come here often; is my arrival here this time your doing?" Jier asked first.

The tree burl shaped like a human head nodded, the bark mouth opening and closing, and the thick, deep voice emerged from the wooden mouth: "Young man, please do not be nervous. I am Bio, the very same big tree you saw this evening."

Jier's eyes lit up, and he understood instantly: "You are that big tree? You can speak! You have wisdom!"

"Hehehe, everyone says I am a wise big tree, so how could I not have wisdom? I have lived for a thousand years; I have long possessed wisdom and have long thought about the meaning of life. I rejoice when little birds land on my branches, I am happy when rain falls from the sky, I feel afraid when lightning strikes, and I feel sorrow for every life that dies around me."

"That was an ancient ballad."

"I was a tree seed, packed in a pocket."

"This was not my pocket, only because I was accidentally stuck here."

"The owner of the pocket traveled far, and I also once followed him to see this world."

"But I was only a seed then, chaotic and unaware."

"Until one day, the pocket shook, and a large hand rummaged for something."

"I fell out because of this, rolling onto the earth."

"After the owner of the pocket saw me, he only smiled, greeted me, and gave me a blessing."

"He then walked away, while I remained in place, carefully and lonely observing this world."

"What a vast world it is!"

"The sky is boundless and far, the earth extends forever."

"The weather changes daily, animals jump past."

"Thunder rumbles, heavy rain falls."

"I drank my fill of nourishment from the sky, and was gently covered by Mother Earth, soft and moist."

"In the warm darkness from the mother's body, I stretched out my roots and tender shoots."

"Breaking through the large hand that Mother had covered over my head, I saw the deep sky once again."

"The sunlight was just right, so I grew quietly."

"The earth was fertile, so I grew sturdily."

"The wind blew past, and I cheered: 'I have come to this world!'."

"The beast swept past, and I greeted it: 'The child of the earth greets you!'."

"I look up at the sky and find the sun scorching; it rises from the east every day, travels across the firmament, and sets in the west."

"I look up at the night sky and find the moon cold and clear; it rises in turn every day, constantly undergoing changes."

"I hold the firmament in awe, that divine existence circling above the horizon, and I kowtow to it one by one, but there is never a response."

"Oh, only then did I realize that I am a tree."

"Every time I greet the small beasts beside me, they do not hear."

"Every time I greet the sun above my head, it does not hear either."

"Every time I greet the moon in the firmament, they do not hear."

"Even when I greet the gods who claim to know all in the world, they cannot hear me either."

"I am very distressed; the fruit I bear has become sour and bitter, the birds no longer peck at it, and the small beasts do not taste what falls to the ground."

"The passing Dwarf points at me, judging me to be a sad tree, which is why I bear sad fruit."

"I wake up with a start; I love this world so much."

"The me of the past was so happy every single day."

"My roots would suckle the milk of Mother Earth, and my branches and leaves would shine with the grace bestowed by the Sun Father."

"I used to grow incessantly every day, and I would send a sincere greeting to every life I encountered."

"I began to think silently—one year, ten years, one hundred years—and humbly sought wisdom from my surroundings."

"I sought wisdom from Mother Earth, and Mother taught me the generosity and kindness of the earth."

"I sought wisdom from the Sun Father, and Father taught me the generosity and warmth of the sun."

"I sought wisdom from the Lord of the Sky, and He taught me the diligence and swiftness of the storm."

"I sought wisdom from the Lord of the Beasts, and He taught me the insignificance and greatness of life."

"I sought wisdom from the small bird that flew by, and it taught me how to find grass seeds and grubs."

"I sought wisdom from the Wolf Pack that ran by, and they taught me what unity and obedience are."

"I sought wisdom from the small grass beside me, and they taught me what forbearance and expectation are."

"I sought wisdom from the flower clusters, and they told me that life must strive to bloom with beauty."

"I sought wisdom from the Dwarf, and they told me that I could sway my branches and leaves to allow me to communicate directly with others."

"So I swayed my branches and leaves, making a rustling sound to attract people's attention."

"People were surprised, fearful, relieved, and awestruck. And they sought wisdom from me."

"I told them of the generosity and kindness of Mother Earth."

"I told them of the generosity and warmth of the Sun Father."

"I told them how the storm of the Lord of the Sky is diligent and swift."

"I told them the views of the Lord of the Beasts on life."

"I told them how the small bird finds grass seeds and grubs."

"I told them of the unity and obedience of the Wolf Pack."

"I told them how the small grass practices forbearance and looks forward to the day it grows up."

"I told them of the flower clusters' pursuit of blooming beautifully."

"I told them that the Dwarf are not stubborn or dull; they have long lives, and the elder with the white beard has more wisdom than I."

"They said no, that I am the truly wise tree."

"Oh, young man, tell me, do I truly possess wisdom?"

The tree before him, named Bio, narrated its life slowly in a thick, steady voice.

Jier did not feel sleepy at all; he listened carefully to this rather long poem, feeling that the other was truly remarkable—a tree that started from a plain, unremarkable seed, gradually gained a self, sought wisdom, and finally truly became wise.

It was not only wise, but being able to enter Jier's Soul Land to communicate with him, it clearly also possessed some special abilities.

"Then, are you entering my Soul Land this time to draw wisdom from a young man like me, or to generously bestow wisdom upon me?"

Jier sat on the ground, looking up and asking the tree Bio.

"Young man, I have come to tell you some warnings," the tree Bio said slowly.

"Warnings? Could you explain in detail?" Jier frowned, and some bad premonitions rose in his heart.

The tree Bio began to mutter in a slow but wise tone again: "In the mountain forests far away."

"Those who have been harmed by fire."

"Are also harming others."

"Fear and despair fill every Human Mind."

"Regardless of high or low, inside or out, or one another."

"Only because the one harmed most deeply by the fire."

"Curls up in the darkness to lick their wounds."

"Waiting for the messenger from afar to bring news."

"When the messenger of fire brings a satisfactory answer."

"Everyone will be buried in the embrace of the mother."

"Please quicken your pace and beware of the shadows."

"The key to breaking the situation lies in the hands of the messenger of fire."

"Young man, please remember."

"Please quicken your pace and beware of the shadows."

"The key to breaking the situation lies in the hands of the messenger of fire."

Jier frowned tightly and looked at the tree Bio before him with a strange expression: "Big brother, you are right in front of me; if you want to tell me something, could you please stop speaking in riddles?"

"What you're saying sounds like it has to do with the villagers of Changmai Village. Hiss—so there are still complications, ah, ah, ah, ah, I hate this." Jier rubbed his hair vigorously in frustration.

Regarding Jier's complaints, Dashu Bi'ao did not say much, only singing another Prophecy Poem in a low voice to Jier.

"Panicked companions."

"Lost treasure."

"Suspicious people."

"Various possibilities."

"When you are agitated."

"Why not look back."

"Look deep into your heart."

"The answer is right there."

"Hey, hey, hey, big brother, why again?"

Jier let out a strange cry, and just as he was about to complain a bit more, he felt his vision blur, and when he climbed back up.

Jier discovered he had already returned to his tent, inside his Dog Fur Sleeping Bag.

No, he hadn't returned anywhere; it should be said that he hadn't gone anywhere before, he had just been in a spiritual world, listening to a slow-talking wise great tree recite three sets of poems. The first was the life story of Dashu Bi'ao, and the latter two were the reasons the other party had sought him out.

To provide him with warnings.

Two warnings, the former regarding the villagers of Changmai Village.

Then what about the latter?

Vaguely, Jier seemed to remember, did he mention something about a lost treasure?

Treasure?

Lost?

Jier was startled, suddenly realizing something, and looked down into his arms.

But he did not find the Sacred Wooden Bowl that should have been held in his arms.

"No way? This thing is lost???" Jier let out a strange cry.

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