Chapter 223: The One I Love Is Gone, No One Shall Ever See My Glorious Appearance Again

It was only later, because the person he loved most died, that this once-great Mountain God turned white-haired overnight and, from then on, only appeared in the guise of an old man.

He once said: "With the one I love gone, no one will ever see my glorious appearance again; I only wish to preserve this memory, just like the scene from back then."

The old tree demon's life had been defined by the departure of his beloved, and even after death, his soul could find no rest; it was too bitter, far too bitter.

For him, perhaps death could be considered a true release?

"Old tree demon, I won't talk about you anymore, I won't dislike you anymore, okay?"

Lv Luo could not help but hug the old tree demon's thick branches, tears uncontrollably filling her eyes, her voice already somewhat choked with sobs.

"Alright, alright, it is time for me to go find her. So much time has passed, I wonder if she still remembers me."

The old tree demon shook his branches, letting out a faint, long sigh; there was no reluctance as one might imagine, but rather a sense of relief.

Su Chen's heart was touched, and he vaguely realized something.

Before he could react, the old tree demon transformed into specks of starlight; the previously gloomy sky was instantly illuminated, carrying vitality as it scattered toward the surrounding forests, the sky filled with brilliance, making it almost impossible to see other scenery—the light was dazzling, yet not blinding.

Su Chen reached out and gently touched one of the light specks, feeling only a warmth that carried the unique vitality of trees, extremely gentle.

As this tree dissipated, Su Chen and Lv Luo had yet to react.

The originally solid ground suddenly emitted a rumbling, thunderous sound, and it began to collapse downward with them at the center; before they could even react, they had already fallen.

Their speed of descent grew faster and faster, with nothing to grab onto in the surroundings; looking down, it was bottomless, and only the sound of whistling, biting wind reached their ears.

"Master!"

Lv Luo couldn't help but shout, immediately releasing pale green Spiritual Power; countless branches sprouted from her palms, weaving into a giant net that only just managed to catch the two of them before they hit the ground.

By the time the two safely reached the bottom, a silver-haired young man's figure suddenly appeared where the old tree had been.

The man had delicate features, and his light green pupils revealed vitality, but his entire body was covered in dense, intricate runes, even on his face and neck, obscuring his original appearance.

He smiled lightly, opened his mouth, and said: "Great Emperor Dragon, do not let me down."

As his voice fell, with him as the center, his entire spiritual body disintegrated, finally turning into specks of starlight and completely vanishing into nothingness.

On the other side, the two landed steadily; although they had the plant net as a cushion, Lv Luo still felt like her bottom was about to split in two. She stumbled to her feet, rubbed her backside, and muttered: "How could it be so sudden? The old tree demon didn't even..."

Before she could finish her sentence, the expression on her face froze, suddenly realizing that the old tree demon was gone, and even if she complained, there would be no one to listen.

She felt somewhat dejected, her little head drooping down.

Su Chen didn't feel good either; although he didn't have much of an impression of the old tree demon, he still respected this spirit of self-sacrifice.

After all, in that kind of stalemate, if he were the old tree demon, he might not necessarily choose to sacrifice himself to provide vitality for others to escape.

At this moment, in a place they could not see, the original vitality throughout the entire Illusion Realm was gradually collapsing.

Many plants had already begun to lose their life force; the speed was slow, but visible to the naked eye, as the once vast forest gradually turned a deathly gray.

"It's okay."

Su Chen didn't know what to say to comfort her, and after holding it in for a long time, he only managed to squeeze out these three dry words. Lv Luo also knew that now was not the time to be dejected; the old tree demon had exhausted his own life to create a glimmer of hope for them.

If they were to lose heart, wouldn't they be failing the old tree demon's sacrifice?

Thinking of this, Lv Luo quickly cheered herself up.

"No, no, we must pull ourselves together now; we must leave this ghost place as soon as possible!"

Lv Luo couldn't help but say, her small hands unconsciously clenching into fists, "I wonder who it was, so insidious, to actually turn a book spirit into a Gatekeeper Spirit."

By the end, Lv Luo's eyes couldn't help but grow moist again, though she quickly held it back.

Su Chen hugged Lv Luo without saying a word; at this moment, a warm embrace was far more useful than a thousand words.

The two then began to examine the surrounding environment; ahead lay darkness, a long black tunnel with traces of manual excavation. It was clear that no one had been here for a long time, as the surroundings were covered in thick dust and spiderwebs.

"This secret passage is somewhat uneasy."

Lv Luo couldn't help but say; her intuition was sharp, and the air was damp with a cold, eerie aura that made one physically uncomfortable.

Su Chen naturally sensed it too, but this was the only path they could take, and even if it were a mountain of blades or a sea of fire, they had to venture through it.

Thinking of this, Su Chen took the lead to head the charge.

Not long after walking, the view gradually widened, and what came into sight was a black river—though it was not purely black.

Faintly, fish were swimming inside; the scales of those fish shimmered and sparkled, and even in the dark water, they appeared exceptionally brilliant and beautiful.

Su Chen only took one look before recognizing them as Golden Scale Carp.

This kind of Golden Scale Carp was extremely precious; outside, it could be said that one fish was hard to come by. Not only did their bodies contain abundant Spiritual Power, but one could almost say their entire bodies were treasures.

Even if just one appeared outside, it would cause major sects to scramble and fight over it. In this obscure little stream, there were actually over a hundred of them! Even Lv Luo, who had seen many grand scenes, couldn't help but be shocked by such extravagant wealth.

"Such precious fish, just kept in this river?"

Lv Luo couldn't help but mutter to herself, disbelief flashing in her eyes.

Just what kind of person was so wealthy? According to her understanding, in this small world, no sect could achieve such a level.

Thinking of this, Lv Luo's eyes carried a hint of deep thought.

"I'll go down and take a look. To prevent danger, use your vines to pull me; if you see that the situation is wrong, pull me up immediately."

Su Chen said solemnly to Lv Luo.

In such an ordinary place, to be able to see such precious creatures—where there is an anomaly, there must be a demon.

However, there is bravery under heavy reward; if he could bring these cultivation resources back, it would definitely be a huge boost for the Su Family.

After thinking it over, Su Chen decided to give it a try.

Lv Luo immediately released the vines, tightly wrapping them around Su Chen's waist to ensure they were secure, and only then did he slowly climb down.

(End of chapter)