Baxia Bears the Sea

"It seems Your Majesty is also quite knowledgeable about the situation in the Rift Valley," Qin Yi asked. "In other words, you are also knowledgeable about Saint Dragon Peak?"

You already know a lot about Saint Dragon Peak, why aren't you going to save your father?

"I wouldn't say I understand, but I do know a thing or two about Father God's condition." Qiu Niu, with his short, fat hand, tapped the table and slowly said, "When I mentioned isolating Shenzhou before, I didn't finish the story. It was certainly because He Dao stole my stone pillar, but that was just a trigger. I sensed that the relationship between the people of Shenzhou and the heavens was somewhat delicate, and that was the main reason. Including the Rift Valley and Saint Dragon Peak... I no longer trust them. If one day my sea becomes like the Rift Valley, then I'm doomed. It's better to isolate them completely."

Qin Yi asked in surprise, "So, there's no trace of those people in the Great Wilderness?"

"At least there aren't any obvious signs in the Great Wilderness, and we can't completely shut ourselves off from the outside world, that wouldn't be a good thing." Qiu Niu sighed. "In reality, we don't communicate with the Great Wilderness much, but we use the Feathered People as messengers—in this respect, the Feathered People are a completely trustworthy race."

He was forced into becoming a couch potato...

Qin Yi finally understood why they retreated to the forbidden area. He had thought it was just their habit, but it seemed they had their reasons.

Qiu Niu suddenly smiled and said, "Judging from your performance, you seem to know quite a bit about them? That's quite unusual, a cultivator from the Huiyang realm..."

Qin Yi said seriously, "Don't underestimate Huiyang. In many places, Huiyang is the head of a sect. Do you think everyone is a Qian Yuan Wu Xiang?"

Qiu Niu nodded, which wasn't surprising.

Despite their immense strength in the sea, with Radiant Yang and Qian Yuan realms seemingly everywhere, their numbers are actually quite small compared to their sheer numbers. Not every race is as naturally gifted as the Feathered People. Take the Clam Clan, for example; they have virtually no Qian Yuan realm members, and only a handful possess Radiant Yang realms. An'an is already a super genius and the hope of her race. Therefore, the Feathered People are the strongest race in the sea besides the Dragon Son, holding a unique and extraordinary status.

Other powerful races, such as the Giant Race, Whale Clan, and Shark Clan, either have too few members or are unsuitable for offshore combat, each with its own weaknesses. Among the remaining races, the Sun Gods remain synonymous with strength.

Not to mention an oddball like Qin Yi, who dares to swing a stick and cause trouble in the encirclement; he certainly has the qualifications to get involved in Celestial Person.

And he even has a "door".

Qiu Niu couldn't imagine where the gate came from, especially in the land of Shenzhou, it was truly strange that this thing wasn't monopolized by the Celestial Pivot Divine Palace.

It doesn't matter where it comes from, the key is how to use it.

Qiu Niu finally got back to the main point. "Back to Jianmu, the original decline of Jianmu would not have been so obvious. It's impossible that it still had nine fruits ten thousand years ago, but now only two-thirds remain. This precipitous decline is not a result of gradual accumulation, but rather the result of someone forcibly interfering."

Qin Yi was startled. "Someone can bypass you and interfere?"

"It doesn't necessarily require contact; it only requires distorting the rules in some way," Qiu Niu said. "You should be able to guess that this wonder of heaven and earth is a world of its own, possessing its own spirituality and self-circulating. We can drive its energy to form the core of the array, and so can the Taotie. This is all a result of being close to the Spirit of Jian Mu. As long as the spirit of the Jianmu tree remains, even if the so-called nine-tenths of its Spiritual Qi is hidden deep, it can be spontaneously absorbed and used to grow. As long as heaven and earth do not die, the Jianmu tree will never decay."

Ju Yunxiu recalled the spirit within her painting, which was the will of a small world. If the Spirit of Jian Mu —the will of the Jianmu tree—was disturbed, the entire mechanism would inevitably malfunction. She then asked, "Is this spirit experiencing problems now?"

"This spirit has been dormant for nearly a thousand years." Qiu Niu's expression was solemn. "In these thousand years, Jianmu has survived for two reasons: firstly, through its own inertia, and secondly..."

It paused, then sighed, "Come with me."

Qin Yi Ju Yunxiu exchanged a glance, then followed Qiu Niu out of the secret chamber, completely bewildered, heading straight for the seabed beyond the Jianmu tree.

Following the Jianmu tree, they dived deeper and deeper into the sea, but could not see its roots. Qin Yi suddenly wondered, where exactly is the Jianmu tree rooted? Could it be another path leading to the underworld?

Just as they were thinking this, an extremely powerful barrier appeared in front of them, blocking them from advancing any further.

Qiu Niu smiled and said, "This is a barrier I constructed using the energy of the Jianmu tree, which incorporates Lao Ba's sealing spirit."

The dog's expression grew increasingly serious. "Has the spirit of Jiao Tu been using this place to seal things off all along?"

Qiu Niu said, "That's right. With the power of Jianmu combined with Jiao Tu's closing ability, no one in the world can break through it, not even Wuxiang."

If Qiu Niu is the Spirit of Music, Jiao Tu is the spirit of closure, the strongest barrier in the world, both a guardian and a concealer. No one knows what lies within.

No wonder it stopped helping the Clam Clan; it was too busy.

Qiu Niu reached out and lightly touched the outside of the barrier, and the barrier quietly opened, creating a crack. It led everyone inside and quickly closed the barrier again.

Qin Yi Ju Yunxiu had already widened their eyes.

The roots of the Jianmu tree are not deep in the ocean or the earth's core as people imagine; they are exposed.

Roots and tendrils intertwined, all wrapped around a single creature...

A giant tortoise stretches as far as the eye can see, its size immeasurable, its head and tail and limbs invisible, its vast expanse marked only by its spine, its sturdy body supporting a Jianmu tree, motionless.

Baxia!

Wuxiang... no, the Ancestral Saint Dragon Son, there is more than just Qiuniu!

"The Spirit of Jian Mu is in slumber, and Jianmu itself can no longer stand," Qiu Niu said calmly. "It may fly to the sky at any time, or it may burrow into the earth at any time, no longer existing in this world, and be seized to the heavens beyond. So I suppress it above, not daring to leave easily, while the second brother stands below, preventing it from escaping into the underworld."

Qin Yi stared in shock at Baxia's body. Countless people lived on the Jianmu tree, but who would have thought that its roots were not underground, but on Baxia's back!

The powerful Ancestor Saint Demon carried an underwater world and supported the foundation of the entire forbidden area of the sea!

Qiu Niu stared at Gouzi, his eyes icy cold. "So, Taotie, what are you here for?"

The dog stared blankly at Baxia, stammering, "I... I don't know what's going on..."

Qiu Niu snorted coldly, "Baxia itself is also in slumber. The roots of Jianmu are intertwined, drawing its blood and flesh, while its divine consciousness is within Jianmu, temporarily taking over the function of Spirit of Jian Mu... It nourishes this sea area with its blood and flesh, and suppresses the peace of this sea with its soul. I will not allow anyone to disrupt it."

Ju Yunxiu exclaimed, "Don't the other Dragon Son know?"

"Some know, some don't," Qiu Niu said calmly. "We're not all of one mind to begin with. Once some people find out, who knows what kind of trouble they'll cause? I don't dare to gamble. Even with the Clam Clan, I don't dare to tell them that Jiao Tu isn't here, nor do I dare to personally help Clam Clan without causing confusion... I can only ask them to make do."

There might be a traitor among them; this was the first thing Qin Yi thought of.

Sure enough, Qiu Niu continued, "I am engrossed in music and do not concern myself with anything else. I appear no different from I have been for tens of thousands of years, also because I do not want some people to notice anything amiss."

Qin Yi couldn't help but say, "The Heavenly Being have discovered that the Jianmu tree's trajectory isn't as they predicted. Won't they come down to investigate themselves? What's the point of Your Majesty putting on a show?"

Qiu Niu sneered, "They can't get in unless there's a traitor inside."

He then looked at Gouzi. Gouzi was speechless and angrily retorted, "Idiot! If I were here to be a spy, you'd all be dead by now! Why are you waiting until now!"

Qiu Niu remained noncommittal, only saying, "I cannot leave the treetop for too long. Now you should understand?"

Qin Yi sighed, "I understand."

"The Door of Myriad Mysteries has no Spiritual Qi of its own, but it stubbornly twists everything toward its own ideal of perfection," Qiu Niu said. "I need someone to enter and place the Door of Myriad Mysteries inside to help the Spirit of Jian Mu revive and to twist the Jianmu tree itself back to its original state. But that alone is not enough; it is too passive and too slow. I need music to actively activate it."

He paused, then turned to Ju Yunxiu and said softly, "Elder Sister, I have never lied to you. Only you can play music that resonates with heaven and earth and helps living beings revive."