It wasn't just Lu Yin who saw Great Master Lan Ye die. Wei Heng, One Leaf Green Lotus, Qing Yun, Granny Yin, and the others saw it too. They all fell silent. Sometimes, death came without warning.
Lu Yin took a step and appeared at the place where Great Master Lan Ye had died. Nothing remained. Beneath his feet lay the shattered remnants of the Mother Tree.
The Mother Tree, which had once supported the entire Lan Universe, had crumbled into fragments. As the universe rebooted, it continued to shrink.
Before long, the Mother Tree would vanish forever.
Would a new Mother Tree appear then?
Lu Yin walked across the Mother Tree's remains and touched its long-dried bark. It was rough, and crumbled at the slightest pressure.
He didn't know why, but watching the Mother Tree break apart as the universe rebooted filled him with sorrow. Was the Mother Tree the first life in the universe? If the universe was gone, then it would be gone too.
What did this tree mean to the Lan Universe? A child?
The universe was rebooting, being destroyed, and the Mother Tree was crumbling along with it. If the universe had a mind, it would be like watching its own child fall apart before its eyes, helpless to stop it. The thought was suffocating.
Lu Yin crouched and placed a hand on the Mother Tree's remains. He murmured, "I'll see you off." Then, his power spread in an instant, shattering the remnants.
In a flash, the Mother Tree turned to ash and vanished into the starry sky.
Lu Yin remained crouched as ash swirled around him. Within it, hazy green lights appeared, continually entering his body.
Lu Yin was startled. What was this?
He raised a hand and let the green lights fall onto