The banyan tree's branches and leaves suddenly began to rustle. It found it strange, as though someone were speaking to it.
"What is it? I'm asking you."
The voice sounded again, and it finally noticed Jiang Lu sitting atop it.
It had survived for thousands of years before cultivating this trace of Divine Sense. Now, someone could actually hear it speak, and it was immediately overjoyed.
"You can hear me speak. Are you a cultivator?"
The Tree Spirit's voice rang out.
"Of course. Why were you sighing just now?"
Jiang Lu continued to ask.
Having received an answer, the Tree Spirit's momentary delight faded. Recalling the news it had heard, it told her everything.
"I have lived here for thousands of years. I watched them flee famine and settle here, bear children and raise families. I have seen generation after generation off and witnessed all the myriad faces of the world."
"I sigh for the people here. They are as fragile as duckweed drifting on the water; any natural disaster or human calamity can knock them down."
Listening to it, Jiang Lu came to understand what had been happening in this world.
Suddenly, she heard excited voices beneath the tree and craned her neck to look down.
They immediately scrambled up from the ground, dusted the dirt from their clothes, and gathered before him one by one.
"He's back! The village chief is back!"
"Village Chief, how did it go?"
Their faces were filled with urgency as they pressed him anxiously for answers.
Their expressions were agitated, carrying a thread of hope.
The village chief looked at them, seemingly wanting to speak but holding back. A glimmer of tears flashed in his eyes before it finally turned into a long sigh.
"Alas—"
In an instant, the surrounding clamor vanished. The