Deep into the Forest Sea, the Greenwood Tribe Remnants

Three days later, outside the Mountain Gate of the Heavenly Star Pavilion.

The party bound for the Endless Forest Sea had assembled. Ye Chen and Emperor Xuanwu stood at the front, with Ye Yun and Mo Yu attending on either side. Lin Qingxue had also arrived as promised. She had changed into a fitted blue-green outfit suited for travel, tied up her long hair, and strapped a sword to her back, adding a dashing air to her delicate beauty.

Shi Meng gazed longingly at the party, ready to depart, and grumbled in his deep voice, "Young master, do you really not need me along? There might be some giant beasts in that big forest too blind to know better. My fists could use a bit of exercise..." He rubbed his palm-leaf-fan-sized hands together, his face full of longing.

Ye Ling covered her mouth and chuckled beside him. "Brother Shi, just stay here and look after the place. The young master said the Forest Sea is a special environment. Your blood vitality is too strong, and you would easily attract ancient beasts sensitive to it."

"Exactly, exactly," a chubby administrative disciple beside them teased. "Commander Shi, with your imposing presence, once you stepped into the forest, even the insects within a hundred li would probably stop chirping. How would the young master search for treasures quietly?"

Everyone burst into laughter. Shi Meng scratched his head, then accepted it, thumping his chest in assurance. "All right! Don't worry, young master. With Old Shi here, not even a blade of grass will go missing! Go ahead. I'll guard the place!"

Ye Chen nodded. After giving a few instructions to Ye Ling and the guest elders staying behind, he delayed no further.

"Let's go."

With a sweep of his sleeve, a gentle force lifted Lin Qingxue. Together with Emperor Xuanwu, Ye Yun, and Mo Yu, they became streaks of light and sped toward the southern horizon.

The Endless Forest Sea lay in the far south of the Primordial Wilderness Continent, far more than ten million li from Black Wind Mountain. Even at their speed, Ye Chen's party would need over ten days to reach it.

Along the way, they crossed mountains and great rivers, swept past cities and kingdoms, and witnessed the vastness and diversity of the Primordial Wilderness Continent. The farther south they traveled, the hotter and more humid the climate became, and the denser and greener the vegetation grew. The air was thick with the spiritual energy of plants and a faint primeval aura.

Lin Qingxue had grown up in the Myriad Sword Mountains. Though she had seen forests before, traveling south and watching the vegetation below gradually change from temperate broadleaf forests to tropical rainforests, and finally to seemingly boundless primeval jungles that blotted out the sky, still filled her with awe. The trees regularly towered hundreds of zhang high, their crowns joining into a green ocean. Unfamiliar beast roars and bird cries drifted faintly from within, carrying mystery and danger.

"This is the edge of the Endless Forest Sea." That day, Lin Qingxue pointed at the dark green ocean ahead, truly boundless in every sense, and spoke softly. Even from high in the sky, its end lay beyond the reach of their eyes. There was only layer upon layer of green in varying shades, stretching to the hazy meeting of heaven and earth.

Ye Chen halted his flight and hovered above the Forest Sea. He took out the green jade slip True Person Yunhe had given him, sank his divine sense into it, and compared its map with the terrain below.

The jade slip's map showed that they were at the northeastern edge of the Forest Sea. To reach the central region where the World Tree Remnant Root lay, they needed to travel roughly thirty thousand li southwest. The map marked a winding "relatively safe route" that passed through narrow corridors between several dangerous regions, avoiding red dots labeled "ancient beast lair," "hallucinogenic poisonous miasma," and "spatial rift."

"Stay close, conceal your auras, and avoid unnecessary fights as much as possible," Ye Chen instructed. He descended first, flying southwest just above the canopy that spread over the Forest Sea like a vast parasol.

Emperor Xuanwu followed closely. His aura was completely concealed, but he remained on the highest alert. Ye Yun and Mo Yu guarded the left and right flanks. Lin Qingxue stayed in the center, her Ice Crystal Sword already in hand and her spiritual power circulating, ready for anything unexpected.

The moment they entered the Forest Sea, everything felt different.

The world below was far from silent, filled instead with a dense chorus of strange sounds. Giant ferns rustled in the breeze, vines hung like enormous pythons, and brilliantly colored, peculiar insects flew past on beating wings. Low growls and heavy footsteps from unknown beasts sounded in the distance. The air was humid and stifling, mingling the scents of soil, rotting leaves, flowers, and a faint sweet, bloody odor. Sunlight filtered through overlapping branches and leaves, becoming mottled shafts that fell upon dim forest clearings, where light and shadow blurred together.

The spiritual energy here was unusually active, with wood-aspected spiritual energy especially abundant. Yet violent, chaotic traces mingled within it, making it clear that not every area was suitable for cultivation.

Following the jade slip's directions, the party carefully threaded through the giant trees. The first stretch was fairly peaceful. They only occasionally needed to detour around enormous beehives radiating danger or nests of strange birds perched in the canopy.

But after they had traveled roughly a thousand li deeper, trouble began.

"Watch the left!" Mo Yu warned in a low shout, his figure instantly blurring.

Almost simultaneously, dozens of ink-black spikes carrying a foul stench shot from a seemingly ordinary mass of enormous vines on the left! As swift as lightning, they blanketed the party's position.

Ye Yun reacted at once. Before his sword even left its sheath, a barrier of condensed sword qi had already spread out.

Clang, clang, clang!

The black spikes struck the sword qi barrier with the sharp ring of clashing metal. They failed to penetrate it, but ripples spread across its surface, revealing the considerable force behind them.

Mo Yu reappeared on the other side. His short blade traced a dark gleam, severing several animated vines trying to coil around them from behind. Dark red sap flowed from the severed ends, and the vines hissed like crying infants before quickly withdrawing into the darkness.

"Wailing Ghost Vine and Bone-Eroding Bee Stingers," Lin Qingxue identified them, her expression tightening slightly. "Both are common, vicious threats in the Forest Sea, adept at ambushes. We may have entered their hunting grounds."

Ye Chen glanced over the restless vines and the bee swarm hidden in the shadows without making a move. These minor troubles were just right for letting Ye Yun and the others hone their skills and adjust to the Forest Sea.

"Clear them out. Then we continue," he said calmly.

"Yes!" Ye Yun and Mo Yu answered, instantly darting out as two blurred figures.

Ye Yun's swordplay was broad and sweeping, sword qi crisscrossing everywhere. Wherever he passed, vines were chopped into pieces, and the bone-eroding bees hiding among them were shredded by his sword qi. Mo Yu, meanwhile, moved like death in the shadows, his movements elusive and unpredictable. Every flash of his short blade precisely destroyed a hive or a vine's core.

The two worked together seamlessly and with tremendous efficiency. In mere moments, every threat in the area had been eliminated, leaving only scattered wreckage and a foul stench that slowly faded.

Lin Qingxue watched with inward astonishment. The combat strength Ye Yun and Mo Yu displayed far surpassed that of ordinary Spirit Transformation cultivators. Even among the Heavenly Sword Pavilion's inner disciples, they would rank at the very top. The Heavenly Star Pavilion truly harbored hidden dragons and crouching tigers.

They continued onward. According to the map, they needed to cross a region called the Misty Swamp. Thick gray-white fog shrouded it year-round, reducing visibility to almost nothing. The fog contained a mild hallucinogenic toxin, while bottomless mire lay below, concealing all kinds of poisonous aquatic insects and lurking ancient crocodilian beasts.

The jade slip warned that they had to advance by leaping across several "solid rock outcrops" protruding from the swamp. They must not fly too high, or they would disturb the "swarms of Illusion Mist Demon Bats" dwelling in the fog.

Concealing their auras and holding their breath, they cautiously moved between the slippery rocks. The fog was thick and clinging, and it greatly suppressed their divine sense, restricting their perception to only a few zhang around them. Bubbles occasionally gurgled up from the mire below, releasing a rotten smell.

Suddenly, Ye Chen, who was leading the way, stopped.

"Something is approaching. A great many of them," he said calmly.

Everyone immediately focused and prepared themselves. Moments later, a dense fluttering of wings rose from the surrounding fog, racing toward them from afar!

"Illusion Mist Demon Bats! Prepare to fight!" Lin Qingxue cried softly, a cold gleam rising from her Ice Crystal Sword.

Yet before the bat swarm fully emerged, Ye Chen merely lifted his eyes slightly and glanced toward the churning fog.

No aura erupted, nor did he employ any divine ability.

But wherever his gaze fell, the surging wingbeats and the chaotic mental fluctuations radiating from the demon bats abruptly vanished, as though an invisible hand had seized them by the throat!

The thick fog remained, but the malice and agitation within it instantly subsided without a trace.

It was as though, upon sensing some incomprehensible, irresistible existence, the demon bats had chosen to retreat far away out of sheer instinct.

Ye Yun, Mo Yu, and Lin Qingxue all froze for a moment, then looked at Ye Chen's back with even deeper reverence. This was the crushing weight of absolute strength. He did not need to act; his mere presence could make danger retreat on its own.

A glimmer of understanding passed through Emperor Xuanwu's eyes. The young master's Primordial Immortal Body contained the aura of the universe's origin, giving him an innate superiority over demonic beasts like these, which possessed little intelligence and acted on instinct.

They crossed the Misty Swamp and passed through several more hazardous regions, encountering scares but no real harm. Along the way, they also gathered several spiritual herbs marked on the jade slip that were rarely seen in the outside world-an unexpected harvest.

Traveling by day and sheltering at night, when the Forest Sea was even more dangerous, they followed the map for roughly seven days before finally nearing the central region.

The surrounding trees grew ever taller and more ancient. Some trunks were as broad as small hills, their bark weathered like dragon scales and entwined with ancient vines that glowed faintly. The concentration of spiritual energy reached an astonishing level, nearly condensing into a thin spiritual mist. Every breath seemed to bring a faint increase in cultivation. Rare birds and exotic beasts long vanished from the outside world began to appear in the forest. They were highly spiritual, and most did not attack unprovoked, merely studying these uninvited visitors with curious or wary eyes.

"A hundred li ahead should be the Ancient Tree Basin, where the World Tree Remnant Root lies," Lin Qingxue confirmed, comparing the jade slip with the accounts in an ancient travelogue from the Heavenly Sword Pavilion.

Ye Chen also felt a faint resonance from the Star Map fragment in his sea of consciousness, pointing straight ahead.

Everyone's spirits lifted, and they increased their speed.

Yet just as they were about to enter a visibly older forest filled with a vast, primeval aura, something suddenly changed!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several emerald beams shot like spirit serpents from the branches and leaves of the giant trees below. Rather than attacking, they swiftly wove together before the party, forming a light barrier shimmering with runes that blocked their path.

At the same time, figures silently appeared atop the giant trees around them.

Their skin was bronze-toned, their bodies lean and athletic. They wore simple garments woven from bark, vines, and animal hides, and painted patterns on their bodies gave off the fresh fragrance of plants. In their hands were wooden spears and longbows that looked crude but faintly shimmered with green light. Their eyes were sharp and wary, carrying unmistakable hostility.

Even more striking was the peculiar connection almost every one of them shared with the giant trees beneath them or the surrounding plants. Their auras seemed to merge with the entire forest, making them easy to overlook without careful scrutiny.

"Outsiders! Halt!" Their leader, a tall middle-aged man with intricate vine patterns painted across his face, shouted in slightly stiff but clear speech in the common tongue of the Primordial Wilderness. "This is the Greenwood Tribe's sacred ground. Outsiders are not welcome! Leave at once!"

His aura was powerful, unmistakably at the Spirit Transformation Late Stage. The dozens of tribespeople behind him were all at the Nascent Soul stage or even the early Spirit Transformation stage. More importantly, in this forest that was their home ground, their auras resonated with the environment, exerting pressure far beyond that of others at the same cultivation level.

"The Greenwood Tribe?" Lin Qingxue murmured. "Rumor has it that descendants of ancient peoples live deep within the Endless Forest Sea, guarding the World Tree Remnant Root without contact with the outside world. So they really do exist."

Ye Chen studied these members of the Greenwood Tribe. He could clearly sense a pure, ancient life energy flowing through their bodies, sharing the forest's origin and existing in symbiosis with it. They did indeed seem to be descendants who had guarded this place for generations.

"We mean no harm. We have only come to explore the ancient ruins and find an object," Ye Chen said evenly. "Once we find it, we will leave without disturbing this place's peace."

"How could we allow outsiders to covet anything within our sacred ground?" the Greenwood Tribe leader refused flatly, the green light on his wooden spear intensifying. "Leave at once! Otherwise, do not blame us for driving you out with the forest's wrath!"

As he spoke, the surrounding giant trees seemed to come alive. Their branches and leaves moved without wind, rustling as an invisible pressure converged from every direction and locked onto Ye Chen's party. The weapons in the tribespeople's hands also began to glow. They were plainly ready to attack.

Ye Yun and Mo Yu instantly readied themselves for battle, while Lin Qingxue tightened her grip on her sword.

Emperor Xuanwu frowned slightly and stepped half a pace forward, his deep voice carrying unquestionable authority. "Stand aside."

Those two words struck every member of the Greenwood Tribe like a heavy hammer to the heart, churning their blood and momentarily stalling the forest's momentum they had gathered! Their leader went pale, staring at Emperor Xuanwu with horror and disbelief.

Just as the conflict stood on the brink of eruption-

"Uncle Mu Yan! Wait!"

A girl's voice, clear as a spring in the forest, came from behind.

A nimble green figure leaped from an especially thick giant tree and landed between the two sides.

The newcomer was a girl who looked about sixteen or seventeen by human standards, with healthy wheat-colored skin, delicate features, and large eyes as pure and lively as a forest fawn's. She wore simple clothing similar to the other Greenwood tribespeople, but a garland woven from unknown little flowers and emerald vines crowned her head. Ornaments strung from plant seeds jingled around her wrists and ankles.

The life aura she radiated was exceptionally pure and vibrant, and her cultivation was around the Nascent Soul Middle Stage.

"A Sang? Why are you here? Go back! It's dangerous here!" the leader called Mu Yan urged.

But the girl named A Sang shook her head and curiously studied Ye Chen's party. Her gaze lingered on Ye Chen in particular, a flicker of puzzlement and an indescribable stirring passing through her eyes.

She turned to Mu Yan. "Uncle Mu Yan, the high priestess sent me. She said... she sensed a resonance from the Life Origin Canon, and... the arrival of a 'guest beyond fate.'" She looked at Ye Chen, her eyes clear. "The high priestess said this guest carries the aura of an ancient covenant. Perhaps... he is not an enemy."

"The Life Origin Canon? An ancient covenant?" Mu Yan froze, looking at Ye Chen with uncertainty and suspicion. The high priestess was the Greenwood Tribe's spiritual leader, able to commune with ancient trees and glimpse a hazy future. Her words held supreme authority within the tribe.

Something stirred in Ye Chen's heart. The Life Origin Canon? Could she mean the fragment I'm looking for? An ancient covenant... could it be connected to the Primordial Immortal Body or that Nameless Fragment?

A Sang stepped forward and offered Ye Chen an unusual salute, crossing her hands over her chest and bowing slightly. "Honored guest, the high priestess invites you to meet her. Please follow A Sang to our tribal grounds. The forest will guide our path, and the ancient trees will witness our words and deeds."

Her manner was respectful without being timid, carrying a sense of ceremony rooted in an ancient heritage.

Ye Chen exchanged a glance with Emperor Xuanwu, then nodded slightly. "Lead the way."

Since the high priestess their leader spoke of seemed to know something, and their attitude had changed, there was no harm in meeting her. Here on the Greenwood Tribe's home ground, they might obtain more clues about the World Tree Remnant Root and the fragments.

With the high priestess's orders given, Mu Yan waved for his people to remove the barrier and withdraw their encirclement, though he remained wary. He continued following closely beside them, his gaze sharp as an eagle's.

A Sang smiled brightly, turned, and lightly sprang onto a thick hanging vine. As though alive, the vine carried her gliding deeper into the forest.

"Guests, stay close to A Sang. Only we know how to follow the paths through this forest."

Ye Chen and the others followed closely behind.

They passed through stretches of increasingly ancient, dense forest brimming with spiritual energy. The terrain gradually descended, leading into a vast basin enclosed by a ring of mountains.

The sight at the basin's center finally brought a trace of solemnity and wonder even to the well-traveled Ye Chen's eyes.

There was no towering tree with luxuriant branches and leaves, as they had imagined.

Instead, there was an incomparably enormous... tree stump, utterly devoid of life and a petrified blue-gray in color.

By sight alone, the stump's diameter exceeded a hundred li! It stood nearly a thousand zhang tall, its severed surface flat, as though some unimaginable force had cut the tree off at its base. Deep, crisscrossing fissures covered its surface like scars upon the earth. Though petrified, it still held a trace of vast life-origin energy that seemed to date back to the dawn of heaven and earth, along with an ageless sorrow and desolation.

This was... the remnant root of the World Tree.

At the foot of that mountain-range-sized remnant root clustered numerous treehouses, platforms, and walkways naturally formed from living ancient trees, vines, and moss, creating an ancient village that blended perfectly with nature.

This was the Greenwood Tribe's home.

At that moment, an old woman stood quietly upon the largest platform in the village center, sheltered by several thousand-year-old trees. She wore a plain white bark robe and held a gnarled wooden staff, her face covered in wrinkles like tree bark. Her eyes, deep as ancient wells, seemed able to see through the ages as she gazed from afar at the approaching Ye Chen.

She was the Greenwood Tribe's high priestess.

Ye Chen could feel the resonance from the three fragments against his chest becoming clearer here than ever before.