Chapter 715: Chapter 681: The Withered Branch Becomes An Ancient Tree
“So in…” Li Fan frowned slightly as if striving to remember.
Ximen Yu stared at him intently, listening attentively.
“Cannot recall.” After a long pause, Li Fan shrugged his shoulders helplessly and responded.
“You…” The confusion was visible on Ximen Yu’s face: “Such an extraordinary occurrence, how could you easily forget?”
He looked at Li Fan in disbelief.
“Friend Ximen, how about you tell me what this branch is? Maybe while you explain, I might suddenly remember.” Li Fan suggested this with a slight smile on his face.
Upon hearing this, Ximen Yu squinted his eyes, looking Li Fan up and down.
Li Fan on the other hand was not in the least bit deterred and looked him in the eye as well.
Seemingly uncertain of Li Fan’s true strength, Ximen Yu ultimately didn’t make any rash movements.
He turned around, exposing the previously hidden dry branch to Li Fan.
After a brief silent pause, he finally said: “The origin of this object, I actually don’t quite know myself. At that time, I was stuck in a rut during my research of ley lines.”
“The Power of Ley Lines, covering the whole territory under the rule of the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals, was tightly locked by the Protection Matrix. Without authorised permission, trying to utilise and research it is unbearably difficult. I tried numerous methods but still could not find a breakthrough point. Just when I was preparing to switch my research direction…”
“About more than two years ago, the Ley Line’s power here was suddenly turbulent for some unknown reason. As if a Ley Line disaster that could obliterate a whole state was happening thousands of miles away, causing a chain reaction. Seeing this I was ecstatic, obviously, gripping tightly onto this rare opportunity, drawing in the overflowing power of Ley Lines.”
“And this branch, was what I found within that surge of Ley Line power.”
Ximen Yu calmly narrated, leaving Li Fan in thoughtful contemplation.
“Two years ago, that seems to be the time point of the Crimson Blaze Ocean. Could it be the impact coming from Hongxi trying to force out the Crimson Flame hidden within the Ley Line by forcefully extracting the Ley Line power?”
Xuanhuang Ley Lines are interconnected as one, although separated by countless miles, it’s still plausible for them to affect each other. I’d seen an instance before, in the Misthaven Ocean, where an island once submerged, surfacing from the seabed due to the impact of a “mountain range turning into a flat plain” happening far away.
The Ley Line’s strange activity that Ximen Yu observed here might be the aftermath of the battle with the Crimson Flame years ago.
Looking at the dry branch that was still constantly gushing out the earthy yellow Ley Line power, Li Fan asked with slight confusion: “The power of Ley Lines is incredibly pure. How could there be a branch tangled within it? Ordinary trees would be ground to mere crumbs under the immense pressure deep within the Ley Lines in just a few moments. What exactly is the origin of this branch, not only capable of survival within the Ley Line, but also capable of drawing and absorbing the imprisoned Ley Line power?”
Li Fan looked back at Ximen Yu: “Have the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals been alerted to the anomalies of the Ley Line here? Otherwise, in consideration of the Protective Array’s safety, they would surely have sent someone to resolve the hidden danger here.”
Ximen Yu’s expression slightly changed, but he didn’t refute.
“This branch indeed possesses a certain kind of magical power. Akin to the Ley Line’s power which seemingly originates from the same source, that’s why the small-scale extraction I’m conducting here for research would only be perceived as the Ley Line’s normal fluctuation.”
The outgushing Ley Line power from the branch seemed to be intermittent, and containing some sort of pattern. At this moment, it started to gradually weaken until no energy from the Ley Line flowed out anymore.
Ximen Yu carefully put away the jade bottle.
“Originating from the same source as the Ley Line?” Li Fan pondered over this sentence.
In response, Ximen Yu took out a stone tablet from his Storage Ring. It seemed to have been peeled off from some rock wall, with extremely ancient traces on it.
The lines were fairly abstract, but the content they depicted could generally be understood.
Many small dots, representing humans, living and holding sacrificial ceremonies on the land.
And underneath the land, a large tree was growing upside-down.
Its roots were dense, reaching every nook and cranny of the land.
However, its crown was sinking deep into the earth, reaching down to the earth’s core.
“I found this when I was studying the change of the earth’s features between ancient times and now, in a geological fault. It should have been left by an ancient mortal tribe.”
“Not only this piece of mural. I’ve found similar records from ancient people in various places throughout the Xuanhuang World.”
“I suspect, that the so-called Ley Line is actually born out of the root tendrils of this ancient tree. And this branch of mine, belongs to that ancient tree.”
“Although the information left by the mortals is very rudimentary, and probably doesn’t reflect the whole picture because it was seen from a mortal’s perspective, it’s exactly because it’s created by mortals that we Immortals often default to ignoring it. As a result, the records that should have been erased actually managed to survive,” Ximen Yu said with a cold smile.
“The Tree of Ley Lines, huh…” Li Fan touched his chin thoughtfully.
“No.” Suddenly, he shook his head.
“What I saw back then in the Illusory Realm, although incredibly similar, was still somewhat different,” Li Fan insisted with strong conviction.
Ximen Yu wasn’t surprised. After pondering for a moment, he said, “It might be possible that the ancient tree you saw is even more ancient.”
“It may even be the source of the Tree of Ley Lines.”
Li Fan was taken aback: “The Tree of Ley Lines has a source?”
Ximen Yu then picked out some black pebbles from somewhere, crushed them and sprinkled them onto the branch embedded in the ground. The branch quickly absorbed the black powder and seemed to have more vitality.
“It is said that in the beginning, there was only one Mother Tree in charge of the life cycles of all World Creatures.”
“Later, there was a great change, the Mother Tree suffered heavy injuries. Some of its branches fell off and landed in the world.”
“One of which transformed into the Leyline Ancient Tree.”
Ximen Yu, who was looking fondly at the carefully cared for branch, said slowly.
A hint of intrigue sparked in Li Fan’s eyes: “Friend Ximen from where did you get all this? This is unheard of.”
Ximen Yu, his eyes locked onto the branch, gave no response.
Li Fan paused for a moment, then slightly nodded his head.
“Ah, after hearing you explain all this, I seem to remember. I have encountered that branch here before.”
After drawing out the terrain of Sky-spirit State, Li Fan marked a location.
Only then did Ximen Yu shift his gaze from the dry branch, and closely marked the address in his heart. He then dismissed the map.
“Times have changed. I’ve returned to that place numerous times over the years but have never seen that old tree again. So, friend Ximen, it’s better not to hold too high a hope,” Li Fan cautioned.
Ximen Yu let out a faint smile: “Such wonders are of course luck-dependent. However, my luck has always been good. After I have finished my research on the Ley Line Theory, I will definitely go and try my luck.”
“Then let me congratulate friend Ximen on your impending success in advance!” Li Fan raised his arm in salute, ready to depart.
“Han Wuyou right,” Ximen Yu threw over a Communication Talisman, “It seems to me, that we two have some sort of fate! Keep that thing, who knows we might meet each other again in the future.”
Having stored the talisman, Li Fan left without further delay.
When his figure had disappeared, the door to the Cave Mansion was closed again.
Ximen Yu frowned deeply: “Between Heaven and Earth, there is Ruo Mu, diminishing life’s longevity day and night…”
“Could it still exist in this world?”