Chapter 428: The Issue of Death
“Teacher Fisher, that tree!”
Fisher quickly dashed out of the room with the Fluid Sword, but before he fully stopped, Tang Zeming Asuka, squinting her eyes against the raging wind, soon noticed that the enormous tree behind the Duke Chuan’s palace seemed to have been violently shaken and broken by an earthquake. In the dim moonlight, the towering tree, hundreds of meters high, was toppling toward the city, causing Tang Zeming Asuka to urgently remind Fisher.
“What’s going on? Why is there an earthquake?!”
Just as Fisher stood in the courtyard looking up at the giant tree about to fall, Gouwen also hurried out after putting on his clothes. He first glanced at the tree above, then with a strange expression looked at Tang Zeming Asuka, who was in Fisher’s arms, and asked,
“Were you two sleeping together just now?”
“No! No! It’s just that Mr. Fisher had something to talk to me about!”
Tang Zeming Asuka shouted with a flushed face, struggling to jump out of Fisher’s embrace, but her pale explanation did not convince Gouwen at all. He glanced at Fisher’s physique, seemingly realizing something, and muttered,
“Kidney fluid is fluctuating, spirit energy is surging, the heart is moving, and the kidney door fire is activated. His essence is like gunpowder, and after a period of suppression, it’s on the verge of exploding. You still dare to stay with him? Aren’t you afraid of being drained dry? Young people really have guts.”
“?”
Tang Zeming Asuka did not hear clearly what Gouwen said. The place was in chaos as the ground shook violently, and she looked at Gouwen with confusion, only to see him gesture toward her as if reminding her to pay attention to something.
But the situation was urgent, and there was no time to consider Fisher’s reproductive issues. Mikhail, from another room, also came out with a cold expression and asked them,
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know either, but it seems like there was a sudden earthquake. It’s strange that the Tree Continent, full of mythical beings, would also experience an earthquake. Could it be something went wrong?”
Fisher looked at the giant tree, which had more and more cracks appearing on it, and reminded them,
“That tree is about to collapse. If it falls, the entire capital city will likely be leveled.”
“Ah, there’s no need to worry about that. After all, we have three mythical beings here. Even if we exclude that useless Hela, Duke Chuan and Lord Shiran will handle it. We just need to look after those with lower ranks around us. Xiong is too old, and his daughters are only a bit stronger than ordinary humans… Ouch!”
As Gouwen spoke, a warm morning light hit the back of his head, and his Fourteenth Rank body surprisingly did not react at all.
He gasped and looked back, only to see Hela sitting on a roof beam that was still shaking from the earthquake, munching on a round fruit.
“What a useless person, such a harsh insult. This is called letting you all fully exercise your initiative. Having me, this angel, lead you is your blessing, alright?”
“Where did you get that fruit?”
“Picked it up by the roadside, really tasteless.”
Hela turned her head and spat out the fruit pit, just like a fire dragon breathing fire. The warm morning light shot out from her pretty lips, swiftly burning the pit to ashes, seemingly validating her claim of it being tasteless.
She clapped her hands and continued,
“But Gouwen is right. Chuan and Shiran will handle that giant tree. This earthquake isn’t simple. The Tree Continent is merely soil growing on the roots of the World Tree; everything here is a reflection of her, including the earthquake. Like other elves, when the Elf King dies, he will also reincarnate through a tree, but the tree he uses for reincarnation is his mother, the World Tree.”
Fisher quickly grasped the crux of the matter and followed Hela’s lead to say,
“So, it means the Elf King has a high chance of passing away?”
“Who knows? The Elf King is of the Nineteen Rank, the first-born elf, and the elf closest to the World Tree. Although his lifespan is nearing its end, he is highly sensitive to death and could still hang on for a while.”
During their conversation, countless dense purple spots suddenly grew on the giant tree that was about to fall, which caused even Tang Zeming Asuka, an ordinary human with no fear of dense patterns, to feel slightly uncomfortable. However, soon bursts of purple flowers suddenly sprang forth from those purple spots.
Duke Chuan finally made a move.
The buds growing from the giant tree all had four leaves, but upon blooming, they did not linger on the giant tree for even a moment; instead, they quickly detached from the rough bark and fell, spinning gently in the air like tiny parachutes, creating a beautiful and dreamlike rain of flowers.
Continuous purple spots appeared on the downgoing tree until the hundreds of meters high and several tens of meters wide tree transformed entirely into flowers previously seen, gently drifting toward the capital city.
“…”
Fisher was witnessing the methods of the elves for the first time, but like Duke Chuan’s gentle character, even when he acted, it was like a gentle breeze, romantic and elegant.
“It’s beautiful! By the way, that Hela angel, I’ve been hearing you all saying something about being ‘chased by death.’ Is that a translation issue?” Tang Zeming Asuka said, staring blankly at the flower rain and couldn’t help but marvel, but then she thought of something and asked Hela.
“No, little cutie.”
Hela jumped down from the beam and explained to Tang Zeming Asuka about the way high-ranked beings face death in this world. When she heard that rigid mechanism-like system, Tang Zeming Asuka was stunned for a long time before she managed to understand; Hela also briefly explained to Fisher the natural death settlement process for immortal beings.
When an immortal being’s lifespan is about to run out, death will slowly lock onto them until their lifespan is completely exhausted before entering a settlement process like Fisher’s; the higher the rank, the more they can feel this sense of pursuit. They try all sorts of ways to slow down the passage of time to delay the arrival of death.
“Ah! Why is there an earthquake?!”
While several people were talking in the courtyard, the people in the Prime Minister’s mansion ran out one after another. Xiong, having no one to serve him, seemed to be resting alone. Hearing the commotion outside, he hurried out and said to the crowd in the courtyard.
As he glanced over, Fisher’s pupils slightly constricted. Not only him but even Mikhail and Gouwen took a step back warily. Let alone Tang Zeming Asuka, who was already timid.
“What happened to you, Xiong?”
“Me? What do you mean?”
Seeing the dazed expression of the guests in front of him, Xiong himself seemed unaware of what had happened. Until he looked down, only to see that his hands had entirely lost flesh and blood, leaving only fragile bones. However, his face was still covered with flesh, looking like a skeleton with only a face.
“Ah! Why am I… Am I dead?”
“Father, are you okay?! Ahhh!!”
Some of Xiong’s adopted daughters ran out from other rooms. Seeing Xiong’s matchstick-like appearance at that moment also shocked them, causing them to freeze in place.
Hela clutched her stomach and laughed inappropriately, but the expressions of Gouwen and Fisher grew increasingly serious. Fisher felt the thick aura of death emanating from Xiong, while Gouwen took a purely medical perspective.
“You have no life essence left. Your original body wasn’t healthy, and while death has indeed noticed you, living for a few more years shouldn’t be a problem. But now…”
Gouwen suddenly reached out his hand, and a glowing thread gently wrapped around the skeletal arm, his expression growing increasingly strange as he said to him,
“You are from the Tree Continent, so I’ll speak in terms you can understand. Elves view the essence of life as having three fundamental aspects, known as the ‘Three Treasures’: essence, energy, and spirit. Essence is the mother of energy; all life derives from energy, which is the very basis upon which your soul can attach to the body. But now, your essence and energy are both depleted, and you should have died directly. Yet your spirit still inexplicably exists; how fascinating.”
Fisher, who had a decent understanding of soul theory, seemed to grasp the elven medical theory. The soul and body are mutually dependent yet independent, but in any case, the body is the carrier upon which the soul depends. Now Xiong’s body had died, but his soul had not yet been reclaimed by death to return to the Spirit Realm, resulting in this strange state.
“How could this happen? Am I the only one like this? Wait, I need to check if anyone else in the capital has been affected.”
Being from the Tree Continent, Xiong understood Gouwen’s words. He hadn’t regained his composure. Outside, the Chuan Kingdom was already in disarray after the earthquake, and many who had lost their bodies during the quake, now skeletal, stumbled out from the ruins of buildings, blankly looking around as if they still hadn’t realized what had happened or that they were already dead.
The scene before him was too bizarre, leaving even Xiong, who had encountered mythical beings before, momentarily at a loss.
“What is going on? I need to see Duke Chuan. He must…”
Fisher quickly realized something. The feeling of palpitations never left him, prompting him to warn him about the root cause of all these terrifying changes.
The rules of death seemed to have gone awry.
“Duke Chuan! Duke Chuan! It’s bad!”
It was unlikely Xiong could smoothly run from his Prime Minister’s mansion to Duke Chuan’s palace in his original body, but since he had turned into a skeleton, he felt no fatigue. When he and Fisher arrived at Duke Chuan’s palace, he didn’t feel tired at all.
Half of Duke Chuan’s palace had collapsed, and it was possible to see some skeletons stretching out their hands from the debris, calling for help. Fisher brandished his Fluid Sword and rescued them one by one. Before they could rejoice at being alive, they were frightened by their current terrifying appearance. Fisher refrained from explaining to them and followed Xiong to the back of the main hall, where Duke Chuan resided.
The back of the hall was spacious, but at that moment, it was entirely covered with those strange four-leaf purple flowers. By the time Xiong and the others arrived, Duke Chuan was sitting on the steps, lost in thought. Hearing Xiong’s call, he turned around, jingling several metal earrings.
Upon seeing Xiong, who was covered in bones, his pupils slightly constricted, and an expression of visible apology emerged.
“Xiong, did you also die because of the earthquake?”
Mythical beings can certainly perceive the aura of death around him, but Xiong, upon hearing this, smiled nonchalantly and cupped his hands,
“I didn’t die from the earthquake; I seem to have died of illness. But I don’t know why I am still so conscious. Duke Chuan, that’s not important. Why did the earthquake happen? The Tree Continent is supported by the World Tree, yet we have now turned into this strange form. And also, my lord, the Chuan wood has broken, what about the ‘Rebirth Branches’?”
Previously mentioned, elves need to plant trees on their bodies after death to reincarnate, and the tree implanted in the corpse is called the “Rebirth Branch,” a branch that fell from the World Tree. Once it is planted into the corpse, it will remain there, and the corpse will transform into a towering tree. After four years, a new elf will emerge from the tree.
The Rebirth Branch will always exist within the tree. If an elf dies again later, they can cut down the giant tree to retrieve the Rebirth Branch for replanting in the elf’s corpse for the next reincarnation cycle. However, currently, all elves have only undergone one reincarnation at most.
“Well… I don’t know the reason for the earthquake. When I cast the spell just now, I removed the entire tree, so the Rebirth Branch should have disappeared. But it’s not a big deal; I can go to the royal capital to get it later.”
Duke Chuan seemed somewhat distracted due to the sudden calamity. It wasn’t until Xiong reminded him that he barely remembered this matter, but he quickly shook his head and instructed Xiong,
“Xiong, you should go assist with disaster relief first. I need to discuss a few matters with the envoys of the Holy Realm.”
“Yes, Duke Chuan.”
Duke Chuan watched as the skeletal Xiong slowly ran away, seeming to run faster than he would have in his old age, and feeling much lighter. However, Duke Chuan’s expression didn’t seem to change much. He turned to Hela and said,
“The earthquake must have been caused by the World Tree. Just as the earthquake happened, we all elves received a divine mandate that prohibits us from leaving our own kingdom. The method prepared for you to go to the royal capital can only be undertaken by yourselves. Fortunately, the destination isn’t far from our Chuan Kingdom.”
Hela didn’t say a word, merely “Bah bah” at him. Fisher sighed and said to Duke Chuan,
“You’re saying we should find someone? He can help us reach the royal capital?”
Duke Chuan gazed deeply at Fisher before shaking his head and replying,
“It’s not a single person, but a group of people, a race. They have a very good relationship with me, are friends of mine outside the Chuan Kingdom, and are currently the only ones who can get you to the royal capital through the blockade of edicts.”
“They are the Phoenix Race, a great race.”
At his words, Fisher froze for a moment, feeling as if a bone-chilling wind from the Northern Region had blown through him after millennia.
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(End of Chapter)
