Chapter 678: Withered Branches Transforming into Ancient Trees

“It was at…” Li Fan frowned slightly, seemingly trying hard to recall.

Ximen Yu stared intently at him, listening with full concentration.

“I can’t remember,” Li Fan said, shrugging helplessly after a long pause.

“You…” Ximen Yu’s expression stiffened. “How could such an extraordinary event be easily forgotten?”

He looked at Li Fan with a face full of disbelief.

“Fellow Daoist Ximen, why don’t you tell me what this withered branch is? Perhaps as you explain, I might just remember,” Li Fan suggested with a faint smile.

Upon hearing this, Ximen Yu narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping back and forth over Li Fan.

Li Fan, however, showed no fear, meeting his gaze with a composed expression.

Apparently unsure of Li Fan’s true strength, Ximen Yu ultimately decided not to act rashly.

He turned his body, revealing the withered branch he had been protecting behind him to Li Fan once more.

After a moment of silence, he finally spoke: “I’m not entirely sure about the origin of this item myself. At that time, my research into the ley lines had hit a bottleneck.”

“Under the Myriad Immortal Alliance’s rule, the power of the ley lines is firmly locked down by protective formations spanning the entire territory. Without authorized permission, it’s incredibly difficult to utilize or study them. I tried many methods but still couldn’t find a breakthrough. Just as I was about to switch my research direction…”

“About two years ago, the ley line energy here suddenly went berserk for some unknown reason. It was as if a ley line disaster, powerful enough to destroy an entire state, had occurred thousands of miles away, causing a chain reaction. I was overjoyed at the sight and, of course, seized this rare opportunity to draw off the overflowing ley line energy.”

“And this withered branch is what I discovered within that ley line energy.”

Ximen Yu spoke slowly, and Li Fan listened thoughtfully.

“Two years ago, that seems to be the time of the Scarlet Flame Burning Sea. Was it the effect of Hong Xi forcibly drawing on the ley lines to force out the Scarlet Flame hidden within them?”

The Xuanhuang ley lines are interconnected. Even separated by thousands of miles, they can still influence each other. Previously, in the Congyun Sea, a sunken island had surfaced due to the distant ‘transformation of a hundred mountains into plains.’

The ley line anomaly observed by Ximen Yu here might well be an aftereffect of that battle with the Scarlet Flame.

Li Fan looked at the withered branch, which was still continuously spewing forth earthy yellow ley line energy, and asked, somewhat puzzled: “Ley line energy is incredibly pure. How could a withered branch be mixed in with it? Ordinary trees would be crushed to dust by the immense pressure within the ley lines in mere moments. What is the origin of this withered branch, that it can not only endure in the ley lines but also draw upon and absorb the confined ley line power?”

Li Fan then looked back at Ximen Yu: “Presumably, the Myriad Immortal Alliance hasn’t discovered this ley line anomaly here yet, right? Otherwise, as it concerns the safety of their grand protective array, they would certainly dispatch people to address this hidden danger.”

Ximen Yu’s expression shifted slightly, but he did not refute.

“This withered branch indeed possesses a certain mystical power. It seems to share the same origin as the ley lines, so my small-scale extraction for research here would only be regarded as normal fluctuations of the ley lines themselves.”

The withered branch’s emission of ley line energy seemed intermittent and followed a certain pattern. At that moment, it gradually weakened and eventually ceased to release any more ley line energy.

Ximen Yu carefully put away the jade bottle.

“Of the same origin as the ley lines?” Li Fan pondered the phrase.

Ximen Yu, meanwhile, took out a stone tablet from his storage ring. It looked as if it had been peeled from a rock wall somewhere, and its markings were extremely ancient.

The lines were quite abstract, but one could generally understand the depicted content.

Numerous small dots represented humans, performing sacrifices and living on the ground.

Below ground, however, a large inverted tree was growing.

Its roots were dense and intricate, deeply embedded in every corner of the earth.

Its crown, however, extended deep underground, reaching directly to the earth's core.

“I discovered this in a geological fault when I was researching ancient and modern topographic changes. It should have been left behind by an ancient mortal tribe.”

“It’s not just this one mural. I’ve found similar ancient records throughout the Xuanhuang Realm.”

“I suspect that what we call ley lines are actually evolved from the roots of this ancient tree. And this withered branch of mine belongs to that very tree.”

Ximen Yu explained.

“Although the information left by these mortals is extremely simplistic, and seen through mortal eyes, it may not represent the full picture, precisely because it is mundane, we cultivators tend to disregard it by default. Therefore, records that should have been erased were able to persist,” Ximen Yu said with a cold laugh.

“A Ley Line Tree, then…” Li Fan stroked his chin.

“No,” he suddenly shook his head.

“While it is extremely similar to what I saw in an illusion back then, there are still some differences,” Li Fan stated with certainty.

Ximen Yu was not surprised. After a moment of thought, he said, “It’s possible that the ancient tree you saw is even older.”

“It might even be the origin of the Ley Line Tree.”

Li Fan was surprised: “The Ley Line Tree also has an origin?”

Ximen Yu pulled out several black stones from somewhere, crushed them, and sprinkled the powder onto the withered branch stuck in the ground. The black powder was quickly absorbed by the branch, which seemed to become more vibrant.

“It is said that in the beginning, there was only one Mother Tree between heaven and earth, which governed the destinies of all living beings.”

“Later, a great change occurred, and the Mother Tree was severely damaged. A portion of its branches even broke off and fell into the world.”

“One of these transformed into the ancient Ley Line Tree.”

Ximen Yu gazed at the carefully tended withered branch with affection as he spoke slowly.

A glint flashed in Li Fan’s eyes: “Where did Fellow Daoist Ximen learn of this? It’s truly something I’ve never heard before.”

Ximen Yu kept his gaze fixed on the withered branch, offering no reply.

Li Fan paused, then nodded slightly.

“Ah, now that Fellow Daoist mentions it, I think I remember. I encountered that withered branch here back then.”

With a casual gesture, Li Fan sketched out the topography of Tianling State and marked a location.

Only then did Ximen Yu withdraw his gaze from the withered branch, committing the location firmly to memory. He then erased the map.

“Time has passed,” Li Fan cautioned. “I’ve returned to that old place many times over the years, but I’ve never seen that withered tree again. So, Fellow Daoist Ximen, it would be best not to hold out too much hope.”

Ximen Yu gave a faint smile. “Such a wondrous item is, of course, something one can only encounter by chance. However, I’ve always been quite lucky, so once I finish my ley line theory research, I’ll certainly go try my luck.”

“Then I wish Fellow Daoist Ximen success in advance!” Li Fan clasped his fists, about to leave.

“Fellow Daoist Han Wuyou, correct?” Ximen Yu tossed over a communication talisman. “I feel we two have some destined connection. Keep this; perhaps we’ll meet again in the future.”

Li Fan put away the talisman and lingered no longer.

Once his figure vanished, the cave dwelling’s gate closed again.

Ximen Yu’s brows furrowed deeply: “If there is Ruomu between heaven and earth, it consumes life essence day and night…”

“Could it possibly still exist in this world?”