"It was at..." Li Fan furrowed his brows slightly, appearing to search his memory. Ximen Yu stared fixedly at him, listening intently with rapt concentration.
"I can't recall." After a long pause, Li Fan merely shrugged and said helplessly.
"You..." Ximen Yu's expression stiffened. "How could you forget such an extraordinary occurrence so easily?" Full of disbelief, he sized Li Fan up.
"Fellow Daoist Ximen, why not tell me what this withered branch actually is? Who knows—perhaps as you explain, it might jog my memory," Li Fan suggested with a smile.
At this, Ximen Yu narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping back and forth over Li Fan. Li Fan, however, showed not the slightest hint of fear, meeting his gaze with unruffled calm.
Seeming unable to gauge Li Fan's true strength, Ximen Yu ultimately chose not to act rashly. Turning aside, he once again revealed the withered branch he had been shielding behind him.
After a brief silence, he finally said, "To be honest, I am not entirely clear on its origins either. Back then, my research into the earth veins had hit a bottleneck.
"Under the rule of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, the power of the earth veins is firmly locked down by the protective formation covering the entire realm. Without authorization and permission, attempting to tap into or study it is exceptionally difficult. I tried many methods, yet still struggled to find a breakthrough. Just as I was preparing to switch to another research direction...
"Roughly two years or so ago, the earth vein energy here suddenly erupted in turmoil for some unknown reason. It was as though a cataclysm in the earth veins, catastrophic enough to annihilate an entire province tens of thousands of li away, had triggered a chain reaction. Overjoyed at the sight, I naturally seized this rare opportunity to draw upon the overflowing earth vein power.
"And this withered branch was what I discovered within that earth vein energy," Ximen Yu explained slowly.
Li Fan fell into deep thought upon hearing this.
'Two years ago—that seems to coincide with the time of the Crimson Flame Burning Sea. Could this be the fallout from Hongxi forcibly drawing upon the earth veins to flush out the Crimson Flame hiding within?' The earth veins of Xuanhuang were interconnected as one whole.
Even across countless myriads of li, disturbances could still affect one another. Earlier in the Congyun Sea, a sunken island had resurfaced from the ocean floor due to the far-off occurrence of "a hundred mountains turning into flat plains." The anomaly in the earth veins observed here by Ximen Yu might very well have been the aftershocks of that battle against the Crimson Flame back then.
Looking at the withered branch that was still continuously spewing earthy-yellow earth vein energy, Li Fan asked with some puzzlement, "The power of earth veins is extraordinarily pure. How could a withered branch be trapped within it? Ordinary wood would be crushed to powder within mere breaths under the tremendous pressure deep inside an earth vein. What origin does this branch have, to not only endure within the earth veins indefinitely, but even stimulate and draw upon the suppressed earth vein power?"
Li Fan looked at Ximen Yu again. "The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals likely hasn't noticed the abnormal fluctuations in the earth vein here yet, correct? Otherwise, given that it concerns the security of the grand protective formation, they would certainly have dispatched people to resolve such a hidden hazard."
Ximen Yu's face shifted slightly, though he did not dispute it.
"This withered branch truly possesses a wondrous power. It seems to share the same root and origin with the earth veins, so my drawing a small amount here for research purposes is merely taken as normal fluctuations of the earth veins themselves."
The withered branch's eruptions of earth vein power seemed intermittent, following a discernible rhythm. At this moment, the flow gradually subsided until no more earth vein energy surged forth. Ximen Yu carefully put the jade bottle away.
"Of the same origin as the earth veins?" Li Fan pondered these words carefully.
Meanwhile, Ximen Yu retrieved a stone slab from his storage ring. It appeared to have been peeled from some rocky wall, bearing marks of extreme antiquity. The carved lines were quite abstract, yet the depicted content was roughly discernible.
Numerous small dots represented humans, conducting sacrifices and living upon the land. Underground, however, grew an inverted, massive tree. Its dense root network was rooted in every corner of the earth, while its canopy plunged deep into the subterranean depths, reaching all the way to the core of the earth.
"I discovered this in a geological fault when researching the changes in terrain across past and present. It was likely left behind by a mortal tribe in antiquity.
"And this isn't the only mural. I have found similar ancient records in various places across the Xuanhuang Realm.
"I suspect that the so-called earth veins evolved from the roots of this ancient tree, and this withered branch of mine belongs to that very tree," Ximen Yu explained.
"Although these records left by mortals are extremely crude and reflect only a mortal's perspective—meaning they may not capture the full picture—it is precisely because they were created by mortals that we cultivators tend to overlook them by default. Consequently, records that should have been deliberately erased survived instead," Ximen Yu said with a cold sneer.
"A tree of the earth veins..." Li Fan stroked his chin.
"No." Suddenly, he shook his head. "Though it bears an uncanny resemblance to what I saw in that illusion back then, there were still differences," Li Fan stated with certainty.
Ximen Yu was not surprised. After thinking for a moment, he said, "It is possible that the ancient tree you saw was even older. Perhaps it was the source of the Earth Vein Tree."
Li Fan was astonished. "The Earth Vein Tree has a source as well?"
Ximen Yu produced several black stones from somewhere, crushed them, and scattered the powder over the withered branch stuck into the ground. The black powder was quickly absorbed by the branch, making it appear somewhat more revitalized.
"It is said that at the very beginning between heaven and earth, there was only a single mother tree, governing the lifespans and destinies of all living beings in the mortal world.
"Later, a cataclysm occurred, and the mother tree suffered catastrophic damage. Portions of its branches broke off and fell into the mortal world.
"One of them transformed into the Earth Vein Ancient Tree," Ximen Yu said slowly, looking upon the carefully tended withered branch with deep affection.
A gleam flashed in Li Fan's eyes. "From where did Fellow Daoist Ximen learn of this? It is truly unheard of."
Ximen Yu kept his gaze fixed on the withered branch, offering no answer.
Li Fan paused for a second, then nodded slightly. "Ah, now that you put it that way, I seem to recall. It was here that I once encountered that withered branch back then." Drawing a quick map of Tianling Province's terrain with a casual wave of his hand, Li Fan marked a location.
Only then did Ximen Yu tear his eyes away from the withered branch. He firmly memorized the coordinates before wiping the map away.
"Much has changed with the passage of time. Over the years, I returned to that place several times, yet never managed to see that withered tree again. So it would be best if Fellow Daoist Ximen doesn't hold out too much hope," Li Fan cautioned.
Ximen Yu gave a knowing chuckle. "Such extraordinary marvels can only be stumbled upon, never sought out on demand. But my luck has always been fairly good. Once I conclude my research on the theory of earth veins, I will certainly go try my luck."
"Then I wish Fellow Daoist Ximen success in advance!" Li Fan cupped his fists, preparing to take his leave.
"Fellow Daoist Han Wuyou, was it?" Ximen Yu tossed a communication talisman over. "I feel that you and I share a certain affinity. Keep this; who knows, perhaps we will meet again in the future."
Li Fan stowed the talisman away and lingered no longer.
Once Li Fan's figure vanished and the cave dwelling's doors closed once more, Ximen Yu's brows furrowed deeply. "'Between heaven and earth stands Ruomu, night and day eroding life and lifespan...'
"Could it truly still exist in this world?"
Chapter 684