Divine Fusang Tree

At the ship's bow, a dense crowd had long since gathered, and the atmosphere was buzzing with excitement. Everyone was thrilled and stirred. "That is definitely the mythical Fusang tree—the divine tree where Golden Crows dwell," Gao Huan said with utter conviction. He spoke with solemn gravity, stripped of his usual playful banter, having not yet emerged from the grief of his father's murder. But his profound knowledge in the realm of myths and legends did not permit him to stay silent; he felt compelled to step forward and explain this incomprehensible phenomenon to the crowd. ... Li Weiyi stood at the back of the crowd, gazing into the distance. Deep in the ocean grew two colossal mulberry trees leaning against each other. Their craggy trunks stretched upward, spreading lush branches and leaves toward the horizon. The Bronze Ship was likely hundreds, perhaps thousands of li away from them. The trunks of the two mulberry trees appeared faint and ethereal, like viewing the moon from hundreds of thousands of li away in the early morning light. Only when separated by immense distance would such an illusion appear. Li Weiyi had once looked at snow-capped mountains from hundreds of li away, so he recognized that faint, blurry sense wrought by vast distance. The distance between them and these two mulberry trees far exceeded hundreds of li. Their height was several times greater than that of snow mountains viewed from afar, seemingly connecting with the heavens. "The trunks must be thicker than a snow-capped mountain, and their height... who knows how many tens of thousands of meters." Were it not for how brightly each leaf on the two mulberry trees shone—like thousands upon thousands of leaf-shaped moons—Li Weiyi might have wondered if he was beholding a mirage. As the Bronze Ship cut through the wind and waves, speeding forward, the distance closed considerably. The trunks on the horizon grew clearer, revealing ravines and ridges etched into their wooden grain. A heavy mist arose upon the sea. Blooming throughout the fog were golden blossoms large and small, devoid of leaves, possessing only fine, dense white roots submerged in the water. These golden flowers gave off an intoxicating, exotic fragrance. The largest spanned over ten meters across, while the smallest were merely the size of a fist. All radiated dazzling brilliance, like thousands of divine lanterns drifting across the waters, turning the sea as resplendent as a galaxy of stars. Temporarily forgetting his grief, Gao Huan flushed red with excitement. "Those are Xihe flowers!" "Xihe flowers and the Fusang tree are eternal companions, both flourishing in the Tanggu Sea." "The Xihe blossoms bloom by swallowing the Golden Crow's flames. If a mortal eats one, they are incinerated; if a minor demon eats one, it transforms into a colossal demon." "We finally know where we are!" "It's the Tanggu Sea." "The Tanggu Sea is the junction of three realms: the mortal realm, the Netherworld, and the divine realm. Legend says its waters span a vast expanse of one million five hundred thousand li!" Someone scoffed in disbelief. "Keep blowing hot air. One and a half million li? Is the distance between Earth and the moon even one and a half million li?" "The distance from Earth to the moon is approximately three hundred and eighty thousand kilometers. Kilometers, not li." Cai Yutong, having changed into clean clothes and wearing sunglasses and a mask, appeared beside Li Weiyi and interjected. Gao Huan, feeling that no one should challenge his authority on myths and legends, retorted earnestly, "Is one million five hundred thousand li so inconceivable? Do you have any idea how large the world containing the Divine Province of the Red County was?" "According to the *Lüshi Chunqiu*, between the four extremes of the world, east to west spans five hundred million ninety-seven thousand li, and north to south likewise spans five hundred million ninety-seven thousand li. You're too short-sighted, still trapped in mortal thinking—I won't waste my breath arguing with you." "Are we even still on Earth? We are in the Netherworld, in the domain of the Ghost Wilds!" *Gurgle!* *Glug, glug!* ... Toward the Fusang tree, the sea turned a golden red, as if inexhaustible divine flames burned beneath the ocean floor. The water across the outer sea began to boil, throwing up bubbles the size of water vats. Soon, dense vapor billowed up, engulfing the entire Bronze Ship in a blinding expanse of white. *Splash—* From the depths of the thick mist, a giant three-legged bird surged up from the seabed beneath the two divine mulberries, flapping its wings as it took flight. The radiance erupting from its body illuminated the white fog in the expedition members' sight with kaleidoscopic colors. "It's a Golden Crow... Did you see that? That's a Golden Crow! So the Golden Crow doesn't roost in the branches of the Divine Fusang Tree—it nests on the seabed beneath it!" Gao Huan was wild with excitement, vindicated once again. Though records in ancient mythic texts had discrepancies, they were never baseless fabrications. "The Golden Crow skeleton in the forest of graves feels like it was only a fledgling," Li Weiyi said. "Compared to the one taking flight now, it was far too small." The Golden Crow that had burst from the ocean floor had wings like clouds hanging from the heavens, likely spanning tens of thousands of meters across. A single flap of its wings whipped up waves ten zhang high. Even after being blunted by the Bronze Ship's defensive barrier, the heat and brilliance erupting from it still stung the eyes and scalded the skin. Consumed by curiosity, one of the researchers threw a thumb-thick steel rebar overboard. The rebar had barely cleared the Bronze Ship's outer defensive barrier when, before even hitting the water, it was baked glowing red by the terrifying heat and began showing signs of melting. Everyone stood dumbfounded. Was the outside world this terrifying right now? The air temperature had likely reached several thousand degrees—no wonder it could burn the heavens and boil the seas! Was this the devastating might an adult Golden Crow, the mythical bird of destruction, could unleash? After ascending midair, the adult Golden Crow cast a backward glance toward the Bronze Ship sailing across the sea. It could see the fledgling's corpse on board. Yet it dared not draw any closer; an aura emanated from the ship that made its soul tremble in terror. Never had it sensed such an aura from any living being in this world. It was too horrifying! Flapping its wings, it soared into the upper skies far above the heavens, heading westward. Before long, it transformed into a blazing sun hanging in the firmament. ... Across the deck, within the Sea of Graves and Forest of Steles. Not far from the fledgling Golden Crow's remains, beneath a tombstone, a skeleton clad in a red palace gown also gazed up at the Golden Crow receding into the sky. Her black hair was like silk, falling all the way to her feet. Even standing there casually, she exuded extraordinary poise and majesty. Though she was now nothing more than bones, one could easily envision her peerless grace when she was alive. Within the hollow sockets of her skull burned two thumb-sized spirit flames. She looked down at her skeletal arm. Thin strands of blood flowed across it, and life energy constantly welled from within the bone. She murmured softly, "That boy must be a descendant of that legendary ancient clan. Only the blood of that ancient clan's scions can awaken corpses with a single drop, knit flesh onto bare bone, bring the dead back to life, and restore them to the Yang Realm's order within the laws of life." "What a pity our Sun-Joining ceremony was only half-finished before he managed to escape." The red-robed skeleton glanced down at the unconscious Qi Shanshan, whom she had captured and laid out on the ground, murmuring, "For now, I shall conceal my skeletal frame inside her body, borrowing her fleshly vessel and life aura to evade the worldly laws of life that forbid the reversal of death." ... Ever since the Bronze Ship sailed through what Gao Huan called the "Tanggu Sea," days and nights began to alternate over the following days. Many expedition members guessed that many Golden Crows dwelt beneath the Tanggu Sea, and that it was their flight from east to west as suns that brought day and night to this world. In truth, no one knew which way was east and which was west. They merely judged directions by their old understanding that the sun rose in the east and set in the west, assuming the Bronze Ship was heading north. The Fusang tree had long vanished from sight. As if continuously leaping through space, the Bronze Ship had sailed into another sea where terrifying souls of the dead no longer roamed. There was no wind, and the sea's surface was flat as a mirror. The seawater was an abnormal crimson. Drawn up in buckets, it looked just like fresh blood; even filtration could not remove the color, and no one dared drink it. Of course, that was only for now... For the generators simply could not be repaired, and almost all the perishable food had spoiled. Starting yesterday, food and water had been placed under a rationing system, abruptly dropping from three meals a day to one and a half. Another day passed. A scattering of coffins appeared across the sea, their origin unknown. Moving in the same direction as the Bronze Ship, they dragged long wakes across the tranquil waters. This world always gave off a heavy, chilling yin aura that neither the Fusang tree nor the Golden Crows could dispel. The initial "Soul Sea" had seemed like the resting place for the souls of the dead from every planet in the universe. This current "Blood Sea," on the other hand, felt like the final destination for the blood of every living creature in the cosmos. In the afternoon, a colossal bird flew past the horizon, preying on things in the sea with loud, piercing cries. Another flock of strange, gull-like birds with sickle-shaped beaks pecked open the floating coffins, feasting on the rotting flesh and bones within. With signs of life returning, the spirits of those aboard lifted, and they quickly forgot the grief and terror of days past. Whispers spread that they could not be far from land. It was exhilarating; as long as they reached shore, they could surely find a way to survive. Over the past few days, Li Weiyi had searched the Bronze Ship from top to bottom, save for the area surrounding the white-boned demon's grave, yet he had not found the slightest trace of Qi Shanshan. *Could she really have been eaten by that white-boned demon?* Li Weiyi had harbored this suspicion early on, as that ghostly creature was now the most perilous danger on the ship. No matter what, he had to go investigate. He wanted to repay his debt to Qi Shanshan so he would no longer be bound by it, but he also felt a looming sense of crisis—a nagging dread that the white-boned demon would crawl out of her grave sooner or later. Rather than waiting for death, it was better to take the initiative and eliminate the threat. Before that, however, he needed to raise his combat strength a bit more. He had no wish to throw his life away recklessly. ...