Chapter Forty-Five: Alone in the Garden

The sky was obscured by yellow sand, and grains would occasionally fall, making it difficult to distinguish the time of day. This was the Garden of Immortality—a place that seemed to exist in perpetual twilight, its atmosphere utterly oppressive, reminiscent of a region plagued by severe pollution.

The four of them sat upon the ground, beside a chasm of unfathomable depth, its presence terrifying.

To speak plainly, the matter of the World Tree seed had cost the Serpent the most; in his own words, it was a total loss, the ruin of all he possessed. The reason was simple: Wu Yue had managed to control the Lord God, an ability unheard of. The Serpent still wore an expression of shock whenever he recalled it.

The truth was uncomplicated. When the white light appeared, Wu Yue received a strange message—not a text, but a communication.

Welcome back, Senior Administrator.

Just a brief sentence. Wu Yue decided to try it out, and to his astonishment, it worked perfectly. The Serpent could only lament his misfortune. Wu Yue, meanwhile, harbored subtle suspicions about the Serpent’s origins.

Simply put, they hailed from another world, indeed another universe. Every so often, their Lord God would transport them to a designated location to complete tasks.

These tasks were as varied as could be imagined. This time, their mission was to explore the Garden of Immortality—a competitive task where rewards were offered for killing rivals and natives alike.

Of course, not everyone had the strength to engage in wholesale slaughter, so the main focus was exploration. As the name suggested, it required venturing into dangerous places—such as this chasm. By coincidence, they encountered a World Tree seed. By further coincidence, they crossed paths with Wu Yue and his companions, resulting in a squandered opportunity. Fate, it seemed, delighted in its cruel twists.

As for the World Tree seed, the Serpent knew little, but it was rumored that refining it would grant tremendous benefits, comparable to the power of a lesser god—a classification of power among them, surpassing Wu Yue's current abilities. Failing that, it could be sold to the Lord God or a powerful faction for a handsome sum.

Ren Ruoyi's story began a month ago—a time shrouded in mystery, entangled with the complexities of space and time. Wu Yue wished to learn the truth, yet no answer was forthcoming.

A month prior, Ren Ruoyi and her companions had arrived in this world, filled with optimism. The environment was as harsh then as it was now, but there seemed little danger. Their arrival was random, but each group had its own methods, and the smaller teams soon gathered together to begin their exploration.

They encountered others along the way, but fortunately all hailed from the Celestial Spirit Realm. With no major conflicts of interest, peace prevailed.

Five days passed. Another group arrived. At this point, Ren Ruoyi glanced at the Serpent, then continued, "Those people were unique. Their cultivation was strange, hard to define. Their magical arts, treasures, and implements were equally distinctive."

The Serpent boasted, "With enough merit, the Lord God can provide anything—celestial arts, bloodlines, cosmic ships, grand submarines."

Wu Yue, hearing this, felt a stir in his heart. He was increasingly certain about the nature of the Lord God’s domain.

These newcomers were experienced in combat, adept at teamwork, ruthless and cunning, committing every imaginable evil. Most importantly, they showed no intention of communicating with the people of Qin; their only interaction was murder.

The people of Qin were thrown into chaos—these invaders didn’t exist in any records of the Garden of Immortality, yet the outcome was clear: the Qin forces were utterly routed. Ren Ruoyi herself was pursued to this place, leaping into the chasm as a last resort. When she awoke, she found herself lying in a meadow and fled at once.

Wu Yue felt somewhat awkward upon hearing this; he had initially doubted Ren Ruoyi’s authenticity. Even knowing she was real, he doubted he would have treated her much better.

The four sat beside the chasm. Ren Ruoyi and the Serpent sat apart. Li Suizhu sat next to Wu Yue, the air between them faintly suggestive. Wu Yue sensed something, but Li Suizhu was, at present, little more than an inert tablet—Wu Yue found it hard to harbor any romantic thoughts.

To summarize Li Suizhu: a clever and resourceful Princess of Jinping, who stumbled into misfortune, yet survived thanks to her cultivation, wisdom, and the Jade Dragon Heart Pendant. Wu Yue could only marvel at the depth of royal heritage. Li Suizhu, blessed with great fortune, had the lowest cultivation but gained the greatest benefit—half of the World Tree seed. Given time, Wu Yue could only guess at her future power; it would surely be formidable.

Ren Ruoyi had also benefited greatly, obtaining most of the remaining rule-power of the World Tree seed. Though she said nothing, the results spoke for themselves.

Wu Yue, among the three who had profited, gained the least. Yet the leap brought by the “Seventeen-Year Cicada” had manifested his artistic realm. With the Summer World at his command, he was certain that if he met Zhao Yuzhou, he could beat him into a new man.

Now, all Wu Yue needed was sufficient spiritual energy and time to transcend the mundane.

The Serpent, meanwhile, was deeply unhappy—he had gained nothing, his schemes had backfired, leaving him particularly melancholy.

“So what do we do now?” Ren Ruoyi asked, her brows furrowed. Even the Serpent, in his foul mood, couldn’t help but gaze at her more than once.

“What ‘we’? When did we ever join forces with you?” Li Suizhu replied coldly.

Ren Ruoyi pretended not to hear, her eyes fixed on Wu Yue, full of allure.

Wu Yue cleared his throat and said, “For now, we should eat, drink, and rest well, and explore as we please. When the time comes, we’ll return to Luoyang. Let’s not forget our true purpose for coming to the Garden of Immortality.”

“To fulfill our destiny,” Ren Ruoyi and Li Suizhu said in unison, then simultaneously snorted.

“Precisely,” Wu Yue replied with a smile.

“So what does fulfilling our destiny have to do with what you said?” Ren Ruoyi asked.

“Nothing, really. But since we don’t know when we’ll return, and idleness is idleness, we can’t just sit here and do nothing,” Wu Yue answered, bewildered.

Ren Ruoyi was taken aback; Li Suizhu’s expression twitched. The Serpent, though he didn’t fully understand, sensed that Wu Yue was formidable, inexplicably impressive.

Wu Yue smiled, “If we return like this, having gained nothing from destiny, we can always expose the Garden of Immortality as a fraud.”

“The thinking of Brother Wu is certainly… unique,” Ren Ruoyi said, struggling for words.

“Then let’s just pick a direction and start out,” Wu Yue laughed. “I enjoy wandering.”

“You think the Garden of Immortality is your backyard, letting you stroll about?” Li Suizhu couldn’t help but retort loudly.

Wu Yue shook his head, “It’s much the same—a garden, after all. If anyone stands in our way, so be it; we’ll deal with them.”

His demeanor was calm and unruffled, but inwardly, he was exhilarated. He wondered, in this Garden of Immortality, who could stand against him?

The other three fell silent; upon reflection, Wu Yue’s reckless words made a surprising amount of sense.