"This river water..."
Standing up, Lin Beichen finally noticed that the river water where he had been sitting cross-legged had disappeared.
"Could it be that I absorbed it?"
Lin Beichen murmured to himself, then bowed towards the depths, chanting under his breath.
"I truly apologize, it was not intentional, not intentional. Please don’t blame me, please don’t blame me."
It wasn’t surprising that Lin Beichen performed such actions; after all, this forest was extremely mysterious, and Lin Beichen had no idea what was really going on. If there actually was an ancient supreme being here, absorbing the creek water without permission could lead to unspeakable consequences.
After a moment, Lin Beichen felt that nothing seemed to have happened, and he could finally relax a little.
"Should we keep going?"
Lin Beichen crossed the river and arrived on the other side of the stream. He looked ahead; the path in the middle of the forest remained pitch-black, like a black hole that threatened to devour anyone who entered.
"Come back quickly!"
Song Xiangdong shouted loudly as he looked at Lin Beichen, who was reflected in the black hole.
Just sitting in the water had already caused so much trouble. Who knows what other phenomena would occur if they continued forward?
While speaking, Song Xiangdong subconsciously glanced at the sky. The so-called mirage was still there. If any more significant events occurred, he might as well switch jobs from the security bureau to the internet monitoring bureau.
After a brief consideration, Lin Beichen chose to proceed onward. Although Song Xiangdong had already guessed Lin Beichen would make such a choice, he still felt an urge to punch someone.
"This brat, when he comes back, I’ll lock him up in the army so I don’t have to worry about him every day," Song Xiangdong continued.
"You said it. Should I contact the military for you?" Fu Daoyi asked, looking at Song Xiangdong with a playful gaze.
"You dare!"
Song Xiangdong’s hackles were raised like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and he jumped up.
"Don’t push me to lock you up, old man." Although he knew Fu Daoyi was joking, Song Xiangdong couldn’t hold back his anger.
"How boring." Fu Daoyi muttered, pursing his lips, and then walked out.
"Where are you going?" Song Xiangdong’s voice came from behind.
"To sleep!" Fu Daoyi replied without looking back.
Returning to his room, the expression on Fu Daoyi’s face changed. He sat on a nearby chair, his gaze deep in thought.
Who knows how much time passed, but he finally stood up and walked toward the bookshelf directly in front of him. Reaching the shelf, he tapped it a few times in no particular order. The entire bookshelf split open like a door and was pushed aside from the center.
Looking at the three ancient, dusty books hidden behind the open bookshelf, a playful smile appeared on Fu Daoyi’s face.
He casually picked up one of the books, gently brushed off the dust, and two figures from the Dao Scripture appeared before his eyes.
"Old Song, my apologies, I might break my promise this time!"
At this moment, Lin Beichen was unaware that he had become a contentious prize between Fu Daoyi and Song Xiangdong. He continued to forge ahead along the path.
After walking for an indeterminate amount of time and beginning to feel fatigue, a dense life aura suddenly stimulated his nerves.
Lin Beichen felt a surge of energy as though he were rejuvenated, and he sprinted forward at an incredible speed.
"This... This is the tree!"
Seeing the enormous tree towering into the clouds before him, Lin Beichen’s face lit up with excitement. The tree looked almost identical to the Life Divine Tree he had seen in his dreams.
The dense wood element aura surrounding it confirmed for Lin Beichen that this must be the Life Divine Tree from his dream.
Of course, it was Lin Beichen who named it the Life Divine Tree. With such an intense aura of life force, what else could it be?
Yet even though he had found the tree, Lin Beichen still felt conflicted, as he did not know how to harness its power.
"I can’t possibly sit and meditate here forever," he muttered to himself while pacing around the tree.
In Lin Beichen’s moment of helplessness, he suddenly noticed vines hanging down from the giant tree. Without hesitation and acting on instinct, he grabbed a vine and began climbing.
This action immediately reignited the anxiety in Song Xiangdong, who had been monitoring him. No one knew the nature of this tree. If it posed no danger, that would be ideal, but if it did, Lin Beichen’s life could be at risk.
In such a dense forest, any situation could become a threat, and even an inconspicuous vine could become a lethal Asura.
"Haven’t you found this place yet?"
Although he knew it was nearly impossible, Song Xiangdong still couldn’t contain his frustration and asked his subordinates. Seeing their confused expressions, he felt even more exasperated.
However, there was nothing to be done. Even Song Xiangdong understood that the world Lin Beichen was in might not be the real world; evidently, Lin Beichen had entered a black hole.