In Yino’s version of events, it all started with Liuli kidnapping Ruoning.
According to Yino, he and Ruoning were childhood sweethearts with a marriage contract, so they’d stayed together since entering Azure Forest. He’d been present when Liuli kidnapped Ruoning.
He chased Liuli to save Ruoning, following her deep into Azure Forest to the ancient hall beneath the thousand-year tree where the ancient tree demon was sealed. They fought continuously in the hall, but Liuli proved too strong for Yino to gain the upper hand.
Midway through the battle, Xumo showed up uninvited. Claiming he’d also save Ruoning, he joined forces with Yino against Liuli. But just as they were about to overwhelm her, her corruption array activated. The ancient tree demon turned dark and broke free, its terrifying abyssal energy blasting away the righteous cultivators in the hall.
Yino knew disaster would strike if the tree demon escaped – it would devastate the entire Azure Forest. He turned to Xumo for help containing it, only to see him running away, abandoning his fellow cultivators.
Left with no choice, Yino and his companions faced the tree demon alone-
“Wait.” Before the fuming Xumo could protest, the white-haired elder interrupted.
This elder, Chen Wenhua, managed arrays for Wuji Sect and had helped seal the tree demon years ago. In the game, he played a minor role, notable only for leading the reinforcements when the tree demon went berserk. Now, a century later, he’d become an elder overseeing Azure Forest’s arrays.
“As I understand it, this ancient tree demon concentrated Azure Forest’s spiritual energy for centuries,” Chen Wenhua said. “A guardian deity gone berserk would unleash catastrophic energy – one breath could annihilate all life, instantly destroying Core Formation disciples like yourselves…”
“In such dire straits, you’re saying instead of fleeing, you planned to fight the tree demon with just a few Foundation Establishment and Core Formation companions?”
Wenhua raised his eyebrows skeptically. He remembered witnessing an ancient tree’s terrifying power in his youth. Only the tree demon’s kindness had prevented war with the righteous cultivators. If it had truly turned dark, these young disciples wouldn’t have survived!
To him, Xumo’s terrified flight seemed the normal reaction for their age. Yino’s tale of mortals containing an ancient deity seemed far-fetched…
“Exactly! Yino’s lying! I told you he’s working with that evil cult maiden!” Xumo jumped in, emboldened by the exposed holes in Yino’s story.
Wenhua shot him a disdainful look. While Yino’s story stretched belief, Xumo’s version made even less sense – how could a Grand Tutor’s son ally with evil cults? Especially when Ruoning herself testified otherwise.
As Wenhua wrestled with this dilemma, Yino sighed theatrically: “Elder Wenhua, you’re either playing dumb or truly unaware.”
Despite his youth, Yino spoke with strange authority. Wenhua’s temple throbbed – no young disciple had ever dared take such a tone with him in his centuries of life.
But Yino’s next words made him draw a sharp breath-
“Elder, this young lady is Yunjin,” Yino gestured. “Surely you’ve heard that she’s our Wuji Sect’s once-in-a-century talent with Natural Resonance ability?”
“I have heard something…”
Wenhua furrowed his brow, trying to make sense of what Yino was getting at. Seeing the elder still confused, Yino nudged another figure forward: a petite young girl with nine-colored antlers and gently curling golden hair.
“If you don’t quite understand Yunjin, Elder Wenhua, you should at least recognize this nine-colored spirit deer’s resonance ability.”
“A nine-colored spirit deer?!”
The old man’s eyes widened. Across the way, the deer girl sensed the respect directed at her. She planted her hands at her waist, letting her antlers shine with nine shifting hues. Everyone nearby felt a soothing warmth flow over their bodies, and in that soft glow, the little girl with antlers looked almost sacred.
“Indeed,” Yino said, rubbing Wangxue’s round cheeks like she was a small pet. “She’s the guardian spirit of Snow Village, once mentioned in our sect leader’s commendation ceremony.”
Wenhua seemed to realize something, but he fumbled for words. Before he could piece it together, Yino revealed the truth:
“With the combined resonance of this nine-colored spirit deer and Yunjin, they delved into the ancient tree demon’s very soul. They heard the echoes pulsing through Azure Forest for a thousand years. They felt the hundred-year agony of that poor sapling sealed beneath the ancient hall…
“Elder Wenhua, you’re an old hand in Wuji Sect, so you must know the real story of why the ancient tree demon was sealed away. Last night, though it looked like a monstrous beast, deep down it was nothing but a pitiful, lonely little child of the forest.”
Yino paused. “That child wept as it told us how the righteous sects tormented it these past hundred years…”
“It said it doesn’t even hate us. It’s just been in agony for so long, shut away without a single friend to talk to. That’s how Liuli’s dark magic invaded its mind…”
“It said it never wanted to become a demonic threat, hurting those it once protected. It begged us to save it, to stop it from sinking further and destroying all of Azure Forest…
“So in the end…” Yino gestured toward the deer girl and Yunjin. “My little deer here and Yunjin spent ages with that sapling in the ocean of consciousness, soothing it until it finally escaped the evil cult maiden’s corruption.”
He looked at Wenhua. “Now, Elder Wenhua, do you still doubt that we actually quelled an angry thousand-year tree? Tell me…”
Yino took a breath, sweeping his gaze around the room before fixing his eyes on the old man. That calm, almost mocking look seemed more like a prosecutor interrogating criminals than a junior showing respect. “After hearing that tree’s heartfelt confession, what do you as our righteous elder really think? Could the ancient tree demon be lying? Could our righteous sects have done something like that to a benevolent forest guardian?”
His final words dripped with sarcasm. Xumo stood there fuming, but just as he was about to accuse Yino of making it all up, he noticed the very elders who’d looked skeptical a moment ago now stood pale and silent. Xumo had no idea why they’d suddenly changed… but Wenhua knew perfectly well.
He had been part of the effort to seal the ancient tree demon a hundred years ago, and he knew that only those original elders would understand the real truth. Younger disciples shouldn’t have any clue. And yet Yino had spoken it plainly, with the nine-colored deer—a documented guardian—right there to support the story. It made too much sense to dismiss.
“Ahem… ahem…” Wenhua cleared his throat in an effort to save face in front of the others. After confirming no other disciples were around, he regarded Yino with a slightly friendlier look. “As for those old times, you weren’t born in that era, so you don’t know what really happened back then… but I understand your sympathy for what seemed so pitiful. Truly, I see where you’re coming from.”
In truth, he was trying to appease Yino, speaking in vague generalities to calm the situation. After all, Yino was the Grand Tutor’s seventh son and had connections to Wuji Sect’s hierarchy. Knowing Azure Forest’s true past, he could easily spread what he’d learned once they left, damaging not only Wuji Sect but the entire Immortal Alliance’s reputation. So Wenhua needed to keep things cordial and hope Yino respected an unspoken pact of secrecy.
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“I understand, Elder Wenhua. Naturally, I know our predecessors had no choice when they expanded their territories,” Yino said. He wasn’t trying to play a stubborn hero; if Wenhua wanted to make peace, he wouldn’t push matters too far. Still, halfway through his polite words, Yino glanced over at Xumo and switched tone.
“But, Elder, look at us. We’ve fought tooth and nail, covered in wounds just to soothe that little demon girl’s rage and protect Azure Forest from the demonic abyss. Meanwhile, what did Xumo do? Not only did he refuse to help, but now he’s slandering and spreading rumors about us…”
Xumo : ?_????