"How big is the Forest-Sea Source Realm?"
"No one knows where its borders lie."
"And the God-Shaded Land?"
"You'll know when you get there."
"Do the Nishe serpents have intelligence?"
"In a serpent swarm, only the serpent king possesses intelligence."
"You said your Sacred Clan warriors hunt Nishe serpents. Is it for food?"
"Nishe serpents are lethally poisonous. Eat one and you die." Qing Jiuye gave Jiang Chen an odd look and continued, "We hunt them for their skins, to make Nishe cloaks. The Nishe serpent's power of concealment lies entirely in its hide. Wear one of those cloaks and you can hide your tracks just like a Nishe serpent. It greatly improves one's chances of survival and reduces casualties."
Jiang Chen was visibly tempted. He had witnessed the Nishe serpent's concealment ability firsthand—it was truly silent and soundless, without so much as a ripple of power, extremely hard to detect. "Then when I saw you, why weren't you wearing Nishe cloaks?"
"...We don't have any."
Jiang Chen understood at once. All that talk about Sacred Clan warriors frequently hunting Nishe serpents was clearly just boasting.
Even if the "Sacred Clan" did have Nishe cloaks, the stock couldn't be large. At the very least, these two Sacred Clan warriors, Qing Qishu and Qing Jiuye, had not been issued any.
"Have you ever seen another Dragon God Envoy?"
"...The most recent Dragon God Envoy descended a thousand years ago."
"Then your grandfather must have seen one at least?" Jiang Chen explained, "I'm worried you might mistake me for someone else when the time comes."
"Perhaps my grandfather's grandfather's grandfather saw one. That's too far back—I can't remember clearly. I'll have to go home and look through the books."
So Jiang Chen understood: even this so-called "Sacred Clan" was still subject to a mortal lifespan.
"Then has anyone ever seen one? How will you determine whether I'm a Dragon God Envoy or not?"
On certain questions, Qing Jiuye was very cautious: "We naturally have our own methods."
The three of them moved through the shadows cast by the giant trees. Probably out of boredom, Qing Qishu was getting eager to try: "If you have any questions, why not ask me? I actually know more than Leek Leaf does!"
"Has the wound on your chest healed yet?"
Qing Qishu: ...
He looked down at the see-through gap in his torso. "It still needs a while."
"Are you immortal?"
"...No."
"Then what would it take to kill you?"
Qing Qishu stopped talking.
Jiang Chen turned to Qing Jiuye on his right, paying special attention to the emerald leaf hanging over his brow: "Is that leaf stuck on?"
"...No."
Jiang Chen was even more astonished: "Were you born with it?"
"...Bestowed by the God-Shading ritual."
"Ah-leh..." Qing Qishu apparently couldn't take it anymore; he quickened his pace and walked a few steps ahead. "I'll go check the situation ahead."
Jiang Chen tilted his head. "Why does he always add an 'Ah-leh' when he talks? To look cute?"
Though Qing Jiuye was also quite speechless, he was well-mannered by nature—and since he was the one who had invited this guest—so he answered every question: "...Only those favored by the Dragon God are permitted to use that catchphrase."
"Then why don't you have the catchphrase? Are you not worthy?"
Qing Jiuye went silent as well.
He truly had never received the Dragon God's favor. He genuinely was not worthy.
Jiang Chen smacked his lips, a little disappointed.
He had been hoping to fish out more information, but this was apparently as far as it would go.
The reason his every question stabbed straight at the heart, leaving them speechless, was actually to keep too much of his own information from being exposed. To avoid being questioned, he struck first.
He didn't know whether he was some Dragon God Envoy or not—he didn't even know who the Dragon God was.
But if the guiding starlight of the Seven-Star Tower had sent him into the Forest-Sea Source Realm because of some "chosen summons" in a certain sense, then he might indeed have some connection to a Dragon God Envoy.
In other words, had the Seven-Star Tower secret realm already been entangled with the Forest-Sea Source Realm a thousand years ago?
Yet the Daze Tian clan's history of exploring the Seven-Star Tower secret realm, at the very most, only spanned a few hundred years—three hundred years at the outside.
The more mysterious this place was, the more satisfied Jiang Chen felt. Because the more mysterious it was, the more likely it was that the life-extending treasure he sought could actually be obtained.
Qing Qishu and Qing Jiuye led the way, and probably because the sky was darkening, they walked faster and faster.
Jiang Chen followed while straining to memorize the path they had come by.
In this boundless sea of forest, simply telling north from south was difficult enough. These giant trees, one after another, offered no landmarks whatsoever.
Jiang Chen's approach was to sweep his gaze across his field of vision for the most distinctive-looking tree and use it as a beacon. Then, beacon by beacon, he linked them into a route.
He was memorizing the road with all the diligence he had once devoted to exploring the Sea of Five Palaces amid the primordial fog.
If some conflict broke out, he would at least know which way to run.
In unfamiliar territory, only a fool entrusts his safety to others.
Traveling at great speed, after what Jiang Chen silently reckoned was roughly two hours, they arrived before an especially colossal tree.
The species of this tree was completely unfamiliar to Jiang Chen; in all his travels through the boundless sea of forest, it was one of a kind.
Its bark formed huge round plates—not rough at all, but rather smooth, giving an impression of tremendous solidity, while the edges of the plates were very sharp.
If he had to find something to compare it to, Jiang Chen thought it looked a great deal like magnified fish scales.
And according to myth and legend... dragon scales looked just like that.
The tree was extraordinarily tall and extraordinarily large.
Look up, and you could not see the top. Judging by its girth, this tree was a good ten times thicker than the giant trees around it.
The tree itself was like a city wall.
For one instant, standing before that tree, Jiang Chen had the fleeting illusion that he had returned to the gates of Linzi.
"This is the Divine Dragon Wood," Qing Jiuye said from the side.
The tree-pattern on Qing Qishu's forehead glowed a verdant light that flowed naturally into the Divine Dragon Wood. Then he took the lead: the tree's surface rippled like water, and Qing Qishu walked straight into the Divine Dragon Wood.
Jiang Chen's perception was very clear. This Divine Dragon Wood was by no means some trick of the eye—it was a tangible existence. That aura of ancient, unfathomable age could not fool anyone, and it could hardly be masked.
"Go on in. This is the God-Shaded Land."
Qing Jiuye said this and stepped in first.
He didn't seem the least bit worried that Jiang Chen wouldn't follow.
By this time in the Forest-Sea Source Realm, the faint threads of skylight filtering through the leaves had all but vanished; night was about to fall.
As far as all the information he had gathered went, the only humans in the Forest-Sea Source Realm who existed and could be communicated with were here in the God-Shaded Land. Making enemies of them would clearly be very unwise.
If he antagonized this "Sacred Clan," he probably wouldn't be able to leave the Seven-Star Tower secret realm at all, let alone gain anything from it.
To reason backward: since a fair number of people managed to leave the Seven-Star Tower secret realm every year, there couldn't be too many truly unsolvable situations here.
Most important of all, as night drew near, Jiang Chen genuinely sensed something dreadful. He didn't know what it was, but his every instinct refused to go anywhere near it.
So the God-Shaded Land was, for now, the only choice.
Jiang Chen readied himself for battle and followed close behind, stepping into the Divine Dragon Wood.
The world opened wide before his eyes!
It was like another world entirely.
Completely different from the dim tones of the Forest-Sea Source Realm outside, the God-Shaded Land was fresh and bright.
Everything in view was open and expansive.
Emerald grass spread like a carpet; the sky was clear and luminous.
Small Divine Dragon Woods spread far across the plain, each keeping an immense distance from the others, never interfering with one another's light or nourishment.
And on every Divine Dragon Wood hung enormous fruits.
Three, two, five—no two trees alike.
Those fruits were perfectly square, with doors and windows; people moved about inside them, and a peaceful murmur of life drifted over.
They were, unmistakably, houses grown natural from the trees.
Qing Qishu stood beneath one of the Divine Dragon Woods, waving at him.
"Coming!"
Jiang Chen looked up at the sky.
There, too, hung a single star—the ever-shifting Lianzhen, also known as the Jade Balance star.