"Partially true." Bibi Dong didn't deny it, "Thirteen thousand years ago, divisions arose within the Divine Realm regarding how to handle relations with the Abyss. Some gods believed that although the Abyss's power was dangerous, it could also be guided and utilized. We—including him, the Forest God Edwin, and my teacher, along with several others—formed a secret group, attempting to study the Abyss's essence and find methods to control it."
"And then you played with fire and burned yourselves." Edwin's face twisted, both laughing and crying, "The Abyss was never something that could be controlled. It's like the most cunning parasite—once it finds a crack, it will madly drill in until it hollows out its host from within. Our experiment got out of control, Abyss aura leaked out, contaminating a region of the Divine Realm. To cover it up, we had to completely banish that region along with everything in it—including hundreds of innocent divine officials. That was the prototype of the divine tomb."
Tang Wulin felt a chill: "So the divine tomb was originally part of the Divine Realm?"
"It was a prison, a grave, and also a place of exile." Edwin continued, his tone carrying a morbid excitement, "Most of the gods who participated in the plan were executed in the later reckoning. My teacher, the Goddess of Life, personally stripped me of my divine position, shattered my divine soul, and fused every piece into a Soul-Devouring Tree. And my body became nourishment for this forest. But do you know? The most interesting thing is, she didn't kill me. She let me live, in this manner 'immortalized,' day after day feeling countless departed souls screaming, wailing, and rotting within my consciousness."
He paused, looking at Bibi Dong: "And you, Rakshasa, you escaped disaster. Because you had a good teacher who took on most of the guilt for you, imprisoning herself in the depths of the divine tomb. So you were only stripped of part of your divine authority and exiled to the lower realm. Thirteen thousand years have passed. You've returned now—what do you want to do? Save her? Or... complete our unfinished plan from back then?"
Bibi Dong was silent for a long time before finally speaking: "I've only come to retrieve what rightfully belongs to me."
"Your divine position? Power? Or... the truth?" Edwin laughed loudly, "Rakshasa, you're still so naive. Do you think your teacher really just took the blame for you out of simple kindness? Do you think she imprisoned herself here truly out of guilt? No, no, no—she's here to guard a secret, a secret about the Divine Realm, about the Abyss, about the origin of everything."
"What secret?" Qian Renxue couldn't help asking.
Edwin's face turned toward her, a trace of amazement flashing in his eyes: "Oh, what pure light aura... Angel God? No, more ancient, more sacred... Interesting. You're Rakshasa's daughter? How ironic—the darkest god actually gave birth to the most luminous inheritor. Little girl, you want to know the secret? Then come here, let me 'tell' you properly..."
Before his words fell, countless pitch-black vines suddenly burst from the ground, lunging straight at Qian Renxue!
"Careful!" Tang Wulin swept out with his spear, golden spear light severing large swathes of vines. But there were far too many vines, and they regenerated immediately after being cut. More vines surged from all directions.
Dai Chengfeng unfolded his Wind Domain, countless wind blades slicing the approaching vines into fragments. But the vines were endless—they even began entwining those wind blades, devouring the divine power within them.
"Useless." Edwin's voice came from all directions, "Within the Tree King's domain, all divine power will be devoured and transformed, becoming my nourishment. The harder you struggle, the stronger I become."
Bibi Dong finally moved.
She didn't attack the vines, but walked straight toward the Tree King's main trunk. Wherever she passed, the vines automatically parted, as if not daring to approach her.
"You're still so foolish, Edwin." Bibi Dong's voice was ice-cold, "Thirteen thousand years, and you haven't grown at all. Do you think I would dare return without preparation?"
She extended her right hand, palm upward. A purple-black seal appeared in her palm, emitting pure, tremor-inducing death aura.
The moment he saw that seal, the smile on Edwin's face froze.
"The Nether God Seal... how do you have..." For the first time, fear appeared in his voice.
"My teacher gave it to me." Bibi Dong said calmly, "Back then, she took away not only her own guilt, but also the key to restrain you. Edwin, I'll give you two choices. First, open the passage and let us through. I promise that if the opportunity arises in the future, I will find a way to release you from this eternal torment. Second, I activate the Nether God Seal and completely annihilate even your final divine soul fragments, letting you truly, completely die."
The vines' attacks stopped.
The entire open space fell into deathly silence. The thousands of human faces on the Tree King trunk all closed their mouths, leaving only Edwin's face, its expression twisted, eyes flashing with anger, fear, unwillingness, finally transforming into deep exhaustion.
"Release..." he murmured, "Thirteen thousand years. Every day my consciousness is gnawed upon by countless departed souls. I've thought of death, thought of completely disappearing, but the Tree King's instincts make me seek survival, make me constantly devour more divine souls to maintain this damned existence... Release, easier said than done."
"But at least it's hope." Bibi Dong said, "You followed my teacher back then, wasn't it also because you believed she could create a better Divine Realm? Although we failed, at least, my teacher never gave up. She's still there, in the deepest part of the divine tomb, guarding that secret, waiting for those who can change everything."
Edwin was silent for a long time.
Then, he smiled, that smile carrying a trace of relief.
"Alright, Rakshasa, you've convinced me. After all, you and your teacher are the only ones in these ten thousand years who still 'remember' me." He took a deep breath—though trees fundamentally didn't need to breathe, "I can open the passage, but there's one condition."
"Speak."
"Take this." A vine drilled out from the ground, its tip curled around a fruit as black as ink, with vein-like patterns pulsing on its surface, "This is my 'seed,' containing my last bit of pure divine soul fragment. If you truly see your teacher, give her the seed, tell her... I never hated her. I just... wanted too much to see that new world."
Bibi Dong received the seed—it was ice-cold to the touch, yet she could feel the weak but resilient life fluctuations within.
"I will." she promised solemnly.
Edwin nodded. Then, the thousands of human faces on the tree trunk simultaneously opened their eyes, chanting in unison an ancient, obscure incantation. The Tree King's main trunk split open from the middle, revealing a downward-leading staircase that seemed to have no end in sight.
"This secret passage leads to the core region of the divine tomb, bypassing the most dangerous areas in the forest. But what lies at the end, I don't know. I have already... for a very, very long time, not 'seen' that deep a place." Edwin's voice began growing weak—clearly, opening this passage had consumed tremendous energy.
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