Legend of the Great Sage

ke this! Li Qingshan wondered inside.

The woman was enchanting.
She had a slender and elegant figure with a resplendent smile across her face.
Her head full of golden hair was adorned with a beautiful sun vine flower.
She seemed so brilliant, but Li Qingshan instinctively became vigilant over her, reluctant to approach her.

He thought of something and suddenly understood what was going on.
So she was the sun vine, and the aura she gave off clearly made her a Daemon King too!

“Qingshan, are you satisfied with how you were received?” The Great Banyan Tree King came up to receive him, while the woman with golden hair followed him blindly, leaning against him the entire time.

“Utterly satisfied!” Li Qingshan patted his belly and let out a belch.
He looked at the woman.
“May I ask who this fellow is?”

“You can just call me madam Vine.
This is my old master Tree!”

The Great Banyan Tree King was about to introduce her when madam Vine beat him to it.
Her gentle voice was like the coiling of vines, but she had only glanced past Li Qingshan and Xiao An swiftly.
Even the little phoenix did not earn a second glance from her.
Her gaze immediately returned to the Great Banyan Tree King’s face, filled with love and attachment.

Li Qingshan cringed inside.
Even among human couples, this was a rare sight, let alone the fact that they were two Daemon Kings.

However, a hint of envy flashed through Xiao An’s eyes.
She was not envious of their intimacy, but their insistence to watch one another and to never part.

The Great Banyan Tree King seemed to be accustomed to this.
As he invited Li Qingshan into the palace, he asked, “How did you feel on your way here?”

“It felt fantastic!” Li Qingshan said from the bottom of his heart.
It was not only because of the fine food and alcohol, but also because of the unique “cultures” living between the trees.
Just the different races of otherfolk he has encountered numbered to several dozen.
Most of them still hunted prey and killed one another, but it abided by the cycle of nature.
Regardless of their strength, every single creature had a place to shelter themselves, allowing them to breed and thrive.

Li Qingshan mentioned his thoughts, which made the Great Banyan Tree King laugh aloud.
Clearly, he had touched on what the Great Banyan Tree King took pride in.

“Though, you seem to have expanded just a little too much.
This probably won’t be beneficial to ascension!”

“What’d I say? Old man, I told you you were wrong.
Even this little brother who’s never been here before can see the problem.
How does this benefit your cultivation? What do those otherfolk and daemons have to do with you?” Madam Vine grumbled.

“I don’t live for the sake of what’s beneficial to me.
Speaking of which, if that’s what I was thinking five thousand years ago, I wouldn’t have you right now.” The Great Banyan Tree King smiled gently and cordially.

“But you already have me now!” Madam Vine said.

“Senior’s magnimanity and kindness fills me with admiration!” Li Qingshan sighed in amazement.
He was not exactly a kind person, but he did admire the Great Banyan Tree King very much, and he was a direct beneficiary of this kindness.

“Keep quiet!” Madam Vine shot a glance at Li Qingshan distastefully.

“Don’t be rude!” The Great Banyan Tree King waved his hand.
“I have something to discuss with Qingshan.
You can go for now!”

“I refuse!” Madam Vine threw a tantrum.
Only when the Great Banyan Tree King frowned did she leave him with utter reluctance, directly vanishing into thin air.

The Great Banyan Tree King said to Li Qingshan, “I’ve made a fool of myself.”

“You’re old but vigorous senior, which only fills me with even more admiration!” Li Qingshan said mischievously.

The Great Banyan Tree King shook his head helplessly and invited Li Qingshan into the main hall of the palace.
“I’m not as great as you think I am.
I’d rather give up on ascending than forsake the common creatures.
I’ve invited you here this time because I actually want to ask you to do something for me!”

“Why ask? If you need my help, just mention it.
If I can help you, I’ll definitely do everything within my ability.”

Li Qingshan became solemn.
He did not agree to it blindly.
Paying people back was his principle, but something that could make the Great Banyan Tree King “ask” for help definitely was not something small.
All he could do was handle the request prudently.
It would only be inappropriate if he agreed to it, only to find out it was beyond his abilities.

The Great Banyan Tree King paused for a moment.
He looked up and let out a great sigh.
“Of all the living creatures in the world, can any of them go without desiring anything? Even a tree asks for sunlight and rain! Once they develop intelligence and turn into a daemon, they’ll ask for even more.
Watching over the creatures of this world alone is a wish of mine, but since I’ve set foot on this path of cultivation, I’m obviously seeking a path as well.
Though, you should have realised already.
The path I seek is not undergoing tribulations and ascending.”

“Then what path is it?” Li Qingshan asked in wonder.
Apart from constantly facing tribulations, was there some other path available?

“Since you’ve met Golden Cicada, has he mentioned his metaphor of the well and his wish to leap out of it?”

“He has.”

“That’s what he seeks.
Leaping out of the well is to undergo the heavenly tribulation and ascend, to venture to a vaster, more distant world.
After all, are there any cicadas that don’t want to burst out of the soil, shed their skin, and spread their wings? But I’m just a tree.
I just want to watch over this world!”

Xiao An said calmly, “The lifespans of daemons far exceeds that of humans, and plant daemons can live even longer than regular daemons, but that doesn’t make their lives endless.
There will be a day when they run out of life.”

“That’s correct.
Watching over this world isn’t so easy or simple.
If it only leads to death, I probably would not have such determination either.
After all, I am a living creature as well, so how can I not possess a desire for survival? Longevity has always been the most fundamental pursuit of all cultivators!”

“Then what are you thinking?”

“I’ve thought about this for many years, and I’ve only come up with a single idea, which is becoming the ‘well’!” The Great Banyan Tree King’s deep-green eyes shone with a sagacious light.