Chapter 252: The tree at the center of the world
As he got close to the tree, Cao Yun could feel the powerful life force that emanated from it. Clearly, the entire Qi he could feel in this floor was due to this tree. In fact, it was more than likely that everything strange in this floor had this tree as its source. Even the grass on the ground was probably related to it and so were the clouds.
At first, Cao Yun was a bit hesitant but he still tried to attack the trunk of the tree. Even after using his entire strength, there was no trace at all on the tree. Not even a piece of bark could be removed with his spear. However, Cao Yun could distinctly sense an intimacy between the tree and the Drop of Wrath. Moreover, this sensation spread through his entire body thanks to the new blood in his veins. Thus, there was no doubt in Cao Yun's mind. This giant tree was somehow related to Cleansed Asura as was this entire black pagoda and the whole world he was in right now.
But if something so full of life was related to Cleansed Asura, this raised many questions. For example, Cao Yun's doubts became much more certain. In his mind, it proved that Can Mouye's new master could not be Cleansed Asura. Either that master was a complete fraud or he was related to Cleansed Asura in some other way. Many possibilities existed but Cao Yun could not decided which one was correct. But by climbing this tree and learning more about this black pagoda, he might find the answers he was looking for.
One last time, he looked at Huang Liyue and the egg. Both of them seemed to be calm and peaceful. Although the wounds on Huang Liyue were still extremely severe, so much so that she was completely bandaged, her breathing had gotten more regular and serene. After all, this place was full of life, even though the Qi density was not as great as in the Hongchen Kingdom. But the Qi seemed to be brimming with even more life. Its quality was different. Still, Cao Yun could not pinpoint exactly what was different.
Satisfied that everything was going well on the ground, Cao Yun put down his 'Nine Chi Black Dragon Spear' and started to climb the tree. He had been reluctant to leave his weapon but even holding the spear on his back would have slowed him down. It wouldn't be very convenient to climb a giant tree with a spear even taller than he was. Hopefully though, there would not be any threat.
Ready, Cao Yun gathered his strength in his legs. And with one powerful leap, he tried to jump as high as he could. Considering his current strength, he was fairly confident that he would be able to reach incredibly high. Maybe he couldn't go all the way to the clouds, but he would at least get halfway there.
Unfortunately, reality turned out to be very different. Although Cao Yun had not used all of his strength, so that he wouldn't injure his legs which had taken quite a punishment already, he had still used a rather great amount of it. Yet, he had barely jumped a distance equal to twice his height. The surprise was great, because he had clearly felt that he had crossed a great distance. Contrary to his perception though, he had barely climbed the tree at all.
Once more, Cao Yun tried to jump. Since he was now holding on the tree, he could not develop that much strength in his jump. But once more, he realized that he had almost not moved at all. There was something strange with space in this floor. This was apparent by the fact that it seemed to stretch beyond the horizons even though it was inside a black pagoda that wasn't nearly that big. But now space also seemed to be stretched in height. Thus, there was no way for Cao Yun to know how long it would take him to reach the summit. In fact, it was absolutely possible that he could never reach the clouds. Indeed, he had no way of knowing how space worked in this floor and he was only a Mortal. Maybe, if he could fly, he would have been able to get there faster.
But it did not deter Cao Yun at all. He had no other lead to follow other than this black pagoda. And he was quite determined to get to the bottom of it, figuratively speaking.
Instead of wasting his energy with jumps that did not make him progress very fast, Cao Yun decided to climb in a more conventional manner. And he got quite surprised by the fact that he was crossing much more distance that way. Apparently, there was something preventing someone from climbing the tree by jumping. Likely, there was some kind of force preventing cultivators from flying up in the sky. And this also prevented cultivators from jumping in the sky. So even if Cao Yun had been a Spirit Warrior, he still couldn't have flown up there.
But considering that his physique was almost as powerful as a middle Mortal Warrior's, Cao Yun was not slow at all. With his own perception, he was extremely fast. But for someone who would have watched him from the ground below, he would have appeared to not be faster than a mere mortal.
-
After several hours, Cao Yun reached the very first branch of the tree. This one was very short compared to the other ones. Besides, it was extremely low as well. Cao Yun was not even a third of the way to the clouds.
Because he had been exhausted by the climbing, the young man decided to rest a little on the branch. He had realized that the Qi was getting denser as the air was getting thinner. And since he was literally touching the tree, the source of Qi in this place, Cao Yun was able to restore most of his strength fairly quickly.
Thus, he sat cross-legged on the branch. As small as it was compared with the rest of the tree, the branch was still several times thicker than Cao Yun's body.
The moment Cao Yun began to meditate, he saw visions.
In an instant, he found himself in a world of pure green. Everything around him was covered in vegetation, grass, bushes, flowers. The entire world was a meadow. And just like the floor he was currently in, there was not a single trace of water although the vegetation seemed glistening with dew. Then, Cao Yun saw the same clouds he had seen in this floor. Those clouds were being supported by a titanic tree. It was way more impressive than this one. Indeed, this tree was almost as big as the very planet it was on.
In his vision, Cao Yun was the tree itself. He could feel his roots that spread throughout the core of the planet. Every bit of vegetation was an extension of the tree. In fact, it seemed as though the planet itself was part of the tree and not the other way around. Finally, the clouds were like leaves on the tree. And even above the clouds, there was a giant dome of branches that separated this world from the void around. Seeing the planet from the outside, it looked like a wooden ball floating adrift in the void.
For what seemed like millenniums, Cao Yun was just a tree. He enjoyed the warmth from eight suns revolving around the wooden dome. He could feel every vegetation. It was reminiscent of his current cultivation realm while he was trying to feel and open all of his cells to Qi. But this tree had clearly reached a realm way beyond this one. In fact, this tree also seemed to have embarked on a cultivation journey. But since it was so different from a human, Cao Yun was unable to tell what cultivation realm it had reached. However, this world-tree should have been way more powerful than a Spirit Warrior.
As Cao Yun was feeling all of that, he also started to feel something else. Time had lost all meaning to the young man who was dreaming of being a tree. So he could not tell how long it had been. But in front of him, there was now a man. And he recognized this man right away. He had already seen him in a vision created by the Drop of Wrath. This man was Cleansed Asura. However, in that past vision, Cleansed Asura had only been a young man. Right now, he was a man.
Cleansed Asura had black hair floating in the void. Behind him, there was a wheel of gold and fire with many details engraved here and there. Cao Yun could see many faces of demons and gods on it. But there were also humans, animals and even plants. This wheel seemed to always rotate behind Cleansed Asura. All around the cultivator, there was an aura of divinity and serenity. Although he was in the void, he was not affected by it at all. Most likely, he had already reached the Immortal realm, or even higher. Cao Yun was experiencing all of this through the lens of the tree and he could not distinguish the man's cultivation.
Between his eyebrows, Cleansed Asura had a strange mark that reminded Cao Yun of Insight Writings. But he could not understand what it meant at all. Despite his lack of understanding, he made sure to commit it to memory.
By waving his hand, Cleansed Asura delicately pushed the branches aside and flew inside the wooden dome. Unlike Cao Yun, he was not disturbed by the strange space within. In fact, if Cao Yun had not known that space was distorted within, he would not have guessed so by watching his master. He flew as if everything was normal and arrived in front of the titanic tree. Putting a hand on the trunk, he tried to feel the tree's life force.
By doing so, the tree and by extension Cao Yun were able to also feel Cleansed Asura's life force. As such, their bodies resonated with one another.
Deep within Cao Yun's heart, the Drop of Wrath reacted. And deep within Cleansed Asura's heart, his Drop of Wrath reacted. For an instant, Cleansed Asura frowned. Then, Cao Yun heard a voice in his head. Although he could not understand the language at all, he was able to perceive the meaning behind them. As the tree could not understand human speech, Cleansed Asura had tried to convey his intentions as well.
"Venerable World-Tree, this humble one has a selfish request. Please, give me one of your seeds. I do not know what may please you, but I am ready to cross the ocean of stars to find it and bring it back to you, if you only listen to my wish."
Then, he stopped talking and kept his hands on the world-tree for many years. Cleansed Asura showed no sign of irritation or frustration. Right now, he was trying to convey his sincerity. As he was one with the tree, Cao Yun could feel that that human was way more powerful than itself. If he had wanted to, he could have destroyed the tree and stolen its seeds. Yet, he was there, humbling himself, so that the tree would listen to his request.
Once again, time meant almost nothing to the majestic tree. As such, even Cao Yun did not know how long Cleansed Asura stayed immobile, his hands on the trunk of the world-tree. But it shouldn't have been less than two decades.
In the end, a branch started to sprout between Cleansed Asura's hands. Just like everything else, it took a very long time. But ultimately, the branch produced a fruit. It was just as big as Cleansed Asura's hand. That fruit was completely green and there was almost no flesh on it. Within it though, there was a big seed ready to be planted and grow into another tree.
The sensation was very clear. This seed was the giant tree Cao Yun was currently climbing.
His visions continued a little bit. Cao Yun saw Cleansed Asura plant this seed in the second floor of a majestic golden pagoda. And he cared for it during several centuries until it sprouted its first shoot. Then, the vision became much more blurry. In the end, Cao Yun simply woke up without seeing anything more.
But now, he was absolutely certain of himself. Obviously, this tree was related to Cleansed Asura as was this black pagoda. But more than that, Cao Yun was now sure that Can Mouye's new master was not Cleansed Asura. Someone who humbled himself so much in front of that tree could not suddenly turn into a man helping a demonic cultivator. However, there was always a possibility that seeing his own death coming had changed his self. Still, what seemed more likely to Cao Yun was that someone or something was impersonating him. Maybe it was something that had come from him, but it couldn't be him. Right now, Cao Yun refused to believe it.
Once he was fully awake, the young 9th-grade Mortal realized that he had an even deeper connection to his own cells. His experience with the world-tree had given him some hints as to how to better perceive his body.
And he had also gained something else. He had heard the language of Cleansed Asura for the very first time. Thanks to the Merciful Deity Temples' scriptures and the engravings seen by Huang Liyue, Cao Yun had been able to receive bits and pieces of his language. But he had no way of knowing how it sounded. With this new knowledge, Cao Yun could at least identify a few things. This language was very different from his own, but hopefully, he would be able to decipher it one day. After all, he had received a treasure trove of knowledge he simply couldn't read.
Now, he was also certain of his hypothesis. Cleansed Asura had tried to convert all of his knowledge into Nuhua. But only the 'Cultivation of Wrath' had been correctly translated. Most of the other documents had only been transcribed using various similar sonorities, or similar looking characters. In one word, this was a mess. Even someone knowing both languages would have had a very hard time converting all those texts into actual meaning.
But right now, Cao Yun had the key to finally start to learn Cleansed Asura's language. No matter how long it would take, one day, he would understand all of this knowledge. Cleansed Asura had given him all he had ever known with his dying breath. So Cao Yun wanted to understand it, not just because it was probably incredible, but also to protect his master's legacy. With that same goal in mind, he would also make sure that whoever was using and soiling his name would meet his end.