"He's right..." Bai Bing Zhe thought to himself.
"The truth is, I no longer have the strength to continue wandering through the wilderness."
"I haven't eaten anything for nearly a day and a half. Most of my Gu worms have already starved to death, leaving me without a single offensive Gu. On top of that, I'm nothing more than an initial-stage Rank Two Gu Master."
He fell silent for a moment before asking,
"What do you want in return? I refuse to believe you're offering to help me out of compassion."
The ancient tree chuckled softly.
"Nothing too demanding."
It paused briefly before continuing.
"You see... I actually died a very long time ago."
"All I require from you is your assistance in bringing me back to life."
Bai Bing Zhe's eyes widened.
"Resurrection?!"
His voice was filled with disbelief.
"But... isn't returning from the dead impossible?"
The tree let out another low laugh.
"Impossible?"
"There is no such thing as 'impossible' in this world, boy."
Its voice carried absolute certainty.
"In truth, I know a thousand different methods to restore myself to life. Compared to everything else I've accomplished, this is hardly a difficult matter."
The ancient tree then spoke calmly, as though proposing an ordinary transaction.
"If you accept my offer, place your hand upon one of the faces carved into my trunk and declare your agreement."
After a brief pause, it added,
"At the same time, state the reward you desire in return."
Bai Bing Zhe fell into deep silence.
His gaze settled on the countless faces carved into the ancient tree's trunk, and he hesitated to move any closer.
"What if... I become one of those faces the moment I place my hand on the tree?"
"What if I'm trapped inside it forever, condemned to become another silent face carved into its trunk?"
The thought crept into his heart like icy poison, but it did not linger for long.
He shook his head sharply, forcing the fear from his mind.
"What am I afraid of?"
"If I keep hesitating, I'll die in the wilderness sooner or later."
"And when that happens... I'll lose any chance of avenging my brother."
He clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.
"More importantly... if I gain enough power, I may even be able to return one day and save my clan as well."
At that moment, his desire for revenge overwhelmed every trace of fear.
He raised his head and walked toward the ancient tree with steady steps.
With every step he took, the eerie blue light grew brighter, until it completely enveloped his body.
Stopping before the massive trunk, he slowly extended his hand.
His palm came to rest upon one of the carved faces.
It was as cold as ice, yet strangely alive, as though something behind the lifeless features was silently watching him.
Bai Bing Zhe took a deep breath before speaking in a firm voice.
"I... accept."
He paused for a brief moment before continuing.
"In exchange, grant me the power I need to achieve my revenge."
...
Back to the Present
Jian Long walked out of the cinema, his face still filled with astonishment, and said excitedly,
"Amazing... Unbelievable!"
"He handled ten at once! There were moves I never imagined were even possible."
He then shook his head in admiration and added,
"And on top of that, it wasn't just the women—even the men didn't escape him either! I never would have imagined that he'd turn his archenemy into a woman and then add her to his harem!"
He was still immersed in his excitement after Zhou Quan had invited him to watch the movie "The Life Story of Giant Sun Immortal Venerable."
Jian Long smiled and said enthusiastically,
"It's truly a masterpiece. I give it a ten out of ten! Come on, let's watch it again."
Zhou Quan sighed and shook his head in resignation.
"Enough. We've watched the movie more than ten times today."
He then pointed toward the sky, where night had begun to spread its veil over the city.
"It's already night. Come on, let's rent an apartment and spend the night there."
Although night had fallen, the city's streets had lost none of their vitality or bustle. If anything, they seemed to have awakened to a new life.
The sunlight had long disappeared, replaced by countless colorful lights emitted by Light Path Gu worms used to illuminate the streets, buildings, and signboards. Meanwhile, enormous advertising screens filled the roads with moving images and brilliant colors, making the night appear even brighter than the day.
Jian Long and Zhou Quan continued walking, gradually moving farther away from the heart of the city.
the luxurious buildings became fewer, the lighting grew dimmer, the roads became rougher, and the signs of prosperity slowly faded away.
Yanmen City was built in the shape of a semicircle.
To its north stood the towering peak of the mountain range upon whose slopes the city had been constructed.
The peak rose into the heavens like a colossal natural barrier, its terrain so steep and unforgiving that living or building upon it was virtually impossible.
As a result, the northern districts, which overlooked the mountain peak, had become the wealthiest and most prosperous parts of the city.
However, the farther one traveled south, the more obvious the signs of poverty became, as though the city's prosperity gradually faded with increasing distance from the mountain.
By the time the two of them had fallen silent, they had reached the southern end of Rénmín Road, one of the six main thoroughfares that stretched across Yanmen City.
After that, Zhou Quan headed toward one of the nearby apartment buildings and rented an apartment there.
The apartment was not large. It consisted of a single room measuring twenty square meters, furnished with nothing more than simple furniture, along with a small four-square-meter kitchen and a separate six-square-meter bathroom.
The monthly rent was ninety primeval stones, equivalent to half of the monthly income earned by an ordinary Rank One or Rank Two Gu Master in the city.
Jian Long looked around the apartment before frowning in dissatisfaction.
"Couldn't you find a place any bigger than this?"
The apartment felt incredibly cramped in his eyes.
Despite all the shortcomings of the Bai clan, he and his family had lived on the outskirts of the clan's territory, where the land was open and spacious, and no one cared how they built their homes.
As a result, although their house had been humble and run-down, it was still far more spacious than this tiny apartment.
Zhou Quan smiled wryly and said,
"If you think this apartment is bad, then you should see the apartments in the poorer districts."
He shook his head as he continued,
"The people there don't even have private kitchens or bathrooms. They're all shared among the residents."
He glanced around the room before adding,
"And the apartments themselves... are much smaller than this one."