"How big is the Senhai Source Realm?"
"No one knows where its boundaries lie."
"And the Land of Divine Shelter?"
"You'll know when you get there."
"Are ambush serpents intelligent?"
"In a serpent swarm, only the serpent king possesses intelligence."
"You said your Holy Clan warriors hunt ambush serpents—is it for food?"
"Ambush serpents are deadly venomous. Eat one and you die." Qing Jiuye gave Jiang Chen an odd look, then went on: "We hunt them for their skins, to make concealment cloaks. The ambush serpent's power of concealment lies entirely in its skin. Wear such a cloak, and you can hide your tracks just like an ambush serpent does. It greatly improves one's chances of survival and reduces casualties."
Jiang Chen was sorely tempted. He had witnessed the ambush serpent's power of concealment with his own eyes—truly silent and traceless, without the slightest fluctuation of force, extremely hard to detect. "Then when I saw the two of you, why weren't you wearing concealment cloaks?"
"...We don't have any."
Jiang Chen understood at once. All that talk about Holy Clan warriors frequently hunting ambush serpents had apparently been sheer bragging.
Even if the "Holy Clan" did possess concealment cloaks, their stock could not be large. At the very least, these two Holy Clan warriors, Qing Qishu and Qing Jiuye, had not been issued any.
"Have you ever seen another Dragon God Envoy before?"
"...The most recent Dragon God Envoy to descend—that was already 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."
"My grandfather's grandfather's grandfather might have seen one, perhaps. That's too far back, and the records aren't clear. I'd have to go home and dig through the books."
Jiang Chen thus understood that even for the so-called "Holy Clan," the limits of lifespan still existed.
"Then has anyone seen one? When the time comes, how will you judge whether I'm a Dragon God Envoy or not?"
Faced with certain questions, Qing Jiuye behaved with great caution: "Naturally, we have our own methods."
The three of them moved through the shadows cast by the giant trees. Qing Qishu, probably bored out of his mind, grew eager to join in: "If you have questions, why not ask me instead? I actually know more than Chive Leaf here!"
"Has the wound on your chest healed yet?"
Qing Qishu: ...
He lowered his head and looked at the see-through hole in it. "Still needs a while."
"Are you immortal, then?"
"...No."
"Then what would it take to kill you?"
Qing Qishu stopped talking.
Jiang Chen looked at Qing Jiuye on his right instead, paying particular attention to the jade-green leaves hanging above his brows: "Are those leaves stuck on?"
"...No."
Jiang Chen was even more astonished: "You were born with them?"
"...They were bestowed by the Divine Shelter Rite."
"Ah-leh..." Qing Qishu probably couldn't stand it any longer. He quickened his pace and walked a few steps ahead. "I'll go see what things look like up front."
Jiang Chen tilted his head. "Why does he always have to add an 'Ah-leh' when he speaks? Is it supposed to make him look cute?"
Though Qing Jiuye was equally speechless, he was dutiful by nature, and besides, he was the one who had invited this guest to his home, so he still answered every question: "...Only those favored by the Dragon God are permitted to use that phrase."
"Then why don't you have it? Are you unworthy?"
Qing Jiuye too fell silent.
He truly had never received the Dragon God's favor. He truly was unworthy.
Jiang Chen smacked his lips, a little disappointed.
He had been counting on fishing out more information, but this was evidently as far as it would go.
The reason he had made every sentence pierce the heart, leaving them with nothing to say, was in fact to keep his own information from being exposed too freely. To avoid being questioned, he had struck first.
He had no idea whether he was any sort of Dragon God Envoy. He did not even know who the Dragon God was.
But if the guiding starlight of the Seven Stars Tower had brought him to the Senhai Source Realm because, in some sense, he had been "chosen," then he might indeed be connected to the Dragon God Envoy.
In other words, had the Seven Stars Tower secret realm already been tied to the Senhai Source Realm a thousand years ago?
Yet the Tian family of Daze had only been exploring the Seven Stars Tower secret realm for a few hundred years at the very most—three hundred, tops.
The more mysterious this place was, the more satisfied Jiang Chen felt. Because the more mysterious it was, the more likely it became that the life-extending treasure he sought could truly be found.
Qing Qishu and Qing Jiuye led the way, and probably because night was falling, they walked faster and faster.
Jiang Chen followed while laboriously committing the route to memory.
In this endless forest sea, simply telling north from south was already a struggle. These giant trees, one after another, offered nothing in the way of landmarks.
Jiang Chen's solution was to sweep his gaze over the most distinctive-looking tree within his field of vision and take it as a beacon. Then, beacon by beacon, he linked them into a route.
He was memorizing the way with all the diligence of a man exploring the Five Palaces Sea amid the Mists of Ignorance.
If any conflict broke out, at the very least he needed to know where to run.
A stranger in a strange land would be a fool to entrust his safety to others.
Traveling at extreme speed, and silently counting off roughly two hours, they arrived before an especially colossal tree.
Jiang Chen was entirely unfamiliar with this species of tree; in all his travels through this endless forest sea, it was one of a kind.
Its bark grew in huge round plates—not rough, but remarkably smooth, giving an impression of tremendous solidity—while the edges of the plates were keenly sharp.
If he had to find a comparison, Jiang Chen thought they looked very much like fish scales greatly enlarged.
And going by myth and legend... so too were dragon scales.
This tree was supremely tall and supremely vast.
Look up, and one could not see its crown. Judged by trunk girth, this tree was a full ten times thicker than the giant trees around it.
The trunk itself was like a city wall.
For one instant, as he stood before this tree, Jiang Chen had the strange illusion of being back beneath the walls of Linzi.
"This is a Divine Dragon Tree," Qing Jiuye said from the side.
Then the tree patterns on Qing Qishu's forehead gave off an azure glow and merged, unbidden, into the Divine Dragon Tree. He stepped up first; the trunk rippled like water, and Qing Qishu walked straight into it.
Jiang Chen's perception was clear: this Divine Dragon Tree was no conjurer's trick but a solid, tangible existence. That aura of untold, ancient ages could not deceive anyone, nor could it easily be disguised.
"Go on in. This is the Land of Divine Shelter."
With those words, Qing Jiuye stepped in ahead of him.
He did not seem the least bit worried that Jiang Chen might not follow.
By now, out in the Senhai Source Realm, the faint threads of daylight filtering down through the leaves had all but faded away; night was about to fall.
Judging by everything he had learned so far, the only human race in the Senhai Source Realm that he could communicate with—and that verifiably existed—was here in the Land of Divine Shelter. Making enemies of them would be deeply unwise.
If he antagonized this "Holy Clan," he would most likely never find his way out of the Seven Stars Tower secret realm, let alone gain anything from it.
Reasoning in reverse: since a fair number of people managed to leave the Seven Stars Tower secret realm every year, there could not be too many unsolvable situations lurking within.
Most important of all, as night drew near, Jiang Chen genuinely sensed something dreadful out there. He did not know what it was, but by pure instinct he had absolutely no wish to make its acquaintance.
The Land of Divine Shelter was therefore the only choice for the present.
Jiang Chen readied himself for battle, followed close behind, and in a single step entered the Divine Dragon Tree.
Everything opened up before his eyes!
This place seemed like another world entirely.
Completely unlike the dim tenor of the Senhai Source Realm outside, the Land of Divine Shelter was fresh and bright.
What lay before his eyes was a broad, open expanse.
Emerald grass spread like a carpet; the vault of heaven was limpid and clear.
Small Divine Dragon Trees spread out across the plains far into the distance, each keeping an immense distance from its neighbors, never robbing one another of light or nourishment.
And from every single Divine Dragon Tree hung enormous fruits.
Some three, some two, some five—no two alike.
Those fruits were perfectly square, with doors and windows; within them, people could be seen moving about everywhere, and the air carried a chorus of peaceful sounds.
They were, for all the world, houses grown by nature itself.
Qing Qishu stood beneath one of the Divine Dragon Trees, waving him over.
"Coming!"
Jiang Chen looked up at the sky.
Hanging there was the same lone star—the ever-shifting, unfathomable Lianzhen, also known as the Jade Balance star.