Chapter 2 - Chapter 2: The Divine Tree

"Your Highness, please hand over the Tai Cang National Seal. We will elect a wise successor from the royal family to take over the leadership of Tai Cang.Even though Tai Cang is now a heavy mountain, and even as the king, one cannot escape poverty,In such a background, perhaps no royal dares to take on the responsibility. But we must try.""The external threats are imminent. We can no longer allow you to delay. Once you are deposed as crown prince, we, the old ministers, will naturally take responsibility for our actions.""The late king repeatedly said that the position of Tai Cang's ruler is special. If he couldn't teach you properly during his lifetime, the responsibility would fall to the selection of a worthy successor."...Ji Xia silently gazed at the impassioned ministers before him, some still weeping in sorrow.He was deeply exasperated with the former owner of this body, as memories of the previous prince's failures surfaced in his mind.As he pondered the memories, he also searched for a way out of this predicament. But all that came to his mind were unpleasant, unkind images."No wonder these people treat the crown prince this way. This kingdom, where the people, officials, and royalty all cling together in the cracks of survival, could easily be obliterated. How did such rebellious nobles emerge?""Is this what they mean by 'human diversity,' or is it proof of Xunzi's idea that 'human nature is inherently evil'?"At that moment, one of the officials, seeing Ji Xia once again fall silent, stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, please, stop pretending. We have searched your chambers thoroughly, but we still cannot find the Tai Cang National Seal. The late king is gone, and now we implore you to think of the sixty thousand people of Tai Cang!"Ji Xia was speechless.These people just wanted to strip him of his position, not kill him.Given the situation, of course, he would want to reveal the whereabouts of the National Seal.In his memories, Tai Cang, which claimed to be a country, was actually just a barren land with two cities...No, two towns, barely scraping by in unimaginable poverty.The royal family bore great responsibilities.There were no substantial benefits to the throne.But now the problem was that his memories were still incomplete; he couldn't remember where the Tai Cang National Seal was hidden.Even if he wanted to speak, he was powerless to do so.The elderly official remained silent for a long time before finally sighing.He turned toward a figure dressed in black standing by.The black-clad man bowed deeply to the elderly official and then turned to Ji Xia.His face was pale, and he was completely covered, leaving no skin exposed."This strange figure, I didn't notice him earlier!"Ji Xia's mind raced, but before he could examine the man further, his eyes inadvertently met the black-clad figure's gaze.Suddenly, Ji Xia's mind began to spin uncontrollably, as if he had fallen into an endless, twisting mire that instantly overwhelmed his thoughts."Your Highness, where have you hidden the Tai Cang National Seal?"The black-clad man spoke in a hoarse, eerie voice, like a serrated blade scraping against a throat.Ji Xia's eyes went blank, the words echoing relentlessly in his mind. The black-clad man's figure grew larger and more imposing, towering over Ji Xia.Just as Ji Xia was about to lose consciousness, a burst of golden light erupted from his mind, shattering the haunting voices.As Ji Xia regained his clarity, he was astonished to see a massive tree gleaming brightly in his mind, its light blazing like the sun!This tree was pitch black, its branches thick and strong, with leaves that shone like gold foil. The canopy was lush and mysterious, radiating an aura of divinity.Ji Xia stared at this enormous tree, speechless. He had never seen anything like it.From a distance, the tree seemed to stretch from the ground to the heavens, its branches and leaves folding into layers, spiraling upwards in an enigmatic way, adding to its mystery and solemnity.On the first level of the trunk, Ji Xia could clearly see a massive black egg-like object hanging alongside a glowing silver fruit.Beyond that, the trunk was shrouded in mist, and Ji Xia couldn't make out anything further.Suddenly, a flash of light illuminated the mist, briefly revealing the upper parts of the tree. Ji Xia caught a fleeting glimpse of what looked like huge stars, the earth, and even an infinite world, all embedded in the tree.Between the clouds, Ji Xia could make out shadowy figures, awe-inspiring and even terrifying, appearing and vanishing like phantoms."The oceans, the lands, the geographic patterns—nothing is missing. The clouds drift slowly over the planet. This is truly astonishing."Ji Xia's mind reeled in disbelief."How can there be such a bizarre tree in my head?"He tried to walk toward the tree, and in an instant, he found himself standing before it. The massive tree, which should have been unreachable, was now right before him. He reached up and touched the massive black egg.At that moment, a strange consciousness surged from the egg into Ji Xia's mind.**[Divine Object Origin: The UnderworldDivine Object Name: Yin Soldier Nest]****Info 1: Yin Soldier Nest – A common camp in the Underworld where 1,000 Yin Soldiers and 3 Yin Generals reside.Info 2: Yin Soldiers – The weakest soldiers in the Underworld, tasked with escorting soulless spirits.Info 3: Yin Generals – Leaders of the Yin Soldiers.**When the message entered Ji Xia's mind, it was like a sudden revelation. He understood the purpose of the tree."This divine tree can produce legendary items like the Yin Soldier Nest?"He withdrew his hand from the nest and placed it on the nearby silver fruit.**[Divine Object Fruit: Picking the fruit grants you a divine object.]**Ji Xia swallowed hard, gripping the fruit, and pulled with all his strength.The fruit detached from the tree and immediately transformed into a long sword.The sword's hilt was a mix of silver and blue, with a silver-white blade etched with mysterious runes. Both sides of the blade were sharp, glinting with a cold light.**[Divine Object Origin: Danu GodsDivine Object Name: The Sword of Vengeance, The Sword of Response, The Sword of Soul Theft – FlagrachFlagrach: The sword of the Celtic Sun God, capable of forcing anyone who has it pointed at their throat to answer truthfully, unable to lie. The sword automatically flies to strike enemies and returns to its owner after killing.]**Ji Xia marveled at the sword's properties, astonished that such a divine object from Western mythology had appeared."But now that I think about it, the divine objects in Eastern mythology are often exaggerated.""Simply put, this fruit is like a starter pack; it's not going to give me the Pangu Axe, right?""Though... maybe the tree really has the Pangu Axe?"He took a deep breath, his thoughts becoming clearer. Despite not understanding why this divine tree had appeared in his mind, Ji Xia knew that as long as he wished, he could bring these mythic items into the real world!As soon as he thought about returning to reality, images from his mind shattered like glass.Ji Xia returned to his body, only to find the black-clad man still staring at him, and the ministers watching in expectation, as if waiting for him to fall under their hypnotic control."Your Highness, where is the Tai Cang National Seal?"The black-clad man's hoarse voice sounded again, but he didn't expect his spell to fail.Ji Xia was about to speak when a scout rushed into the room, kneeling and shouting, "The thousand-strong Kiu Dog army and five thousand Hunters of Kiu Dog have begun their march from the border. They'll be at Tai City in three hours!""The prince's chambers are eerily silent!"Ji Xia's eyes suddenly flashed. "I have another plan. Would you like to try it?"The ministers ignored him, still kneeling, their eyes filled with tears. Some called out, "Two hundred years of hard work, two hundred years of enduring hardships, only for it to end in destruction due to a celestial disaster. We cannot accept this..."Ji Xia cleared his throat and raised his voice, saying, "Stop being so pessimistic. I have a solution. Please, listen to me."The elderly official straightened up, drawing a dagger from his belt.He examined it and shouted, "Send orders! If Tai City falls, the entire nation must perish honorably. We cannot allow any of our people to fall into the hands of the Kiu Dog people! Death is preferable to being captured by these barbaric foreigners!"Ji Xia was enraged!He threw the stone pillow from the bed onto the iron candlestick, causing it to fall and drawing everyone's attention."Enough with the theatrics! Don't you understand? I said, I still have a plan...""Bang! Bang!"The sound of heavy knocks echoed from the wall. Ji Qian frowned, walking toward the wall and slicing through it with her sword.Behind the wall stood a beautiful young woman, bound and gag.