Chapter 286

Chapter 286: The Tree of Life

“Finally honest.”

Chen Ansheng sheathed his sword.

“You should have said so earlier, or I wouldn’t have chopped you to bits.”

The purple-haired girl winced in pain, glaring at Chen Ansheng with resentment. “Don’t get too proud yet. The inheritance of life is not something everyone can attain. Before that, I need to sense the depths of your soul. If you’re not suitable, it won’t matter even if you chop me into pieces.”

“Nonsense, how can I let you into the depths of my soul? You low-IQ monsters always think human cultivators are fools, don’t you?” Chen Ansheng crossed his arms, speaking coldly.

“Don’t you understand anything about the Tree of Life?” the girl asked suspiciously.

“The Tree of Life? So you are the Tree of Life, got it,” Chen Ansheng replied.

The girl’s expression darkened. “What do you even know?!”

It was obvious that he was pretending to understand.

“Since you know I don’t understand, hurry up and explain it; be careful, or I’ll make you regret it!” Chen Ansheng shot a fierce look her way.

“You’re ruthless!”

Fearing she would be tortured, the girl conceded.

“A long time ago…”

She began to recount her origins and some rough past experiences.

After listening, Chen Ansheng finally understood; this purple tree was called the Tree of Life.

The ancestor of this tree was an ancient life tree formed from the essence of life cultivated by heaven and earth, possessing boundless vitality. As long as heaven and earth do not perish, it would exist eternally!

And she was one of the countless seeds birthed by that ancestral life tree, generation after generation of life seeds drifting in the cold universe, searching for a place to take root and sprout.

Due to the inability to control their direction, most would forever wander in darkness, with no support, until their life opportunities were exhausted and they became rotten seeds.

The one before him was quite fortunate; after drifting for over ten million years, she attached herself to a celestial corpse caught in spatial turbulence, which provided her with the nutrients to take root and sprout.

Over time, she came to this land through spatial turbulence and began to grow.

“Life like mine is also called an innate holy spirit. But damn it, I live less joyfully than a bug; at least they can run and jump and cause trouble. And me? I’ve lived for tens of millions of years without growing up, stuck here in fear. I barely managed to get a few puppets I could attach my consciousness to, and they all got killed. If it were you, wouldn’t you be angry?”

The purple-clothed young girl complained.

“You have endless life span, what’s tens of millions of years? Young people shouldn’t be so impatient,” Chen Ansheng laughed.

“I don’t care, I don’t care.” The purple-clothed young girl shook her head. “I wanted to wait for an Immortal Emperor to come and take me, but who would have thought I’d end up with a mediocre like you? If I can really resonate with you, then it must be heaven’s arrangement; I accept my fate.”

“From what you’re saying, it sounds like you look down on me?” Chen Ansheng scoffed.

“Of course,” the girl replied irritably. “What do you think you’re stronger than an Immortal Emperor? What good can following you do?”

“…”

Chen Ansheng was speechless.

After a moment, he said, “You keep mentioning Immortal Emperors like they’re cabbages you can just find. Speaking of which, since you’ve drifted from the deep cosmos to here and have never left the Mystic Realm, how do you know Immortal Emperors exist?”

“I already told you I’m an innate holy spirit, and holy spirits have inherited memories, don’t you understand!” she retorted angrily.

“Why are you yelling? I don’t care if you’re a spirit or whatever; you’re still submissive under my feet,” Chen Ansheng fired back. “By the way, do you know about innate Tao fruits? How do they compare to you?”

Since both had “innate,” Chen Ansheng asked this without hesitation.

“Hmph.” The girl scoffed lightly. “My ancestors were nurtured by the universe and heaven. What you call innate Tao fruits are merely the products of this realm. They cannot be compared.”

Chen Ansheng’s heart sank.

So this purple tree was much stronger than the impending innate Tao fruits from South Zhan?

Alright, alright, I’ll take it!

“Alright, let’s stop the nonsense. Quickly acknowledge me as your master, and from now on, I will take you to enjoy life,” Chen Ansheng urged.

“I said I need to sense the depths of your soul. If my life will doesn’t resonate with you, everything is in vain,” the purple-clothed young girl stated calmly.

“Enough!” Chen Ansheng grew anxious. “You keep waiting for the Immortal Emperor; even if you were to find one, wouldn’t you give up if it doesn’t resonate? Don’t think you can trick me.”

The purple-clothed girl displayed a disdainful expression. “That’s not the same. An Immortal Emperor is an existence that has completely transcended the laws, capable of perfectly resonating with my life will. How can someone like you compare? Can’t you see who you are?”

“Don’t test me! I swear if you keep this up, I’ll burn you to ashes.”

Chen Ansheng felt that comparing with an Immortal Emperor was just ridiculous, so far apart it was.

“Sigh.”

The purple-clothed young girl sighed.

“Stop threatening me. Have some respect for this innate holy spirit. If I encountered an Immortal Emperor…”

Before she finished speaking, she saw the murderous intent in Chen Ansheng’s eyes almost bursting out.

What a pitiful person with a weak will, too irritable.

To survive, it was best not to provoke him further.

Thus, the girl closed her eyes, and strands of purple energy began to spread from her, flying toward Chen Ansheng’s forehead.

“Hmm?”

Chen Ansheng suddenly discovered that he couldn’t block those strands of purple energy.

“Let’s see. If she does anything strange, I can just slice her with my sword.”

The purple-clothed girl’s consciousness entered the depths of Chen Ansheng’s immortal soul.

She truly intended to kill him.

However, her life will was not aggressive; it was merely an innate ability to choose a master.

“I hope we don’t resonate…”

“No, I hope we do.”

The girl struggled internally.

She didn’t want to follow a low-level cultivator with no prospects and wanted to avoid losing her life because of it.

As her will deepened, she arrived at a dark place.

“How strange, why is this different from the description in my inherited memories? I can’t see clearly.”

In that darkness, something vaguely existed, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t discern what was inside.

“Perhaps this is because he is an ordinary person.”

The purple-clothed young girl was unsure whether to feel fortunate or disappointed.

Regrettably, it seemed they couldn’t resonate.

Just as her life will was about to withdraw, an immense roar suddenly erupted from the depths of the darkness.

Boom!

Thick, ink-like mist dispersed, and blinding golden light poured forth, revealing a metallic figure that flickered in and out of sight.

“Ah!”

The purple-clothed girl’s life will gasped in shock as a sealed inheritance memory deep within her consciousness abruptly awakened.

“Oh my, he… he is…”

Before she could finish her thought, she was engulfed by the golden light, transforming into purple energy that flew toward that metallic, cold, yet powerful figure.

In the outside world.

The purple-clothed young girl suddenly opened her eyes.

“Greetings, master.”