Beneath the ancient canopy of the Shanyin Guhuai, time felt heavier.
Its gnarled roots coiled like sleeping dragons. The winds whispered through weather-worn leaves, and for a moment, Wang Xian felt as though the centuries themselves were holding their breath.
He reached out.
His fingertips brushed the bark—rough, ancient, pulsing faintly with a rhythm that didn't belong to wood or wind.
Ding!
A flood of system text exploded into his vision.
Shanyin Ancient Locust Tree(Epic Grade)State: Transforming.Explanation: Once an ordinary tree, it has endured the storms of time and absorbed the power of countless beliefs. It has begun its spiritual awakening.Note: Destroyed once by heavenly thunder, it now undergoes rebirth. Upon completion, it will evolve into a Mythical-tier Spiritual Entity.
Wang Xian staggered a step back.
A mythical-tier lifeform?
His heart thundered like the calamity once said to have destroyed the tree.
This wasn't just an epic item. It wasn't just a local legend. This was something alive. And not just alive—awakening.
"Uncle? You okay?" Nangong Wu asked, her tone surprisingly soft.
Wang Xian looked at her, jaw slightly parted. "You had no idea, did you?"
Nangong Wu raised a brow. "That it was alive? No. That it's epic and tied to a blessing? Yes."
Wang Xian stared back at the massive tree, its canopy looming like a guardian of forgotten truths.
"Epic blessings don't come from ordinary items," he murmured. "But this... This isn't a blessing. This is a crossing point between legend and reality. It's ascending."
Nangong Wu took a slow step forward, folding her arms. "And what exactly is it ascending to?"
Wang Xian turned toward her, eyes burning with a mix of fear and awe.
"A mythical lifeform tied to belief—this tree could become the spiritual anchor of a city, maybe more. In the future, people might pray to it like a deity... and it'll hear them."
Nangong Wu went quiet.
For once, even she didn't have a clever remark.
"You said the blessing triggers at midnight on the fourteenth?" Wang Xian asked.
Nangong Wu nodded. "That's what the branch says. Why?"
"We're not just dealing with ghosts tonight," Wang Xian said, his voice low. "We're standing on the edge of something older than the system. Older than digitization. Something that's waking up."
He turned to the others, who waited nearby—Su Jin, Cheng Yao, Feng Luoli, and Yue Rushuang, all still unaware of the weight pressing down on this sacred place.
"Tonight," he said, "we're not just chasing buffs or exp. We're walking into a place where myths are made."
A gust of wind rushed through the grove, carrying with it a low creak from the locust tree—like the sound of something stirring in its sleep.
Nangong Wu stepped closer, her gaze locked on Wang Xian. "So... we stay?"
He met her eyes, serious now.
"No. We prepare."