The moment she placed her hand on the roots of the Divine Tree, Jiang Yuebai’s consciousness entered her ’Enlightenment Realm’.

The last time she entered here was before Foundation Establishment when the Supreme Elder threw her into the Heaven and Earth Qiankun Mirror. Back then, the entire space was a blank expanse, with only a very tiny bud.

Now, it has undergone earth-shattering changes.

Blue skies, white clouds, purple aura spanning the sky.

Green grass carpeting the ground, at the center of the grass there stood a half-human tall small tree, its branches and leaves were lush—her Enlightenment Tree.

Jiang Yuebai walked over and found that each leaf on the tree differed: some burned like flames, some flowed invisibly like water, and others were hard as gold, heavy as stone.

"Do these represent the Five Elements? And these..."

Jiang Yuebai raised her hand and touched the ice-shelled green leaves and the fire-red autumn leaves.

"Do these represent the four seasons?"

A gentle breeze came, and the leaves rustled.

From these leaves, she felt her understanding of the myriad ways of heaven and earth—the bigger the leaf, the more she comprehended; the smaller the leaf, the less.

Jiang Yuebai took a few steps back, feeling that her Enlightenment Tree was not ’healthy’, nor ’organized’, the disparate elements weighing the tree down, causing its trunk to bend, unable to bear the weight of the leaves.

Those things that couldn’t harmonize were constantly damaging the tree trunk.

If it continued developing unchecked, the entire tree might be dragged down by the branches and leaves.

The tree trunk represents herself; she wanted to comprehend the myriad ways of heaven as described in the Great Derivation Scripture.

But she was too weak herself to possibly bear the ’weight’ of the myriad ways.

"Divine Tree, what are you trying to show me with my Enlightenment Tree?" Jiang Yuebai raised her voice and asked.

Ssshhh~

The wind grew anxious, grass waves undulating, an intent directly appeared in Jiang Yuebai’s mind.

Jiang Yuebai closed her eyes and spent a long time to digest and understand that intent.

She saw the earth producing grass and wood, grass and wood feeding livestock, livestock being eaten by predators, predators being hunted by humans, carcasses returning to the earth to become nutrients, nurturing the soil, and regenerating the grass and wood...

It was like a cycle, each link indispensable, every small existence maintaining the stability of the great cycle.

The entire great cycle comprised countless smaller cycles, any disappearance could lead to the breakdown of the great cycle and produce unknown mutations.

Overall, Jiang Yuebai felt the Divine Tree held no malice towards her.

The Divine Tree, born with heaven and earth, as the pillar of the Demon Clan, existed since the Ancient Era with various clans vying for Heaven and Earth Source Power, a dispute still existing in the Upper Realm, concerning the various clans’ path to ascension.

Thus, the Divine Tree ’sows seeds’, selecting one attendant every sixty years to cultivate contenders for Heaven and Earth Source Power, sending them to the Upper Realm, allowing the Demon Clan to remain evergreen.

Jiang Yuebai was an ’anomaly’, her destiny deviated from the original track, a person carrying the Demon Fate’s ’anomaly’.

The Divine Tree said that such ’anomalies’ are not examples alone, whether in the past or present. Not only do humans bear Demon Fate, but demons bear human fate, demons bear demon fate, etc.

These ’anomalies’ are hidden pieces in the chess game of heaven and earth, waiting for the moment they will overturn the entire chessboard.

The Divine Tree’s summons of Jiang Yuebai came as a response to the Heavenly Dao.

The Divine Tree also knew Jiang Yuebai, as a human, would not easily accept Demon Fate, so it showed her her Enlightenment Tree, letting her know she will be overwhelmed by the Great Dao.

And the Divine Tree can help her transform those scattered ways into a complete cycle, feeding her own growth, making her stronger and more stable, laying the foundation to become a towering tree.

Additionally, there’s the Emperor’s Liquid in Moonlight Flowing Cup, which can only be obtained through selection in the Divine Sacrifice ritual.

Grass and wood have sex but no fate, Emperor’s Liquid can supplement fate; if Jiang Yuebai acquires it, she can merge her Divine Soul and plant body into a Divine Elixir, nurturing it within her Sea of Consciousness.

Only then can she achieve a perfect transformation, which is also why Tian Nanxing can achieve a perfect transformation.

Extraordinary People are the same; without Shen Huaxi’s method of enhancing bloodline by consuming kin, they could only use Emperor’s Liquid to enhance demonic power, strengthen bloodline, break through the limit to Golden Core.

The Divine Tree knows her worry, having nurtured ’anomalies’ bearing Demon Fate before, thus it will give her a ’lock’, unless she opens it herself, she remains someone bearing Demon Clan bloodline.

In other words, with this lock, she can raise her Cloud Mushroom Grass bloodline to 99.9%, infinitely close to being a demon yet not become one, retaining the last thread of humanity.

This, to the current Jiang Yuebai, is the most perfect solution.

But she doesn’t completely trust the Divine Tree, for to accept its cultivation, she must first become a demon, essentially transform into a Lingzhi, and then participate in the Divine Sacrifice ritual as a Lingzhi.

This requires the Divine Tree to seal her Divine Soul within the Lingzhi, extract it from her human body, and after she completes the Divine Sacrifice, return it.

Too dangerous!

Jiang Yuebai sat beneath her Enlightenment Tree, thinking for half a day, considering the pros and cons, and ultimately decided to follow the Divine Tree’s proposals.

"Divine Tree, I can go along with your arrangements, but my body must be safeguarded by me, and I need some time to prepare."

The Divine Tree agreed to Jiang Yuebai’s request, sending her off from the Enlightenment Realm, letting her arrange everything and return.

Jiang Yuebai communicated with the Divine Tree for a long time, but to Tian Nanxing outside, it was just a moment.

"How about it? Have you decided to participate in the Divine Sacrifice ritual?"

Jiang Yuebai nodded, "I can participate, and I can agree to your previous request, but I have one condition."

Tian Nanxing’s eyes brightened, "Speak without worry."

"I need a safe and secret place; what’s between you and me is a transaction. You guarantee my safety, and I will fulfill your requirement—not only will I beat up the Grass and Wood Demon Clan, but anything that bumps into me, I will beat up, striving to showcase your grafting technique to the fullest."

"But if there’s even a hint of trouble, you must know my master is protective, my Heavenly Interence Sect Supreme Elder regards me as a precious pearl, the entire Central Plains knows me as Master Wangshu, and I have a temperamental Array Dao master, Zhao Fuyi, in the Upper Realm who won’t take kindly to any harm done to me!"

Tian Nanxing chuckled, "If you don’t trust me, I can make a contract with you."

"Alright, then let’s make a contract—the most formidable kind!"

Tian Nanxing sent Jiang Yuebai back to Peach Blossom Plain to arrange a place. Jiang Yuebai found Xie Jingshan.

After directly using the Four Symbols Eight Trigrams Array to seal the thatched cottage, Jiang Yuebai told Xie Jingshan everything about the Divine Tree and earnestly said, "Xie Jingshan, this time I need your help, safeguard my body for the next six months."

Jiang Yuebai’s rare earnest request to Xie Jingshan, especially concerning a matter of life and death, for anything else, Xie Jingshan would surely pat his chest and declare it a minor matter.

But now, he felt an unparalleled pressure, afraid that he could not bear the great responsibility.

Xie Jingshan furrowed his brows, feeling he must exert his real strength this time.

"I..."

"Don’t worry, I’ve already asked Tian Nanxing to choose a place, he’s at Late-Stage Nascent Soul, has allies in the Grass and Wood Demon Clan, and even formed a contract with me not to trick me. I will leave a Puppet Avatar in the open for disguise, hiding my real body in a more secret place, and leave the Four Symbols Eight Trigrams Array for protection, with Little Green invisibly guarding, and Jixiang on watch."

"Moreover, I will place the Condensing Light Mirror on me as a small mechanism; if anyone approaches, the Ice Hornless Dragon inside will kill without hesitation, and the Poisonous Miasma within the Night Condensation Smoke Stick will fill the surroundings, and the Lotus Purification Bottle can also be used in the array, placed nearby..."

Xie Jingshan’s head was full of questions; with layer upon layer of arrangements, interlinking loops, did Jiang Yuebai really need him?

Jiang Yuebai firmly patted Xie Jingshan’s shoulder, "This time, I’m counting on you!"

Xie Jingshan: .....