Chapter 867: Rescuing the Lost

The news of the Adamant Nymph Emperor being struck and sent flying by the Ancestral Tree spread quickly across the Solstice Empire. After all, not only was he an Emperor, but he was renowned for his extraordinary defense, and yet he had been simply swatted away by the sheer force of the Ancestral Tree. Who else across the entire continent could achieve such a feat with raw strength alone?

The Blue Gold Tree clan, once viewed merely as a resource, suddenly reappeared in the sights of the continent's powerful clans.

Tang San's seclusion didn't last long—after seven days, he awoke from his meditation.

He had first attempted to communicate with the Ancestral Tree using his divine consciousness. As expected, the Ancestral Tree operated on instinct—it was vaguely sentient, but its intelligence was far from awakening. Thanks to the chaos energy, Tang San was able to establish a connection with it, and this allowed him to borrow some of the tree's power, but as he had predicted, the idea of inheriting its life essence was immediately met with rejection.

Thus, he had given up on the idea, and simply proceeded with his cultivation, not willing to waste time on futile endeavors. While infusing a small amount of chaos energy into the Ancestral Tree, Tang San absorbed the vast life energy it fed back to him, continuously nourishing and refining his body. His life energy and physical strength were significantly enhanced. Except for the Discerning Eye of Heaven, which was reliant on the Celestial Fox bloodline, all of his bloodline imprints had now reached the eleventh order.

Additionally, Tang San discovered that when he used the Ancestral Tree's life energy to nourish the Blue Gold Tree clan, he could access even more of the Ancestral Tree's power. The Ancestral Tree, it seemed, had a strong instinct to protect its people. Over these few days, Tang San had carefully studied and sensed this phenomenon, and in the meantime, his role as the Ancestral Tree's representative had been fully accepted by all members of the Blue Gold Tree clan. Skytree City had been revitalized, now brimming with an overwhelming amount of life energy.

The Ancestral Tree's power was growing, a fact that all members of the Blue Gold Tree clan could feel. However, beyond the first three days of blessing the world, the Ancestral Tree's energy now only benefited the Blue Gold Tree clan and had no effect on other races.

When Tang San awoke from his cultivation, the Blue Gold Tree elders who had been protecting him opened their eyes as well, their gazes all focusing on him. Tang San stood up, and the elders followed suit, rising to their feet and bowing to him respectfully.

Tang San's eyes glowed with blue-gold radiance as he spoke in a steady voice, "Grand Elder."

"Present." The Grand Elder approached Tang San and bowed respectfully. After everything that had happened over the past few days, he had completely let go of his selfish desires. Tang San's return and the revival of the Ancestral Tree had brought them benefits far greater than anything they'd experienced before. Now, all the elders were utterly convinced there was nothing to lose by having him lead the clan, not to mention the incident with the Adamant Nymph Emperor had made them question all their life choices. Word was that the Adamant Nymph Emperor had actually been injured and had gone into seclusion since his return.

"Is there any business that needs handling immediately?"

"Yes, the Ancestral Court sent an envoy and he's been waiting for you to finish your seclusion," the Grand Elder responded respectfully.

Tang San nodded slightly. "Bring him in."

Soon, the Ancestral Court envoy was led over by Blue Gold Tree clan members. Upon seeing the envoy, Tang San's heart stirred slightly. He was quite handsome, and at a first glance, almost indistinguishable from a human. Only the traces of white fur on his ears revealed his actual race.

A Celestial Fox!

Even back in Kali City, the envoys that came were mostly from other combat-focused clans. A Celestial Fox had only appeared once, accompanying the Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor in his "investigation."

Upon seeing Tang San, the envoy from the Celestial Fox clan carefully examined the eight spikes on his back and the towering Ancestral Tree behind him. He bowed deeply, in a display of exceptional etiquette.

"Ling Tian of the Celestial Fox clan greets the Ancestral Tree and the Blue Gold Clan Leader."

This Celestial Fox was a Demon King. With just a glance, Tang San was able to discern his cultivation. He was also clearly aware that upon arriving, the envoy had immediately activated his bloodline powers—not to manipulate the fortune here but just to sense it, presumably to verify whether the Ancestral Tree had truly revived.

On the surface, Tang San feigned ignorance. Whatever the envoy could sense, he could sense as well—after all, his Celestial Fox bloodline was also at the tenth order, and his hybrid Discerning Eye of Heaven was superior to the ordinary Celestial Fox Vision. Without acknowledging the envoy's probing, he simply smiled and said, "Welcome, envoy of the Ancestral Court. What brings you here?"

The Ancestral Tree's revival was real, at least so far as everyone else was concerned, and that was absolutely great news for the Ancestral Court. Stimulated by chaos energy, it had awakened a portion of its instincts and was once again gathering the planet's life essence—there was no doubt about that. Even the late Crystal Demon Emperor couldn't compare to it in sheer life energy. Moreover, the Ancestral Tree possessed the ability to nurture life. Its revival would surely boost the fortune of the entire Daemon Continent, and the Blue Gold Tree clan's fortune would skyrocket. In fact, using his Discerning Eye of Heaven, Tang San could see a towering pillar of fortune rising. He suspected that even the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor could see this all the way from the Ancestral Court, let alone someone standing so close.

Ling Tian bowed slightly again and said, "His Majesty, the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor, was delighted to hear of the Ancestral Tree's revival and sent me to offer his congratulations. The Ancestral Tree's awakening is a great blessing for the entire Daemon Continent. I am here to extend a courtesy greeting to the new clan leader, and I bring with me a special gift prepared by the Ancestral Court for your noble clan."

Tang San smiled. "You are too kind. Actually, it is quite the pleasant coincidence that you are here. I also have a matter I wish to report to the Ancestral Court. I would trouble you to bring my clan's request back with you this time."

Ling Tian was taken aback, but like all his clan members, he was a natural born diplomat, so he did not let it show. He smiled and nodded. "Please, go ahead."

Tang San said solemnly, "Since the Ancestral Tree fell into slumber, the members of my Blue Gold Tree clan have been hunted down by other clans for the vast life energy they possess. Many vile acts of kidnapping, imprisonment, and murder have been committed against our people, severely hindering our development. I seek the Ancestral Court's recognition as the new lord of Skytree City; at the same time, I request that whoever is holding our people against their will release them back to the clan, as well as return the remains of our deceased clan members."

This time, Ling Tian's surprise was visible on his face. Clearly, he hadn't expected Tang San to make such a request.

Everyone knew the benefits Blue Gold Trees could bring, and direct descendants of the Ancestral Tree were even more valuable. For that reason, the Blue Gold Tree clan had long been bullied by everyone else; that was simply the status quo. Yet Tang San's request was entirely reasonable, especially since the Blue Gold Tree clan was in fact in possession of a main city. Before the Ancestral Tree's revival, this request would have been ignored; at most, the Ancestral Court would give a token reprimand against kidnapping Blue Gold Trees, but they wouldn't truly intervene. However, the Ancestral Tree's revival was of monumental significance to the entire Daemon Continent, and moreover, the Ancestral Tree's feat of striking down the Adamant Nymph Emperor had shocked the entire land. Even the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor had immediately perked up and sent an envoy, aiming to solidify ties with the Blue Gold Tree clan.

Tang San continued, "Those willing to comply with this will have their past offenses forgiven by our clan. However, if we discover any further acts of poaching or enslavement of our people, we will retaliate with full force. And this brings me to my third request: with the permission of the Ancestral Court, I will travel to the other main cities with the will of the Ancestral Tree to seek out the traces of our people and rescue the lost ones."