Chapter 897: The Real One

A young but sickly-looking Blue Gold Tree lay down on a carriage. Though the shackles that had bound him had been removed some time ago, he still hadn't fully adjusted, perhaps because he had been confined for too long. His sea of consciousness had long since been shattered, and because of that, his thoughts were extremely disjointed.

He had lived in that dark, sunless place for many years, and his blood had been periodically extracted. Only during those times had they provided him with some nourishment. He had no idea how much time had passed. He couldn't even remember the reason he had left his homeland in the first place.

At some point, for reasons unknown to him, he was finally released. When he saw sunlight for the first time, his eyes nearly went blind. It took him three agonizing days to adjust. Only when they started feeding him again did his body begin to recover, and his dwindling life force gradually stabilized.

As the journey continued, his body slowly healed, and at least he no longer felt like he was on the brink of death. But where were these people taking him? He didn't know. Though his sea of consciousness had been shattered, he was nevertheless a Blue Gold Tree, and their recovery ability was practically unmatched on the continent. Over the past few days, he had gradually regained some of his strength. Everything except his sea of consciousness was on the path to recovery.

But did any of this really matter to him? He had long since accepted his fate. He no longer had any hope or dreams. He had forgotten what the purpose of his life was; he felt empty, soulless, with nothing left to live for.

Having his sea of consciousness shattered wasn't so bad—it meant he no longer had to think all the time, and that brought some relief. When you're no longer forced to be conscious all the time, torture becomes a lot easier to endure.

Suddenly, silver light flickered, and a figure appeared silently in the carriage. His arrival didn't even cause the carriage's weight to shift.

The dazed young Blue Gold Tree turned his vacant gaze toward the unexpected figure, not making a sound. In fact, even if he had, it wouldn't have mattered; inside the carriage, a silver barrier had already enveloped them, not allowing even the slightest bit of aura or sound to leak through.

"What's your name?"

A pleasant voice rang out—not in the air but in his mind.

The Blue Gold Tree opened his mouth but didn't respond, as he had long since lost his tongue. His captors had no need for him to speak.

Tang San furrowed his brow as he looked at the pale, lifeless young man before him, whose eyes were dull and spiritless like a walking corpse's. He placed his hand on the young man's shoulder and channeled his divine consciousness into his body, assessing his current state.

What horrible decay!

That was Tang San's initial impression. He wasn't sure what his captors had done to him, but there was no doubt that he had endured gruesome torment. A flash of anger crossed Tang San's heart as he was reminded of humans who had once been treated as slaves... and those that still were treated as slaves.

But at the same time, the young man's body still held vast life energy and was slowly regenerating. That was not why he was in this state; it was because his sea of consciousness had been shattered, and the fragments he was holding onto were simply not enough for any kind of complex thought process.

The reason Tang San had rushed over was that his divine consciousness had been covering the entire city, using the Ancestral Tree's energy. He had been waiting for this particular aura to appear—the aura of the Ancestral Tree's bloodline, which was present in only one person apart from himself and Jin Miaosen.

Although Tang San couldn't yet confirm whether this Blue Gold Tree was indeed Jin Miaolin, he was certain that his bloodline power was directly inherited from the Ancestral Tree. There was no doubt about that. Additionally, Jin Miaolin had six spikes on his back, indicating that he used to be a Nymph King. Jin Miaolin had left his homeland as a tenth-order Nymph King, so there could be no mistake.

Tang San began to inject divine energy and life energy into Jin Miaolin, helping him heal, especially focusing on the long-damaged sea of consciousness.

Soon, Tang San realized that Jin Miaolin's sea of consciousness had been too severely damaged, and for far too long. Healing such a severe spirit injury would not have been much of a challenge if Tang San still had his God King-level cultivation, but he did not. In order to fully restore it, he would need a very long time.

Tang San used his divine consciousness to barely connect with the broken fragments of Jin Miaolin's sea of consciousness.

"Brother, I believe you are Jin Miaolin. If you can understand me, just nod. I am now the clan leader of the Blue Gold Tree clan, and I will help you."

Jin Miaolin stared blankly at him, opening his mouth but unable to speak. Finally, he nodded.

Name... familiar... Jin Miaolin... Is that me? Yes...

Tang San nodded slightly and sighed softly.

"Come with me."

In the next moment, a silver aura enveloped him and Jin Miaolin, and they vanished into thin air.

After two teleportation jumps, Tang San reappeared in the Kali Mountains. As he arrived, he dispelled his disguise, returning to his true form.

The life energy within the Golden Valley was denser than ever, but for Tang San now, it wasn't as impressive. The life energy he had felt in Skytree City had been far stronger.

The Crimson Fox girls had all gone to live in Kali City, and only warriors from the Lion-Tiger clan remained to guard the Golden Valley. But even their numbers were few; most of the Lion-Tiger clan had also moved to Kali City, which was a better place to live. Now, Kali City was under Mei Gongzi's complete control, even if she didn't directly manage its affairs.

Jin Miaolin stumbled slightly as he walked, clearly no longer accustomed to walking. However, upon entering the Golden Valley, a glimmer of vitality returned to his eyes. The lush vegetation made him feel at ease; this felt somewhat like home.

Tang San led Jin Miaolin to a massive tree with golden branches and leaves.

The Lion-Tiger clan warriors guarding the area had already noticed them, but when they saw that it was Tang San, they immediately relaxed and nodded in greeting. Tang San nodded back, then stopped with Jin Miaolin in front of the Golden Tree.

Jin Miaolin looked at Tang San, then at the Golden Tree in front of him. Tears suddenly welled up in his once-lifeless eyes.

Golden Trees were everywhere in Skytree City! They were a vassal clan of the Blue Gold Tree clan. Feeling the rich life energy this tree exuded, and sensing his own life force slowly recovering under its influence, Jin Miaolin seemed to realize something.

Tang San looked at him seriously and said,

"Jin Miaolin, listen to me. Your sea of consciousness has been shattered. It will take a long time to recover, and it will require an exceptionally strong divine consciousness to achieve that. Right now, my divine consciousness is not yet strong enough to put back together another divine consciousness, but when I become an Emperor, I will help restore yours. For now, I need you to stay here and recover. Don't worry about your clan; everybody is fine, and things will only get better from here."

Jin Miaolin stared at him blankly, clearly not understanding what any of this meant.

Tang San sighed and patted his shoulder.

Having found Jin Miaolin meant that the final flaw in Tang San's identity as the Blue Gold Tree clan leader was resolved. Jin Miaolin would stay here to rest, and once Tang San became an Emperor, he would naturally bring him back to his people.

With the last issue resolved, it was now time for him to return to the Ancestral Court!