"I've only seen the Mother Tree a few times myself..." I still felt a little unaccustomed to such a title.
"It's alright, it's just a name. It doesn't matter if you call it the Tree of Life," the old man said. "However, I didn't expect you to actually see it..."
His tone carried not just surprise, but even a hint of envy.
Hearing his tone, I felt a bit confused. Wasn't that place accessible to anyone?
But upon reflection, it wasn't quite like that. Back then, only I, Richard, and Weixi had been to that place.
As for the villagers in that village, it seemed none of them could enter. They didn't even know of its existence.
"Could you briefly tell me about it?" I asked. "About the Tree of Life..."
"In our legends, the Mother Tree... that is, the Tree of Life, is the origin of everything," the old man said. "Whether it's our cultivation or our survival, it's all closely related to the Tree of Life..."
"The Tree of Life records the development of this world, and it also carves the changes of the entire world. If there were no Tree of Life, nothing would have begun, nor would it have ended..." The old man's tone became profound.
I knew very well that the old man likely had many things I was interested in still on his mind, but I couldn't stay in this place forever.
"Senior, I have an idea..." I began to speak.
"Tell me about it..." the old man said.
"Since I can now preserve this crystal of yours with the Water of Life, does that mean you can leave this place with me?" I asked with anticipation.
"Leave this place..." The old man's tone carried a hint of hesitation. "Logically, as long as this crystal can be preserved, I can leave..."
"Then it's decided!" I said with a smile. "You've lived in this sunless place for so many years, you should go out and see the outside world..."
Hearing this, the old man fell silent.
I didn't speak, waiting patiently.
Having lived in such a place for so many years, although there was no need for food or clothing, the loneliness of a person was unbearable.
But, similarly, he was accustomed to this kind of life.
Leaving this place for a new one was also a challenge for him.
"I might not be able to adapt to the current life..." the old man's tone carried a hint of helplessness.
"It's alright, there's plenty of time in the future, we can adapt slowly!" I said with a smile.
"You... really don't want to absorb this crystal?" the old man changed the subject and asked me.
"No," I said with a smile. "Who knows if this thing is poisonous after so many years... it might have already expired!"
"You brat..." the old man cursed with a laugh. "Then I'll go out with you to see the outside world!"
"Okay!" I quickly agreed, afraid he would go back on his word. "Then let's go now!"
"There are good things here, aren't you going to take some?" the old man asked with a smile.
"Huh?" I was a little confused.
"Don't just look at this hot spring. My Shepherd God Power crystal has been stored here for so many years. This hot spring is also imbued with extremely terrifying Shepherd God Power. If you can absorb it perfectly..." The old man smiled, not finishing his sentence.
Hearing this, my eyes lit up.
Since he couldn't take back the Shepherd God Power anymore, it would naturally be best if I could use it.
My conversation with the old man was only in my mind; even Lin Chun couldn't hear it.
"Lin Chun, come here!" I said with a smile.
Lin Chun saw that I hadn't spoken and thought I was lost in thought, so he hadn't interrupted. Hearing me call him now, he quickly came over: "Lu Ge..."
"Come, let's cultivate in the hot spring!" I said seriously.
Lin Chun didn't ask any more questions. He directly jumped into the hot spring and entered a state of cultivation.
After only about a minute, a look of surprise appeared on Lin Chun's face: "Lu Ge, this... this..."
I could also feel the miraculousness of it.
The speed of cultivation here was many times faster than outside.
I could clearly feel that despite the short cultivation time, my strength had significantly increased.
If I were to cultivate here regularly, I believed it wouldn't take too long to break through to higher realms.
However, I also knew very well that this speed was entirely due to the Shepherd God Power contained within.
Now that I had taken away the source, the Shepherd God Power here would gradually decrease.
Once we had absorbed it all, this hot spring water would no longer have such miraculous effects.
"Continue cultivating!" I said seriously.