Chapter 4: Weakening

"That... that ...? " The man stood there with a shocked look on his face.

"Isn't that the Golden life tree? How does it still exist?" The man exclaimed with a shocked look on his face as he gazed at the tree. He Hurriedly ran towards the tree and started observing the tree carefully. 

"I'm right!! There's no doubt about it. It's the golden life tree! Amazing! It was written in our books that these trees went extinct hundreds of millions of years ago from existence. Do you know why it's so special, kid?" The man asked as he looked at the boy. 

Xu Liang gazed at the man with his deep blue eyes and shook his head. 

"This tree only bears one fruit every year. And one of its fruits is enough to satisfy your hunger for more than a year. And that's not all it can do! After eating a fruit, the lifespan of a person can be extended by fifty years and any injury can be healed. It would be so amazing if I could take this tree with me, but too bad, this tree dies when it's taken out from the place it grows in" The man said as he stared at the tree.

" You are a really lucky kid! Coincidentally, such a rare tree grew near you. According to the legends, this tree only used to grow in the demon world and in our Heaven realm during ancient times but it became extinct with time. I'm amazed one still exists, that too in such a dark place" The man said with a smile.

"Let me look around the ruins first. I'll take you out with me when I'm done. " The man said as he turned back and started looking around in the ruins. 

The man returned to the boy after half an hour.

"Such an ancient ruin, with such strong formations yet nothing is inside. How strange. " The man muttered as he looked towards the darkness. The man walked towards the golden life tree and took the only remaining fruit on it and kept it in his storage ring.

"Let's go kid. Come with me" The man said as he gazed at the boy.

Xu Liang Stood up and followed the man. The man held his hand which was cold to the touch as they both entered the portal. The portal closed as the darkness returned to the world. No one saw the golden life tree disintegrate into thin air inside this empty dark world like it had served its only purpose. 

___________________

The Memory ended as another memory appeared inside Xu Liang's mind. 

He exited the portal with the man who brought light to his dark world and bright him out of there. As he took his first step outside, he couldn't help but be astonished at the light that existed in this world. He had stayed in a dark world never imagining that there existed such a bright place as well.

Huge residences were everywhere but arranged in proper order. Their golden color made them look like they were made from pure gold. The roads were clean and beautiful trees could be seen on both sides of the road. Some people could be seen walking on the road while some were flying in the air on strange creatures with wings.

He noticed that everyone was looking at him. No, they were looking at the one walking ahead. The strange man who pulled him out of the darkness. The ones flying in the air noticed the man as well. They Immediately came down to the ground with the strange creatures they were flying on.

"Your majesty, the Ruler of heaven! " Everyone greeted in a loud voice as they got down to one knee and bowed their heads slightly.

The boy couldn't understand what they were doing, but he said nothing. He just kept looking at things happening. 

"Rise! " The man said in a heavy voice as he walked towards the palace.

"You see kid? This is the heavenly realm that I rule. Isn't it beautiful?" The man said with a smile as he walked together with him. 

" Yes, it is." He replied in his cold as usual voice. 

"You don't need to be so serious, kid. I know your life must have been tough, being alone in the ancient ruins in darkness for years with no one to talk to. I can imagine the horror you must've gone through. But you are in a good place now. You're still young, you need to enjoy life." The man in gold said with a bright smile on his face as he gazed at the boy. 

"Enjoy ... Life? " He said in a questioning tone as he looked back at the man.

"You will learn how to do that with time" The man smiled as he continued striding ahead. 

The memories continued. Xu Liang saw himself entering the large Castle with that man. 

"Your Majesty, I was looking for you! " A young man donned in a red robe, wearing luxurious clothes asked as he reached near the man in golden armor. He got on one of his knees as he bowed his head slightly in front of the man. 

"Oh, Zhen... Rise! Why are you looking for me? Didn't I say that the royal court won't be commenced today? How come you're here? " The man asked the red-robed person in front of him. 

" Your Majesty, You know I'm a general of the heavenly city. I can't sit idle. I'm either in the heavenly court, in the battlefield fighting demons trying to protect our heavenly realm or collecting intelligence." The red-robed man said. 

"Hahaha… You're right. You aren't called the god of war for no reason. So you were looking for me because you can't sit idle?" The Golden armored man started laughing as he asked. 

"No, I was looking for you because there is a matter of deep concern," The red-robed man said in a serious tone. 

"What happened?" The man also turned serious as he inquired. 

"The guards deployed on the ancient battlefield to keep an eye on the barrier of that forbidden place informed me of an unusual activity. I went there and it's just as they said… The barrier has begun weakening." The red-robed man said. 

"So after millions of years, it's finally happening. That too... in my reign. Should I call it my good luck or bad? The time for sacrifice is near. At Least there's still fifty years to watch her grow" The man in golden muttered with a smile.