Chapter 48: Tree of Eden

The Tree of Eden was a unique existence. A sentient entity born from a Dao, a Dao of the Mind.

In the world, there were three thousand types of Dao beneath the Heavens and each Dao was further divided into three thousand daos, which once more divided in such a manner.

The Daos that Wei Wuyin knew of were the Dao of Sin, the Dao of Material, the Dao of Weapons, and the Dao of Mind. These were only four of the Heavenly Daos, but they were grand and vast.

The Dao of Sin wasn't one he was particularly familiar with, but he knew it embodied the antithesis of action regarding the Three Thousand Commandments of the Heavenly Daos. If one went against the rules of heaven, they would be practicing sin.

The Dao of Material, as said by the apparition of the Myriad War Dao Palace, was that it encompassed the entirety of creation from the world. This included the elements, and unnatural sources like the Scarlet Qi formed by the Scarlet Solaris Mountain.

Then, there was the Dao of Weapons. It encompassed the entirety of war and all its tools. This included things like a trebuchet or sword. All things that could be formed by man to kill or harm was within this Dao.

The one that still left him in a state of question was the Mind Dao, said to encompass all forms of enlightenment.

The Tree of Eden did not have a soul, but it did have a sea of consciousness, it did have a mind's eye, thoughts and memories, but without a soul, it could not cultivate, and it could only live according to natural laws.

It was an existence that had birthed a Dao of the Mind. It called its unique Dao: Eden's Remorse.

It could see the world and its vastness, but only such. Forever will it remain tethered to this world, lo' and behold its woe. It regretted being born as a tree, forcefully being used by others, being cut into, forcefully inhabited, and treated like property!

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A day, over five hundred thousand years ago, a seed was planted. By whom or how, it was unknown. This seed used its instincts to absorb the moisture and nutrients of the world to develop. It grew roots.

Slowly, day after day, week after week, it worked hard. It's desire was to feel the light. When it grew, a small green head sprouted from the ground. It was merely a strand and two splitting leaves, a sapling.

The sun, it had now felt it! It was miraculous, extraordinary and warm, like a parent's embrace. It helped it generate its own food, cared for it, and watched it grow.

The sun was its father, forceful and all-encompassing, while the moon was its mother, gentle and looming.

The sapling grew into a beautiful sprout. It glistened with a verdant green lustre. Then, suddenly, it met a catastrophe. An animal, basic in intelligence and form, crushed it beneath its feet, nearly taking its life.

While it did not have ears nor did it have a spiritual sense, it recalled the vibration of the world. Through this vibration, it would soon come to understand what it was and why it was crushed.

A battle had taken place, and a human had crushed him beneaths its feet in carelessness as it begged for its life. That was the first day it tasted blood instead of water.

Luckily, it was strong. It healed and continued to grow, returning into the beautiful sprout it had once been. The sun remained, the moon remained, and so did the humans. As it wished to grow, it was constantly in the way.

As it became a young tree, a human had taken it as a training post, smashing its fist into him over and over. It was painful and horrifying. He was beaten without pause all for the sake of this human lifeform, ripped into and forced to handle its insecurities and anger.

It had nearly been broken into two one day, and then abandoned. That was its only solace in its state of near death. However, it still wanted to grow! It wanted to reach the skies, meet its mother and father.

As this desire grew, so did its form. As it healed, its body expanded and grew. Then, suddenly, it bore fruit. These were products of its desire to produce, to bring more of itself into the world.

Unfortunately, because of these fruits, those humans returned. They claimed the fruits for themselves, greedy and unwilling to stop killing its eggs! Those fruits weren't meant for them to eat, they were for it to have a family!

They WERE his family!!

Their greed and ambitions knew no bounds and they cared only for itself. However, it was innately peaceful, pacifistic in its belief and attempted to find a better solution. It drew upon the energy of the sun and the moon, of the earth, and grew.

It continued to grow.

Before long, it had become a grand tree capable of standing fiercely over the world. That's when the humans congregated at its base, they meditated, worshipped, and prayed to it. They treated it like a god!

These people, these humans, were different. They didn't harm it, but gave it offerings. As they did, so did its desire to grow and spread out its influence to these fine creatures.

Then, it suffered a severe injury. A giant beast attacked one day, nearly destroying it, and the humans fought to defend, but in the end, they left in defeat. The giant beast soon left as well, finding other prey to hunt.

The humans soon returned. They prayed, offered, and did what they could to heal it. It was grateful. It knew that it had not been abandoned. Then, when they grew frustrated that his healing was taking too long, they discussed in their homes all sorts of solutions.

One day, a young girl, about thirteen years old, was brought before the tree in holy clothing. The girl prayed to it for three days and three nights, and the humans did something unthinkable!

They beheaded the woman, sprinkled her organs and blood at the base of the tree!

It didn't know what they were doing or why. It hated the taste of blood, but it couldn't stop them. They acted as if they heard 'its' voice, performing all sorts of sacrificial offerings of young children who had holy auras.

It wasn't long before it healed fully, but that was its natural growth speed. The blood, the deaths, it did nothing. However, as it grew, the less humans were sacrificed, so it grew. It desired to grow more and more, so it would no longer witness such atrocities.

Time passed, and it grew bigger and bigger. Its aura became grander. As it grew to a point, the humans marveled at it, sat in its surroundings in droves, sometimes tens of thousands at a time. It was peaceful once more.

It could now grow in peace, until it could reach its mother and father.

Then, a battle once more occurred. This time, it wasn't sacrifices, as the newly arrived humans slaughtered the inhabitants of the tree. This happened not just once, but many times. The group that sat beneath its leaves would sometimes stay, sometimes go, or be replaced by an entirely new group.

It no longer kept count, but just wanted to grow. This time, it could get away from humans. From these beasts who seeked blood and death.

Then, it happened.

The humans no longer remained at the base. They dug into its chest, drilled into its feet, climbed into its limbs and stationed themselves there. They treated him without care, constantly injuring it to keep their pathways and palaces safe.

All sorts of odd things formed inside it, changed it, and soon, somehow, it developed a mind. It didn't know if it always had one, but it could now, under specific circumstances, communicate. It communicated with the leader of these humans, but instead of helping it, the leader used its intelligence to his advantage.

It was threatened with an axe, fire, and further harm. It was a slave to humans now, and it couldn't retaliate. It knew that its life was over. It was just a 'piece of property.' They drew upon its lifeforce, wood energy, and innate vitality using a variety of formations for their own benefit or to kill!

Then, it met a young boy. He was innocent and free, and followed along like a puppet, and offered no defense. It knew that the young boy was also weak, his life no longer his own, and felt sorrowful for his fate. An idea soon was born.

What if it could leave?! As it drew upon its memories, the vastness of such accompanied the lectures and conversations of all the humans that lived on and in it, it learned a unique art called Mind Possession. It could merge the aspect of the mind into another willing subject, and if it worked, it could take over its body!

So, it devised a plan. When the boy was brought to its roots to cultivate, it grew more brazen. If it became 'human' it could move, fly, and see its parents! It would be free!!

However, it wouldn't leave it at that! It would take everything that was his and give it to the child, and cause all those evil humans to suffer! Its mind was now filled with opportunity and motive!

When the young boy arrived, it communicated with him, and realized he was more than willing to do so. After some lies, some coaxing, some benefits, the boy conceded his mind. Before, however, it was vicious.

It drew the entirety of its lifeforce and wood energy nurtured for countless years into a single runic mark. It placed the runic mark on the boy's heart, its vital organ, drawing the vast power into it smoothly. With this, he could not only cultivate but retain its natural force!

However, that meant the damage to the tree would be abrupt and sudden, and the entirety of the tree would collapse the moment his mind was condensed and left the tree. The buildings, tunnels, and everything beneath it, will be met with total destruction from the near-instantaneous collapse of its gigantic body.

They deserve it!

They all deserve it!!

Despicable humans, filthy, disgusting, horrifying, and vicious things they were! They all mercilessly fed off him, used his energy, cultivated using his lifeforce and forced him to help their cultivation when they discovered his intelligence! They made him a slave!

It didn't know when it started nursing thoughts of hatred and disgust. Perhaps it was when he was threatened, perhaps it was when that human stepped on his small, fragile sapling body without any care. Regardless, its mind had become filled with hatred.

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"Hhhhhaaaaaa!!" Wei Wuyin inhaled deeply as he was awoken from his memories. No, not his memories, but the memories of the Tree of Eden.

Without hesitation, he felt his face and body. He was happy to realize that his teeth had once more become perfect. An overwhelming sense of excitement surged into his heart as he thought about what had happened. He didn't know how, but after devouring the Tree of Eden, he had enough strength to shatter the chains that sealed his original mind!

He now was himself and only himself!

Tears dropped down from his eyes like a stream. The amount of happiness in him caused his pride and dignity to be worthless as he cried without restraint!

"I'm alive!" He roared fiercely, but then he felt something was off. He recalled a certain aspect of the Tree of Eden's memories and his eyes widened in shock!

"I need to leave!" With that, he didn't hesitate to dash into a nearby tunnel. He was currently in the roots of the Tree of Eden, and a tunnel was formed by the tree so it had an escape route. It knew that when its mind had left the tree, it would result in a catastrophic calamity for all those living on or within the tree.

He couldn't care to warn them, he didn't have the time, so he urged his physical body to the maximum as he dashed away. His body felt incredibly light.

He frowned as he analyzed his body and felt a powerful force within his heart. It throbbed with boundless lifeforce and wood energy.

"This?!" This was the mark left behind by the Tree of Eden, its entire power and quintessence. While he knew it was pretty much passive, it would constantly nourish his body and give incredible benefits.

Creeeek!

Looking at the tunnel, his heart pounded. He rushed forward even faster. After an hour of running, he finally exited the tunnel. When he did, he drew upon his full cultivation base and whistled in a unique way.

Fweet!

"Come on!" He cried, turning around, he saw the giant Tree of Eden tens of miles away. It looked normal, but he knew that in a short moment, the entirety of the tree would collapse.

He gulped.

Creeeek!

It released a loud sound like a squeaky door, and then, without any warning, the tree that nearly touched the sky fell apart like a house of cards.