Volume 4 Chapter 104

Volume 4 + Chapter 104: The Seed of The World Tree

Watching Joshua’s departing figure, Xia Yi suddenly remembered something.

That was the seed Miu Miu had given her.

This seed was exceedingly peculiar. Even when planted in soil, it would neither sprout nor grow.

Even though Xia Yi had carried the seed with her all this time, it remained exactly the same as when she first received it, without the slightest sign of shriveling.

On a sudden whim, she took it out and asked Joshua whether he knew the origin of this seed.

The moment Joshua saw it, his expression changed drastically. “How do you have this?!”

“This…?”

Xia Yi had not expected Joshua to react like this.

Such an intense response clearly indicated that he knew something about it.

“Where did you obtain this seed?!” Joshua asked in shock.

“Miu Miu gave it to me.”

Xia Yi told the truth.

“Miu Miu? That is, Herman’s familiar—the perfect vessel, Miu Miu Borgia… No wonder. If it was her, then…”

Joshua seemed to fall into deep thought, murmuring to himself.

It looked as though he needed time to sort out his thoughts, so Xia Yi did not interrupt him.

“Silver Dragon Princess, if it’s convenient, shall we change locations to talk?” Joshua suggested.

Xia Yi glanced around. There were indeed quite a few outsiders nearby watching them, so she agreed.

“Alright. Let’s go, Joshua.”

……

Xia Yi invited Joshua into the Dragon Clan’s imperial palace once more. Although she had just returned herself, she immediately assumed the role of host and received him accordingly.

Inside the reception room, everyone else had been dismissed. With no outsiders present, they could speak freely.

“Joshua, some time ago, Miu Miu came to the Dragon Clan’s palace. She stayed with me for a while,” Xia Yi said.

“I’ve heard about that. When I found out, I even felt rather relieved,” Joshua replied. “That disgraceful fellow Herman personally came to the Dragon Kingdom to redeem his familiar, didn’t he?”

“Yes. It was just before she left that Miu Miu handed this seed to me, telling me to keep it safe, but she never explained what it was,” Xia Yi said in confusion. “I tried planting it, but it didn’t grow at all, so I could only keep it with me. It’s never changed in any way… Just now, I thought you might know, so I asked.”

“Then you really did ask the right person.”

“Joshua, you do know something, don’t you?!”

“Yes.”

Joshua nodded, then uttered a term that took Xia Yi by surprise.

“Silver Dragon Princess, do you know about the World Tree?”

“The World Tree?”

Xia Yi didn’t understand why Joshua suddenly shifted the topic to this.

“In ancient legends, there once stood a colossal tree upon this land. Its branches pierced the clouds, their ends unseen, and its roots burrowed deep into the earth, spreading to every corner of the world… Of course, the legends are somewhat exaggerated, but it can be inferred that the World Tree was unimaginably vast, and that its roots extending across every inch of the land was no mere fiction.”

Joshua paused briefly.

“The roots extended by the World Tree were not roots in the conventional sense. Rather, they connected to the ley lines, using them as a medium for extension, allowing the tree to spread across every part of the land.”

Xia Yi imagined it for a moment and felt that it was not impossible.

After all, the laurel tree at the Laurel Tree Academy was itself a minor World Tree. Its condition was very similar to what Joshua described—it too influenced the surrounding environment through underground ley lines, and recorded the history within its domain.

“The World Tree recorded all the history of this land—whether it be the distant Far North, or nations near the seas. It was precisely through the ley lines as a medium that the history imprinted upon them was engraved into the World Tree, preserved forever, unalterable. Thus, what the World Tree recorded was absolute truth.”

“But if a World Tree truly existed on this land, how could no one have found any trace of it?” Xia Yi asked. “There is no World Tree now.”

“That’s correct. For some reason, the World Tree was burned down. All history was reduced to ashes in a sky-reaching inferno. However, destruction also brings rebirth. At the moment it was burned, the World Tree scattered its seeds. Although the birth of a World Tree requires extremely harsh and mysterious conditions, each of those seeds carries the potential to become the next World Tree.”

Xia Yi now understood why the laurel tree at the Laurel Tree Academy existed—it was likely one of the seeds scattered when the World Tree was destroyed, which, under miraculous circumstances, managed to grow.

“I understand what you’re trying to explain, Joshua. But what you’ve said about the World Tree—how does it relate to—”

Just as Xia Yi was about to ask further, realization struck her. She stared at the seed in her hand, utterly stunned.

“Could it be… this is a seed of the World Tree?!”

“Yes. This is one of the World Tree’s seeds. It had long been stored in the royal treasury of the vampire clan’s palace,” Joshua explained. “For many years, the vampire clan attempted to make it sprout, hoping to cultivate a World Tree of their own. Unfortunately, every attempt ended in failure. After all, the World Tree is akin to a supreme divine miracle—far beyond the reach of mortals. That miracle never descended upon the Crimson Empire. Eventually, the vampire clan gave up on cultivating a World Tree and left this seed abandoned in the royal treasury. By now, they even regard it as nothing more than a collectible with an impressive backstory but no real use.”

“Then Miu Miu gave me this seed because…?”

Xia Yi suddenly thought of something.

That was recording.

The defining trait of the World Tree was recording.

Could it be that, aside from history, it could also record souls…?!

No wonder that one night before, Xia Yi had heard Miu Miu’s voice.

So it hadn’t been a dream at all!

“It’s because of the soul!” Xia Yi arrived at the conclusion.

“Silver Dragon Princess, you may truly have come into contact with a World Tree before. Your comprehension exceeds my expectations,” Joshua said, somewhat surprised by Xia Yi’s reaction.

“In the past, I did encounter something similar—though it wasn’t quite the grand World Tree you described.”

“Silver Dragon Princess, your guess is correct. Miu Miu must have long known that, within Herman’s plan, her death was inevitable. Thus, she took advantage of the World Tree’s properties, split off her soul, recorded it within the seed of the World Tree, and sealed it there.”

Joshua pointed at the World Tree seed.

“Then, if you wish to save Miu Miu, you should already be very clear on how this can be accomplished, shouldn’t you?”