Zi Long pondered for a moment before speaking. "Yes, the Undying Primordial Liquid is essentially the essence condensed over countless years from the leaves of the Immortal Tree. Regenerating severed limbs is a trivial use for it — it is a heaven-sent panacea capable of bringing the dead back to life!"
"Bringing the dead back to life!" Zi Donglai's expression turned to one of shock. "If merely a drop of dew possesses such miraculous effects, then the Immortal Tree itself..."
"Hmph! If one could obtain the Immortal Tree and refine it, one could achieve an undying, imperishable body — a lifespan equal to the Heavens!"
"What?" Zi Donglai was genuinely stunned this time. Even as the young master of Zi Xing, he could not help but feel his mind shaken, barely able to believe what he was hearing — had it not come from his own father's lips.
"If I could possess endless longevity, then I would be able to accomplish achievements without precedent or successor. When that time comes, I would surpass the Void King Realm and glimpse the mysteries of the Great Emperor's realm!" As Zi Long spoke these words, his entire being radiated a feverish excitement and fervor.
Zi Donglai stared blankly at his father. He had not seen such an expression on the man's face in a very long time, which spoke volumes about how powerfully the Immortal Tree tempted him.
"Father, is this knowledge held only by our Zi Xing?" Zi Donglai asked.
"No!" Zi Donglai shook his head, a trace of wariness surfacing on his face. "I can't be certain about others, but the Heng Luo Trading Company definitely knows of the Immortal Tree's existence. Two thousand years ago, your grand-uncle entered this place alongside the previous chairman of the Heng Luo Trading Company. So... I'm afraid that old fool Ni Guang is here with his eyes set on the Immortal Tree as well."
Zi Donglai's brow furrowed involuntarily, and he asked doubtfully, "If that's the case, why didn't you gather more powerful allies?"
Zi Long smiled faintly. "This sort of matter isn't something that can be handled by sheer numbers. Besides... there is only one Immortal Tree. If we manage to obtain it, who would it belong to? In the face of such a supreme treasure, the only person you can trust is yourself. Everyone else... is an enemy."
Zi Donglai considered this and nodded. "Your son has been instructed."
"Mm. You are still young, and the road ahead of you is long. My purpose in bringing you here this time is to temper you — to let you encounter unimaginable dangers at an early stage. This will be of tremendous benefit to your future growth. I hope you will not disappoint me."
"Your son will strive with all his might!" Zi Donglai said firmly.
As the master of Zi Xing, Zi Long had countless children, but the one he valued most was Zi Donglai. Among all his offspring, only this child had truly stood out, and naturally he intended to cultivate him carefully.
Zi Donglai understood this perfectly well. That was why he had worked doubly hard in recent years, never daring to slacken in his Cultivation even slightly.
This expedition into the Lost Land was fraught with danger, but it was also an excellent test. If he could pass this trial, his position within Zi Xing would be unshakable from this day forward.
Zi Donglai silently clenched his fist, resolved to perform well this time.
...
Meanwhile, in a location far removed, Yang Kai and his party of four were advancing through the Lost Land under Ni Guang's lead.
Along the way, they had encountered no particularly great dangers, nor had they reaped any benefits. The Lost Land seemed somewhat less impressive than its reputation suggested.
However, Ni Guang had produced something that caught Yang Kai's particular attention.
It was an Artifact resembling a message compass, yet subtly different — within its disk was a needle-like pointer. Ni Guang had taken it out two hours ago and had been holding it ever since, periodically swaying it left and right.
As it swayed, the needle occasionally made subtle shifts, and whenever this happened, Ni Guang would alter his course, heading in a different direction.
Luo Lan watched in a fog, unable to discern what special function this Artifact served. She secretly guessed it might be designed to avoid certain dangers, but since this was a private matter, she refrained from asking, keeping her curiosity locked inside.
Yang Kai, however, was astonished — because he discovered that this Artifact could actually detect the locations of hidden spatial rifts.
Every time the needle on the Artifact pointed toward a particular spot, Yang Kai could sense faint fluctuations of spatial power emanating from that direction, and Ni Guang always managed to avoid them in advance.
This was clearly a specially crafted Artifact, forged specifically for entering the Lost Land. The person who had refined it had very likely cultivated the power of space as well!
Yang Kai speculated privately. After all, the Heng Luo Trading Company was a vast organization with talent in abundance — someone cultivating spatial power was only to be expected.
Yet from the Artifact's degree of responsiveness, Yang Kai keenly deduced that the refinement's creator possessed spatial power far inferior to his own.
Because this Artifact could not detect all the hidden spatial rifts!
Some rifts located merely a dozen zhang away from the group drew absolutely no response from it, whereas Yang Kai could sense them with perfect clarity. Each time this happened, his heart lurched with anxiety, fearing that Ni Guang would charge straight into one.
Fortunately, the journey had been thrilling yet uneventful, and there had been no need for Yang Kai to expose his own secrets to warn Ni Guang off course.
In the void, faint tear-like scars occasionally appeared — spatial rifts visible to the naked eye. These marks hung permanently in the sky above the Lost Land like blemishes upon the firmament, adding yet another layer of danger to this forsaken realm.