Who let him join the Sword Sect!

Chapter 455 still holds Zhang Ze fully responsible.

Because he had said something strange, Zhang Ze, feeling guilty, did not retaliate. After all, his indestructible body wouldn't feel any pain from being kicked.

Moreover, to be honest, you can actually tell the gender of Lao Di if you look closely.

If this were a Tokyo drama, then the dark-skinned athletic junior in track and field would undoubtedly be the one destined to be the loser.

The reason I didn't see it was not only because of Zhang Ze's preconceived notions and the misleading nature of her name, but also because of her magnanimity, which was comparable to Lily's.

"When you have some free time, introduce Lao Di to Lily. They should have a lot in common."

Thinking about all this trouble, Zhang Ze glanced at the tightly closed door behind him and continued walking deeper into the building.

There was only one path behind the door, and the scenery on both sides changed from a mesmerizing golden forest to an enclosed wooden corridor.

The rustic wood grain forms patterns that carry a certain power, slowly drawing upon the spiritual energy within Zhang Ze's body, causing it to begin circulating automatically.

This is inside the roots of the sacred tree.

Soon, Zhang Ze reached the end once again.

At the end was another golden door, but this time there were two guards on either side of it.

"Um……"

Looking at these two giants, covered in golden armor and towering in stature, Zhang Ze equated them with the guardians of the great tree.

"Should I go in?" Zhang Ze asked cautiously, his hands tucked into his pockets.

"examine……"

The giant on the right spoke succinctly and slowly.

"How do we check?" Zhang Ze asked.

"Take off your clothes..."

The giant on the left also spoke succinctly.

Zhang Ze, "?"

Just as Zhang Ze was thinking about whether to go home first, the spiritual fire in the eyes of the two giants suddenly went out. Then they knelt down, and their golden armor began to undergo a qualitative change, gradually merging with the roots around them.

Soon, the tree guardian became the tree itself.

"The gatekeeper's been a bit off lately, don't mind him, come in."

The golden door opened a crack, and Grandma Anya's voice came from inside.

Zhang Ze stepped in sideways, but suddenly his feet slipped, as if he were in a void.

But the feeling of emptiness only lasted for a moment. When he came to his senses, he was standing firmly in a treehouse.

The treehouse was small and simply decorated, containing only a few everyday items.

Grandma Anya was sitting across from me.

But something was wrong with her.

She sat back in a wicker chair, looking somewhat listless. A thick, hand-woven blanket covered most of her feet, which were still attached to the ground.

Sister Wang stood behind her, placing her hand on Anya's grandmother's shoulder, and a soft glow enveloped the two of them.

It wasn't delivering life or healing wounds, but rather resisting some kind of erosion.

Zhang Ze thought of the two assimilated tree guardians he had just seen at the entrance.

Zhang Ze, "Grandma, you..."

Grandma Anya said, "I know what you want to ask, but please sit down and listen to me first."

"Don't worry, it won't take much time."

Zhang Ze checked the connection in his right hand again to make sure it wasn't broken before taking out a small stool and sitting down to wait for his mother-in-law to speak.

"I will help you find your companions who are trapped in the Earth Sea, but please do me a favor as well."

Grandma Anya pulled her almost wooden hand out from under the blanket and laboriously handed a pitch-black hexagonal bone armor to Zhang Ze.

Zhang Ze looked down and examined it closely. Although it looked like bone armor, he didn't know what kind of creature it was made from, nor could he tell which part of the body it came from.

The bone armor was entirely black with a smooth surface, and for some reason, it still felt warm to the touch, almost like a living thing.

Grandma Anya said, "Our ancestors discovered this divine object under the sacred tree. From that moment on, they received the protection of the sacred tree through this object."

"In exchange, each priest also became a navigator."

"What do you mean?" Zhang Ze asked, puzzled.

Grandma Anya said, "When all things return to stillness, the sacred tree will protect its people."

Then the sacred tree will leave the earth, leading its people to find a new home. "However, where they will wander and how they will navigate, I do not know; the ancestors did not explain."

“Return to silence…you mean three years from now?” Zhang Ze frowned slightly.

“The sacred tree made no prophecy about this matter.” Granny Anya shook her head and continued, “I’ve brought you here not because of the disaster that didn’t happen, but because of the sacred tree itself.”

Zhang Ze, "What happened to the sacred tree?"

"The sacred tree is sick," Grandma Anya sighed.

Zhang Ze, "Are you sick?"

Grandma Anya said softly, "Something has invaded the sacred tree, and it happened today."

Then a few indistinct syllables came from her mouth, and the black stone bone armor in Zhang Ze's hand became slightly warm once again.

He became connected with the sacred tree.

Zhang Ze clearly felt something enter the sacred tree's body; it was stuck there, eroding the sacred tree's vitality.

Slow, but persistent.

Like a splinter stuck in your finger.

The connection lasted only a brief moment before it broke. Zhang Ze glanced at the scorching hot bone armor in his hand, then looked up and asked, "What can I do?"

"Take that thing out, or see what it is."
"Whether you can retrieve that thing or not, in exchange, I will help you find your companions lost in the Earth Sea."

“Only you, young master, can accomplish this,” said Sister Wang, who had been silent until now.

"After Anya sensed the pain of the sacred tree, she wanted to explore deeper as usual, but she was immediately attacked by the backlash shortly after entering."

"The sacred tree desperately wanted to expel the invading thing from its body. Driven by instinct, it began to assimilate and reject all foreign things."

Zhang Ze: "Then am I not an outsider?"

Zhang Ze pointed to himself. To be honest, he wasn't familiar with the Sacred Tree at all. This was their first meeting, and to enter it on the first time felt like things were progressing too fast.

“Yes, but you are not affected by the Sacred Tree, and you also have an innate Dao body,” Sister Wang said.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ze pondered for a moment, then nodded.

“I can give it a try, but I can’t guarantee I’ll succeed, and I need to find Ah Li first.”

The sacred tree won't die immediately, but Ah Li and Feng Ge might, so we need to rescue them as soon as possible.

“Yes,” Anya’s grandmother answered readily.

An Ya's grandmother beckoned Zhang Ze closer, and her wooden hand briefly returned to normal.

She pulled open Zhang Ze's sleeve, and then froze for a moment.

There's no way around it, that golden middle finger is really eye-catching.

"Don't worry about the details, it was all an accident...an accident..." Zhang Ze said with an awkward laugh.

Grandma Anya forced a smile. Twisted, branch-like battle markings spread along her fingertips and covered Zhang Ze's arm, strengthening the connection between Zhang Ze and A Li.

Granny Anya and Zhang Ze simultaneously separated a wisp of their divine souls and explored the depths of the sea along this slender but resilient connection.

only……

As they went deeper, their expressions became somewhat serious.

Zhang Ze's expression was serious, but also tinged with embarrassment.

Anya's grandmother's solemn expression carried a hint of strangeness.

They found Ah Li and the arm that was giving the middle finger.

Unfortunately, Ah Li and the middle finger were the foreign objects that invaded the sacred tree...

Grandma Anya raised her hand, her expression towards Zhang Ze somewhat complicated.

It's like being locked out of your house, paying 50 yuan to have someone unlock it, and then the locksmith chuckles and says, "I have your key; I found it on the street this morning."

Zhang Ze said, "Grandma, please listen to me. This really wasn't my fault."

"First of all, Xiao Jing in the sky bears the main responsibility. Secondly, my junior brother, who stole the middle finger, also bears some responsibility, after all, his driving skills are not good."

"Finally, it's Ah Li and Lao Tang... If one doesn't transform into a dragon and the other doesn't fire the cannon, this kind of thing might not have happened."

“I am also a victim, this really has nothing to do with me.”

You have to believe me!

Zhang Ze argued his case, giving the middle finger.

(End of this chapter)