Ch. 253 - Maple Leaf City

People set up the arena, and performers took turns on stage.

In this grand play, Xu Zimo neither opened the show nor ended it.

He was just a minor, insignificant character, entering quietly, leaving silently.

While the Time Emperor was altering Lin Qing's destiny, Xu Zimo, in order to obtain the Fate-Reversing Pearl, made an early alliance with the Time Emperor and ultimately sacrificed himself heroically.

He stepped on stage, performed, then exited flawlessly.

…

After putting away the Fate-Reversing Pearl, Xu Zimo looked at the God Emperor and said, “Your Divine Sect has been silent for far too long. It’s time the world remembered you.”

“What are you planning?” the God Emperor asked, puzzled.

…

Leaving the Elden Lands behind, Xu Zimo headed straight toward Maple Leaf City.

Little Gui and Yao Shengnan had previously gone to retrieve the Mother Leaf of the Tree of Life from Maple Leaf City, but hadn’t returned yet.

Naturally, Xu Zimo needed to check on them.

The Tree of Life was crucial to Xu Zimo, an integral part of his Power of Creation.

Moreover, Little Gui might have encountered danger.

After emerging from the transformation of the Elden Lands, Xu Zimo could already sense the presence of Paimon and Chaos.

Maple Leaf City was under the control of the Mo Imperial Clan.

Since the Formation Emperor bore the Heaven's Will, this family had risen like a new star.

They became one of the foremost families in the entire Primordial Heartlands specializing in formation arts.

The Hexa-Genesis Immortal Formation left behind by the Formation Emperor was still hailed as one of the most powerful formations on the continent.

It also served as the Mo Imperial Clan’s protective formation.

Most members of the Mo Imperial Clan were pioneers with strong spirits of innovation and exploration.

Their descendants continued to study all kinds of formations. Naturally, there were successes, and failures.

When Xu Zimo arrived at Maple Leaf City, it was already evening.

The architecture of the city was highly unusual, shaped like a giant upside-down maple leaf pressed against the earth.

All the buildings were crimson, red bricks, red tiles, with red as the dominant color.

As Xu Zimo stepped inside, taking in the physical buildings all around, one would find it hard to imagine that this city had originally been formed through the evolution of a formation.

Among the ancestors of the Mo Imperial Clan, there was an eccentric.

He was not bound by the traditional killing, illusion, or trapping formations.

He enjoyed studying what were known as "lifestyle formations."

A formation that could evolve into a city, a long river, a forest…

He liked using formations to project countless real-world objects.

At the time, many in the Mo Imperial Clan considered him a disgrace to formation masters.

The formations he developed were seen as having no offensive capabilities or practical use.

But many years later, this eccentric was inspired by that process of evolution.

He ultimately achieved mastery in formation arts, able to evolve all things with a glance: sun and moon cycles, seas turning into mulberry fields.

Maple Leaf City was a city he created through formation evolution.

In this world, many other things he had evolved still existed.

…

After entering Maple Leaf City, Xu Zimo noticed the city’s defenses had become much stricter.

Every person entering or leaving had their identity thoroughly checked.

On the streets, many people in blue robes patrolled throughout the city.

Xu Zimo found an inn and walked in.

“Welcome, sir! Are you staying the night or dining?” the innkeeper’s assistant hurried over.

“Bring out your best food and wine,” Xu Zimo smiled. “I have a question.”

“Please ask,” the assistant nodded quickly.

“I’m new to Maple Leaf City,” Xu Zimo said with a smile. “While walking over here, I saw lots of people in blue robes on the streets. It's kind of intimidating. Did something happen in the city?”

The assistant looked around cautiously. Seeing no one nearby, he leaned in and whispered, “I don’t know much myself. But I heard they’re looking for two people.”

“And who are these blue-robed people?” Xu Zimo asked curiously.

“I heard they’re from the Middle Continent. Not something we can interfere with,” the assistant replied with a chuckle.

Xu Zimo fell into deep thought.

People from the Middle Continent coming to the Eastern Continent to apprehend someone?

It wasn’t hard for him to connect this to Yao Shengnan and Little Gui.

…

After dinner, Xu Zimo returned to his room and had Paimon start searching for signs of Little Gui and Yao Shengnan.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, letting his consciousness enter the God World.

This land was vast and empty, seemingly lifeless.

Only Chaos patrolled the world, watching over the gestation of the nine God Beasts’ bloodlines, hoping for the day they would be reborn.

Compared to the slow gestation of the nine beasts, the only tree on the continent, the Dragon Tree, was growing rapidly.

It absorbed the world’s life energy and had now grown into a towering tree.

Its branches were lush and vast, extending into the void. The thick, green leaves densely covered the massive tree.

On it hung nearly a hundred glowing fruits, glistening and translucent.

Inside each fruit, dragon-shaped shadows faintly appeared, incredibly lifelike.

Spring had come, and the breeze blew in from ten thousand miles away.

It lifted the dust, then let it fall again.

Within the spring breeze, the faint sound of dragon roars echoed from the tree.

Xu Zimo observed, while the God Beasts would take more time to be reborn, the Dragon Tree looked like it would bear fruit soon.

…

After cultivating in the True Fate World for a night, Xu Zimo began considering the Empyrean Meridian Realm.

The appearance of one’s True Fate marked entry into the Imperial Meridian Realm.

In contrast, the defining trait of the Empyrean Meridian Realm was the manifestation of one’s soul, a complete God-Soul of their own.

By the next morning, Paimon had returned.

“Well?” Xu Zimo asked.

“Absolutely no sign,” Paimon shook his head.

“Even you couldn’t find them?” Xu Zimo asked in surprise.

“They’re either hiding in a very special place, or they’ve already left Maple Leaf City.”

Xu Zimo thought for a moment and then pulled out a Life Leaf he had obtained earlier from his storage ring.

“What do you want, kid?” the Leaf of Life asked warily.

“Do you want your freedom?” Xu Zimo smiled.

“I do, but I’m a leaf with principles. I would never sell my body!” the Life Leaf quickly replied.

“....I don’t want your body,” Xu Zimo said, exasperated. “I want you to sense whether the Mother Leaf of the Tree of Life is nearby.”

“You mean that leaf from the Celestial Race?” the Life Leaf asked.

“You’ve seen it?”

“Back when I was still part of the Tree of Life, someone from the Celestial Race brought the Mother Leaf to visit. Of course I remember,” replied the Life Leaf.

“That Mother Leaf is also the only way to connect with the Tree of Life.”

“Then hurry up and see if it’s nearby,” Xu Zimo urged.

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