Grace really did deceive the divine spirits.
She said that if the princess didn't pull out the Storm Core missing from the Empress, her next advancement would be her death sentence. That was pure nonsense!
The Medicine God never wrote anything about the princess in the Ten Wild Spirit Herb Manual. As a spirit master who hasn't even seen a real advancement, what does she know anyway?
The only reason she insisted on staying was for the First Spirit Tree.
She thought she should try to help the First Spirit Tree, to see if she could do something for it.
If she helped the tree, she'd help Evan Xiao, help Drake Abyss, and make everyone happy.
"Grandpa Gene," Grace squatted next to Grandpa Gene the High Saint. "Can I tell you something?"
"What is it?" Grandpa Gene the High Saint asked seriously.
"Didn't you tell me that everything has a spirit, and it's all about whether you can understand their wisdom?"
Grandpa Gene the High Saint had a good memory and nodded, "That's right, I did say that."
"I think... I can understand the wisdom of the First Spirit Tree," Grace said.
"Oh?" Grandpa Gene the High Saint looked at her. "How so?"
"The branches and leaves of this King's Spirit Tree are already withering! Do you know why it's dying?"
"No idea," Grandpa Gene the High Saint replied. "But everyone thinks it's because the Drake Abyss Nine Waters are drying up."
Grace shook her head. "It's the opposite. It's not the Nine Waters drying up that's killing the Spirit Tree—it's the Spirit Tree dying that's drying up the Nine Waters!"
"Oh?" Grandpa Gene the High Saint's eyes lit up. "Then, what is causing the First Spirit Tree to wither?
You know, the First Spirit Tree has an incredibly long lifespan—and in a place like Drake Abyss, it's practically immortal!"
Grace looked at Grandpa Gene and asked quietly, "If I told you... when I hug the King's Spirit Tree, I can feel it calling for help, would you believe me?"
"Calling for help?" Grandpa Gene the High Saint frowned.
Grace nodded. "I can feel its whole body is filled with something bad... something that's killing it! But I don't know what it is."
Grace felt he probably wouldn't believe her.
But Grandpa Gene the High Saint didn't doubt her at all and frowned, "The whole tree?"
"Yes! Every inch of bark, every leaf, it's all filled with something bad! What do you think it could be?"
Grandpa Gene the High Saint thought for a moment and said, "If that's the case... it's very likely someone poisoned the soil!"
"Poisoned?" Grace's eyes widened.
"That's right! The tree absorbs water and nutrients from the soil, which travel through the bark to every part of it," Grandpa Gene the High Saint explained. "If the whole tree is affected, then the problem is probably in the soil."
"Should we dig a hole and check?"
"There's already a hole," Grandpa Gene the High Saint said. "The Crown Prince Evan Xiao suspected the Spirit Tree itself was the problem, so he already had a hole dug under the roots, right inside the barrier over there!"
Grace stood up. "Let's go take a look! I can open that barrier."
Grandpa Gene the High Saint nodded.
So Grace prepared all kinds of tools and medicines for detecting poison, opened the barrier, and went in together with Grandpa Gene the High Saint.
Once inside, she finally saw clearly the thing she'd always thought was a treasure chest.
It was actually the Frostbound Casket!
Grace stood in front of the casket, stunned for a long moment, then rushed over and hugged it tightly.
"Mother! So you were here all along!" Grace's eyes reddened. "Your daughter never even knew..."