Quinn Shepherd's thoughts were tangled and chaotic.
Hansen Keane, Fenix Greenwood?
In the study, he found a genealogy recording the Pioneer Emperor’s lineage. The final page read: ‘The 107th generation, son of Hansen: Fenix Greenwood.’
Fenix Greenwood is Hansen Keane’s son.
So what did that strange thing that crawled down from the tree mean by those words?
Who was she calling Hansen Keane?
And who, in her words, was Fenix Greenwood?
Quinn Shepherd's body trembled, his face drained of all color. He was Fenix Greenwood, and the man in the tree was Hansen Keane!
The last entry in the Pioneer Emperor Keane genealogy referred to him, and this man in the tree was his father!
Was this man fused with the ancient tree really his father? Was this the family he’d longed for day and night?
His closest kin!
Why did he become like this?
Quinn Shepherd kept telling himself to stay calm. Grandpa Mark once told him: no matter what happens, don't panic even if the sky falls; as long as you keep your wits, even in a world-ending disaster or deadly crisis, there is always a sliver of hope.
Crippled Joe also told him to always keep smiling and stay optimistic—not just to fool your enemies, but to keep your own heart bright. Even if you lose a leg, you should show your most honest grin; only then will you have a chance to escape.
Granny Sue also once told him: even if there’s darkness or demons in your heart, you must stay strong. If you lose control, everything is lost.
But now, even knowing danger was close at hand, Quinn Shepherd couldn’t calm himself.
His father—his closest kin whom he had never met—had become like this. He couldn’t do what Grandpa Mark, Granny Sue, and Crippled Joe had taught him.
Quinn Shepherd tried desperately to steady his mind, not thinking of the man in the tree, not caring about him, forcing down the trembling in his body.
Suddenly, he felt pain in his palms. Unconsciously, he clenched his fists—his nails had dug deep into his flesh, and blood dripped from his lifelines.
Quinn Shepherd looked up at the mysterious being crawling down from the tree.
The thing crawling down from the tree was half-snake, half-human, enormous in size. Its lower half was a snake, but lacked scales; its upper half was a beautiful, seductive woman, yet the voice it emitted was that of a man.
Wherever she slithered, slime dripped constantly. She resembled Quinn Shepherd’s Earth Star Lord form, but hers was far more primal.
Behind her neck grew what looked like fleshy membranes. When she spoke, the membranes unfurled like two fans on either side of her neck, rising above her head and vibrating to make sound.
She didn’t seem able to speak normally; instead, the membranes behind her neck vibrated to produce sound, making her voice strange and obscure.
The membranes must have been her vocal cords. At their tips, bone spikes over two feet long jutted out like javelins. When open, two black, eye-shaped patterns appeared on the membranes, like two eerie eyes staring at you.
According to Quinn Shepherd, there are two Earth Star Lord forms: one is the basic form, with no Gate of Bearing Heaven or scroll; the other, like Quinn’s, has the Gate of Bearing Heaven behind him and a scroll in his hands.
But the odd being before him was even more primitive—not cultivated, but seemingly born that way.
This was a Netherworld creature—perhaps even a god!
She was not the same as the owner of those two eyes, spaced 264 zhang apart.
"We made a pact, Hansen Keane."
She slithered beneath the tree, coiling around its ancient roots. Her beautiful, seductive face pressed against the tree-man’s, cheek to cheek, as the membranes behind her head vibrated and she laughed: 'We made a pact with Tu Bo. As long as you found your son, Fenix Greenwood, you would give up everything, follow me to the Netherworld, and reveal the location of Carefree Haven. Now you’ve found your son, your wish is fulfilled. It’s time to honor your promise.'
The tree-man didn’t move, his gaze still fixed on Quinn Shepherd. His flesh had turned to wood, and his eyes could no longer see the person before him. Tears fell from those half-wooden eyes.
The strange creature’s long body circled the ancient tree, then left the tree-man and glided leisurely around. Her voice drifted through the branches, elusive: 'Years ago, you broke into the Netherworld, shattered the seal, and fused with this divine tree to survive—only to see your son. I have stayed here with you ever since. You promised that once you saw your son, you would give up everything—your life, Carefree Haven, all of it. You agreed to give your soul to Tu Bo and reveal Carefree Haven’s location. I accepted your promise and spared your life.'
Her face suddenly dropped from the divine tree, looming before Quinn Shepherd. Her massive body slowly coiled around him, the membranes vibrating with a strange laugh: 'Are you having second thoughts now that you’ve seen your son? Do you want to watch him die before your eyes? Heh heh… What tender flesh, what young life. He’s only sixteen, isn’t he? He must be delicious…'
Cold sweat broke out on Quinn Shepherd’s forehead. Suddenly, he activated the Overlord Three-Core Art, channeling the Earth Marquis True Art and transformed into the Earth Star Lord form. His voice was hoarse: 'Senior, I am also…'
"You’re also in the Earth Star Lord form?"
The strange Netherworld being suddenly stretched out her snake body, slithering away from Zhong Yue with a swish, landing on the ground. Her long tail was still coiled around the tree, not fully descended.
She looked down at the tiny youth before her, a playful smile on her face: 'Poor little thing, your tricks are so laughable to me, so childish. Don’t you know? The Earth Star Lord form is just imitating me. I am…'
"Earth Star Lord!"
She leaned close to Quinn Shepherd’s face, searching for panic, unease, and the despair that comes when all faith is shattered.
Quinn Shepherd struggled to stay calm, but she still saw the fear deep in his heart.
Earth Star Lord lifted her head, smiling: "What a delightful little fellow, trying so hard to act grown-up, yet so naive and endearing. Didn’t you say a sentence in the Netherworld Tongue when you boarded the ship? That sentence was about the Gate of Bearing Heaven. You don’t really think I’d leave just because you spoke those words, do you?"
Quinn Shepherd suppressed his trembling, but before a deity like Earth Star Lord, all his cunning was useless!
She was right—he’d always tried to act like an adult, to shoulder everything. He learned from the villagers, watched how they handled things, but in truth, he was still just a big kid.
In front of Earth Star Lord, all his effort, learning, and maturity seemed laughable.
"Since you’ve tried so hard to act grown-up, I won’t make things difficult for you."
Earth Star Lord returned to the tree, her snake tail coiling around the divine trunk like a woman embracing her beloved. The membranes behind her head unfurled and vibrated as she laughed: 'Hansen Keane, you and your son should be happy to reunite, yet why do I sense such sadness? Ah, it’s because from now on, you’ll be forever separated—one alive, one dead. Hee hee… you needn’t be so upset…'
She slithered to the tree-man, looked up at him, her snake body twisting past as she said: 'Reveal Carefree Haven’s location, and your child, your family, your clan can all join you in the Netherworld. How amusing—humans who dare bargain with gods think they’ll profit, yet lose everything! And all I risked was your life.'
She moved to the tree-man’s right, laughing joyfully, her face close to his ear: 'I traded your life for the lives of everyone in Carefree Haven, including your son. All you gained was a single meeting with your child. How foolish mortals are—even with the power of gods and demons, they’re still ruled by their foolish desires, never reaching a god’s mindset. And because of your pact with Tu Bo, you cannot break your promise.'
The tree-man returned to calm, opened his mouth, but his tongue had turned to wood and he could not speak.
Earth Star Lord smiled: "What do you want to say?"
The tree-man opened his mouth again, but no words came out.
Earth Star Lord leaned closer, curious: "What are you trying to say?"
The tree-man still couldn’t speak.
Quinn Shepherd suddenly felt calm: "Star Lord, father and son are linked by heart. I think I understand what he’s trying to say."
Earth Star Lord glanced at him: "He can’t make a sound. Can you really hear him?"
Quinn Shepherd said: "Our lives are in your hands, Star Lord. Do you really fear we’ll pull any tricks?"
Earth Star Lord stared at him and sneered: "You can’t pull any tricks. Come here and see what he wants to say."
Quinn Shepherd stepped forward, stood before the tree-man, and listened. After a moment, he said: "He’s saying he can’t see—he can’t make out my face, so it doesn’t count as seeing me. The pact with Tu Bo hasn’t taken effect."
Earth Star Lord was surprised and laughed: "Interesting! You two really are in sync. This complicates things. He fused with the divine tree using a forbidden art called Deadwood Spring—a life-borrowing spell with severe backlash. Not only did it link his life, but also his flesh. Your father battled the gods, wore out their lives and his own, and had to use this spell to survive. Now only his face remains unwooded; reversing it is hard, but not for me. I come from the Netherworld and control life…"
The membranes behind her head opened, revealing eye-shaped patterns. Two beams of light shot from the eyes, left and right, into the tree-man’s body. Gradually, the wood on his surface began to peel away, and the skin on his neck showed its natural texture instead of tree bark.