"I don't have much time left here."
Mona Ouyang said gravely. At this moment, we were following the Mud Chimera—this beast, like a mass of living sludge—into a forest. The vegetation here was the best I had ever seen in the Illusory Realm.
Everything grew so lush, and the relationships between the plants were symbiotic. Many strange and bizarre plants seemed chaotic, but in truth, everything was in perfect order, each plant supporting the others.
All the plants were reinforcing the abyssal pit at the center of the forest. This was my clearest impression on my third visit here, because I had just begun to grasp the power of Karmic Force, and that power allowed me to see all this.
It was the strangest sight I had ever witnessed. Everything in this Illusory Realm was self-sustaining—animal or plant—maintaining a delicate and subtle balance. At this moment, the Mud Chimera came to a halt.
"If what you said is true—that guy died because the tree part of him reached the end of its lifespan, causing the ghost part to die as well—then it's a real problem. Is he really dead now?"
The Mud Chimera asked, and Mona Ouyang shook her head.
"Maybe he’s dead, maybe he’s not. I’m not sure. I entered the dream and drew power from the beasts in the Dream Realm before coming here. But there’s no time here—maybe he isn’t completely dead yet."
"The death of a plant is always accompanied by new life. Many people don’t understand this. The death of a human or a ghost marks the end, but for plants, it’s different."
I looked at the Mud Chimera, puzzled.
"So what exactly should we do now?"
Mona Ouyang grew anxious. At this moment, the Blueflame Warden, Eugenia, and the Nine-Tailed Fox were all standing far away, because the stench from the Mud Chimera was overpowering—like the reek of a rotting swamp, mingled with the decay of both animals and plants.
"Don't panic yet. Let me think. There are many solutions, but this situation is strange. The death of a plant is a natural cycle, but what you've told me about that ghost is different. He's half ghost, half tree. Most importantly, that ghost has already lost all distractions."
I nodded, watching Mona Ouyang. He had already told me a bit about Basil Bertram. For someone whose willpower has faded and who no longer clings to anything in this world, death means never waking again. I don’t remember anything from my past, but I know this well—having crossed the threshold of death many times, I understand how essential strong willpower is to everything.
All around us, the colorful trees began to shimmer. The Mud Chimera raised its hand and plucked something the size of a fingernail from a golden tree—a seed.
"Plants do have feelings. Take this. But you can't bring this seed into the Living World—if you could, it might awaken the emotions of that dead old tree. Trees aren’t mindless, you know? They have perception, though it’s different from ours or other beings. I won’t explain further. From here on, you’ll have to figure out the rest yourselves. You need to give this seed to someone with a strong connection to the dead one. Bury it in the withered tree—only then is there hope."
I nodded and handed the seed to Mona Ouyang. But as soon as he took it, the seed slipped from his palm and fell to the ground. Instantly, it burrowed into the earth and began to sprout.
"No, I can’t take things out of the Illusory Realm. Not even from the Dream Realm. Ethan Zhang, have you found the laws of this world?"
I shook my head and mentioned the Realm Keeper. Mona Ouyang’s face turned ashen as he stared at the seed still growing in the soil.
I smiled faintly.