Chapter 133: The Forest Deity, the White Deer

West Island was perpetually shrouded in the shade of dense trees, their leaves a deep, dark green, almost somber in hue. Amidst the tangled thickets and rampant vines, the forest sealed off any space for footing. Bai Li Feihong moved through the woods using the Five Elements Path, employing the Wood Escape Technique to weave skillfully among the trees.

Having entered the realm of divine abilities, his methods had become wondrous and transcended mere martial arts. It was as if he had stepped into a newly born domain; though he had the memory infusion from the skill books that enhanced his level, the experience of leaping from tree to tree ignited his spirit. Filled with enthusiasm, he executed the technique repeatedly.

The divine abilities consumed much energy, yet Bai Li Feihong recovered swiftly. His acupoints connected to the vast void, drawing in primordial energy, absorbing the laws embedded within, and infusing them into his body. He also possessed a seemingly innate deadly hand technique that, upon touching trees, would drain the vitality of the vines and weeds clinging to them.

Feeling the vibrant life force surging within, the flame of his own life burned ever stronger. He could even sense the life essence being carried away by the passage of time, yet the Primordial Return Cauldron granted him the power to seize even more fundamental life energy. Drawing from the energy of heaven and earth, he replenished his own deficiencies. The essence of cultivation—plunder—became ever more natural to him.

“This place is teeming with the vitality of trees. I must have entered the domain of the five quasi-divine forest deities,” he mused. Desire-type deities are sentient and thus incredibly powerful. The Forest Deity might be the weakest among them, yet its terror lay in the fact that the forests of Feiyuan Island were all under its dominion.

Some said it was the embodiment of the Feiyuan Peak Tower Tree; others claimed it was a formidable demon that had stolen faith, ignited divine fire, and become an entity akin to a divine law. However, ancient texts recovered from the Southern Demon Suppression Fleet recorded the truth clearly: ancestors of the Demon Suppression Division once battled these five quasi-divine beings.

They were born spirits nurtured by primal tribes, becoming sacrificial spirits and totems, thus assuming divine ranks. The Forest Deity was the oldest, its totem form the Feiyuan Peak Tower Tree. Yet investigations by the Demon Suppression Division revealed it had no actual connection to that tree. It was a freak born from the spirits of heaven, earth, and plants, meant to be pure and benevolent, but overwhelmed by the desires of primal tribes, it had become an extremely selfish guardian of its domain.

It would kill anyone who entered its territory. West Island had once been its domain. Having lost in war, it chose to fall into slumber, shrinking its territory back to the original tribal lands where its totem was born. If there were still beings on Feiyuan Island who knew the origins of the Black Sky Stele, they would be the Forest Deity and the Desire-type deity.

The Desire-type deity had been defeated by Bai Li Feihong and was now weakened, making it nearly impossible to sense its true form. Its aura was faint, even weaker than an ordinary person’s desires. The Forest Deity was different: it had already awakened when Bai Li Feihong was trapped by the Desire-type deity’s mirror corridor.

Besides the Forest Deity, there were the Storm Deity and the Night Deity. Four of the quasi-deities had revived, while the fifth had merged with the earth, ubiquitous yet untraceable, its spirit embodied in thousands of beasts roaming the forest—the Universal Spirit Deity.

Storms swirled around Feiyuan Island without a trace. The Night Deity hid silently beneath the night’s veil. The Desire-type deity lay dormant, possibly in a long sleep, absorbing the desires born of humanity. Only the Forest Deity lingered in its corner, occasionally revealing its presence.

Yet these quasi-deities, deprived of totemic faith and worship, had grown feeble. Only the Desire-type deity had dared to strike at Bai Li Feihong, awakened by his blood energy that swept across thousands of miles, annihilating countless demons and severing its spiritual sustenance. That was why it had risen to confront him.

Traversing the forest, Bai Li Feihong reached the lake’s edge. Before him lay ruins—broken stone walls bearing faint carvings and remnants of civilization in lacquer traces. A decayed civilization encircled the lake. The lakeshore bloomed with myriad flowers vying for splendor, but among them, one lotus stood out: an immense blossom dozens of feet wide, rare and magnificent.

The primordial energy of heaven and earth converged, settling into its bud. As Bai Li Feihong stepped forward, the bud blossomed into a radiant thirty-six-petaled lotus. At its center stood a majestic white deer, pure and divine, radiating a holy glow. Its graceful form hovered between illusion and reality, as if composed of countless strands of vital energy—like the legendary immortal deer in Bai Li Feihong’s gaze.

“You have come,” the Forest Deity’s voice echoed, neither distinctly male nor female, suffused with an ethereal wavering that resonated within Bai Li Feihong’s heart.

“Aren’t you afraid of me?” he asked.

“Why should I be?” the white deer lifted its head, eyes sparkling like stars, holy light shimmering. “Born of heaven, nurtured by earth. I am nothing; why fear death?”

A trace of sorrow flickered in its gaze.

“Look, the history by the lake weeps.”

Bai Li Feihong glanced back silently for a long moment.

“I apologize.”

“For what?”

“For misunderstanding you.”

“Are you not apologizing for your people’s invasion?” The deer’s eyes held a hint of mockery.

“Each individual is independent. If they err, I do not owe them apology. Right and wrong no longer matter.”

“Yes, right and wrong are irrelevant now. Just as you wish to kill me, and I am powerless to resist. I am but a lamb awaiting slaughter. When I die, will you bury my body by the lake?”

The white deer’s eyes brimmed with nostalgia, as though clinging to bygone days.

“Why would I kill you?”

“Because you have already killed me once.”

Bai Li Feihong was momentarily taken aback but soon understood: his blood energy had severed the demonic aura from the deity’s spirit body. In theory, he had killed one incarnation of it.

“That topic is meaningless—killing and killing again is truly pointless,” Bai Li Feihong shook his head.

“Heh, you are interesting,” the deer’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Why have you come? What do you seek from me?”

“I seek a stele, an ancient stone tablet that records a certain demon god,” Bai Li Feihong murmured.

“Black Sky?” The deer’s eyes flickered with fear.

“Yes, Black Sky.”

“That is an ill omen, and it was long ago taken by your kind.” The deer’s gaze fixed on Bai Li Feihong’s garment. “During that war, you seized the source of calamity but did not remove it from Feiyuan Island.”

‘Our kind?’ Bai Li Feihong sensed the gaze lingering on his clothing. Had the Demon Suppression Division taken the Black Sky Stele? It had not been handed over to headquarters, but kept somewhere on Feiyuan Island!

“Do you know where it is?”

“It is like a sword plunged into the earth dragon’s lifeline beneath Feiyuan Island, binding the mountain dragon so it cannot fly away. I can no longer sense it; it is too terrifying, plunging us into dreadful despair.” The white deer shook its head and lay down again. “If you do not kill me, then leave.”

The lotus slowly closed and sank beneath the lake.

Bai Li Feihong stroked his chin, lost in thought, then gradually smiled.

“Were all the former guardians peculiar? Building a house is one thing, but they felt compelled to place something to pin down its foundation.”

It was easy to surmise.

The Governor’s Mansion was built atop Dulong Mountain, dominating the region.

The Demon Suppression Tower was nailed to the vital spot—the 'seventh inch'—of the earth dragon’s ley line beneath Feiyuan Island, ensuring the grand geomantic layout that could have soared to the heavens was forever anchored in this sea.

For various reasons, the location was modified to...