After countless years, the surrounding black mist was completely absorbed by the World Mother Tree, and raindrops began to fall from the sky.

The rain lasted for a very, very long time, seemingly hundreds of centuries, so long that lakes, rivers, and oceans formed in the low-lying areas of the earth.

Not long after the rain stopped, a patch of grass gradually grew around the Mother Tree of the World.

Then came shrubs and woods, and finally, it slowly became a lush oasis.

Microorganisms emerged in the nearby lake, drawing life force from the mother tree, and continued to evolve and multiply. Small animals appeared on the oasis, followed by larger animals...

After absorbing the life force released by the mother tree, the animals will live a long life, and all kinds of demons and monsters will be born.

One day, in a round patch of soil next to the mother tree that was not covered by any weeds, two golden buds finally broke through the soil.

"Hahahaha..."

Zhang Yun's inner laughter lasted only three seconds when a wind blade suddenly shot over, snapping the golden bud representing his head in half from the middle of its stem.

His upper body fell to the ground and was trampled into the mud by a wild beast.

“%…￥*\\u0026…\\u0026*%\\u0026…#%*…”

He must be some kind of special species or spirit, because even after being cut in half and stepped on, he didn't die!

But this only made him angrier!

He lay dormant for countless years before finally emerging from the earth, only to have his body severed by a wind blade unleashed by some unknown monster!

The upper part of his body, which contained his main consciousness, was also stomped on hard!

The anger accumulated in that instant was enough to blow up a planet!

but……

Let's put getting revenge aside for now; he needs to go back!

Having left the root system that provided him with nutrients, Zhang Yun's energy dissipated rapidly. If he didn't return soon, the upper part of his body would be finished!

He didn't know if the lower half of the root would regenerate consciousness, but he knew that even if a new consciousness did, it wouldn't be himself anymore!

Zhang Yun struggled to prop up his upper body with two newly sprouted golden buds, crawling out of the soil and inching his way toward where he would take root.

Although it was only a few meters, it was an incredibly long distance for a sprout that was only half intact!

In particular, Zhang Yun felt that as he moved, the energy in this half of his body was being rapidly depleted.

It seems I'll die on the way before I can even reach the broken rootstock.

Besides, even if it's moved there, so what? It's just a newly sprouted seed, how can it take itself back?

Zhang Yun felt a pang of sadness and wanted to cry.

He has endured countless years, so long that it would take hundreds of millions of years to calculate.

It's been so long that he's even forgotten who he is and what he's doing here.

He kept absorbing life force, and finally emerged from this damned black soil.

I thought my life was about to begin anew, but it ended before it even started.

If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have preferred to let it rot in the ground!

Zhang Yun gradually lost consciousness amidst this feeling of grievance, frustration, and wanting to cry.

So be it!

Destroy it all, I'm tired!

...

When Zhang Yun regained consciousness, he heard the melodious chirping of birds.

How come I didn't die?

He looked inward at his body in surprise.

His broken stem was not reattached, but instead was grafted onto a green vine about the same thickness as his root.

At the other end of the vines, vitality and energy were flowing in continuously, making him feel so comfortable that he almost cried out.

This familiar vitality—it goes without saying—is from the vines that spread down from his thigh-high neighbor, Sister Tree.

"Sister Tree, I love you to death! mua~"

Zhang Yun's two small golden buds made a human-like hugging motion and stuck to a branch of the World Mother Tree next to him that was countless times thicker than him.

Tree Sister seemed even more excited than him; the energy coming from the vines was several times greater!

Surrounded by pure energy, Zhang Yun felt warm all over, as if he could grow a third leaf at any moment.

"Sister Tree, have you developed self-awareness?" Zhang Yun asked, leaning against it.

The World Tree did not answer, but it raised a slender vine to Zhang Yun, its emerald green leaves, like palms, gently touching the two tender buds at the top.

It's like patting someone's head.

Zhang Yun realized that Sister Tree was probably still very young and unable to communicate with him using mental power, so he could only communicate with her using body language.

Even so, Zhang Yun was overjoyed!

He had been alone in the dark for so long, with no one to communicate with. If it weren't for his mental power allowing him to sense changes in the outside world, he would have gone completely mad.

Finally, finally, a conscious being appeared, someone he could communicate with! (?_?)

"Sister Tree, can you take me back?" Zhang Yun sensed that his other half of his root was not far away.

If it were Sister Tree, she could easily use her vines to carry him there.

Upon hearing this, Sister Tree suddenly used her vines to uproot Zhang Yun's body, which was still half buried in the soil, and presented it to him.

Zhang Yun: "..."

I asked you to send my upper half back, not to pull out my lower half and hand it to me!

Sister Tree, are you a little slow on the uptake?

Zhang Yun sighed inwardly and touched his root with a leaf. That section of root immediately transformed into energy, which was absorbed by his body.

Between his two leaves, a third leaf slowly took shape.

From then on, Zhang Yun lived a wonderful life of being dependent on others... no, being taken care of by Shu.

Although he had been absorbing the tree's life force before, connecting directly with the tree's vines was much faster than absorbing life force by sticking to the tree's roots!

Zhang Yun is growing up strong!

But he didn't know what kind of creature he was. He had absorbed so much energy and vitality, but he just couldn't grow big. Even the growth of his leaves was very slow!

What's most infuriating is that I, so weak, pitiful, and helpless, am born with a constitution that attracts trouble!

Originally, Zhang Yun thought that the fact that his plant had sprouted despite falling into unsuitable soil and that it was cut off as soon as it sprouted was because he was unlucky.

But once he got out, he realized what real bad luck was!

He was lying peacefully on Sister Tree, yet insects that had become spirits would come and gnaw at him, birds and monsters would peck at him, and large monsters would try to stomp on him. Last time it rained, a bolt of lightning even tried to strike him!

Damn it! You just don't want to live a good life, do you?!

What the hell did I do to deserve this?!

And look, it's raining again today!

Lightning flashed and thunder roared.

Zhang Yun hid in the nest that Sister Tree had made with vines and branches, her head covered by its thick leaves, and dared not speak.

The thunder roared in my ears, and the tree's branches and leaves trembled.

Zhang Yun knew without using his senses that the place where the lightning struck was very, very close to him.

He's gotten used to it over time.

If it weren't for Sister Tree protecting him, he would have died tens of thousands of times over!

Lately, for some reason, there have been frequent thunderstorms, and the surrounding land is almost turned into a swamp!

But nothing particularly noteworthy seems to have happened.

Except... a bud has grown on the top of his head! A flower bud!

Zhang Yun only realized that she was not a tree or grass, but a flower, when the flower bud appeared.

Tsk, no wonder he's so hard to raise!

The day the flower bud appeared, he excitedly said to the World Mother Tree, "Sister Tree, I am a flower. When I bloom, I will definitely show it to you first!"

After hearing what he said, Sister Tree was even more excited than him, and the "food" she brought him was several times more than before!

"Too much, too much! We can't finish it all, Sister Tree, save some for yourself!"

Tsk tsk~ This little flower spirit is quite polite.

...

On the day it was to bloom, it did not rain.

However, the clouds directly above were very thick, as if something bad was brewing.

Zhang Yun looked up at the sky uneasily.

He had a vague feeling that what was brewing in the clouds was aimed at him.

As long as he dares to bloom!

But when it comes to blooming, he simply can't control it!

As the golden flower buds overhead began to unfurl, purple arcs of electricity appeared in the clouds.

That was lightning he had never seen since he was born!

Having lived in this world for so long, Zhang Yun understands that this is not an ordinary world; it is filled with all sorts of exotic flowers and plants, and demons and monsters.

There are many other things similar to those in myths and legends.

Hmm... I'm just blooming a flower, am I going to be struck by lightning?