He has finally awoken." The youth sighed. He immediately looked at the ancient Dao Tree behind Yi Yun, hoping to see some phenomenon from the Dao Tree. Although he knew that the chances were extremely slim, he still subconsciously took a look.
The ancient tree was as before, without any reactions. There was no halo formed from Great Dao, nor were there any Dao runes or chanting sounds.
Even the Dao Tree's leaves did not rustle despite the breeze.
There was no phenomenon...
Although he had expected it, such silence and calmness was quite depressing.
The youth kept his spirits up forcefully, hoping to ask Yi Yun what insights he had gained, but at this moment, his gaze suddenly froze.
He saw… under the gentle breeze, a leaf connected to the Dao Tree slowly fell like a falling leaf in Autumn.
It left the tree branch simply and like a green butterfly, it fluttered in the wind, and after a few spirals, it dropped towards Yi Yun.
Yi Yun did not lift his head, as if he already knew about the leaf.
He gently raised his hand, with his palm facing up. With that, the leaf gently landed in the middle of Yi Yun's palm.
This scene was similar to when he was seeking enlightenment, where Yi Yun's body was a leaf. At the final instant of his life, he had landed on the soil. It was light and silent. This was the falling leaf's return to its maker.
However, this simple scene stunned the white-dressed youth completely. And beside him, the Sword Spirit also stood up immediately.
The two of them remained motionless like sculptures, looking at the fallen leaf in Yi Yun's hand.
The Dao Tree shedded a leaf?
The Dao Tree had 3000 Dao Leaves, which had never changed in all these years. In fact, years ago, the Pure Yang Sword Palace owner had used the grassland where the Dao Tree grew as a blueprint to construct the Pure Yang Sword Palace. And back then, the Dao Tree already had 3000 Dao Leaves, all the way until now…
The Sword Spirit looked at the tree's crown, and he realized that on the tree branch, a tiny shoot had sprouted up to replace the fallen leaf.
The shedding of one Leaf was met with the birth of a sprout. This was something that he had never seen despite the endless years he had been guarding the Dao Tree.
But today, it had happened.
It was naturally not a coincidence that the fallen leaf fell into Yi Yun's palm.
Yi Yun's Dao-enlightenment seeking did not cause the Dao Tree to exhibit any phenomenon, except for the shedding of a leaf. Why did this happen?
Be it the Sword Spirit or Chibai, the Temple Spirit, they were not true lifeforms. Their understanding of Dao were established the moment they came into existence. It was the Dao insights that their creator gave to them.
They could not understand why the Dao Tree shedded a leaf.
At this moment, Yi Yun gently pinched the leaf's petiole, as the lead slowly swirled in Yi Yun's hand like a tiny fan.
Falling… Birth…
Yi Yun looked up to the bud on the tree branch and he gently held the leaf in his palm. Although it had withered, the leaf was still as green as ever...