In the ancient texts of the Daoist School, there were detailed records about Spirit Monsters "begging for a title."
These supernatural beings, cultivated from plants or beasts, would often seek recognition from a person they encountered when they reached a critical juncture in their cultivation.
As humans are the spirits of all creation, possessing the Destiny and Spirituality of the nation, their spoken words become Cause and Effect.
If Chu Bai answered that it looked like a human, this Locust Tree Spirit might instantly transform into one and wander the Red Dust. But the price would be the destruction of most of its centuries of accumulated botanical cultivation, and for the rest of its life, it would be plagued by Resentment, turning into a half-human, half-ghost monster.
If Chu Bai answered that it looked like an immortal, the Locust Tree Spirit could indeed ascend to godhood in a single step and achieve immortality. However, the price for this heaven-defying act would have to be borne by Chu Bai, the one who spoke the words.
His own Destiny would likely be diminished by more than half in an instant, even jeopardizing his future path of cultivation.
It was a trap with no good answer.
Chu Bai activated Golden Eye Shattering Illusion, his pupils constricting almost imperceptibly.
In his sharp field of vision, the Spiritual Power fluctuations around the old locust tree were like a boiling ocean, layered and overwhelmingly oppressive.
’Late-stage Qi Cultivation... at least a master at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer, maybe even the Eighth Layer.’
Chu Bai quickly assessed the power difference between them.
With his Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer Cultivation, combined with his numerous Perfect Techniques, his chances of winning a direct fight were slim. However, relying on his deep foundation, escaping unscathed wouldn’t be difficult. As long as he could hold out until Hu Hao and Feng Qin arrived with their teams to surround it, even a Locust Tree Spirit this strong couldn’t withstand the Soldier’s Qi of a hundred Evil Suppression Guards.
But he didn’t sense any violent or cruel Demon Qi from the old locust tree.
On the contrary, because the nearby residents had long used it to dry clothes and find shade from the summer heat, the Tree Spirit carried a very faint, sandalwood-like fragrance, reminiscent of wood ash—a gentleness cultivated by the smoke and fire of the city’s daily life.
Coupled with the fact that it had just intentionally revealed itself to protect the Spirit Fox, rather than using the chaos to start a killing spree, Chu Bai had already made up his mind.
’This is no evil creature, but a "local spirit" that guards this corner of the mortal world.’
Chu Bai remained silent for about three breaths, and the oppressive aura almost reached its breaking point.
The white Spirit Fox hid behind the tree’s roots, nervously peeking out with half its head, its large, watery eyes also fixed on Chu Bai.
Finally, Chu Bai looked up, his gaze meeting the old, wizened face on the trunk. His voice was clear and bright, like the striking of jade stones:
"You have cultivated here for many years, absorbing the essence of the people’s lives and taking in the world’s Righteous Qi. Though you are but a plant, you understand gratitude and righteousness, and you do not disturb the mortal realm. That being the case, why must you pursue the ethereal ’immortal’ or the constrained ’human’?"
Chu Bai took half a step forward. In the palm of his right hand, a crimson-gold insignia flashed and vanished—it was his awakened Golden Seal Decree Fate Chart resonating with the Cause and Effect of heaven and earth.
"Neither immortal nor human, you are you. You are rooted here, protecting the peace of this lane. You can be called—Lord Locust Tree!"
BOOM!
The moment his voice fell, the eerie wind in Dahuai Lane instantly subsided, replaced by a warmth like the return of spring.
In the void, motes of golden light emerged from between the bricks and tiles of the lane. It was the gratitude and reverence the people had felt for this tree over many years, now completely ignited and condensed by Chu Bai’s decree.
The old locust tree shuddered violently, and its countless withered, yellow leaves instantly turned a lush, vibrant green.
The old face on the trunk first looked stunned, then a gentle, serene light began to emanate from its hollow eye sockets.
"Neither immortal nor human... This old one... has been enlightened."
Following this response, Chu Bai felt the Demon-slaying Iron Token at his waist let out a cheerful hum. The oppressive Spiritual Pressure vanished without a trace, replaced by an extremely profound sense of affinity.
The white Spirit Fox also seemed to sense the change in atmosphere. It stopped trying to flee and instead walked out gracefully from behind the roots. It gave Chu Bai a deep bow, then leaped up and vanished into the lush, green canopy.
Chu Bai stood his ground, looking at the old locust tree, whose entire presence had been transformed.
The old locust tree swayed its branches slightly, as if bowing to Chu Bai in acknowledgment.
At the end of Dahuai Lane, the warmth was like that of spring.
The dead-end alley, once cold, damp, and filled with a stench of decay, seemed to have been injected with some kind of indescribable vitality after Chu Bai’s declaration of "Lord Locust Tree."
The old locust tree’s ghost-hand-like branches stopped trembling, and tender green shoots broke through the bark at a visible speed, pushing off the old, withered leaves.
Chu Bai stood with his hands behind his back, his posture as straight and tall as a pine. He didn’t look at the Spirit Fox, which had calmed down after its fright, but stared directly at the face on the locust’s trunk, which was gradually becoming benevolent and solemn.
"You have been rooted here for a hundred years, witnessing the rise and fall of this lane and receiving a century’s worth of the people’s worship and worldly essence.
Now that I have bestowed a title upon you, are you willing... to henceforth come under my command, to patrol the shadows of this bustling city in my stead, to shelter the people of this land, and to suppress all petty evils and wicked creatures?"
Chu Bai’s voice was not loud, yet it carried an undeniable authority.
The old locust tree fell silent.
Its leaves rustled in the night wind, as if it were contemplating, or perhaps reminiscing.
It had cultivated for a hundred years without a proper lineage, always hiding in this bustling city, terrified of being trampled by the iron cavalry of the Evil Suppression Department, and terrified of being devoured by the ferocious monsters from outside the city.
It had seen too many of its fellow Spirit Monsters lose their heads because of a moment of greed or exposure.
And now, an opportunity lay before it.
An opportunity to be legitimate, to no longer need to hide. An opportunity to be backed by the Great Zhou Evil Suppression Department, and by the astonishingly fortunate young man before it.
"Good."
The face on the locust trunk slowly opened its mouth and spoke a single, heavy, and resolute word.

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