Su Fu remained silent for a long time.
The Howling Celestial Dog before her was looking up with watery eyes, its ears drooping, but its tail was wagging at high speed.
“Woof… Bark!”
It pounced at Su Fu’s feet, letting out a puppy-like whimper and putting on a pathetic display.
“Since I left my master to follow you, I haven’t eaten anything good until now… This time, I just wanted to eat something green…”
It approached cautiously, its wet nose gently nudging Su Fu’s hand.
“Besides, it was just to try something fresh… I haven’t eaten anything fresh in forever… That little branch looked so tender and fresh!”
Su Fu: “…”
She took a deep breath and rubbed her temples and asked, “So you’ve set your sights on the World Tree?”
“That is the core foundation of the Norse Pantheon. Do you think it’s just some cabbage in a field?”
She didn’t even dare to keep thinking about it.
If the Howling Celestial Dog ate the World Tree now, what would it want next?
The Jianmu?
The Fusang…?
As expected, Erlang Zhenjun was the one with the deep pockets who could afford to raise a gold-swallowing beast like the Howling Celestial Dog.
Hearing this, the Howling Celestial Dog immediately flipped over skillfully, revealing its belly with all four paws in the air.
“Woof woof! I ate and drank the best every day at the Zhenjun Estate, but here with you, I can’t even get a mouthful of green leaves…”
“My master would be so heartbroken if he knew!”
Su Fu: “……?!”
Who was Erlang Zhenjun?
He was the Judicial Deity in charge of the Heavenly Court’s punishments, the “Manifested True Lord” personally titled by the Jade Emperor.
He owned the Guankou fiefdom; of course his net worth was astronomical!
How could she possibly compare herself to Erlang Shen?
But looking at the Howling Celestial Dog’s state, sigh, forget it.
Didn’t the Little One just want something to eat?
She rubbed the Howling Celestial Dog’s head and asked, “Are you sure that was the World Tree Seedling?”
The Howling Celestial Dog flipped upright and stood up, holding its head high with an air of importance.
“Absolutely certain! I could never mistake it!”
Su Fu grew thoughtful.
So the splash of green she had seen on the Norse map back then was actually the World Tree.
Aside from anything else, the Howling Celestial Dog really had great taste; that was a top-tier item.
In the Norse Pantheon, the World Tree was an existence that connected the Nine Realms, the core that maintained the order of the Nine Realms.
Its roots extended to the Underworld, and its canopy reached directly to the Heavenly Realm.
Even though it was just a seedling, it would eventually grow into a Divine Artifact that supported the Nine Realms and served as a hub connecting multiple maps.
If she could get even a tiny bit of it and transplant it to Kunlun…
She thought about it; this could be done!
After all, the resources of the Anomaly maps went to the capable.
It wasn’t just the Test Takers who coveted natural treasures; the Anomalies of other maps also needed to constantly devour and grow stronger.
Otherwise, why would those S-class Anomalies be bored enough to wander around different maps?
It was possible that more than just the Howling Celestial Dog had discovered the World Tree; other Anomalies might be preparing to make a move.
Thinking of this, Su Fu suddenly paused, realizing a key problem.
“Wait, Howling Celestial Dog, how did you get to the Norse map? The Immortal Ship is clearly in the Yunmeng Marsh.”
Not only was there a great distance between these two maps, but there was also a spatial barrier between reality and dreams.
Could the Howling Celestial Dog traverse the void?
The Howling Celestial Dog wagged its tail proudly, “Woof! What’s so hard about that! My master is the True Lord in charge of inspecting the Three Realms! I’m used to following my master across the heavens and the earth. A mere spatial barrier is as simple as stepping over a threshold to me!”
Su Fu’s breath hitched.
This ability was simply heaven-defying.
The Shen Yan rules clearly stated that switching maps required special keywords, yet the Howling Celestial Dog could traverse them freely…
She seemed to have found a loophole.
“Wait… doesn’t that mean…” She stared at the Howling Celestial Dog with burning eyes and muttered, “I can switch to other maps at will and then have you take me back to the Immortal Ship?”
This was equivalent to directly bypassing the System’s restrictions.
It didn’t require Shen Yan operations; it was purely relying on one’s own ability to cross regional maps—earning a living by skill!
In theory, this was completely feasible.
The Howling Celestial Dog was originally a Divine Beast capable of traversing the Three Realms.
To it, maps were probably just different small spaces.
Su Fu’s gaze toward the Howling Celestial Dog instantly became fervent.
This ability to traverse the void was practically a Heavenly Technique!
With such heaven-defying ability, what was wrong with wanting to eat some grass?
At most, the grass was just a bit special.
She had to satisfy him.
It would be arranged!
Her tone became gentle as she reached out to pet the Howling Celestial Dog’s head, “Fine! You want to eat green leaves, right? We’ll go to the Norse Pantheon map right now!”
The Howling Celestial Dog immediately spun around happily.
Looking at the Howling Celestial Dog, Su Fu suddenly realized something, ‘Wait, was something a bit off…?’
While the Howling Celestial Dog was strong, directly crossing spatial barriers was perhaps a bit too exaggerated.
Traversing the void wasn’t something a typical Heavenly Technique could achieve.
She suddenly realized a possibility.
“Could it be… that the True Lord is cutting me some slack?”
Su Fu recalled her previous experience of attacking the Heavenly Prison with the True Lord.
Perhaps the True Lord was very satisfied with her performance.
Although he hadn’t said anything at the time, had he secretly arranged for the Howling Celestial Dog to be with her now?
She asked the Howling Celestial Dog tentatively, “Did the True Lord send you?”
The Howling Celestial Dog’s ears twitched, and its gaze drifted, “He didn’t say… that’s not it, awoo!”
Su Fu’s heart raced.
This reaction was solid proof.
The True Lord was definitely helping her in secret.
No wonder the Howling Celestial Dog appeared in the form of a Heavenly Technique yet could run around everywhere.
Its divine consciousness had likely already descended!
However, she then wondered, ‘why was the True Lord helping in secret? Why couldn’t he do it openly? Was it because they were under some kind of constraint?’
***
Heavenly Realm, Erlang Zhenjun’s Palace.
The hall was paved with bluestone, with white jade pillars.
Light and shadows flowed, and auspicious mist lingered.
Erlang Shen, also known as Yang Jian, was sitting at a desk, focused on reading a scroll.
His black hair cascaded down, casually tied up with a jade hairpin.
Sunlight spilled from the nearby window, plating him with a layer of gold and adding a touch of divinity to his handsome face.
After a short while, hurried footsteps sounded outside the hall.
Kang Anyu, the head of the Six Sages of Mount Meishan, rushed into the hall and bowed, “True Lord! Your calculations were flawless. That one from Greece truly couldn’t sit still!”
Yang Jian looked up at him and said, “Tell me the details.”
Kang Anyu’s expression was solemn, “Zeus is furious because of His Divine Summoner. He wants to cross the boundary to interfere in the affairs of the human realm. It is said that they can no longer hold Him back over there. This move already violates the Covenant of the Gods. Should we… step in to protect Su Fu?”
By asking this, Kang Anyu was clearly prepared for battle.
“No need.” Yang Jian looked back at the scroll, the corners of his lips turning up slightly, “We don’t need to overstep. We just need to watch the changes quietly. Someone will naturally handle this matter.”
“Who would handle it?” Kang Anyu guessed in confusion, “Could it be the Four Sea Dragon Kings? They did bestow Godly Powers upon Su Fu, so it’s possible they would act…”
Erlang Shen shook his head slightly and said, “No.”
“Then who else could it be?” Kang Anyu was puzzled.
Among those who could help Su Fu, wait—
“Could it be Nezha Third Prince? With his personality, if he saw the God King bullying Su Fu, he would indeed likely start a massive fight…”
That was the Great Deity of the Three Altars and the Manifestation of the Sea.
Who did the God King think he was, daring to bully someone Su Fu was associated with?
But Erlang Shen still shook his head.
“True Lord?” Kang Anyu looked at Erlang Shen in confusion until he saw that His expression seemed much softer.
He suddenly slapped his forehead, “Oh! Today is the day… I know who you are talking about, True Lord! The Great Sage is coming back!”
Yang Jian’s expression relaxed, and a shallow smile spread through his eyes as he gave a soft “Mm.”
“He is indeed coming back.”
Kang Anyu smiled brightly and couldn’t help but say, “True Lord, You and the Great Sage can finally reunite! When the time comes we invite the Third Prince as well, imagine how happy everyone will be!”
Hearing this, the smile at the corners of Yang Jian’s mouth deepened.
***
Meanwhile, the Penglai Immortal Ship was heading toward the Norse map.
Su Fu had already learned the details of how the World Tree was discovered from the Howling Celestial Dog, but it seemed… something was a bit off.
“Something as important as the World Tree Seedling was actually discovered so easily?”
She frowned, “If I were those Norse people, I would definitely protect it well and never let anyone find it easily.”
But now, it had been discovered by the Howling Celestial Dog from such a great distance?
Were those people really that weak?
She felt it was somewhat… strange that it could attract attention across maps.
The Howling Celestial Dog’s ears twitched, “It does seem a bit… a bit too smooth. And there were no people guarding the area at the time…”
“Was there really no one,” Su Fu murmured, “or were they hiding in the shadows to test us?”
This was likely a trap.
The World Tree was the bait to lure them into the pit.
The Howling Celestial Dog tilted its head and asked, “Then… are we still going?”
***
Norse Pantheon · Rainbow Bridge Rift.
Olaf, Huangfu Yun, and others were hiding around the World Tree, alertly observing the sky.
It was said that the Immortal Ship appeared silently; one second the sky might be clear, and the next, the shadow of the Immortal Ship would arrive.
“Are you sure she’ll come?” Olaf’s expression was grave as he occasionally glanced at the World Tree Seedling and continued, “That black dog should be hers, right? We’d better not attract someone else, or that would be bad.”
“Don’t worry,” Huangfu Yun laughed calmly, “I’ve already obtained a keyword in the Atlantis map: [Key Lock], which can lock onto the location of a designated target person in advance. The target location is right here. She will definitely come.”
As for why Su Fu would come here?
Huangfu Yun looked at the World Tree Seedling.
Reasoning backward from the result, this was likely the only reason.
She chuckled softly, “I didn’t expect she truly was as greedy as the rumors say. I heard that in the past, Test Takers could buy their lives back from her using credits or Contribution Points. She really is short on money.”
Olaf looked like he took it for granted and shrugged, “Commoners are always like that.”
Erika looked at the emerald-green, vigorously growing World Tree Seedling.
For some reason, she felt a faint worry, she turned to Huangfu Yun, then looked at Chiya and Zero, who remained silent behind her.
She hesitated but finally couldn’t help asking, “Do you really think that just by ourselves, we can take down Su Fu?”
“Huangfu Yun, if I’m not mistaken, Elvira and the Alpha Clan are all at your Atlantis map, right? Why didn’t they come over?”
Her expression was somewhat suspicious, “You aren’t using us as a front, as cannon fodder to test Su Fu, are you?”
Huangfu Yun almost laughed out loud upon hearing this and said, “No, do you really have a choice? With or without us, Su Fu would still come. Do you think she would spare your map? Don’t be so naive. You just need to remember that we are here to help you.” She spread her hands. “The free-of-charge kind.”
Eric gave her a deep look.
She was right about one thing: no one would let anyone else off the hook on this battlefield.