Xiang Mantang and Gao Yu exchanged a glance upon hearing the old man's words.
Xiang Mantang didn't continue to say much.
He began to suspect the old man's purpose in approaching him.
After all, given the strength that he had just demonstrated, it was clear he had the kind of connections that reached the level of Dragon King Hall, and naturally would be aware of Mu Jinyu's current predicament.
So, did he deliberately utter those preceding words, just to catch his attention?
Although thinking this way, considering Mu Jinyu's current condition, Xiang Mantang ultimately couldn't help but ask, "Then, is there any way to save him?"
The old man said, "He is barely hanging on to a breath, not completely lifeless, which means he has essentially survived this trial. Without any action on your part, he will gradually awaken."
Xiang Mantang didn't believe his words and directly asked, "How long will that process take?"
"That I do not know." The old man shook his head and said, "After all, his fate is too exalted to grasp, enshrouded in purple aura, enveloped by dragon qi. When he might awaken is uncertain, perhaps tomorrow, perhaps next year; it depends on fate..."
Gao Yu murmured softly, "Isn't that a useless thing to say?"
Xiang Mantang frowned, then asked again, "But if I want to speed up this process, is there a way to do it?"
"There is." The old man nodded unhesitatingly, "However, it's very difficult, virtually impossible, and also very dangerous."
"Tell me, I want to try," said Xiang Mantang.
"Alright." The old man nodded, then began to calculate by counting on his fingers, "To hasten this process, where the east rises and the west sets, at the extreme point of reversal, the location should be in the west..."
The old man calculated for several minutes, muttering various enigmatic phrases, then suddenly his eyes lit up, and he said, "Got it, I've calculated it. In the west, near Ancient Babylon, if you're lucky, you may find the entrance to the Garden of Eden. If you enter and obtain the fruit of the Tree of Life, the person you wish to save can awaken ahead of time."
"Garden of Eden?" Xiang Mantang repeated with a frown.
In the Bible, the Garden of Eden is described as being in the east, but since they of Huaxia were themselves situated at the very eastern edge, it was understandable that the old man had deduced a location in the west.
And according to his recollection, in the Garden of Eden, there are legends of two forbidden fruits. One is the fruit that imparts knowledge of good and evil, also called the fruit of wisdom, which, according to legend, was secretly consumed by Adam and Eve, thus awakening their spiritual wisdom.
The second is the fruit of the Tree of Life, named the Fruit of Life.
It is said that those who eat it gain eternal life and can live forever, which is why God, fearing Adam and Eve after eating the fruit of wisdom, would then take the fruit from the Tree of Life, expelled them from the Garden of Eden. And at the east of the Garden of Eden, He placed a Cherub and a sword that turned in every direction with flaming fire to guard the path to the Tree of Life.
A Cherub refers to a Wisdom Angel, in the Old Testament described as winged divine beings, obedient to God.
As for the old man saying that with good luck one could find the entrance to the Garden of Eden, that is not hard to understand, given that after the cataclysmic flood, the entrance to the Garden of Eden was said to have disappeared.
As Xiang Mantang understood it, the Garden of Eden, like the Kunlun Ruins, should be camouflaged within the Earth's realm, belonging to a folded space.
However, if one could find the entrance, it would still be possible to come and go freely.
"Yes, hope lies on that Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden," the old man nodded in agreement.
Xiang Mantang stared at the old man's dirty, sly face, eager to discern if he had any ulterior motives toward him.
Recalling the Tree of Life, Xiang Mantang suddenly thought of the principle of Withered Tree Quest for Spring, the pursuit of the Fountain of Youth, the Elixir of Immortality...
This talk from the old man, wasn't it very similar?
Could he be a new genetically modified person sent by Withered Tree Quest for Spring, hence able to withstand the crushing of his car, then play tricks and attempt to hoodwink him into finding the Elixir for them?
Xiang Mantang was truly suspicious.
However, if this message came from Withered Tree Quest for Spring, it was after all a glimmer of hope, the hope of reviving Mu Jinyu—even if it meant being used by people from Withered Tree Quest for Spring, he did not care.
"Fine, I will give it a try," Xiang Mantang decided to head to Babylon after pondering for a while, seeking the lost Garden of Eden.
Seeing Xiang Mantang set on going, the elderly man hurriedly shouted, "That place is extremely dangerous! I advise you not to go. Your friend will awaken sooner or later, it won't take many years, so why take the risk?!"
"Dangerous? No matter, if it is truly dangerous, I will withdraw and leave," Xiang Mantang shook his head.
He said so, but Xiang Mantang did not take it too seriously.
After all, on Earth now, there wasn't any place he couldn't easily venture into.
There weren't many who could threaten him either.
In fact, back when he was at the peak of Energy Transformation, there weren't many who could hurt him. If it weren't for Chen Qianqian's sake, he would never have been injured, nor would he have fallen into a predicament that required Mu Jinyu to risk her life to save him.
And this time, with no ties holding him back, even if he did encounter some great terror, with his cultivation at the God Realm level, he should be able to easily extricate himself and leave.
The old man could see that Xiang Mantang was not taking his words to heart, and he became worried. So he spoke again, "Never mind, let me give you one more free divination. Say another word, and I will divine the auspices of your journey for you."
"Another word?" When Xiang Mantang heard the old man's words, his mind did not think of Mu Jinyu, but Jian Ruyan.
After all, his journey to find the lost Garden of Eden, while seemingly unconcerned, could still hold unexpected dangers. If he never returned, he would definitely need to entrust Dragon King Hall to someone he trusted.
So, he had been thinking just a moment ago that he should find Jian Ruyan first to explain things before setting off for Babylon.
Thus, upon hearing the old man's words, Jian Ruyan naturally came to mind for Xiang Mantang.
Therefore, Xiang Mantang blurted out, "Sword…"
"Sword?" The old man heard Xiang Mantang's words and, without waiting for the additional words "Ruyan," began calculating with his fingers.
After a few calculations, the elderly man's expression drastically changed as he repeatedly exclaimed, "Don't go, don't go, this journey is too perilous! The sword is an omen of violence; not only are you unlikely to obtain the Fruit of Life, but you might also lose your life, possibly even triggering a disastrous war!"
Xiang Mantang started to doubt whether the old man was from Withered Tree Quest for Spring.
"Trust me." Seeing the skeptical look in Xiang Mantang's eyes, the old man immediately took out a token from his pocket and handed it to Xiang Mantang to see.
The token was made of a special material, not gold, jade, or wood, and was engraved with complex, mysterious patterns. On the front, a pair of eerie eyes seemed to be truly embedded in the token.
On the back, four characters were inscribed:
[Omniscient]
Upon seeing this token, Xiang Mantang's expression changed.
It turned out that the old man was not from Withered Tree Quest for Spring but from the world's largest intelligence organization, Omniscient.
Omniscient, an intelligence organization Xiang Mantang had previously introduced to Mu Jinyu, was rumored to have a Heavenly Eye that nothing in the world could hide from.
They knew all the truths in the world and could predict future events.
Dragon King Hall had once cooperated with Omniscient during the Old Dragon King's era, but after the Old Dragon King's death, Xiang Mantang, helping Mu Jinyu manage Dragon King Hall, had been unable to find their active presence, let alone cooperate.
Therefore, when Xiang Mantang was looking for Withered Tree Quest for Spring, that was why he had been so passive, unable to find the backer behind them, only able to follow the trail to the former Beidou Tianshu, knowing he was a high-level member of Withered Tree Quest for Spring.
Unexpectedly, now that Mu Jinyu had an accident, and he truly took control of the Dragon King Hall, someone from Omniscient appeared again.