Why is Great Elm Village called Great Elm Village?

Naturally, it's because there's a great elm tree in the village.

This great elm tree is so large that it takes four people to encircle it, stands over thirty meters tall, and its branches and leaves hang down like a grand canopy.

In years of famine and food shortage, its elm seeds, leaves, and even bark served as food, saving countless villagers' lives.

But now, this great elm tree is about to be cut down.

An old Taoist insists that the great elm tree has become a spirit!

The drought in the entire Annan County is all because of this elm tree's mischief, and only by cutting it down can the drought be resolved!

But without the great elm tree, can Great Elm Village still be called Great Elm Village?

***

"You little rascal, do you want to die!? How dare you obstruct this official from eliminating the demon!?"

A shout rang out.

A dozen soldiers, holding large iron saws, surrounded the great elm tree, ready to cut it down.

The onlooking villagers had eyes filled with reluctance, but no one dared to step forward to stop them.

Only a young boy, about thirteen or fourteen years old, spread his arms, leaning against the great elm tree, using his frail body to shield it from harm!

The commander among the soldiers pointed at the boy and shouted, "If you don't move, I'll saw you along with the tree!"

"You can't harm the great elm tree! It saved the lives of everyone in our village! It's not a demon!"

The boy's gaze remained firm, his childish voice filled with determination!

"Whether it's a demon or not, it's not for you to decide."

A slightly aged voice came through.

An old Taoist in a brown robe, with white hair and beard, looked indifferent as he waved his horsetail whisk and said, "Today is the once-in-a-decade day of prohibition, when all demons hide. It's the perfect time to eliminate demons. If you delay any longer, once the Shen Hour passes and the demon regains its spirit, you will all die!"

The dozen soldiers and the commander shivered simultaneously.

But after all, the commander was still human, with humanity, and naturally couldn't saw both the person and the tree.

He shouted angrily at the villagers, "You! Pull this little rascal away! Or you'll all be punished together!"

A man hurriedly ran out from among the villagers, quickly approaching while shouting, "Little Xian! What are you doing! Move away, move away! Don't block the officials from eliminating the demon!"

"Uncle! The great elm tree is not a demon! It's not a demon! It saved the lives of everyone in our village!"

The boy named Little Xian shouted anxiously, but he couldn't resist the man's strength. Even though he clung tightly to the great elm tree, he was still forcibly dragged away.

"Ah! Uncle! Let me go! Let me go!! Ah!! Old Pig Zhang, let me go!!"

"You child! The immortal elder and the officials all say this tree is a demon, why are you being stubborn? Do you think your life is too long!? You're as stubborn as an elm knot! Huh? You dare call me by my nickname!?"

Little Xian's hysterical shouts and the man's angry persuasion quickly faded away.

The commander's eyes narrowed, and he waved his hand, "Cut!"

A total of sixteen soldiers, divided into two groups, each holding two pieces of iron saws over ten feet long, were already prepared.

At the commander's order, they began sawing the tree!

Zila! Zila!

A series of metallic sounds immediately rang out, like iron filings rubbing together, extremely piercing. The onlooking villagers all turned pale and covered their ears, retreating.

The sixteen soldiers stopped on the spot, their faces pale.

With such a sound, let alone sawing through the great elm tree, if they continued sawing for a while, they could be killed by the sound waves themselves!

"Abomination!"

In the distance, the old Taoist's eyes flashed with cold light, and with one step, he flew over the ten-zhang distance!

Everyone watched, dumbfounded!

This was indeed an immortal elder!

"Today is the day of prohibition, when heaven and earth eliminate demons. No matter how profound your cultivation is, your spirit must hide from heavenly thunder, leaving only your body to show off? Today you shall perish, becoming my opportunity, seal!"

The old Taoist chanted, raising his hand to press down!

An Eight Trigrams Bronze Mirror was pressed onto the tree trunk, and with a flash of light, the entire great elm tree trembled, then returned to calm.

"Saw again!"

The old Taoist shook his horsetail whisk, his expression indifferent.

The sixteen soldiers looked at each other, took a deep breath, picked up the large saw again, and began sawing.

Panting, panting!

This time, it was finally the normal sound of an iron saw cutting into wood!

"Blood! Blood!"

But just as they started sawing, the entire great elm tree began to tremble violently, and from the saw wound, gushed out scarlet blood! It was as if a living person was being sawed!

The villagers' scalps tingled, and they were shocked, retreating continuously.

"It really is a demon!"

The commander also felt a chill down his spine and urgently shouted, "Saw quickly! Saw quickly! Saw it to death! Saw it to death!!"

"No!!"

Another scream, and the boy named Little Xian somehow broke free from Big Pig Zhang's restraint and rushed over again.

Seeing everyone sawing the tree, the elm tree bleeding, his heart ached to the extreme. He charged forward without regard!

"Stop him!" the commander shouted angrily again.

Several village men hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed Little Xian.

"Ah!! Ah!!"

Little Xian struggled desperately, biting and scratching, tears streaming down his face, like a desperate trapped beast.

Puchi, puchi...

Sawdust mixed with blood flowed like slurry, quickly soaking the ground.

The sixteen soldiers were pale, partly because sawing the tree was exhausting, and partly because it was their first time witnessing such a bizarre event, causing extreme fright.

The great elm tree, over ten feet thick, was sawed for half an hour, finally ceasing to tremble and bleed.

Then, the lush green leaves on the tree instantly turned yellow, falling like rain.

Rumble...

A sudden thunderclap sounded in the sky, followed by quickly gathering dark clouds, and soon, a torrential downpour began!

"It's raining! It's raining!"

"Hey, this tree really was a demon. Once it was sawed to death, it immediately rained."

"Luckily, we had the immortal elder, otherwise, who knows if this tree demon would have eaten everyone in our village in the future..."

"Yes, yes, it was good to saw it, good to saw it..."

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As the rain fell, all the villagers of Great Elm Village were convinced without a doubt!

This great elm tree was indeed a tree demon! It was the culprit of the drought!

The iron saws cut the tree, wounded but not severed.

No matter how the sixteen soldiers, drenched in sweat, tried to saw, the last foot simply wouldn't budge.

The old Taoist, with his horsetail whisk resting on his arm, suddenly had a flash of cold light in his eyes: "Dead but not stiff? Ridiculous!"

As he spoke, the horsetail whisk in the old Taoist's hand somehow transformed into a sharp sword!

"Move aside."

The sixteen soldiers quickly pulled out the iron saw and scattered.

"Still not, severed!"

The sharp sword swung, spiritual energy emanating, and the old Taoist slashed down!

A sword aura shot out instantly, directly entering the saw cut of the great elm tree, then shooting out from the other side, slicing dozens of meters away before gradually disappearing.

Boom!

A thunderclap echoed in the sky, and the great elm tree began to fall slowly, crashing towards the old Taoist, as if in its final moments, it wanted to deliver a fatal blow to the old Taoist.

The old Taoist, who had always been indifferent, finally showed a hint of joy in his eyes, lightly flying away, letting the great elm tree fall and miss.

Then he stepped forward, stabbed his sword into the center of the great elm tree's trunk, and pried out a fist-sized, green-glowing, fragrant bead, laughing heartily, "It's done! The tree demon is eliminated, and there will be no more drought here."

The commander wiped the rain and sweat off his face, revealing a smile, "Thank you, immortal elder, for eliminating the demon for the people."

The old Taoist laughed, then used his sword to cut the great elm tree into eight sections. With a wave of his hand, using some unknown method, the tree trunk, over ten meters tall and over a meter thick, disappeared without a trace.

"With this matter settled, I shall take my leave."

The old Taoist didn't linger, collected the treasure bead and the great elm tree trunk, shook his hand, and the sword transformed back into a horsetail whisk. With a light step, he disappeared into the rain in just a few steps.

"Brothers, let's head back too! I will report this matter to the county lord and request rewards for you all!"

The commander, completely relieved, laughed heartily and waved his hand, leading the panting sixteen soldiers away gradually.

In the original place, only the blood-red ground stretching over ten meters and the great elm tree stump, like flesh and blood being torn apart, remained.

"Disperse, disperse, the tree demon has been slain!"

"Oh no, I haven't collected my clothes yet!"

"Oops! I left a bag of grain out in the yard to dry!"

"Hey, you know, the Taoist said there was a drought in Annan County, but our village's well has never dried up, and the mountain spring for irrigating the fields has always been flowing. What kind of drought is that?"

"Are you questioning the immortal elder?"

"Hehe, I'm just talking nonsense, let's go, let's go..."

"Hey, today was really an eye-opener. When I brag to people from the neighboring village, I'll have something to brag about! I witnessed an immortal elder eliminating a demon!"

***

The rain grew heavier, and the onlooking villagers gradually dispersed.

Only a young boy remained, even though no one was restraining him, he no longer rushed towards the great elm tree. He just stood there, lost, letting the rain drench him.

"Great elm tree..."

Little Xian's tears mixed with the rain, flowing continuously.

He staggered to the great elm tree stump, looking at the blood-stained cut, reaching out but not daring to touch it.

"They have no conscience... Even though you protected so many people... Even though during every disaster, you bore countless elm seeds, more than we could ever eat... You saved so many people... But they... But they didn't save you... Sob sob sob... They didn't save you..."

The boy's sobbing and whimpering echoed far in the rain.

***

The sky gradually darkened, but no one came to take the boy home.

Little Xian was an orphan.

His father fell into a valley while gathering herbs when he was seven.

His mother lived with him for three more years, but eventually, due to overwork and illness, she touched his face before dying and said, "Xian'er, don't cry, mother will become the great elm tree in the village to protect you, mother is always here..."

Little Xian cried, curled up on the tree stump, his face pressed against it. The pouring rain no longer fell on him, and he fell asleep like that.

In the darkness, a figure approached, bending down to look at the boy, and softly said, "Little Xian?"

Little Xian opened his eyes, light returning to them, and jumped up, "Mother!?"

The woman's eyes curved like crescent moons, holding Little Xian's face in her hands, she said, "Little Xian, listen to me, I was supposed to take form today, but I was plotted against. Now my body is gone, and my spirit can't survive. Instead of vanishing into the world, I will help you forge your spiritual root and bone. I've buried a scroll suitable for human cultivation and a Life-Saving Jade Pendant under the tree. Remember to dig them out when you wake up, follow the cultivation method, and establish your foundation as soon as possible...

Little Xian, you are a good child, you've grown up, you're a man now. From now on, you must face everything with strength, no matter what difficulties you encounter, never give up!

Little Xian, don't trust anyone in the future, the cultivation world is full of bad people. Little Xian, you must remember, everyone you face in the future is a bad person, never trust them... never trust anyone... Little Xian... you must live well..."

The woman's figure quickly became transparent, finally turning into a green light, entering Little Xian's chest.

"Mother!!?"

Little Xian, with tears streaming down his face, let out a scream and opened his eyes.

---

Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan