A vast land, a clean and untouched woodland of the imperial tomb, a huge cypress tree, standing between heaven and earth.

Legend has it that the ancient emperor met this 10,000-year-old giant cypress before he died, so he chose to bury himself here.

The giant cypress and the emperor's tomb are worshiped as gods by all living beings, and the incense in the world is prosperous and has lasted for thousands of years.

I don't know how many years have passed, in short, on an ordinary morning, it suddenly woke up from a deep sleep, opened its eyes ignorantly, and looked at the world where it had stood for more than 10,000 years.

When it was still a seed, it thought, one day, I will take root somewhere and shade the world.

And now, more than 10,000 years have passed.

The wind in spring, the rain in summer, the frost in autumn, the snow in winter, time flies.

It stood silently, as if it had never existed. Look at the vicissitudes of the world and listen to the thousands of words of the world.

In these long and more than 10,000 years, it has watched human beings come from chaos, obtain fire, learn to farm, and watch them multiply and survive in joy and sorrow.

In the same way, for more than 10,000 years, it has quietly watched humans, this strange species, intelligent and cruel. They conquered mountains and seas, and they were able to slay beasts many times larger than themselves, and they could harness the fiercest wild horses.

Until, they began to kill each other, blood and light everywhere, and the world was like hell. The species that can kill even its own kind is the most powerful species in this land, and it is also the most terrifying existence.

The years of war are always long, and the times of peace and tranquility are short.

It didn't understand the meaning of war, and when it looked at the people kneeling in front of their roots and wailing in sorrow, it seemed to feel sadness in its heart.

It hears the voices of the people: ask the gods to forgive the world, ask the gods to protect the world.

Dryads, dryads, help us.

Normally, when trees were cut down, it just thought that if they were used to build houses and sheds, they would not live up to their long-cherished wish to protect their lives from the wind and rain, but if they were used to make bows and arrows, such a death would be meaningless.

As a tree, it should be a place of abundant shade, and after death, it will turn into the mud and return to the earth.

At this time, it watched people kneel in front of his roots, just because it was a giant cypress that would not fall for thousands of years, and became the tree god in people's mouths.

Dryads, dryads, help us. People wailed and whispered, and the mournful voices echoed in the air, refusing to disperse for a long time.

Perhaps, it was not the only one who heard this voice.

There are most things in this world that humans don't know, and there are many things that it doesn't know.

For example, what people call gods. Where are the gods, what are the gods, what are the gods doing?

It doesn't know. It has never seen a god, and although it has existed for thousands of years, it has never seen a god. But it had seen a group of people who had come from afar, and they had taught others how to breathe in the aura of heaven and earth to defend one side. In a hurry, this group of people seemed to be passers-by walking in the world, and they did not stop for a long time before they went farther away at sunset.

Sometimes, it thinks that it is just a tree. Other trees don't have as much thinking as it does, so where does it come from? Why is it the one who is different? It must be meaningful!

Definitely, there is!

The towering tree shook in the breeze and stretched its high-spirited posture to accept people's worship, and for some reason, it felt as if it was expecting something. The days passed quietly and naturally, year after year, day after day, and time did not mean much to it.

One afternoon. As the marvelous tree pondered what it was waiting for, a white light came from afar, streak through the air, dragging its long tail. It stared at the swift light, it didn't know what it was, and before it could react, it felt a powerful impact.

It's hit!

............ After a long time, the sun, moon and stars between heaven and earth changed rapidly.

He thought that he had become a wisp of grievances in the world, and he dissipated with the wind.

But no, at this time, it was as if he had just woken up from a dream after a long sleep.

A voice that seemed to come from the vast earth and fell from the dome of the sky sounded: Look!

In an instant, he saw the changes in the heavens and the earth, the mountains and rivers of the earth moving, the rivers rushing, the sun and the moon turning, and people living and fighting on this land.

The dead began to melt, and the land regenerated into a large forest of colorful meadows, interspersed with the chirping of insects. Flesh and blood became a meal for carnivores, bones became fertilizer for the land, and the pits that the dead had eaten before their deaths sprouted and grew and produced new fruits.

The mountains rise and fall slowly, as if they were deep breaths. New leaves sprout, flowers bloom, life feeds life, thousands of different lives are closely interdependent on each other between heaven and earth, and they are not separated from each other. Everything, let it be, is thriving.

It's the same voice again: listen.

There is the whimper of the fierce beasts of the north, the cry of the river, the whistling of the woods, the cry of moss...... and the prayers of the people in the war-torn times. The voice seemed to come from the farthest places, empty and melodious.

He heard the wind from the snow, the wind from that afternoon, the sound of blood gushing from his neck.

Like a deep sigh in the air, he silently shed tears, feeling as if roots had grown in his body, deep into the center of the earth, trying to grow and feel.

Nature stared at him, and he stared at this towering cypress.

"Am I dead?" he replied to himself, "Yes, I'm dead." ”

"I shouldn't have died like this. "Yes, he was not reconciled. He was humiliated, proud all his life, and died like that.

After a long time, the voice sounded again: "What is life and what is death? Life is not a cycle of death and life." The voice was empty and vast, without any emotion, but it gave him a natural sense of admiration in his heart. More majestic than my father, more vast than the desert!

The voice let out a long sigh, "Look, you're alive again." ”

"You saved me?" he sensed the sound coming from within his body.

The voice was silent for a long time, and time seemed to have come to a meaningless realm, except for him and a giant tree, only white light and nothingness remained between heaven and earth.

"Oh, it's you!" the voice said to himself in a dull voice without answering his question.

"Thank you for saving me. ”

"Then cherish it and don't waste your life. ”

From the towering giant tree, a golden dazzling light continued to overflow, stretching out towards his body like countless tentacles, wrapping around. He could feel a steady stream of power entering his body, every inch of skin, every vessel, every hair.

His body came alive again. He's given a new lease of life!

The surroundings began to warm up, and he began to feel the wind blowing through his fingers, and he could hear the sound of grass breaking through the soil, and he could see elk in the trees in the distance looking for fresh flowers.

Finally, he saw himself!

He lay under a towering cypress tree, and all the plants around him stretched out their roots and branches, and he felt very reassured, and a warm current seeped into his heart.

He heard his own heartbeat.

He's alive! he's alive, truly, alive!