Chapter 139 Yggdrasil's Whereabouts

If Nan Gong Wuyue hadn't reminded him, Hao Ren would have really forgotten about this.

It wasn't that he knew nothing about Norse mythology. In fact, he knew the connection between Mimir and Yggdrasil in the original myths. But ever since he came into contact with the real products of Norse mythology, his knowledge had gradually become blurred: the wise giant Mimir became a guardian race in the Dream Plane, the true form of Yggdrasil was actually an eldest son, and even Loki's daughter, the goddess of death Hela, was just a somewhat lonely and gloomy girl. So he slowly forgot the settings in the myths…

Immediately, he contacted Mimir, who was currently overseeing the Athens Sanctuary.

Because the aliens were busy establishing a new regulatory body, the "Shadow Council," and learning about the many secrets behind the demon hunters, Mimir, a special individual who was both an ancient alien and a demon hunter consultant, became an important figure in the Athens Sanctuary. The old giant was now deeply trusted by the Sanctuary and was busy every day. When Hao Ren called, he could hear fierce arguments in the background. One particularly sharp voice sounded familiar—it should be Hessiana arguing with someone… or just quarreling.

"Hello, friend," Mimir's voice was as unhurried as ever, but as soon as he spoke, he drowned out the chaotic arguments in the background.

"It's quite lively over there," Hao Ren said with a smile. "Who is Hessiana arguing with this time?"

"I'm in a meeting, and the little girl is arguing with the Lucas family," Mimir's voice seemed to hold a hint of amusement. "It's the first collective meeting since the Shadow Council was established, and we're discussing the quota for the first batch of people leaving the Sanctuary."

Hao Ren was somewhat surprised. "The Shadow Council is already officially operating? That was fast. And you're a member?"

Mimir's voice paused for two seconds before replying, "In fact, I am now the Speaker of the Shadow Council."

"What?!" This time, Hao Ren couldn't help but be genuinely surprised. "You became the Speaker?!"

Mimir hummed in agreement, his tone lacking any emotional fluctuation. To him, this wasn't something to be surprised about; he'd experienced too much in his life, even serving as a consultant to the demon hunters.

But Hao Ren really couldn't remain calm. He had previously thought that Mimir, this special ancient one, would definitely have extraordinary prestige among the aliens, and it wouldn't be surprising for him to gain a seat in the Shadow Council. After all, ancient ones came with their own face-saving halo wherever they went. But for this old giant to directly become the Speaker of the Shadow Council was rather alarming: he had left alien society for more than two thousand years, and in those years, he had been living as a consultant to the demon hunters—an identity that was valuable but undoubtedly awkward. If the hunting war hadn't ended, this identity would even be considered an unpublicized "blacklisted resident." Apart from that, he had no foundation in the alien community, and even less power in the Athens Sanctuary. It could be said that, apart from the face-saving halo he carried, he was completely an "outsider" in the Sanctuary.

Without power or connections, how did Mimir suddenly get elected as the Speaker?

"With the support of the Hessiana family and the help of Hela—although Hela is reclusive, she seems to have quite a say here," Mimir chuckled gently, briefly explaining the situation. "Of course, the more important reason is that none of the others are suitable."

Hao Ren wasn't stupid; when he heard the words "none of the others are suitable," he knew what was going on. Ultimately, the support of one family and one ancient one were only partial reasons. The fundamental reason was probably that none of the families in the Sanctuary were willing to submit to each other. Given the premise that everyone wanted to stab each other in the back, anyone who tried to become the leader would inevitably fail halfway through their attempt to show off. Therefore, it was simply impossible for them to internally elect a Speaker.

In this situation, a highly respected but powerless mascot Speaker became the best choice. Because as long as the structure of the Shadow Council was reasonable, the position of "Speaker" would essentially have no power. An ancient one who was unrelated to all the forces, and who naturally disliked meddling in affairs, sitting in this position was fitting and reasonable: after all, he just had to sit there and ward off evil.

What's more, he was acquainted with Vivian.

Of course, the development of things was always unpredictable. The current Speaker of the Shadow Council was a hands-off type, but Hao Ren didn't know how things would change in the future. After all, this was a brand-new organization, and all its developments remained to be seen.

"Actually, I'm not very interested in this position," Mimir said unhurriedly. "But that little girl Hessiana coaxed me into it. Leaving my situation aside, what can I do for you?"

Hao Ren suddenly reacted and quickly nodded. "Oh, right, let me ask you something—are you familiar with Yggdrasil?"

"Yggdrasil… familiar?" Mimir paused, as if thinking of something. "How do you know it can be communicated with?"

Hearing this, Hao Ren knew: there was hope!

"Few people know how to communicate with Yggdrasil. Most people don't even know it has thoughts," Mimir said slowly. "Odin knew about it, but he couldn't understand the thoughts of that plant. Nidhogg also knew about it, but he went mad trying to listen to Yggdrasil's voice and ended up burning himself to death. Apart from that, even the ancient Norse gods only regarded Yggdrasil as a plant. They never tried to converse with the 'World Tree,' and I never allowed them to talk to it: one Nidhogg was enough."

"So you really know how to communicate with the 'World Tree'?" Hao Ren's tone was full of anticipation. "Do you communicate often?"

"I've been able to hear Yggdrasil's voice since I became conscious," Mimir said with a smile. "It's very easy for me. However, the World Tree's way of thinking is very special. There's no point in asking me about its thoughts; it's difficult to express clearly in words."

Hao Ren thought to himself that he had successfully made contact with the eldest son's mind, and he hadn't gone mad either. But it was obviously off-topic to say that now. He directly told Mimir what had happened today: "We successfully found the remnants of Yggdrasil's space-time chain using the resonance of Gungnir's fragments, and if we're not mistaken… we opened the door to the Asgard region."

Hearing this news, Mimir was no longer calm. "You found it?! What's that place like now?"

"It ran away," Hao Ren sighed. "We didn't know Yggdrasil was still alive…"

After a moment, he truthfully told Mimir about the situation they had encountered today. After listening, Mimir fell silent for a few seconds. Finally, the old giant exclaimed, "It's actually so far away… among the stars. Not long ago, I didn't believe I would have the opportunity to leave this planet, but I never expected Yggdrasil to have been wandering in the universe for two thousand years. It actually has this kind of power, and it survived that big bang."

Lili was a little curious. "You didn't know Yggdrasil had this kind of space-time transfer power?"

"I didn't know," Mimir replied. "It never showed such great power. Even when the demon hunters attacked the Divine Realm, it didn't react in any way. But thinking about it now… the demon hunters' superweapons only severed the connection between the Nine Realms and the prime material plane. They didn't fundamentally harm Yggdrasil, so the World Tree probably didn't consider it a threat from the beginning."

"That's a new piece of information," Vivian raised an eyebrow. "I was also wondering how it could have been exiled from Earth by the demon hunters if it had this kind of power."

Hao Ren coughed lightly. "Ahem, let's not talk about that for now. The key is that it ran away. We suspect that our probing 'scared' the World Tree, so…"

"So you need my help, and I know what to do," Mimir said with a smile. "Of course, no problem, but are you confident in finding it again?"

Hao Ren smiled confidently. "Of course, I can mobilize a lot of search power."

"Then there's no problem," Mimir agreed readily. "I can help at any time. But I can't leave for too long: the affairs of the Shadow Council have just begun, and even though I'm just a nominal Speaker, there are many things to be busy with."

Hao Ren naturally expressed his understanding. Afterwards, he curiously asked some questions about Yggdrasil: "By the way, since you used to chat with the 'World Tree' often, do you know what it was thinking about? Does it have any memories of its home world?"

"It probably doesn't have any memories," the old giant replied. "And when I establish a mental connection with it, I always feel like it's in a chaotic, sluggish state. It lacks response to external stimuli and also lacks proactive thinking. At least, that's how I remember Yggdrasil. But based on the speed of its reaction when it 'ran away,' as you described, I think it's much more alert now."

Hearing Mimir's answer, Hao Ren fell into contemplation.