At the center of the central continent, there existed a tree whose canopy branches pierced through the clouds, rising into the heavens and reaching the planet's atmosphere.
Its roots burrowed deeply into the earth, reaching the very core of the planet—or rather, being the core of the world itself.
That tree of terrifying magnitude had many names.
Tree of Life, Tree of Spiritual Origin, Evergreen Willow…
But all of its names, which pointed to vitality, prosperity, and many other positive things, seemed to strongly contrast with its true appearance.
Its branches, stretching across the vast sky, even breaking through the void and reaching unimaginable distances, were withered, twisted, and stained black, as if they had been burned.
Its grayish-brown trunk was cracked and brittle, looking more like a tree of death than a tree of life.
But it did, in fact, bring life. All the spiritual energy that reached the world came from it.
Spiritual veins could indeed produce energy, but the raw energy that created and sustained them came from the world tree.
With each breath of the tree, an immense amount of energy spread from it, and the closer one was to its trunk, the greater the benefits.
That was why the veins in desert continents were so weak, as they were very far away, while the central continent was the richest, constantly bathed in pure and powerful spiritual energy, nourishing all life there.
On a mountain covered in dense forest, tens of thousands of miles away, a group of people observed that tree with solemn expressions.
Even from that distance, they could still see the imposing titan that pierced the heavens.
Normally, this would not be possible, as the tree hid itself from the sight of those who had not reached the Tribulation Transcendence Realm. But everyone in that group had reached it.
Everyone except one.
"Tell me, old man, is there a way for us to secretly infiltrate that tree?" Aotian asked, scratching his chin.
The red-haired man beside him, Liu Taixuan, looked at him in disbelief.
"You… can actually see it?" he asked, stunned.
Aotian's aura was clear to him. And just a few days ago, he had seen with his own eyes the boy advancing to the Nascent Soul realm, so his realm could not be fake.
Even so, there the boy was, apparently seeing something that should have been impossible for him.
'A young master from the immortal plane… I shouldn't use common sense with him,' Old Liu could only comfort himself like that.
It wasn't the first time he had told himself this, but knowing he shouldn't be surprised and actually managing not to be were two completely different things.
"Of course I can." Aotian shrugged lightly. "It's much easier than seeing the Dao, at least. And since I can see the Dao, of course I can see that tree filled with Dao around it."
Liu Taixuan, who had barely calmed down, turned his neck so quickly he almost broke it.
"Y-You… can see the Dao?!" There was horror on the old man's face.
Aotian merely smiled and lightly moved his finger through the air, creating small ripples in the Dao, which caused the air, heat, space, and several other things around his nail to stagnate for a microsecond before returning to normal.
Just that little act, which had no special effect, consumed nearly half of Aotian's spiritual energy, even making him feel his spiritual roots slightly swollen and tingling. Such a fierce extraction of energy was not good for his body.
He quickly swallowed a healing pill to help calm his roots.
But his action, despite causing no damage, was enough to make the old ghost nearly abandon his unfinished business and ascend to the afterlife… if he were that kind of ghost, of course.
As the old man took deep breaths, overwhelmed by horror, Aotian enjoyed watching him like that, but decided not to wait for him to calm down. He had more urgent matters.
"Old Liu, don't dwell on these small matters. Please answer my question about secretly infiltrating that tree."
He asked, turning his gaze back to the colossal tree in the distance, which, despite its own dead appearance, had surroundings full of life.
That was the first time he had seen it. He had come to the Central Continent to analyze the great problem on his hands. Accompanying him were Old Liu, who stood at his side, and four ancestors who remained hidden in the surrounding void.
About the tree and its importance, Aotian, after receiving answers from the old man about how it functioned and cross-referencing that with the knowledge he already possessed, managed to see the full picture of the crisis awaiting them.
And a large part of that understanding came from his spiritual sciences department, which did not exist merely for show, but actually functioned.
As Aotian grew in power and discovered more, he came to understand that the Lingxi World was intimately tied to spiritual energy in every sense.
Why didn't the planet possess a gravity strong enough to crush all humans and wildlife, or collapse under its own mass despite its colossal size? Simple: spiritual energy influenced gravity, creating an ideal environment for life.
More recently, Aotian came to understand that spiritual energy did not act only directly, but also influenced the laws of nature—or rather, the Dao of the world.
And when reality itself begins to cooperate to allow a world to sustain life, it indeed happens.
The laws of physics still existed, but they were forced to operate differently by spiritual energy, creating miracles—or, more precisely in this case, a world with artificial gravity.
So, for Aotian, everything became clear.
'This world needs spiritual energy to continue existing…'
His face grew serious as he looked at the source of that energy sustaining the world, which looked more like a dead tree about to break at any moment.
'If it ceases to exist, the laws of physics will resume acting without restriction. Then the entire planet would collapse under the gravity of a world with a diameter many times larger than Earth's sun. Not even a Tribulation Transcendent could survive such an explosion.'
'Not even escaping is viable.'
'Even powerful cultivators, who can survive in space without food, air, or water, cannot refine the void's energy like the Tree of Life. And without the Tree of Life to sustain them, all that remains out there in the empty void… is despair, and death from energy exhaustion.'
Aotian reflected, his face serious.
The cultivation universe was nothing like the one he had known in his previous life. The space beyond was not empty, but filled with chaotic and violent energy.
That was why, when cultivators in the Void Refinement realm or above opened a spatial rift to travel through, they needed to protect themselves within it, as the void's energy was extremely chaotic and destructive.
Such energy existed in infinite quantity out there, and without a Tree of Life to refine it into pure spiritual energy and serve as a protective umbrella, only death awaited all.
Strong cultivators with plenty of spirit stones could survive for a time. But for how long? And how many could be saved?
The answer was clear… not for long, and very few.
In fact, there was an exception to the rule. Mahayanas could refine chaotic energy into spiritual energy, as long as they knew how to use the Dao, which was a prerequisite. Old Liu was the one who discovered this.
And he finally answered Aotian's question at that moment, interrupting his thoughts.
"Secretly infiltrate? Impossible at the moment, unless the sect takes action," Liu Taixuan answered, after calming down.
Even after answering the question, he still couldn't help but look at his granddaughter's husband as if he were seeing a monster. A young man in the Nascent Soul realm being able to touch the Dao was still too much for him.
"Not happening." Aotian shook his head at the old man's proposal. "The ancestors are still slowly releasing their cultivations and memories. And, according to the sect's divination, if things continue as they are, we only have four years before the world collapses."
He said this with a sigh.
"Only four years?!" Liu Taixuan's eyes widened, taking it at face value. "Does that mean they'll obtain a Silent Cadaver Orchid within that time?!"
The old man quickly asked, while reflecting inwardly:
'Divination. According to legend, it is an art performed only by immortals, but in the Infinite Dao Sect, such beings are not lacking.'
It was a pity that this wasn't the moment to be shocked by such a legendary art.
"That… I don't think so." Upon hearing the question, Aotian hesitated. "If they managed to get the herb, the world's collapse should slow down, right? They would take the Dao rhymes from Rihai's father's roots and use them to forcibly advance to Mahayana, and while there was still a comfortable amount of time, they would try to gain more strength before ascending to the immortal plane. At least ten to twenty years before attempting, I imagine."
"Hmm. Makes sense, those cowards might not act so quickly. Well, then it must be something happening within the tree itself. And, if I'm not mistaken, it's probably also the fault of those idiots." The old man nodded, thoughtful.
"What do you mean?" Aotian asked quickly, looking anxious.
Perhaps, with the answer to the problem, he could deal with it better.
Based on the missions he created, if he continued cultivating discreetly with the sect without doing much, in four years he would only have a 70% chance of saving the world.
That was why, in pursuit of a 100% chance, he would not remain idle. He would act. Carefully, but he would.
He was not willing to gamble on probabilities. He preferred to control fate with his own hands. And if everything went wrong, he would use his trump card.
Old Liu raised his finger and pointed at the withered tree in the distance.
"I can feel an extremely powerful energy in the tree, protecting it. The Lingxi World cannot give birth to Mahayana-tier herbs and materials, but there is a single material of that level, or even higher, that they can use." His crimson eyes turned cold. "And that is the tree of life itself."
"You're saying they established formations there using it? How? A material of that level is not something they can handle," Aotian was startled, asking quickly.
"Hmph! No, they can't handle a material of that level without help. But inside the tree itself, sealed within its roots… there's a helper weakening it directly, preventing it from resisting what those scoundrels are doing from the outside." Liu Taixuan snorted, irritated.
Aotian's heart pounded. He understood.
Taking advantage of the tree's weakening by the corrupted dragon sovereign, they forcibly used it as material to establish a formation.
"But… why would they need a formation of that level? And aren't they afraid of collapsing the world so quickly, even without having the orchid in hand?" He frowned, not understanding.
"You expect too much from them."
Liu Taixuan shook his head and sighed bitterly before explaining:
"Using the alliance keys from that era, they forcibly opened the Shadow Domain, with no real way to close the gate once it had been forced open."
"Their goal is likely to expose all living beings in the world to the impurities, forcing them to fight to the death as a sacrifice that weakens them, thereby rebalancing the struggle between the Tree of Life and the Corrupted Sovereign."
"In addition, they probably hope to facilitate the birth of a Silent Cadaver Orchid as a result of the massacre, even though the chances of success are low."
"As for the formation they created, it is probably a protective one, meant to assist them when they ascend, burning what remains of the tree of life to give them a boost as they rise to the immortal plane."
"It would be a good plan for them. I also wouldn't see any flaw in the planning. Unfortunately, they do not have the Infinite Dao Sect to tell them, through divination, that instead of extending the world's lifespan… they have completely shortened it."
"I don't know what the exact flaw in their plan is, but if the world is going to perish in four years, the cause is probably there."
"And that also causes us problems. Even if they lack the competence, by using a living material as powerful as the tree of life, the formation they created is nothing weak. In my current state, I may have difficulty breaking it without damaging the tree that is already at death's door."
"From what I can sense, at most I can hold the formation and prevent it from assisting those scoundrels, but in that case, my hands would be tied."
The old man sighed, and Aotian understood the entire problem.
'That's why, even with the old man advancing to Mahayana, even if incomplete, the sect's chances are only 10% now. Meanwhile, recruiting the dragon king directly increases it by another 30%. Liu Taixuan is currently stronger than the dragon king, and I didn't understand before why there was such a difference in the percentage of saving the world, but now I understand that the old man would be stuck in a stalemate with the formation regardless.'
'As for making the dragon advance to Mahayana, it may not be so easy. Beasts depend heavily on bloodline to advance, and his foundations are somewhat weak, which makes an epiphany much more difficult. And I can't evolve the bloodline of a beast of his level right now to facilitate it. He will have to rely on hard work and enlightenment to succeed.'
'Just like the Red Tiger, he entered an epiphany because I made him learn many cultivation foundations. And if I want to perfect the dragon king's foundations, it will take longer, since he is already a Venerable.'
'Of course, with luck, it may not require so much work, and in less than four years, he might quickly reach Mahayana after learning the Dao foundations from me. But I can't gamble on that. I need another method, such as…'
"Can we lure the Venerables out?" Aotian suddenly asked, excited by the idea.
Venerable was the title given to someone who had reached the perfection of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm. Aside from the Mahayanas, who in ancient times typically appeared only once every million years, they represented the pinnacle of the world.
As for the Mahayanas, who by rule, before Aotian arrived to explain the Dao to the world, were exclusively those born with Divine Physiques, their title was Sovereign.
The Sovereign stood above all, and the Venerables only had the Sovereign above them.
And it was the Venerables of this era who killed Rihai's father and who now lived within the trunk of that tree.
If they could be lured out, the problem would be easy to solve. A single slap from Liu Taixuan could kill several of them at once, and the rest would be easy after recruiting the Dragon King.
"Unlikely."
Unfortunately, the old man shattered that expectation mercilessly and explained:
"My grandson's body must be inside. Those scoundrels are like vultures guarding their prey. If one of them dares to leave, he will likely be prevented from returning by the others."
"The Dao rhyme can be divided after being extracted by the Silent Cadaver Orchid, but the more divisions there are, the weaker its effect and the lower the chance of advancement. The fewer there are to share it, the better for them."
"There is no real friendship among them, only interests and caution. If one of them shows the slightest weakness, the others will unite to kill him."
Old Liu spoke coldly as he thought of his grandson's killers.
Hearing this information, Aotian frowned.
'This is going to be harder than I thought.'