Translator: CinderTL
A Great World in the midst of transformation!
The destruction of Lesser Thousand Worlds served as nourishment for this Great World's growth, accelerating its metamorphosis into a fully formed entity.
"This Great World was once a paradise for various minor races," the Life Mother Tree explained. "Clans like the Wood Spirits, Dragons, and Heart Demons lived here in peace and prosperity. However, as the war between the Human Race and the Divine Race escalated, the gods, desperate for a fallback plan, poured immense resources into accelerating the evolution of this world, which was already on the cusp of ascension."
Many plant spirits possessed lifespans far exceeding those of human cultivators.
This Life Mother Tree had clearly lived for over a hundred thousand years, granting it an intimate understanding of the cosmos's evolution.
"However, before the world's upgrade could be completed, the Divine Race's front lines began to crumble. Internal strife intensified, splitting them into numerous factions: the Light God System, Dark God System, Fallen God System, Mutated God System, and others. The Immortal-God Stream was merely one of these factions."
"The Divine Race lost?" Li Chunjun asked, surprised by this revelation.
But then something else occurred to him.
On Blue Star, traces of religion had persisted since ancient times.
Yet in recent years, all believers had become universally reviled, with no room for survival. This very fact spoke volumes.
The reason Li Chunjun hadn't sensed the Human Race's triumphant advance on the battlefield ultimately boiled down to one thing:
His own level of understanding was simply too low.
Or perhaps, his exposure to the Profound Yellow Great World and the complex dynamics between the Human and Divine Races had been too brief.
"Their defeat, according to legend, occurred over a millennium ago," the informant explained. "Otherwise, the Divine Race wouldn't have fractured so rapidly."
"A millennium..." Li Chunjun noted, processing the timeline.
If he remembered correctly, the Taixu Sword Sect had joined the Immortal Alliance around that same time.
So...
The Divine Race, which had battled factions like the Taixu Sword Sect and Wu Ji Sect for countless years, was decisively defeated upon the Immortal Alliance's arrival?
Could it be that witnessing the Divine Race's collapse and recognizing the vast gap between their own power and that of the entire Alliance had prompted the once tyrannical Taixu Demonic Sect to transform into the harmonious, wealth-seeking, and cooperative Taixu Sword Sect?
"Amidst the Divine Race's internal strife, the Immortal-God Stream used a unique ability to pool everyone's power and create a special lifeform known as the 'Heavenly Emperor.' This entity displayed astonishing power and subsequently seized control of the newly formed Great World."
"Heavenly Emperor?" Li Chunjun asked, surprised.
"Likely a Quasi-Tenth-Tier special lifeform!" the informant replied.
The Life Mother Tree spoke:
"Quasi-Tenth-Tier!"
Upon hearing this rank, Li Chunjun couldn't help but take a deep breath.
If he remembered correctly, the Tenth-Tier represented a lifeform whose existence rivaled those who had achieved Dao Unification.
While the Human Race's mastery of the Core Formation, Nascent Soul, and Primordial Spirit Realms allowed them to crush Foreign Races through technological and Mystical Power advantages, after the Ninth-Tier, all lifeforms were brought back to a level playing field. There was no longer any "technical" difference between the Tenth-Tier and Dao Unification.
Though such beings might seem numerous within the Immortal Alliance, in reality, each Tenth-Tier lifeform could dominate an entire Great World and establish a top-tier race. They were already among the greatest lifeforms in the cosmos.
Even powerful factions like the Human Race and the Immortal Alliance approached any group backed by a Tenth-Tier entity with extreme caution. After all, nearly every Dao Unification expert possessed virtually limitless longevity. They wouldn't risk engaging in conflict with a peer over trivial grievances.
Even if a Tenth-Tier entity from another race encroached upon Human Territory, unless they deliberately targeted human interests or happened to occupy a region containing a major human figure, the Human Race might not even send a Dao Unification expert to personally retaliate.
The Divine Race serves as the perfect example.
For centuries, the Human Race and the Divine Race have been locked in relentless warfare over territorial disputes. Countless Void Refining and Spirit Refining cultivators have fallen in this brutal conflict. Yet, the progenitor of the entire Divine Race is said to be less than a fraction of the Human Race's Dao Unification experts. Otherwise, how could forces like the Taixu Sword Sect and Wu Ji Sect have stalemated the Divine Race for so many years?
If the Human Race's Dao Unification experts had been willing to intervene directly, the Divine Race would have been wiped from history long ago. Of course, this might also be due to the limitations preventing Dao Unification experts from directly interfering in Great World conflicts.
Regardless, once a cultivator reaches the Tenth-Tier, they undergo a fundamental transformation. Even Quasi-Tenth-Tier cultivators are no exception. Even if Li Chunjun were to fully master the Great Void Kunpeng Art in the future, he would still fall short of this level. However, if he were to switch to cultivating the Sovereign Dao Canon and achieve its mastery, gaining the power to command the Grand Dao, he might stand a chance against Quasi-Tenth-Tier opponents.
After a long while, Li Chunjun finally composed his Heart-Mind. He gazed toward the horizon, his vision seeming to pierce through hundreds of Lesser Chiliocosms into the deeper reaches of the cosmos. A faint sense of foreboding stirred within him.
"A forbidden zone meticulously crafted by the mighty Immortal God Race to imprison Heart Demons..."
Li Chunjun asked, "If we want to leave this starfield..."
"Impossible!" the Life Mother Tree stated flatly. "The Land of Buried Demons is a forbidden zone for the Immortal God Race. They paid a terrible price to seal all the Heart Demons within this void. I've heard that to prevent another Heart Demon catastrophe, they specifically constructed the Immortal Great Wall, and they will never allow any living being to escape this starfield."
"The Immortal Great Wall!" Li Chunjun's premonition was instantly confirmed. At that moment, he couldn't decide whether their situation was fortunate or disastrous.
"However, while the Immortal God Race theoretically forbids any living creature from leaving this starfield, you are different."
"Huh?"
"You are human." The Life Mother Tree's answer took Li Chunjun completely by surprise.
"Human?"
"As I mentioned earlier, the Immortal God Race holds the Human Race in high regard. Before we became stranded in this starfield, I heard they had long sought to join the Human Race's Immortal Alliance. At the very least, they hoped to be included on the list of protected races, as long as they met the criteria for second-tier protection."
The Life Mother Tree responded, "In your current state as a Primordial Spirit Realm cultivator, you don't hold much sway among the Human Race. But if you could cultivate to the Void Refining stage and become a figure of paramount importance, I believe the Immortal God Race would undoubtedly grant you safe passage and deliver you to Human Territory."
She added, "This is also why I hope you will protect my people."
"Void Refining..."
After much deliberation, they had returned to square one.
After a long pause, Li Chunjun asked, "Does the Human Race's reputation truly carry such weight with the Immortal God Race?"
"Not just with the Immortal God Race," the Life Mother Tree replied. "It holds sway with every civilization I've encountered. Deep within the primal instincts of all races lies an innate fear of bipedal creatures standing around two meters tall—the Human Race."
Awe and yearning radiated from her very being. "In my one million three hundred and thirty thousand years of existence, I have never encountered a race more formidable than humanity. In the collective consciousness of all species, humanity reigns as the Cosmic Overlord."
Li Chunjun was somewhat surprised by this revelation. From his own understanding, humanity seemed to have no shortage of enemies.
Human records repeatedly recounted the fall of Great Worlds to Foreign Races, resulting in the annihilation of trillions of lives.
However, considering the Life Mother Tree was ultimately only a Seventh-Rank lifeform—a being incapable of dominating even the Azure Sea Domain—it was understandable that her understanding of cosmic truths was limited.
Li Chunjun shifted his Heart-Mind away from these thoughts and refocused on the Wood Spirit Empire itself.
"Since the entire Wood Spirit Empire, indeed the entire Wood Spirit Minor Thousand World, is sustained by your power... then cooperate with me and let me verify the truth of your claims," Li Chunjun said.
"How should I cooperate?"
"Simple. Take Dong Xuan to your true form. Then, allow me to borrow your Mind Power for a moment," Li Chunjun replied.
Borrow Mind Power...
The Life Mother Tree understood the implications perfectly!
It meant she would be utterly defenseless against Li Chunjun. With a mere thought, he could crush her very essence.
Yet...
Without hesitation, the Life Mother Tree responded, "I eagerly await your arrival."
As the Life Mother Tree finished speaking, her Divine Sense swept over Princess Elsa of the Wood Spirit Empire.
Sensing the message transmitted by the Life Mother Tree, Elsa's gaze immediately turned to Dong Xuan, her eyes brimming with uncontrollable delight.
Dong Xuan, Yu Jin, and the others looked at her in utter bewilderment.
"Go with them," Li Chunjun's Divine Sense echoed in Dong Xuan's mind at the opportune moment.
Elsa stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "Honorable Divine Envoy, please follow me."
Though Dong Xuan remained puzzled, he obeyed Li Chunjun's command and followed Elsa toward the towering Ancient Tree at the heart of the Imperial Capital.
"Your Highness..." Fara and the other ministers began to question her.
Elsa proudly announced, "Just now, I received a Divine Edict from the Great Mother Tree! She has reached an agreement with the Divine Being behind the Human Race. That great Human God-King will unleash divine punishment to purge our lands of all rebels and invaders!"
Her words ignited unrestrained jubilation among those present.
"A Divine Edict from the Great Mother Tree?!"
"A Divine Being?! So the Humans in that Lesser Chiliocosm also have a Divine Being?!"
"We're saved! We're saved!"
The Wood Spirit Clan is a vassal race of the Immortal God Race, which itself splintered from the Divine Race. Within the Divine Race, all Seventh-Rank lifeforms are revered as Divine Lords, with the most exceptional among them honored as God-Kings.
Li Chunjun's ability to communicate with the Life Mother Tree on equal terms clearly led Elsa and the others to believe he was also a Seventh-Rank being, hence the Wood Spirits addressed him as a Divine Being.
"Life Mother Tree..." Yu Jin murmured, his expression betraying nothing, yet his heart surged with awe.
For the Life Mother Tree to mistake Sword Prodigy Li for a Seventh-Rank lifeform of her caliber, just how profound must his underlying power truly be? Yu Jin wondered. With such a foundation, how far off could his ascension to Void Refining be?
But the crux of the matter was... Swordmaster Li was said to be remarkably young. Such a Peerless Prodigy with limitless potential... If Yu Jin hadn't been so utterly devoted to General Xuan Mi, he might have already been tempted to change his allegiance.
Fortunately...
They were now united with Swordmaster Li in facing this disaster. By diligently performing his duties and making a good impression on the young master, even a slight promotion in the future could bring immeasurable benefits.
Guided by Elsa, Dong Xuan soon stood before the Life Mother Tree.
The tree's consciousness resonated within his mind: "What should I do next?"
"Next..."
Li Chunjun's Mind Power surged forth, channeling through Dong Xuan and directly toward the Life Mother Tree.
Sensing the tree's overwhelming mental power, far surpassing his own, Li Chunjun guided this force to resonate with the entire Lesser Chiliocosm.
"Become the world itself. Gaze upon the Wood Spirit Minor Thousand World you have nurtured."
(End of the Chapter)
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