After Shi Hao disappeared, the Ancestral Flood Dragon also erased all traces here.
His aged face flushed red with slight embarrassment. The so-called erasure of traces mainly involved wiping away his own presence. Initially, he had feared that this promising seedling, “Huang,” might perish here, but it turned out to be nothing of the sort—the young man had slain a Quasi-Immortal King.
“Gone!”
The Ancestral Flood Dragon departed, fragments of time swirling around him as he vanished from this place, reappearing in the ancestral lands of the Flood Dragon Clan. His appearance rapidly transformed—his skin now lustrous, no longer withered.
He had restored his true form: tall and upright, even his hair shimmering with a faint golden glow. But this was merely superficial. Any supreme expert present would have shaken their heads, sensing the cracks in his origin. It was clear he would never advance to the Immortal King Realm in this lifetime.
The Ancestral Flood Dragon’s methods defied the heavens—this was precisely why the Immortal Kings of the Foreign Realm trusted him!
Mastering the laws of time and space, he could manipulate the ages and distort matter, disguising himself so deeply that no one had ever uncovered his true nature.
In the past, he had encountered Shi Hao. His clan had once attempted to refine Shi Hao in a furnace, only to “accidentally” empower him instead—an act that was clearly deliberate.
Even then, the Ancestral Flood Dragon had taken an interest, preserving a strand of Shi Hao’s blood. That was how he had been able to track and find him this time.
“Though I remain hidden, no secret lasts forever. Sooner or later, I will meet a tragic end!”
The Ancestral Flood Dragon murmured to himself, his expression tinged with sorrow.
He knew he bore the infamy of a traitor through the ages, a stain he could never wash away. Even if someone were to clear his name, the world would never believe it.
Back then, many had witnessed the Flood Dragon Clan’s hands drenched in the blood of their own kin, siding with the Foreign Realm—a betrayal destined to be reviled for eternity.
“How pitiful. I’ve already glimpsed the end of my life, my name forever tainted.” He sighed with regret.
Then, he closed his eyes, motionless as a stone statue, devoid of vitality, as if frozen for countless eons.
Meanwhile, the skies outside gradually quieted as the great battle neared its end.
The “World-Ender” incense had ultimately been destroyed, unable to serve as a beacon for the world.
After the brilliance faded, darkness descended.
At the same time, the rejection force of the greater world manifested. Beings too powerful to belong to this realm were repelled, and several weapons from the Sea of Realms were forced to retreat.
A World Tree emerged, radiating dazzling light, stabilizing the Foreign Realm with boundless power, suppressing and fortifying the land.
This was the mark of a complete great world—with the World Tree present, it could play a crucial role in critical moments.
Though not the mightiest, it could commune with the Great Dao and the heavens, becoming indestructible. Only when the tree and the realm merged could the rules interweave perfectly.
The world fell silent—but not for long. Soon, another wave of violent fluctuations erupted.
A furnace blazed, incinerating the heavens and earth—a sight too terrifying to behold!
In the territory of the Time Beast Clan, the ancestral land of this imperial lineage underwent a shocking transformation.
“What is that? The Red King’s Furnace has emerged!”
Not just others, but even the other imperial clans were stunned. Soon, the Immortal Kings were alerted one after another, their expressions shifting.
An Lan and Yu Tuo personally descended upon the ancestral lands of the Time Beasts to investigate.
“Roar!”
A deafening roar shattered the heavens.
At the Red King’s secluded retreat, the ancient city exploded.
The stone mountain, in particular, was utterly pulverized. Boundless flames surged into the void as the heavens and earth trembled.
“Heavens! The Red King has emerged from seclusion!”
An ancient beast, its body broken and bleeding, burst from the underground caverns, howling at the sky—its form was incomplete!
“What happened?”
Across the world, experts were dumbfounded.
Many were deeply shocked, finding it unbelievable.
An Lan and Yu Tuo arrived together, unleashing their invincible pressure to suppress the area.
“Red King, calm your fury!” Yu Tuo spoke.
Everyone wanted to know what had occurred.
Yet, the place was engulfed in chaotic energy, its secrets obscured by the Immortal Kings.
However, no secret remains hidden forever. Two days later, the cultivators of the Foreign Realm were utterly stunned by the rumors they heard.
The Red King had been butchered!
He had been in the midst of nirvana, reborn from his aged form into a divine fetus—still tender, incomplete, and accumulating strength—when someone had struck him down.
The entire Foreign Realm was shaken. How could such a horrifying event occur? Who would dare harm the Red King?
“Too coincidental. The Red King had just begun his nirvana, starting anew. Even he never imagined someone would be so audacious as to plot against him.”
The incident sent shockwaves through the Foreign Realm, leaving cultivators of all clans dumbfounded and disbelieving.
“Brother Dao, who could have done this? Did a certain Immortal King cross over?” An Lan asked gravely, standing guard in the Time Beasts’ ancestral land.
The Red King was furious. Over the past few days, he had been struggling to resolve the calamity, barely escaping disaster. His cultivation had nearly been ruined during this nirvana!
Shi Hao’s strike, though seemingly simple, had been fatal to a nascent being.
It was as if he had forcibly interrupted and disrupted the Red King’s nirvana!
Had it been anyone else, they would have been crippled.
Over the past two days, the Red King had no choice but to remerge his divine fetus with his aged body—a body he had shed as a withered husk. Now, he had to forcibly reintegrate it to compensate for his losses.
“Kill!”
That was the only word the Red King uttered, his heart brimming with boundless hatred. He knew that in this lifetime, he would never surpass the Immortal King Realm. His ambition to devour the heavens had been thwarted—his hopes now dashed.
What had he secluded himself for an entire epoch?
Was it not to break through the King Realm and take that final step?
Though he had never been certain of success, there had at least been hope. But reality was cruel—he could no longer see even a glimmer of light.
“It wasn’t an Immortal King!”
The Red King shook his head.
At their level, they could deduce much. But when it involved themselves, the heavenly secrets became chaotic and obscured.
Finally, An Lan and Yu Tuo intervened to help him deduce the truth.
“Roar!”
That day, the heavens of the Foreign Realm cracked, and stars fell.
It was the wrath of the Red King—filled with hatred and humiliation—his roar shaking all clans.
He now knew who had wounded him: a being far too young, yet whose name was known throughout this realm.
It was Huang—once a prisoner of this world!
“Huang? It was Huang? He returned to our realm and… butchered the Red King?!”
When the news spread, the world trembled. It was simply unacceptable—Huang had dared to raise his blade against their Immortal King!
The truth was revealed: Huang had indeed infiltrated the Red King’s secluded retreat and slain his divine fetus.
How could anyone believe it?
Was he defying the heavens? Such an act was unthinkable—yet he had succeeded.
The Foreign Realm erupted in chaos, cultivators of all clans reeling in shock.
“Tragic! So many geniuses on the Path-Understanding Mountain were slain by a single person—Huang!”
The perpetrator of this massacre was now exposed, filling people with rage and terror. All of it had been Huang’s doing.
“How many years has it been? Huang has grown to such heights!”
The clans of the Foreign Realm were truly terrified.
Huang’s growth was too rapid. He had dared to invade the Foreign Realm, slaughtering even an Immortal King—a thought that sent chills down their spines.
“Is there no justice?!” someone cried, their face pale.
The annihilation of the Quasi-Immortal King guarding the passage was another heavy blow. Huang had already reached the level of slaying Quasi-Immortal Kings.
The souls of the Foreign Realm’s clans trembled.
Even the imperial clans were stunned, unable to believe the sheer impact of these events.
“Kill him!”
“Invade the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths!”
…
Such were the roars of the Foreign Realm’s heroes. Upon learning it was Huang’s doing, some could not accept it, bellowing in outrage—even the Immortals joined the chorus.
In truth, the situation was far worse than they imagined.
Even the Immortal Kings were moved to kill.
That day, An Lan and Yu Tuo took action.
“Kings shall not be insulted!”
An Lan’s golden spear, exuding an ancient aura, stirred the chaos, its sharpness seemingly capable of ending the world.
Whoosh!
The golden spear pierced through the spatial passage. Even at the cost of backlash, they would teach the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths a lesson.
For Kings shall not be insulted!
The moment the golden spear crossed over, the Three Thousand Provinces quaked violently.
For days, Shi Hao had been seated here, personally guarding the passage.
Not only that, but the Lord of the Forbidden Zone, the Crystal Skull, and others had also been summoned.
Boom!
In the next instant, Shi Hao fused with the golden beast bone and the Crystal Skull, wielding the Great Luo Sword Embryo to intercept.
Yet, the heavens reacted even more fiercely than he did. A terrifying being from beyond sought to enter, threatening this world—it resisted and blocked.
The stronger the being, the more fiercely the realm would repel them.
This was a broken world, now in the process of recovery—it vehemently rejected overly powerful forces from beyond!
Shi Hao could return because he had once fused with the Heart of Heaven’s Mark. Though he had relinquished it, he still shared a profound resonance with this world.
Thus, he could return from there.
Boom!
An Lan’s spear continued its advance, inch by inch, its terrifying aura growing ever stronger.
“Don’t move!” The Lord of the Forbidden Zone stopped Shi Hao.
At this moment, the spear was too fearsome. Anyone who touched it risked triggering its overwhelming killing intent.
Crack! Crack!
Strange sounds echoed from the heavens as golden roots descended, anchoring themselves here, stabilizing the world and its mountains and rivers.
“What is this?!”
Not just others, but even Shi Hao and the Lord of the Forbidden Zone were stunned.
The world had changed in an instant. They sensed the aura of a complete Great Dao and increasingly profound rules interweaving here.
An Lan’s golden spear was forced to retreat.
“The World Tree!”
“This realm has birthed a World Tree once more!”
What did this signify?
It meant the Great Dao of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths was recovering, its rules gradually perfecting. In this era of declining laws, it was rebounding, reforging itself at the expense of all living beings.
This world was healing, undergoing earth-shattering transformations.
“Rumble!”
The golden roots grew denser, thicker, descending from the heavens. Faintly, a towering ancient tree could be seen descending from beyond, taking root here and sealing the land.
It was the World Tree!
Impossibly tall, it pierced into the cosmos, its leaves large enough to cradle stars—a sight both awe-inspiring and terrifying.
Its entire body gleamed gold, as if forged from the metal itself, radiant beyond measure.
Shi Hao had long suspected its identity. Now, seeing it confirmed, he recognized it as the colossal tree he had once encountered—its crown once supporting an ancient chaos hall.
Moreover, atop that tree had once sat a golden-haired woman!
Originally a Sun God Tree evolving into a World Tree, it had first appeared in the Lower Realm before entering the Graveyard of Realms.
Now, its evolution was complete, fused with the world’s rules, jointly suppressing this land.
The World Tree had manifested!
Its significance was immeasurable!
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