Golden roots stretched across the heavens and earth, enveloping the desolate borderlands. The ancient tree was vast beyond measure, towering into the cosmos. Not just its trunk—every single leaf bore the weight of celestial bodies!
The aged bark cracked, exuding golden light and chaotic mist. The bark resembled scales, ancient and weathered, carrying the aura of creation itself.
Generally, only the primordial era could give birth to a World Tree.
This world was broken, nearly half-destroyed, yet the Sun Ancient Tree, born of chaos as an innate treasure, forcibly evolved to completion in this era.
**BOOM!**
An Lan’s spear was peerlessly sharp, capable of slaying the mightiest of this age. It still thrust inward, carrying an aura of apocalyptic destruction.
But the descent of the World Tree truly changed everything. It unleashed the complete laws of the Great Dao, resisting the spear and forcefully pushing it back.
**”ROAR!”**
From the foreign realm, a deafening roar erupted. An Lan’s invincible dharma form stood tall, his true body emerging, distorting the river of time and disrupting the natural order of the world.
“Enough. Do not fight recklessly. The Boundary Sea is unstable, and great chaos looms. Now is not the time to pay a heavy price,” a voice interjected.
That was another Immortal King, ever watchful of the Boundary Sea. None could ignore it—the greatest storm in history was brewing there.
Were it not for reinforcements from the foreign realm, they would not have remained so composed.
“A King shall not be humiliated. One day, I will slaughter you all,” An Lan’s voice was icy. The golden spear slowly withdrew, dissipating the suffocating pressure that had cracked the heavens.
Just moments ago, countless souls across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths trembled in terror, collapsing under the intangible might.
Such was the power of an Immortal King—his mere presence across worlds could shake existence.
Had he crossed over, he alone would have been enough to annihilate all life.
The World Tree trembled, then soared into the sky with a dazzling golden radiance, rapidly shrinking in size.
It could expand to cover the world or shrink to less than an inch. Now, it shot toward the outer realms, leaving all to gaze upward in awe.
Shi Hao saw clearly—upon its crown stood an ancient palace, exuding chaotic energy.
He had once entered it, remembering a beast bone that recorded the location of an ancient scripture. Yet, despite the years, he had never found it.
At the same time, he spotted a woman with golden wings standing at the palace gates. Her golden hair shimmered like a solar goddess, her pupils equally golden as she looked down.
**”Her!”**
Shi Hao’s pupils contracted. Back when the Sun Divine Tree bloomed, golden nectar dripped from its petals, nurturing great fortune. That woman had meditated within the flower.
She had long since emerged, her current realm unknown.
The next moment, the World Tree vanished, shrinking into a rain of light that disappeared beyond the heavens.
Peace returned to the borderlands.
What was expected to be a bloody battle—one where Shi Hao had even summoned the Forbidden Master—ended in quiet resolution.
Perhaps it was for the best. A full-scale war might have led to unpredictable consequences.
Even if An Lan’s true body could not cross over, variables remained. After all, he was an Immortal King—he was **An Lan**.
“You must prepare early. They will not give you much time,” the Forbidden Master warned.
The crystal skull’s eye sockets flickered with flames as it added, “You were born in the wrong era!”
They lamented—Shi Hao had missed the golden age. With more time, he could have stood unafraid against all enemies.
Shi Hao nodded. He had to rise, to force a breakthrough.
Following the conventional path would only lead to death. Even if it meant risking his life, he had to attempt it.
Though the borderlands were calm, Shi Hao’s heart was not.
Returning to the Heavenly Court, he released Huo Ling’er and the black dire wolf in a grand hall. Gazing at them, his heart ached with bitterness.
**”Awoo—!”**
The black dire wolf bared its fangs, unleashing divine abilities as it lunged at him, seeking a fight to the death.
**BANG!**
Shi Hao, seated cross-legged, merely raised a hand and suppressed it effortlessly.
The wolf shrank rapidly under his palm, from the size of a hill to barely half a foot tall, pinned to the ground.
Huo Ling’er attacked, black flames carrying an immortal aura. Phoenixes and Vermilion Birds manifested around her, their presence terrifying.
Yet she, too, was subdued by Shi Hao.
He watched them silently. Time was merciless, erasing memories. This woman—familiar yet foreign—had forgotten everything.
Shi Hao’s heart twisted in pain. This was no longer Huo Ling’er. Her soul was newly born.
**”AH—!”**
A roar of anguish echoed through the hall, sealed by his power to prevent it from shaking the world.
“Kill me or let me go,” Huo Ling’er said coldly, puzzled by the pain in Shi Hao’s eyes.
His grief was genuine, not an act. She was confused.
“You are Huo Ling’er, once the princess of the Fire Nation. We met in the Hundred Shattered Mountains…”
Shi Hao’s voice was hoarse as he recounted their past, leaving no detail untold.
“What nonsense are you spouting?!” Huo Ling’er’s delicate face twisted in anger.
Ignoring her, Shi Hao continued, speaking of their shared history.
“I ascended to the Upper Realm and found you in Sin Province. On the day we parted, the sunset was blood-red, the fire mulberry trees crimson, petals filling the sky. I vowed to return for you, to grow old together.”
His eyes darkened with sorrow. Back then, she had stood alone by the fire mulberry grove, waving tearfully as if sensing their final farewell.
“But I never returned. I never saw you again!”
His eyes stung as he gazed at the woman in black. That parting had been eternal.
Her face was the same, but where was her soul?
Since reaching the pinnacle of power, his heart had hardened like steel. Yet now, it was filled with bitterness.
That year, that day, that farewell—she had stood alone, unwilling to turn away, bathed in twilight, petals, and tears.
Lost in memory, Shi Hao spoke softly, his voice laden with sorrow. Who could have imagined their reunion would be like this?
When he spoke of An Lan’s hand blotting out the sky, plucking Sin Province from existence, his breath grew ragged. Though it had happened over ten thousand years ago, it felt like yesterday. His fists clenched, his eyes red.
But the past was unchangeable.
“I don’t believe a word,” Huo Ling’er said coldly. “Who can verify your claims? This is all your fabrication to turn me against my kin.”
Shi Hao opened his mouth but found no words. Fifteen thousand years had passed. How many from that era remained? Most had turned to dust.
In this withered, end-of-law world, how could it compare to the foreign realm or the Immortal Domain? Shi Hao often felt alone—his rivals and comrades were gone, only a few having ascended to the Immortal Domain.
Silent, he sealed her and the wolf’s powers and took them to the Lower Realm.
Days passed as they retraced her past—the Fire Nation, the Hundred Shattered Mountains, the ancestral fire palace.
Memories resurfaced, vivid in his mind.
Later, he took her to the Upper Realm, seeking Sin Province. But it was gone.
The fire mulberry grove, their most cherished memory—vanished.
Who remained from that time? The Heavenly Horned Ant, perhaps, but he had never known Huo Ling’er.
In the end, Shi Hao sighed. How could he prove it to her?
Her face was the same, yet different—more beautiful, clad in black, her demeanor cold and regal.
The gentle girl was gone.
“These feelings are but memories now,” he murmured.
Yet, unwilling to give up, he resolved to save her.
“I once prepared a gift for you. I don’t know if your soul is truly gone or if fragments remain. Even the slightest trace—I won’t abandon hope.”
His gaze hardened with determination.
Huo Ling’er had grown uncertain. Shi Hao had shown her lands tainted by darkness, remnants of the ancient calamity.
He asked if she recalled her childhood, if her memories felt fragmented. How could she not doubt after witnessing so much?
“Come!”
Grabbing her hand, he soared into the void, heading for a desolate star to help her undergo nirvana.
He prayed her body still held traces of Huo Ling’er’s soul. He longed for a miracle.
“What is this?” Huo Ling’er gasped.
Before her was an egg, blazing with flames. Under Shi Hao’s immortal power, it radiated five-colored divine light, illuminating the dark cosmos.
“A Phoenix Egg,” Shi Hao said.
Long ago, before ascending to the Nine Heavens, he had found this flawed egg in the untamed wilds. He had intended it for Huo Ling’er, a master of fire arts.
Who knew it would be over ten thousand years later?
The egg could no longer hatch a true phoenix, but its dormant power held the lineage’s strongest nirvana force.
“I wish to grant you rebirth,” Shi Hao declared.
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