Chapter 386 - 381: A Temporary Outcome, the Rotting Tree Dragon
VMMMM!
Like a sandstorm, pillars of dust rose, filling the air!
Within the dust, spiritual energy raged in chaos, like high-frequency electromagnetic radiation interfering with all outside observation!
This was true even for the Withered Wood Elder.
He could only wait.
Wait for the dust to settle, wait for the victor to be decided!
’Who lost? Who won!’
WHOOSH!
The dust gradually dispersed, revealing the battlefield.
Su Ye was on one knee, his chest pierced through by the Shattered Crystal Spear.
At the center of his Erosion Stream Battle Armor, the Old God Heart Core had shattered, turning into a floor of faint blue crystal shards. Some had even lodged themselves in Su Ye’s heart!
His aura was like a punctured water balloon, gushing out uncontrollably. It plummeted at a breakneck speed, dropping without end!
It was clear that his death was only a matter of time.
’But Nether Mirror’s condition seems even worse?’
A figure in a gold and white robe stood on the battlefield. His neck was gone, and dark golden Divine Blood gushed from the stump like a fountain!
His entire head had been blown to bits!
’Mutual destruction?!’
The Withered Wood Elder’s eyes lit up, and he was secretly overjoyed.
He suppressed the urge to pop a bottle of champagne and continued to watch.
But what happened next made him frown, his expression changing drastically!
CRACK.
Nether Mirror’s corpse slowly cracked open.
A jet-black mirror surface emerged from within.
VMM.
A dim light flickered.
Like a holographic projection, the dim light from the mirror shone upon the ground and began to "print" a new figure of Nether Mirror, starting from the feet!
Nether Mirror’s figure grew more and more solid.
But the black mirror behind him grew dimmer and more transparent.
Finally.
With a BANG, the Divine Artifact’s projection collapsed and vanished!
Nether Mirror’s face was ghastly pale. He looked at the dying Su Ye and said slowly, "To think... you’d push me this far?"
To cheat death, the price he had paid was nothing short of catastrophic!
The destruction of the Divine Artifact’s projection was a grievous blow to a god’s Divine Power and the artifact’s own source!
Especially since the Nether Mirror was his companion Divine Artifact. Damage to the artifact’s source would also inflict additional harm on him, only making matters worse!
To be honest, if it weren’t for the need to preserve his strength to vie for the final product of the Orbit, Nether Mirror would have rather let his avatar die than see his Divine Artifact’s projection shatter!
Meanwhile.
On the back of Su Ye’s hand, a brilliant golden olive branch sigil lit up, restoring a sliver of clarity to his eyes.
"A Mark of Wisdom?"
"The handiwork of Metis."
Nether Mirror’s eyes showed a hint of surprise, which quickly turned to understanding.
"It seems you also had countermeasures against the God of Mist Forest."
"A pity. You still miscalculated. The madness of an Old God’s blood isn’t something a single Mark of Wisdom can offset."
Nether Mirror shook his head with a hint of regret.
He could clearly sense that the flame of Su Ye’s life was now a candle in the wind.
It would be extinguished at any moment.
’Regaining his senses is useless...’ Nether Mirror thought for a moment, then asked.
"Hello. I am Nether Mirror."
"May I ask your name?"
Hearing this, Su Ye was silent for a moment, watching Nether Mirror with a complicated expression.
Then, in a weak and hoarse voice, he slowly spoke his name.
"Su Ye?"
"A very good name."
"I will remember this name, even five hundred years from now."
Nether Mirror nodded.
"So..."
"Farewell."
SHIINK.
A dim light flashed from Nether Mirror’s hand, piercing through Su Ye’s chest!
"Hm?"
Nether Mirror’s expression was one of slight confusion.
As the dim light pierced his chest, Su Ye’s body aged rapidly. His temples frosted with gray, and wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes.
It was as if he had aged several centuries in an instant!
’This... It must be the backlash from forcing his power, right?’
Nether Mirror didn’t overthink it and came to a conclusion.
...
「At the same time.」
In the courtyard.
The Withered Wood Elder’s face was grim.
With Su Ye’s fall, the pressure was now on him!
’Dammit!’
’How could that kid just die like that?’
’No... fine, you can die, but what about the divinity?!’
The Withered Wood Elder was stunned.
To be honest, he could accept Su Ye being killed by Nether Mirror.
After all, that was Nether Mirror, one of the Four Pillar Gods. How could you possibly reverse-kill someone like that just by having an explosive power-up?
Even a descendant of the Old Gods couldn’t do that! If a simple power-up was all it took to defeat those of a higher tier, the Divine Continent would have long been ruled solely by the Old Gods!
The Sun God, the Four Pillar Gods—they all would have been wiped out long ago!
But the problem was...
The Withered Wood Elder had originally thought that after Su Ye’s fall, the divinity he was safeguarding would lose the protection of the Secret Technique and be captured by the Orbit.
But... nothing happened?!
’What do I do now?’
There was no time for him to think.
Nether Mirror was already flying toward him!
"Dammit!"
The Withered Wood Elder gritted his teeth, his expression suddenly turning ferocious!
He was not one to lack decisiveness.
Faced with a crisis, he quickly made a decision!
The Withered Wood Elder moved swiftly into the main house and formed a hand seal for a Technique.
VMM.
On the bed in the main house, the unripe golden fruit growing on the god’s corpse suddenly flashed, transforming along with its roots and stem into a brilliant golden ray of light!
Drawn by the Technique, this golden light flew into the Withered Wood Elder’s chest!
’It’s fine... I share the same origin as the god’s corpse. My Power of Origin can also nourish the golden fruit to some extent.’
After a brief assessment, the Withered Wood Elder’s heart relaxed slightly.
But then, his eyes filled with gravity!
After all, he was not a being of flesh. This kind of nourishment could only sustain the golden fruit’s life. To ripen it, he still needed divinity!
And now... the only divine being left in the entire god-realm was...
Nether Mirror!
"Since I have no divinity!"
"I’ll use yours to fill the gap!"
The Withered Wood Elder’s expression was grim, his eyes filling with terrifying, bloodshot veins!
The god-realm’s final reserve of power was activated!
VMMMM!
The Withered Wood Elder’s body expanded at an incredible rate.
Countless black tree roots burst from his body at a terrifying speed. In just a few moments, his body had grown larger than the entire courtyard!
BOOM!
A shockwave surged outward, shattering the courtyard walls and sending bricks flying.
A monster made of fibrous roots, aerial roots, and vines emerged, its twisted, bloated body rising from the wreckage!
From a distance, the monster looked like a colossal, rotting tree that vaguely resembled a dragon. Perhaps it could be called—the Rotting Tree Dragon!
But unlike a simple plant, the surface of the Rotting Tree Dragon was covered in patches of black and red decay, spreading like flayed, rotting flesh!
This corrupt, fetid flesh exuded a heart-stoppingly foul aura—Sin Power!
The Divine Power left behind by the God of Mist Forest was naturally suffused with this Sin Power!
And this sin, which clung to him like a cancer, brought not only pain but also a twisted, maddening strength!
However, unlike other misshapen creatures,
VMM!
One could see that in the very center of the Rotting Tree Dragon’s head, a golden light shimmered like a sun, radiating a sacred aura!
Misshapen, mad, and sacred!
Such incongruous qualities, all displayed in a single monster!