At this very moment, Dian Wei and the others finally saw the tops of the trees clearly. This dead tree was approximately ninety thousand zhang tall, and from its middle section to its tip, it had all turned black, as if struck by a powerful lightning bolt. This blackened state might have been the cause of the tree's demise.
At the base of the tree, Xia Xin Yu and Wang Zhuo sat cross-legged, motionless. Dian Wei and the others could clearly hear their heartbeats. Each beat caused the thirteen yellow spiritual orbs on the tree to flash abruptly, and the terrifying energy aura shook everyone.
Dian Wei and the others approached, looking at the motionless bodies of Xia Xin Yu and Wang Zhuo. They calmed themselves and waited silently. They couldn't discern the origin of the tree before them, nor could they understand why Xia Xin Yu and Wang Zhuo were cultivating here. They could only wait.
Slowly, a tear rolled down from the corners of Xia Xin Yu's and Wang Zhuo's eyes, and the divine power in their bodies began to tremble violently, as if out of control.
The light emitted by the thirteen yellow spiritual orbs grew stronger and more dazzling. Countless starlights pierced through the firmament, and within the void, blood-red blood bizarrely dripped out. An unseen killing intent instantly enveloped the surroundings, and the immense power filled Dian Wei and the others with dread.
"Where exactly is this place? What is this dead tree? And the thirteen yellow spiritual orbs on its branches, that vague phantom image, this terrifying power, it can easily crush us!" Wang Yun Xuan lowered his head in terror.
Not only him, but Dian Wei, Long Ju, and Yang You Ji also felt an extremely dense aura of death. These scattered starlights were enough to obliterate them countless times.
"You've arrived!"
At this moment, Xia Xin Yu, who had been sitting cross-legged, opened her eyes. She tilted her head slightly, frowning, and looked at Dian Wei, Long Ju, and Yang You Ji.
As Xia Xin Yu spoke, Wang Zhuo, who was beside her, also opened his eyes. His gaze was filled with disappointment. He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, as if something was stuck in his throat, unable to be spoken. He glanced at Xia Xin Yu beside him, then shook his head in disappointment, stood up, and looked up at the dead tree towering into the clouds!
"You saw it too, didn't you!"
Xia Xin Yu turned back and looked at the disappointed Wang Zhuo, also frowning.
"Indeed!"
"I've seen what I wanted to see, what I didn't want to see, and what I never imagined seeing!"
Wang Zhuo lowered his head and looked at Xia Xin Yu. "It seems we can't reach the Immortal Realm. Alas! The path to immortality is broken, what's the use of living another life!"
Dian Wei and the others were bewildered and looked at the two with confusion. Xia Xin Yu stood up, looked at the thirteen yellow spiritual orbs hanging on the tree, pondered for a moment, and then spoke.
"When the Three Thousand Planes were born, a golden stream of light fell from the supreme Immortal Realm. It entered the central region of the newly formed Three Thousand Planes directly. This golden stream of light carried a lot of immortal energy, altering the foundation of the Three Thousand Planes, making them gradually stronger and giving birth to the spiritual energy that allows living beings to cultivate."
"Later, this stream of light that fell into the Three Thousand Dao State Planes split into two. One part became the Heaven-Bearing Tree, the only path for beings in the Three Thousand Dao States to ascend to the Immortal Realm, while the other part transformed into the Great Dao of the Three Thousand Planes. Thus, the cultivation system of the Three Thousand Planes was established, and all things came to be!"
"Towards the end of the ancient era, twelve immortals were born in the Three Thousand Dao States. As for the thirteenth, it was the mortal body of the Immortal Lord. They were all rulers of their eras. They ascended to the Immortal Realm through the Heaven-Bearing Tree and left behind their mortal bodies on the Heaven-Bearing Tree. Even when the Immortal Lord unified the Three Thousand Dao State Planes, the Heaven-Bearing Tree showed no signs of withering. On the contrary, its branches and leaves were lush, and its spiritual roots extended for tens of thousands of miles!"
"Strangely, after the Immortal Lord unified the Three Thousand Dao States, he secretly entered the core of the Three Thousand Dao States, the place where the Heaven-Bearing Tree was located. With just one glance, the condition of the Heaven-Bearing Tree plummeted dramatically. Within a few breaths, it showed signs of withering. The Immortal Lord stayed for half an hour, then reappeared in the central region, sealed the Candle Dragon, refined the Great Dao of the Three Thousand Dao States, and used the Candle Dragon's eyes to form the sun and moon of the Three Thousand Dao States."
"Later, the Immortal Lord appeared in the core region and, with great divine power, extracted the primordial spirit of the Heaven-Bearing Tree, nurturing it deep within his soul sea. As for this mortal body, he sealed it along with the primordial spirit of the Candle Dragon using great divine power. This secret realm we have entered is where the Immortal Lord stored the physical body of the Heaven-Bearing Tree!"
"At this point, I woke up!"
Xia Xin Yu shook her head.
"You and I have seen most of it. Why did the Heaven-Bearing Tree's condition plummet the moment it saw the Immortal Lord, showing signs of withering? Why did the Immortal Lord suddenly act to seal the Candle Dragon, and even extract the primordial spirit of the nearly withered Heaven-Bearing Tree? These things we do not know!"
"What happened between the Immortal Lord and the Candle Dragon at the end of the ancient era?"
Wang Zhuo shook his head in disappointment. Both of them had been preparing to step into the Immortal Realm in this lifetime, but unfortunately, all they saw before them was a broken path.
"Swish!"
Suddenly, a yellow orb containing the Immortal Lord's mortal body emitted countless fly-sized yellow light spots. One of them, the moment Xia Xin Yu and Wang Zhuo mentioned the Immortal Lord, vibrated inexplicably. A sky-shattering rainbow then erupted from one of the light spots, like terrifying blood-red light, or perhaps a divine punishment descending from heaven!
"Not good, we must have alerted the Immortal Lord's mortal body!"
Xia Xin Yu and Wang Zhuo's faces turned pale as they watched this scene. The rainbow descending from the sky shattered the void.
"Now is not the time to hide!"
Wang Zhuo roared, pulling out an ancient wooden sword from his chest. It was covered in ancient runes and emitted a brown-yellow divine light that shot into the sky, growing larger and larger.
"Boom!"
Xia Xin Yu refined a five-colored feather. The moment this feather appeared, everyone was shocked. It was a feather from a Phoenix clan being. This was an ancient artifact. Throughout the Three Thousand Dao States, perhaps no one except Xia Xin Yu could produce a Phoenix clan feather. A high-pitched cry shattered the sky for thousands of miles.
"Ah!"
Wang Zhuo spat out three drops of heart blood. The wooden sword, now infused with his heart blood, unleashed its ancient power. A sword qi, combined with the manifested Phoenix clan being, directly merged its divine light, shattering the void. The terrifying sword qi directly slashed towards the terrifying rainbow descending from the sky.
"Bang!"
"Boom!"
Xia Xin Yu struck again, refining a drop of essence blood she had sealed in her previous life. This was the essence blood of her divine power at its peak in her previous life.