Chapter 1408: Ancient Tree

"I truly didn't expect your power to have reached such a level. I can clearly sense that this isn't even your true form; it's merely an illusory projection conjured with your spiritual energy, without even your most essential life force essence permeating it. Yet, you can stir up such terrifying forces of heaven and earth and control the power of that decisive killing blow with such ease. This is truly remarkable."

"For me, attracting a sufficiently powerful destructive force isn't difficult. The challenge lies in truly mastering it and controlling every minute detail of that power. The phrase 'effortless control' may sound simple, but only the most elite cultivators understand the true level of mastery these words imply. I'm fortunate to have experienced the proper level and energy encapsulated by those words through you, my opponent. These are all perceptions and experiences you've granted me. There's no doubt that I lost this battle, and I'm utterly convinced, with no room for argument. Therefore, my life is now yours to command; whenever you wish to take it, simply do so."

Xu Yang's illusory form smiled gently and shook its head.

"You've just provided me with some very important clues, each enough to serve as a safeguard for your life. At least in my hands, you can continue to live. Of course, there's a prerequisite: you need to change your allegiance. From your words, I gather that your life wasn't bestowed upon you by the Star Empress who controls this entire treasure land. So, the question arises: since you're a special life form born from a seed of this ancient tree, why must you obey the sole Star Empress in this Treasure Mountain? Even without relying on her power, you could still become one of the continent's top cultivators. Why choose to be a mere puppet by her side? Among the so-called Twelve Star Venerables, only you possess irreplaceable unique value in my eyes. The artifact in your hand, which closely resembles the legendary 'Shining Moon,' is also a testament to your special value. If you can give me a more satisfactory attitude, I believe we won't just avoid remaining enemies; we might even become close confidants."

After Xu Yang finished speaking, Prime Venerable Long Kun sighed helplessly.

"Actually, everything you said is true. Although my life force wasn't bestowed by the Star Empress, she has the right and ability to end my life at any moment. This is because she has stolen and controls the core life essence of this ancient tree. This ancient tree now exists in name only; although it still emits its own unique life energy fluctuations, the true life essence that birthed me—the life seed of this ancient tree—has fallen into the Star Empress's hands. The reason she suddenly chose to go into seclusion this time is to fully absorb all the power within the life seed. According to my judgment, once the life seed completely merges with her life force, the bloodline of star power will undergo an even greater enhancement and transformation. I don't know why this will occur, but I can be certain that it will inevitably happen. Or rather, it's an intuition stemming from the depths of my bloodline."

Upon hearing Prime Venerable Long Kun's words, Xu Yang seemed to open up a whole new possibility in his strategic thinking.

"Perhaps there's only one thing I should do right now: prevent the Star Empress from consuming the life seed of this ancient tree."

The moment Xu Yang voiced this thought, the ancient tree beside him, which had been silent all this time, suddenly emitted an incredibly brilliant light from its entire form.

A warm, spring-like glow descended.

Accompanying the sudden appearance of this aura, a vibrant, colorful world immediately appeared in Xu Yang's mind. These were all spiritual imprints, a legacy passed on to Xu Yang by the ancient tree. What truly shocked Xu Yang was that within the path revealed by this vibrant, colorful world, he saw the Great Moon World for the first time, where the most perfect 'Shining Moon' finally appeared. These were clearly all experiences the ancient tree before him had gone through. This meant that this seemingly unremarkable ancient tree, which could even be described as lifeless, had actually endured millions of years, witnessing the entire turbulent evolution of the Great World system. In other words, this tree was not native to Yingzhou Continent.

A legendary ancient tree from the Great World, having witnessed countless eras, suddenly appearing on Yingzhou Continent could only mean one thing: this ancient tree was something Sword Immortal Yun Wangji brought with him when he left the Great World, carrying endless secrets to the desolate edge, and created Yingzhou Continent. If that's the case, then this ancient tree has an incredibly significant origin. It might even have participated in the establishment of the entire Yingzhou Continent and the genesis of this continent's primordial life essence.

Considering all this, Xu Yang naturally deduced the true purpose behind that individual taking the life seed.

"It seems the life seed is the most indispensable energy source for establishing a completely new world system. Because no matter how great an individual's heaven-defying power may be, at most, they can only establish an unprecedented worldview and original creation laws. In other words, the rudimentary form of a great world's evolution can be forged by a sufficiently powerful individual, just like Yingzhou Continent created by Sword Immortal Yun Wangji. However, enabling this self-created world to nurture life is not something determined by the strength of their power. There must be a more profound life mystery involved, and this mystery is hidden within the ancient tree's life seed. In other words, the Fourth Prince's mother, now the true Star Empress of the Treasure Land, once she completely consumes the life seed, will become a sovereign with the ability to create new worlds."

Even if she decisively abandons the struggle for power in Yingzhou Continent and wishes to return to the outer world, she will still possess the ability to establish an independent continental space. If she truly succeeds in this, then someday, when the Star Empress returns to the realm where the Star lineage vanished and re-creates a second Star World, replicating all the crystallized civilizations that originally belonged to Yingzhou Continent and even the Great World system, it will be a truly world-ending catastrophe, buried in the future for both the Great World and Yingzhou Continent.

Imagine, millions of years from now, when the new world established by the Star Empress as its sovereign grows to a certain scale, and she has also cultivated a team of cultivators with sufficiently strong wills there, what will be the very first thing they do?