Chapter 237: Ancient Tree World

In the dark expanse of the universe, stars gleamed as a sphere hurtled through space. Encased in a vast white atmosphere, its oceans teemed with life, rapidly evolving.

A rush of hot wind swept across the surface of this planet, which was entirely exposed to the cosmos. Its land now appeared extremely strange. Without protection from the terrifying cosmic radiation, the environment had become incredibly harsh. Yet, the oceans remained a vibrant scene, flourishing with plants that drifted and swayed. There were only plants in the ocean; no marine animals had appeared. Normally, after the emergence of marine plants, some would gradually evolve into marine animals, but this had not happened. Animals seemed unable to survive under such intense radiation.

Days later, still no animals appeared, but the plant life flourished even more. Gradually, small, clover-like purple flowers began to tenaciously spread from the ocean, slowly growing and taking root in the land. They began to withstand the intense cosmic radiation, even absorbing it as if it were sunlight to fuel their growth.

"Plants have appeared on land, yet no animals have been born. Will this be a world without animals?" Di Qi, deep within the planet's core, couldn't help but ponder.

An hour passed. Then two. These plants grew visibly taller at an astonishing rate, soaring into the clouds and beyond. Initially, they reproduced through root systems. Gradually, these towering giant trees began to absorb various forms of cosmic radiation, converting them into energy to produce fruits.

"From root reproduction in small, grassy plants to fruit reproduction in trees?" Di Qi was astonished. The birth and evolution of life, he mused, was the most beautiful process in the world, containing all unparalleled ultimate beauty. "But still no animals. When will they appear? Or perhaps, in this desolate 'Return to Ruin' land, the environment is simply too harsh, and the scattered stellar light—a potent poison—prevents any animal existence." He referred to the cosmic radiation as "stellar light."

Di Qi continued to observe. After a considerable time, the plants reached their absolute zenith. The entire planet became covered in towering giant trees, appearing incredibly vibrant and lush from a distance. The plants gradually began to differentiate, splitting into two factions: purple and red.

In their struggle for nutrients and sunlight, the dark red, umbrella-shaped plants continually expanded their size. Resembling colossal broccoli florets, they stood immensely tall, casting vast shadows and blocking out the sky to maximize nutrient absorption. The original purple plants, only a third of their height, had their light severely obstructed and gradually began to die out.

After another period of time, even as they faced extinction, the purple plants gradually began to undergo mutation. A deep rumbling echoed. One after another, colossal purple trees, resembling ancient war trees, slowly uprooted themselves and began to walk, causing the very ground to vibrate with a hum. Indeed! The previous absence of animals was due to the intense radiation. It was precisely those dark red plants in the sky, by blocking and absorbing the radiation, that created a peaceful environment, allowing the ancestral witch bloodline within the purple plants to awaken, slowly transforming them into mobile animals. Or, more accurately, a hybrid life form, half animal and half plant! This world was truly incredible; at this very moment, the first animals began to emerge.

Rumble! These War Ancient Trees were massive and moved with extreme slowness. As semi-plant life forms, they began to develop a nascent consciousness. They would uproot smaller purple trees and chew them with their cavernous mouths, much like giant pandas munching on bamboo, thereby becoming the planet's first herbivores. After eating, they would re-root themselves in the ground, becoming lethargic and difficult to move, effectively transforming back into trees to continue absorbing nutrients from the soil.

In the days that followed, they entered a period of prosperity. With no natural predators, the number of purple War Ancient Trees steadily grew. They fed on the red plants, which consequently became scarce and faced extinction.

"This is the essence of time," Di Qi mused, "how swiftly it passes. No life form is an eternal protagonist, unless it withdraws behind the scenes." Di Qi couldn't help but marvel, "In the ebb and flow of transient victories and defeats, who can truly predict the future? The red plants, in their struggle for solar and cosmic light, seemingly achieved a great victory by overpowering the purple plants and monopolizing the sunlight. Yet, the purple plants, by losing access to the stellar light, inadvertently turned misfortune into a blessing. Freed from the toxic rays, they seized the opportunity to become the first animals, beginning to feed on other plants."

Just as Di Qi believed the purple War Ancient Trees were on the verge of total victory, amidst their widespread extinction, the red plants surprisingly also adapted to survive. For the continuation of their species, they too began to mutate and launch a counterattack!

This began with one particular red plant. It towered into the clouds, but its fruits were inexplicably infertile, unable to reproduce. In human terms, it was a defective specimen. However, within the core of its plant fruits, small spaces began to emerge. If the purple plants, the War Ancient Trees, had inherited the terrifying physical bodies of the ancestral witches, then the red plants had inherited the ancestral witches' attribute of internal spatial dimensions. Within each of these spaces in the plant fruits, the stellar rays and sunlight gathered by the giant tree began to converge, steadily intensifying the spatial energy within each fruit. Inside these spaces, a single tree seed slowly floated. It seemed to be coming to life.

"Is this a nascent spirit? Within the fruit, it has given birth to its own spirit, or rather, a 'demon'!" Di Qi clearly understood that the birth of a demon, the awakening of sentience, could only occur in a space rich in energy. And these stellar fruits perfectly met the conditions, transforming their own tree seeds into demons!

"Those mobile purple ancient trees are too physically formidable, so let's call them 'True Ancient Trees.' And these red ancient trees, which are nurturing life, let's call them 'Life Ancient Trees.' I want to see what kind of life they give birth to..."

Several more years passed. A dark red stellar fruit, adorned with complex, mysterious patterns, seemed to have reached its full gestation and swiftly fell to the ground. Immediately afterward, a slender humanoid figure gradually emerged from the fruit: an exquisitely beautiful woman with pale skin, pointed ears, and perfectly delicate features, as if she were a darling of the heavens. These beings possessed the bloodline of the ancestral witch emperors, making them incredibly perfect and powerful.

As the first fruit, which had absorbed stellar light and sunlight, touched the ground, a second fruit swiftly followed, and then another. One by one, women slowly stepped out. They began to inhabit the trees, constructing treehouses. To protect their mother trees and their burgeoning population from being consumed, they took up stones and spears and charged towards the enormous, sluggish War Ancient Trees.

"Uwa! Uwa!" They roared fiercely, smeared mud on their faces to create patterns, and charged forward with their spears. A radiant light fell upon their faces, as if a brand new era had dawned.

Boom! The War Ancient Trees, their faces ancient like centenarians, uprooted purple trees and wielded them like massive black clubs, swinging them at the tiny "fleas" on the ground. To Di Qi's astonishment, another war between the purple and red tree factions had begun!