Chapter 268: Philosophy Changes the World (Two-in-One)

Yumelia clearly understood that no one in this world could stop Achou. If he wished to slaughter and decimate, the Elves and the Ancient Life Trees would be entirely at his mercy. Even one of his avatars would be enough to sweep across the world.

The Elves were already defeated. The Ancient Life Trees, lacking the ability to fight back, could only stand silently on the ground, vulnerable to being cut down. When he spoke of waging war on the Ancient Life Trees, in reality, he was merely waiting for her to state her position regarding them.

"He wants to use me as his vanguard." She gazed at the man, whose eyes held a profound depth, and fully grasped the purpose of his visit. "He is trying to persuade me, weighing the pros and cons for me, explaining the truth about the Elves of this world—that humanity is complete—and then he intends to use me as a pioneer to convince the Ancient Life Trees on his behalf!"

If he intended to kill, he wouldn't have asked for her opinion or her stance.

"Empress Yumelia, you are indeed very intelligent, possessing wisdom and forbearance beyond ordinary people." Achou smiled. "You understand my intention instantly, and the Ancient Life Trees will also realize they can no longer stop me. I hope you will persuade them for me..."

He stood up, placing his blade behind him, his gaze intense. "The Ancient Life Trees are a part of this world, the mothers of this entire land. Their fear of the birth of intelligent life is also a consideration for their own survival, and they are not wrong. But I now guarantee that as long as I live, no one will destroy them or enslave your Elf race. However, I also hope the Ancient Life Trees will no longer interfere in worldly affairs. All I desire is a complete and peaceful world where all intelligent beings, from various races, can live and develop together."

That day, Yumelia called a halt to the entire war. She personally acted as the vanguard, traveling to Elysium at the top of the trees to convince the eleven Ancient Life Trees to surrender. There was no longer any choice, and the terms offered were very generous, leaving no reason to refuse.

"Impossible!" The eleven Ancient Life Trees could not believe this fact, unable to conceive of such a powerful human.

On the ground, a man, still swinging his machete, his bronzed muscles glistening with sweat, suddenly spoke, "Beast Body, go to the heavens."

High Elf Empire, Year 120.

The Human Sword Saint ascended to Elysium and debated with the eleven Ancient Life Trees for three days. He explained the origin of life and weighed the gains and losses, successfully convincing the eleven Ancient Elf Life Trees.

"This land is at peace. Since there are humans, elves, and demons, there should also be beast races... only then will it be a complete world, with humanity divided into three aspects: divine, beast, and demonic." Achou addressed the Ancient Life Trees again, slowly saying, "Now, the final piece of this world is to complete the last beast race. Let them be born."

The eleven Ancient Life Trees fell silent. They had no other choice. "Human, remember your promise!"

That day, the Beast-natured Human Sword Saint descended from the heavens, cradling ten infants with green faces and fangs, like wild beasts.

Several years later, the Beast-natured Sword Saint raised the infants into orcs, then departed alone. Millions of years later, the Orc race still recorded the might of this mysterious Sword Saint in their ancient histories, revering him as the Ancestor of Orc Sword Saints: Grom.

"Thus, this world progressed from incompleteness to wholeness." The Human Sword Saint, still in the form of Achou, possessed the power to dominate the world, yet he did not rule. Instead, he continued to wield his machete, repeating the act of chopping trees daily, like a silent man of the wilderness.

"I am going to abdicate. I am not fit to be the King of the Elves." That day, Yumelia came again and spoke to Achou, "But the eleven Ancient Elf Trees are already reluctant to let me go. They understand that the Elves cannot contend with humans and wish for me to continue protecting the Elf tribes and the eleven Ancient Life Trees."

Yumelia's expression became complex. The Elves were indeed too peaceful and tranquil; their previous development had always been driven by external forces. If not for the Mother Trees urging them to wage war, to fight each other and bury their opponents beneath their own Ancient Trees, their lives would have been nothing but peaceful daily routines. If not for the alchemists providing them with equipment, they would have had no motivation to research how to become stronger. It wasn't that they lacked desires, but rather that their desires were too superficial.

In reality, divinity, beastiality, and demonhood were not without other latent characteristics; it was just that their primary traits dominated. Elves still possessed a small amount of other desires, for if they were completely singular and pure, they would not be true life forms.

Now, seeing that they could not be stopped, the Ancient Life Trees wished for Yumelia, who possessed humanity, to continue as the Elf King.

"Humans, seemingly the most complete, are in fact the most complex." Achou suddenly spoke, once again articulating his philosophy and the insights he had gained over countless years of contemplation. "I yearn for the peaceful life of the Elves, free from schemes and intrigues. I profoundly yearn for your divinity... just as humans yearn for beauty."

Yumelia looked at this powerful and mysterious man. "The reason he is so powerful is that he has severed his three avatars, transforming into a pure being without ego or desires, constantly contemplating the truths of the world from a rational perspective and cultivating furiously. This has resulted in a speed that is simply inhuman!"

Soon, he would likely cross into the legendary seventh tier.

"I am going to retire, to serve completely as a warden, guarding various evildoers deep within Elysium, the leaf canopy." Yumelia was about to leave when she suddenly turned and asked, "Human, what is your name?"

"Achou."

"Don't you have a true name?" Yumelia paused.

"I have no name," Achou said. "However, my three bodies, walking the world, have now been given all sorts of names, and various legends have been written about me."

"Then you shall be called the Nameless Human Sword Saint," Yumelia said.

The Nameless Sword Saint, countless years later, remained the most mysterious and ancient existence on the entire planet.

Suddenly, Achou, still swinging his machete at the large rock, slowly spoke, "What if I told you that our world isn't just one layer, but nine, with various powerful ancient beings and intelligent life forms living on them?"

"Ancient heavens, intelligent life... do you think that's possible?" Yumelia stopped again.

"Some things don't cease to exist just because we don't believe in them."

Achou continued to swing his blade with flawless precision. "I sense everything. Our world is very mysterious, with layer upon layer of special, vast, and boundless spaces. There are heavens above heavens, and they are incredibly dangerous..."

"You want me to go on an adventure with you?" Yumelia was startled. She had heard from the Mother Trees that this world was not so simple, but she had been too busy with war to investigate the mysteries of this Ancient Tree world.

"In three years, I plan to set off to explore it. If you wish to come, we can rely on each other," Achou continued to swing his blade. He had already made such plans. The keen intuition of his beast avatar had made him sense that this world was not simple.

"Then I'll go," Yumelia said, finally able to lay down her burdens and do something she truly desired.

History reached completion here, and historians began to record everything about this land.

**Tree Realm Era (Year 1 of Creation ~ ???):** The Ancient Elf Trees and Ancient War Trees were born, engaging in mutual slaughter. The Ancient Elf Trees gave birth to Elves, becoming the Eleven Ancient Gods. This most ancient period of history was too difficult to verify. Unless the ancient Life Trees themselves spoke of it, no one would know where that era began or how many long years it lasted before ending.

**Divine Creation Era (Years 1 ~ 236):** Various Elf tribes fought amongst themselves, employing Ancient War Trees to wage war against each other.

**High Elf Empire Era (Years 236 ~ 356):** Empress Yumelia ascended to power, establishing the Yumelia Elf Empire. Ilfan and Gilna stole the forbidden fruit, giving birth to humans and demons. The Elf massacre began, and the Human Sword Saint emerged, decisively suppressing everything and giving birth to the Beast Race, thereby completing the world.

Regardless of how future generations might speculate and comment on the history of these developments and racial origins, some obscure secrets remained buried in history, turned to dust. No one knew that Empress Yumelia was actually two different individuals, or who Ilfan truly was... However, in some unofficial histories, certain historians made bold conjectures about the true and false Empress Yumelia and Ilfan's real origin, coming very close to the truth.

Three years later, the entire land was peaceful and serene. Achou's mystique and decisive actions were widely discussed by the people living on the land. The world became truly complete. After that world-shaking battle, the Elves no longer guarded their tribal Ancient Life Trees but gathered to live together, while the other three races also lived separately. It seemed that true prosperity was only now beginning to flourish from this point.

This planet began to be divided into four continents, with demarcation lines established. At the demarcation lines, Achou instructed the Ancient Life Trees' leaves to no longer obscure even the sky. Immediately, a terrifying power poured down, transforming the areas into vast death deserts and oceans of death. Unless one reached the fourth tier, it would be extremely difficult to cross these death zones.

"This world is finally orderly, no longer incomplete... We two are now invincible in this world." In a dense forest, Achou had been swinging his machete for another three years when he suddenly spoke, "It's time to explore that ancient celestial world."

*Whoosh!* Achou silently sensed everything, then abruptly cleaved space, stepping into that world together with Empress Yumelia.

*Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!* Verdant mountains and clear waters, small bridges, flowing streams, and homes. Mountains encircled them, and ripples layered one after another in small lakes.

At this very moment, it seemed they had entered a tribe, with blood everywhere and the corpses of children and elders. One by one, grim-faced black-robed cultivators, with black hair and black eyes, holding skull-shaped artifacts, spoke in an incomprehensible language. "The Fire Barbarian tribe, which worships fire and excels at refining medicinal stones, has it been completely massacred?"

"A few remnants escaped," another sinister old man said, his eyes gleaming with a faint green light.

Hiding in the shadows, Yumelia frowned and couldn't help but say, "This world is somewhat terrifying. There are two Level Six heroes, and powerful individuals are everywhere. Both of us are only at the sixth tier, though we are about to break through..."

"Who's there!" Suddenly, a black-robed cultivator looked towards their corner. They seemed to possess a special aura sensing ability, capable of detecting the life force signatures of other beings.

At this moment, Emperor Qi flashed a smile. "Well done, Achou! You truly are exceptionally talented! Even I cannot see through you. This is the greatness and mystery of life, capable of blooming into astonishing flowers. Originally, it was meant to be a magnificent war and slaughter, with the earth bathed in blood, and a brilliant era emerging from death. Another world-ending calamity was approaching, and my Ruoyun had a chance to awaken, yet you forcibly stopped it. This time, surely you cannot stop it, can you?"

War is the driving force behind the evolution of civilization. On the body-planet of the outer heaven, he used it to propagate new races, while in the nine heavens of the inner heaven, besides the Genesis, he continued to propagate the lineage of the Ancestral Shamans, which was his root from the ancient desolate world. Over these years, the Ancestral Shamans continued to thrive, even transcending their original ancient desolate system, advancing upon existing foundations. Five or six centuries had passed, and the number of powerful individuals was countless. However, they resided in the inner space, unable to pinpoint the outside world. But those in the outside world, once they reached a certain level of strength, could clearly sense nine spaces in the sky, standing above the Ancient Tree planet, and would find a way to reach them. In Emperor Qi's view, a great war was about to erupt.

At this moment, Yumelia also frowned deeply, preparing to strike and first capture these powerful cultivators, as her combat power was indeed almost unrivaled among those of the same tier.

"Don't act," Achou stepped out, looking at the two fierce black-robed cultivators, and silently projected a divine avatar from within himself. The divine man, bathed in light, made people feel an irresistible warmth, tamed by his benevolence.

"What kind of strange person is this!?" The two cultivators were greatly alarmed and instantly felt their hair stand on end. That terrifying aura was something they could not withstand! The man before them was, at the very least, an unrivaled existence among his peers.

The man, bathed in divinity, seemed to have no intention of fighting. He merely smiled warmly, revealing his white teeth. Though their languages were different, he silently transmitted a thought with his divine sense: "Two powerful ones, do you wish to know the truth of this world?"

"What truth?" the two black-robed cultivators asked warily.

"The truth of your world. For example, is the world you live in truly real?" The man's voice, bathed in sunlight, continued, "Is this world real, and are you truly yourselves?"

The two black-robed cultivators were stunned.

Yumelia was also startled. She silently recalled the alchemist Keiya's warning to her: "You must be careful of Achou! He's corrupted you, a respectable Elf, making you feel you're a lowly human, and then he makes lowly humans learn from kind Elves to become Elves. It reminds me of a man's hobby..."

"What hobby?"

"Drawing respectable women into disrepute, and urging women of the night to reform." The Elf girl said with a grave expression, "Did he ask you the three philosophical questions: Who are you? Where do you come from? Where are you going?"

At this moment, Yumelia looked at Achou, the man who had released a divine avatar and sought a peaceful resolution, and her heart immediately felt that something was amiss.

Emperor Qi: ???

He was silently sensing the inner heaven, and now, watching this scene, his mind was somewhat bewildered. All the disasters and calamities he had created had been blocked by Achou, who loved to philosophize? He immediately felt a headache, realizing he might have met his match.