Consciousness began to awaken. Lin Yuan gradually took control of the Martial Ancestor's golden body.
"Back in the Azure World..." Lin Yuan sent a thread of his spiritual energy into the Demon Tree. "The Ancestor Demon Tree is gravely injured?"
Just a brief scan revealed that the tree's injuries were deep and affected its very core. It was no wonder the message it had sent spoke of life and death for the Azure World.
"But it doesn't matter much," Lin Yuan thought to himself.
When the Martial Ancestor's golden body was being nurtured, the Ancestor Demon Tree had already become less important to him. The golden body had reached the eighth rank as soon as it was formed, surpassing the Ancestor Demon Tree even in its prime. After over 100,000 years of nurturing, the golden body had almost stepped into the ninth rank.
In other words, as long as Lin Yuan had half an hour, he could fully integrate with the Martial Ancestor's golden body.
Once he did, he would possess the basic strength of a ninth-rank being. With his profound understanding of the laws of the universe and his mastery of power, he could sweep through tenth-rank beings with ease. In a desperate fight, where he unleashed all his trump cards, he could even exert eleventh-rank power.
This golden body, nurtured over hundreds of thousands of years, was unfathomably strong. And with Lin Yuan, the creator of the martial path, taking control, he would be able to unleash its full potential.
Together, the combination of Lin Yuan and the golden body far surpassed the sum of its parts.
"Hmm?"
Lin Yuan fully connected with the Ancestor Demon Tree and began to absorb detailed information from the past hundreds of thousands of years.
Although he had received simplified reports from the Demon Tree while in the main universe, they were extremely brief—sometimes just a sentence to summarize major events. This was due to the difficulty of transmitting detailed information across dimensions, even with the Gate of the Myriad Realms as an intermediary.
Now, however, Lin Yuan could grasp every detail that had transpired.
"Hmm?"
"No wonder the Azure World attracted the attention of those two outer-realm evil gods, and why they invaded. No, this wasn't their idea—it was their master's."
With Lin Yuan's incredible processing speed, he absorbed hundreds of thousands of years' worth of information in just a dozen breaths.
He realized that the two evil gods who had attacked the Azure World had used techniques far beyond their strength to seriously injure the Ancestor Demon Tree and tear open the world's barrier. This confirmed that a much stronger evil god was behind them.
Based on the information Lin Yuan had gathered, the most powerful evil god in the nearby void had established a faction known as the "Black Demon Pavilion," and this being called himself the master of the pavilion, ruling over a large number of outer-realm evil gods.
There were, of course, other powerful evil gods scattered across the vast void, each establishing their own domains and factions.
"In the last several hundred thousand years, under my influence, the Azure World's essence has grown at least tenfold."
Through the perspective of the Ancestor Demon Tree, Lin Yuan observed the vast source energy of the Azure World. After replacing the world's heavenly law, he had begun tweaking the flow of its energy, ensuring it circulated more smoothly and efficiently.
After returning to the main universe, Lin Yuan had continued directing the Ancestor Demon Tree to refine the Azure World's energy circulation, modeling it after the main universe itself.
The main universe was incomparably vast, dwarfing both the Azure World and the endless void. Its source energy was managed far more efficiently than that of the Azure World.
The Azure World mimicking the main universe's energy flow wouldn't show results immediately, but over thousands or hundreds of thousands of years, the difference would become apparent.
Now, the Azure World's energy was ten times stronger than it had been hundreds of thousands of years ago. If not for the massive expenditure of energy required to nurture the Martial Ancestor's golden body, the difference might have been dozens or even a hundred times greater.
Such a drastic increase in energy naturally attracted the attention of the surrounding evil gods.
Originally, the Azure World's energy had been weak, and the Ancestor Demon Tree's presence had made it too costly to invade. Even if the evil gods had considered it, the price of conquering the world would have been too high.
But now, with the Azure World's energy tenfold stronger, it was an entirely different story.
The most critical issue was that the master of the Black Demon Pavilion likely wanted to understand how the Azure World had transformed so rapidly in just hundreds of thousands of years.
If this secret could be uncovered, it would significantly improve the efficiency with which they could devour the energy of other worlds.
That was why the Azure World had become a target.
"If it were the old Azure World, it would never have caught the attention of the Black Demon Pavilion's master."
"Although the world has been invaded, its inhabitants have not suffered any major losses."
Using the Demon Tree's perspective, Lin Yuan took on the role of the world's heavenly law, observing every detail of the realm.
The Demon Tree had acted quickly to command the inhabitants to gather around it for protection, preserving the majority of the Azure World's strength.
However, as time passed and the two evil gods continued their invasion, the Demon Tree's injuries worsened. The losses would soon start to escalate.
"Hmm?"
"The ritual has ended?"
Lin Yuan glanced toward the hall. The numerous worshippers were standing up, their movements syncing with the world's rhythm as a subtle current of energy flowed into the golden body.
This energy was the essence of the Azure World itself.
For hundreds of thousands of years, each ritual had been a process by which the Martial Ancestor's golden body absorbed the world's energy, solidifying its foundation to an unimaginable degree.
"I just need a little more time, and I'll fully control this body."
Lin Yuan could feel the profound strength within the golden body he had designed for himself. He was very satisfied.
Technically, he could take full control right now, but doing so might introduce minor flaws, and there was no need to rush.
The situation in the human world was dire, but the core of the Azure World remained intact. Lin Yuan could afford to wait.
Inside the Martial Hall, the many worshippers and martial practitioners gradually left, leaving only the high priestess behind.
The high priestess, Qing Yao, was a descendant of the first leader of the Azure Alliance, who had served Lin Yuan for many years. She had earned her place as the highest-ranking priestess in the world.
"Martial Ancestor..." Qing Yao gazed up at the towering golden body of the Martial Ancestor, her expression filled with worry.
"If those two evil gods continue like this, in less than a year, 70% of the human world will be completely overrun, and the entire world will be polluted."
As the high priestess, Qing Yao's soul was connected to the Demon Tree, and she could vaguely sense the critical state of the Azure World.
"We must stop the evil gods before it's too late."
Qing Yao had already made her decision. "I'll sacrifice half the life force of the world's beings to help the holy tree recover. With its power restored, we might stand a chance."
Her face grew calm.
The ritual to sacrifice half the world's beings would claim her life as well, as she would become part of the life force offered to the Demon Tree. But if it could save the Azure World, it would be worth it.
In the vast void beyond the Azure World, the two massive evil gods stood before the giant crack in the world's barrier, watching closely.
"Brother Demon Tree, if you hand over this world now and explain why its energy has grown so rapidly, we'll speak well of you to the master of the pavilion. You might even become one of his trusted subordinates."
The evil god on the left sent out a terrifying psychic wave, trying once again to communicate with the Ancestor Demon Tree.
Since the invasion began, they had been making these offers, hoping to avoid a direct battle, but without much success.
Moments later, the evil god on the left's expression darkened.
In the past, the Demon Tree would at least respond to these attempts, even if only to stall for time. But now, there was no reply at all.
"Arrogant. Even in this situation," the evil god on the right grumbled.
They believed they had an overwhelming advantage, and if not for their desire to minimize damage, they could have already conquered the Azure World and captured the Demon Tree.
"Enough."
"No more stalling."
"Let's enter the world ourselves."
The evil god on the left was growing impatient. After all their probing and testing, they were confident that the Demon Tree had little strength left.
Now, if they invaded directly, the Demon Tree wouldn't be able to inflict much harm on them.
At that moment, the inhabitants of the Azure World saw the horrifying rift in the sky tear even wider.
A colossal evil god, its body covered in countless tentacles, slowly forced its way into the world.
The entire Azure World trembled as the evil god entered, the land at the edges breaking apart.
On the other side, a second rift opened, as deep as an abyss, and a massive eye, surrounded by wings, began to push through, radiating an eerie, malevolent energy that quickly spread.
On the Crown Continent, within the Martial Hall, Qing Yao's face turned pale.
"This is bad."
She quickly stood up, sensing the terrifying presence of the two evil gods invading the world.
"There's no time to waste."
"We have to begin the sacrifice now."
Qing Yao immediately gave the order. Martial practitioners began gathering outside the Martial Hall, ready to be sacrificed to heal the Demon Tree's wounds.
They had long been prepared for this and were willing to die if it meant saving the Azure World.
"Martial Ancestor..."
"Please, Martial Ancestor, let this work."
Qing Yao was about to leave the hall to oversee the ritual when she turned to glance at the golden body she had revered her whole life.
Although the sacrifice of half the world's beings would heal the Demon Tree, there was no guarantee it would be enough to stop the evil gods.
After all, the Demon Tree had been struck down from its prime by these very gods, using some unknown means that had even torn the world's barrier apart.
However, when Qing Yao looked back, she froze in shock.
The golden body, which had stood in the deepest part of the hall for hundreds of thousands of years, had vanished.
"Where is the Martial Ancestor?"
Qing Yao was thunderstruck. The Martial Ancestor wasn't just her faith; he was the faith of the entire Azure World. His golden body disappearing was like the sky falling.
She staggered backward, ready to rush out and have the entire hall searched to find out who had taken the golden body.
But she stopped in her tracks.
Standing in front of the entrance to the Martial Hall was a towering man, his hands behind his back, looking out into the distance.
"You don't need to sacrifice half the world's beings," Lin Yuan said calmly, glancing at Qing Yao.
He was fully aware of her plan to sacrifice half the world's beings to heal the Demon Tree.
Naturally, he would not allow it. Half the world's beings? How many martial practitioners would that be?
"Martial Ancestor..."
Qing Yao trembled, tears welling up in her eyes.
The Martial Ancestor, the figure the people of the Azure World had worshipped for hundreds of thousands of years, had finally returned.
Lin Yuan, still facing away from her, took a step forward and exited the hall.
On the human world below, countless evil god puppets, which had been rampaging freely, were instantly obliterated. Crushed by an overwhelming force, they all vanished into nothingness, and their remaining essence was absorbed back into the Azure World.
The two evil gods, who had been pushing their way through the rift, suddenly sensed something.
They both turned their attention toward the Crown Continent, their expressions filled with fear. Without a moment's hesitation, they began to retreat, frantically trying to squeeze back through the cracks in the world's barrier.
The Martial Ancestor had left the hall and returned to the human world.
...
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