CHAPTER 276: CHAPTER 276: LONGEVITY WOOD EMPEROR, REAWAKEN THE ANCIENT TREE

Johnnie was surprised. No wonder the gap between Domain and stage 9 is so huge.

If that’s true, and his stats can grow without limit, then once he reaches stage 9, even if he can’t break through to stage 10, his numbers would still be terrifying—and after becoming a god, it would be beyond imagination.

Nalorin Sylvia went on, "Master, your talent is incredible. I can feel that you can at least break through to stage 12."

"Really?" Johnnie didn’t feel that way, and he didn’t care much. He had many ways to raise his stats.

The God-killing power from slaying Domain-level foes, the Massacre of Demons effect from killing Demonic Creatures, plus the Cosmic Eclipse Blade and the Void Sword Soul Devouring effects could all boost his power without limit.

Even if he couldn’t reach stage 10, he could stay at the peak of stage 9 and push his stats as high as possible.

Johnnie checked the Dragon Patterned Sword’s next upgrade requirement: he needed to slaughter 100,000 Sub-Dragon-type Monsters.

This island might not have that many Dragon monsters, but in this secret realm world, he could definitely get it done.

Continue.

With a thought, The Red Carp turned back into the Dragon Patterned Sword, and he kept cutting down the Dragon monsters rushing in from all around.

He also went deeper into the forest to hunt them down.

If kills by other means counted, he would’ve just burned this place.

No matter how many Dragon monsters were here, a few Forbidden Spell: Hellfire would wipe them out.

But right now he could only control the Dragon Patterned Sword and kill them one by one.

...

Time passed, and two days went by without him noticing.

Johnnie wiped out all the Dragon monsters on the island, but the Dragon Patterned Sword still needed more than ten thousand Sub-Dragon-type Monsters for the next upgrade.

This island had over a hundred and ten thousand Dragon monsters in total.

But because Johnnie was too terrifying, many of them ran off the island.

"Looks like I’ll have to find other islands."

He murmured to himself. There had to be other Dragon monster nests out here. But as he stared at the endless sea, he didn’t know where to start.

He kind of regretted letting that fishman leader go.

"My lord, the Longevity Wood Emperor has revived. Do you want to come take a look?" Coco’s voice came through.

That fast?

Johnnie was surprised. It had been less than four days, yet the Longevity Wood Emperor had already rebuilt his body and come back to life.

"Sylvia, enter The Map of Heaven and Earth." He wasn’t in a rush to keep slaughtering Dragon monsters. With a thought, he brought Sylvia into The Map of Heaven and Earth.

Everyone had gathered. Skye and Aureon’s phantoms were there too.

Maiev and an old man stood before the Undead Tree. The power of the Rules of Life surged around them as they tried to revive it.

The old man’s Rules of Life power was even stronger. He should be the Longevity Wood Emperor.

But the Longevity Wood Emperor looked awful—bruised and battered. The area was a mess, and strong energy ripples still lingered. Clearly, someone had fought here.

Johnnie glanced at Benz and asked, puzzled, "Did someone beat him up?"

Benz nodded excitedly. "The old guy had bad intentions. He tried to devour The Map of Heaven and Earth and thought being a God-Emperor Powerhouse made him unbeatable. Then Lord Skye beat him up."

"Too bad you came late, my lord. You missed him getting thrashed."Benz said, animated but a bit regretful.

Johnnie didn’t care much about that. He was more curious about what level Skye really was.

The Longevity Wood Emperor was a God-Emperor. Above God-Emperor is the Divine Thearch.

Could Skye be a Divine Thearch?

No—the Longevity Wood Emperor hadn’t fully recovered yet.

He felt the Longevity Wood Emperor’s aura. It was still vast like the sea, but not at its peak. At best, the Godking Realm.

Hum...

A mighty surge of Life Force rolled out.

Under Maiev and the Longevity Wood Emperor’s full effort, the withered Undead Tree came back to life.

Gray-brown Entangling Vines climbed upward. The ancient tree sprouted new buds, green spreading from the bottom up.

The Life Force was strong, but the tree still felt eerie, still giving off a deathly aura.

That’s the nature of the Undead Tree: life and Death Power exist together, giving it a sinister aura.

Johnnie frowned. He felt that using the Undead Tree to grow the throwback Celestial Dragon inside Cecilia wasn’t a good idea.

Cecilia felt the same and pushed back a little. "Johnnie, this ancient tree feels so evil. I think it’s better if I nurture it myself. What if it turns into a monster?"

What you’re carrying is already a monster, he thought, but didn’t say it.

He could feel that Cecilia already had feelings for the life inside her.

Maybe that’s a mother’s love.

Johnnie said, "With us teaching it, it won’t go down an evil path."

He didn’t say the rest: if it did, he’d cut it down.

Even if it was a throwback Celestial Dragon, he didn’t believe it would be stronger than him.

Cecilia nodded gently, stroking her lower belly, her eyes full of warmth.

Nearby, Nalorin Sylvia watched them, a little envious.

A sudden, crazy thought came to her: if she also carried Johnnie’s child, could she be with him openly?

The thought had barely formed before she pushed it away.

She and Johnnie had a master-disciple bond; she couldn’t shake off the weight of worldly views.

Hum!

Life surged around them, and the Undead Tree grew quickly.

By now, Maiev’s face was a bit pale, and the Life Force around him was shaking. He was clearly at his limit.

"Maiev, step back. Let this guy keep going."Aureon said, knowing Maiev’s limits.

"Why me?" the Longevity Wood Emperor snapped. "This tree devours Life Force. It’ll damage my source power."

Skye’s cold voice cut in. "Enough talk. Burn your source power, or die."

The Longevity Wood Emperor shot Skye a fearful look and didn’t dare say more.

This headless monster was too terrifying. He felt that even at his peak, he wouldn’t be a match.

"Thank you, my lord. I can hold on a bit longer."Maiev said, not leaving yet as he kept gathering Life Force.

It went on for more than ten minutes. Maiev turned pale and couldn’t hold on anymore. If he kept going, it would start eating into his source power.

She pulled back right away, looked at the Longevity Wood Emperor, and said, "Senior Wood Emperor, it’s up to you now."

"Hmph." The Longevity Wood Emperor snorted, too lazy to reply.

"What, you’re unwilling?" Skye’s cold voice came over. He cracked his knuckles, the threat clear in his tone.

"How could I be? I’m willing." The Longevity Wood Emperor’s body trembled. He forced a smile uglier than a cry as the power of the Rules of Life surged around him and poured into the ancient tree.

Rustle, rustle...

The tree grew fast. Branches and leaves swayed, a deep, vivid green.

But gray-brown vines crawled all over the trunk. That Death Power seemed to be coming from them.

Johnnie looked at Aureon’s phantom and asked, "Senior, if we destroy these vines, will the Death Power disappear?"

Aureon shook his head. "No. The Undead Tree is special. Life and death are born together in it. These vines are part of its core. If you destroy them, the tree will die completely."

"So strange?" Johnnie frowned. Life and death should cancel each other out. This Undead Tree letting both exist together was hard to believe.

Aureon said, "Don’t underestimate the power of life and death, Johnnie. Life and death are feminine and masculine. Feminine and masculine create and restrain each other. It’s far more complex than you think. If you can grasp the laws of life and death, your strength could rival a saint."

A saint?

Johnnie was puzzled. That sounded like a whole new level.

He knew saints existed, but he didn’t know what kind of level that was.

"Senior, is the realm above Divine Thearch the Saint level?" he asked.

Aureon thought for a moment and said, "Saint isn’t a realm. It’s a tier. Even a Half-God, if they grasp its true meaning, could become a saint. Of course, that’s just a way of speaking. It’s incredibly hard. Even a Divine Thearch becoming a saint is like climbing to the heavens."

As he spoke, he glanced at Maiev, who sat cross-legged with eyes closed, adjusting his breath. He vaguely guessed something.

Realms? Tiers?

After Aureon’s explanation, Johnnie was even more confused.

He kept asking, "Senior, do saints still exist in this world?"

In his mind, saints were incredibly strong. If a saint took action, they should be able to protect Earth.

Aureon shook his head. "Maybe. I’m not sure."

Johnnie wanted to ask more, but Aureon cut him off.

"Johnnie, don’t speak lightly about saints. When your strength grows, you’ll understand." Aureon looked serious and didn’t want to say more.

Johnnie nodded, pushed down his doubts, and stopped asking.

Time passed. The Longevity Wood Emperor grew pale as his power drained like crazy. He didn’t dare resist. He burned his source power to restore the Undead Tree.

Two more days went by. The Undead Tree had grown to its limit. Its thick, lush canopy blocked the sky and sun, covering the area for many miles.

Johnnie felt the space here change too. It seemed more stable.

The Longevity Wood Emperor finally let out a breath and collapsed to the ground, face white. His strength had dropped all the way to the Core God Realm.

Reviving the Undead Tree cost far too much.

"Wood Emperor, this isn’t all bad for you. Whether you can make something of it depends on your chance."Aureon said, taking out an energy crystal and handing it to him.

This crystal had formed after the Mechanical Golem devoured Magic Cores.

"Thank you, Senior!" The Longevity Wood Emperor took the crystal, glanced at Johnnie, and seemed to guess something.

"Enough. Let the throwback Celestial Dragon be born. With the Undead Tree, it can be nurtured."Skye said, cutting them off and looking at Cecilia.

Cecilia stared at the lush Undead Tree. It was full of life, but faint strands of death still lingered within it. It wasn’t as evil as before, but it still made her uneasy.

She said, a bit unwilling, "I feel it’ll be the same if I nurture it myself. This little one won’t hurt me."