Having received information about the Life God Trial, Xia Die tilted her head slightly, her amethyst-like eyes filled with confusion.
She didn't quite understand why the Life God Trial would involve re-establishing the rules of the Underworld.
From any perspective, this trial seemed more like the Death God Trial.
Bringing her thoughts back, she realized that the Land of Rebirth no longer had the Death God Throne, as the place where the Lord of the Underworld stood was the location of the throne.
Xia Die now possessed the rank of the God of Death; she only needed to slowly merge with the Death God Throne to grasp power, fill her inner self, and become a true deity.
Of course, as long as Xia Die was in the Underworld, relying on the power of the entire Underworld and the super artifact, even if Tang San himself came to the Underworld without activating his Asura God form, he would have to tightly cover his anus, lest it be directly breached.
Xia Die then examined the branches of the Ancient Tree of Life, the reward from the second trial of the Life God Trial.
It was a section of art, meticulously carved from jade and gemstones.
Its entire body was emerald green, with a crystal-like texture.
Holding it brought an indescribable sense of comfort.
Attempts to probe it with spiritual energy were blocked by the solidified life force.
If life has an ultimate form, this branch is the best reference point for that ultimate form.
Huo Yuhao and Polycia arrived beside Xia Die.
She stopped exploring the ancient branch of life and stood obediently before them.
Polycia rushed to Xia Die, lifted her arm, and looked her over anxiously. Her soft voice sounded worried.
"Sister, are you alright?"
"How are you feeling now?"
Xia Die reassured Polycia, saying softly,
"I'm fine."
"Don't worry, Polycia."
Huo Yuhao looked at Xia Die. He could sense her divine status and knew that Xia Die's coronation had been very successful; she was now the undisputed ruler of the underworld.
He gently rubbed Xia Die's head; her hair was soft and silky, and felt wonderful to the touch.
Xia Die lowered her head, a blush spreading across her delicate face.
The waning moonlight shone through the fragrance of the flower sea, casting a soft glow on her purple hair.
The girl gripped the emerald green branches with a slight tightening of her hand.
Clearly, Miss Elf was in a good mood.
No matter how much time had passed, she still loved the warmth of her father's palm the most.
"It's good that you're alright. Your two brothers just sent messages to ask how things were going."
"I heard that because of you, the Goddess of Life caused quite a stir outside, and the entire Douluo Continent was shrouded in the Aurora of Life."
Xia Die's pointed ears, flushed with a blush, swayed gently. She felt a little shy, but mostly warm and joyful.
She loved this kind of quiet care from her family.
After enjoying the warmth of Huo Yuhao's palm for a while, Xia Die's eyes lit up.
She handed Huo Yuhao the emerald green branch given to her by the Goddess of Life and said softly,
"Father, this is a reward from the Goddess of Life's trial."
"I don't know how to use this branch. Could you take a look?"
Huo Yuhao took the emerald green branch.
Because Huo Yuhao had handled a lot of Living Gold in the past, all the Living Gold that could be found on the continent was in his hands.
As soon as he touched it, he felt the vast, ocean-like life force.
The density of life force in this emerald green branch far exceeded that of Living Gold of the same volume!
Huo Yuhao believed that even in the God Realm, the Gold of Life should be considered a treasure, since life force is the essential source of all life.
This meant that the verdant branch before him was highly likely a part of the Goddess of Life's true form.
Even with Huo Yuhao's Spirit Domain Realm spiritual power, he couldn't see through the vast ocean of life force to understand its internal structure, let alone know how to use it.
However, while conventional methods were unusable, Huo Yuhao had an unconventional approach.
He began to exercise his power of [Understanding], his black eyes becoming even deeper, as if all the truths of the world flowed within them, actively unveiling their mystery and allowing him to appreciate their inner essence.
"[New Branches of the Ancient Tree of Life]: Born from a God-King level Ancient Tree of Life, symbolizing the budding and blossoming of life.
The purity and concentration of its life force are unsuitable for direct use by living beings, as this would lead to an adverse reaction. However,
its overflowing life force can be utilized by steeping it in water or brewing it as tea.
This is equivalent to drinking water from a Lake of Life with a concentration of 1.3 times that of life force, which can prolong life, cleanse the marrow, and enhance spiritual power. Long-term consumption can open up a second sea of consciousness (the sea of spirit)."
"This branch is not inanimate; it possesses high vitality, and its cross-section contains high-quality life force, firmly locking in the flow of internal life energy.
It can be planted in the soil and carefully cultivated, potentially becoming a second ancient tree of life.
Note: It can serve as a prototype for the World Tree, supporting the Underworld and the world."
Huo Yuhao nodded thoughtfully after reading the information and said to Diebao,
"That Goddess of Life is quite thoughtful."
"This branch is part of her true form, making it one of the most precious treasures in the path of life."
"She gave you this branch so you could plant it on the land of the Underworld, becoming a second ancient tree of life, serving as the life source of the Underworld and supporting the future boundary barrier."
"With a God-King level life source, the basic conditions for the birth of immortal spiritual energy are met.
Only a central core is needed for the Underworld to complete its sublimation and become a divine realm."
"Put that branch on the ground; the Goddess of Life has made all the preparations."
Hearing Huo Yuhao's explanation, Xia Die didn't hesitate at all.
She adjusted her skirt, gently squatted down, and parted the dark purple soil of the Underworld, burying the cut end of the emerald green branch in the soil.
It must have triggered the life force left by the Goddess of Life; Huo Yuhao's spiritual power sensed that the life force rapidly changed its nature, transforming from crystalline into countless tiny energy roots.
These energy roots replaced the real roots, continuously descending along the soil of the Underworld and then spreading in all directions.
In the blink of an eye, the energy roots had densely covered the underground of the Land of Rebirth, with many roots successfully connecting to the distant golden River of the Underworld.
The dense death energy in the River of the Underworld was extracted by the roots and mixed with life energy, transmitted to the emerald green branch.
The originally emerald green branch grew rapidly, the soil of the Underworld was turned upside down, and the real emerald green roots gradually replaced the energy roots.
The Land of Rebirth seemed to have undergone a cataclysmic transformation.
The dragon turned over.
If it were the old Underworld, the God of Death would have already brutally struck this newly sprouted Tree of Life.
Fortunately, Xia Die is now the ruler of the Underworld; as long as she doesn't refuse, the Underworld won't act rashly.
Nourished by the life power left by the Goddess of Life and the death power of the Underworld, the emerald green branches quickly grew into a giant tree thirty meters tall, with a maximum diameter of about four meters at its base.
The tree's trunk was a jewel-like emerald green, while the canopy was a deep blue, and the veins of every leaf flowed with pure death power.
At the junction of the deep blue leaves and the emerald green branches, life power and death power intertwined, giving birth to an extremely rare number of golden fruits—only two on the entire tree so far.
Within the golden fruits, death and life form a cycle, mutually generating and destroying, endlessly repeating.
Rather than calling this giant tree a Tree of Life, it's more accurate to call it a Tree of Reincarnation.
"Yuhao, those golden fruits are quite remarkable."
"Inside is a complete set of planar foundation stones; with just a little refinement, a demi-plane can be created!" "
These golden fruits should be the self-sufficiency of the Underworld.
If needed, I can refine these golden fruits into demi-planes, linking them to the Underworld to enhance its overall strength and hierarchy, and also expand its capacity."
Ilex's aged voice echoed in Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea.
As a powerful figure who could create demi-planes by hand, his words carried considerable authority.
Huo Yuhao smiled and said, "If only there were more fruits, maybe we could create an eighteen-level hell."
"Of course, I think Butterfly Treasure probably wouldn't like that kind of Underworld."
"But it can increase the strength of the Underworld…that's not bad."
The giant tree had stopped growing, or rather, was in a period of respite, accumulating the energy needed for its next explosive growth.
The overall strength of the Underworld had increased significantly due to the appearance of the Reincarnation Tree, even possessing a true life essence.
Coupled with the profound foundation the Underworld possessed after receiving billions in subsidies from the Dragon God, it only lacked a central core to meet the basic requirements of becoming a god realm.
(End of Chapter)
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