Chapter 1445: The Elven Godtree
Chapter 1445: The Elven Godtree
Jian Chen frowned as he slowly glanced over all the people present. His gaze stopped on the figure of the Elven Godtree for some time before he looked at the formation drawn by the illusionary branch. The formation had connected all the soul fragments from the people on the mountain and was channeling it into the War God Hall as a wondrous type of energy.
However, Jian Chen was unsure as to what was going on in the War God Hall. He could clearly sense that the War God Hall was even more powerful than the Beast God Hall. His soul could not penetrate.
Jian Chen stared at the bright divine hall for a while before a sliver of determination appeared in his eyes. With a single movement, he headed toward it.
The door to the divine hall was not closed. Jian Chen was slightly worried about Tie Ta, so he wanted to enter to check on him. Although the war god of the Hundred Races possessed the faith of the entire race, this ceremony was just far too odd. The entire process was being directed by a mysterious, ancient tree, so Jian Chen had to take precautions. After all, something like this had happened to the white tiger in the past as well.
“Sovereign Jian Chen, do not approach the War God Hall…” The Saint Emperors all cried out as they rapidly ran toward Jian Chen. They wanted to stop him.
However, Jian Chen had already arrived before the War God Hall. He was so fast that even the Saint Emperors were not able to catch up to him.
“Sovereign Jian Chen, not only will the war god suffer severe losses if the ceremony is disturbed, but even the nine hundred ninety thousand people on the mountain will suffer a great backlash, which would be almost irrecoverable…” Seeing how they could not catch up to the Jian Chen, the Saint Emperors sent him a message through a technique as quickly as they could. Worry filled their faces.
Jian Chen paused and after a slight moment of hesitation, he made his way to the door. The divine hall gave Jian Chen an impression that it was extremely powerful, but the more powerful something was, the more difficult it was to control. He believed that no one present could control the divine hall, so they obviously could not use its power.
The moment Jian Chen headed toward the entrance, the Elven Godtree suddenly moved. With a flash of green light, a branch that was several meters thick blocked the entrance.
The branch was illusionary and completely condensed from tremendous life force, but it stopped Jian Chen in his steps.
A gleam of light flickered through Jian Chen’s eyes, and he suddenly turned toward the Elven Godtree that extended into the sky. His gaze gradually sharpened, as if he wanted to see through the tree.
“This king knows that you are worried about the safety of the war god. Do not worry, the war god’s status among us, the God race, is not something you can imagine. We would never do something detrimental to the war god.” An obscure voice rang through Jian Chen’s head. It came from a female, and it was gentle but dignified.
Jian Chen became stern in a single moment. He expanded his soul in all directions and became filled with caution. He did not know where the voice came from at all.
“Are you the one talking to me?” Jian Chen asked gruffly as he stared at the figure of the Elven Godtree nearby.
“This ceremony is extremely important to the war god. Nothing can go wrong. Before the ceremony ends, do not enter the War God Hall, or you will end up injuring the war god instead of helping him.” The obscure voice appeared again. Jian Chen was still unable to find its origins. As soon as the voice finished speaking, the ancient branch at the entrance of the divine hall was removed.
Jian Chen did not try to enter the divine hall any longer. Instead, he stood there as he stared at the Elven Godtree. He was certain that even if the speaker was not the tree, they were still closely connected to it.
“Who are you? Are you the spirit of the Elven Godtree?” Jian Chen asked again. He was very perturbed. He had never thought that such a grand existence hid among the Hundred Races.
It was impossible for her to be a Saint Emperor, since just being able to communicate to him without revealing her position was not something Saint Emperors could do.
“Three days later, the ceremony will end. Before then, I hope you will not disturb the ceremony, just in case you cause it to fail.” The voice rang out again and completely ignored Jian Chen’s questions.
“Alright. I’ll wait here patiently for three days,” responded Jian Chen before he left the War God Mountain. He waited patiently, hovering away from the mountain, but his gaze was fixed on the ancient tree the entire time.
The Saint Emperors who did not take part in the ceremony all looked around with uncertainty. Doubt filled their eyes. One of them could not hold back their curiosity and asked politely, “Sovereign Jian Chen, may I ask who you were talking to? Is there a mysterious expert that we cannot sense here?”
Jian Chen remained silent. He understood that the obscure voice was probably only audible to him.
Three days later, the nine hundred ninety thousand people opened their eyes. Their faces were pale and haggard. They seemed extremely weak, but they were all filled with emotion. The gazes they directed at the War God Hall were filled with respect that came from the bottom of their hearts.
The figure of the Elven Godtree disappeared, returning to a branch that was stabbed into the ground. It was carefully collected by the elven Saint Emperor. The force of life in the surroundings disappeared with the figure of the tree. The formation had completely vanished, leaving only the War God Hall shining as bright as it had been before, rivaling the sun.
The vegetation that had grown on a small part of the continent, because of the teeming life force of the Elven Godtree, began to wither after it lost its source of life. The vegetation would soon be reduced to dead grass.
“Looks like the ceremony was successful. The ancient method in the records is right.” The Saint Emperors of the Hundred Races all expressed their joy. The ancient method originated from the War God Hall and, after the countless years it had been around, this was only the second time it had been used.
The branch that had conjured the Elven Godtree had been examined countless times by Jian Chen’s soul before it was collected by the elven Saint Emperor. “It’s an ordinary branch. There’s no other secret to it aside from its terrifying life force,” Jian Chen thought. He could not help but think about where the Elven Godtree actually was.
At this moment, a terrifying presence radiated from the War God Hall. Tie Ta emerged from the divine hall with long strides. He let out a lustrous light and stood three meters tall. His bearing was very dignified.
Jian Chen looked at Tie Ta and smiled from the inside. He knew that his friend had truly grown.
This growth was not an increase in strength or age but in temperament.
“We welcome the war god’s emergence!”
All the people on the War God Mountain, including the Saint Emperors, kneeled and bowed to Tie Ta. Their faces were filled with reverence from the bottom of their hearts, as if they were welcoming a god.
Tie Ta seemed to ignore their kneeling. He looked at Jian Chen. One of them stood outside the divine hall while the other stood beyond the outskirts of the mountain. They stared at one another. A few seconds later, Tie Ta took a step and arrived before Jian Chen instantly. He patted Jian Chen’s shoulder heavily and smiled, “Jian Chen, I never thought that you would come to the Wasteland Continent to look for me so soon. I was undergoing the Soul-offering Ceremony a few days ago and was cut off from the outside world, so I’ve made you wait.”
Tie Ta’s strength was very great. If Jian Chen was not in possession of the Chaotic Body and was not so powerful, he probably would have struggled to endure Tie Ta’s force.
“Your ceremony is very strange, actually requiring the souls of so many people. I was worried about you and almost charged into the divine hall. It’s good seeing you fine now,” Jian Chen smiled faintly.
“The ceremony is very strange. However, this ceremony has been passed down since the ancient times. It condenses the souls of nine hundred ninety thousand people to create the soul of the axe of the warring gods. The previous war god, uncle Aergyns, experienced this ceremony as well,” said Tie Ta. Afterward, the axe imprint on his forehead began to shine, and a small golden axe flew out, turning into an awe-inspiring war axe in Tie Ta’s hands.
“I learned after coming to the Hundred Races that the weapon in my hand can only display its greatest power when its form is fused with its soul. The axe I used before was only composed of the form and not the soul. The ceremony I just went through was to condense the soul of the axe, fusing the form with the soul,” Tie Ta said as he stared at the golden axe in his hands.
Jian Chen looked at the axe and could clearly feel its changes. The axe seemed like an inanimate object that had gained life. The pressure radiating from the axe became even more effective on the soul.
“Jian Chen, let’s go and catch up properly in the War God Hall.” Tie Ta put the axe away and pulled Jian Chen into the War God Hall.
No outsider had ever set foot in the War God Hall in countless years. Jian Chen was the first.
The two of them spoke for a very long time in the War God Hall. As soon as they thought about how they had used to be students in Kargath Academy but had now become sovereign-like figures to entire races, they both sighed emotionally.
“Tie Ta, can I ask you how much you know about the Elven Godtree?” Jian Chen suddenly asked a question and looked at Tie Ta with interest.
Tie Ta thought about the question seriously and said, “I’ve only come to the Hundred Races recently, so I only have a rough understanding of each race. However, I do know some things regarding the Elven Godtree. It’s said that the tree has already existed for an extremely long time. When the Hundred Races still resided on the Beast God Continent, before uncle Aergyns had been born, the Elven Godtree was there. It’s always represented the elves. After we were defeated, the Elven Godtree was moved from the Beast God Continent to the Wasteland Continent with us, changing the territory of the elves into a great, lush forest. It uses its own life force to nourish the land, and it’s never withered after so many years.”
“There’s even a rumor that the Elven Godtree cannot be destroyed. No matter how heavily damaged it becomes, it can completely recover in an instant.”