Full level of enlightenment: I achieved Daozu by ascending to the lower realm

Chapter 410 The Mysterious Little Tree
This world is exceptionally peaceful.

A gust of wind blew by, and the small tree in the center rustled, the sound echoing throughout the entire world.

Ning Qi and the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm remained ten miles away.

Ning Qi tried to step forward, but a pattern even denser than the barrier he had encountered when entering the portal appeared, blocking his path.

He knew that he would probably need a key to open it again, and this time it would be much more difficult than before.

The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm lingered behind, its gaze still fixed on Ning Qi with suspicion and uncertainty.

It was only when Ning Qi passed through him and they made contact that he truly understood Ning Qi's identity.

The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm never expected that Ning Qi was actually the will of the small world beneath it...

But when he thought of this, he immediately denied it in his heart. How could that be?

After all, the will that arises in the small world will only be the same as his.

Although it is the will of the world, the will is limited by the scope of the world itself and is trapped within the world, so it should be unable to leave.

Then, how could Ning Qi be the will of the small world below him?

The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm was filled with doubt and contradiction at this moment, feeling that this could not possibly happen.

Ahead, Ning Qi did not try to move forward again, but instead stared intently at the small tree in the center.

This place is the center of the world, and also the last secret place in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

All the secrets are hidden in a circular area with a radius of ten miles ahead.

Ning Qi moved his hand, and he felt the withered leaf between his fingertips sway more frequently and more powerfully, generating a greater pulling force that Ning Qi could feel even without careful perception.

Ning Qi immediately understood that the withered leaf came from the small tree ten miles ahead.

The little tree looked sickly, half of it withered and yellow, and the other half new green.

It possesses both tenacious vitality and signs of decay, a single tree embodying both prosperity and decline, which is quite contradictory and strange.

It's even difficult to determine whether it will be reborn or die; everything is unknown.

The side with the newly green leaves faced Ning Qi and his group, while the withered and yellow side was on the other side.

The green half of the leaf that Ning Qi was presenting to him was different from the others, and it was constantly changing.

Ning Qi saw the leaves of common trees such as willow, palm, elm, and sycamore, as well as the leaves of various spirit trees, flowers, grasses, and vines...

Each leaf shimmers with its own light, translucent and crystalline, like a precious jade leaf, full of fantastical magic.

And through the new green, we look towards the withered and yellow side.

That side, however, presented a completely opposite appearance, all yellowish-brown, resembling a single type of leaf.

The leaf was exactly the same as the withered leaf in Ning Qi's hand; it was impossible to tell what kind of leaf it was, and there was nothing unusual about it.

But what surprised Ning Qi even more was that a thick branch had been broken off from the withered half of the tree, leaving a large gap in the sapling and giving it a strange, incomplete beauty.

Looking through the sapling at the other side of the world, Ning Qi realized that the whole world was actually in a similar state to the sapling.

When he first entered this world, the world in his eyes was sunny, with lush green grass and flowers everywhere, a scene full of vitality.

But it wasn't until he arrived here and truly looked through the area ten miles ahead that Ning Qi observed the truth of the entire world.

The opposite half of the world was devoid of sunlight and lush greenery; instead, it was shrouded in dark clouds, with withered and yellow earth spreading across the ground, and even at the very end, large swathes of scorched earth appeared.

Ning Qi's mind stirred slightly, not understanding why this world presented such two completely different scenes.

But was this phenomenon caused by the sapling, or by something else?
After looking at the sapling, it becomes clear that the core area with a radius of ten miles ahead is actually only half a meter tall, and the area it occupies is just a small part.

The remaining area is also clearly divided into two halves.

Above the sky, a blurry figure could be faintly seen, nailed to the dome.

Energy was constantly being lost from its body, most of it hanging down and flowing into the small tree in the center, while the rest flowed to both sides.

The sapling swayed slightly in the gusts of wind, seemingly saved from completely withering by the infusion of energy.

Ning Qi looked at the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm behind him.

The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm walked to his side, pointed to the blurry, cloud-like existence in the sky above the world in front of him, and said, "That is my original will."

Upon hearing this, Ning Qi was still taken aback, even though he had already guessed it the moment he saw it.

The Mountain and Sea Realm is a spirit realm. The powerful will born from the spirit realm is being trapped in this space with a radius of ten miles, which is truly lamentable.

Ning Qi asked, "The Two Ancestors of Mountains and Seas actually possess such powerful strength that they can trap the will of the Realm Lord here?"

Beside him, the illusory image of the Mountain and Sea Realm's will smiled bitterly, "Of course not."

He simply sat down, looking at the main body inside with a seemingly helpless expression, and said with a wry smile, "With just the two of them, I can't be sealed by them, but if you add that little tree inside, it's a different story."

Ning Qi was slightly surprised.

"What kind of tree is that? Has it always been like this?"

"How is that possible!" The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm suddenly gritted its teeth and said angrily, "It has only been because my main body has been constantly supplying it with power that it has been able to reach its current state."

Ning Qi was even more puzzled.

The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm took a deep breath before suppressing his emotions.

"Sit down and listen to me. Anyway, you probably can't leave this world now."

In order to find out the truth, Ning Qi had no choice but to do as he was told.

The two sat cross-legged on the ground.

Ning Qi still held the withered leaf in his hand, but to his surprise, the leaf seemed to have absorbed nourishing power upon arriving here, and was slowly repairing the defects in the veins and mending the damaged leaf surface.

If he stays there any longer, the withered leaves will eventually become as vibrant as the half-tree of new green facing him, and will completely regain their vitality.

The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm naturally sensed it as well, and glanced at the withered leaf in Ning Qi's hand.

However, his eyelids twitched noticeably, making him look quite unnatural.

It seemed that the changes in the leaves were entirely absorbing his life force.

Seeing this, Ning Qi immediately put it away, and the expression on the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm improved somewhat.

However, at the moment he put it away, Ning Qi also sensed a reluctance emerging from the withered leaves.

The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm said: "Years ago, when the Mountain and Sea Realm returned from the small world, Haoshan obtained the inheritance of Buzhou Mountain and also brought out a seed from it."

"At that time, hadn't the two of them broken up yet?"

Ning Qi had previously heard Zhao Yujun, the sect leader of the Moon Sea Immortal Sect, mention the Mountain Ancestor and the Sea Ancestor, and inquired about it.

The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm shook its head.

"They had just lost their teacher at that time, and Qinghai was in a coma for a long time because of it. She didn't know that Haoshan had killed her father, so their relationship had not yet broken down."

At this point, he seemed to smile.

"The real break between the two was because they obtained that seed."

Ning Qi subconsciously asked, "Lord Realm, is the seed you mentioned the seed of this little tree?" The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm nodded.

"That's right, it's because of it that I was sealed away by the two of them, and that's why they broke ties."

Ning Qi listened silently, waiting for him to continue.

"Back then, after Haoshan obtained the inheritance of Buzhou Mountain, his cultivation improved extremely quickly, and he also sensed the existence of me, the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm."

"So, after Qinghai woke up, he kept her father's death a secret, continued to use Qinghai, and then found me."

The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm gleamed in its eyes, as if it were reminiscing about the past.

"At first, the two men treated me with the utmost respect, saying they wanted to offer me a treasure, which was that seed."

"It's also my own fault. I sensed the aura of a higher world from that seed, which aroused my greed and curiosity, leading me to accept their gift."

"But after I accepted it, Haoshan used some kind of spell to activate the seed. It immediately generated a power that I couldn't get rid of even for a short time, which fixed my will, as if it had parasitized me. Then it took root, sprouted, and began to grow..."

Ning Qi was horrified.

Unexpectedly, a single seed could stabilize the will of the spirit world and even parasitize it, taking the power of the spirit world's will as nourishment, thus taking root and sprouting.

If this seed had fallen into the True Martial Realm back then, and he, as the will of the True Martial Realm, had found this seed, wouldn't he have been completely powerless to resist if he were to be parasitized by it?

This sapling is in danger!

Especially for the world's will, it may even threaten the world itself.

That's the only way Ning Qi can describe it.

Seeing Ning Qi's expression, the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm immediately understood what he was thinking.

"You're right. This tree grows entirely by absorbing the power of the world. Even I, a supreme being of the Spirit Realm, cannot do anything to it!"

He continued, picking up where he left off:

"After Shan and Hai used the seed to immobilize me, they together seized my power. Their cultivation levels rose rapidly, and they became the two strongest beings in the Shan-Hai world. Thus, the Mountain Ancestor and the Sea Ancestor came into being."

Ning Qi asked curiously, "Then how did the two of them break up?"

The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm coughed, then suddenly laughed.

"Cough cough, haha, the two of them broke up on the spot because of that seed. After the seed parasitized me, it suddenly emitted a light that enveloped them as they were trying to take my power. Qinghai didn't know the truth about Haoshan killing her father in the small world, but after being illuminated by the light emitted by the seed, I don't know what she saw, but she actually started fighting Haoshan on the spot."

Ning Qi remained silent.

The plot development was quite unexpected for him; he never imagined that the two patriarchs of the Mountain and Sea would break up like this.

He glanced at the small tree in the center again; the appearance of this small tree could be said to be the origin of the great changes in the mountain and sea realm.

Of course, the true source is the inheritance from Buzhou Mountain obtained by the Mountain Ancestor.

The species of the sapling was also brought by the Mountain Ancestor from the inheritance he received from Buzhou Mountain.

Thinking of this, Ning Qi frowned slightly.

"I remember that the Mountain Ancestor and the Sea Ancestor broke off their relationship hundreds of thousands of years ago. How come this tree has only grown this big after all these years?"

When this question was raised, the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm paused for a moment.

"Do you know how much strength it has drawn from me over the years?"

Ning Qi stared into his eyes.

The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm breathed slightly, "It absorbed so much energy from two of my current selves!"

"If it weren't for constantly drawing power from the Boundary Sea to replenish myself, and for the cultivators sent by Shan and Hai to sweep through the surrounding small worlds and use their energy to sustain me, I would probably have been drained dry long ago!"

Upon hearing this, Ning Qi suddenly understood why the Mountain and Sea Realm wanted to devour the surrounding small worlds that were mutually dependent.

It turns out it had no other choice!

"Lord of the Realm, haven't you tried to expel it?"

The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm shook its head again, shaking it faster than a child's rattle.

"You think I haven't tried?"

He pointed again to the original will nailed to the dome in the space ahead and said, "That is the result of my attempt!"

Ning Qi also looked at his physical will.

Having only glanced at it before, Ning Qicai now truly activated his Golden Eyes of Truth.

As if cooperating with Ning Qi's observation, the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm no longer presented itself as a blurry cloud, but transformed into a human form exactly like his phantom.

As the humanoid figure appeared, Ning Qi immediately saw a person, just like entering an acupuncture clinic, and received a full-body acupuncture treatment.

However, the tools used for acupuncture were not metal needles, but wooden splinters.

The figure's limbs, chest, abdomen, neck, and head were densely covered with wooden spikes, making it look like a human hedgehog.

"..."

After Ning Qi had fully seen the state of his physical will, the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm returned to its previous cloud-like form.

It seems that this form suffers less damage from needles than the human form.

Ning Qi withdrew his gaze, his expression becoming even more solemn.

He asked, "Did this sapling prick you, or did the Mountain Ancestor and the Sea Ancestor do it?"

The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm replied, "Both."

"At first, Haoshan used the wooden spikes he could find to prick me. Every time his cultivation level increased, he would prick me with a few more needles. As a result, more of my power was given to him, and he became stronger."

"Later, after the sapling had fully grown, it pricked me quite a few times, probably about one-tenth of the way."

Ning Qi frowned even more deeply.

It sounds like the Mountain Ancestor has some hidden tricks up his sleeve, and this little tree is incredibly fierce.

"Could it be that the Mountain Ancestor can control this little tree?" Neji asked again.

The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm remained silent for a moment.

"I don't know the specifics, but if he could really control it completely, this wouldn't have happened."

He pointed to the sapling, "The saplings on this side of us are now showing signs of new green and vitality. You probably understand that this side of the world is controlled by the Sea of ​​Love, while the other half is controlled by Haoshan!"

"If Haoshan could truly control this sapling, it wouldn't be in a state where it's half withered and half green."

Ning Qi asked, "Are you saying that the other half of the withered yellow color was caused by the Mountain Ancestor?"

"Yes, Haoshan can't wait any longer to attain immortality!"

"Can't wait?"

"After so many tens of thousands of years, the sapling has only grown this little. How could it possibly wait?" The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm smiled. "That's why we launched the Spirit Realm War!"

(End of this chapter)