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Under the night sky, high above the boundless ocean, a white-gold dragon streaked across the heavens at blinding speed.
On the spine of his Dragon of Time spirit, Chu Chengzhou radiated his True Spirit Domain, using Nine Breaths Qi Absorption to devour and refine the ocean's abundant water-elemental energy—channeling it all into Xiao Qing, his Life Tree spirit, to accelerate its ascension.
Behind him stood Evil Emperor, the Evil Eye Tyrant Emperor—its will rewritten, now in human form, silently obedient.
Suddenly, Chu Chengzhou's thoughts shifted. Through their Spirit Heart connection, the Dragon of Time immediately halted midair.
In that instant, Chu Chengzhou's aura surged dramatically. His nine soul rings—eight crimson, one gold—transformed: now seven crimson, two gold, with the golden rings positioned at the innermost and outermost slots.
Then, a verdant beam of light erupted from his body, materializing before him as a sky-obscuring giant tree, radiating overwhelming life energy.
The next moment, dazzling emerald radiance exploded from Xiao Qing, turning the pitch-black oceanic night luminous green.
After a long while, the glow gradually condensed into a massive emerald cocoon, pulsing with Life Law energy.
"A million-year healing-type spirit—the strongest support below the gods?" Chu Chengzhou couldn't help but muse, staring at the cocoon.
Crack… crack… crack…
Fine fissures soon webbed across its surface.
BOOM—!
The cocoon shattered—revealing a thousand-meter-tall colossus, its canopy spanning nearly 2,000–3,000 mu (≈330–500 acres), exuding an oceanic tide of life force.
"So huge?!"
Chu Chengzhou gaped, stunned by Xiao Qing's monstrous new size after its bloodline ascension.
But in a flash, emerald light flickered—Xiao Qing shrank rapidly, condensing into a three-foot sapling. Its branches swayed gently as it landed in Chu Chengzhou's palm.
Focusing his will, Chu Chengzhou activated the Spirit Heart trait, merging consciousness with Xiao Qing to understand its transformation.
"HAHAHAHAHA—!"
Three seconds later, after learning Xiao Qing's new divine art, Chu Chengzhou burst into unrestrained, ecstatic laughter.
He thrust his hand toward the sea below. A fish—its eyes clear but dim with foolishness—shot from the water, hovering before him.
A flicker of soul-pressure—
Its soul shattered. The fish went limp.
Then, a slash of soul light—
It was sliced cleanly in half.
"Go on, Xiao Qing—try it!"
Chu Chengzhou pointed excitedly at the front half—the one with the head.
"Rustle rustle—"
Xiao Qing's branches swayed, as if nodding.
A brilliant emerald pillar of life energy erupted, enveloping the half-fish corpse.
Instantly, under the torrent of life force, flesh regenerated, bones regrew—in seconds, the bisected fish was whole again.
But it didn't stop there.
A ripple of Life Law energy surged—
Yin and Yang reversed. The soul reignited.
The fish jerked violently, alive once more—its clear, foolish eyes now wide with fresh terror.
"Excellent!"
Chu Chengzhou cheered, then turned to Xiao Qing—whose aura had plummeted, its million-year cultivation visibly weakened from the effort.
"Rustle…"
Xiao Qing swayed gently, as if to say: 'It's nothing'.
"Xiao Guang—Time Reversion on Xiao Qing!"
Chu Chengzhou tapped Xiao Qing's emerald crown and commanded his Dragon of Time.
"Roar—!"
Time Law energy flooded forth.
In moments, Xiao Qing's aura was restored to full—its depleted life-force reserves refilled to peak condition, all weakness erased.
Seeing Xiao Qing fully recovered, Chu Chengzhou nodded in satisfaction.
"Your bloodline has ascended again, Xiao Qing. From now on, I'll call you… Life Ancient Tree!"
"Rustle rustle—"
The little tree seemed to agree.
"Perfect! Who knows—maybe someday a God King will come looking for relatives!"
Chu Chengzhou grinned.
He was, of course, referring to the Goddess of Life—one of the Five God Kings of the God Realm.
Even if this Life Ancient Tree wasn't the primordial Life Ancient Tree, they both walked the Path of Life Law. At the very least, they could claim to be distant cousins!
---
As expected, upon reaching million-year status, Xiao Qing—like Xiao Guang—had unlocked a divine art tied to its Law:
Divine Art: Grand Resurrection Technique
Effect: Reverse life and death. Restore the dead to life.
But such power came with strict limitations:
Requires a physical or spiritual remnant—even a single hair or faint soul fragment sufficed. Greater power = Greater cost: The stronger the target, and the more fragmented its body/soul, the higher the price—though a minimum cost always applied.
- The cost wasn't just recoverable soul power—it consumed Xiao Qing's own essence, reducing its year-count.
Cooldown restrictions:
- For targets below nine rings (or <100,000-year beasts): 1-month cooldown, plus a weakness period proportional to the cost.
- For nine-ring to Level-99 soul masters (or 100,000–999,999-year beasts): 1-year cooldown, with weakness.
- Level-100+ or million-year+ targets? Currently impossible—Xiao Qing would need to attain a divine position and become a true Beast God.
Honestly, if Xiao Qing weren't Chu Chengzhou's spirit, Grand Resurrection Technique would be completely impractical.
Imagine: finally reaching million-year status—only to plummet in cultivation and suffer months of weakness after one resurrection?
That's not just a loss—it's financial ruin!
But as Chu Chengzhou's spirit, Xiao Qing faced no such drawbacks.
Cultivation drop? Weakness period? Cooldown?
One cast of Time Reversion from Xiao Guang, and all side effects vanished instantly.
Truly—the perfect resurrection combo.
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