Chapter 550: Godhead Fragment

Chapter 550: Divinity Fragment

Levi studied the figure before him for a long, quiet moment.

It was impossible to tell whether any trace of self-awareness remained within it.

Given the creature's overwhelming strength,

Levi decided to attempt a negotiation,

hoping to see if it might grant him passage.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The branches of the World Tree rose heavily into the air.

Levi scrambled back, barely dodging the sweeping assault.

Negotiations had failed before they could even begin.

Despite Levi’s persistent efforts to speak, the figure had offered not a single word in reply.

The moment he drew near, it launched an attack without the slightest hesitation.

Through trial and error, Levi discerned that the guardian seemed bound by an invisible boundary.

So long as he did not cross that line, it would remain inert.

Slay the Guardian of the World Tree?

The sheer difficulty of the task weighed heavily on him.

The entity was composed entirely of the same material as the World Tree itself—

a substance capable of absorbing the catastrophic force of an Eighth-Rank Hellfire falling from the heavens.

Levi attempted to strike using the power of rules.

Yet, after the attempt, he found himself in the embarrassing position of a novice trying to teach a master.

Even though the World Tree now hovered on the very brink of death,

the power of the laws embodied within it far transcended the tier of rules Levi had mastered.

His Advanced Fire Rule was utterly incapable of leaving a mark upon the tree.

It seemed an insoluble puzzle.

Levi let out a soft sigh, entirely unperturbed by this turn of events.

The dungeon level of the Golden Plains was simply far too high,

vastly exceeding the reach of his current capabilities.

The guardian standing before him, barring any surprise, was almost certainly an entity on par with the Elven King or the Beast King.

Yet this did not mean Levi had given up.

Where brute force failed, only strategy could prevail.

Levi exchanged a glance with St. Seeley, handing her a magical stone.

Without a word spoken, St. Seeley instantly grasped his intent.

"Do it."

Levi stood just beyond the boundary and began casting a spell.

The sudden surge of elemental fluctuations stirred the Guardian of the World Tree into action.

It was evident the creature was no rigid, unthinking automaton.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The surrounding branches descended like a rain of deadly prongs.

Dozens of crimson streams of light shot forth from before Levi.

A portion of the light was intercepted by the branches, but most struck the guardian standing a short distance away.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Flames engulfed the guardian's looming silhouette.

The raw power of the strike was not particularly devastating,

yet the fire born from the exploding light refused to dissipate,

coalescing into a dense, billowed cloud of flame.

Within his heart, Levi roared, "Now!"

No warning was necessary for St. Seeley to react.

Transforming into her dragon form, she swallowed the magical stone whole, threw her head back, and exhaled it with all her might.

Pfft!

The stone shot forward at an astonishing velocity, slipping through the wide gaps between the World Tree's limbs.

In the blink of an eye, it had crossed a thousand meters.

High above, the branches shifted slightly, but discerning that it was merely an ordinary magical stone posing no threat, they sank back into silence.

Levi's gaze remained fixed on the stone as it climbed higher and higher,

while his mind steadily tracked the duration of the flaming cloud.

Utilizing the "Lingering Burn" trait of his Advanced Fire Rule, the created cloud of fire could burn for an exceptionally long time—

it could even consume the very air itself.

Yet, beneath the crushing pressure of the World Tree Guardian's power, the fire cloud was rapidly being suppressed and unraveling.

Seeing that the flame was about to vanish completely,

Levi decisively triggered the "Spatial Swap Art."

Whoosh!

Levi's figure vanished on the spot.

In his place, a magical stone tumbled down, landing softly atop a branch of the World Tree.

The Guardian of the World Tree paused for a fraction of a second.

Whoosh!

St. Seeley vanished as well.

Where she had been, nothing remained but a snapped twig.

"Run!"

Levi shouted.

Carrying Levi, St. Seeley hurtled forward at desperate speed, soaring toward the crown of the World Tree.

Behind them, countless branches writhed and expanded like a horde of giant serpents, giving furious chase.

Hah!

After a tense and thrilling chase.

Saint Xi emerged from the canopy of the World Tree with Levi in tow.

The pursuit by the guardians of the World Tree had ceased.

Countless branches slowly retracted back into the World Tree.

Levi stood up and gazed forward.

Atop the World Tree was a stone platform.

Apart from green meteors streaking across overhead like hellfire, there were no signs of other living beings here.

Saint Xi looked toward the nearby platform and said, "I can sense it—the relic is right there."

"Good, then let's go."

"But be careful—we don't know if there are still dangers lurking," Levi cautioned.

The two cautiously approached the platform.

Levi landed on the platform, steadied himself, and gradually exhaled in relief.

It seemed that this place was safe after all.

He looked ahead; at the center of the platform stood a small tree.

As he drew closer, he realized the center of the platform was hollow.

What he thought was a small tree was actually the tender shoot at the very top of the World Tree.

This was also the only part of the entire World Tree that remained verdant.

On one branch hung a glowing fruit.

Saint Xi stared at the fruit, reached out, and plucked it—it was the second relic she had been seeking.

The moment she touched it, the fruit automatically detached and fell into Saint Xi’s hand.

Once the fruit was removed, the verdant shoot of the World Tree rapidly withered.

Quick-eyed, Levi snapped off a young branch before it could wilt.

Only after breaking it did he react, staring in astonishment at the tender branch of the World Tree in his hands.

He had actually broken a branch from the World Tree—supposedly the most resilient substance in the world.

Yet the severed shoot did not wither along with the rest of the tender shoot.

Levi could feel within it a faint trace of life force.

This bud was still alive.

Without hesitation, Levi opened the portal to his magical cottage and planted the broken World Tree shoot into the soil beside the dragonblood tree.

Once planted in the earth, the tender branch seemed to regain a glimmer of vitality.

Levi felt that this shoot might survive.

But who knew how long it would take for it to grow as large as the World Trees in the Elven Forest?

And how much longer until it matched the size of the World Tree in the Golden Prairie?

Closing the portal,

Levi turned to look at Saint Xi, who held the fruit tightly while closing her eyes.

He could sense that Saint Xi's soul was undergoing a tempest.

She had received new inherited knowledge through the fruit.

Moments later, Saint Xi opened her eyes and looked at the emerald crystal-like fruit in her palm.

She turned to Levi and said, "Now I know what this is."

Levi's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "What is it?"

Saint Xi replied, "A fragment of divine essence."

"A fragment of the Elven God's divine essence—the last remnant sustaining the divine realm of the Golden Prairie."

Before Levi could respond,

she took out the stone.

This time, the stone had changed dramatically.

That once discarded pebble now transformed in Saint Xi's hand into a black crystalline gemstone.

"This is a fragment of the Beastman God's divine essence."

Thus spoke Saint Xi.

Levi stood stunned for quite some time before regaining his composure.

Looking at the two divine essence fragments in Saint Xi's hands, he wore an expression of deep contemplation.

"Why are they both fragments?"

Levi asked instinctively.

Saint Xi answered, "According to my inherited memories, the Elven God and the Beastman God long ago had their divine positions, essences, and powers divided among the pantheon."

"The Dragon God obtained these two fragments of divine essence."

"He didn't absorb or devour their power like the other gods."

"Instead, he preserved them."

"A thousand years ago, the Demon Dragon King, seduced by the Dark God, incited civil war among the dragons."

"The gods seized the opportunity, bestowing dragon blood potions upon humanity and instructing them to weaken the dragon race."

"With the collusion between the Dark God and the gods, the Demon Dragon King defeated the Sacred Dragon King and seized the throne—but gravely wounded the dragon race, bringing it near extinction."

"The dragon race severely weakened, the Sacred Dragon King grievously injured and vanished, causing the Dragon God's power to diminish."

"The Dragon God suffered attacks from the Dark God and treachery from the gods—he nearly perished."

"Before completely falling, the Dragon God sent these two divine essence fragments to the elves and beastmen, revealing to the Elven King and Beast King the truth behind the fall of the Elven God and Beastman God."

"On his deathbed, the Dragon God separated part of his own divine essence, entrusting the Dragon God's divine essence fragment to the missing Sacred Dragon King."

"After doing so, the Dragon God willingly went to his death, provoking a great battle between the Dark God and the gods."

"When the battle ended, the Dark God gained part of the Dragon God's strength, the gods divided among themselves another portion, neither side aware that parts of the Dragon God's divine essence were missing."

Levi listened silently as Saint Xi recounted everything.

Though he had guessed the relics were connected to deities, he never imagined the truth behind them would be so shocking.

Dark God, the pantheon, the Dragon God, the Elven God, the Beastman God...

Enmities and affections spanning tens of thousands of years.

Saint Xi said, "Next, we just need to find the third fragment of the Dragon God's divine essence held by my grandfather. With three fragments, we can piece together a complete divine essence."

"By borrowing and piecing together fragments of divine essence, one can directly bypass the path to godhood and become a deity."

Li Wei heard this and felt something was amiss.

After pondering for a moment, he said, "Wait, are you saying these three fragments of divine essence can be directly assembled into a complete divine essence?"

Sainte-Cécile nodded and replied, "Yes."

Li Wei frowned and said, "That can't be right. Although I don't know exactly how the path to godhood works, I do know that divine essences conflict with each other."

Divine essence is the manifestation of the laws of power that deities command.

The laws of power commanded by the Elf God, the Orc God, and the Dragon God must surely differ.

After all, one of the requirements for achieving godhood is to master laws of power that no other deity has ever grasped.

This is the principle of the uniqueness of laws.

This requirement was revealed to the world after the goddess of magic, Mystra, achieved divinity.

Even before Mystra's ascension, those powerful beings who had walked the path to godhood would have known this iron rule.

How could three incomplete laws of power be pieced together to form a complete law?

Moreover, these three types of laws had already been divided among others.

It was fundamentally impossible to achieve godhood.

Even if one did become a god, wielding a fragmented branch of a law that had already been divided, their power would be far weaker than that of a normal deity.

Laws differ from rules.

Laws are unique.

They are the fundamental laws of the world, and the power of these laws directly affects the entire world.

Rules exist beneath the world's laws and can only do what the world's laws permit.

They cannot transcend or violate the world's rules.

The Weave was created by the goddess of magic, Mystra, using her own divine power.

Before Mystra created the Weave, it simply did not exist in the world.

Therefore, according to the principle of the uniqueness of laws, Sainte-Cécile's proposal was fundamentally unfeasible.

Sainte-Cécile paused for a moment, then honestly said, "That is indeed the case. Thus, using a pieced-together divine essence to achieve godhood can only result in becoming a false god."

"One who possesses divine essence and divine power but lacks a true divine position."

Li Wei nodded; that made sense.

Coming back to his senses, he looked at Sainte-Cécile and asked gravely, "You're not thinking of using this divine essence, are you?"

Sainte-Cécile remained silent.

Li Wei grabbed her shoulders and said, "Think carefully. If you use this divine essence to become a false god, you'll never again be able to become a true deity!"

Divine essence cannot be reversed.

Once one achieves godhood, the divine essence fuses completely with oneself, merging with the laws of heaven and earth.

It can never be separated again.

Separation has only one outcome—falling.

After the Dragon God divided his divine essence, he knew he could not live much longer.

That was why he chose to die willingly.

Sainte-Cécile held the two fragments of divine essence and said, "As long as I use the divine essence, I'll immediately gain enough power to take revenge on the Dragon Demon King."

Li Wei furrowed his brow and forcefully snatched the two fragments of divine essence from her hands.

"No, I won't allow you to do this."

"Revenge is just a matter of time. We have plenty of time," Li Wei said.

He was certain that if they continued cultivating, defeating the Dragon Demon King would be as easy as turning over one's hand.

Li Wei stared into Sainte-Cécile's eyes and said earnestly, "Sainte-Cécile, look into my eyes."

Sainte-Cécile instinctively raised her head to look at him. Li Wei saw confusion in her eyes.

Li Wei said, "Our enemies aren't just the Dragon Demon King, but also the gods and demon gods."

"If you become a false god, we'll no longer be their match, and that will only make them happy."

"Someday, we'll achieve godhood through our own abilities and take revenge on those deities who have wronged us."

Sainte-Cécile's eyes gradually cleared, and she burst into tears, throwing herself into Li Wei's arms and sobbing bitterly.

Li Wei held her, gently patting her shoulders.

He had a rough idea of what was happening.

Sainte-Cécile had just accepted too many inherited memories, and the hatred within those memories had influenced her thoughts.

That was why she had become so eager for revenge.

Now, after Li Wei's persuasion and comfort, Sainte-Cécile's emotions had stabilized.

Looking at Sainte-Cécile's back, Li Wei felt a surge of tenderness.

Ultimately, Sainte-Cécile was still just a child.

Even though she had rapidly matured within the Time Secret Realm, used the Minor Time Art to sleep for decades, and grown in strength to the late legendary stage, her age was still that of a child among sacred dragons.

Once Sainte-Cécile's emotions were completely stable, Li Wei asked, "Can you now sense where the last fragment of divine essence is?"

Sainte-Cécile looked up at him in surprise.

She had thought Li Wei wouldn't let her use the pieced-together divine essence and would give up searching for the last fragment.

Li Wei sensed what she was thinking and smiled as he said, "Finding it and using it are two different things. Besides, the Sacred Dragon inheritance and the divine essence fragments should be unrelated, shouldn't they?"

Sainte-Cécile quickly nodded and said, "They're not related. The Sacred Dragon inheritance is the Sacred Dragon inheritance, completely separate from the divine essence fragments."

Li Wei said, "Exactly. Even if we don't use the divine essence fragments, you still need to find the Sacred Dragon inheritance to awaken your bloodline power."

Sainte-Cécile understood.

After sensing for a moment, she said, "I can't sense it here."

Li Wei looked around and said, "Then let's go back first."

Boom!

After Sainte-Cécile took the divine essence fragments, the World Tree began to collapse.

Its final power vanished.

The World Tree withered completely.

The Golden Plains also developed numerous spatial rifts.

Collapsing.

(End of chapter)