Chapter 539: Sacred Wood Abyss, Humans Initiate Light

Chapter 539: Divine Wood Deep Abyss, Humanity Ignites Light

Chaos.

Clarity.

"You're awake?"

A slightly cold voice came, and Qi Yuan's consciousness gradually cleared.

He opened his eyes, wanting to see the world.

But what met his eyes was not the world, nor void or nothingness, but a patch of black and red.

"How long was I unconscious?"

Just awakened, Qi Yuan's mind was still hazy.

"Two months."

"That long?" Qi Yuan was somewhat surprised.

Indeed, he was not suited for meetups.

This time, the others had no problems, but he did.

"I saved you, used my blood, and... you broke my swing." The blind maiden said.

"Thank you!" Qi Yuan expressed his gratitude sincerely.

If he weren't still playing the role of the blind artificer, he would have definitely said something.

"Much obliged, I'll save you a spot in the underworld."

But for now, he had to be aloof.

"You have to compensate me." The blind maiden's voice was devoid of any emotion.

"Compensation!" Qi Yuan replied.

"Do you know artifact forging?"

"Yes."

"Pity you're blind."

"Though my eyes are blind, my heart is not. I am already a Heaven-grade artificer. Don't discriminate against the blind."

"I am also blind."

"Ah?" Qi Yuan looked toward the blind maiden.

What he saw was a blur, nothing at all.

However, from her voice, he could tell the blind maiden was likely very young.

He fell silent.

In the surrounding environment, he could only hear the blind maiden's soft breathing and the sound of wind blowing leaves.

"Is this the Divine Wood Abyss?" Qi Yuan asked.

He was curious—wasn't the Divine Wood Abyss only accessible by gathering three Divine Wood Tokens?

Why had he fallen directly in?

"Sort of."

"Hmm?"

"This is the Divine Wood Deep Abyss, only those favored by heaven's mandate may enter."

"Heaven's Mandate bearer?"

Qi Yuan's mind raced with many thoughts.

It seemed this blind maiden was also a major exposition NPC.

But none of that mattered; his priority was to play the blind artificer, become a Divine-grade artificer, and even stronger.

"Since this is the Divine Wood Deep Abyss, are there divine trees? Can I take some divine wood materials for forging?" Qi Yuan asked.

The Divine Wood Abyss had divine trees.

The Divine Wood Deep Abyss had one more character, so it should be even more formidable.

It was normal to have some divine-grade materials, right?

"...There are." The blind maiden said after a long silence. "When you need them, I can give them to you."

Qi Yuan's eyes lit up.

Well, that was just a figure of speech.

He was blind.

"You're oddly kind."

"You're rather naive."

"That sounds like an insult."

"These things aren't free..." The blind maiden paused, then turned to look at Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan said nothing, waiting for her to continue.

Free things were the most expensive.

She wanted something in return, and Qi Yuan was more willing to accept that.

"I hope you can become a Divine-grade artificer, even an Ancestral Divine-grade artificer." The blind maiden said. "When you become an Ancestral Divine-grade artificer, I hope... you can forge a pair of eyes for me."

The blind maiden's voice was somewhat desolate.

She seemed lost in memory.

"Indeed... not having eyes greatly affects life. Look at me now, blind, unable to see anything—otherwise I would know your name."

Blindness had a great impact on people.

Even though Qi Yuan possessed divine-level strength in the outside world.

"I am used to this life." The blind maiden seemed to reply. "Since birth, the world has been a void, without sound, without color..."

"Then why do you want me to forge you a pair of eyes?"

"Because... once I have eyes, he won't give me his."

"Ah?" Qi Yuan's gossipy heart stirred. "Who is he? Your father?"

The originally cold and aloof blind maiden seemed to become shy at Qi Yuan's words, her icy voice tinged with a blush.

"He is my future husband."

"An enviable love. Thumbs up."

If he were on Blue Star, Qi Yuan would have mocked him as a lovesick fool, but this was a game world, so he had to speak of deep affection.

Even playing the blind artificer, he had to give a thumbs up.

"To become a divine artifact master of the Ancestral God level... is no easy task," said the blind girl.

It was entirely possible that all she had sacrificed would come to nothing.

"My talent is formidable."

"Among the artifact masters I have seen, your talent is indeed among the foremost, but... you are blind."

An artifact master's forging involves intricate steps.

Distinguishing materials, sensing the flame, tempering the materials—all require the eyes to function.

A flame too strong or too weak by a hair's breadth makes a great difference.

A slight error leads to a vast divergence.

"You have seen other artifact masters? That makes sense—anyone blessed by fate can enter here... and many such fated ones must have seen you."

"The last artifact master to enter was named Sheng Nu. Her talent surpassed yours."

"Sheng Nu?" Qi Yuan was stunned.

He never expected to hear the creator of Shen Lin from another's lips.

Had Sheng Nu once fallen into the Sunset Cliff and entered the depths of the Divine Tree Abyss?

"I taught her quite a bit of forging technique," the blind girl said proudly, with a hint of boastfulness.

"You know forging techniques?" Qi Yuan now desperately wished for three days of sight to see just who this blind girl truly was.

"I do not," the blind girl shook her head. "But I possess several forging methods. Back then, Sheng Nu chose one from among them."

As she spoke, she crept softly toward Qi Yuan.

Before she reached him, Qi Yuan caught a faint, pleasant fragrance, like the scent of unknown petals.

She sat down on the cold stone, and a few wooden tablets slipped from her sleeves.

"Here are eight wooden tablets, each inscribed with a forging method.

I give you one night to choose the path you wish to cultivate."

Qi Yuan leaned back against the cold stone, his fingers touching the slightly warm tablets.

"Can I learn them all?" he asked, ever greedy.

"If you can master them, it is up to you," the blind girl said, then crept away again.

Perhaps unfamiliar with the surroundings, she stumbled as she walked.

After about ten meters, her clear voice came: "Turn into the cave entrance on the right, then walk seven hundred meters—that is my dwelling. Do not disturb me unless necessary. If you need materials, throw a stone into the cave; I will hear the sound and bring them to you."

With that, she turned right and entered the pitch-black, lightless cave.

In this dim cavern, only Qi Yuan remained.

Apart from the faint sound of flowing water, the rustle of falling leaves, and the receding footsteps of the blind girl, the silence was oppressive.

"Alas, I cannot activate the Divine Tree Token in the Divine Tree Abyss, or I would tell them—this meeting will have to be postponed."

Qi Yuan muttered to himself, then placed his hands on the wooden tablets, feeling them carefully.

His eyes could not see, but his hands traced the characters inscribed on them.

"Metal Method."

"Wood Method."

"Water Method."

"Fire Method."

"Earth Method."

"Cloud Method."

"Thunder Method."

"Rain Method."

Eight forging techniques, quite orderly—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Cloud, Thunder, Rain.

Each technique was profound, yet with scant description.

For instance, the Metal Method had only thirty-six characters, describing the sharpness of metal.

"When wood is strong, it ages; when metal is strong, it is destroyed..."

As for the rest, nothing was explained.

"So, these forging techniques... are actually a general outline, to be supplemented later—truly exquisite."

Qi Yuan cultivated using the Five Elements to refine his Qi, and he had a deep understanding of Metal.

Yet the Metal Method's description of metal still taught him something new.

"A pity I am blind; otherwise, my eyes could slowly supplement the rest, unlike now," Qi Yuan lamented.

Since he was blind, he would have to rely on himself.

...

The Divine Tree Abyss.

The divine tree towered, vanishing into the clouds.

It seemed to be at the horizon, yet whenever one tried to approach, it proved illusory—a mere mirage.

Shen Lingxuan soaked her entire body in the hot spring, her black dress drenched, clinging to her curvaceous figure. Her long legs were pressed together, skin white as jade.

The insect girl Caidie fluttered her wings and landed, looking at Shen Lingxuan with a smile in her eyes: "Your cultivation progress over these two months has been swift. In perhaps less than two hundred years, we will no longer need to hide in the Divine Tree Abyss."

Shen Lingxuan opened her eyes; her face was still veiled, hiding her peerless beauty.

"How is the situation beyond the heavens?" Shen Lingxuan asked.

She had always been curious about the world beyond.

At this, Caidie's expression fell: "I have received no messages from beyond the heavens for three hundred years. The last message I received was... Hei Tu invading the Void Sea."

Between universes lies a place that cannot be spoken of, known as the Void Sea.

The collision and convergence of two universes is called the Void Sea.

The Void Sea is deep and chaotic; even Ancestral Gods find it difficult to survive or walk there.

Only those at the Realm Lord level—the third layer of Yang God—can traverse the Void Sea.

Other lower-level cultivators can only walk the Void Sea with the aid of Realm Lord-level treasures.

"Hei Tian transformed into Hei Tu, with billions of soldiers and seventeen black sails, intending to invade this nascent universe from the Void Sea.

These seventeen black sails are all Realm Lord-level wonders.

As for our Divine Tree Universe, we have only one half-finished Realm Lord wonder."

At this, Caidie's heart ached.

"Ancestral God Yuan Dan went alone, carrying the only half-finished Realm Lord wonder, Green Cloud, to the Void Sea to block Hei Tu.

Green Cloud had just been forged and was not yet fully formed—it could hardly be considered a true Realm Lord wonder."

But... the Void Sea Guardians brought all kinds of ancient divine artifacts and ancestral relics onto Green Cloud, arming it to fight against Black Earth.

A half-finished realm lord artifact against over a dozen realm lord artifacts.

Moreover, Black Earth's realm lord artifacts were all fully formed and abundantly equipped.

And what was on Green Cloud? Ancient divine artifacts and ancestral relics!

This was like loading howitzers and cannons onto an aircraft carrier to go head-to-head with a real carrier—how could it possibly win?

Shen Lingxuan grew anxious: "What was the outcome?"

The insect woman, Colorful Butterfly, shook her head: "I don't know."

That was the last news she had received.

Ancestral God Yuan had taken Green Cloud, along with a host of divine artifacts and ancestral relics, to the Void Sea for a meeting, to block Black Earth, which had transformed from Black Heaven.

"The Azure Mountain Realm lies in the Chaotic Star Domain—this region... the Radiant Assembly holds great power; we cannot stay long," warned the insect woman, Colorful Butterfly.

Shen Lingxuan nodded.

"The Chosen Ones are the hope of all worlds. As long as you live, you can embody the will of the worlds.

Gather all the Chosen Ones, and we can... ignite the light, forge the light, and dispel the Black Heaven," said Colorful Butterfly, her expression grave.

Her eyes held hope, yet deep within lurked a trace of despair.

Gathering all the Chosen Ones to forge the light was the only way to break the deadlock.

But the light was hard to forge.

This embryonic universe had no realm lord-level experts—how could it create realm lord artifacts?

Thus, the term "Light Treasure" emerged, a kind of alternative Light Treasure.

Green Cloud was half a Light Treasure.

What made Colorful Butterfly feel most despairing was this:

The plan to use a Light Treasure against Black Heaven was proposed by the Celestial race, who had fled to this embryonic universe.

The Light Treasure was an alternative realm lord artifact, created specifically to counter the Black Heaven and Black Earth race.

Yet even the Celestials had failed.

More importantly, even if a true Light Treasure were forged, could it really stand against Black Heaven and Black Earth?

Black Heaven and Black Earth alone had thirty-two realm lord artifacts on the surface.

"If we could cooperate with the Radiant Assembly, perhaps we wouldn't be so hard-pressed," said Shen Lingxuan, her voice cold.

They were not the only ones forging a Light Treasure; the Radiant Assembly was also forging one.

Three hundred thousand artificers in the Ten Thousand Mountains and Hidden Peaks lay concealed among the mountains, living in obscurity, all to forge fragments of the Light Treasure.

"Impossible!" Colorful Butterfly rejected the idea. "Free things are the most expensive. The Radiant Assembly keeps hunting the Chosen Ones—aren't they afraid we'll forge the Human-Initiated Light?

Rather than a God-Initiated Light, we of the Divine Wood choose... the Human-Initiated Light!"

Colorful Butterfly's voice was resolute.

With the Human-Initiated Light, the power of control lay in their own hands.

Worshipping gods, believing in gods, hoping for gods to cast their gaze down and pity this universe, thereby creating a Light Treasure—that was something she did not wish to see.

The people of the Divine Wood Universe did not worship gods, nor did they kneel to them.

They chose the Human-Initiated Light!

"The only ally we can court is the Void Paradise. As for the Radiant Assembly... they are wolves with wild ambitions," said Colorful Butterfly, deeply repulsed by the Radiant Assembly.

Within the Divine Wood Universe, there were two voices on how to deal with Black Heaven and Black Earth.

One voice, like that of the Radiant Assembly, advocated for a God-Initiated Light; the other voice was for the Human-Initiated Light.

"Black Heaven is an unconscious cosmic wonder, while Black Earth consists of conscious soldiers. Black Heaven uses eerie spirits to cast coordinates into the universe, then invades through Black Earth.

Even the Void Paradise and the Zhou Universe behind it are unwilling to provoke them. To seek their help would likely be wishful thinking," said Colorful Butterfly, who knew much.

Shen Lingxuan fell silent.

The world was bleak and hopeless.

Black Heaven had no consciousness; it devoured this embryonic universe purely by instinct.

If blame was to be placed, it was on the weakness of the Divine Wood Universe.

Weakness was the original sin.

"By the way, in this recent war of the Raksha Kingdom, Divine Proximity won."

"What?" Shen Lingxuan's beautiful eyes flickered with surprise.

"According to the news I received, that young master who shares your husband's surname is the incarnation of Divine Proximity. I never imagined... that It had taken human form.

If I remember correctly, It also bears the destiny of a Chosen One.

If only we could get It to join us and leave the Azure Mountain Realm together.

If It stays here, the Radiant Assembly will not spare It," said Colorful Butterfly.

Every Chosen One was a teammate worth recruiting.

"Unfortunately, we barely managed to hide in the Divine Wood Abyss and cannot leave again. If the people of the Radiant Assembly sense your presence, they will surely strike to kill," said Colorful Butterfly.

Her eyes also held worry.

In truth, hiding in the Divine Wood Abyss was not safe either. Perhaps... if they could find a strange entrance and enter that special time-space, only then would the Divine Wood Abyss be truly safe for a while.

(The End)