Shennong Daojun.

Chapter 572 Mutation Inside the Tower
"Tear~"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The battle raged on the rear battlefield, with countless plant units dying and even more powerful ones being born.

Zhao Xing lay on the soft grassland, absorbing spiritual energy in large gulps.

For hundreds of years, he dared not take a single breath of spiritual energy to replenish himself, for fear of being discovered to be abnormal. He even squeezed almost all the resources in his inner world dry.

Upon reaching the Green Grassland, his divine power was almost depleted, yet some grass seeds continued to sprout from his body—parasites that had been unintentionally planted within him.

“Stealing the general’s token from General Tianji wasn’t the hardest part; the hardest part was actually crossing the battlefield of the overlords.” Zhao Xing muttered to himself, plucking a blade of grass from his arm. “I dare not get rid of these parasites, for fear of disturbing those plant overlords.”

Despite his incredible luck, he still failed to travel through time three times and had to retreat to his original location.

The plant-based troops' blockade was truly all-pervasive; danger lurked everywhere, both in the sky and on the ground. No matter how deep Zhao Xing burrowed underground, he could not exceed the depth of the roots.

"Hiss~" Zhao Xing plucked two more parasitic plants that were absorbing his divine power, which immediately attracted the attention of a god-level soldier on the overlord battlefield.

It resembled an enlarged cactus with human facial features. When Zhao Xing removed the parasitic plant, it immediately emitted a burst of sharp thorns, which swept over like a storm, startling Zhao Xing.

Each spike reached the level of a divine general, and countless black dots split, with the spike storm spreading out like a black hole.

"Da da da~"

Finally, after hitting the boundary marker, it suddenly fell vertically and crashed to the ground.

However, it soon became a cactus territory, where cacti began to take root and sprout.

"Whoo~"

Seeing that he could not cross this area, Zhao Xing breathed a sigh of relief and began to quickly remove the parasites from his body.

The battle for supremacy is not over yet, and he has time to reach the God King Tower.

Two months later, Zhao Xing recovered seventy to eighty percent of his divine power and his injuries were fully healed before he flew toward the God King Tower.

"I wonder if Yuheng's God King Tower has been tested yet." As he got closer, Zhao Xing carefully examined the tall tower.

It has nine layers in total, each covered with a dark green climbing woody vine, which, when observed with a panel, appears to be an unknown native species.

The God King Tower has only one entrance. The entrance door is not hidden by vines. Zhao Xing walked over with the general's token, and the door disappeared, revealing a pure white light curtain.

"Om~"

As Zhao Xing passed through the light curtain, he had a strange feeling. He looked back and was suddenly startled.

Because he discovered that there was a phantom of himself standing at the door, with a ball of light floating around him. One of the balls of light was the World Ring, which contained the White Jade Five Mausoleum Ship, as well as the Heavenly Change Divine Needle, the Heaven-Mending Method Dao-proving artifact, the Time-Space Valley Rain, the Divine Fighting God, the Great Dao Golden Hoop, and many other divine objects.

Immediately afterwards, a second ball of light appeared; it was the time page that the Boundless True God had given him.

The third orb of light consisted of a cinnabar inscription and a golden hairpin.

To Zhao Xing's even greater surprise, the ancestral emperor's tablet also appeared shortly afterward.

Zhao Xing was shocked, but he was completely unable to move.

"Om~"

The next moment, the boundary core within his body involuntarily opened, projecting the world within him.

Hua Li, the Goddess General, was also pulled out and shrunk into a ball of light. She closed her eyes and curled up inside the ball of light, as if she were fast asleep.

Following the Penglai God General's 'essence of divine energy,' the box that Gu Luohe gave himself...

Finally, even the Great Emperor's Primordial Dao Tower appeared, only the Primordial Dao Tower was particularly large, being the largest among the many light clusters.

Zhao Xing watched helplessly as all 'external things' were stripped away, and now he can truly be called the true self-centered Sima Nong.

Therefore, he truly passed through the light curtain and appeared inside the God King Tower.

"There's quite a lot of stuff."

As the light disappeared from sight, Zhao Xing heard a magnetic voice.

Before me was a smooth floor, and in the vast space there was only a single round, golden beam that stretched upwards into the distance.

A young man wearing a straw hat and hemp clothing, with a straw in his mouth, leaned against a pillar with his arms crossed, only his straight nose and rosy lips visible.

Zhao Xing immediately used the panel to observe. Now, his panel observation can even see the name of a god-king like the Moon God Palace Master. However, this person is obviously not a living being, just like the Moon God King, but is formed by some kind of Dao technique.

"Junior Zhao Xing pays respects to God-King Yuheng."

"Kid, you're pretty good. A demigod has so many good things and managed to get all the way here. Let me see your background."

The young man raised his head, revealing his eyes under the brim of his hat. His gaze fell on the golden hairpin on Zhao Xing's head. With a wave of his right hand, the golden hairpin flew into his hand.

He gently stroked the hairpin, and the scene of Zhao Xing and the God King Zhangyue's final conversation immediately appeared on it.

"Wow, they've got quite a background."

"With the protection of a time-based true god who has proven the Dao through Heaven and Earth, and a scholar-god general to safeguard your path, the false ancestral emperor's tablet can only be made by three historical god-kings. I guess... it's the Moon Goddess Palace Master from the Desolate Domain Era?"

"So the Primordial Dao Tower was bestowed upon you by the Crimson Star Emperor. Tsk tsk tsk, and the treasures given by the Ancient Luo River are quite interesting."

Zhao Xing was also somewhat surprised. Upon entering the God King Tower, he was instantly exposed. Even though God King Yu Heng was dead, he still possessed such great abilities, which was truly terrifying.

It should be noted that the Moon God King could not see through the Ancestral Emperor's tablet, nor did he know about the Moon God Palace Master and the Great Emperor, but Yu Heng could.

Distinguishing truth from falsehood, I am the only one worthy of respect; truly a god-king of the authentic self!
"You are the Primordial Chaos Body, yet you would rather carry the Ancestral Emperor's tablet than break through. Do you intend to cultivate all three sects simultaneously?" The young man in plain clothes had already learned from the golden hairpin about the conversation between God King Zhangyue and Zhao Xing, including the process of Zhao Xing creating the Ten Directions Mountain Scripture that he had presented to Zhangyue.

This gold hairpin was originally intended by Zhang Yue to give Yu Heng a general understanding of Zhao Xing.

“Yes, I do have that idea.” Zhao Xing nodded.

“Very good, ambitious.” The young man nodded: “For a demigod to have made it this far is enough to prove your talent. There are still some tests inside the God King Tower, so there’s no need for them.”

"All you need to do is come over and worship this sacred tree, and make a causal oath. All the weapons in your inner world, including the inherited secret techniques, will be yours."

Zhao Xing was taken aback. It was that simple?
However, upon closer reflection, since the God King Zhangyue acknowledged him, it's quite reasonable for the God King Yuheng to take the initiative to pass on his legacy to him after understanding him and seeing that a demigod was able to overcome numerous challenges.

"Thank you very much, Senior Yuheng."

Zhao Xing did as instructed, walked to the straight sacred tree and bowed.

"I wonder if you have any last wishes for me to fulfill?"

He had already made preparations. For example, if the last wish of the God-King Zhangyue was to resurrect Yuheng, then Yuheng's last wish should be to resurrect Zhangyue and help her escape the great destruction of the Silent Realm. Unexpectedly, the young man's words surprised Zhao Xing: "Your causal oath doesn't need to be too complicated, because you have already sworn an oath before Zhangyue. I will only add one more clause: After receiving the inheritance, you must go to the Chaos Era and cultivate in the Cosmic Forest."

The Chaotic Era, the Forest of the Universe?

Zhao Xing frowned. He felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

As a result, he hesitated to take the oath and fell into a state of doubt.

"What?" the young man said calmly, "Don't you know about the Cosmic Forest of the Chaos Era?"

“Senior, I truly do not know where this place is,” Zhao Xing said, bowing.

"In the beginning of the universe, chaos was born." The young man snapped his fingers, and an ellipsoid appeared above his head.

According to the geomancer's theory, it belongs to the Archean Eon period.

"According to the Id school, it is the first era of the primordial stage of the universe."

"It is also the basis for the conjecture of the Tian Shi School's cloud and qi cosmology."

"At this time, the universe was just a prototype, space was only a primitive layer, and the entire universe was filled with a large amount of 'qi'."

"Matter and life have just been conceived."

"It is the earliest time period that can be traced back, and also the end of the river of time."

Zhao Xing's expression changed drastically. The beginning of the universe, the chaotic era, the end of the river of time?
So, can we really see things that only exist in the theory of agriculture, such as polar land, primordial ocean, and polar stars?
"Emperor Luo, Haoqian, Zhuanxu, Yuan, and Mingli—the Five Emperors—all established Dao Domains during the Chaos Era, each with their own schemes. Most were aimed at eliminating the dark source life forms of the Chaos Era," the young man said calmly.

"The Chaos Era contains several secret realms, including the Primordial Polar Continent, the Primordial Qi Sea, the Chaos Boundary Wall, the Dark Origin Realm, the Cosmic Forest, the Ten Directions Mountain, and the Primordial Polar Star."

“A powerful yet turbid spirit gives birth to a life with an inherently destructive nature, which is called a demon god.”

"It also gave rise to some extremely powerful plant life, most of which gathered in the Cosmic Forest."

"As long as you can go to the Cosmic Forest of the Chaos Era, you will naturally be able to fulfill all the agreements, revive Zhang Yue, and help her escape the Great Cataclysm. It will not be difficult."

The young man waved his hand, and balls of light floated out from within the divine tree: "With my help, you will soon be able to achieve your goal of cultivating three schools simultaneously. In addition, with the help of the inherited secret techniques, the treasures of the God King, and those plant soldiers outside, you will have a foothold in the Chaos Era."

Zhao Xing cupped his hands and said, "Senior, please allow me to think about it. I'll go out for a bit first."

"Go out?" The young man lifted the brim of his hat and couldn't help but laugh. "I knew you were no ordinary person; you managed to resist temptation even in this situation."

Zhao Xing slowly stepped back: "Senior Yuheng, I just wanted to think about it and ask my elders at home."

He turned and ran, only to find himself frozen in front of the gate, unable to move.

"Is it difficult for you to agree to this request?" The young man sighed and slowly walked up to Zhao Xing.

“You, you are not the God King Yuheng…” Zhao Xing said with difficulty.

“That’s right, I never said I was Yu Heng.” The young man took off his hat brim, and his whole body exuded a strong black aura. Wisps of golden light rolled in the black aura. Zhao Xing saw clearly that the young man’s true form was actually a piece of wood.

The growth rings in the wood are bluish-black, like a polluted river of time.

"W-who are you?"

The young man remained silent, but controlled Zhao Xing to open his inner world, and then the entire God King Tower began to shake.

No, it's mainly the golden main beam inside the tower that's shaking.

"I, Zhao Xing, the Minister of Agriculture, am willing to inherit the last wish of God King Yuheng and be resurrected..." Zhao Xing began to speak involuntarily, while the golden pillar shook even more violently.

This was not what he wanted, but he was completely out of control and still uttered, "To the Chaos Era, the Forest of the Universe!"

"Look, isn't this great?" The young man smiled happily.

"You are not Yu Heng at all..."

The young man, with his back to Zhao Xing, looked at the moved golden beam, a long-lost joy in his voice:

"Yu Heng risked his life to go to the Cosmic Forest to help Zhang Yue survive the destruction of the Great World of Yan Yi, and Zhang Yue then found someone to revive Yu Heng... Your human emotions are truly interesting."

Boom~
The God King Tower began to tilt, and the golden pillar also tilted and shrank accordingly, one end of it pointing towards Zhao Xing's inner world and slowly extending into it.

Zhao Xing could only watch helplessly as this process unfolded.

"Your true form is this piece of wood?"

Zhao Xing seemed to understand.

"Not bad." The youth's phantom slowly dissipated, turning into a stream of light that clung to the divine tree, though strands of golden lines still bound it.

"In order to help Zhangyue survive the Great Devastation, God King Yuheng tried every possible method back then."

"Ultimately, we set our sights on the cosmic forest of the Chaos Era."

"He came to the depths of the Cosmic Forest and found a divine tree beside the River of Time."

"You humans have named it the World God Tree."

"The Boundary Tree has nine major branches, which are named: Heavenly Stem, Earthly Branch, Boundary Yang, Cosmic Abyss, Divine Sound, Divination, Divine Talisman, Moonlight, and Cave Sea."

"He and eight others cut this newly awakened World God Tree into pieces."

"However, in the end, they only obtained a portion of it. During the cutting process, the mother tree gained a great deal of intelligence and escaped from the hands of these nine demons."

Zhao Xing was incredibly shocked. He never expected that God King Yuheng had such a past. So, the young man who had just spoken to him was one of the nine branches of the World God Mother Tree.
"It seemed that everyone got a share, but in reality, a fierce struggle ensued during the distribution of the spoils."

Four people died.

"Although God King Yuheng survived, he was also seriously injured."

"He planted the branch into his inner world, intending to transplant Zhang Yue's soul into it in order to avoid the destruction of the Great World of Yan Yi."

"Things took an unexpected turn; this branch developed sentience."

"It lay dormant for a long time, constantly consuming the nutrients in the inner world, which prevented this ego-based god-king from ever recovering his strength."

"Following Yu Heng, the spiritual consciousness born from this branch grew rapidly, and soon learned about the vastness of this world, as well as everything that had happened in the past."

"Keep learning and keep waiting for opportunities."

Looking at the divine tree that had already partially entered his body world, Zhao Xing was deeply shocked: "You are one of the nine branches of the World God Tree? You killed God King Yuheng?"

(End of this chapter)