I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

Mia tried asking him more questions about Dean and Evan, but Ian remained silent and showed no intention of speaking again.

Mia had no other choice but to give up.

Ji Tian then steered the conversation in another direction.

"When and how did you travel through time?"

"Time travel? What does that word mean?"

"How did you get from this world to the other side?"

Ian had clearly anticipated this question and explained:

"About twenty years ago. At that time, I was still the eldest prince of this kingdom. During a hunting trip, I inexplicably traveled to another time. I can't explain why, but I vaguely remember chasing a deer into the depths of the forest. A thick fog rose up in the forest, and when the fog cleared, I was no longer here."

Ji Tian's heart stirred slightly.

Twenty years, roughly the same amount of time it took me to arrive in the Western fantasy world.

It's likely that something unexpected happened in the Western fantasy world at that time, causing the existing spatial passage to temporarily reopen and sending these "extraterrestrial demons" over.

"And then? How did you know that door would bring you back?"

"Because I spent twenty years there, always looking for a way back, until I accidentally accepted an S-rank quest from the Adventurers' Guild about the Northern Flower Sea Mountains. The quest was to investigate a door that was said to lead to the past."

After accepting the mission, while researching, I discovered that the location of the door in the Flower Sea Mountains coincided with the place where I had traversed the area years ago. At that moment, I knew it was the way home.

Of course, Ian lied here. In fact, he had known about the existence of this door for a long time, and he was the one who issued the mission. His purpose was to bring out Evan, the Alchemist who had been holding an important position in the Adventurers' Guild.

However, after the Adventurers' Association assessed the task, they determined that at least five S-rank adventurers were needed to complete it, which led to the formation of a team.

Ji Tian didn't press him about his past experiences, but instead asked another question:

"What exactly is this battle qi in this world?"

When interrogating the legion commander, Ji Tian had learned a little about battle qi, but he had never seen him use it in battle. He guessed that the commander's understanding of battle qi was not deep enough, so he didn't ask any more questions.

This S-rank adventurer, known as the "Demon Swordsman," is clearly different. Judging from his name, he is skilled in close combat and must also be a master of martial arts.

Ian was indeed a master of martial arts, and after a moment's thought, he concluded:

"Battle aura is essentially a way to guide magical energy to attack through one's own will and martial skills. It is the only means in this world that can harm fairies who have been transformed into magical energy, but in terms of the maturity of the system, it is far inferior to the magic system over there."

"So it has a natural restraining effect on fairies?"

"You can understand it this way: fairies can use magic to evade physical attacks, but magic guided by battle aura can interfere with their structure, making it impossible for them to maintain their magic form."

The strength and skill of using battle qi determine the effectiveness of interference; therefore, in this world, battle qi cultivators have always held a high status.

"I see."

Ji Tian suddenly realized something and was about to ask another question when he suddenly felt that the world had changed.

The afternoon sunlight was streaming in through the window, casting a warm glow on the table, but now that warm light was being rapidly replaced by an eerie scarlet.

Could it be that something has revived?

Lilith, who had been crouching by the table observing the bound bat fairy, suddenly looked up and gazed out the window:

"Why has the sky turned red?"

Ji Tian stood up and walked to the window.

The entire sky turned blood red, and the magic energy became restless almost simultaneously.

Everyone present could feel the magical energy in the air, which had been flowing smoothly, accelerating, churning, and colliding with each other, becoming extremely unstable.

The bat fairy, which had been quietly huddled on the table, suddenly began to struggle violently, flapping its wings wildly and emitting a sharp screech.

Its body writhed desperately toward the south, continuing even when bound by ropes, as if something in that direction was drawing it in.

Ji Tian looked at Ian and saw that he also had a furrowed brow, clearly surprised by the scene.

Ian walked to the window with a look of surprise, gazing at the southern horizon, and then spoke in a somewhat uncertain tone:

"That direction... seems to be towards the old site of the World Tree. What on earth did Evan do?"

……

Earlier, in the Western Regions, at the ruins of the World Tree.

Hundreds of strong men wielded shovels, peeling away layers of land that had been covered in vines and moss for who knows how many years.

The sounds of shovels striking rubble, the dull thud of wooden baskets being emptied of soil, and the urging shouts of the overseers mingled together in a chaotic cacophony above the ruins.

"I just don't understand, what's the use of digging up such a dead tree root? Can it be refined into gold?"

A man covered in dust straightened up, propped his shovel on the ground, and wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve.

His companion also stopped and glanced at the incredibly thick tree trunk at the bottom of the pit:

"Who knows? That bespectacled adult said it's 'important research,' so we'll just do it. As long as the pay is good and the work is done, let's not overthink it."

"Didn't we agree there was no rush? Why are you urging us now? Don't you understand the principle that slow and steady wins the race?"

"Shh, that lord is someone who can speak with the eldest prince. If you say another word, you'll lose your head."

The man pursed his lips, said nothing more, and picked up the shovel again.

A short while later, a startled cry suddenly rang in my ears:

"Look what I dug up!"

A young worker's cry of alarm came from the depths of the pit. Hearing the sound, everyone put down their tools and gathered in that direction.

At the deepest part of the pit, the soil was carefully removed, revealing an outline the size of a millstone.

Its surface is covered with a hard shell like amber, beneath which fine golden patterns are faintly visible, like the blood vessels of some ancient creature, slowly pulsating.

"What...what is this? A snake egg?"

"It looks like a seed to me."

The foreman seemed to realize something, and his expression changed drastically:

"Don't touch it! I'll go get that person!"

But it was too late.

The enormous seed began to tremble before their eyes, and hair-thin cracks quietly spread from the tip of the seed, quickly covering its entire surface.

"boom!"

A deep, muffled heartbeat, as if from the depths of the earth, suddenly exploded in everyone's chest.

The seed's hard shell shattered with a deafening roar, and emerald green light burst forth from the cracks, enveloping everyone around it.

In an instant, countless roots, as fine as spider silk, burst open from the bottom of the seed, piercing the surrounding soil like a torrential rain, and even reaching the feet of the workers who hadn't had time to retreat.

"Varied--!"

The first person entangled by the roots only managed to utter half a syllable before his body began to wither away at a visible speed.

His skin sagged, wrinkles spread from the corners of his eyes to the corners of his mouth, his hair turned white and fell out strand by strand, his back hunched, his fingers curled up. In just ten breaths, a strong middle-aged man turned into a withered old man and collapsed to the ground.

"Run! Run!"

The crowd finally reacted, panicking and dropping their tools as they turned to run. But the emerald green roots were faster than them, spreading along the ground, wrapping around the ankles of the fleeing people, pulling them down, and dragging them back.

In a short while, hundreds of able-bodied men lay sprawled on the ruins, all in a state of near-death.

In the center of the ruins, a giant new tree, its branches and leaves fully green and spreading out, is rising from the ground at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Its branches reach towards the sky, its roots penetrate deep into the earth, and each stretch is accompanied by a deep heartbeat, growing louder and faster, as if the whole world is resonating with it.

A crimson light shot straight up from the treetops to the sky and then spread outwards, its ripples spreading over hills, rivers, forests, and towns, staining the sky an eerie scarlet.