I tried to kill the heroines of destiny, but they ended up chasing after me.

"That's right, I misjudged the power required to go from the Traveling Realm to the Transformation Realm, which gave my dark side an opportunity to take hold."

"So, those two clan leaders..."

"They couldn't withstand the erosion of time and are already dead... As for me, I am an object of faith for Xiyu. If my power weakens, it will directly affect the entire village, ensuring that, apart from those two clan leaders, no one in our clan will ever again reach the Perfected Traveling Realm..."

"Because even if I possess the power of heaven and earth, I cannot condense faith and bestow upon them the power of belief, because as an object of faith, I am no longer complete..."

“You should know something about this. Objects of faith have the ability to transform faith into the power of belief, and this transformed power is actually a kind of human potential, which is what cultivators outside call spiritual power. Once an object of faith loses its complete form, it is equivalent to a village losing its overall strength, so…” As he spoke, the ancient primordial spirit tree looked even more desolate.

"I understand now. No wonder you gave me such a great opportunity. You were gambling too, weren't you?" A glint of light flashed in Huang Quan's eyes, as if he understood everything.

"Indeed, so now... do you still accept my opportunity?" After confirming, the Ancient Divine Tree finally asked again.

But Huang Quan frowned and said, "My time... is limited..."

Huang Quan's words naturally have their reasons.

Firstly, it's because he can't stay here for too long; he won't do things that are promised in vain, nor does he want to.

Secondly, it's because he still has many things to do.

He needs time for all of this, and that's exactly what he needs most right now. So how could he possibly agree to the Ancient Divine Tree's request?

"At most, how long can you protect it?" The Ancient Divine Tree remained silent for a while before asking again.

"If you allow me to leave Xiyu midway, I can stay for two years," Huang Quan replied very seriously, after all, he didn't want to miss this opportunity.

In reality, both sides understood that this was just a transaction.

The Ancient Divine Tree wanted to use the future possibilities of Huang Quan to protect the Xiyu tribe, while Huang Quan wanted to use this place to gain the possibility of advancing to the Transcendent Realm.

"Two years?" The Ancient Primordial Divine Tree fell into deep thought. Two years was but a blink of an eye for it, which had existed for countless years, but...

"Alas. I'm afraid... there's no time left..." The Ancient Divine Tree suddenly sighed, a hint of helplessness in its voice.

Huang Quan frowned but remained silent, knowing that the other party would surely have something to say next.

Sure enough, just a moment later, the Ancient Divine Tree transmitted its message again: "If I'm not mistaken, within a year at most, the Dongchen tribe will attack our Xiyu..."

"Hmm?" Huang Quan was immediately puzzled.

"What happened?" Huang Quan replied softly.

In fact, he had long guessed that the Ancient Divine Tree would definitely hide something, but judging from his reaction, it seemed that he hadn't expected it to be this.

"Alas." The Ancient Divine Tree sighed again and continued, "Dongchen was once the sworn enemy of our Western Yu. The two sides fought for countless years, but our Western Yu always suppressed them... until..."

"Was it only after you lost your integrity and the overall strength of the Xiyu tribe declined that Dongchen began to covet it?" Huang Quan frowned slightly and asked in return.

“That’s right.” The Ancient Divine Tree did not refute, but replied bitterly, “However, even though I lost my complete self, Xiyu still had some resources at that time, and the other two villages in the Spiritless Forest were also watching this matter closely, so although Dongchen was eyeing it covetously, it did not take immediate action…”

"Even so, over the years, Dong Chen has still been preparing a plan to resolve all of this... If I'm not mistaken... they're almost finished planning everything."

"Is that so?" Huang Quan was already quite clever, and after hearing what the Ancient Yuan Divine Tree said, he had already guessed most of the details. However, he felt that things seemed to be getting more complicated.

"Sigh." Huang Quan also sighed softly.

The reason he sighed was because, through the words of the Ancient Divine Tree, he understood that it was now impossible to escape the war between the two races.

Yu Fei had done him a favor. Once the war broke out, the weakened Xiyu tribe would inevitably face an absolute crisis. As a member of the tribe and someone who was chosen to be promoted to the position of young tribal chief, Yu Fei would certainly choose to rush to the front lines and contribute his strength to Xiyu.

Therefore, at that time, Huang Quan certainly wouldn't disregard Yu Fei and go to her death.

Not for any other reason than that there are few people in his life who are good to him, and each and every one of them will surely have a place in his heart. This is his principle in life, and he will stick to it even if the sky falls and the earth cracks.

"It seems... it has planned everything about me these past few days." Huang Quan's expression remained calm, but he thought coldly to himself... He didn't like being schemed against by others.

"I know what you're thinking, but I hope you understand that I'm doing this out of necessity... If my race were still powerful, I naturally wouldn't need to use these calculations..."

"And if you are not satisfied with my approach, I can use this opportunity to advance to the Transcendent Realm in exchange for your protection for one year, and you can leave midway... This is your opportunity, but do you want it?" At this moment, the Ancient Primordial Divine Tree's thoughts suddenly became very calm and natural, as if it were talking about something unrelated to itself, only the last three words, 'Do you want it?' were spoken with a slightly heavy tone.

But these three words lingered in Huang Quan's heart, never fading away.

Where there are opportunities, there are also risks, and Huang Quan understands this.

However, if the opportunities outweigh the risks, then it's not worth it.

But is that the case now?

Huang Quan's mind gradually tightened. Although he was now covered by maple leaves, it was still possible to tell that he was deep in thought.

After a moment, Huang Quan finally spoke.

"I want to know, if you gamble like this... what will you do if you lose?"

Huang Quan asked, and this was his last question.

The Ancient Divine Tree did not immediately answer Huang Quan's question. Instead, its expression turned slightly sorrowful as it gazed into the distance, its eyes seemingly piercing through the ages. It sighed, "There are some things I never think about... because I believe those things will never be a problem..."

"However, fate is like an endless labyrinth. While I was enjoying my present comfort, I also got lost in it, which led to problems that I thought were impossible..."

"You asked me this question, but I don't really know either... Maybe it's because my time is running out, and I can't afford to wait... After all, it's been a long time since someone like you has appeared here who's worth my gamble... So if I don't gamble this time, I don't know if I'll ever have another chance..."

Upon hearing the words of the Ancient Divine Tree, Huang Quan raised an eyebrow, and a sudden realization dawned on him.

Fate is something that cannot be seen or touched... yet it truly exists... Even something as deeply ingrained as faith, which has existed for countless years, cannot ultimately escape the contours of fate.

The glory and splendor of Xiyu in those days are ultimately nothing but an empty dream.

If back then, the Ancient Divine Tree hadn't been so ambitious, focusing instead on stabilizing the tribe and thus not increasing the chieftain's power... perhaps none of this would have happened.

However, it's too late to say anything now, because reality has already happened.

You either avoid it, or you face it. There is no third option.

Of course, if none of this had been discovered, Huang Quan might not have stood here... nor would he have been talking with this ancient primordial spirit tree until now.

At this moment, Huang Quan closed his eyes slightly... Although he felt that something was not quite right... he couldn't quite put his finger on it... so he could only suppress it for the time being.

Because now, he faces an even bigger problem.

Should I seize this opportunity or not?

Huang Quan took a deep breath: "Lucky, unlucky, regretful, unregretful... so many things are still echoing in my mind..."

"But whatever it is, now that I've come this far, I will never allow myself to stop... I've experienced crises before, but if I stop moving forward just because there's a crisis, then I wouldn't be myself..."

Just then, an absolute determination instantly transformed into a strange power, which suddenly appeared almost materially in front of the Ancient Primordial Divine Tree from Huang Quan's body.

This was a fluctuation, a fluctuation of power. As soon as this fluctuation appeared, it directly shook away the maple leaves surrounding him.

"This is... the power of belief?" The ancient divine tree's large eye revealed a rare look of shock, but behind this shock, there was also a hint of joy.

Suddenly, Huang Quan's resolute voice reached the Ancient Primordial Divine Tree.

"I'll take this opportunity."

Chapter 187 Reaching the Pinnacle

Upon hearing this, the Ancient Divine Tree's joy intensified.

The stronger Huang Quan's belief, the smaller the chance of him losing his gamble. And the fact that Huang Quan so firmly said that he wanted it proves that his choice was correct.

How could he not be pleased?

Without hesitation, the moment Huang Quan uttered those words, the Ancient Primordial Divine Tree began its proper action. All the leaves on its trunk began to vibrate with a distinct frequency.

With each tremor, an ancient and profound aura slowly rises from the maple leaves. These auras are quite peculiar; one can clearly sense the fluctuations of dark power emanating from them…

The instant they all appeared, as if drawn by some force, they swiftly combined into a vast, dark imprint that seemed capable of transcending time and space.

The moment this dark mark emerged from the dark space, the entire dark space seemed to tremble violently from the depths of its soul... just like the relationship between ruler and subject... the rule that the ruler is always above the subject, and the subject must obey.

Darkness itself has no soul, yet this mark vividly evokes that feeling in people.

And this... is the power of heaven and earth that the Ancient Primordial Divine Tree has accumulated over countless years, the darkness of the void.

Although Huang Quan didn't quite understand the changes in the power of the void, it didn't mean that the Ancient Primordial Divine Tree was unaware of them.

In terms of power, the Ancient Primordial Divine Tree at its peak could be considered to be above the late stage of the Transformation Realm. Even in its current weakened state, it still possesses the strength of the early stage of the Transformation Realm.

However, he could not fully utilize this power; he could only barely guide it. This was naturally related to his incompleteness and the fact that it was merely a matter of faith.

The Ancient Primordial Divine Tree was originally an object born from nothingness. Over countless years, it has deeply experienced the process of going from nothingness to reality. Presumably, it is because of this that it was able to comprehend the power of darkness.

It wasn't just him; other tribes with objects of faith were the same, because this ability was bestowed upon them by the heavens and earth of the True Profound Continent, so for them, this ability was more like an instinct.

On the contrary, cultivators are different. They do not have this instinct and can only rely on the years to comprehend and understand the power of heaven and earth, and gradually transform it into their own power.

But if they succeed, they will stand at one of the pinnacles of the True Profound Continent.

At this moment, Huang Quan gazed at the enormous black mark, his mind clear. He needed to remain calm; only in this way could he comprehend the power of the Ancient Primordial Divine Tree.

"coming."

The Ancient Divine Tree gave a soft shout, and the mark immediately, like a wild horse unleashed, rushed towards the Yellow Springs with absolute momentum.

Moreover, in that instant, it seemed as if it stirred up this eternal darkness.

Suddenly, Huang Quan's expression sharpened. The closer the mark got to him, the more he could feel the strange power on it.

He was perfectly clear in his mind, but his brain was blank.

It felt just like the maple leaves had enveloped him earlier, only this time it was much stronger.

"So that's it, that maple leaf is his life force..."

At this moment, Huang Quan looked at the rapidly approaching mark and understood why the Ancient Yuan Divine Tree had previously wrapped him in its maple leaves.

Experiencing the power of heaven and earth is not something that ordinary people can do... He must have something that resonates with it.

Simply put, if Huang Quan were to accept the power of heaven and earth from the Ancient Primordial Divine Tree, it would forcibly alter his original understanding to a large extent, causing him to lose his way and ultimately die.

After all, this power of heaven and earth does not belong to Huang Quan, and it will definitely repel Huang Quan's own perceptions.

Moreover, Huang Quan's own power is weak, so how could he possibly withstand the power of heaven and earth formed by the ancient primordial spirit tree over countless years?

That is why the Ancient Divine Tree used its life force to help Huang Quan undergo a transition.

Therefore, it can be seen from this that the Ancient Primordial Divine Tree had intended to let Huang Quan experience its power of heaven and earth from the very beginning, but this was only one aspect.

Another important reason is that from this moment, from this breath, the third stage of the Ancient Primordial Divine Tree is truly opened, which is also the final approval process of Xiyu.

Just now, no matter what the conversation between Huang Quan and the Ancient Primordial Divine Tree was like, no matter what agreement they made, if Huang Quan ultimately fails to stand out from his maple leaves, then the Ancient Primordial Divine Tree will naturally not gamble on anything afterward, because there is no need for it.

At that moment, just as the mark was about to reach Huang Quan, it suddenly shrank as if governed by some rule, eventually becoming only the size of a fingertip, and before Huang Quan could react, it was swiftly imprinted on Huang Quan's forehead.