I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 307 - 179: Past Life - World Tree_2

Chapter 307: Chapter 179: Past Life - World Tree_2

"It’s time to go," thought Gu Shanhai. The Earth Vein Outer Pill was about to give out, and of course, he was nearly at his limit too.

A mere second was not just the extreme for the Earth Vein Outer Pill, it was the extreme for Gu Shanhai as well.

After notifying the "First Epoch," Gu Shanhai simply vanished from this world, the phantom of the World Tree gradually dimmed down, and eventually disappeared without a trace.

The terrifying presence that had loomed over the entire world also dissipated like melting snow, relieving all the inhabitants of the world.

But at the same time, the once-calm world began to ripple with disturbances.

"Damn, I was so close to kicking the bucket. That was much more intense than burning life force in an extreme state."

The returned Gu Shanhai was now nothing but skin and bones. Although the energy to sustain the power of his previous life’s World Tree came from the Earth Vein Outer Pill, sustaining his True Spirit was done with his life force. Normally, there was no consumption, but once the True Spirit had to act, it would certainly lead to a higher expenditure.

Now the Earth Vein Outer Pill was full of cracks, and the energy contained within was meager. It was pretty much as good as wasted.

Gu Shanhai put it away, planning to find an opportunity to turn this outer pill into a bomb. The mana left inside was about as useful as ribs to a chicken, insufficient to even sustain his extreme state.

Although it seemed wasteful, being able to use it as a solution to a problem felt worthwhile to Gu Shanhai.

From the moment the kill tribulation appeared, Gu Shanhai realized that the world was far more terrifying than he had seen. His life was burdened with too much karma; if he were to enter it again, it would undoubtedly be difficult.

With the karma he carried at that time, whether he could leave was not up to him to decide.

Now that the karma had been dissolved, he had also picked up a piece of karma crystal which he had no idea how to utilize. It wouldn’t be too late to research it later.

"Stone Sand of Destiny, the cursed Sword of the King, and now this newly acquired karma crystal in hand. There’s just too many valuable yet untapped items."

After storing the karma crystal properly, Gu Shanhai began to continue healing his injuries and attending to his physical condition.

"The power of my past life has significantly dwindled, and I’m left with brute strength—brute strength propped up by energy. It’s enough to bamboozle the weak, but it’s a bit risky to face those true powerhouses."

He had also come to understand the situation with the Previous Life Biluo summoning the past life; it was akin to pouring water into a mold.

If Gu Shanhai had brought back a complete past life True Spirit, then this phantom would surely have burst the entire world apart. Of course, if he had brought a complete True Spirit back, he would have been the first to burst into a gory mess upon rebirth.

"But true powerhouses aren’t that easy to encounter." The ’powerhouses’ Gu Shanhai referred to were not the strongest of a single world, but those who were at the same level as the World Tree in his past life. These were the true powerhouses. People like Dugu Tiansheng didn’t even qualify; they couldn’t even pass for minor lackeys.

Even the kill tribulation that Gu Shanhai faced was, at best, merely a minor lackey during his past life, and that was a stretch.

So, there was no need to worry about encountering these powerhouses for now.

"I need at least three days of rest. Multiple organ failure here... the flesh needs to regenerate, at least some organs are still operational," said Gu Shanhai, as he swallowed a large number of healing pills.

His injuries this time were much lighter than when he had fought to the death with Dugu Tiansheng. Back then, his strength was insufficient; he had shattered many bodily organs and had killed off ninety percent of his Spirit Plants. Both flesh and Spirit Plant regeneration required time.

But this time, it was more a matter of overexertion. With the pills ingested, a great deal of nourishment was absorbed, and his previously emaciated frame started to fill out.

The Spirit Plants lying dormant within his body also began to awaken.

"Phew~ Not bad, lucky to have the Earth Vein Outer Pill with the Qi Refining Fifth Level efficiency of absorption is indeed fast."

Poison from medicines was the least of his worries. With Gu Shanhai’s level of alchemy and physical condition, none of these substances were an issue—they were all absorbed as nutrients. Moreover, with so many spirit plants within his body, even if he couldn’t absorb them, the spirit plants could act as purification stations and directly expel them.

Although Gu Shanhai had seemingly recovered on the surface, his vitality was still in deficit and needed to be slowly replenished, or else he wouldn’t have had to recuperate for three days.

He didn’t need to worry about the following matters; merely consuming more medicinal pills as nutritional supplements would be sufficient.

For the moment, except for the extreme state and the "Previous Life · World Tree" state which he couldn’t use, everything else had returned. At least he had some assurance in his combat abilities.

...

"Wang Tai, there’s an order!"

The former Sect Leader of the Xuanwei Sect, who was now enjoying his pleasures, frowned upon hearing this.

Since he had fooled a simpleton into taking on the karma of the Xuanwei Sect two months ago, he had joined the imperial court and become a local guardian.

Though his status had slightly decreased, his quality of life was much better than before.

At first, he held firm to the belief that he would rather starve to death or jump off a mountain than join the imperial court.

But after two months of starvation, he decisively switched allegiances and declared it was incredibly satisfying.

Especially after severing the karma with the Xuanwei Sect, he experienced a euphoria never felt before—no need to worry about the sect affairs or fear of schemes.

Once he gradually gained prestige within the court and secured enough power, he could gather the Xuanwei Sect disciples who had joined the court, return to the sect, and let that simpleton act as a puppet Sect Leader. He not only attained power without the obligations—it was delightful.

There were many sects with the same idea as he had, but the court had seen through them, so it dispersed them all. Wang Tai snorted at this, insisting that as long as the karma remained, they would always be Xuanwei disciples, even if they had left the sect.

Therefore, he dealt with the court’s missions in a perfunctory manner while further networking with various factions to form his own clique within the court.

But now this order had come, rendering his efforts over the past two months futile.

"An order? What kind?" he asked the messenger with a flickering gaze, wondering if he could continue his duplicity.

"Don’t you know?" The messenger looked at him in surprise.

"What happened?" Wang Tai asked in a deep voice.

"Your Xuanwei Sect yesterday..." The informant began to relay the events.

"What? The origin of that terrifying giant tree was at my Xuanwei Mountain, and with the collapse of Xuanwei Mountain, the Earth Vein ceased to exist? Impossible!!!" Wang Tai was visibly shaken, rage welling up inside him, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Nothing is impossible. This is the investigation information from yesterday, so this time, they want you to cooperate with the investigation," said the messenger with a hint of mockery. Of course, he was aware of Wang Tai’s previous contempt and disdain. If Wang Tai had still been a powerful guardian, he wouldn’t have dared to speak like this.

Now that the Xuanwei Sect had completely fallen, and he had lost his position, it wasn’t even certain whether he could be reassigned instead of being demoted in a veiled manner to a swineherd, let alone remaining a guardian. Perhaps he might catch a cold and die from it inadvertently.

The court didn’t value Wang Tai for his strength. With all his magical treasures, any younger and stronger person could surpass him. However, Wang Tai’s unique identity and the need to appease the masses were the reasons he was parachuted in as a guardian, after all, he was a former grand sect leader who had surrendered, and giving him a minor position would be unsettling.

"I... I want to see..." Wang Tai managed to say, struggling and trembling. He was quite old and, having been hit hard, naturally seemed not to be able to bear it.

"Sorry, Guardian Wang, you cannot see anyone. This matter involves secrets. Once it leaks, all the former Xuanwei Sect disciples and elders will be implicated," said the other with a matter-of-fact tone.

Upon hearing this, Wang Tai understood something—that he had been abandoned. It wasn’t that he hadn’t performed well enough, but rather that his value wasn’t great enough. What value could compare to that world-shaking giant tree?