Chapter 1092, Success and Failure

Translator: Silavin

 

At the mist-wreathed summit, somewhere upon the Tree of Life.

 

An Elder sat cross-legged, still as a monk lost in meditation.

 

Around him, an array of peculiar blossoms carpeted the ground. There was something uncanny about them, for though their green leaves unfurled in full flourish, not a single flower had opened its petals.

 

With each breath the Elder drew, the flowers and grasses around him swayed in a soft, rhythmic motion, as though a unique field of vitality had taken shape around him, strange beyond any reason.

 

Then, in a single instant, the Elder’s body gave a violent shudder, and his tightly shut eyes snapped open.

 

Only when those eyes opened did one truly notice them: a pair of pupils that resembled twin orbs embodying the Sun and Moon themselves. In the same breath, an intangible pressure, enough to make any heart tremble with dread, surged outward in all directions.

 

Under the weight of that pressure, even Heaven and Earth seemed to quake.

 

Had anyone witnessed this scene, awe would have completely seized them.

 

This Elder was, without question, a Supreme Expert. The vast, crashing waves of power emanating from his body surpassed even the Elf Queen herself.

 

“The Human Race…”

 

His gaze seemed to pierce through the boundless mist, fixing upon some distant point. A hoarse and cryptic voice drifted slowly from his lips.

 

…

 

At that moment, hundreds of Elf Elders and Deacons followed the Jade Elder down to the base of the Tree of Life.

 

The assembled Elves had been filled with confusion, but when they arrived and saw the Royal Family members of the Elf Race standing beneath the Tree of Life with grave, solemn expressions, unease quickly took hold in their own hearts as well.

 

What had happened? What could possibly have alarmed so many members of the Elf Royal Family?

 

Could it be that something had truly gone wrong with the Tree of Life?

 

One by one, their eyes turned toward the Tree of Life before them. The surging, almost visibly dense waves of Power of Life continued to gush forth from it in torrents, so thick they could be perceived with the naked eye.

 

“Jade Elder, what has happened? Why has the Ancestral Tree come to look like this?”

 

Under ordinary circumstances, this kind of Power of Life would have been a tremendous boon for the Elf Race. Yet in this moment, not a single Elf could find joy in it. Every High Ranking Elder looked toward the Jade Elder with eyes full of worry.

 

“All of you, be ready. If the need arises, hold nothing back, and lend me your strength!”

 

The Jade Elder’s expression was stern and grave as he spoke those words with weight.

 

Seeing him so serious, the unease deepening in the hearts of the Elves grew more intense. The scattered murmurs of confusion fell silent all at once, and the atmosphere grew taut as a bowstring.

 

…

 

Inside the Tree of Life at that very moment.

 

Countless Runes streamed through the cavern at terrifying speed. Waves of overwhelming Power of Life continued to burst from within that barrier, scattering those golden, flickering Runes into disarray.

 

The Elf Queen’s expression had become extraordinarily grave. Thin beads of cold sweat rolled one after another down her smooth cheeks.

 

The scene unfolding before her was indeed the prelude to the barrier laid down by her Ancestor shattering. If the Tree of Life continued to pour out Power of Life at this rate, the day of its withering would not be far off.

 

When that day came, the Elf Race would be fortunate to survive even a thousand years, let alone ten thousand. Once the Tree of Life withered completely, the Elf Race across the continent would be annihilated along with it.

 

For now, she could only hope her instincts had not led her astray. Otherwise, she would become the greatest sinner the Elf Race had ever known.

 

Before the Elf Queen, Qin Yichen had shielded Little Ling’er behind him.

 

His gaze was fixed, unblinking, upon that hollow void ahead, from which those terrifying, overwhelming waves of Power of Life continued to pour without ceasing.

 

Within that hollow, green radiance intertwined in curtains of light, making it impossible to discern what lay inside.

 

And yet, the tension that had gripped Qin Yichen’s face was gradually fading. A faint smile even appeared on his features, the kind that came with a weight being lifted from one’s shoulders.

 

“It seems that thing truly is the key to the Tree of Life…”

 

Beneath the scrutiny of his Divine Eyes, Qin Yichen could clearly see the spirit tree he had obtained merging into the Tree of Life. The two fused together as though they had always been a single whole. The process was seamless and harmonious.

 

The scene before him was like a great dam stretching a thousand leagues, whose breach was now being sealed by the very piece that had been missing.

 

The Power of Life that had been leaking outward grew less and less with every passing moment.

 

*Crack!*

 

At that instant, under the terrible onslaught of Power of Life, the Runes filling the cavern finally shattered apart in one section.

 

The barrier of the Array, which had stood through countless ages, was torn open at last, ripped through by a single gash.

 

“Your Majesty, we can leave now!”

 

Just as the Elf Queen was preparing to move and mend the breach, Qin Yichen’s easy, relieved voice rang out to accompany that moment.

 

*Boom!*

 

The moment that small opening appeared in the barrier, the surrounding Runes were wiped away in an instant. What had been a small gap became a vast, gaping tear, and the colossal surge of Power of Life crashed outward like a flood, swallowing the entire cavern in a heartbeat.

 

As the cavern was engulfed, a brilliant green light wrapped itself around Qin Yichen and Little Ling’er, carrying them shooting forth.

 

“This is bad!”

 

The instant the barrier was torn apart, the Jade Elder’s expression shifted violently. He urgently bellowed, “Everyone, form the Sealing Array!”

 

Because of the Elf Queen, even the Jade Elder, who stood as Guardian, had no means to interfere with what had happened. But now, even knowing how nearly impossible it would be to seal that thing again, he had no choice but to draw upon the strength of the Elf Race’s greatest gathering of experts, and try.

 

What puzzled the Jade Elder, however, was this: why had that Supreme Being, knowing all of this was unfolding, not moved to stop the Elf Queen? Not even when the Array left by their Ancestor shattered had that figure made an appearance.

 

*Boom!*

 

Before the Jade Elder’s cry had even finished echoing, a vast, indescribable surge of powerful Power of Life appeared abruptly throughout that stretch of Heaven and Earth.

 

The expressions of the Elves there changed sharply, all at once.

 

Energy of such magnitude, if left within the Tree of Life, would have been enough to give birth to a wave of Royal Elves!

 

If this energy were allowed to run rampant, unchecked, even for the Tree of Life, which stood as the near-eternal pillar of their existence, this would be no small loss.

 

“Give everything you have!”

 

The expressions of the Elves hardened with absolute gravity as fierce waves of power surged from every one of their figures.

 

“Stand down!”

 

Yet just as the assembled Elves prepared to act, the Elf Queen’s commanding voice drifted serenely across that stretch of Heaven and Earth.

 

Immediately after, a beam of green light came streaking out from the Tree of Life, falling in full view of every gaze to land at the very front of the assembled crowd.

 

“Your Majesty!”

 

As the radiance slowly faded and the Elf Queen’s figure was revealed, the eyes of the gathered Elves lit up with relief. Like soldiers who had found their anchor, every one of them bowed with deep reverence.

 

*Boom!*

 

Yet before their expressions could shift to joy, they froze solid.

 

From within the Tree of Life, a massive green pillar of light, stretching hundreds of metres in diameter, came blasting outward, surging across the Heavens and Earth.