Chapter 54 Fortune and Misfortune Intertwined
Gazing at the treasure before him, Feng Zichen hesitated. There is no love without a reason in this world. Accepting this gift would create another karmic connection, and who knew how he would repay it later?
But what if he didn't accept it?
Seeing Feng Zichen's indifference, the treasure moved closer to him, seemingly impatient to fall into his hands.
Seeing this, Feng Zichen gritted his teeth and accepted the treasure. As the saying goes, "If Heaven gives and you don't take it, you will suffer the consequences!" Now that Pangu had given him this, it was an honor for him, Feng Zichen; he shouldn't be ungrateful!
An existence like Pangu should have an extremely broad mind and wouldn't care if he refused. But what if? What if He cared? Offending Pangu in the primordial world was a chilling thought.
Therefore, Feng Zichen dared not gamble, no matter how small the odds. He could only obediently accept Pangu's gift and bear the corresponding karmic consequences.
The treasure fell into his hands, transforming into a cyan seed. Amidst the hazy cyan light, Daoist runes flickered, incredibly wondrous!
"The seed of the World Tree?" Upon learning its origin, Feng Zichen nearly exploded on the spot.
The World Tree, a chaotic spiritual root, was even stronger than an innate spiritual root. In the primordial world, only the Three Treasures of Creation could rival it. Obtaining such a supreme treasure brought Feng Zichen not joy, but shock and fear.
The Sun Star illuminated the ten directions of the world, bringing endless light to the primordial world, benefiting all living beings, its merit immeasurable. Therefore, Donghuang Taiyi possessed the Chaos Bell.
The Three Pure Ones were transformed from the primordial spirit of Pangu, possessing the merit of creation, their merit immeasurable. Therefore, they were bestowed with innate supreme treasures by the Dao Ancestor.
Although Feng Zichen had some merit, it was far inferior to the previous four; he lacked the fortune to receive such a supreme treasure.
Insufficient virtue for one's position inevitably brings calamity! How could Feng Zichen not be afraid?
"Gulp!" Feng Zichen swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly. "This... can I refuse?"
No one answered. Only a flash of light entered his mind, conveying the entire story.
"Is it because of the Chaos Pearl?" Feng Zichen was somewhat annoyed. Sure enough, those treasures weren't so easy to obtain; each link was connected to the next.
It turned out that Pangu had long foreseen the collapse of Buzhou Mountain and deliberately left behind the World Tree to replace it as the pillar supporting the heavens.
Unfortunately, the Chaos Demon God discovered this. He then used every means at his disposal to pull the World Tree into a seal, intending to destroy it and thwart Pangu's plan.
Therefore, from the creation of the world until now, the World Tree had not shown any signs of growth; instead, it had degenerated into a seed.
According to the course of history, this seed should have been useless by now, because the World Tree did not appear when Buzhou Mountain collapsed in later generations.
But now, with Feng Zichen arriving here with the Chaos Pearl, everything had changed.
As a primordial root of chaos, the World Tree can only sprout again in a chaotic environment. The Chaos Pearl, containing a chaotic space, is the only treasure in the world capable of allowing the World Tree seed to germinate.
Therefore, upon sensing the aura of the Chaos Pearl, Pangu entrusted the World Tree seed to Feng Zichen, instructing him to cultivate the World Tree for its future use in supporting the heavens.
"The Great God Pangu truly went to great lengths for the primordial world! But alas, his descendants are unhelpful, always holding it back!"
Holding the World Tree seed, Feng Zichen was filled with mixed emotions.
According to Pangu's prediction, Mount Buzhou collapsed under the erosion of the Chaos Demon God. In reality, Mount Buzhou was broken by Gonggong.
"Cultivating the World Tree will eliminate karma, granting boundless merit and enjoying boundless fortune."
This was the message Pangu's dying wish conveyed to Feng Zichen, offering him a rosy picture to reassure him about cultivating the World Tree.
To this, Feng Zichen could only chuckle. The Three Pure Ones are almost saints, and the Lich War and the collapse of Mount Buzhou are not many years away.
Cultivating the World Tree to the point of supporting the primordial world in such a short time is not an impossible feat.
However, the Chaos Pearl's current level is insufficient for better cultivation of the World Tree. In other words, with the World Tree, Feng Zichen's future search for the Chaos Pearl fragments will undoubtedly be much smoother.
However, having gained so many benefits, if Mount Buzhou collapses before the World Tree reaches the point of supporting the heavens and earth, Feng Zichen's fate will be utterly annihilated.
"Alas! Fortune and misfortune are intertwined. Truly a profound truth!" All his thoughts turned into a sigh.
Feng Zichen came back to his senses and placed the World Tree seed into the Chaos Pearl, intending to use the Chaos Origin to encourage it to take root and sprout. Once the World Tree could grow, the rest would be much simpler.
The World Tree itself possessed the power to create worlds; its roots could connect to endless dimensions, absorbing nutrients to strengthen itself. Only such a spiritual root could support the primordial world.
Within the Chaos Pearl, wisps of Chaos Origin gathered and surged towards the World Tree seed.
"Alas! My poor Chaos Pearl!"
Looking at the Chaos Pearl that dimmed instantly, Feng Zichen was filled with heartache.
The Chaos Origin born within the Chaos Pearl had long been exhausted by him. The primordial chaos energy he was currently condensing was forcibly gathered at the cost of the Chaos Pearl.
"Buzz!"
Having absorbed the primordial chaos energy, the World Tree seed trembled, its light flickering and radiating a rich vitality.
Suddenly, a wisp of dark light, carrying a chilling aura, appeared on the World Tree seed. It devoured all its vitality, bringing it back to stillness.
"Hmph! I knew it wouldn't be that simple!"
Seeing this, Feng Zichen wasn't surprised. If the World Tree seed could sprout so easily, it wouldn't be worthy of the benefits Pangu had promised him.
"The resentment of the Chaos Demon God?" Carefully examining the dark light, Feng Zichen recognized its origin. The World Tree had struggled in the abyss for so long; it was normal for it to be tainted by the resentment of the Chaos Demon God.
Now it seemed that to make the seed sprout, the only way was to eradicate the Chaos Demon God's resentment first. Otherwise, no amount of vitality would be enough for it to devour.
"Troublesome!" Feng Zichen frowned slightly.
Eradicating the Chaos Demon God's resentment wasn't difficult for him. If one were to use the Primordial Chaos Bell to cleanse the World Tree seed for hundreds of years, the demon god's resentment could be transformed into primordial energy.
However, if the resentment were combined with the seed, and the resentment were simultaneously cleansed into primordial energy, wouldn't that be utterly disastrous?
As if sensing Feng Zichen's distress, a message surfaced in his mind.
"Thunder Swamp?"
"Bringing the World Tree seed here would eradicate the demon god's resentment?"
Thunder was indeed the nemesis of such dark and sinister things as resentment. Thinking of this, Feng Zichen seemed to understand Pangu's plan somewhat.
Using the thunderous power accumulated in the Thunder Swamp to wash away the resentment of the chaotic demon god was indeed a good method.
Knowing his destination, Feng Zichen didn't linger and turned to leave. He dared not harbor the slightest curiosity.
(End of Chapter)