Transmigrating Into a Fantasy World: Signing in During Pregnancy, Reaching the Summit with My Childhood Sweetheart

183: Chapter 183: The Paradox of All Trees Paying Homage to the Emperor and Silent LifeBefore Zi Linger’s voice could even fade, as if to confirm her warning—

”Buzz—!!!”

A low yet vast and boundless hum erupted from the earth beneath their feet, the surrounding ancient trees, every single leaf, and every wisp of air! At this moment, the entire ancient forest had completely ”come alive”!

It was no longer the controlled, Puppet-like stiff vitality from before, but a grand, ancient collective will carrying cold fury that had fully awakened! It was as if a giant who had slept for ten thousand years had slowly opened its eyes; wherever its gaze fell, all things became its extensions!

Rumble!

The ground shook violently as countless roots, thick as Dragons, burst from the earth like dancing giant pythons, crazily whipping and coiling toward the Divine Tree’s cave from all directions! Outside the cave, the bodies of the three Wood Spirit Puppet Cultivators, who were already in a state of disorder, suddenly exploded, turning into the purest life energy and merging into the countless attacking roots and vines, causing their power to skyrocket!

The sky darkened instantly, not because of dark clouds blotting out the sun, but because countless branches and leaves were growing and intertwining frantically, completely covering and sealing the firmament! A massive emerald-green barrier composed of pure life energy formed in an instant, inverting like a bowl to completely envelop the entire Divine Tree and its surrounding area!

Ten Thousand Woods Paying Homage, Heaven and Earth as a Cage!

This was the true, terrifying face of this ancient forest! It was itself a massive living Formation, a cage possessing its own will!

”It’s over... it has completely awakened...” Zi Linger’s small face was deathly pale, her eyes filled with despair. ”We’re trapped in the Core... it will extract everything from us and turn it into nourishment for its growth!”

Nangong Xuan’s expression was more solemn than ever before. He felt an irresistible, vast will lock onto him, and the surrounding air became incredibly viscous, filled with staggering pressure. That omnipresent vitality was no longer nourishing; it had turned into the most lethal shackles, frantically squeezing, penetrating, and attempting to assimilate all their power, even their Physical Bodies and Divine Souls!

Su Muxue hurriedly spread her Taiyin Star Power, forming a bright barrier to struggle against the pervasive erosion of life energy. However, the barrier’s light flickered rapidly, clearly under extreme strain. The concentration and pressure of life energy here were more than ten times that of the outside!

”What exactly is this thing?” Nangong Xuan asked in a heavy voice. His Nirvana Sword Intent circled his body automatically, continuously annihilating the approaching life force, but more power surged in like a tide—the speed of annihilation was far slower than the speed of replenishment! If this continued, it was only a matter of time before they were exhausted.

Zi Linger explained urgently, ”I’m not entirely sure... I fled into the depths of this forest while being hunted and accidentally discovered this Ancient Tree of Life and the ’key of living beings’ at its roots. Just as I tried to gain its recognition, I startled the forest’s will... It isn’t a simple Wood Spirit; it’s more like an aggregate of countless ancient plant wills. But its Core is filled with a cold desire for control; it wants to devour all outsiders and assimilate all energy to strengthen itself! It can even twist the Wood-type Laws within its range!”

As if to prove her words, countless profound green runes suddenly surfaced on the emerald barrier covering heaven and earth, and an even more terrifying suction force abruptly descended!

Nangong Xuan and the other two immediately felt their true essence, blood qi, and even Divine Soul power begin to fluctuate uncontrollably, as if they were being forcibly pulled from their bodies to join that vast torrent of life! Even the defensive circle Nangong Xuan had formed with Nirvana Sword Intent began to warp slightly, showing signs of being ”decomposed and absorbed”!

This forest will was actually this overbearing!

”We can’t just wait for death!” A sharp glint flashed in Nangong Xuan’s eyes as he forcibly suppressed the restless power in his body. ”We must break this barrier or interfere with its Core!”

His gaze instantly locked onto the ”key of living beings” in Zi Linger’s hands. Since this object was a symbol of the Origin of life, perhaps it could counter this distorted vitality?

”Miss Linger, activate the key of living beings with all your strength! Mu Xue, help her! I’ll buy you time!” Nangong Xuan made a decisive choice and stepped forward, shielding the two women.

”Nirvana True Domain... Open!”

He shouted low, no longer stingy with his consumption, and fully activated the fragment of the Nirvana True Seal!

Buzz!

An even deeper, more absolute Domain of ”nothingness” expanded violently with him at the center. Although its range only covered three yards around him, it forcefully propped open a grey, constantly flickering ”void bubble” within that infinite emerald ocean of life!

All life force that surged into this Domain—whether it was the whipping of roots or energy erosion—suffered structural collapse the moment it touched the Nirvana Domain. Its power was greatly reduced, or it was directly annihilated into nothingness!

However, maintaining this Nirvana True Domain took a massive toll on Nangong Xuan’s mind and power! His face turned pale at a visible rate, and the muscles beneath his sword robes trembled slightly. Resisting the crushing will of an entire forest with his own power alone was like a mantis trying to stop a carriage!

”Alright!” Seeing this, Zi Linger did not dare to delay. She immediately sat cross-legged, gripping the ”key of living beings” with both hands and pressing it to her forehead, exerting all her effort to communicate with the Origin power of this star key.

Su Muxue immediately pressed her hand against Zi Linger’s back, channeling her pure Taiyin Star Power without reservation to help her stabilize her mind and amplify her strength. Although Taiyin Power was not a life-attribute power, its qualities of ”purity” and ”protection” could serve as an excellent bridge between Zi Linger and the key of living beings.

”Life... Trace the Origin... Return to truth...”

Zi Linger chanted ancient incantations, and an increasingly intense emerald glow radiated from her body, gradually merging with the fluctuations of the key of living beings. The light was not dazzling, but it carried an indescribable aura of holiness and source, as if it were the starting point of all life.

However, the cold will of the forest seemed to sense the provocation and became even more violent!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Countless roots acted like giant spears, frantically stabbing at the Nirvana True Domain! The rotation speed of the runes on the sky barrier skyrocketed, and the suction force intensified again! Distorted green lightning, condensed from pure life energy, even began to brew within the barrier, emitting a destructive aura!

Nangong Xuan groaned, a trace of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. The Nirvana True Domain shook violently, its range compressed to less than two yards! The speed of annihilation had begun to fall behind the intensity of the attacks!

”Hurry... I can’t hold on...” he squeezed out a few words with difficulty.

Just then—

”Buzz—!”

The key of living beings in Zi Linger’s hand finally erupted!

A highly condensed and incredibly pure emerald pillar of light, like the first cry of life, shot up from the key, boldly crashing into the life barrier overhead!

There was no explosion, no impact.

The moment the emerald light pillar touched the barrier, it was like a drop of water merging into the sea, but it brought about earth-shaking changes!

The entire massive emerald barrier fluctuated violently! Those cold, stiff runes on it began to warp, blur, and even collapse as if they had met their natural enemy! The light of the barrier itself became unstable, sometimes emerald green and sometimes transparent, faintly revealing the true sky outside!

The omnipresent, terrifying suction force suddenly weakened by more than half!

”It’s working!” Su Muxue said in surprise.

The power of the key of living beings seemed to be ”purifying” and ”assimilating” this distorted life barrier, attempting to return it to its original, pure state of life!

The forest’s will let out a silent, even more enraged roar! It clearly could not tolerate its own power being ”corrected”!

All the roots and vines attacking Nangong Xuan retracted instantly. The vast life force of the entire forest began to converge frantically toward the top of the barrier, at the point where it was clashing with the pillar of life light, with unprecedented speed!

It wanted to use absolute power to forcibly crush this wisp of Origin power!

The emerald barrier’s light flared again, becoming even more dazzling than before, pushing the pillar of life light back step by step and causing its light to dim!

Zi Linger spat out a mouthful of blood, her body swaying. ”No... its power is too vast... I can’t fully assimilate it...”

Seeing their efforts about to fail, a look of determination suddenly flashed in Nangong Xuan’s eyes!

He felt it! At the moment the forest will mobilized all its power to suppress the key of living beings, its control over the entire barrier showed a tiny, subtle... ”sluggishness” caused by the dispersion of its power!

And what Nirvana Power was best at was finding the gaps in ”existence” to deliver the ultimate ”ending”!

”Now!”

Nangong Xuan abruptly withdrew the highly taxing Nirvana True Domain and poured all his power, along with all his insights into the Nirvana True Seal, into his fingertips!

He held his fingers together like a sword and pointed into the air toward the Core point of the barrier overhead—the place where the life energy was most concentrated, the Laws were most turbulent, and the old and new powers were clashing most fiercely!

”Nirvana... Return to Nothingness... One Sword!”

A sword thread, so fine it seemed non-existent and so grey it made all surrounding life instinctively tremble in fear, shot from his fingertip and silently sank into the boiling emerald barrier!

This time, it was no longer devouring, but the purest... annihilation!

Chiii—!

There was no earth-shattering roar.

The Core point of the barrier, which had gathered the massive life energy of the entire forest, was accurately hit by that thread of ultimate Nirvana Sword Intent.

It was like a red-hot iron branding the most perfect glass.

A point of absolute darkness and absolute nothingness suddenly appeared and then expanded frantically!

With that point as the center, the emerald barrier seemed to lose all support and meaning. It silently disintegrated and dissipated in large swaths, turning into the most primitive Spiritual Qi particles and returning to nothingness.

It wasn’t a rupture; it simply... ceased to exist.

The massive barrier covering heaven and earth instantly revealed a huge hole, its edges flowing with the aura of annihilation!

Through the hole, the real, grey sky of the outside world could be seen!

”Go!!!”

Nangong Xuan grabbed the exhausted Zi Linger and Su Muxue, merging his body with his sword to turn into a streak of dark-gold meteor that tore through the sky, charging desperately toward the breach in the barrier!

Behind them was the silent roar of extreme rage and unwillingness from that cold will after the entire forest fell into a deathly stillness—a roar capable of tearing apart the Divine Soul—along with countless roots and vines that chased them frantically, yet had become slow and disordered due to the shattered barrier and damaged Core!