John turned to Gaka and said, “Senior, enter my World-in-Hand. We need to deal with that Skybroke cripple, and we’ll need your help.”
“Alright,” Gaka nodded. With a ripple of Spatial power, the two of them disappeared into John’s World-in-Hand.
Jean and Spoorate followed them in.
The Skybroke cripple was powerful. John didn’t have absolute confidence in dealing with him alone. He would need the power of World-in-Hand and Gaka’s strength.
John walked over to The Tree of Life and turned to Jean. “Help me communicate with The Tree of Life. We need to form a life-sharing contract with Gaka.”
The Tree of Life was a special kind of life, and only the little girl could communicate with it.
“Okay!” Jean skipped over to The Tree of Life, touching its trunk, closing her eyes, and focusing her mind to communicate.
Gaka furrowed his brows. “Kid, isn’t this too risky? The Tree of Life’s vitality is strong, but it might not be able to withstand it.”
John, however, remained confident. “I’m certain.”
“Big brother,” Jean came running back, “I’ve communicated with The Tree of Life. She agreed.”
“Good.” John nodded and gestured for Gaka to come to The Tree of Life.
“Kid, if anything goes wrong, immediately sever the life-sharing contract,” Gaka said with concern. He still had doubts about the plan.
“Don’t worry, I won’t take any unnecessary risks.” John knew the stakes. He had already signed a life-sharing contract with The Tree of Life, and if anything happened to it, he would be in danger too.
Gaka said nothing further, and followed John’s instructions to form the contract with The Tree of Life. Read exclusive content at empire
Buzz…
Spiritual power surged as the mighty vitality of life began to flow into Gaka’s body.
Gaka’s weathered skin began to show some signs of life, his pale complexion regained a hint of color, and his dry white hair regained some of its luster.
Boom!
Suddenly, something went wrong. A surge of evil, dark power erupted from within Gaka, wildly devouring the vitality flowing into him.
John’s expression changed as he felt the vitality from The Tree of Life draining at an alarming rate, and even he was affected by it.
Gaka opened his eyes urgently. “Kid, there’s an unknown evil force inside me! Cut the contract quickly!”
He could feel the immense power of this force. If it wasn’t dealt with, both The Tree of Life and John would be in danger.
“I can control it. Do as I say!” John’s expression grew serious as he focused all his energy to suppress the dark power.
If they severed the contract now, the evil force would be triggered. Gaka would be backlashed, and with his current state, he would have no means to resist. It would be certain death for him.
Now, there was no choice but to take a gamble, betting that his own life and the power of the laws would be enough to dissolve this evil force.
John’s expression remained calm as he actively devoured the dark power within him. At the same time, multiple strands of The Power of Laws and Chaos Force surged within him, all working at full capacity to resolve the threat.
But it was still insufficient.
The evil power was far stronger than he had anticipated. His own vitality was rapidly draining, along with the vitality of The Tree of Life, and even the entire World-in-Hand was being devoured.
“Kid, give up. If anything happens to you, I won’t be able to rest in peace,” Gaka gritted his teeth, about to forcefully sever the contract.
He was already a dying man. There was no need to drag innocent people down with him.
“Wait!” John quickly stopped him. The situation shifted once again as a surge of overwhelming life force poured in.
This force contained a powerful light-based The Power of Laws, easily suppressing the dark energy inside Gaka.
John was taken aback for a moment, then he suddenly realized something.
“Elsa!” he exclaimed in surprise.
Elsa had also signed a life-sharing contract with him, and this power was coming from her.
She had also come to this world.
Not only that, but the Tai Chi symbol within John appeared as well, actively refining the evil energy and death force within him.
Light and dark coexist!
John let out a relieved breath. The death force within Gaka was slowly being devoured, and the life-threatening crisis had been averted. However, his power couldn’t be fully restored in such a short time.
“Kid, I owe you my life, but I can’t repay you yet. Right now, I need to merge with The Tree of Life so we can coexist,” Gaka said gratefully. By merging with The Tree of Life, he could preserve his life and also repay John in the future.
“Alright!” John nodded, his tension easing.
Luckily, Elsa was here, or they would have been in real danger.
Gaka closed his eyes, his form dissipating as a pure Spiritual power merged with The Tree of Life, creating a symbiotic bond.
Swish… swish…
The Tree of Life’s branches and leaves swayed as boundless vitality spread through the air.
Gaka’s power had been mostly devoured by Senren, but he was a ten-star Emperor, and even the remnants of his power were still formidable.
His remaining strength merged with The Tree of Life, which then flowed back into John’s World-in-Hand, causing it to expand and solidify once more.
“Master, Church of Light…” Suddenly, a woman’s voice echoed in John’s mind.
It was Elsa!
Before John could focus more deeply, the voice cut off abruptly.
“Elsa?” He furrowed his brows, attempting to reestablish contact, but there was no response.
He had briefly connected with her through life-sharing.
It seemed like Elsa was trying to convey something important.
He clearly heard the words “Church of Light.”
Could Elsa be at the Church of Light?
A wave of worry surged through his heart. The Church of Light was an organization every bit as powerful as the Skybroke Vault.
He was barely able to escape from a crisis when facing a lord of Skybroke Vault, Senren. The thought of the vast Church of Light was even more daunting.
However, he could sense that Elsa was not in any immediate danger.
Not only that, but her vitality and the power of light had been greatly enhanced.
He speculated that the message Elsa wanted to convey was related to the Church of Light.
“Forget it. I’ll eventually come into contact with the Church of Light. When that time comes, I’ll look for Elsa,” he sighed, deciding not to dwell on it any longer.
At that moment, a prompt flashed before his eyes:
[You have reached the mid-stage of the Five-Star Overseer. All four base attributes increased by 5 million.]
His Overseer cultivation had risen to the mid-stage of Five-Star, bringing a slight boost to his strength.
After reaching the Five-Star Overseer level, further progress was incredibly difficult. John could feel that this increase in strength was due to Gaka’s help.
“Thank you, Senior,” John said gratefully.
“It is I who should thank you,” came Gaka’s voice from within The Tree of Life. “What should we do next?”
John replied, “Senior, I need your help once more. I’m going to take that broken being into my World-in-Hand. I’ll need you and The Tree of Life to devour his life force and completely eradicate him.”
“No problem,” Gaka replied confidently. Although he had merged with The Tree of Life and his physical strength was almost gone, his life force and Spiritual power had been greatly enhanced. Dealing with that creature, who only had a heart left, would be easy.
John’s mind stirred as he left the World-in-Hand, preparing to take action against the broken being.
Jean and Spoorate did not leave, staying behind in the World-in-Hand.
…
In the secret chamber beneath the ancient tree.
Yealper entered the chamber and looked at the beating heart, bowing respectfully.
“Master, we have confirmed that it was Medusa who infiltrated the chamber, but unfortunately, he managed to escape. However, the others likely don’t know the situation here.”
“Escape?” The heart beat steadily, its voice full of doubt. “No, I can still feel his presence. He’s still in the Underground City.”
“Impossible! I saw him leave. It seems he had planned his escape in advance,” Yealper asserted. If Medusa were still hiding in the Underground City, he would be able to find him easily.
The old voice continued, “Tell me more about this Medusa.”
Yealper immediately responded, “I investigated. That guy is one of the current Seven Kings, the Serpent King. He’s at the mid-stage of Nine-Star cultivation, but he’s injured, and his strength barely reaches the early stage of Nine-Star.”
“Nine-Star?” The old voice replied coldly. “That’s not the one. The person who broke into the secret chamber, at most, has Eight-Star strength. I can clearly sense this person’s aura. It’s impossible to hide it from me.”
Yealper froze, anger rising within him. “Was I tricked?”
He recalled Medusa’s words, “Could it really have been that human?”
The ancient voice continued, “No matter who it is, take action now. Capture those few, devour their life force. With that Gaka, it will be enough.”
“Understood!” Yealper responded with a bow and turned to leave.
He was furious; he hadn’t expected to be outsmarted by a mere weak human.
“Gather everyone…” He stepped out of the ancient tree’s chamber, just about to speak when the sound of combat reached his ears.
John and the others had already engaged in a fight with the guards here.
“My lord!” A subordinate ran up frantically. “These people suddenly attacked and are trying to break in.”
“Hmph, it seems they’ve realized they’ve been exposed. Subdue them. Let the ancient tree devour their life force, and we’ll soon regain our freedom.” Yealper ordered, taking the lead as he charged toward John.
“Let me test your strength!” Sword Demon stepped forward. A sharp flash of blade light whistled through the air as it slashed toward Yealper.
“Hmph, how dare you attack me?” Yealper sneered, easily blocking Sword Demon’s strike with a flick of his hand. At the same time, he swung his massive mountain-splitting blade downward.
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, in just one exchange, Sword Demon was sent flying, blood pouring from his mouth.
“Damn, how is this guy so strong?” Sword Demon was shocked. He was no match for Yealper.
“Godslayer, this guy is way too strong, you should deal with him,” he quickly retreated behind John, taking on the ordinary soldiers instead.
John was speechless. The sword intent around him hummed as multiple powerful forces of law converged, aimed straight at Yealper.
“Human, how dare you trick me after I trusted you? You will all die today!” Yealper’s rage flared, and with that, he unleashed his most powerful attack.
Bang!
As expected, John was sent flying, blood surging in his chest.
“Heaven and Earth Transformation!” Knowing how powerful Yealper was, John stopped holding back. He unleashed his divine skill, transforming into a giant towering tens of thousands of feet tall.
The Underground City was vast, almost like a World-in-Hand, large enough to support his massive form.
Buzz!
The sword intent vibrated, four cold glows flashed, and the Four Extermination Swords were summoned, heading straight for Yealper.
“What a strange ability!” Yealper furrowed his brows, stunned by the power he sensed, but without hesitation, he retaliated fiercely.