It was just a simple hole that did not take too much effort to make. Depth-wise, it could easily bury half the body of a child.

“Can this thing work differently with the jade scroll?”

Xu Xiaoshou was still skeptical as he anxiously took out the jade scroll given to him by the Dean.

To his surprise, the jade scroll began vibrating lightly, before waves of spiritual energy in Tianxuan Gate gravitated toward Xu Xiaoshou and swirled thickly around him.

Suddenly, he felt all the energy surge into him.

Xu Xiaoshou was at a loss for words.

His body had healed completely after undergoing continuous stimulation over the past two days. Hence, his body would automatically absorb any surrounding spiritual energy under any situation, taking it in at the maximum rate.

The jade scroll vibrated even more violently as if it was about to explode at any moment. Xu Xiaoshou hurriedly closed off every pore on his body and managed to regulate the amount of spiritual energy he was absorbing.

The jade scroll then started to draw in the spiritual energy, and it was indeed ravenous.

Could it be that the jade scroll could only transform after being fed an enormous amount of spiritual energy?

Xu Xiaoshou believed so and blew into the jade scroll carefully.

Puff!

Instantly, a surge of spiritual energy, a hundred times denser than it was earlier, flowed into the jade scroll. Then everything fell silent, and the scroll stopped vibrating. Suddenly, with no warning, it blew up.

Xu Xiaoshou looked utterly baffled.

Did I f*ck it up?

He panicked when the jade scroll exploded. A moment later, he realized it did not blow up to smithereens. Instead, an object was left behind that resembled a seed.

The seed had fallen from the sky, and it seemed it had been intentionally dropped into the hole to take root.

Xu Xiaoshou reached out and intercepted it with his hand.

“A seed?”

Looking at how the sky was slowly cracking like a mirror, Xu Xiaoshou could not help but wonder.

Could the seed be some legendary treasure, such as the seed of Yggdrasil, that had been intentionally dropped to provide stable support to this crumbling world?

It was indeed a mythical item!

He suddenly became obsessed with this item and clutched it tightly in his hand. There was no way the seed could break free of the grasp of a Master Physique.

“Since I cannot lay my hands on the other treasures of this world… perhaps, this seed shall…”

“Be mine?”

Xu Xiaoshou was overcome by temptation. A conflict played out in his conscience between justice and evil.

Justice: Excessive greed will eventually cost you your life. Do not commit a crime just because you think it is minor.

Evil: You can only count on yourself… Yourself and nobody else!

Justice: If it does not belong to you, you should not even take a bit.

Evil: F*ck you!

Justice: I concede defeat.

It did not take more than half a second for Xu Xiaoshou to come to a decision. And just when he was about to keep the seed, an anxious voice came from behind him.

“Ma Ma.”

Xu Xiaoshou wavered and scratched his head awkwardly. “Why are you so impatient? I am just about to plant it!”

The puppet child also seemed to recognize the importance of the seed. Or perhaps it just wanted to fill the dark hole that had been his prison for a lifetime.

The moment the puppet child called out, Xu Xiaoshou’s conscience awakened, and there were no more doubts in his mind.

One must not keep ill-gotten gains!

He let out a sigh and hesitated no more. He then threw the seed into the hole.

The seed touched the ground and instantly set off a dramatic explosion. Gigantic python-like roots burrowed through the soil and became intertwined underground.

Xu Xiaoshou took flight immediately as the giant tree below him suddenly shot up a few hundred meters from the deep hole toward the sky.

It was not over yet. It continued to shoot up as if it wanted to pierce the clouds to offer support for the crumbling world.

Spiritual energy came howling from all directions. Xu Xiaoshou could no longer absorb everything, even when he opened all his pores. The intensity and the amount of spiritual energy were incomparable to the conditions earlier.

At most, he could absorb 0.001% of the total reserve.

Xu Xiaoshou was thoroughly shocked.

What a giant tree it was!

After absorbing the essence of Heaven and Earth, it had turned from a mere seed into a sky-piercing tree. A tree which indeed pierced through the sky!

The thick trunk appeared out of thin air and almost filled up the entire black arena. It looked like a tall mountain and was impossible to surpass.

Its height had even exceeded the maximum range of Xu Xiaoshou’s “Sense” and extended to a point beyond his ability to detect.

Xu Xiaoshou regretted his decision!

It was undoubtedly a mythical item, and he could not believe that he had just given it up so easily. Had he known earlier, he would have thrown the other few treasures he possessed into the hole instead!

Maybe they could stop the world from crumbling, and he would get the seed in exchange.

Ring!

At the very moment the giant tree pierced the sky, the disintegrating of Heaven and Earth seemed to slow down. He also noticed that as the tree grew taller, the sky was gradually recovering.

“So it worked?”

Xu Xiaoshou was quite excited, being the person who planted the seed and seeing it grow within a few seconds in front of his eyes. It had given him an immense sense of achievement.

“Ma Ma…”

The puppet child behind him also looked up to the sky and murmured.

…

At the Array Entrance

The few of them who had waited there all this while also saw the giant tree soaring skyward. Even the pessimistic trio who were on the ground were quite shocked.

“It worked?”

“Xu Xiaoshou made it work! We do not have to die now?”

Mu Zixi looked at the ancient tree in awe, and she was literally drooling.

What a big mistake! She should have followed him. It had such an overwhelming life force and would have been immensely beneficial if she had been able to even get a small bit.

“Xu Xiaoshou…”

She suddenly thought about Zhou Tianshen and recalled what the tall man had once mentioned at the Spiritual Library Division. He said that if they were to follow the champion around, they would get a share of the spoils.

She did not believe it then, but now, it was clear that Tianshen was well versed in the rules of survival!

******

At the Council Hall, Inner Yard

Every single pair of anxious eyes had turned to Zhao Xidong’s Spirit Curtain Wheel of the 12 Pearls. The item had stopped shaking.

It had been full of cracks, but now it had repaired itself and was glowing with green light.

“Tianxuan Gate has been repaired!” Zhao Xidong immediately announced with much excitement.

Qiao Qianzhi was also elated as his spirit wheel was back in working condition. He now no longer needed to repair the array of Tianxuan Gate, and it would save him so much trouble and effort.

He looked at Ye Xiaotian and said, “Since Tianxuan Gate has been repaired, should we stay on till the last day?”

Unlocking the Tianxuan Gate was an arduous task. So, it was highly beneficial for the youngsters to stay inside for another day.

After all, he had witnessed the development of these youngsters since they were at the Outer Yard. Although there was a spy amongst them, he still wanted everyone else to benefit from the experience.

However, Ye Xiaotian shook his head.

“I understand what you mean. But our small world beyond the Tianxuan Gate has just been subjected to great destruction. Even though the place is being repaired now, it is still too unstable.”

“It is just too risky to continue to stay inside. We have to get everyone out right now.”

Qiao Qianzhi let out a long sigh. Of course, he knew that the small world of Tianxuan Gate was unstable. And as even Ye Xiaotian could not stabilize it, he could not insist on keeping the youngsters inside.

He took out the Array Token to reopen Tianxuan Gate.

But Ye Xiaotian stopped him.

“Let me do it!”

“The Array supports the space tunnel. There would be some risk of opening the space tunnel at this moment. Since the world inside is being repaired, I will connect the paths connecting the two worlds and also bring the youngsters out.”

Qiao Qianzhi nodded.

“Fine, it would reduce the risk from traveling back and forth and reduce any chance of accidents.”

They did not speak loudly, but neither were they whispering. The girl with a veil heard what they said and was rather surprised with their casually they made it out to be.

“Connecting the path of two worlds, all by himself?” Yu Zhiwen remarked with a look of shock.

Jiang Bianyan nodded solemnly and said, “If it is Ye Xiaotian, then it is possible. He possesses the Space Elemental power, an object considered rare throughout the entire continent.”

Then, they both saw the small child with white hair insert his hands into the void, and used his powers to form two paths.

“Impressive…”

Jiang Bianyan looked at the girl beside him whose jaws dropped open, and said, “It is exceedingly difficult to master the Space Elemental power, so it is not surprising that you have not seen it before.”

“Well, since you can now observe the force of the world up close, it is indeed an opportunity to absorb everything!”

“After all, he has something in common with you. He is also from the Central Region…”