“Damned human! You’ve thoroughly enraged me!”
The Tree of Life flew into a terrible fit of anger. An infinite number of golden vines lashed about in the sky and turned into innumerable golden whips that blotted out the sun as they lashed toward Meng Lei in a swarm, as though intending to shatter him into bits and pieces.
“Kill!”
Meng Lei moved at lightning-fast speed, weaving to and fro and crisscrossing left and right at will amid the all-encompassing net of whips. No matter how the golden vines slapped and lashed at him, they simply didn’t manage to hit even the corners of his clothes.
He literally passed through a thicket of ten thousand whips and emerged without a single one touching him.
“Die, old tree demon!”
After weaving through the overlapping layers of whips, Meng Lei charged right up to the Tree of Life again and gave it another furious, earth-shattering hammer blast.
Howl!
Gales howled furiously as tornadoes went through the clouds!
Boom!
Another huge pit appeared in the trunk!
“You bastard! Damn it! I’m so mad! I’m so mad!”
Rage drove the Tree of Life to the brink of insanity.
It was a great half-deity that stood at the apex of the pyramid of lifeforms on Heaven’s Vault Continent. Yet it was actually powerless against a Saint Domain? How was it supposed to uphold its half-deity reputation like that?
“God’s Domain!”
The Tree of Life let out a furious roar and tried madly to suppress Meng Lei.
Buzz!
A momentary pause came over Meng Lei’s form, and he froze.
“Die!!”
Thousands upon thousands of golden whips took the opportunity to lash toward him.
Whoosh!
Meng Lei regained his mobility and vanished from the spot again.
And then...
Boom!
A third pit was formed!
(⊙o⊙)
“That brat is actually... actually...”
“Oh my dragon god! Am I dreaming?!”
“A hallucination! This must be a hallucination!”
“It’s fake! It must be fake! How can Meng Lei possibly be a match for a half-deity? He’s just a Saint Domain!”
Ol’ Amos, Abbe, the other contestants, the thousands of Holy Knights—everyone was astounded!
Who would have ever imagined the scene currently playing out in front of them?
Who would have ever imagined that the Tree of Life, a great half-deity, would actually be unable to do anything about Meng Lei, a mere Saint Domain?
On top of that, Meng Lei, the Saint Domain in question, was... even just 16 years old!
“Why exactly has it turned out like that?”
No-one could understand why, save for Ol’ Amos, whose lip corners were spasming as waves churned fiercely in his heart.
That little bastard has inexplicably gotten stronger again! It’s just that, isn’t the scale kinda too exaggerated this time?
“You goddamn little thief! I want you dead!”
The Tree of Life was so infuriated that it was close to bursting from rage.
“God’s Domain!”
Meng Lei’s form froze slightly, imprisoned once more.
“Divine Technique: Deprivation of Life!”
With a deep roar, thousands upon thousands of golden light rays burst forth from the Tree of Life. They morphed into a thick, sturdy golden light beam that instantly shrouded Meng Lei within.
Right on the heels of it, a mysterious wave of energy invaded Meng Lei’s body, taking instant effect and fervently stripping him of his lifeforce!
“A divine technique! This is a divine technique!”
Ol’ Amos shouted in warning, “Kid, a divine technique uses one’s power of divinity as a driving force. It holds absolute effect over lifeforms without any power of divinity!
“Quickly! Think of something!
“No matter what, you must break free of God’s Domain’s shackles! Otherwise, when the divine technique’s might unfolds, you’ll be doomed!”
“Move! C’mon, move!”
Meng Lei bellowed deeply, furiously trying to move his body, only to tragically find out that the God’s Domain was exceptionally powerful this time—his body didn’t listen to his command at all!
“Since that’s the case, then this is my only option now!”
Veins bulged on Meng Lei’s forehead as he let out a low roar. “Gods-Slaying Rat... Transformation!”
Pooof!
Right after he spoke, Meng Lei’s body began to furiously shrink and shrivel like a deflating inflatable doll. In the span of a few short breaths, he had become only 0.5-meters-tall.
At the same time, innumerable strands of greenish-black fur emerged on the surface of his body. Three black whiskers extended from each side of his cheeks while a long, slender, and exquisite tail grew from his bottom.
Boom!
Several greenish-black air currents circled around him as a surging, torrential blast of vast, majestic savage aura erupted from him.
All ten fingers of his turned into razor-sharp claws. His eyes were a shiny jet-black while his two front teeth turned long, slender, and sharp—he had actually transformed into a Gods-Slaying Rat Person!
Screech!
Meng Lei broke free of God’s Domain’s shackles with a light shake and immediately vanished within the golden light beam.
What nimble agility!
What terrifying defenses!
His body had become immeasurably lighter and more nimble, while his defenses had also been enhanced by several times. Meng Lei took in the new sensations, overwhelmed by his emotions. His self-confidence rose like never before.
In that instant, he actually feared the Tree of Life no more. All there was left in him was just surging fighting spirit and overflowing murderous intent.
“Disappear!”
Upon command, the Hammer of Destruction vanished.
Meng Lei swayed slightly, and then, as if he had teleported, he appeared bizarrely on the Tree of Life’s trunk.
With a light swipe of his sharp claws, a crisp scratching sound rang out, and he clawed out a deep fissure on the Tree of Life!
“What sharp claws!”
Even Meng Lei himself was astounded. His eyes shone brightly, and he began to brandish his claws again and again. Then, amidst crisp scratching sounds, a deep hole was created.
Drip...
Drip...
Droplets of golden sap seeped out of the deep hole. They emanated a light and refreshing fragrance that invigorated and revitalized all that caught a whiff of it.
“Ahhh!”
On the other hand, the Tree of Life cried out in pain instead, as thousands upon thousands of golden vines whipped toward Meng Lei in a frenzy.
As Meng Lei eyed the innumerable vines lashing through the air toward him, his eyes swiveled sneakily, and he thought to himself, Since my claws are so sharp, why don’t I...
Meng Lei promptly dived into the deep hole that he had just dug with that thought in mind!
Slash!
Slash!
As his claws repeatedly dug into the Tree of Life, the hole also became deeper and deeper.
Then, he dived right into it!
“You bastard! What are you doing? Ahhh!”
The Tree of Life was terribly aghast. Then, it let out a shrill scream, and its enormous body began to shake violently. As if it had taken Ecstasy pills, its trunk swayed while its leaves trembled.
“I dig! I dig! I dig, dig, dig!
“Compared to its astonishingly sturdy bark, its insides are surprisingly and relatively much softer! What fragrant sap! I wonder if it’s potable?”
“You little bastard, I’ve gotta hand it to you!”
Ol’ Amos’ voice, which contained boundless excitement, rang out at this point. “Hurry! Find its vitality core!
“The Tree of Life is also a botanical lifef
orm, so as long as you can find its vitality core, you’ll be able to kill it!
“Although there’s only a sliver of a chance, now that things have reached this point, it’s completely worth risking it and giving it a try. If you can kill it, you’ll strike gold!”
Chapter 191: Divine Might Personification, A Deity-Slaying Feat
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“The vitality core! Yes, I must find its vitality core! Only then will I be able to kill it!”
With that, Meng Lei began to dig swiftly.
Compared to the tree bark’s tough, solid defenses, the Tree of Life’s insides were relatively much weaker. In fact, there were even a great number of sap-filled vessels.
Meng Lei had no way of knowing whether the vessels were used for transporting moisture and nutrients or not, but these spacious and convenient vessels that led everywhere certainly provided him great convenience—weaving through them was extremely convenient.
“What fragrant sap! I wonder if it’s potable?”
Meng Lei communicated with Ol’ Amos while he weaved through the vessels.
“This sap is the Tree of Life’s life essence. It contains a rich, surging lifeforce and is an invaluable treasure.” Ol’ Amos said, “But before you kill the Tree of Life, I’d suggest that you not drink it. On the off-chance that it contains the Tree of Life’s divinity, then it would be poison itself!”
I can’t drink it? But I can at least take it away with me, right? I’m a penniless pauper that urgently needs to replenish his wealth now!
Gurgle~
Meng Lei brought out a spatial ring and turned into a hardworking little bee as he furiously stored the sap into the ring.
Gurgle~
He filled a spatial ring to the brim!
Gurgle~
The second spatial ring was filled to the brim!
Gurgle~
And then, the third, the fourth, and the fifth!
When he reached the sixth spatial ring, Meng Lei was somewhat astonished. “This spatial ring can store so much! It actually isn’t full yet when I’ve been filling it with the sap for so long? Just how big is the space inside...”
Meng Lei quickly released some spiritual power to check the capacity, upon which he couldn’t help but gasp.
“It’s... It’s so huge! It’s pretty much a freaking continent! Ol’ President, have you ever seen a spatial ring that spans dozens of kilometers wide?”
“Is it that big?” Ol’ Amos was rather astonished. “That’s no longer a spatial ring, but a spatial magic device of half-divine weapon level. I daresay that an existential plane fragment is sealed within that spatial ring for sure. Otherwise, it couldn’t possibly hold such a huge space.”
“This is President Fred’s ring!”
Meng Lei couldn’t help being moved when he took a close look at the spatial ring’s design.
President Fred was actually willing to lend him even a spatial ring of half-divine weapon level!
What kind of level of trust was that?
“Looks like your academy president trusts you very much!”
Ol’ Amos was full of praises. “An existential plane fragment is an extremely precious treasure because it’ll only form when a material plane is destroyed. It’s very hard for a Saint Domain to get their hands on it in most typical situations.
“An existential plane fragment measuring two to three kilometers-wide is worth hundreds—even up to a thousand—Laws of Nature Origin Crystals!
“You can do the math yourself on how precious that spatial ring of President Fred’s is.”
“I understand now.”
Meng Lei nodded silently.
“Let’s go. We must hurry and continue on our journey. Follow the life essence. The vitality core is the origin of a botanical lifeform’s life essence. The nearer you are to the vitality core, the life essence usually also becomes richer.”
“Alright!”
...
“That goddamn human!”
The Tree of Life was boiling mad. Never did it expect things to develop to such a point.
It was a great half-deity, yet not only did it fail to kill a Saint Domain, but it had even allowed him to enter its body.
A disgrace! This was an extraordinary disgrace!
What infuriated the Tree of Life even further was that it could clearly sense that Meng Lei was currently furiously plundering its life essence.
That was its life essence! How dare Meng Lei?!
“I must kill him! I must kill that bastard! Only with his blood can my fury be vented!”
Boom!
A divinity personification formed in an instant and descended out of nowhere before Meng Lei.
It was actually a miniature version of the Tree of Life, except with legs, arms, a mouth, a nose, and eyes.
“Damn you, human!”
The divinity personification’s glowering eyes glared furiously at Meng Lei. How it wished it could dismember him into a million pieces!
“What the hell!”
Meng Lei did an emergency brake at once.
“That’s the personification of the Tree of Life’s divinity. There’s no need to fear it.” Ol’ Amos said as a reminder, “A divinity personification holds less than even 0.0001% of the original form’s power. Release the Gods-Slaying Spear and kill it!”
“Alright!”
The Gods-Slaying Spear appeared out of thin air. Meng Lei hurled it forward forcefully, upon which the divinity personification snorted icily and easily evaded the attack with a flash.
“Turn around!”
With a mental command from Meng Lei, the Gods-Slaying Spear reversed its course at once. The divinity personification was unable to react in time, resulting in the Gods-Slaying Spear piercing right through its head.
Then, something shocking happened:
Buzz!
Dazzling violet lightning erupted from the Gods-Slaying Spear. Then, a terrifying suction force emerged from it and started to absorb the divinity personification with a vengeance.
Gurgle~
The divinity personification began to shrivel up visibly. In the span of a few breaths, it was completely absorbed by the spear, turning into a bunch of green light participles and dissipating.
“What’s going on?”
Meng Lei looked stupefied.
“I-it’s absorbing the power of divinity!” Ol’ Amos couldn’t help but gasp. “To think the Gods-Slaying Spear can actually absorb the power of divinity!”
“Absorbing the power of divinity?”
Meng Lei stared at the spot where the divinity personification had dissipated. A huge jolt couldn’t help but go through him.
“No, this is no longer just plain absorption, but plundering!” Ol’ Amos murmured absentmindedly, “To be able to fully absorb the Tree of Life’s divinity personification in just the span of a short two to three breaths, of what level is that divine weapon?”
Of what level?
No-one knew!
After absorbing the divinity personification into itself, the Gods-Slaying Spear circled about as though it hadn’t had enough yet. Only then did it return to Meng Lei with utmost reluctance.
“What a great treasure! To think it can even do something like that!”
Meng Lei stroked the spear’s icy-cold shaft as he marveled. He didn’t get overly hung up on the Gods-Slaying Spear’s abilities. As the saying went, “Whether it is a black cat or a white cat doesn’t matter; all cats that can catch mice are good cats!”
Meng Lei didn’t give two hoots about the reason why the Gods-Slaying Spear was able to absorb the power of divinity. All he knew was that this additional ability of the Gods-Slaying Spear was definitely something positive.
Or at least, it came right into play at the moment.
“Let’s see how you’re gonna fight me, Tree of Life!”
Meng Lei let out an icy laugh, and then he continued on his way.
...
“W-wh
at exactly was that just now? My divinity personification has actually been absorbed?”
The Tree of Life was dumbfounded.
As a powerful botanical lifeform, it had always been the one plundering, absorbing, exploiting others, and using other lifeforms as food and nutrients all this time.
As the saying went, “What goes around, comes around.”
It was now its turn to be absorbed by others. It certainly didn’t feel good. In fact, the feeling could even be said to be frustrating!
On top of that, the frustration wasn’t even the most important thing here. The key was that the Tree of Life had been presented with information that made it shiver in fear.
This was because...
What the Gods-Slaying Spear had absorbed wasn’t blood, tissue fluid, lifeforce, or magic power. Rather, it was... The power of divinity!
It fed on the power of divinity!
That was simply too frightening!
As a half-deity that had only just achieved half-deification through faith, the Tree of Life had only taken a tiny little step forward on the road to deification. It had neither kindled the divine fire nor had it formed a state of divinity yet, much less establish a divine nation.
To put it nicely, the Tree of Life was no different from a little newbie that had only just embarked on the road to deification.
To put it bluntly, it was the weakest and wussiest half-deity! How weak was it?
Without kindling the divine flame, one wouldn’t be able to convert the endless, infinite power of faith into the power of divinity.
This was too fatal of a flaw!
What was the power of divinity?
Power of divinity was electricity, fuel, an energy source, a driving force. It was the rice and pork that one ate every day.
If a human were iron, then rice would be steel.
If one skipped a meal, they would be drained of energy.
This was the case for humans, as well as deities.
Wouldn’t a half-deity without the power of divinity be the weakest god, then?
In the songs and tales frequently sung by bards where humans managed to slay gods, the ones that were slew were usually gods like that!
Of course, as a half-deity, the Tree of Life was nevertheless still able to create the power of divinity. However, without the divine fire as a tool, the creation process’s efficiency was appallingly low. Every drop of power of divinity required an extremely long amount of time.
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