The Creation of the Heavens and All Realms

Chapter 20: The Tree of Indestructible Destiny

When Zhou Tianci arrived at Lei Family Village, hundreds of ferocious beasts were besieging Lei Bao and the others. “Lei Dong said 63 people stayed behind earlier, but right now I see fewer than 30. It seems the others are in grave danger,” Zhou Tianci sighed inwardly. The living conditions for ordinary people in this world were truly harsh. “People of Lei Family Village, do not panic! Zhou Tianci, Commander of the First Battalion, First Army of the Blood Battle Legion, has arrived!” Zhou Tianci bellowed, charging into the pack of ferocious beasts like a whirlwind and cleaving three Qinghuo Wolves in half with a single thrust of his halberd. Then, his body suddenly shot upward, soaring five zhang into the air. With a few skillful maneuvers, he glided down into the center of Lei Family Village, utilizing the newly mastered “Wave-Turning Step.” “The troops from the City of Tears and Blood have arrived!” The villagers of Lei Family Village, surrounded by the ferocious beasts, were overjoyed upon hearing Zhou Tianci’s voice. They had originally thought they were doomed, but now a glimmer of hope had fallen from the heavens—a surprise so incredible they could scarcely believe it. Lei Bao was the first among the Lei clan to react. He shouted up at Zhou Tianci on the roof, “Thank you, Captain Zhou, for saving us! Lei Family Village will be eternally grateful!” Zhou Tianci laughed heartily, “Don’t mention it. This is all thanks to your perseverance in holding out until now… By the way, I’ve also arranged for a military escort for the Lei Family Village contingent retreating to the City of Tears and Blood, so you have nothing to worry about.” “That’s wonderful!” Hearing this, the Lei clan members all beamed with joy. Those retreating to the City of Tears and Blood were their families; they had stayed behind precisely to cover for them. Now that they knew their families were safe, they were even happier than they were about their own rescue. Hearing the cheers of the Lei clan, Zhou Tianci felt deeply gratified; to him, saving as many lives as possible mattered more than anything else. “Everyone, follow Captain Zhou to slay the beasts!” Lei Bao shouted, and the others responded in unison. Although some had sustained serious injuries, their fighting spirit remained high. “Then let’s do it.” Zhou Tianci charged into the pack of beasts once more. With a halberd in his right hand and a sword in his left, his figure moved like a ghost; wherever he passed, the ground was littered with the mangled corpses of beasts. The efficiency of his slaughter was spine-chilling. “What a formidable squad leader!” Lei Bao, who had been quietly observing Zhou Tianci, was stunned. Before his retirement, he had also been a squad leader, with cultivation reaching the late Post-Heaven realm, yet he had never seen a squad leader as powerful as Zhou Tianci. “His strength and speed far exceed the peak of the Post-Heaven realm. Could this man be a Pre-Heaven powerhouse?” Lei Bao couldn’t help but wonder. “Squad Leader, we’re here!” Before long, the voices of Qi Shan and the others echoed from the distance, giving the Lei family members a renewed sense of confidence. “Reinforcements have arrived!” Upon hearing Qi Shan’s voice, Zhou Tianci immediately ordered, “First Brigade, form ranks immediately and wipe out the beasts in Lei Family Village.” “Yes, Squad Leader!” Qi Shan and the other four squad leaders quickly led their men into formation, positioning Lei Dong at the rear. Once the four squads were in position, their martial energy rapidly coalesced, forming a sharp arrowhead. “Charge!” The four squads surged forward. The destructive power of an army lies in its disciplined formation and strict order. In this world, once a legion unites as one to凝聚军气, its lethality increases exponentially. Take the Blood Battle Legion as an example: when the Post-Heaven martial artists of a single battalion凝聚军气, they are powerful enough to kill a Pre-Heaven expert; when an entire army凝聚军气, it is powerful enough to severely wound a late-stage Pre-Heaven expert; and when an entire legion凝聚军气, even a peak-stage Pre-Heaven expert must avoid its onslaught. This is the power of an army! While Zhou Tianci fought enemies alone, Qi Shan and the others formed squads into battle formations. The four squads swiftly swept away the surrounding beasts, clearing a large open area. Their killing efficiency far surpassed that of the people from Lei Family Village. “Military Qi is truly formidable!” Zhou Tianci felt the four streams of Military Qi, as tangible as solid matter, and couldn’t help but think to himself that unity really does make the strength great. Even he himself could not stand up to an elite squad head-on. With the four squads joining the fray, it took less than a quarter of an hour to wipe out every ferocious beast in Lei Family Village. The entire village reeked of blood, though the scent quickly dissipated in the night breeze. “Uncle!” Lei Dong ran over to Lei Bao’s side. “Dahu, you’re back already?” Lei Bao’s expression changed the moment he saw Lei Dong. Zhou Tianci paid no attention to Lei Dong and the others. After the beasts were killed, he sent men out to search the area for any other packs of beasts. “Sir, I suggest we rest here in Lei Family Village tonight,” Qi Shan stepped forward to propose. “It’s getting late, and everyone is exhausted. We should rest for the night and search for other survivors tomorrow.” Zhou Tianci looked around; his men were indeed exhausted, so he agreed to Qi Shan’s suggestion. “Sir, this way, please.” Upon hearing that Zhou Tianci and his men would be resting in the village, Lei Bao immediately took it upon himself to arrange accommodations. Zhou Tianci was assigned to the Lei family ancestral hall, which was also the finest building in Lei Family Village. Zhou Tianci followed Lei Bao to the ancestral hall. Just as he was about to step into the main hall, he suddenly stopped. “Sir, what’s the matter?” Lei Dong asked. Zhou Tianci said nothing; he closed his eyes slightly and stood motionless. Seeing him like this, the others also stopped in their tracks, not daring to make a sound. Half a minute later, Zhou Tianci opened his eyes and asked Lei Bao, “Is there something buried beneath this ancestral hall?” Lei Bao looked taken aback. “Buried? I don’t think there’s anything like that here.” The other villagers from Lei Family Village were also puzzled, their faces filled with confusion. “How dare you! Captain Zhou went to great lengths to rescue you, yet instead of showing gratitude, you’re hiding things from him. You deserve to die!” Chen Xiangrong snapped. He assumed Zhou Tianci had discovered a treasure beneath the Lei family ancestral hall, and that the Lei family was clearly trying to cover it up. Zhou Tianci glared at Chen Xiangrong. “Shut up!” He then turned to Lei Bao and the others. “Don’t get the wrong idea. I have no ulterior motives; I just sense an unusual energy down there.” Lei Bao thought for a long time before saying, “Our Lei family ancestral hall has stood for over a century; I’ve never heard of anything remarkable down there…” “Wait, I just remembered!” Lei Dong suddenly said. “Uncle, do you remember Grand-Uncle mentioning that there’s a very special boulder beneath the ancestral hall?” “A boulder?” Lei Bao shook his head. “I know about that boulder, but it’s just an ordinary rock.” “A rock?” Zhou Tianci felt a surge of anticipation and quickly asked, “Lei Bao, might I take a look at that rock?” Lei Bao replied, “Although the ancestral hall must not be disturbed lightly, Your Excellency saved the lives of everyone in Lei Family Village. If you wish to see it, of course there’s no problem.” Lei Yanshi, the former village chief of Lei Family Village, had died in the beast tide. Since Lei Bao was now the clan head of the Lei family, his consent meant no one else would object. Zhou Tianci took the long halberd and thrust it forcefully downward; one-third of the ten-zhang-long weapon sank into the ground. Zhou Tianci’s hand gripping the halberd jolted violently, and the earth and rocks around it instantly scattered in all directions as if blown apart, leaving a large pit one meter deep in the ground. The ground in front of the Lei family ancestral hall was paved with stone slabs and had been specially reinforced, yet Zhou Tianci had shattered it with ease, leaving everyone in awe. “Impressive skill, sir!” Lei Bao praised. In this world, formidable martial prowess always earned one respect. “Below lies the boulder I mentioned.” Qi Shan and the others hurried forward, eager to see what this boulder that had piqued Zhou Tianci’s interest actually looked like. After examining it, they were all disappointed—the boulder was indeed, just as Lei Bao had said, nothing more than an ordinary rock. “This is the Thousand-Jun Stone—there’s no mistake. This aura is unmistakably that of the Thousand-Jun Stone!” Zhou Tianci stared at the boulder as a tidal wave of emotion surged through him; no one could fathom the shock he was feeling at that moment. “Sir, what’s wrong?” Lei Dong, who was particularly concerned about Zhou Tianci, noticed his unusual state and couldn’t help but ask. Zhou Tianci snapped back to his senses: “Nothing. Lei Bao, take the others to rest. I’ll stay here tonight.” At Zhou Tianci’s command, everyone else left, leaving him alone standing before the pit. Zhou Tianci first cleared away the dirt and rocks, then set his long halberd aside, removed his battle armor, leaped into the pit, and sat cross-legged atop the boulder. “The Thousand-Jun Stone is, in itself, an ordinary rock, yet it contains a trace of the Law of Force.” Information about the Thousand-Jun Stone slowly flowed through Zhou Tianci’s mind; this knowledge did not come from Zhou Shi’s memories, but from Zhou Tianci himself. In the stillness of the night, Zhou Tianci quickly entered a deep state of cultivation. He gradually lost all sense of the outside world, his spiritual essence seated cross-legged upon his spiritual platform. Unlike ordinary people, Zhou Tianci’s spiritual platform held an additional seedling about an inch tall. This seedling took root in the void; though it had no roots, branches, or leaves, it radiated vibrant vitality. The sapling had appeared a week earlier, and at the time, Zhou Tianci knew very little about it. Over the past week, Zhou Tianci’s spiritual essence had been receiving information from the sapling every moment, and now he had finally figured out its origin. Zhou Tianci called this sapling the Tree of Eternal Creation. “Who would have thought that the seed I accidentally obtained back then was actually a seed from the Tree of Creation, which grows in the river of time and space? And now, having fused with the Indestructible Chaos Spiritual Light, it has evolved into a new spiritual root?” Thinking about the origins of the Tree of Creation, Zhou Tianci found it utterly incredible. With such a background, the Tree of Eternal Creation possessed numerous wondrous uses, and devouring all things to sustain itself was one of them. The devouring ability Zhou Tianci possessed stemmed entirely from the Tree of Creation and Immortality. The energy devoured by the tree was mostly used for its own growth, while a small portion was used to transform Zhou Tianci’s spiritual essence and physical body; even this small portion of energy brought him immense benefits. Zhou Tianci’s spiritual essence gazed at the Tree of Eternal Creation. Gradually, within his spiritual platform space, beneath the Tree of Eternal Creation, a massive square boulder began to slowly materialize. This boulder was entirely jet-black, enveloped by an extremely faint halo; its true form was none other than the massive boulder located beneath the Lei family’s ancestral hall. “This is indeed the Thousand-Jun Stone!” Zhou Tianci sighed once more. He had obtained information about the Thousand-Jun Stone from the Tree of Eternal Creation. This stone was originally quite ordinary, but the workings of heaven and earth are extraordinarily mysterious; somehow, it had been imbued with a trace of the Law of Force. The Law of Force condensed within the Thousand-Jun Stone, granting it the power to subdue heaven and earth. Main Text Volume