Chapter 2144: Chapter 2188: Father

Jiang Fan understood.

The Mystic Sky Realm was a world ruled by wood-element beings.

The towering trees he saw were the last remaining powerhouses of the Mystic Sky Realm.

They were using their own lives to guard the birth of a new clansman.

At the moment of annihilation of their race, when heaven and earth were overturning, what they thought of was not scattering and fleeing for their own lives, but guarding a newborn.

Just as someone had once asked Jiang Fan: to wage a life-or-death war against the Ancient Giants for the sake of mere mortals—was it worth it?

Now Jiang Fan’s heart held the same question.

For the sake of a single infant, they were staking the final future of their entire race.

Was it worth it?

Dong——

From the depths of the firmament there suddenly came a thunderous boom.

A black, sky-piercing giant tree plummeted down from the heavens.

Its trunk was split open, its leaves scattered, most of its bare branches burned away.

Its roots still burned with violet flames, charring it to blackened coal.

Peng——

The black giant tree crashed heavily beside the slender red tree; that colossal body transformed into a burly man in black.

Fine gold-tinged wooden patterns ran across his body, and on his forehead were carved markings of nine leaves.

Most of them were already damaged, only one or two remained.

The nine-leaf markings, like those of the Nine-Day Giant Emperor, the Nine Prison Asura Emperor, and the Nine-winged Great Angel, were the emblem of the Virtuous Realm.

The man before them was a Ninth-level Sage!

At least, he once was.

Now his body was in ruins, like a rag doll torn apart by a pack of wild dogs.

The aura of a Ninth-level Sage had withered to the point of being imperceptible, his life-force rapidly draining away.

The violet flames on his legs clung like a bone-deep canker, spreading through his body; wherever they passed, all was scorched to black charcoal.

Meanwhile.

A colossal Blood Demon Emperor stepped down from the sky, treading upon rivers of blood.

Blood-hungry eyes radiated a terrifying aura.

He was chewing on branches bitten off the Ninth-level wood-element lifeform, his expression one of pure enjoyment:

"I finally get to taste the flesh and blood of a Nine-leaf Wood Emperor!"

"Just like the legends say, flesh and blood like immortal brew—truly exquisite!"

The Nine-leaf Wood Emperor stared at him in grief and fury, eyes full of unwillingness:

"If I hadn’t trusted the wrong people and suffered betrayal at the most critical moment, you would have already been beaten back to your lair, just like a thousand years ago!"

The Nine-day Blood Demon Emperor licked the flesh in his mouth, a cruel smile in his eyes:

"Heroes are judged only by victory or defeat; the process is meaningless."

"Your flesh and blood are mine..."

As he spoke, his gaze lifted toward the slender blood-red tree, greed surging in his eyes:

"Your wife and child are purer even than your flesh and blood, I also..."

Just then.

A woman’s cold, clear voice sounded above his head.

"Per our agreement, mother and child are mine."

On the Nine-day Blood Demon Emperor’s head, a woman with a human appearance and a cultivation just at the Asura King Realm walked over with her hands clasped behind her back.

Her features were exceedingly beautiful, her gaze sharp and penetrating, as if it could see straight through the human heart.

On either side of her, five Asura Emperors followed.

They were none other than Tian Ge and the five Asura Emperors who had fled from the Southern Heavenly Realm!

Tian Ge held in her hands a jar of violet flames.

Clearly, the violet fire that had caused the Nine-leaf Wood Emperor’s crushing defeat was Tian Ge’s handiwork!

The Nine-day Blood Demon Emperor rolled his eyes upward, a savage light flaring.

Tian Ge remained unhurried, speaking coolly:

"Beneath the World Embryo lies a grand formation I arranged. If I die, the formation will activate and drag the World Embryo down into the Void for eternity."

"If you don’t wish to obtain a useless empty world, you had best abide by our agreement."

A streak of murderous intent flashed explosively in the eyes of the Nine-day Blood Demon Emperor, but he forced it down.

They had staked the full power of their world, paying any price to besiege and take the Mystic Sky Realm—not merely to eat two people.

It was not worth the risk for the Nine-leaf Wood Emperor’s wife and child.

His face darkened: "Take them and leave the Mystic Sky Realm at once!"

Tian Ge put away the violet flames and smiled faintly: "My thanks, Nine-day Blood Demon Emperor, for your cooperation."

Then she turned to the Nine-leaf Wood Emperor; seeing him glaring at her with eyes full of hatred, Tian Ge’s expression remained indifferent:

"The weak are meat, and the strong do the eating. Power alone is truth."

"If you must resent, then resent your own lack of strength."

The Nine-leaf Wood Emperor clenched his jaw so hard that, from the force of his hatred, threads of fresh red blood seeped from his gums.

He hated—he hated Tian Ge, and hated himself even more.

When the Mystic Sky Realm fought against the Ancient Blood Demons, the forces had originally been evenly matched; they only needed to wait for Jiang Fan to arrive with the Peace Monument to reverse the tide.

But he had been too impatient.

Thus he mistakenly placed his faith in this Dark Shura Clan.

The Sages returned from Central Earth, many clansmen, even his own wife, had tried to dissuade him from trusting the Dark Shura Clan.

Back in the Southern Heavenly Realm they already had a history of collaborating with Ancient Dark Creatures—they could not be trusted.

Yet Tian Ge, by various means, dispelled his doubts.

Over the past half month, she had let their Emperors in one by one.

At first they truly did fight hard against the Ancient Blood Demons; with their help, the Mystic Sky Realm’s army had once even mounted a counteroffensive.

But at the most critical juncture, they collectively turned traitor, heavily injuring the Mystic Sky Realm’s own Wood Emperors.

The result went without saying.

The scene of the Ten Sins of Central Earth betraying their own a thousand years ago was replayed anew.

Only this time, the Mystic Sky Realm could not hold out to the very end like Central Earth had; their powerhouses were virtually all slain, leaving only those before them.

The Nine-leaf Wood Emperor no longer had the heart to curse Tian Ge.

Everything was futile.

He stretched out his palm, pressing it to the base of the slender red tree, and said in shame: "Hongliu... you and the child... take care..."

When he finished speaking, the last two leaf Seals on his forehead suddenly shattered, transforming into boundless green energy that surged into the red tree.

In that instant, the womb received unprecedented power and began to emit a flickering radiance.

The baby within struggled, trying to break out of the womb.

The Nine-leaf Wood Emperor, in his final moments, was passing his power on to the child.

And he himself, his eyes completely lost their light, his aura dissipating.

Only his gaze still remained fixed upon the red tree and the child beside him.

This was what he could least let go of in his dying hour.

A strange light flashed in Tian Ge’s eyes: "Stop that child from being born. Once it sinks into the earth, it will be near impossible to find."

The Nine-day Blood Demon Emperor sneered: "How could I let him have his way?"

His mouth opened wide, a scarlet long tongue shooting toward the womb.

Yet midway, he suddenly sensed something, and snapped his tongue back, staring warily at a certain spot as though facing a great enemy.

"Who is there?"

Tian Ge glanced sideways, the point of her brow lifting slightly: "Someone formidable?"

For someone to remain hidden nearby for so long, only now to be noticed by the Nine-day Blood Demon Emperor, and even to be regarded with such fear—

The Nine-day Blood Demon Emperor’s gaze made the surrounding space shudder violently.

Jiang Fan’s Invisibility Technique was broken, and he appeared.

"Wang Chongxiao?" Tian Ge was mildly surprised.

She had spent so long at Jiang Fan’s side—how could she not know of the existence of that singular man, Wang Chongxiao?

She had not expected to encounter him here.

Jiang Fan silently watched the Nine-leaf Wood Emperor.

Perhaps it was because he himself was about to become a father.

Seeing the Nine-leaf Wood Emperor, even on his deathbed still guarding his wife and child, an indescribable sorrow welled in his heart.

He was not a good king.

Nor was he necessarily a good husband.

But he wanted to be a good father.

Jiang Fan’s gaze shifted, turning cold as it fell upon Tian Ge: "You truly deserve death!"

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