The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 579: The Appearance of Another World Tree

The alliance force had already moved deeper into devil territory. After conquering the border region, they advanced to the next stage not long after and continued pressing forward. However, at this time, many cultivators who had comprehended the earth element and were advancing from the Doria Empire felt a slight disturbance in the ground.

Emperor Ladwin’s group was among them, as he too sensed the subtle tremor. The disturbance was extremely faint and went unnoticed by most cultivators, but those who had reached the emperor stage or comprehended the earth element would recognize the slight disturbance in the ground.

"Did you feel that?" Emperor Ladwin asked Imperial Teacher Elthar, who stood beside him. They were positioned some distance away from the main force, which moved steadily behind them, following their lead. Most cultivators traveled on wild beasts, in carriages, or aboard flying fortresses to speed up their journey.

"Yes, a slight tremor," the imperial teacher answered.

"With the terrain in the devil territory that we don’t entirely grasp, I really don’t know what this is. We’d better be careful, it might be a sign of the devils’ plan," he added, which made Emperor Ladwin nod.

They continued moving for a few moments, still feeling the slight tremor coming from deeper within the territory. And then—

"What is that?" Emperor Ladwin suddenly noticed something rising on the horizon.

Imperial Teacher Elthar also looked in the same direction but didn’t respond. After a few moments, they finally saw the full shape of the thing on the horizon.

"That’s a tree?!" Emperor Ladwin asked in bewilderment.

"From the silhouette, don’t you think it looks like a world tree?" he added.

Imperial Teacher Elthar continued looking at the silhouette on the horizon in silence before he nodded.

"Yes, from the silhouette, that’s indeed a world tree," he confirmed.

"What is going on? Why is there a world tree in devil territory?" Emperor Ladwin asked in confusion.

The imperial teacher was also confused by the situation. How could a world tree grow in this territory? A world tree must be planted in an environment that supports its life, and they knew that devil territory was not one of them. There was also a kind of ritual performed by the elves themselves to help the world tree grow properly. Without the ritual, the world tree would not grow, as it was something deeply connected to the karma of the elves.

Because of those requirements, the presence of a world tree in devil territory was something they couldn’t comprehend.

But then, Imperial Teacher Elthar seemed to remember something and looked at Emperor Ladwin.

"Wait, I think I remember something, about that strange record of the first emperor who built our empire. Didn’t you read it too in the special archive?" he asked.

Emperor Ladwin frowned. "The one about why the first emperor built the empire in its current location?" he said, to which the imperial teacher nodded.

"Yes. According to the record, didn’t it say that the elves at that time had to build the empire here? We didn’t pay much attention to it, although we were curious about our ancestor’s decision to found the Ivory Empire in our current territory. Why did they have to build it there? Was there some special reason behind choosing that location?" Elthar said.

"And then I remembered, the revered spirit of the world tree in the capital once told me she sensed a kind of subtle connection with something far to the north, beyond the borders of the empire. But she didn’t know what it was."

"If I think about it again, I believe this is connected to that world tree," Elthar said as he looked at the tree on the horizon, which was becoming more visible—and seemed to be moving.

"What if the phrase ’had to build here’ in the record wasn’t because there was something special about the current location of the Ivory Empire, but because of another reason?" Elthar said, turning to Emperor Ladwin with a solemn expression.

The emperor frowned as well, looking at his imperial teacher as a thought came to him.

"Are you saying that our ancestors had to build the Ivory Empire in its current position because they couldn’t build there?" he asked, pointing at the world tree. Even now, they could still feel a faint tremor beneath the ground.

"Are you saying that the world tree might have been planted by our ancestors, and that was supposed to be our original territory—but when the devils came, they had no choice but to move to our current empire’s territory?"

The imperial teacher fell silent for a moment and then nodded.

"Yes, that’s what I suspect," he said, then sighed. "However, it’s still just a guess—we have no proof. Even if it’s true, our empire has already been established in its current place. And even if that world tree truly has a connection to our ancestors, all of that belongs to the past."

"Right now, we don’t know if that world tree is the same as the ones we know in the empire. It has already been in devil territory for a long time. What if the devils have done something to it, and that world tree is actually hostile?" he said with a worried expression.

"The world tree is not an easy opponent, because it is a truly powerful being," he added.

Emperor Ladwin gritted his teeth at the thought that the world tree might have been corrupted by the devils and the environment of the devil territory. To imagine that a tree they had long regarded as guardian beings, the hands of the heavenly tree of the world, had become an object of the devils, he couldn’t help but feel furious.

This was a blasphemous act!

At this moment, he wanted nothing more than to destroy every devil for this offense, and he would, if he had the power.

The rise of the world tree was also witnessed by many troops, who began to wonder if it was part of the devils’ plan. However, it was the elves who were most shaken by the sight, as they recognized the silhouette as that of a world tree. They could not understand why such a sacred tree would appear deep within devil territory.

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At the Ivory Empire, Alice—the spirit of the world tree in the capital, was in the middle of her meditation atop the world tree when she suddenly felt something stir deep within her heart. She opened her eyes and looked toward the north, her gaze sharpening ever so slightly.

"This feeling..."

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At the Devil Lord’s palace, the Devil Lord also sensed the disturbance and turned his gaze toward the southern horizon. From his position, he still could not see the world tree because it was too far away, but he could feel a faint tremor coming from that direction, which made him raise his eyebrows slightly.

Just then, he sensed an incoming transmission from the communication artifact in the pouch at his waist. He took it out and held it near to his ear. While still staring at the horizon, a male voice came through.

"The thing buried inside the Grand Canyon of Offering Souls has emerged to the surface."

Upon hearing the report, the Devil Lord showed no change in expression. He responded to the voice calmly.

"Then use Plan B2. Bring your entire troops, just in case."

"Understood, my lord," the voice replied before the communication cut off.

The Devil Lord had clearly anticipated this development and already prepared a contingency plan, which explained his lack of surprise. He turned back toward the altar, watching the black pillar and the opening portal accelerated. A faint smile tugged at his lips.

"Yes... all of you fools are only speeding up the opening of the portal. Keep going—until your own doom arrives," he thought to himself.

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The situation in the Grand Canyon of Offering Souls was already in chaos, as the landscape in the canyon’s core area had completely changed. Now, a huge tree stood there, its height piercing the clouds. It was even taller than the highest world tree in the Ivory Empire, the world tree in the capital city.

The long, massive roots of the world tree had emerged from underground, destroying a large part of the central area of the canyon and reshaping much of the surrounding landscape.

Many landslides also occurred across the Grand Canyon, altering the terrain in several regions of the canyon.

Dureus, who had been standing closest to the core area, had already escaped more than hundreds of kilometres away, scared shitless when the heavy earthquake hit. The collapsing land and the appearance of the giant tree left him petrified, as he had seen that thing up close and could sense the overwhelming aura it released.

He couldn’t believe that something so massive had been buried underground all this time.

The beasts in the distance also stared in the direction of the tree, many of them finally able to see its full form. In fact, every beast across the grand canyon mirrored the same reaction, their eyes locked on the giant world tree that had emerged from the ground.

At last, all of them could see for themselves the very thing buried in the core area—the object of their long standing questions.

While their gazes remained fixed on the giant tree, a woman’s voice suddenly resounded across the grand canyon.

"Attention to all beings in the grand canyon of Offering Souls."

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