Several days later, with a thunderous roar, Zhan Wuhen came hurtling back from the distance, and in his grasp he held something that resembled a colossal dragon, its spiritual energy overwhelming.
It was a spirit vein.
No one knew where Zhan Wuhen had extracted it from. He flew straight to the World Tree's clone and slammed it straight down.
The spirit vein shattered, erupting into a torrent of Heaven and Earth spiritual energy like a violent storm that swept outward in all directions. The ground shook and the mountains trembled.
Yet the storm lasted only a dozen breaths before dissipating entirely, devoured by the World Tree's clone. Bolstered by the spirit vein, the clone surged upward by more than a dozen zhang.
Great Emperor Bing Yu also brought back a spirit vein and cast it down…
Great Emperor Beast Martial did the same…
One spirit vein after another was smashed into the earth, and the World Tree's clone grew at a pleasing rate.
Yang Kai had been watching with a cheerful expression, but as he continued to observe, something began to feel off—the World Tree's growth showed absolutely no sign of stopping.
Chu Tianji was also growing anxious. "Void, this World Tree isn't going to drain the Star Boundary dry, is it?"
Although the World Tree's growth had stabilized the Star Boundary's world and the fragmented Laws showed clear signs of being repaired, the amount of spiritual energy it consumed was truly terrifying. If this continued for long, within just a few years, the entire Star Boundary's spiritual energy might be completely devoured.
And when that happened, what good would stable Laws be? Without spiritual energy, how would cultivators practice?
"It shouldn't come to that," Yang Kai said, though even he wasn't entirely sure anymore. If it really did happen, it would be like lifting a stone only to drop it on his own foot. He had planted the World Tree's clone to save the Star Boundary, but if it ended up transforming the Star Boundary into something unrecognizable, the cost would far outweigh the gain.
At this point, the World Tree's clone had already grown to a thousand zhang in height. The barren hills that had originally stood here were long gone, crushed to nothing by the massive, gnarled roots. A tree of such enormity could be glimpsed even from a considerable distance, and underground, its roots had already spread across an area of a million li.
This million-li radius was clearly different from the rest of the Star Boundary, being transformed by a mysterious and wondrous power that infused the fractured Laws with renewed vitality.
Time passed. A month later, the World Tree's clone had grown to ten thousand zhang tall.
Its vast canopy blanketed an area of hundreds of thousands of li. The towering giant stood like a guardian deity, sheltering this stretch of heaven and earth, while its roots had spread to who-knew-where, covering nearly ten percent of the Star Boundary's total area.
At this stage, the World Tree's growth rate suddenly slowed.
Yang Kai probed carefully with his senses and discovered that the tree hadn't stopped growing—it simply could no longer be seen with the naked eye. It no longer grew taller or wider, but its underground roots continued expanding across the Star Boundary at a resolute, steady pace.
At the same time, from beyond the sky, wisps of an inexplicable power were drawn to the World Tree and absorbed by it. Through every leaf and branch on its enormous canopy, it refined this energy into pure Heaven and Earth spiritual energy, giving back to the land below.
"Starlight!" Zhan Wuhen raised an eyebrow.
The Great Emperors' perception was incredibly keen, and not a single change in the World Tree escaped their notice. That mysterious power coming from beyond the heavens was unmistakably the force of stars from the vast cosmos.
Yang Kai exhaled in relief.
Judging by the current situation, the Star Boundary had been stabilized, and there was no longer any need to fear that the World Tree would drain it dry. It would absorb starlight on its own and continue to grow. And when the day came that its roots covered the entirety of the Star Boundary, the world's Laws would be fully restored—and might even bring benefits beyond imagination.
Moreover, the spiritual energy that had been consumed during its growth could be replenished through the starlight it absorbed. One day, the energy it had spent could be repaid tenfold, a hundredfold, or even more. What kind of transformation would the Star Boundary undergo then?
The World Tree was truly wondrous beyond belief!
Yang Kai clicked his tongue in admiration. Glancing around, he saw that the expressions of the various Great Emperors had indeed improved noticeably. Even their auras had grown more settled and composed.
The Star Boundary's world had reaped the benefits, and the Great Emperors—bound to this realm in shared prosperity and shared ruin—benefited equally. Even their individual hold over the Star Boundary had strengthened by a measure.
Below the World Tree, more than a dozen figures stood in quiet observation.
Suddenly, Yang Kai felt a stir in his heart. He retrieved his communication artifact with Lu Xue and probed it, and a look of surprise flickered across his face, though it quickly gave way to understanding. He turned to the Great Emperors. "I'll be right back."
His figure blurred and vanished.
Moments later, at the edge of the Star Boundary, Yang Kai's form materialized. He looked up and beheld an enormous being lumbering away from him, its massive back turned toward him as it strode off into the distance.
That colossal figure—none other than the Giant Spirit, A Da.
His movements were not fast, one could even call them exceedingly slow, but each step covered a staggering distance. In just two or three strides, his enormous silhouette had shrunk to a tiny black speck.
Lu Xue flew over and reported, "Sir, the Giant Spirit suddenly stood up just moments ago and left without a word."
"I know," Yang Kai nodded. A Da had been drawn here by the Star Boundary's dying aura and had lingered on its outskirts for decades, waiting for it to die. But this time, Yang Kai had brought back the World Tree's clone and pulled the Star Boundary back from the brink between life and death. A Da had clearly sensed the change, which was why he departed.