But this wasn't Fang Tianci's fault. His mortal incarnation's lifespan had already been doomed even when it was still a fetus in the womb. If Yang Kai hadn't intervened—splitting off a portion of his own divine soul—how could the Fang Tianci of today exist? The grass on his grave would have been ten zhang tall long ago.
But back then, Fang Tianci had been nothing but a tiny fetus, far too fragile to withstand much. Yang Kai hadn't dared to bestow any great power upon him abruptly, and could only let him grow naturally. Everything related to the true self had been sealed away.
Only when Fang Tianci grew strong enough would the seals be lifted step by step, allowing him to see his true self.
In other words, the Fang Tianci of today was merely Fang Tianci.
But he had already reached Sixth-Order Open Heaven. The seals within his divine soul should have begun to loosen. As his strength grew step by step, once he reached the Eighth-Order, the seals would break of their own accord, and everything would become clear.
It was the same for his mortal incarnation, and the same for his beast incarnation.
The trust he displayed now was not merely that of a dojo disciple for his Dao Lord—it was the trust of the mortal incarnation for its true self.
There was no logic by which one would harm oneself. Perhaps he wasn't consciously aware of it, but this was instinct.
"Does the Dao Lord still remember when this disciple told you that his Small World is corporeal?" Fang Tianci asked.
Yang Kai gathered his thoughts and nodded. "Yes, you mentioned it."
Fang Tianci continued, "The Dao Lord previously told this disciple that it might be related to my cultivation of the Space Laws. But I feel that may not be the case."
"Then what is it?" Yang Kai asked, already knowing the answer.
Fang Tianci's expression turned solemn. "Please look, Dao Lord."
As he spoke, he suddenly opened the gateway to his Small World, allowing Yang Kai to examine it closely.
Yang Kai sighed inwardly. Honest people always got the short end of the stick. He hoped this fellow wouldn't be so straightforward when facing enemies in the future. Flinging open the gateway to one's Small World just like that—what kind of behavior was that?
Yang Kai extended his divine sense and probed inside, his expression shifting to surprise. "This is..."
The foundation of his mortal incarnation was quite solid indeed. Though he had only just advanced to the Sixth-Order, the heavenly and earthly power within his Small World fell short of the Seventh-Order by only a hair.
It made sense when you thought about it. His mortal incarnation had been fully qualified to advance straight to Seventh-Order Open Heaven. In fact, he had succeeded—it was only due to the restrictions of the true self that he had fallen from the Seventh-Order back to the Sixth.
His realm had dropped, but his foundation had barely diminished.
This mortal incarnation of his was destined to become a powerhouse who could slay opponents above his own realm.
Fang Tianci said earnestly, "It was during my seclusion that I first discovered this thing had appeared in my Small World. I imagine it was already there when I created it. When I first found it, it was nothing more than a tiny sapling, but over these years it has grown into a full tree. With it inside, my Small World seems extraordinarily stable—smooth and flawless without a single defect. I believe my Small World becoming corporeal must be related to this thing. Dao Lord, tell me—what does it look like to you?"
Yang Kai looked up at him. "A World Tree?"
I was the one who sealed that thing inside you. How could I not know?
Back then, he had obtained three child trees from Elder Tree—one he gave to Wu Kuang, one he planted in the Myriad Demon Realm, and the last one he sealed inside Fang Tianci's body.
Before advancing to Open Heaven, the child tree naturally remained hidden. Once he had broken through, the child tree had revealed itself.
Time waited for no one. If Fang Tianci wanted to grow quickly, he needed a child tree.
"So it really is a World Tree!" Fang Tianci looked as though he had half-expected it, yet he was still shaken.
Had he never seen the World Tree of the Star Realm, he might not have thought much of it—only knowing it must be some extraordinary tree. But having seen the Star Realm's World Tree, how could he not realize that his Small World also contained a child tree?
"But why would there be a World Tree in my Small World?" Fang Tianci asked, thoroughly bewildered. The reason he had sought out Yang Kai was precisely to ask about this.
"What's so strange about that?" Yang Kai said with a dismissive smirk. "Take a look at me."
As he spoke, he opened the gateway to his own Small World.
Fang Tianci looked up and extended his divine sense inside. He beheld the entire expanse of the Void World, saw the Void Dojo, and at the center of it all, a colossal tree even more massive than the World Tree of the Star Realm—towering majestically.
"Dao Lord, you—" Fang Tianci's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets, his face painted with disbelief. He had lived in the Void World for over two thousand years, traversing countless mountains and rivers, yet he had never known such a tree existed there.
It must have been deliberately concealed by the Dao Lord.
"You're not the only one in this world who can stumble upon fortune." Yang Kai withdrew the gateway, having no intention of explaining further. One day, his mortal incarnation would have all its seals fully lifted, and then everything would become clear on its own. There was no point in wasting breath now.