177: Chapter 177 A Dead Tree Comes Back to Life! Is This a Miracle of Life?

Su Changge's consciousness, carrying an irresistible majesty, resonated directly within the Old Priest's mind.

"Take me there."

Simple, direct, and filled with the commanding tone of a superior to a subordinate.

He needed to display an air of taking the 'heaven-reaching altar' for granted, rather than showing desire. This posture was the cornerstone for maintaining his identity as the 'Divine Messenger' and served as the most direct warning to this old fox.

However, this time, the Old Priest did not immediately obey.

His hunched body cast a twisted shadow under the blood-colored moonlight. He raised his head slightly, and from deep within the shadows of his hood, two points of crimson light seemed to pierce through the Void Realm, attempting to peer into the Origin of Su Changge's Divine Soul.

A thought, carrying a hint of hesitation mixed with a certain adherence to principles, was slowly transmitted over.

"Lord Divine Messenger, the heaven-reaching altar is the highest secret of our clan. It is the Foundation where our Bloodline Clan communicates with the great True God and carries out our grand cause of conquest."

"It is no ordinary object, but was forged using a piece of divine bone from a sleeping deity as its core, supplemented by the skulls of ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine Prodigies from the Human Race, and soaked at the source of the Blood River for a million years. It carries the power of the True God. Each activation requires sacrificing the living beings of an entire world as an offering, and the energy consumed is enough to drain an entire Star Domain."

"More importantly, to activate it, one must… receive the oracle of the True God."

Every thread of the Old Priest's thought was filled with piety and awe, as if he were stating an immutable Law of the Heavenly Dao.

Deep within Su Changge's Divine Soul, a silent sneer echoed.

The fox's tail had finally been revealed.

After going around in such a big circle—from the Origins of the Blood Prison Realm, to the mission of the Blood Descendants, and then dangling the 'heaven-reaching altar' as bait—the final destination was still this so-called 'oracle of the True God.'

This was just a roundabout way of demanding that he prove 'I am who I say I am.'

And what is an 'oracle'? Under this blood moon, within this tribe, the power of judgment still rested in the hands of this High Priest.

Su Changge understood completely; the other party was setting conditions for him. He hung the hope of 'going home' in front of him as the most lethal bargaining chip, forcing him to reveal more of his trump cards to verify the authenticity of his identity.

The air above the altar became heavy once again. The radiance of the blood moon seemed to congeal; the wind ceased, and even the ragged breathing of the Blood Descendants warriors in the distance vanished.

Su Changge did not speak.

He simply gazed quietly at the Old Priest below the altar with eyes that were indifferent to the extreme. There was no joy or anger, no killing intent in his gaze—only a primordial void, as if he were a dead star about to collapse into a black hole, gathering the power to devour everything in silence.

An invisible pressure took on substance, weighing heavily upon the Old Priest's heart.

He felt as if he were no longer facing a living being, but standing alone before a bottomless, cold pool of Chaos. Any verbal probing, any attempt to peek into his thoughts, would be swallowed without a trace by that deep darkness, not even causing a single ripple.

This 'Divine Messenger's' patience, or rather, the level of life he existed at, far exceeded his own estimations.

The Old Priest began to feel uneasy. He could probe, but he dared not truly provoke an existence that might be related to the True God. The wrath of such an existence, the divine punishment that would descend, was something that not even his small tribe, or perhaps even the entire Blood Prison Realm, could withstand.

If the other party turned out to be real, his offense today would be a grave sin of blasphemy against the gods.

Thinking of this, the Old Priest's tensed Aura softened once again. He decided to try a different approach, a gentler form of testing that could still achieve his goal.

Leaning on his staff made from the spine of an unknown creature, the crimson gem at its tip flickering with an eerie light, he slowly turned around and pointed his withered finger toward an open space beside the altar.

There stood an ancient tree that had been withered for many years.

The trunk was massive, requiring seven or eight adult Blood Descendants to encircle it. It was charred black like charcoal, its bark cracked and covered in hideous scars, as if from axe blows or lightning strikes. It had no leaves, no branches, only a bare trunk pointing straight at the blood-red sky, exuding a sense of deathly silence and unwillingness that even time could not erase.

The ground around it was barren, not a blade of grass growing, and the soil displayed a lifeless, gray color. It was as if the existence of this tree itself was a curse, having drained and stifled all vitality within a hundred zhang.

The Old Priest's thought came again, this time carrying a hint of perfectly measured anticipation and calculation.

"Lord Divine Messenger, since your Divine Power can trigger our clan's totem relic and make the Blood God Totem Pillar, which has been silent for ten thousand years, shine with brilliance once more."

"Surely, you can also make this 'Sacred Plant,' which once bathed in the radiance of the True God but unfortunately withered, regain its vitality, right?"

This was yet another new test.

And it was more intuitive and harder to bluff through than the previous mental confrontation. Mental pressure could be faked, but making a thoroughly dead, withered tree come back to life required real, tangible power capable of creating life.

Su Changge cast his gaze toward the tree that was as dead as it could possibly be. Its bark had partially weathered away, turning to ash at the slightest touch, and the internal wooden structure was likely long rotted. He could even sense a dense Aura of resentment and Death Qi emanating from it.

This is called withered? This thing is practically the corpse of a Essence Spirit!

Make it regain its vitality? How is this any different from making a skeleton grow flesh and blood to be reborn?

The surrounding Bloodline Tribesmen also followed the High Priest's gesture and looked at the withered tree, their eyes filled with doubt and confusion.

According to the records in the tribe's most ancient texts, this 'Blood Withered Wood' had been dead for at least three thousand years.

Legend has it that in some distant era, when the great True God descended into this world, the first drop of divine blood fell upon the earth and gave birth to this sacred tree. It was once lush and leafy, with every leaf flowing with blood-colored divine radiance, possessing the supreme power to communicate with the gods and foresee the future.

But as time passed and its Divine Power was exhausted, it eventually withered away.

Generations of High Priests had tried every method, watering it with the heart blood of countless powerful creatures and sacrificing the most pious Souls, but none could make it grow even one more new leaf.

Now, the High Priest was actually requesting this 'Divine Messenger' to resurrect it?

In the eyes of all the Blood Descendants, this was a task that was simply impossible to complete!

Su Changge clearly felt the gazes cast from all directions—some suspicious, some curious, some expectant, but mostly, it was a scrutiny waiting to see a show.

He knew he had no way out.

He had to accept this trial.

And he must succeed! Otherwise, all the majesty and mystery he had built up would vanish into thin air.

His thoughts raced, but his face remained as indifferent as ever, as if the request the Old Priest made was not a Heaven-Defying demand, but merely asking him to casually brush a speck of dust off his shoulder.

Under the gaze of all the Bloodline Tribesmen, including the eyes of the Old Priest hidden beneath his hood, Su Changge walked down the steps of the altar step by step.

He arrived before the charred Blood Withered Wood.

He extended a hand.

That hand was slender and fair, with distinct knuckles and skin so delicate that no pores could be seen, forming a stark and glaring contrast with the charred, rough, and cracked tree trunk. On one side was extreme vitality and perfection; on the other, extreme death and decay.

He gently pressed his palm onto the tree trunk.

Cold, dead, rough.

This was the only sensation the trunk transmitted to him. Beneath his palm, there was no flow of energy, no signs of life, only a void that had been silent for a thousand years.

Su Changge closed his eyes, shutting out all external scrutiny, and issued a command to the System in his mind.

"System, is there any way to make this tree come back to life?"

[Detected Host requirement: Revive the target withered wood.]

[Matching with special effects library... Analyzing the target's residual energy structure... Analysis complete.]

[Plan generated: Recommend using large-scale life-type special effect — 'Hymn of Life'.]

[Special effect description: Simulates the life energy fluctuations from the Origins of the Universe, using the Host as a medium to guide the free-floating energy around the target, causing it to visually present the complete process of revival, growth, and blooming.]

[Estimated emotion points consumption: Medium. Activate?]

"Activate!"

Su Changge did not hesitate in the slightest and confirmed in his mind.

The moment he confirmed the command.

A sudden change occurred!

The palm he had pressed against the tree trunk suddenly emitted a layer of soft, milky-white halo.

The halo was not blinding, yet it contained an indescribable warmth and sanctity. It pierced through the light of the blood moon, dispelling the coldness of the altar, and caused every Bloodline Tribesman touched by the light to feel a sense of tranquility originating from the depths of their Souls.

This light was completely out of place in this world.

Everything here was blood-colored, dark, and violent. Killing was an instinct, and destruction was glory.

Yet this light was warm, holy, and full of vitality. It represented creation, it represented nurturing, and it represented the very thing this world lacked the most.

All the Bloodline Tribesmen who saw this light were stunned.

They felt that their hearts, which had become hardened and violent amidst killing and conquest, were purified a little under the radiance of this light. The feeling was very strange, yet not unpleasant.

In the very instant they were lost in a daze.

A faint, almost inaudible 'crack' sound echoed before the dead-silent altar.

Everyone's gaze instantly focused.

At the spot where Su Changge's palm was pressed, the black tree bark, which had long since carbonized and become as hard as iron, actually cracked open a hair-thin fissure.

Immediately after, under the gaze of everyone's wide-open eyes and the Old Priest's suddenly constricted pupils.

A streak of incomparably vivid green, a color completely different from all others in this world, emerged from that pitch-black crack—tenaciously, firmly, and unstoppably!

It was a tender, green sprout!