5: Chapter 5 Divine Talent

"Ding! Theoretically feasible."

"The World Tree Dao Seed contains a trace of the Heavenly Dao Origin. If the host is willing to endure the agony of a near-death ordeal, there is a 30% chance to elevate your talent to Immortal Grade."

A near-death ordeal?

Chu Changsheng's pupils constricted sharply, and immediately, a burst of ecstatic fire ignited within them.

But before this fire could even begin to burn, it was shattered into pieces by the number "30%".

His brows knitted into a dead knot, and his Adam's apple bobbed violently: "Only 30%? System, are you trying to send me to my death?"

"Ding! For an ordinary Cultivator to forcibly undergo Fusion, the mortality rate is as high as 99.9%."

"Because the host possesses Heaven Grade talent, the survival probability has been significantly increased."

Hiss—

Chu Changsheng gasped, his spine turning cold as if he could already foresee his own end: Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

Yet, in that very instant, he recalled the grand vow he had made upon first transmigrating, and remembered those days and nights of bone-deep, unforgettable Cultivating.

All thoughts of retreat vanished into ash at this moment.

He bit down hard on his molars, his jaw bulging with ferocious angles, and a desperate, ruthless glint erupted in his eyes—

"Damn it, wealth is sought amidst danger; I'll do it!"

Each word was squeezed out from between his teeth, as if spoken to the System, but even more so to himself.

"Rather than looking up at others from the mud, I'd rather stake this life to fight for a bright and clear world!"

Before his words had even faded, his five fingers clawed out, grabbing the World Tree Dao Seed that shimmered with ten-colored light in the Void Realm, and with all his might, he slammed it into his Dantian!

"Boom—"

The world shattered.

The gates of the Nine Nether abyss were kicked open, and the pain accumulated over billions of years, like a black tide, instantly engulfed him.

This was not just pain.

This was death by a thousand cuts, skinning, tendon-pulling; it was his Soul being placed on a millstone and ground into powder, inch by inch!

His internal organs were gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand, twisted like a pretzel, then violently torn apart, only to be crudely mashed back together by raging fire and shards of ice.

Every breath felt like thousands of steel needles piercing his lungs; every heartbeat felt like a heavy hammer striking inside his skull.

His skin betrayed him first.

Dense, tree-like patterns, like cursed vines crawling out of Hell, bearing the searing agony, climbed wildly across his neck, cheeks, and limbs.

Wherever each pattern passed, it was as if a red-hot branding iron was carving an eternal, indelible mark deep into his Soul.

His entire body uncontrollably levitated, and from his whole being, the Primordial Qi from the beginning of Chaos began to diffuse.

It was as if he were no longer the ordinary Cultivator Chu Changsheng, but Pangu, the giant god, standing at the Origin point of the Universe's birth.

Behind him, the phantom of a towering giant tree slowly solidified with a terrifying momentum.

The trunk was so thick it seemed capable of piercing the firmament, and every texture of the bark was like a gorge on the earth, bearing the weight of the world.

The branches and leaves blotted out the sky, every leaf trembling, and each tremor shook off specks of stardust that transformed into streams of light, circling and dancing around him, recounting the most ancient secrets of the creation of the world.

However, beneath this sacred spectacle lay the cruelest purgatory.

His body was cracking apart.

The crisp sound of bones snapping like popping beans—from finger bones to arm bones, from ribs to spine—every inch was breaking and shattering.

His skin cracked like a dried-up riverbed, and what seeped from the fissures was not blood, but blinding emerald-gold light.

Yet in the next instant, the torn flesh was wildly reorganized under the nourishment of the Primordial Qi.

The newborn skin was crystal clear, shimmering with a jade-like glow.

Cracking, reorganizing.

Cracking again, reorganizing again.

The Reincarnation of death and rebirth.

The alternation of destruction and creation.

The excruciating pain, like an endless tsunami, washed over his consciousness, each wave more ferocious than the last.

His vision swayed violently between blurriness and clarity, the world at times pitch black as ink, at other times filled with brilliant white light.

He gritted his teeth so hard his gums were already torn, and blood flowed gurgling down the corners of his mouth, dripping into the Void Realm, only to be absorbed by the giant tree phantom, transforming into crimson leaves.

The World Tree Dao Seed in his Dantian had long since merged into his flesh and blood, transforming into thousands of emerald-gold streams of light, like maddened, raging Dragons, rampaging through his Meridians!

Wherever the light passed, his Meridians snapped inch by inch, only to be swiftly repaired by the emerald-gold light.

The snapping was heart-wrenching pain; the repairing was the itch of raging fire.

Pain and itch intertwined, nearly tearing his sanity into fragments.

"Argh—"

He could finally no longer hold it back, and let out a muffled roar toward the sky.

This was not a human voice.

It was the sound of an ancient Vicious Beast trapped in a snare, filled with unwillingness, anger, and... a vitality so stubborn it was incomprehensible!

As if responding to his roar, the towering giant tree phantom behind him shook violently and solidified a bit more.

Amidst the lush branches and leaves, countless specks of brilliant starlight suddenly appeared!

Not a phantom, but true starlight condensed from Primordial Qi!

They leaped and flickered between the branches and leaves, some like the Big Dipper, some like the Milky Way; the entire starry sky had been compressed into this giant tree.

The tree-like patterns had now crawled all over his body, like living things, greedily devouring the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

Spiritual Qi gathered from all directions, forming visible torrents that rushed wildly into his body.

The speed of the influx was so fast that it stirred up a swirling Spiritual Qi storm around him.

The storm was mixed with lightning and thunder, illuminating his face, which was twisted by pain yet revealed an unyielding ferocity.

The System prompt sounded, and that originally cold, mechanical voice now carried a trace of imperceptible fluctuation—

As if even this heartless entity was shocked by the scene before it.

"Ding! Detected that the host's Physical Body and the Dao Seed have achieved initial resonance; Primordial Qi has begun to refine the Divine Soul..."

"Warning! Warning! The host's Divine Soul tear level has reached 73%!"

"Please remain conscious! Please remain conscious!"

Remain conscious?

Chu Changsheng wanted to laugh, but the moment his mouth corners moved, an overwhelming, excruciating pain struck.

He used his last ounce of strength to clench his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, nearly piercing through them.

The pain in his body was the only weapon to resist the tearing of his Soul.

Just then, he caught a glimpse of his cracked wrist—

Within the fissures, new skin was growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Crystal clear, moist and flawless, shimmering with the luster of mutton-fat white jade.

Beneath the luster, emerald-gold patterns could be faintly seen flowing slowly, as if a galaxy were flowing beneath his skin.

At the same time, an unprecedented pressure was awakening from within his body.

The pressure of Divine Grade talent.

Like a prehistoric giant beast that had slept for aeons, it was slowly opening its eyes.

The pressure was formless and intangible, yet heavy as a mountain, spreading outward with him as the center, causing the Void Realm to tremble and distort!

Behind him, the giant tree phantom trembled violently, as if sensing something.

The thickest main trunk, like a divine spear descending from the heavens, slammed downward—

"Boom!"

His crown!

The world before Chu Changsheng's eyes instantly shattered, turning into a boundless, pure white!

Not light.

It was the light of creation during the Big Bang of the Universe, the first ray of dawn when heaven and earth were first opened!

The pure white submerged him, swallowed his consciousness, as if to erase him completely.

Yet within this pure white, countless profoundly mysterious Dao patterns surged forth, covering the sky and earth!

They rotated, intertwined, and collided within his Sea of Consciousness, each pattern containing the most fundamental rules of heaven and earth—

Time flowed, space extended, life and death went through Reincarnation, and all things grew!

He seemed to see himself.

He saw himself transform into a true World Tree!

Its roots, like angry Dragons, slammed through the Nine Nether, reaching deep into the Yellow Springs, wrapping tightly around the heart of the earth, feeling every heartbeat of the earth's core, and absorbing the most primitive earth power.

Its branches and leaves, like a magnificent canopy, grew wildly upward, piercing the clouds, reaching straight to the Nine Heavens, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the sun and moon, and dancing with the stars!

The sun rose on his left shoulder, the moon set on his right shoulder, the Milky Way flowed through his hair, and the stars rotated in his palms.

He was the world.

He was the Universe.

He was the Incarnation of all rules!

"Crack—"

The final crisp sound came from the depths of his Dantian.

Like an eggshell breaking, like the first cry of a newborn.

Chu Changsheng's body jolted violently and completely stopped cracking.

Dense emerald-gold patterns circulated around his body once, as if completing the final baptism, then slowly faded beneath his skin and disappeared.

The towering giant tree phantom behind him had finally completed its mission.

It no longer trembled but transformed into countless tiny specks of spiritual light, like fireflies filling the sky, gently and slowly merging into Chu Changsheng's body.

Each wisp of spiritual light that merged made his aura stronger by one point, and elevated his life level by another notch.

His hovering body slowly descended.

The moment his feet touched the ground, his eyes snapped open!

A brilliant light, almost solidified into substance, shot out from his eyes, extending more than three feet!

His gaze contained the profound mysteries of the Heavenly Dao rules and the power of the newborn World Tree, as if a single glance could see through falsehood and perceive the essence.

He took a deep breath.

This breath was like a giant whale swallowing the sea!

The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi within a hundred miles seemed to hear the summons of an emperor, frantically gathering toward his mouth and nose, forming a visible Spiritual Qi vortex!

The Spiritual Qi was so dense that it condensed into drops of spiritual liquid within the vortex, being drawn into his body with his breathing!

His Meridians were as wide as rivers, and his Dantian had transformed into a sea of Chaos stars.

A tiny, yet infinitely powerful World Tree sapling was swaying gracefully in the center of the star sea.

The System's prompt finally sounded again.

Clear, pleasant, and even carrying a hint of congratulations.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host! World Tree Dao Seed Fusion successful!"

"Host's talent has been elevated to—"

"Divine Grade!"