391: Ragnarok and the Flower of the Other Shore

“Ugh!”

The tremendous impact made Nidhogg feel as if he had swallowed an atomic bomb; his tongue and teeth were already a bloody mess, tangled together.

If he hadn't possessed such high resistance to toxins, he might have been sent off by his own attack.

He wanted to open his mouth, but Song Zhong gave him no chance to breathe.

A large hand reached out from the Void Realm, like a pincer, gripping Nidhogg's head tightly.

Nidhogg struggled fiercely, trying to break free from Song Zhong's control, but that large hand seemed to possess endless strength; no matter how he twisted, he could not escape its grasp.

“It’s time to say goodbye, little lizard; this World Tree is not for you to covet.”

Song Zhong's tone was icy, and with a sudden squeeze of his large hand, there was a bang, and Nidhogg's head was directly crushed.

This legendary Dragon of poison didn't even have time to utter a single word before losing his life.

There was nothing he could do; Song Zhong's Divine Power at this moment was simply too terrifying; Nidhogg was no different from a crawling insect in front of him.

After Nidhogg's death, Song Zhong was still not at ease; the abilities of these outer gods were strange, and they might not stay quiet even after death.

A nine-colored flame drifted down from Song Zhong's fingertips; when the flame landed on Nidhogg’s body, it immediately burst into a raging inferno.

Song Zhong suddenly remembered something and turned to throw Nidhogg’s severed tail into the flames as well.

The Poison Dragon Nidhogg was completely reduced to a pile of ashes, dissipating into the Void Realm.

Now, there was nothing left to stop Song Zhong.

He raised his hand and channeled all the Divine Power within him into the National Luck Black Dragon; after all, this Divine Power would disappear in a few minutes anyway, so giving it to the National Luck Black Dragon now would allow it to absorb faster.

Indeed, after Song Zhong injected the Divine Power, the National Luck Black Dragon's body suddenly swelled, becoming more than twice its previous size, and at the same time, its speed in absorbing the Nordic National Luck greatly increased.

The World Tree, which had seemed lush before, was now visibly withering at a speed perceptible to the naked eye.

On its massive branches, the emerald green leaves began to lose their luster, and starting from the top, the withered yellow leaves no longer had the strength to cling on; as a gentle breeze blew, the leaves fell one after another, like a storm of withered yellow.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but Song Zhong seemed to hear a sigh in the Void Realm, perhaps the World Tree lamenting the helplessness of fate.

The World Tree had completely withered, but a portion of the Nordic National Luck still remained on its trunk.

The National Luck Black Dragon at this moment was like a ravenous beast that had been hungry for a long time, unwilling to let go of even a trace, continuing to devour the remaining National Luck.

The barren World Tree began to gradually shrink, especially its roots, which had completely turned into dust.

Watching this World Tree, which had existed for countless years, finally reach its end, Song Zhong felt an immense sense of emotion.

“What a pity. I thought I could transplant this tree into my Divine Kingdom, but obtaining the Nordic National Luck can also be considered achieving my goal.”

The World Tree's trunk continuously shrunk, and when the last trace of National Luck was drained, the World Tree also turned into a mass of ashes.

Song Zhong looked up at the National Luck Black Dragon; at this moment, the National Luck Black Dragon's body had grown a size rounder, and the National Luck Black Dragon also realized this issue; it transformed, once again turning into the Black Dragon Jade carving, and returned to Song Zhong's wrist.

Having devoured so much National Luck, it now needed time to properly digest it.

Song Zhong dusted himself off, and just as he was about to leave, a gentle breeze suddenly blew in the Void Realm.

Under this breeze, the World Tree's ashes gradually dissipated, and an inconspicuous seed emerged from the ashes.

“Hmm?”

Song Zhong turned back and walked to the seed.

“A World Tree seed?” He picked up the seed and examined it carefully; the fingernail-sized seed was black and glossy, looking no different from an ordinary fruit pit. “Never mind, I’ll keep it. I wonder what will grow if I plant it.”

With a thought, Song Zhong instantly appeared in his Divine Kingdom.

Song Zhong stood at the foot of Iron Encirclement Mountain, next to the Wangchuan River; Song Zhong suddenly felt something and walked upstream along the Wangchuan River.

When he reached the Wangchuan Stele, Song Zhong stopped; with a casual wave of his hand, he threw the World Tree seed by the Wangchuan River.

Suddenly, the Qi of the entire Divine Kingdom underwent some change, like a still pool of water suddenly gaining a swimming fish.

The seed disappeared as soon as it touched the soil, and then a hint of green shot up from the mud; that hint of green continuously grew.

Suddenly, from the center of that green grass, vibrant red flowers began to grow, their petals exquisitely delicate, clustered together, exceptionally beautiful.

The vivid red seemed contagious, quickly dyeing the entire plant a brilliant crimson.

“This is…”

Song Zhong looked at the crimson color, a hint of speculation in his heart.

But just as he was marveling that the World Tree could be resurrected in such a way, centered around that crimson color, the banks of the Wangchuan River seemed to be under a spell, as one red plant after another grew wildly.

Song Zhong was not unfamiliar with this plant; it had two names: in the Mortal world, it was called Manjusaka, and in the underworld, it was called Higanbana.

A gentle breeze blew across the riverbanks, and the Higanbana swayed in waves, like a crimson ocean.

“So that’s it, wonderful, truly wonderful!”

At the same time, Song Zhong felt that the Origin of his Divine Kingdom, which was the Black Dragon Jade carving on his wrist, seemed to have undergone some change.

He raised his hand to look, and saw faint blood-red patterns flickering on the Dragon's body; these patterns continuously converged, eventually forming the shape of a Higanbana, hidden on one of the Dragon's horns.

Song Zhong understood; at this moment, the Nordic National Luck had been completely refined by the Origin of the Divine Kingdom, and the appearance of these Higanbana was precisely the manifestation of the Nordic National Luck being refined.

At this moment, Song Zhong's aura underwent some changes; beneath his long hair, Song Zhong's eyes became even more profound, but his aura was no longer ostentatious.

His demeanor continuously receded; if he were not in the Divine Kingdom, Song Zhong at this moment would look no different from a Mortal.

Song Zhong looked at the Higanbana, a smile on his lips; now that his goal had been achieved, it was time to go back and check on Michael.

With a thought, a small path immediately appeared among the Higanbana; Song Zhong walked along the path, and his figure disappeared.

...

In Asgard, outside the colossal relief, Urd, the Goddess of the Past, closed her eyes, and two lines of clear tears flowed from her eyes; Verdandi, the Goddess of the Present, also wore a sorrowful expression; they had sensed the demise of the World Tree.

Although the Goddess of the Future had not sensed the World Tree's demise, seeing the reactions of the two goddesses, she naturally knew what had happened.

Ragnarok had truly arrived.