Instead of directly answering the leader of the men in black, Chen Pingchuan commented on the man's earlier state, including his fragmented speech. After hearing this, the middle-aged man fell silent. The air grew quiet once more. Chen Pingchuan tilted his head back to gaze at the starry sky. "This world is really dull without a moon."

Suddenly, the leader of the men in black began to pant heavily. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Chen Pingchuan and rasped, "How sure are you?"

Chen Pingchuan could feel the middle-aged man's resolve. I'm not that kind of person, and it's not like he knows this is just a simulation. The man's choice meant he was prepared to meet his death with resolve. So, for once, Chen Pingchuan was serious. Following the Plan B in his mind, he gave a number he felt was reasonably precise. "Thirty percent!"

"Thirty percent... thirty percent..." the middle-aged man murmured before bursting into loud laughter. "HAHAHAHA! Thirty percent is enough! After all, I was prepared to die before I even set out. I didn't think I had even a ten percent chance of success." After muttering to himself, the leader of the men in black gritted his teeth.

"Alright, I'll be the sacrifice."

Chen Pingchuan looked at him with some surprise. "Are you sure?"

The leader of the men in black took a deep breath. "I'm sure. For the world and for the future of humanity.

"It's just the sacrifice of one man. Nothing to make a fuss about."

I didn't expect this man to have such courage, Chen Pingchuan thought, his heart stirring. Before he could speak again, the middle-aged man walked resolutely to the riverbank. "I'm leaving the rest to you." With that, he leaped into the small pool without a moment's hesitation.

Instantly, the river rippled, and the entire surface of the water began to emit an eerie glow. Chen Pingchuan's expression stiffened. "Mortals... so touching, really," he muttered to himself before fixing his gaze on the water, his guard raised.

Suddenly, a huge vortex formed on the surface of the water, pulling the leader of the men in black under until he vanished completely. At the same time, where the mysterious river had once encircled the Divine Tree, a small bridge made of roots and stems suddenly materialized—just wide enough for a single person to cross. Chen Pingchuan took a deep breath and carefully stepped onto it.

Strangely, the fragile-looking bridge supported his weight and began to carry him slowly forward. As he drew closer to the Divine Tree, the air grew thick and heavy, surging with a powerful energy. When Chen Pingchuan finally arrived at the base of the Divine Tree, he looked up at the immense trunk, which shimmered with mysterious runes. Just then, the Divine Tree began to shake violently. A powerful force struck Chen Pingchuan, and an overwhelming urge to pluck the fruit from its branches washed over him.

As the Divine Tree's tremors grew more violent, the space around it seemed to warp. Strange lights suddenly appeared beneath the trunk, converging into a massive vortex of energy that formed an opening resembling a hollow in the tree. Chen Pingchuan's vision went black. His body felt as if it were being torn apart by a tremendous force, and when he tried to struggle, he found he couldn't move at all.

"Child, pluck the fruit of the Divine Tree, and you shall be my child from this day forth," an ancient voice echoed from the hollow.

Yet, the alluring voice unexpectedly snapped Chen Pingchuan back to his senses. A chill shot through his heart. This Divine Tree's power is beyond my expectations. Its strength isn't something that can be matched by a mere Level Nine.

The powerful temptation was like an invisible shackle trying to bind him in this unknown domain. But how could I be so easily restrained? I'm the man who will become a god! "Empty-Handed Grab!"

As Chen Pingchuan's lips moved, a golden fruit from the Divine Tree appeared directly in his hand. The Divine Tree naturally sensed this anomaly that was beyond its control and moved to expel him immediately. However, a furious roar rang out. "Spirit of Coexistence! Body, aid me! Transform!" Instantly, Chen Pingchuan burned away his life force, his human form dissolving into a translucent, spirit-like being.

Before the Divine Tree could mount a defense, he shot forward and plunged directly into the surging energy of the tree hollow.

"NO!!!"

The Divine Tree's trunk shook violently, emitting dull rumbles like furious roars. Its branches and leaves thrashed wildly, trying to fling the intruder out. The runes on its bark glowed with an eerie light as a powerful force surged toward Chen Pingchuan, attempting to eject him from the hollow. However, the Spirit of Coexistence was an ability derived from the Power of Rules—it couldn't be so easily repelled. In his current state, Chen Pingchuan was like a parasite, latched stubbornly inside the Divine Tree's very being.

What he didn't know was that the events unfolding inside the tree were causing massive changes to the outside world. The path leading to the Divine Tree was sealed off. Furthermore, all the fanatics who had consumed its fruit, along with the mindless Divine Tree Puppets, sensed the tree's fury—a rage born of pure fear.

Of everyone present, Lan Duoduo was by far the most terrified. This bizarre transformation had begun right after she brought Chen Pingchuan into the Divine Tree Space. Nothing like this had ever happened before.

What puzzled her, however, was why this was happening. True, in Steel City, Chen Pingchuan had transformed into the Fire God, unleashing his divine might to defeat a user of the Eight-armed Demon God transformation who possessed similar power. But that kind of strength on paper shouldn't have been enough to provoke such a reaction from the Divine Tree. After all, that level of attack and power was only marginally stronger than a newly-minted Level Nine practitioner. They, the Holy Envoys, wielded the power of mid-Level Nine, yet they too had been subdued by the great Divine Tree.

While Lan Duoduo and the others fretted with fear and suspicion outside the Divine Tree Space, Chen Pingchuan moved through the tree's body as if he were a fish in water. That's right—he was moving through it. In his current Spirit Body state, achieving symbiosis was not an instantaneous process. He needed time. His progress was currently at about ten percent, and deep within the Divine Tree's soul, a strange energy was hunting him down, determined to expel the intruder.

10%...

12%...

...

45%...

As the progress bar neared the halfway mark, the Divine Tree must have realized it couldn't shake off this man who clung to it like a stubborn leech. The tree, which had never before made a sound, suddenly let out a painful wail. The cry echoed through the heavens, causing every Divine Tree Puppet and every Holy Envoy who had eaten its fruit to feel a profound sorrow welling up from the depths of their souls.

BOOM!!!

An earth-shattering explosion instantly annihilated every living creature within the Divine Tree's domain

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