As if they possessed a life of their own, the gigantic roots ran amok the moment they slipped out of the hole in the sky.

“So Lu Yun’s ultimate goal... was this thing!!” Many of the world’s leading figures were shaken. They naturally recognized it for what it was: the Ancient Tree of Life! It was the very tree that’d made its home in the Endless Desert of Nephrite Major’s western region!

Powerhouses all over the world had long been aware of its existence. In the past, many had ventured into the desert to try taming this tree that was both a treasure and a spirit root. But all of their attempts ended in failure without exception. With even the mighty Chen Xiao and Qing Buyi trapped inside the tree, it was easy enough to imagine the outcomes of those weaker than them.

Chen Xiao and Qing Buyi were at least on the level of Lu Feng or Mo Yi. But after Mo Yi severed her cultivation to attain the void realm and become a void-ascended immortal, she most likely exceeded Qing Buyi, Chen Xiao, and Lu Feng in strength.

However, she wasn’t a daredevil like those two, who never thought twice about doing anything or killing anyone, so her claim to fame was limited to that of pioneering the void method.

……

“The Ancient Tree of Life is unimaginably strong… According to the rare mentions found in ancient writings, it was likely the treasure of a primeval powerhouse a very long time ago. Stop him, we can’t let him lay hands on the tree no matter what!” worried a Ling dao immortal.

“Stop Lu Yun? Be our guest.” Other immortals rolled their eyes at the man.

Every inch of Dusk Province was protected by the sword formation. Whoever barged in at a time like this was simply committing suicide. Moreover, Lu Yun would certainly show no mercy during this time. He’d give no quarter to anyone who tried to stop him from summoning the tree.

Dongfang Hao also remained silent. He hadn’t expected Lu Yun would do something every immortal dreamed of, and succeed when no one else had.

The Ancient Tree of Life hadn’t fully emerged from the opening yet. Only a hundred or so of its radicles were visible, and the thin roots thrashed and whipped around indiscriminately, as if resisting the call.

Lu Yun stood in the center of the immortal crystal garden, the dark-green key floating above him exuding a dazzling halo of light that blended with the garden below.

The immortal crystal garden was a giant formation in and of itself, one designed to summon the Ancient Tree of Life. However, it now appeared that... this formation wasn’t big enough to accommodate the tree in its entirety.

“To think it’d grow this big after merging with the Wood Altar…” Somewhere nearby, Holy Lord Ashu was a little bedazzled as well. He looked at the root hairs extending out of the opening, his expression blank. Each root was at least five hundred kilometers long… and these were the smaller ones.

When the tree itself arrived, an area of at least a million kilometers wide would be needed to accommodate it. Moreover, this tree seemed to have gained awareness and was bitterly resisting the summons from the Key of Life.

“Feinie, deploy the formations!!” Lu Yun shouted at the top of his lungs. The Yin and Yang Formation Orbs slowly emerged in the air.

“At your command!” Feinie walked out of the emptiness and activated the two Formation Orbs, immediately setting about drawing formations without foundation in order to expand the garden’s surface area.

“We’re also going!” The two Lin brothers exchanged a look, ready to help.

“You two, get back here!” Lu Yun stopped them, then shouted, “Seniors of the merchant alliance… lend me some money!”

“How much?!” Inside Dao City, the head of the Panorama Pavilion and the other leaders of the merchant alliance bristled with alertness. They’d been overawed when they realized Lu Yun’s plan, so now that the governor wanted to borrow money, they naturally wouldn’t refuse.

“Three hundred trillion premium immortal crystals!” Lu Yun cut straight to the chase.

“Very well!” Thirteen people grit their teeth and waved their hands.

Thirteen rivers of crystals rushed through the sky and gushed toward Lu Yun. Three hundred trillion premium immortal crystals was an enormous sum for even the thirteen merchant houses. It was a sum that they’d never be able to take out in the past.

In the world of immortals, there were so many immortal crystals that the total might as well be infinite. However, most of them were cached underground in the form of raw ore. Immortals all over the world did their utmost to mine it, but what they’d extracted thus far was only a tiny fraction of the entire reserve.

Therefore, the amount of crystals in circulation was finite. The thirteen merchant heads were the wealthiest figures in the entire world, but three hundred trillion was an astronomical number, even for them.

However, things were different now. They’d established an alliance and partnered with Lu Yun to distribute Dusk Province’s many treasures across the entire world. As Lu Yun enriched himself, so had they. Even more than him, to tell the truth!

The goods available from Dusk Province sold like hotcakes and inspired a similar effect in the trading guilds’ original businesses. Their growth was nothing short of exponential.

While there was a difference between assets of the trading guilds and the personal wealth of the thirteen heads, they were still able to come up with the frightening sum of three hundred trillion premium immortal crystals.

Rumble!

An ocean of crystal danced in the sky and amassed in the shape of a magnificent dragon that flew headlong into the garden.

“You two, use these immortal crystals to set up formations and double the garden’s strength!” Lu Yun roared at Lin Yu and Lin Xuan.

“Understood!” The brothers’ eyes lit up.

Lu Yun hadn’t kept anything secret from them when he’d laid down his formations. In fact, he’d left them in charge of the construction efforts in some parts of the garden. Hence, such a task was no issue for the two brothers that shared a near-telepathic bond.

In next to no time, dazzling light erupted from the garden.

With a quick succession of hand seals from Feinie, the Sumeru Formation expanded ever outward and occupied an ever-increasing surface. Each time the formation grew, so did the garden grow as well.

Inside the garden, each blade of grass, each tree trunk, each brick, and each tile shone with a sparkling, translucent glow. From them gathered a terrifying amount of immortal energy that was mixed with life essence, the combination of which shot to the sky and barrelled into the giant Ancient Tree of Life.

Boom!

Another explosive sound came from the great hole in the sky as a giant root slowly extended out of the hole. The lateral roots growing from it no longer struggled; instead, they tirelessly absorbed the tremendous energy and vitality in the surroundings.

Above the tree roots, the giant trunk, crown, sparkling branches, and translucent leaves slowly descended from the hole in the sky. A vast aura of life spread to every corner of Dusk Province.

“It’s finally been tamed!” Lu Yun sighed gently in relief.

“Hey kid!!” a familiar voice came from inside the tree. “This tree’s been demonized and become self-aware. You better be careful!” The voice belonged to Chen Xiao.

“What?!” Lu Yun immediately looked up with a start and saw a giant human face on the treetop looking back at him with a supercilious smile. Upon being discovered, the branches and leaves of the treetop quickly amassed into a great hand that grabbed at him.

“After an eternity, I’ve finally found you… Key of Life. Hand it over!”

Boom!

A terrible power erupted in the world as the hand fell on Lu Yun.