Reincarnated as a Ginkgo Tree: I Create an Eternal Divine Kingdom - Chapter 168

“A thousand years ago, an ancient cave opened a spatial rift,” the Xia Emperor began. “Through that rift, the Grand Tutor and I entered the cave and obtained two great fortunes.”

“My gain was the Art of Rebirth, which allowed me to revive a thousand years later. The Grand Tutor obtained a drop of mysterious blood. Over the years, I have scoured the world and consulted various ancient texts. Finally, I discovered that the blood belonged to the Chaos Earth Dragon.”

“The Chaos Earth Dragon’s body, when severed, can regenerate both parts. Thus, I deduced that the Grand Tutor would use this blood to cultivate his avatars.”

“Your Majesty is indeed wise beyond measure,” Zhu Huang smiled.

A thousand years ago, Zhao Jiang had been his disciple, ascending to the throne under Zhu Huang’s guidance. Now, a thousand years later, Zhu Huang once again supported Zhao Jiang’s resurgence as emperor. Their bond was forged over a millennium of teacher-student loyalty. He had granted Zhao Jiang great favors in both lifetimes, and he trusted Zhao Jiang completely, without the slightest suspicion. Naturally, he did not intend to hide anything from him.

“It’s a pity that the Chaos Earth Dragon Blood could only be used once. The loss of my other avatar is truly regrettable,” Zhu Huang lamented. “But it doesn’t matter. The Chaos Earth Dragon Blood is special. When my avatar was destroyed, its spiritual energy returned to my body. I now need to go into seclusion to fuse the energies from both bodies. Once complete, my cultivation will advance significantly, and I will assist Your Majesty in sweeping across the world…”

Before he could finish speaking, his body suddenly froze. Then, he looked down in disbelief. His heart had been pierced by a golden sword.

The hilt of this golden sword was shaped like a dragon’s head, and the blade was patterned like dragon scales. This was the True Dragon Sword, the foremost of the Great Xia’s eighteen national treasures. In this world, only one person had the right to wield this sword—the Xia Emperor.

Zhu Huang slowly lifted his head and looked across at his assailant. The one holding the sword was indeed the Xia Emperor.

“Your Majesty?” Zhu Huang stared at the Xia Emperor, unable to comprehend or accept what was happening.

The Xia Emperor did not respond. Instead, he quickly retreated.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

A barrage of arrows rained down.

Each of these arrows was specially crafted from gang iron and coated with potent poison. In the blink of an eye, Zhu Huang’s body turned into a pincushion, pierced by a dense array of arrows.

Zhu Huang’s spiritual energy quickly dissipated. This prevented him from even attempting to self-destruct.

Only then did the Xia Emperor calmly step back into the room.

“Zhu Huang, you wretched old creature, you were Zhao Jiang’s Grand Tutor. Unfortunately, I am not Zhao Jiang,” he said coldly, looking at Zhu Huang.

“You are Zhao Yan?” Zhu Huang’s body trembled violently. “Impossible! Zhao Yan was defeated and had his soul extinguished by Zhao Jiang. How could you be Zhao Yan? Furthermore, if you were Zhao Yan, how could you know all the secrets between Zhao Jiang and me?”

Zhao Jiang had been at the peak of the Divine Transformation stage, while Zhao Yan was merely a minor Nascent Soul cultivator. It seemed impossible for Zhao Yan to have withstood Zhao Jiang’s soul assimilation.

The Xia Emperor smirked coldly. “Zhao Jiang’s soul was indeed powerful, but the Xia Dynasty’s True Dragon Heart Sutra is even more defiant of the heavens.”

Zhu Huang’s pupils contracted. “You… you cultivated the True Dragon Heart Sutra?”

The True Dragon Heart Sutra was a legacy from the Yuhua Immortal Dynasty. However, neither the Yuhua Immortal Dynasty nor the Xia royal family had ever successfully cultivated it.

Zhu Huang never imagined that the current Xia Emperor had mastered this technique. If that were true, then Zhao Jiang’s failure became much more plausible.

“As for how I came to know so many secrets between Zhao Jiang and you,” the Xia Emperor continued, “it’s because after Zhao Jiang failed to possess me, I devoured his spirit and spiritual energy.”

“Pfft.” Zhu Huang spat out another mouthful of blood.

Zhao Jiang had been his most prized disciple. Their bond was genuinely profound. The Xia Emperor’s words meant that Zhao Jiang was utterly annihilated, and this revelation dealt a heavy blow to Zhu Huang.

Seeing this, the Xia Emperor remained unmoved, still cold and ruthless. “Zhu Huang, you asked me when Zhao Jiang would officially return. My answer is: he will never return.”

“If that’s the case, why is your cultivation still at the Nascent Soul stage?” Zhu Huang questioned.

The Xia Emperor replied calmly, “That’s because my cultivation of the True Dragon Heart Sutra is not yet perfect. To condense the True Dragon Dharma Body, I must use the blood of a powerful lifeform as a catalyst. The stronger the blood, the stronger the Dharma Body I can condense.”

“In this world, the most potent blood would be the blood of the Golden Crow from the Misty Forbidden Zone, the Phoenix blood from Wutong Island, or the Chaos Earth Dragon Blood. The Chaos Earth Dragon Blood is most compatible with the properties of the True Dragon Heart Sutra. Therefore, I have been waiting for this day.”

Zhu Huang finally understood. “So, you were waiting for my avatar to be destroyed. Only with the destruction of my avatar would I completely die, and the Chaos Earth Dragon Blood would merge again into its original form.”

He paused for a moment, then looked at the Xia Emperor in shock. “Did you orchestrate this entire scheme?”

“Indeed,” the Xia Emperor replied. “It was I who instructed my informants within Mount Longhu to leak the information. That’s how Mount Longhu knew there was a high-ranking member from Great Xia going to the Crescent Islands, which led them to collude with the other forces to set up this death trap.”

A bitter smile appeared on Zhu Huang’s face.

He realized that Zhao Yan might be even more ruthless and brilliant than Zhao Jiang. To deal with him and achieve his goal, Zhao Yan, the Emperor of Great Xia, did not hesitate to use opposing forces like Mount Longhu and other nations to ambush him.

Despite his hatred for Zhao Yan, he couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved. An emperor like Zhao Yan would undoubtedly benefit Great Xia.

In these chaotic times, nations were usually on the brink of collapse. The Great Xia Dynasty, having already existed for three thousand years, was nearing its end. Zhao Yan might be the one to extend its destiny.

As the Xia Emperor and Zhu Huang conversed, Zhu Huang’s spiritual energy and vitality continued to drain. At this point, his spiritual energy was almost entirely depleted.

The Xia Emperor no longer hesitated and swung his sword once more.

Zhu Huang’s head flew off.

Then he unleashed a flame that consumed Zhu Huang’s body.

Once Zhu Huang’s body was reduced to ashes, a single drop of blood hovered in the air.

Seeing this blood, the Xia Emperor smiled.

He cut his palm and absorbed the blood through the wound.

The blood immediately merged into the Xia Emperor’s body.

The Xia Emperor returned to his study. The area outside was heavily guarded.

He sat down cross-legged where he stood.

A quarter of an hour later…

Boom!

A terrifying force erupted from the study but quickly subsided.

The Xia Emperor opened his eyes, exuding a fearsome aura.

This aura belonged to a Divine Transformation realm cultivator.

“By absorbing Zhao Jiang and merging with the Chaos Earth Dragon Blood, I’ve finally condensed the True Dragon within my body and directly ascended to the Divine Transformation realm,” the Xia Emperor exhaled.

Within his body, one could faintly hear a dragon’s roar.

The Xia Emperor’s eyes gleamed with a chilling light. “Mount Longhu!”

He vowed to one day annihilate these enemies.

Nanzhao Bay

A terrifying pillar of explosive energy shot into the sky.

The self-detonation of a Divine Transformation realm cultivator was undoubtedly horrifying.

If allowed to spread unchecked, the explosion would likely devastate all life within several dozen miles.

The cultivators from various nations felt their hearts leap in fear.

Suddenly, the cultivators seemed to sense something, and they instinctively looked up.

Their eyes widened in shock.

Above, a massive ancient ginkgo tree appeared in the sky.

The tree stood a thousand feet tall, like a celestial pillar, connecting heaven and earth.

Then, a branch descended from the ancient tree.