Looking at the familiar system style, especially the sincere "runaway recommendation," Xiao Han's lips twitched almost imperceptibly. If the situation weren't so precarious, he might have had the mood to make a few sarcastic remarks.
Choose B!
Without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Han told himself. He might value his life, but he wasn't about to abandon his allies and flee alone in the face of death. Besides, the reward for option B was genuinely tempting!
Almost the instant he made his choice, an indescribable, terrifying pressure suddenly erupted from the depths of the temple!
"Waaah--"
A solidified black finger shadow, carrying an aura of world-destroying power, slowly rose from beneath the World Tree Remnant Root. The slightest ripples emanating from it caused the tribal warriors outside the temple, whose strength had reached the Martial King Realm, and even a few Martial Emperor Realms, to groan in pain. Their bodies involuntarily collapsed to the ground, trembling, their eyes filled with the most primal fear.
That power was completely beyond their comprehension; even the apocalypse was nothing compared to it!
"Hold on!" Xiao Han roared, his eyes wide with fury.
The Chaos Green Lotus Martial Soul within his body was operating at an unprecedented speed.
A powerful life force poured out, flowing through his palms and into the charred World Tree Remnant Root beneath him.
"Myriad Trees Spring Forth!"
With a low roar, the newly formed divine power of the Chaos Green Lotus was unleashed to its peak.
The lifeless tree roots, under the impact of the overwhelming vitality, actually managed to sprout specks of green light.
Countless tender green shoots pushed through the scorched blackened surface, broke through the soil, grew wildly in the wind, and intertwined into tenacious vines, determined to rebuild the barrier of life.
"All people, offer sacrifices to the totem and protect the sacred tree!" The high priest's aged voice, filled with unquestionable will, resounded throughout the valley.
Despite the excruciating pain caused by that terrifying pressure, she was the first to kneel down, chanting ancient and obscure sacrificial texts.
Outside the temple, the tribespeople, young and old, suppressed their fear and knelt around the World Tree Remnant Root, chanting in unison.
The totem marks on their foreheads lit up one by one.
The power of faith, strong or weak, transformed into specks of light, flowing like rivers into the sea towards the [Guardian Totem] in Xiao Han's hand.
"Buzz--!"
The [Guardian Totem] shone brightly, dazzling and radiant, its brilliance almost turning night into day.
Within the light, countless tall, illusory figures appeared—the spirits of the tribe's ancestors throughout history!
Their roars were deafening, filled with fearlessness and a spirit of sacrifice, coalescing into a torrent that rushed headlong into the slowly rising black shadows.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The heroic spirits collided with the black energy emanating from the finger shadows, creating a series of explosions that shook the valley.
With each explosion, dozens or even hundreds of illusory heroic spirits shattered and vanished into nothingness.
Even so, the surviving heroic spirits remained fearless, sacrificing their souls to slow down the advance of that terrifying being.
A surge of heat rose in Xiao Han's chest as he fully activated the [World Tree Heart Fragment].
The fragments instantly burst forth with a rich, emerald-green light, causing the World Tree Remnant Root to tremble violently, and the connection between the two became closer than ever before.
"Hiss!"
Countless thick, sturdy, emerald-green chains shot out from the World Tree Remnant Root, more than ten times stronger than the previous vines.
Runes flickered on the chains, carrying the power to seal everything, layer upon layer, frantically wrapping around the black finger shadow, trying to drag it back into the ground.
Unfortunately, the power contained within the black finger shadows was truly terrifying.
The defensive line formed by the spirits of the tribe's ancestors crumbled like paper before the finger shadow, with spirits being completely Obliteration one after another.
The emerald green life chain snapped under the strain the moment it touched the fingertip, then broke inch by inch.
"Puff!"
The high priest spat out another mouthful of foul blood, his already pale face now completely devoid of color.
Trembling, she pulled a palm-sized, cracked stone from her bosom, from which faint spatial fluctuations emanated.
She forcibly shoved the stone, along with a fragment of the incantation to activate the teleportation array, into Xiao Han's hand.
"My benefactor... hurry... leave quickly! This formation... can only... send one person away..."
Her voice was weak and intermittent.
"Guide Stone... Coordinates... Your origin... Nearby... But will... Randomly... Cough cough... Offset!"
With each word the high priest uttered, his life force waned.
Xiao Han accepted the icy, bone-chilling Guide Stone.
This old man has exhausted everything for the tribe and for the seal beneath this land.
In the distance, the roars and howls of the tribal warriors and ancestral spirits still echoed, as they used their flesh and souls to pave a path for his survival.
Xiao Han felt a tightness in his throat, and a burning sensation surged through his chest.
Without a word, he grabbed several lotus seeds from the Chaos Green Lotus Space, each one containing immense vitality, and stuffed them into the High Priest's hand.
"Take care of yourself!"
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Han suddenly turned around and stepped onto the ancient teleportation array, which was riddled with cracks and flickering with light.
He forcefully embedded the Guide Stone into the groove at the core of the formation.
"Buzz--!"
The teleportation array erupted with unprecedented light, instantly engulfing Xiao Han's figure.
The surrounding space twisted and folded violently, emitting a series of tearing sounds that sent chills down one's spine.
Just as the light of the teleportation was about to completely fade away, the black finger shadow, which had already broken free of most of its restraints, suddenly paused, and then shot upwards at a terrifying speed!
A wisp of extremely small, almost imperceptible black mist silently peeled away from the tip of the fingertip.
The black aura was treacherous and unpredictable, silent and stealthy, yet it precisely locked onto Xiao Han's left ankle, vanishing in a flash and disappearing without a trace!
All of this happened in the blink of an eye!
Xiao Han didn't even notice this subtle change.
The teleportation power erupted completely in the next instant.
All the tragedy and carnage of the Land of Forgetfulness, along with the earth-shattering sounds of battle, rapidly faded from Xiao Han's perception.
He felt the world spin around him, and an overwhelming force was tearing and tossing his body, making even his soul tremble.
The boundless Milky Way flowed before his eyes, dazzling and bizarre, yet concealing deadly dangers, rushing past him.
The concept of time has become blurred here; it is unknown how much time has passed—it may have been just a moment, or it may have been millions of years.
"Bang!"
An immense force suddenly struck him, slamming him violently down from the sky!
He slammed heavily onto a hard surface, kicking up clouds of dust.
Xiao Han let out a muffled groan as excruciating pain, as if all the bones in his body were about to fall apart, struck him.
He forced down the pain, steadied himself immediately, and warily scanned his surroundings.
This is a completely unfamiliar, scorched land.
As far as the eye could see, there were collapsed buildings, broken walls, and scorched earth, devoid of any life.
The air was thick with the stench of blood and a nauseating, overwhelming aura of malevolence, indicating that a massive battle had recently taken place here.
"Where exactly is this place?" Xiao Han frowned deeply.
Just then, a chilling and sinister aura suddenly surged up from his left ankle.
Looking down, I noticed a strange black ring-shaped mark on my ankle.
The mark flickered with a dark black light and even wriggled slightly, exuding the same aura as the previous world-destroying black finger shadow!