Jie Ning and Arannis returned to the City of Life.
This city had not changed much since the two of them had left.
Instead, there was now an Elf following them.
"Kaixi, you have already comprehended Heaven and Earth Momentum. As long as you cultivate properly, you will soon become a Saint Realm expert," Arannis advised Kaixi behind her. "We truly do not need you to serve as a maid."
Kaixi smiled cheerfully. "Sister Lannie, becoming the servant of a deity is something many people dream of, isn't it?"
Arannis tried persuading her several times, but Kaixi was far more stubborn than she appeared.
In the end, the Hall of Life could only gain an Elf maid named Kaixi.
After returning to his cultivation chamber, Jie Ning took out that "Acorn," intending to give it a thorough examination.
This can hardly even be considered a soul anymore. Only a trace of simple spirituality remains. Perhaps in another few decades, it will completely dissipate. Sensing the strength of the soul within, Jie Ning could not help sighing.
Hmm, there seems to be a little memory left in the soul... Hmm, so it only remembers its own name? Guang?
...Then I'll call you Tree of Light from now on.
What about the rest?
There's nothing else. It seems that, in order to survive, it abandoned absolutely everything else.
Jie Ning carefully examined the Tree of Light Seed before him. Judging by the results, there was no major problem with the Seed itself. The problem lay in its soul.
More precisely, there is a problem with the connection between its soul and body.
Working backward from the results, its initial injury was not actually very severe. It should have been caught up in some accident that severed the link between its soul and body, while the original soul most likely suffered no other injuries.
For living beings, the body itself serves to nourish the soul. If the nourishment provided by an ordinary living body is one...
Then for the current Tree of Light, its effect is only one percent, perhaps even one-thousandth. The severed connection between body and soul has prevented the soul from receiving sufficient nourishment.
As a result, the nourishing effect is not even enough to offset the soul's own expenditure. Over time, the soul's weakening was inevitable. If the Tree of Light had not already reached the Saint Realm, with its body still offering some protection, its soul would likely have perished completely long ago.
Still, I'm really curious where undead souls obtain their soul energy. Without the nourishment of life, what do they rely on to sustain and strengthen their souls?
When I have the chance, I must visit the Underworld and see it for myself...
But for now, I need to resolve the Tree of Light's problem first.
Then the first thing I need to do is reconnect its body and soul smoothly.
Jie Ning guided his Life God Power along the faint connection between the two, turning it into a bridge that linked the Tree of Light's soul and body.
The Tree of Light's soul sensed the Life God Power. Its instinct to survive made it immediately throw itself into it and accept the nourishment of the divine power.
To put it vividly, Jie Ning's Life God Power was now acting as "glue," forcibly strengthening the connection between its soul and body.
For now, divine power served as the "bridge." Once its soul recovered somewhat, it could use that bridge to actively move closer to its body, and with a god's assistance, the two could reconnect once more.
Before that, maintaining the connection between them would have to rely almost entirely on Jie Ning's divine power.
Next, its soul's recovery will depend on itself. Jie Ning completed his part.
Once it recovers, it will be time for me to reap the rewards.
The method for restoring souls... I have a feeling you'll give me a surprise. Jie Ning looked expectantly at the Tree of Light in its "Acorn" form.
Very soon, ten years passed. The former "Acorn" had already been planted in the Garden of the Hall of Life by Jie Ning.
Over those ten years, the Elf Race had relocated most of its people and industries to the Life Duke's Territory.
Biss and several other Elf elders had also come to visit Jie Ning. Seeing with their own eyes their Sacred Tree's "Seed" gradually recovering, they became even more filled with hope for the future.
Within the garden, two Jie Nings sat facing each other on opposite sides of the Tree of Light sapling.
The Sanctuary Main Body continuously communicated with Earth Element, making the Earth Element in the garden increasingly active.
For Jie Ning, this was both for the Tree of Light's growth and a method of cultivation for himself.
Meanwhile, the Life God Avatar had been studying the Tree of Light's changes all along, and today, it had finally gained something.
The soul within it has truly begun to grow. This speed is far faster than the nourishment gained through life energy alone.
Delightedly sensing the Tree of Light's changes, Jie Ning had maintained this observation for many years. Today, he had finally received his reward.
Suddenly, the life energy around Jie Ning seemed to "boil," and several blades of Little Grass abruptly sprouted from the soil before him.
During the two stages of birth and growth, a living being's soul and body enter a shared frequency, forming a resonant state. In that state, both grow rapidly.
Normally, all living beings can only enjoy such an opportunity during their early stages. It is a gift from the Life Law between Heaven and Earth.
But perhaps the Tree of Light comprehended this law, or perhaps this is an innate ability of its. By disguising itself as a Seed and repeating the process of growth, it recreates this state, allowing its soul to grow as rapidly as its body.
Unfortunately, because of the problem with the connection between its soul and body, the feedback it received was greatly diminished. Even though resonance imitated that frequency and accelerated its soul's growth, the results were negligible. After all, the fundamental source of that growth energy still came from the body.
And now that I have healed its injuries with divine power, it can naturally return to the right track.
Since I have discovered this law as well, I have a chance to make use of it. Jie Ning thought happily.
Jie Ning closed his eyes tightly and continuously simulated various possibilities in his mind, selecting several suitable approaches to test.
Jie Ning dispersed a few tiny strands of soul energy into several grass seeds in the soil before him. The energy mimicked Life Fluctuation similar to those grass seeds, and then Jie Ning used Life God Power to stimulate their vitality, causing the Little Grass to grow rapidly.
Jie Ning could sense that these portions of his soul power had gained an almost negligible amount of growth during the process, but that was already enough to delight him.
After all, those souls had merely attached themselves to several ordinary blades of Little Grass.
What if he used stronger forms of life instead? Or increased the quantity? For example, an entire grassland?
I'll call this method the Spirit Nourishing Technique from now on.
Jie Ning's heart was filled with joy, but he still had one more experiment to conduct: whether the Tree of Light's withering held any significance.
Now that the Tree of Light's growth had returned to the right track, he was unwilling to force it to wither again.
Then he could only try it himself. In any case, Jie Ning could afford to lose a few insignificant strands of soul energy.
The Little Grass before him began growing frantically, spreading their roots and expanding their stalks until they gradually reached their limit.
The Little Grass slowly began producing seeds, while their main bodies also began to wither.
At that moment, Jie Ning made a new discovery.
The body serving as the soul's vessel is clearly weakening, yet the soul is receiving even more nourishment during this process.
Jie Ning suddenly gained an insight. If growth is life's gift, then this moment is death's mercy.
The soul receives the body's final gift before traveling to the Underworld to gain new life.
Very soon, the Little Grass completely withered and died, leaving only their seeds behind. At the instant their bodies completely died, Jie Ning seemed to sense that the portions of soul energy he had separated were faintly being called by another world.
Fortunately, that summons was not particularly strong and could not stop those strands of soul from returning to Jie Ning's body.
The instant that soul energy returned, some unique insights flooded into his mind.
Jie Ning immediately immersed himself in a certain realization. At some point, even his Sanctuary Main Body had stopped controlling the Earth Element and instead fallen into an understanding of another law.
Life God Power continuously fluctuated around his Life God Avatar, while gray energy gradually began spreading around his Sanctuary Main Body.
For a time, the two reflected each other.
Spring passed into autumn, and in the blink of an eye, three years went by.
After discovering Jie Ning's condition, Arannis immediately sealed off the garden and prohibited outsiders from entering, preventing anyone from disturbing Jie Ning's realization.
She herself remained by Jie Ning's side, guarding him at all times.
One day, a familiar fluctuation suddenly awakened Arannis from her closed-eyed contemplation.
When she opened her eyes, Jie Ning's Sanctuary Main Body had already floated into the air.
After a familiar sequence of actions, another Divine Spark condensed before Jie Ning. His soul split once more, bringing the same pain.
Feeling his new Divine Avatar, Jie Ning truly experienced an indescribable feeling.
Arannis slowly walked over. Looking at the three Jie Nings before her, she felt utterly confused for a moment.
"Jie Ning, did you become a god through the Earth Law?" Arannis knew that Jie Ning had always been comprehending the Mysteries of the Earth Law, yet this newly appeared "Divine Avatar Jie Ning" did not carry the slightest sense of an earth affinity.
"No. This time, it's a Divine Avatar of the Death Rule." Looking at his new body, Jie Ning's tone was somewhat strange as well.
It was another insight gained while comprehending the Earth Law. Unfortunately, there was no way to test law affinity. I always felt that my affinity should be maxed out.
Arannis accepted reality at once. "As expected, Jie Ning, you're a genius."
Jie Ning smiled at Arannis's praise. Praise from family, as always, made him feel pleased.
I received the monthly votes from readers 141214200941062, Huazuofengshao, and Infinite Sword Demon. Thank you all so much.
There will be a trial recommendation tomorrow. I hope it gets a good result. I'll ask for monthly votes and recommendation votes again here.
P.S. I might have to attend a banquet tonight. It is far too unfriendly for an older young man like me. I'll try to finish writing the remaining chapter this afternoon; otherwise, it may be posted rather late.
Before you continue