World's Protagonist?

After realizing this, Yu An immediately stopped paying attention to anything else and began absorbing the power within the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster with all his might. As he refined it continuously, he could clearly sense his life origin growing weightier.

This weightiness was an elevation of his very essence as a living being, but it wouldn't directly show up as an increase in lifespan.

Put simply, lifespan was about breaking the shackles of species evolution to achieve longevity.

But elevating one's life origin increased one's foundation and potential.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

There were faint signs of clearing skies between heaven and earth. The silver serpents darting about had vanished, leaving only the howling gale, which never let up as it swept across the whole world—and even seemed to be growing stronger.

Although it wasn't snowing outside, the temperature had plummeted, and the earth was nearly frozen solid.

If Old Man Yu went to dig in the Spirit Field now, it probably wouldn't be so easy.

In the space among the tree roots, Old Man Yu sat observing the surrounding roots, which seemed to have lost all vitality. At last, a faint smile appeared on his face.

The space among the roots now covered an area roughly three meters across. Old Man Yu had already moved his bedding and all his daily necessities over here.

Perhaps it was just his imagination, but ever since moving here, he'd felt that the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster was doing him slightly less harm.

Normally, that was impossible.

Only a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Root could use its domain to counter the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster's ability to strip away lifespan, protecting everything within its bounds. He'd never heard of a Rare Species having that ability.

Of course, even if the effect had weakened, it was only by a little. Compared with the lifespan being stripped away, it was hardly worth mentioning.

That was precisely why he couldn't be sure whether it was just his imagination.

But either way, staying in the space among the roots brought him a measure of peace.

For the past few days, he'd been hiding in the space among the roots. At first, he could clearly sense the vigorous life force, but now it was almost imperceptible.

It seemed the little tree had indeed "heard" him and completely reined in its life force.

He still couldn't say for certain that it would evade the Insect Race's detection, but it was undoubtedly far better than before.

Besides, he still had a bottle of Corpse Stench Devil Plant sap, which could prove quite useful in a pinch.

Meanwhile, in the little room in the corner of the courtyard, Yu An didn't look too well.

His crown, which had once been lush and leafy, was now half withered, as if he'd suffered a grave loss of vitality.

But if anyone could explore its deepest reaches, they would discover that beneath this appearance lay a weighty, profound essence beyond description.

"That's enough."

Yu An came to, checked his condition, and finally decided to stop.

After all, he understood that too much of a good thing could be harmful.

For the past few days, in his effort to refine as much Qi of Creation as possible before the Insect Race appeared, he'd pushed himself to the limit. He'd even forcibly extracted some of the vitality from the Seed of Return and Hide.

The rewards, however, had been immense.

Before, Yu An had already grown to Juvenile Stage Two, and he'd thought he was roughly at Fetal Movement Minor Accomplishment. But because he'd grown too quickly and absorbed too many Spirit Stones, his foundation was inevitably a little unstable.

Now, his foundation was like soft mud transformed into solid rock. Even the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster's ability to strip away lifespan had weakened accordingly.

Why did those with higher cultivation lose less lifespan?

And why could those at the Foundation Establishment Realm become completely immune?

The reason lay in the weight and stability of one's life origin.

By refining so much Qi of Creation with his life force, Yu An had not only thoroughly cleansed himself and dealt with the problem of his excessive vitality, but also elevated his life origin.

He could say that, aside from looking a little worse for wear, he'd been completely reborn.

As for his appearance, if he wanted, he could draw out all the vitality from the Seed of Return and Hide and feed it back into his trunk. He'd immediately become lush and verdant. He might not grow straight to Juvenile Stage Three, but reaching the peak of Stage Two would be effortless.

For the trees of this world, especially Rare Species, the trunk was merely an outward form, one they could even discard entirely. Only the life origin was fundamental—and most important.

Of course, that didn't mean the outward form was unimportant. Rare Species still needed it to continue growing and evolving.

But as long as their life origin remained intact, they wouldn't die.

That was the greatest difference between plants and humans.

By comparison, the plants of this world—especially the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots—were truly blessed by nature.

At the same time, he thought of the Blessed Lands that sheltered humanity during the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster.

If even he could refine Qi of Creation, then those Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots probably could too.

The same likely went for high-level cultivators who could extract Immortal Destiny.

Immortal Destiny?

Yu An's heart stirred, and he summoned his status panel.

Name: Yu An

Race: Elm Tree (Rare Species)

Age: 1/300 (continuously decreasing)

Realm: Juvenile Stage Two (Fetal Movement)

Divine Ability: Town Protection (With an elm in the household, there will be surplus year after year. Slightly improves the fortune of the homestead and shelters future generations.)

Fateful Bond: (Every five years, or by expending an equivalent amount of lifespan, you will produce one Natal Elm Seed. It assists those in the Fetal Movement Realm in entering the Qi Refining Realm. This bond is an Immortal Destiny! The Elm Seed is the cause, and the bond's fulfillment is the result. Any living being bound by fate will nourish you in death, accelerating your growth.)

Overall, there had been no changes to his species, age, or realm.

Even his Divine Abilities were still the same two.

But their descriptions had changed.

Before, Town Protection had been described as "slightly improving the fortune of the homestead." Now it was "moderately improving the fortune of the homestead."

It might seem like a small change, but the effect had at least doubled.

His Fateful Bond had also changed from producing one Natal Elm Seed every ten years to producing one every five.

By his reckoning, his life origin had roughly doubled in strength.

That showed just how great his gains had been this time.

If the Insect Race weren't about to descend, Yu An would have loved to feed back all the vitality of the Seed of Return and Hide, then take on the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster again.

By then, he'd surely be even closer to evolving into Juvenile Stage Three.

Perhaps the Rare Species of this world evolved into Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots by seizing benefits from the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster again and again.

It might take Rare Species decades, or even centuries, to complete that process.

After all, Rare Species had only a faint consciousness and relied mostly on instinct. How could they compare with Yu An, a Rare Species with a human soul?

As for the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots that had already evolved, they could likewise continue refining the power within the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster and strengthen themselves.

For some reason, Yu An had a feeling at that moment.

It was that this world clearly favored Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots.

As if the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots were the true protagonists of this world.

If that were really the case...

At that moment, Yu An's heart stirred.