Above the firmament, endless stars shed strand after strand of starlight, while vast quantities of divine xi descended, surging toward the depths of the Gobi.
"Essence qi like this!"
"Has he already lost control of his instincts?" Ji Hao murmured. From what he had seen, he could already imagine the Divine Vine's condition. Indeed, the outlook was grim.
His life was nearing its end, and devouring the essence of heaven and earth was the instinct of a dying being. That was precisely why this place had become a barren desert. At the same time, the Divine Vine was devouring the power descending from the stars above, along with the essence qi permeating heaven and earth.
Ji Hao continued forward and soon reached an ancient garden. Old walls stretched across it, mottled with the scars of time. Who knew how many years they had stood there? They were on the verge of collapse.
Passing through the walls, he saw the Divine Vine's true body.
Endless light rain fell before his eyes, filling the place with rising silver radiance and an air of sacred peace.
A plant stood ahead-the very purpose of Ji Hao's journey, the Butian Pavilion's sacrificial spirit.
He was exactly as Ji Hao had imagined: yellowed and sickly, seemingly about to wither away.
This was a gourd vine clinging to a pile of stones. His entire body lacked luster or divine radiance; there was only withered yellow and decline. He was not particularly large, only five or six meters long. His sparse leaves lacked vitality, and he looked utterly lifeless.
Ji Hao could see clearly that the Divine Vine had only a final trace of vitality left. A stubborn obsession sustained his last breath, keeping him from perishing immediately.
Even as starlight and divine radiance continuously descended from the