Pale green spell-light rose in wave after wave around the Altar, enveloping it like a lotus in full bloom. Invisible pulses spread outward, condensing into translucent runes in the void. Like water dripping from the eaves, they fell one by one, stirring ripples and binding the Deadwood Branch to the Altar.
"Do we really need to be this careful?"
The Fat Wizard leaned against the Furry Dragon, his arms folded, scratching his chin in bewilderment. "Can't we just pull out the stopper and pour the fire onto that Deadwood Branch?"
"Eewoo!"
The Furry Dragon nodded in agreement.
Zhang Jixin gave him a sidelong glance and scoffed. "And you say my brain's all muscle. Yours is even worse—it's all fat. Give it a shake and it'll slosh around..."
"Can't you talk without making personal attacks?" the Fat Wizard protested indignantly.
"Do you remember what's underneath us?" Zhang Jixin stamped his foot as he asked.
The Fat Wizard glanced down.
Although the growth of the Xuanhuang Wood had severely warped the rocky crust beneath their feet, many of its original features were still recognizable. Besides, his skull wasn't entirely filled with grease. After briefly sorting through the relevant information, a look of realization crossed his face. "Oh, that 'Void Cavity' is down there..."
The Xuanhuang Wood had grown by taking root above the Void Cavity.
The Void Cavity was the embryonic form of this world's still-unformed Earth Realm. Put more simply, it was the embryo of the "hell" or "underworld" that would exist in the Xuanhuang Middle World after its ascension. All the laws associated with death gathered there, and the dregs processed by those laws settled at the very bottom of the Void Cavity.
These included tangled masses of cause and effect, illusions that hovered between truth and falsehood, and sins