Douluo Continent, my martial soul is a mushroom.

Chapter 97 Praise of Life, Blessing of Destruction

Vast and magnificent, just like the vastness and immensity of life.

Continuation and development are the essence of a thriving life.

Even though it was just an energy projection, Chi Ping still felt as if he were facing a world.

Those watching the ceremony, including Qian Renxue, lowered their heads and bowed, showing humility.

Only Ikehira, as the inheritor, gained the qualification to look directly at the gods under the protection of the Tree of Life.

When the Goddess's light of life descends, the Tree of Life awakens from its slumber, radiating another kind of light of life. This light contains the true meaning of existence and continuation, and carries the essence of the world and all things. Though weak, it still shines brightly in the light of the Goddess of Life.

Having absorbed a massive amount of soul power, it is now qualified to sprout.

The goddess looked at Chi Ping and the five-patterned green-gold tree seed in his hand and smiled faintly, her life force growing stronger.

She spoke softly, as if in praise, or perhaps in blessing.

The goddess spoke, but it was more like the world responding to her thoughts. The rustling of leaves, the collision of sand, the vibrations of nature connected and converged into language.

[The first of the nine tests of life is complete.]

[Reward, Praise of Life]

……

In the realm of gods, at the edge of an endless sea of ​​clouds, lies a boundless green curtain—the Forest of Life that guards the realm. At its core, an ancient tree stands suspended in mid-air.

The enormous trunk blocked out the sky, and the dense foliage resembled a canopy.

The ancient tree absorbs the thoughts and energy of the human world, and a rich life force bursts forth with its breath, sustaining the development and continuation of the divine realm.

Beneath the tree, the goddess of life, clad in a long, light green dress, smiled broadly. A new goddess of life was about to be born, and she would offer her blessing.

Beside the goddess was another deity. He wore a large purple cloak that covered his head, obscuring his face; only two red lights could be vaguely seen flickering within the cloak.

Destruction and life are the foundation of the divine realm; they are forever intertwined.

The goddess closed her eyes and sang a hymn, emanating from her body in delicate, emerald light.

The enormous ancient tree of life burst forth with immense vitality, each leaf glowing, swaying without wind, refining and releasing pure life energy.

……

Transcending time and space, the supreme artifact, the Ancient Tree of Life, bestows upon the newly born Ancient Tree of Life a pure blessing of life.

The boundless life force poured down, and the Tree of Life absorbed it all, just as a newborn child suckles its mother's milk, getting its first taste of nourishment since birth.

As the rites of praise to life proceed, the energy emanating from the tree species becomes increasingly profound.

The goal of the Praise of Life is not only the Tree of Life, but also the Pond Plain.

—This power…

The life force refined by the super artifact is incredibly pure, untainted by any strange aura, containing only the most essential life energy.

It can be absorbed with almost no refining required.

The absorbed life force dispersed throughout the body, with most of it concentrated in the left shoulder.

The phrase "to bring the dead back to life and to restore flesh to bones" is by no means difficult for God, especially the God of life.

—It's so itchy...

Chi Ping thought to himself.

The hyphae detached from the body, revealing a bare shoulder and unsightly wrinkled skin after healing.

Life forces converge, and cells are awakened.

Skin stretches, muscles develop, bones remodel, and nerves reconnect.

Five years later, Ikehira once again felt the presence of his "left hand".

Seeing this scene, Flander, Zhao Wuji, Shao Xin, Lu Qibin, Li Yusong, Dai Mubai, and Ma Hongjun, who had witnessed Chi Ping's journey, couldn't help but shed tears.

If it weren't for the goddess in front of them, they might have already embraced and wept.

This arm is a scar they can never forget.

After his damaged limbs were repaired, the life force began to strengthen Chi Ping's innate qualities.

Although Chi Ping has not encountered any insurmountable obstacles in his cultivation so far, this is mainly because the energy provided by the mycelium is too enormous.

The barriers of cultivation are utterly insignificant in the face of endless energy.

But this does not mean that Chi Ping has high talent or good aptitude.

He simply chose the right path and took firm steps forward one by one.

The deficiency in his physical constitution cannot stop Ikehira's progress. Moreover, as his abilities and knowledge improve, Ikehira will be able to rebuild his physical constitution himself. However, this process will inevitably be very slow and will require the accumulation of time.

The Celebration of Life brings this process forward considerably.

Martial spirit, meridians, qi and blood, and even spirit are all transformed and sublimated in the infinite life force.

The martial spirit's characteristics are stronger, the flow of soul power through the meridians is smoother, the blood and qi are more abundant, the spirit is more resilient, and the recovery ability is stronger...

The benefits are too numerous to list.

About an hour later, the Tree of Life and Chi Ping reached their current limit for absorbing life energy, but there was still some surplus life energy from the Life Praise.

The phantom of the goddess looked at the crowd around her and waved.

The remaining 5% of life energy was divided equally into 16 portions and given to everyone, while the other 5% was absorbed into the land beneath their feet. From then on, the medicinal herbs produced in Medicine Mountain would carry the aura of life, greatly benefiting cultivation.

When Chi Ping awoke from the lingering effects of the Praise of Life, he saw everyone sitting cross-legged, their martial spirits spontaneously possessing them, radiating a vibrant aura of life.

Having experienced the effects of the Praise of Life, Ikehira knew they would receive considerable benefits.

He nodded slightly to the illusory image of the goddess. He held the seed of the Tree of Life in his right hand, and since his left arm had just recovered, he was still somewhat unaccustomed to it, and his manners were slightly lacking.

"Thank you, Goddess."

The goddess's illusory figure looked at Chi Ping and the Tree of Life, and spoke.

[The Second of the Nine Tests of Life: The Life Contract]

[Inheritor, you have two choices. First, establish a contract with the Tree of Life; second, integrate the Tree of Life into your Martial Soul.]

Chi Ping looked at the Tree of Life seed in his hand and asked in confusion, "May I ask, Goddess, what is the difference between the two?"

The goddess remained silent.

Chi Ping could only lower his head and ponder.

—Why make the choice of establishing a contract and integrating a martial soul?

The goddess's test was absurd and left Chi Ping completely clueless.

bounce~ splat~

As Chi Ping pondered, the Tree of Life in his hand stirred.

Having been baptized by life energy, it had expanded from the size of a fist to the size of a basketball. It spun around, rolled up Chi Ping's arm to his shoulder, and rubbed against his cheek like a little puppy.

"What's going on?"

Chi Ping was surprised.

"She likes you very much," the goddess said, but this time there was no response from heaven or earth.

Chi Ping frowned. "It has intelligence?"

The goddess did not answer and remained silent once again.

Chi Ping touched the tree seed, and the tree seed rubbed against his palm.

This made Chi Ping even more puzzled.

He began to recall the information he had received and the thoughts he had engaged in since he began his divine examination.

The nature of divine power, the forms of divine existence, the differences between gods and humans... the relationship between the Goddess of Life and the Ancient Tree of Life!

"I remember you once told me that the Tree of Life is your true form. Does that mean it is your child?" Chi Ping asked, looking at the goddess.

Unexpectedly, the goddess shook her head and said regretfully, "My husband is in charge of destruction, and we have been unable to have children."

Chi Ping asked doubtfully, "Seeds are the continuation of life. If it's not your offspring, could it be mine?"

The goddess glanced at Chi Ping with surprise, but did not answer. In a sense, Chi Ping was right.

!! ?

Chi Ping noticed the goddess's gaze.

—What kind of look is that! Is he really my offspring? Are you kidding me! Wait, maybe it's just a difference in expression and perception... Maybe it's some kind of family relationship setting!

Chi Ping took a deep breath to calm his mind.

—According to the Goddess of Life, the Tree of Life is not her offspring. But the Ancient Tree of Life is indeed the goddess's true form, so perhaps I can consider the goddess as a plant that has transformed into a spirit.

—The fact that the tree seed could sprout and develop sentience suggests that it possesses the concept of "life continuation." In that case, perhaps I could consider the initial tree seed as an unfertilized egg cell? The goddess of life's husband wields destruction, which clearly conflicts with the goddess's attributes; this is likely why the two gods did not have offspring.

—Because I met certain conditions, the goddess chose me as her successor. What were those conditions? After that, I obtained the tree seed, and in the following three years, I met certain conditions again, causing the tree seed to be "fertilized" and give birth to sentience?

—Damn! What kind of bullshit guess is this!

Chi Ping suppressed the jumbled guesses popping into his mind and said, "I choose to form a contract with it."

Some issues are better investigated quietly by oneself.

Ikehira was very self-aware.

……

In the realm of gods, the Goddess of Life transformed into light and merged into the ancient Tree of Life, revealing golden inscriptions on its leaves.

The boundless radiance of life shines upon the entire divine realm!

Something manifested within the radiance.

Resembling a throne, a crown, a tree, an insect, a beast, a flower, or a blade of grass... ever-changing, it elucidates the profound meaning of life.

This is the position of the God of Life!

The radiance of life receded, the goddess detached from the ancient tree, and reformed her form.

"Little Green!"

The God of Destruction leaped up and embraced the Goddess of Life.

With her divine position detached from her body, the Goddess of Life fell into an unprecedented state of weakness.

Looking at his wife's slightly pale face, the God of Destruction felt extremely distressed.

"Is it really necessary to do this?"

"Don't worry, Xiao Zi. This is our opportunity, and I don't want to let it slip by."

The goddess looked at her lover with unwavering eyes.

The destructive intent of the God of Destruction was too strong; only by completely suppressing that destructive power could they possibly conceive their child. However, only the God of Life could suppress the destructive intent.

The Goddess of Life's power was barely on par with the God of Destruction. Only with the birth of a second Goddess of Life and her assistance could the Goddess of Life and the God of Destruction have a child.

The two gods embraced tightly, and then the goddess of life left the embrace of the god of destruction and took the manifested position of the god of life.

She gave a beautiful smile, then waved her hand as if wielding a sword.

The divine position was divided into two parts, one part being two-thirds and the other one-third.

Two-thirds merged into the ancient tree, and one-third fell into the goddess's palm.

Gods are also divided into different ranks: God-King, First-Class God, Second-Class God, and Third-Class God.

Life is undoubtedly the highest level of god-king. Even if one-third of its essence is separated, it is still among the god-kings.

"Let me do it," the God of Destruction said, "for our future."

The goddess of life looked at her husband, smiled brightly, and placed the divine throne in his hands.

The God of Destruction looked at the divine throne and said, "Life and destruction are two sides of the same coin. Life cannot exist without destruction, and destruction cannot exist without life. Without life, destruction is just a meaningless emptiness. Without destruction, life has no foundation for existence and development."

Destruction is not evil; it is a necessary part of the cycle of life. A new god of life is growing, and destruction should be blessed.

……

A beam of green life light shines brightly, while purple lightning of destruction falls from the clear sky.

Click!

Amidst the thunder, a figure in a purplish-black cloak appeared in the center of the square, standing shoulder to shoulder with the phantom of the goddess.

"I am destruction."

Chi Ping cupped his hands in greeting, "Greetings, God of Destruction."

The phantom of destruction sneered, "I will help you complete the second round of the test in the name of life."

After saying this, he handed over the incomplete Life God's position, and the Life Tree Seed eagerly crashed into it, the two merging into one.

"The seeds of the Tree of Life require pure intention to develop sentience. The divine realm, by gathering the power of human thought, cannot make them sprout. Only the human world is fertile ground."

The phantom of destruction watched as the tree seed fell back into Chi Ping's hand.

"It was born because of you, and is naturally bound to you by a covenant. Plant it, wait for it to grow, and you will become the new god of life."

[The second of the nine tests of life is complete.]

[Reward: A divinely bestowed Soul Ring, Blessing of Destruction]

In the radiance of life, a green-gold orb fell in front of Chi Ping.

The phantom of destruction extended its right hand, and the power of destruction condensed into lightning, drawing divine runes before finally slowly landing on Chi Ping's left arm.

[The Third of the Nine Tests of Life: The Power of Life]

[Understand the true meaning of life and gather the light of life that is uniquely yours]

(End of this chapter)