217: Gifts and Changes

Looking at the secret realm, which had returned to peace, Xu Yan originally thought that Ruomu's transformation of the Shadowlight Realm should have ended here.

However, before Xu Yan could check the new information regarding Ruomu and the Shadowlight Realm, the surrounding scenery changed once again.

A phantom image of a cyan-red branch pierced through layers of space, extending from the void and appearing within the Shadowlight Realm.

That was not even a complete branch; just a small section of its tip directly obscured the entire sky of the Shadowlight Realm. Looking at the lush leaves on the branch, Xu Yan felt as if he could see the cycle of creation and destruction across myriad worlds.

Simultaneously, a vast and majestic aura filled the entire Shadowlight Realm, which seemed to have been affected by a spell.

The instant this small section of the branch appeared, a piece of information automatically surfaced in Xu Yan's mind.

One of the Four Divine Trees, Ruomu of the Western Extreme, Mythical Rank, and also the progenitor of the Ruomu contracted by Xu Yan.

At the same time, a gentle voice echoed in his heart.

"These are the growth resources for that child and a reward for you. Strive to grow."

After concisely explaining its purpose, the branch glowed. Then, the Shadowlight Realm, which had been somewhat uncoordinated due to the forced transition, seemed to instantly undergo thousands of years of evolution and adaptation, becoming perfectly harmonious and integrated, with no signs of forced merging or replacement remaining.

After this was done, the branch in the sky dispersed into streams of light, splitting into two. One stream directly merged into Ruomu, while the other landed in Xu Yan's hand, transforming into a cyan-red jade pendant.

The moment Xu Yan's palm touched the jade pendant, a pure and gentle life essence continuously flowed into his body from the point of contact. The extremely comfortable sensation involuntarily caused Xu Yan to let out a moan.

After about half an hour, just as Xu Yan felt his body was slightly "stuffed," the high-intensity output of life essence from the jade pendant gradually smoothed out, changing into a subtle, nourishing reinforcement.

After completely escaping that sensation of comfort—which could almost be considered a negative debuff—the information regarding the gifts bestowed by Ruomu of the Western Extreme was compiled.

First, regarding the Ruomu he contracted: besides conventional resources, Ruomu's growth is also related to the aging and demise of living beings, worlds, and even laws. Witnessing, absorbing, and carrying these powers related to "sunset" and "twilight" are part of its growth.

What Ruomu of the Western Extreme bestowed was a Life-Death World Pond containing a large number of related existences. Once Ruomu's strength and mastery of power reach a certain level, it can automatically draw corresponding resources from it to improve itself.

Furthermore, the Life-Death World Pond itself, which stores these things, is a special spatial-temporal artifact. Ruomu can directly embed its roots into it, comprehending spatial-temporal powers and laws from it. The World Pond Water produced and stored within is also a top-tier growth resource for Ruomu.

Such generosity is truly immense.

Next, there was the "custody fee" that landed in Xu Yan's hands.

The Ruomu Spirit Jade, formed from a section of a Ruomu of the Western Extreme branch, contains a large amount of pure life essence due to its raw material, and can also automatically absorb and condense new life essence.

At the same time, this Ruomu Spirit Jade contains a portion of the power of Ruomu of the Western Extreme. It grants immunity to most Time-type effects below the Mythical Rank (optional), and can also be actively activated to form a Quasi-Mythical Rank "Twilight of Myriad Laws" Domain within a certain area (rechargeable), reducing Time Repercussion below the Mythical Rank by 99%.

Furthermore, three one-time powers of Ruomu of the Western Extreme are sealed within this Ruomu Spirit Jade. When activated, they can summon a projection of Ruomu of the Western Extreme.

This is an excellent item that combines body nourishment, resource production, Time-type countering, repercussion reduction, and a life-saving trump card. The value of this single jade pendant is immeasurably higher than Xu Yan's current total wealth.

Finally, there was the change in the Shadowlight Realm. Besides the world becoming more perfectly integrated as mentioned before, the flow of time within the Shadowlight Realm also changed. Originally, the time flow in the Shadowlight Realm was synchronized with the outside world.

Now, Xu Yan can adjust it according to his own wishes, from a minimum synchronized with the outside world up to a maximum of a hundred times the outside world's rate. Age growth and lifespan consumption are calculated based on the time flow rate of the area.

After reviewing the information in his mind, Xu Yan forcibly suppressed his inner joy and turned his attention to Ruomu and Zhu Yan.

The former had shed its seed form, and the world associated with the latter underwent a massive change. Correspondingly, the information of both Spirit Beasts also changed.

First, regarding Ruomu, Xu Yan first communicated with it mentally, settling on its name, Gui Chen, before checking its information.

The general information hadn't changed much from its seed state, but its rank had instantly reached the Monarch Rank Limit. According to Gui Chen's feedback, this was not its maximum.

It stopped at the Monarch Rank because the powers of Ruomu and the World Tree within its body were still in the fusion stage. Additionally, there was no real need, and it wanted to match the ranks of Xu Yan and the other Spirit Beasts (mainly the latter), so it didn't continue breaking through. If it truly wanted to break through, it could do so at any time.

The Law Unsealing and Authority remain sealed, but there were no other major changes.

As for its specific strength, according to Gui Chen's feedback, every one of its branches possesses the vitality and power of an ordinary newly entered Overlord Rank Wood/Time dual-attribute Spirit Beast. The three branches bearing "fruits" can even reach a level close to High-Tier Overlord.

Listening to Gui Chen's description of its own strength, and then looking at its three hundred or more distinct branches, Xu Yan fell into silence.

His cultivation of the Spirit Beasts over the past year or so was less effective than its growth over a single day of sprouting—it was literally inferior to just one of its branches. This inexplicable feeling of powerlessness made Xu Yan suddenly empathize with how his classmates felt when they looked at him.

However, this feeling of unnecessary powerlessness was quickly washed away by the thought, "This is my contracted Spirit Beast," transforming into joy over his own increase in strength.

After calming his internal joy slightly, he checked Zhu Yan's information.

Race: Shadowlight Realm Spider

Rank: Monarch Rank Limit

Attributes: Dark, Light, Space (Balanced Trio)

Bloodline Rank: Overlord Rank Limit

Innate Talent: Life Seed, Shadowlight Realm Beast (Associated worlds provide mutual feedback, allowing the borrowing and use of associated world power)

Laws: Dark (Infinitesimal), Light (Infinitesimal)

Skills: ...Domain (Three Stages), World Projection

As a Realm Beast associated with the Shadowlight Realm, Gui Chen's addition and the resulting changes allowed Zhu Yan to essentially take a huge sip of soup without doing anything herself.

Not only did her strength reach the Monarch Rank Limit, but she also gained access to the power of Laws, which is normally only accessible at the Overlord Rank, instantly making her the strongest existence besides the bug-level Gui Chen.