Lian watched the fragments of memory for only a few seconds as his killing intent and fury skyrocketed. However, unknown to him, when these emotions reached their peak, a glowing red light at the base of his spine began spinning wildly.
As the emotions grew more uncontrollable, the light circled more and more frenziedly. When his fury reached its climax, the light abruptly stopped. In a burst of blood energy and a thunderous roar, a wave of astral winds violently spread.
*Bang!*
With a loud bang, the impact struck the patriarch head-on, making his head buzz. He felt as if he had transformed into a shapeless mass. Intense pain coursed through his entire body, sending him flying through the air and crashing to the ground. After a few seconds, he woke up, looking ahead in a state of shock.
At that moment, the once clear sky was now covered with dark clouds. Lightning flashed incessantly, covering an area of ten thousand kilometers. It was as if the end of the world was approaching.
At the same time, a figure stood out before the patriarch's eyes. A red aura, like fire, enveloped his body. That same terrifying aura spread across the sky and the earth.
*Crack!*
"What power is this?" exclaimed the horrified patriarch. He could clearly see that it was Lian. However, the current Lian seemed more like an awakened demon king, a god that had descended to earth as a terrible pressure emanated from his body.
Inside Lian's body, something was cracking and opening. The small space where the strange divine seed resided explosively expanded. It was possible to catch glimpses of mountains and feel dense earth energy flowing through them.
When the expansion stopped, a flaming red aura rose, covering several meters around. A shadow of a four-petal lotus flower could be seen. His Qi, mind, and blood energy were completely transformed during this process.
Lian slowly closed his eyes and murmured something. In his mind, information that seemed to have always been there emerged.
"First Root Gate, The Foundation of the Root."
When he opened his eyes again, the sky and the earth trembled intensely. Even the spectators fell to the ground, completely shocked. At the same time, a frenzied and furious aura emerged from Lian's body, shaking the nine heavens. Countless debris was released from the gravitational pull of the continent and floated slowly in the air.
Lemir and the others watched Lian in shock, overwhelmed by the overwhelming and oppressive power he emanated. Riria also woke up startled beside them, fixing a stunned gaze on Lian.
Now, Lian appeared like a celestial emperor who had descended from the heavens. He looked down disdainfully at everyone around him, someone capable of subjugating others.
*Hu!*
Lian disappeared from his original position and appeared in front of the patriarch, delivering a punch.
Although the patriarch was looking at Lian in shock, he was also constantly vigilant. Seeing Lian disappear, he didn't hesitate and attacked with his sword.
*Crack!*
The sword instantly shattered while the punch hit the patriarch's chest. The sound of bones breaking echoed as dozens of them were broken, causing him to let out a miserable scream.
Incredibly pure and divine earth runes emerged on Lian's fists. Just by seeing them, the spectators felt a connection with the nine heavens and the world.
After the punch, Lian didn't stop. He pushed off the ground with his left foot and raised his right knee.
*Bang!*
Lian's knee collided with the patriarch's face. The sound of bones breaking resonated as he was thrown into the air. While the patriarch was still in the air, Lian advanced. With his right fist, he delivered a powerful blow downwards.
*Bang!*
The patriarch's body fell to the ground like a shooting star. The solid ground rippled like water, and a 300-meter crater emerged in the ground, with the bloodied figure of the patriarch at its center.
Despite having all the bones in his body broken and being practically upside down, shockingly, the patriarch was still not dead.
Lian approached the pit and observed the patriarch while in his hands, three daggers with glowing inscriptions appeared. "You can't die yet. All the evil you've caused must be purged," said Lian.
*Pu pu pu...*
The sound of metal piercing flesh echoed, and the patriarch's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. A miserable scream resounded, audible even tens of kilometers away. That scream was filled with pain, making people shudder.
A large black circle formed around the patriarch. Before everyone's eyes, all the life force of a cultivator in the Meridian Transformation Realm was forcefully extracted from his body. This Qi fused into a blue crystal, floating near Lian's hands. After several long hours, finally, the patriarch's screams ceased.
The patriarch was completely deformed. His body was shriveled, with only bones visible beneath the skin. His face was distorted with pain and regret. The patriarch was finally dead.
Suddenly, all that aura disappeared. As a result, Lian immediately felt a burst of exhaustion and fell.
However, he didn't fall to the cold ground. Instead, he was enveloped in a warm embrace. A gentle fragrance emanated from the person holding him, making him feel incomparably relaxed.
"Lian!" Riria embraced the fragile Lian. Her eyes were filled with tears of happiness.
The formation had been undone, and Riria rushed to him, holding him. Lemir also approached cautiously and with concern.
"Make my mother swallow this..." He handed Riria the bluish crystal before fainting.
Riria had complete confidence in Lian and kept the crystal, remembering the promise he had made to her. 'Soon, Lianna would wake up.' She then hugged him tightly and took him to her house.
Lemir wished to accompany Riria, but now he was the only surviving advisor while even the patriarch was dead. Almost ninety percent of the clan's power had been destroyed in a single day. He needed to lead the survivors until Lian woke up.
As Riria left with Lian in her arms, Lemir looked at their backs and sighed deeply. Before, he thought the clan was completely doomed, but the impact caused by Lian made him believe that he would be able to rebuild everything at an even higher level.
The fate and leadership of the Albedo Clan were now in Lian's hands. All the survivors understood this. Now, they needed to repair the damage caused by this apocalyptic battle and await the awakening of the new patriarch.
On the same day, Lianna received the crystal from Riria. Her skin and aura changed completely within minutes. It seemed like she was about to wake up at any moment. Riria had already received instructions from Lian before the battle. She simply put him in bed and gave him some pills he had given her. Now, she focused on her own recovery, eagerly waiting for him to awaken.
Lian was immersed in a deep sleep.
In his sleep, he felt his body continuously floating upward. After floating for an unknown amount of time, he suddenly opened his eyes and saw a vast, green, and divine world.
The Qi of nature was so powerful that it defied everything he had ever witnessed in the Divine Plane. The trees were gigantic and emitted a brilliant glow, illuminating the landscape around him. Their sturdy trunks rose majestically toward the sky, reaching unimaginable heights.
The rivers flowing through that place seemed to be made of the purest and clearest water that ever existed. Their meandering courses reflected the sunlight, creating a spectacle of vibrant colors. Drinking from that water would be like consuming the essence of life itself.
Looking up at the sky, he came across a breathtaking sight. A colossal tree rose on the horizon, its grandeur impossible to ignore. It was so immense that it could be seen from anywhere in that world. Its branches extended in all directions, covering vast areas of the landscape below. Each of its leaves was the size of a mortal planet, and its canopy seemed to embrace the entire universe.
In this place of unmatched magnitude, he felt small in the face of the immensity of nature. It was a realm of serenity and beauty, where the harmony between the divine and the earthly fused in perfection. He marveled at the grandeur of that sight and felt blessed to be able to witness such a wonder.
Lian was surprised and realized that this vision did not belong to his world. It was as if it were a memory of something from the past. Surely, it was related to the strange events that had been occurring with him and the continent.
Determined to uncover the truth, Lian decided to investigate. He floated through the skies, flying over the entire world toward the immense tree. Along the way, he passed through places he had never seen in the Divine Plane, feeling the dense presence of elemental Qi in each of them.
As he approached the tree, he caught a glimpse of a gigantic violet divine aura in its vicinity. It was a powerful and mysterious energy that seemed to envelop everything around it.
The pressure emanated by that figure was indescribable. Lian felt completely stripped and vulnerable, while at the same time, a sense of tranquility and familiarity emerged from the core of his soul.
In the center of all that Qi, a figure stood out. It resembled a man, but his face remained invisible to Lian's eyes. On the figure's back, a divine lotus with a thousand petals rotated in perfect harmony with the world around it. All living beings, nature, and the laws of the universe seemed to move in unison with those mysterious petals.
The eyes of that figure seemed to gaze directly at Lian as an unprecedented pressure enveloped his soul as he returned the gaze.
Lian quickly understood that this being was far more powerful than he had ever been in the past. It was a force superior even to the Divine Emperor he had fought in ancient times.