At this moment, Hyperion felt everything about himself being completely absorbed. The endless pain made him feel utterly weak, and in that instant, Hyperion finally understood. He realized how Hades had managed to advance to such a level in such a short time.
He widened his eyes in disbelief and said in a trembling voice, "Hades, you use the law of devouring to absorb everything and nourish the World Tree. That's how you've progressed so quickly..."
Hades didn't respond to Hyperion because it was meaningless. As Hyperion mentioned, this was indeed a method for Hades to advance further. However, for ordinary gods, this method was unusable. It's not simply a matter of devouring another to absorb everything they have; such things are never that simple. Even if Hyperion had a World Tree, he couldn't do this because he lacked the law of devouring.
Hades's Dark Star, having absorbed the Golden Apple King, possessed the law of devouring. Using this law as the core, the World Tree could decompose everything into the most basic nutrients. This was the fundamental reason Hades could absorb everything so freely.
Otherwise, Hades, not being foolish, wouldn't have made such a choice. Even in matters of the underworld, he had been meticulous, never complacent, always serious. This showed that Hades was not a madman. Every path he took was stable and secure, as the laws required. It's not about comprehending as many laws as possible, but rather about ensuring they do not conflict, which could cause fundamental problems.
Hades, with the cooperation of the Dark Star and the World Tree, could indeed break this limitation. However, arbitrarily recruiting subordinates would only bring trouble, which he deemed unnecessary. Thus, Hades was never in a hurry and never pursued such actions.
Now, even though Hyperion understood all this, it was still meaningless. As Hyperion was gradually devoured, an Ultimate Power crystal appeared, which Hades casually collected. Unnoticed, Hades had nearly gathered a complete set of these crystals.
After everything was absorbed, it was far from over. On the contrary, the Scarlet Lotus World Tree began to bloom, and as it did, the entire Underworld seemed to tremble. The World Tree in the Underworld vibrated happily, as this was indeed a feast, a truly nourishing one.
The Dark Star bound and restrained the World Tree. In this short time, the Scarlet Lotus World Tree unleashed endless flames, but they were meaningless. The entire tree, under the pressure of the Underworld, could only be passively absorbed.
Hades collected the Scarlet Lotus Flame and fed its seed to the sibling of the divine fire spirit, who devoured it completely. Following this, the Underworld began to change dramatically. The entire realm expanded significantly as the World Tree absorbed the Scarlet Lotus World Tree. The World Tree's size increased by at least 50%, and dark purple leaves with a scarlet hue briefly appeared before reverting to their original color.
The Underworld World Tree completely devoured all the world power from the Scarlet Lotus World Tree. With this consumption, the World Tree's growth was only the first step. The entire Underworld began a transformative change. The four rivers, the Yellow Springs, the Eight Hells, the Star Palace, and the Pure Land—all expanded rapidly, with the Underworld's overall improvement being at least several times over.
Hades, as the ruler of the Underworld, could clearly sense that the realm had once been an empty shell. Before, it lacked the minerals, resources, and various elements that a world, even a small one, should naturally have. This wasn't surprising, as the Underworld was constructed with the World Tree rather than developing gradually with its growth. As a result, it was essentially a framework, devoid of content.
However, with the World Tree's absorption of the Scarlet Lotus World Tree, the Underworld experienced a rapid birth of resources. Mineral veins, resources, divine items, artifacts—all began to manifest at a remarkable pace. Additionally, the Underworld started to generate its native life forms, not ordinary ones.
It was known that Hades had nurtured angels from pure souls, who lived in the Pure Land, praying for Hades and providing the highest quality of belief, which nourished the Trinity of Hades's divine attire. Yet now, something different was happening. The Underworld itself began to produce angels from pure souls within the Pure Land, albeit slowly, at a rate of one angel every 243 years.
This development was astonishing. Normally, even a small world would produce only one such being, and a mythic world could generate one every 243 years. The Underworld achieving this was a significant milestone.
This was likely a serendipitous outcome. As the World Tree evolved, it naturally generated life. The template for this life in the Underworld happened to be these angels formed from pure souls, providing an ideal choice for their creation.
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