The Shining Star Above The Heaven
Chapter 578: From This Moment You Are Free…

Chapter 578: From This Moment You Are Free...

Understanding that they had to move quickly, Vireline did not waste another moment.

"Then excuse me, my lord," she said, as roots instantly circled Aldrian and enclosed him like a cocoon. Immediately afterward, the roots buried themselves underground, carrying Aldrian down toward the base of the world tree.

Aldrian remained still inside the cocoon for the next fifteen minutes before it suddenly opened.

As his eyes adjusted to his surroundings, they widened slightly in astonishment at the beauty of the place. What he saw was a vast underground cavern, filled with enormous roots, undoubtedly those of the world tree. The size of the space reminded him of the underground hall where the skeletons of Long Shentian and Feng Xuanyan were placed.

On the walls, there were many energy stones, far more than on the upper ground. It was not surprising that so many peak-level energy stones were present in this area, as Vireline must have stopped cultivating a long time ago. Like other beings on the continent, she had been unable to break through to a higher stage of cultivation due to the formation of the continent.

With her cultivation halted, the energy had accumulated here for years. The world tree, capable of functioning as an energy filter, had purified the energy in this area. As a result, the underground space was filled with rich, pure heaven and earth energy, making it easy for the energy stones to reach peak quality.

The abundance of peak-level energy stones embedded in the cave’s walls gave off a soft purple glow, illuminating the surrounding space. But the stones were not the only source of light.

He saw a golden light spreading from the center of the underground space, illuminating the entire cavern. In the middle of the underground space, there was a large pond filled with golden water, which was the source of the golden light. At the center of the pond stood a massive crystal, which was actually the Crystal of Divinity, and its size was truly the largest he had ever seen.

With a crystal that size, Aldrian thought even a divine being would find it hard to resist. No wonder the divine aura could spread across such a wide area, since the Crystal of Divinity itself was this enormous.

There were also numerous treasures around him, and some of them were actually divine-grade artifacts, which truly shocked him. Their auras extended directly toward him, and he could even sense high divine-grade artifacts among the pile of treasures.

Combined with the other valuable treasures and energy stones scattered throughout the area, this core region was essentially a giant hidden vault of treasure.

"My lord, you can take anything from here. Maybe you’ll find something useful for your battle. I don’t need any of this, and even the Divine Phoenix said that some of the artifacts here are for you, if you want them," Vireline said.

Aldrian looked at his surroundings, then approached the artifacts that had been placed without any order, as if they were piles of trash. He picked up an artifact that was exuding a low divine-grade aura—it was a sword. The sword trembled for a moment before he injected his golden energy into it, and it calmed down.

He looked at the information of the sword and confirmed that it was actually from the Higher Heavens, and it had once belonged to one of his followers.

He then put it back and picked up another artifact. This one was a shield with a middle divine-grade aura. The shield reacted the same way, and Aldrian did the same to calm it. This one was also from the Higher Heavens.

He then focused at all the piles of artifacts, and the lowest among them was actually at the Heaven grade. With this quantity, he estimated that he could arm an entire battalion of cultivators or even more.

Given the high quality of the artifacts, that group of cultivators might become the strongest if they could use them properly.

He then walked toward the place where he sensed the aura of a high divine-grade artifact. Unlike the others, this artifact was not piled carelessly but placed on top of a stone table. There, he saw a beautifully crafted bow, and after checking its information, he learned that it was one of the artifacts from the High Elves in the Higher Heavens.

He touched it, but it did not tremble. Instead, he could feel the intent within the bow. He was not surprised, as the artifact had already reached the high divine grade, and its consciousness was more advanced than the others. This bow had already sensed how unique he was when he touched the other artifacts, so it did not react.

The intent from the bow was one of curiosity, and Aldrian injected his golden energy as a greeting. Upon feeling it, the bow responded with joy and even absorbed the golden energy greedily.

He smiled and gently stroked the beautifully crafted bow, unable to stop himself from thinking of someone.

"This is good for Sylphia. With this bow, she can unleash the full potential of her techniques."

He then looked at the pond, filled with water that was the liquefied form of divine energy, created by how dense the divine energy was in this place. The crystal and the pond together served as the formation’s foundation, positioned here to support the formation that protected the entire continent, the reason why Vireline had remained.

However, considering the current situation, he believed there was now a far more useful task for Vireline than simply staying here.

"Vireline, do you want to leave this place? Don’t you think it’s time to finally free yourself from this underground, given the situation? With the threat of the Devil God’s descent, I believe your power will be much needed," he said.

For the first time, Vireline showed a slight smile to him and gave a small bow.

"With my lord having arrived at this place, my primary task here is complete. I have safeguarded this place until now, and with the dire situation outside, of course I will gladly assist my lord. If my lord wishes to use me, then please do so. I will serve my lord," she said, making Aldrian nod in satisfaction.

He certainly would not allow power as strong as Vireline to go to waste. Her strength would be a great help in the war. And if he could also rally the beasts of this region, it would be even better. With their support, the war could end much more quickly, as the alliance would gain a more significant advantage.

"Great. I’ll take some of the treasures here, then we’ll move out," he said as he looked around, and then his gaze rising toward the ceiling where Vireline’s main body was visible, the base of the massive World Tree, large enough to cover an entire small town.

"It’s time for you to move freely after millions of years." He murmured, then turned his gaze to her. "I also want you to manage the beasts in this region. They’ll be helpful in the war, and it would be a waste not to make use of their strength."

"Your wish is my command, my lord," she answered.

After that, Aldrian selected some treasures he thought would be useful for his family, along with several powerful talismans that were also stored here. He didn’t plan to take everything, this place could serve as a hidden underground vault for now, and he was the only one who knew about it.

Once he finished choosing what he needed, he established his domain here, sensing that the faith of the entire Grand Canyon region was gathered in this place. After that, he looked at Vireline with a smile.

"Vireline, from this moment, you are free from your duty to safeguard this place," he said."You can move your body now, and I will make sure the shifting ground does not bury this place."

Hearing that, Vireline nodded, and suddenly the ground around them began to shake violently. The cavern seemed on the verge of collapse as the tremors grew stronger, but Aldrian used his earth laws to stabilize the area, preventing the hidden treasure vault from being buried.

He reinforced the cave floor while looking up at the ceiling, where the enormous roots of the World Tree had begun to move. As time passed, the shaking intensified, and the earthquake could be felt throughout the region and beyond.

All the beings in the Grand Canyon were thrown into panic for the second time, following the quake from the night before. But this one was far more intense, causing multiple landslides throughout the canyon.

The deep, thunderous rumble from underground and the trembling land forced every creature capable of flight to take to the skies. Those dwelling at the canyon floor scrambled toward higher ground in fear of what was coming.

The king- and emperor-stage beasts had already taken to the sky, their eyes fixed on the core area of the canyon. They knew this earthquake was caused by that thing—and from the sheer force of it, whatever was happening now was unlike anything they had ever felt. The ground shook with such intensity it seemed the entire canyon might collapse. They could only wonder what was happening beneath the surface.

As they watched, their eyes widened in shock. A massive silhouette began to rise on the horizon. Slowly, the form of a colossal tree emerged, its roots writhing like serpents as it pushed its enormous trunk toward the surface.

For the first time, the beings of this region laid eyes on the entity they had long revered. The one they had respected for granting peace and balance within the canyon.

The hidden World Tree, buried in silence for millions of years had returned, revealing its glorious form once more.