The mysterious little sword returned to Li Yang's mind.
Instantly, all the pressure on Li Yang vanished, and seawater once again rushed into the surrounding vacuum.
It had only been for a ten-thousandth of a second. If the sword had appeared for any longer, the resulting vacuum would likely have been even more astonishing, perhaps even causing a tsunami.
'This little sword's power is too terrifying.'
Li Yang was shocked. His current strength was several times greater than before, yet the mysterious sword's power felt even stronger than the first time he had sensed it.
Based on what had just happened, Li Yang felt that if the sword's power were fully unleashed, all the seawater would probably be forced away, and numerous cities would be flooded.
Seeing the little sword return to his mind and cease its fluctuations, Li Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
His gaze fell upon the white tree before him.
'What on earth could make the mysterious little sword react so strongly?'
CRACK!
The membrane in front of him shattered, and the strange white tree was finally revealed completely. Li Yang's hand finally made contact with it.
'Is there something special about this little tree?'
Li Yang wondered. He gripped the tree, just about to investigate it.
HISS!
Suddenly, Li Yang sucked in a sharp breath as a piercing pain shot through him. He didn't know if it was because of the mysterious sword or the white tree, but a cut had appeared on his finger. Blood flowed from the wound and was now being absorbed by the white tree!
It wasn't just absorbing his blood. Li Yang could feel the white tree absorbing something else from him, as if his very consciousness was being continuously drawn in.
He felt his consciousness slowly blurring. He became drowsy, as if about to fall into a coma.
However, at the last moment, the white tree pulsed faintly and finally stopped absorbing.
Phew!
Li Yang's face was now incredibly pale. He felt extremely weak, unable to muster any strength. In his current state, even an ordinary person could easily take him down.
'What just happened?' Li Yang was stunned, wondering what was going on with the white tree.
But as soon as he started to think, he suddenly felt something was wrong.
'I... How do I have two bodies?'
Li Yang suddenly realized that he had a single consciousness, but it was split into two parts. One part was in his own body, and the other was in... the white tree before him.
Through the consciousness in the white tree, he could even see himself clearly.
Li Yang was completely dumbfounded by this situation.
BUZZ...
Just as he was reeling in shock, streams of information began to appear within his consciousness in the white tree. He absorbed it all, as if it was information inherent to the tree itself.
Li Yang felt as if the knowledge was being forcefully poured into his mind.
After a long moment, the shock on Li Yang's face finally subsided, replaced by a look of wonder.
'So this white tree is called the World Tree!'
The World Tree, an incredibly rare and special life form in the Cosmos. It possessed the ability to nurture life, and by merging one's soul with it, one could gain complete control!
And by leaving a drop of blood within it, even if one died, the World Tree could use that blood to nurture a new life.
This strange nurturing ability, like inherited knowledge, was now completely absorbed by Li Yang.
'Incredible. There really are other life forms in the Cosmos, and they're so strange!'
Absorbing this knowledge left Li Yang even more astounded.
The mysterious little sword hadn't proven much, but the inherited knowledge from this World Tree clearly showed just how extraordinary the entire Cosmos was!
This was a special life form that could only be nurtured in the Cosmos!
If such a life form existed, then there must be other life in the Cosmos as well!
'The ability to nurture life? If I leave a drop of blood, does that mean I can be resurrected if I die?' Li Yang wondered.
If someone else had told him this, he would never have believed it, but now, this information came from the World Tree's inherited memories.
With a thought, he let a drop of blood flow from his hand, and it was instantly absorbed by the World Tree before him.
In Li Yang's perception, this drop of blood arrived at a special place.
After sensing it for a moment, Li Yang wondered if he should try killing himself once to see if he could actually be resurrected inside the World Tree.
'Would I come back as a baby or a miniature version of myself?'
All sorts of strange ideas popped into his head, but he quickly suppressed them.
Then, Li Yang continued to absorb the rest of the World Tree's inherited knowledge.
'It seems I wasn't nurtured by this World Tree. My soul just occupied it. The World Tree can still nurture a life...'
Li Yang sensed it carefully. The World Tree could nurture life, but he clearly hadn't been nurtured by it. Instead, his consciousness had suddenly taken it over.
Li Yang didn't know the reason for this, but he knew that his consciousness was now the World Tree's consciousness.
'Wave a branch.'
As he thought this, a branch on the World Tree in front of him waved like an arm. It was a marvelous feeling.
'The World Tree can easily nurture life? All it needs is a drop of blood or a fragment of life? Should I try it now?' Li Yang wondered.
Several dozen seconds had passed, and the vacuum had completely refilled. Small fish and shrimp swam about, seemingly having already forgotten the terrifying scene from moments ago.
'Can I nurture small fish and shrimp?'
Li Yang pondered for a moment. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as an incredible idea came to mind.
'If the World Tree nurtures fish, shrimp, and the like, will I be able to know where they go and what they see?'
Li Yang suddenly grew excited.
It would be like radar. If he could know everything happening on the ocean floor, there would be so many things he could do.
For example, if the nurtured fish and shrimp saw a large school of yellow croakers, and Li Yang on the surface knew their location, wouldn't he be able to catch them easily?
'If that's really possible, I could make money incredibly fast!' Li Yang took a deep breath, his eyes filled with urgency.
He was getting impatient.
His father had late-stage cancer and was being kept alive by medication in the hospital. The Anticancer Agent was incredibly expensive—a single dose could cost at least a hundred million. He needed to make money as fast as possible!
'So, what life form should I nurture?'
With a plan in mind, Li Yang prepared to act.
He glanced at the various fish, crabs, and lobsters around him, then looked past them. His gaze suddenly landed on the large, dead octopus a few meters away.
The octopus was a full three meters long. Its eight tentacles looked intimidating, and the dense array of suckers on them was enough to make one's skin crawl.