Chapter 183: The Void Tree Descends
The Void Tree Descends
Had he realized that everything he had pursued had been wrong?
Or...
Was he speaking about the vast eternity itself?
Leandro didn’t know.
He only knew what he had felt when those words had entered his soul.
Terror.
A crisis so immense that even his instincts had failed.
His alarm bell had gone completely silent.
Not because the danger had disappeared.
Because the danger had become so overwhelming that there was nothing left for the alarm to warn him about.
It was the stillness of absolute despair.
The surrender of ultimate helplessness.
Leandro’s fingers slowly curled.
"Patriarch..."
He looked toward the distant horizon.
"Just what kind of being are you..."
The mountain wind swept past him.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then—
A voice he had thought would never sound again seemed to rise from the depths of his inheritance.
"He... is the one and only through all ages. The Great Laws of World bows before him..."
The voice became faint.
Almost like a whisper from an ancient dream.
"He is... One."
Leandro’s pupils contracted.
His heart trembled.
Then everything became silent once more.
Upon returning to the Sovereign Blessed Land—
Nux and the others took their leave.
Some returned to their chambers to continue consuming elixirs and consolidating their gains.
Others went directly to report to their fathers about everything that had happened during the past year.
Nux, however, did not immediately return to his own residence.
He walked quietly toward Max Salvatore’s residence.
His footsteps were steady.
But something unreadable flickered within his red eyes.
Victor watched him from a distance.
He understood.
Nux was Rias Gremory’s son.
He carried half the bloodline of the ancient gods.
Therefore, when he had heard the name "Greamory," something within his bloodline must have responded.
Perhaps it was instinct.
Perhaps it was inheritance.
Perhaps it was something buried much deeper.
As for what Nux would ultimately do—
Victor did not intend to interfere.
He had already said it.
Those blessed by Destiny had their own paths to walk.
Victor’s role was not to drag them down a predetermined road.
His role was to suppress every obstacle standing in their way.
To give his clansmen the freedom to walk their own roads without fear.
And then...
Reap the rewards.
Victor’s golden eyes followed Nux’s retreating figure.
"Nux, do whatever you feel you must."
He transmitted his voice directly.
"I am always here to stand with you, not as Patriarch, but as your uncle, your closest blood relative after your father and mother."
"Your uncle is always here!"
Nux froze.
His back stiffened.
For several seconds, he remained completely motionless.
The words had reached somewhere deeper than Victor’s position as Patriarch.
They had reached him as family.
As someone who would stand beside him even if he chose a path Victor himself might not choose.
After a long moment, Nux turned around.
His red eyes met Victor’s golden gaze from afar.
"Yes!"
His voice trembled slightly.
But his eyes were resolute.
Then he turned around again and continued walking.
Victor watched until he disappeared from sight.
Only after everyone had departed did the surroundings finally become quiet.
Victor’s attention shifted.
He looked toward his system backpack.
The rewards he had received earlier were still waiting inside.
He hadn’t had the opportunity to properly examine them because of the sudden battle.
Now, finally, he had time.
Victor opened the backpack.
Among the items inside was an ancient tree seed.
His eyes lingered on it for a moment.
Then he selected it.
With a thought, he planted the seed atop Sovereign Peak, directly above the center of the Sovereign Blessed Land.
Instantly—
The entire Sovereign Blessed Land shuddered.
It was subtle.
A tremor so faint that ordinary disciples barely noticed it.
Then waves of void energy swept across the territory.
They passed through mountains.
Through rivers.
Through forests.
Through buildings.
For a brief moment, every inch of the blessed land seemed to breathe.
Then everything returned to normal.
Most disciples didn’t even realize anything had changed.
But if a truly powerful cultivator had been able to pierce the void at that moment—
They would have been struck speechless.
An immense tree was growing silently within the void.
Its size was beyond comprehension.
Its roots seemed to disappear into the depths of space itself.
Its branches stretched across countless layers of emptiness.
Its leaves were so vast that each one resembled a world.
The entire Sovereign Blessed Land rested upon a single leaf.
Countless Great Laws of World flowed through that leaf, constantly nourishing the blessed land.
This was—
The Void Tree.
A treasure so rare that across the nine heavens, ten earths, and three thousand great domains, there were no more than five.
Any power possessing a Void Tree was unimaginably terrifying.
Their existence alone could cause countless forces to tremble.
Their whispers could make the heavens fall silent.
People would fear missing even a single word.
Because a single word from such an existence could bring destruction.
And now—
Such a priceless treasure had been planted by Victor’s own hand.
From this day onward, the Sovereign Blessed Land would exist within the void itself.
Outsiders could no longer locate it without the Salvatore Family’s permission.
Victor looked around.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Another layer of protection.
Another foundation for the family.
He then shifted his attention toward the gleaming mystery box inside his system backpack.
The corners of his lips lifted slightly.
"I wonder what good things I’ll open this time..."
The last time he had opened a mystery box, the Salvatore Family had still been in Aurelia City.
At that time, he had obtained a "powerful soldier."
The black-clad old soldier.
His strength was immense.
It was said that he could sweep through an entire realm with a single hand.
If not for the watchful eyes of unspeakable beings restricting him to acting only within the family’s territory, that old soldier alone could have conquered the entire Celestial Capital Domain.
Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly.
And now—