The Winged God Clan had yet to recover from the chaos caused by Nuo Ying. The sacred land of the Winged God Clan was still in disarray.
With the Golden Sacred Tree nearly uprooted and the Watchers having visited the Dragon Wing Continent, the Ascension Assembly in Tianyi City could no longer proceed. A large number of Winged Gods returned to the sacred land from Tianyi City, causing chaos there as well. The entire city was abuzz with speculation and conspiracy theories.
Even the elders fighting the Watcher army at the forefront of the universe were now on their way back.
The entire Winged God Clan was under complete lockdown.
Nuo Ying followed Ye Ling back to the sacred land and happened to see an elder who had just returned from the front lines of the cosmic battlefield, isolated outside the sacred land.
Nuo Ying surveyed her surroundings, confirming that no one was near the elder. Her murderous intent surged, and she silently teleported behind the Winged God elder, raising her greatsword to strike.
However, before Nuo Ying's greatsword could fall, Ye Ling teleported in front of her, grabbed her with one hand, and vanished.
"Huh? Was someone behind me just now?"
The Winged God elder glanced behind him but found no one. A hint of confusion flickered in his eyes.
"Never mind... There's a major issue in the clan. I must return quickly to help the Grand Elder manage the situation!"
The Winged God elder didn't suspect anything further, mistaking the anomaly for a figment of his imagination. He quickly entered the sacred land, casting the strange feeling aside.
Meanwhile, not far from the sacred land.
Nuo Ying, pinned to the ground by Ye Ling's hand, struggled and asked Ye Ling, "Why did you stop me? I was about to kill him!"
Ye Ling said sternly, "Didn't I tell you we need to act discreetly?"
"No one saw, anyway. If I secretly killed him and disposed of the body, wouldn't that still be discreet?" Nuo Ying retorted, unconvinced. "That guy just now was the Sixth Elder of the Winged God Clan, the Grand Elder's number one lackey. He deserved to die!"
Ye Ling replied, "I'm not saying you can't kill him, but you must act at the right time."
"How am I supposed to know when the right time is?" Nuo Ying inquired.
Ye Ling didn't answer. He pressed Nuo Ying with his right hand, brought his left index and middle fingers together, and inscribed a rune in the air, sending it into Nuo Ying's body. This immediately suppressed more than half of Nuo Ying's power!
"What are you doing?" Nuo Ying felt her power being sealed and panicked, struggling fiercely. "I'll listen to you from now on! You don't have to be so serious about it!"
"Once the seal within you is broken, that will be the right time for you to act and vent. But until then, you will stay with me obediently."
Ye Ling released Nuo Ying and stood up. "This time, I've left you with some of your strength. If you act on your own again, I won't be as lenient as I am now."
Nuo Ying tried to impact the rune within her body, only to find Ye Ling's rune unmoving. She then said to Ye Ling with a displeased expression, "I get it... You control freak!"
Ye Ling didn't want to waste more words with the rebellious Nuo Ying. He continued, "Not all the Winged God elders have returned yet, and the Watchers have temporarily withdrawn from the Dragon Wing Continent. This is our best chance to enter the Golden Sacred Tree. Let's go."
"Oh..."
Nuo Ying reluctantly replied to Ye Ling. Although she was extremely displeased, she obediently followed behind Ye Ling, entering the sacred land with him.
Nuo Ying's current state was like a rebellious teenager. She wanted to defy Ye Ling, her guardian, yet had to rely on him. Her emotional state was extremely complex.
Ye Ling was also quite troubled, unable to scold or punish Nuo Ying. Besides diverting some of his attention to watching Nuo Ying, he didn't know what else to do.
Thus, the two individuals with complicated emotions, concealed by the rune, easily passed through the sacred land of the Winged God Clan and arrived before the Golden Sacred Tree.
A large number of Winged God guards were already stationed around the Golden Sacred Tree. The Winged God elders who had returned from the front lines had also gathered there, awaiting the Grand Elder's arrival.
However, none of the Winged Gods before the Golden Sacred Tree noticed Ye Ling and Nuo Ying, who were concealed by the rune.
Nuo Ying looked at the Winged God guard standing rigidly beside her, waved her hand in front of him, and said to Ye Ling, "Ye Ling, with your superb concealment skills, why don't you become an assassin? It's a waste of your talent."
Ye Ling didn't respond. He used the Myriad Realms Insight to open the Golden Sacred Tree's barrier and walked straight in.
Seeing Ye Ling enter the Golden Sacred Tree, a sly glint flashed in Nuo Ying's eyes. She quietly retreated, but before she could escape, a chain shot out from within the Golden Sacred Tree, wrapping around Nuo Ying's slender waist and pulling her inside!
The Winged God guards nearby felt a gust of breeze pass by them.
...
Inside the Golden Sacred Tree, there was no physical substance, but a vast space.
At the center of the sacred tree, a giant golden heart, entwined with numerous vines and branches, floated in mid-air, beating quietly.
Nuo Ying was pulled in by Ye Ling's chain and landed heavily on the ground, grimacing in pain.
"Ouch... You have no regard for delicate beauty. I wasn't planning to run!" Nuo Ying grumbled as she got up from the ground. She then saw the giant golden heart and gasped in astonishment.
"What a huge heart! Is that the Golden Sacred Tree Heart?"
"It should be..." Ye Ling looked at the golden heart entwined with vines and branches and nodded slightly. "It contains an immense amount of energy. However, this tree heart seems to be just a large battery, primarily functioning to maintain the seal below."
Ye Ling looked below the giant golden heart. The vines and branches entwined around the tree heart were continuously drawing energy from it to maintain the seal beneath the Golden Sacred Tree Heart.
Nuo Ying examined the tree heart and murmured, "I think I can absorb the power within the tree heart..."
With that, Nuo Ying immediately looked at Ye Ling and pleaded, "Ye Ling! Can you pick that tree heart for me? Since you're going to break the seal anyway, instead of destroying the tree heart, why not give it to me to increase my strength!"
"Wait a moment!"
Ye Ling did not refuse Nuo Ying's request. He covered the giant tree heart in the center of the space with his Ink Domain, converting the entire tree heart into text, and then slowly separated it from the embrace of the vines and branches.
"Ye Ling, you're the best!" Seeing Ye Ling begin to separate the tree heart, Nuo Ying excitedly rubbed her hands together, impatient.
The tree heart was an energy aggregate formed by the combination of spiritual and soul power, not very complex in structure. Ye Ling quickly separated the tree heart and simultaneously used his power of creation to create a fake tree heart to place in its original position, preventing the Winged Gods outside from noticing anything amiss.
"Here, absorb it. Take your time and be careful not to damage your meridians," Ye Ling said, presenting the complete tree heart to Nuo Ying.
"Then I won't be polite!" Nuo Ying exclaimed excitedly, plunging her hand directly into the tree heart to seize the power of the Golden Sacred Tree Heart.
Seeing that Nuo Ying wouldn't be able to absorb the tree heart's power completely in a short time, allowing him some peace, Ye Ling then focused his attention on the seal beneath the Golden Sacred Tree Heart.
With the new Golden Sacred Tree Heart created by Ye Ling's power of creation providing energy, the seal beneath the Golden Sacred Tree remained stable, and the Winged Gods outside the Golden Sacred Tree detected no anomaly.
"Beneath this seal... why do I feel a familiar aura?"
Ye Ling looked at the seal below, his brow furrowed slightly, a look of confusion in his eyes.
In the Tianyi Universe, apart from Nuo Ying, he didn't know anyone else... let alone someone he knew being sealed by the strongest race in the Tianyi Universe...
With the doubts in his heart, Ye Ling quietly tore open a gap in the seal beneath the Golden Sacred Tree, wanting to glimpse the situation within.
The moment Ye Ling tore open the seal, he sensed the power of the Primordial Seven Kings!
An exceptionally powerful aura erupted from the gap in the seal!
"Damn it!"
Ye Ling's expression changed drastically. He quickly sealed the gap in the seal and absorbed all the dispersed power of the Seven Kings into his own body.
"No wonder I could sense a familiar aura... It turns out the Supreme God Tianyi actually sealed a Primordial King here in secret!"
After sealing the gap, Ye Ling exclaimed in disbelief.
Having absorbed the complete power of the Primordial Flame King, he was naturally very sensitive to the aura of the Seven Kings...
The one sealed beneath the Golden Sacred Tree was the power of the Primordial Nether King!
"Judging by the intensity of the power that just leaked out... the seal below likely contains about thirty percent of the Primordial Nether King's strength."
"This means that Supreme God Tianyi sealed all the residual power of the Primordial Nether King from the Primordial Chaos here... It seems Supreme God Tianyi is also an extraordinary and ruthless character!"
Discovering a Primordial Seven King beneath the Golden Sacred Tree, Ye Ling became serious, realizing that Supreme God Tianyi was not as simple as he thought.
Whether Supreme God Tianyi's strength reached the level of the Seven Pillars was still uncertain... but since Supreme God Tianyi had the means to seal the residual power of the Primordial Nether King, it indicated that Supreme God Tianyi's strength was definitely above that of the Watchers!
Facing such a powerful being, even Ye Ling had to treat him seriously.
"Ye Ling, what was that power just now?"
Having absorbed all the power within the Golden Sacred Tree Heart, and with his aura having increased, Nuo Ying was also drawn by the power of the Primordial Nether King and asked Ye Ling curiously.
"An extraordinary power..."
Ye Ling said solemnly, then seemed to think of something and immediately looked at Nuo Ying.
Being stared at by Ye Ling, Nuo Ying didn't back down. She met Ye Ling's gaze and asked with a smile, "You're suddenly staring at me... Do you have a crush on me?"
"I'm not like that weakling. If you nod, I won't refuse."
Ye Ling ignored Nuo Ying's jest and said, "I've thought of a possibility... Share some of your power with me!"