That kind of conclusion is not far-fetched, because Aldrian himself is a living example of a reincarnated being who slowly regains the mories of his past lives. If the devil lord is actually a reincarnated being who still retains the mories of his past lives, then he has to admit that such an opponent indeed dangerous.
In terms of strength, they may not be so far apart, as the formation covering the continent limits the devil lord to, at most, the peak of the emperor stage—though he can still exude power beyond that. Aldrian, with the combination of all his domains, can also release power beyond the emperor stage, as seen in his battle with Cardinal Carsius.
However, the more dangerous aspect lies in the devil lord’s knowledge. With his extensive understanding, he holds far greater advantages over any of his opponents and can act precisely according to his plans. There is no opponent more dangerous than one who is not only powerful but also possesses a clever and knowledgeable mind.
That ans the devil lord is not rely a brute-force type opponent. Moreover, that man might have already lived for thousands of years, giving him far more experience than Aldrian has in this lifeti.
Aldrian took a deep breath and tried to focus on the positive. At the very least, knowing this information ant he could be more prepared when he faced that man in the near future.
Aldrian nodded to the spirit.
"Alright, thank you for your warning. I will keep that in mind," he said.
"Anyway, where does that path lead? Does it go to a deeper part of the underground?" he added, his eyes fixed on the pathway behind the spirit.
The spirit, understanding exactly what Aldrian ant, answered without delay.
"This was also one of my intentions from the start, to bring you there, my lord. Yes, that path leads to a deeper part of the underground and stretches down to the base of my main body. There are many treasures in that place that may be useful to you. Many of them ca from the higher heavens, brought by the divine phoenix, and many others are from my own discoveries."
She then stood up and turned toward the pathway.
"I will lead you there, my lord," she said as she began to walk, and of course, Aldrian did not hesitate to follow her. This path was quite different from the ones he had passed through on his way here. It was illuminated by a soft purple glow, coming from the rich energy stones embedded along the walls.
All of the stones were at their peak level, which made sense—none had ever been mined and they had remained untouched for a long ti.
As they began walking along the wide path, Aldrian glanced at the spirit’s back.
"By the way, since earlier, I don’t know how I should call you, and it doesn’t feel right to just say ’miss spirit.’ Do you have a na that was given to you?" he asked.
Although he already knew the answer after seeing her information—which showed she had no na—he asked anyway, as a formality and to make so conversation.
"I don’t have any na myself, my lord. You may call whatever you wish," she answered.
Aldrian pondered slightly as he watched her back. Only after a few seconds did he finally co up with a good na.
"Well, if it’s , how about I call you Vireline? I think it suits you. Do you like it?" he asked.
Hearing Aldrian’s suggestion, the spirit softly repeated the na and couldn’t help but smile. She stopped, turned her body, and gave a slight bow.
"Then from today onward, my na shall be Vireline. I’m truly thankful to my lord for giving a na I can carry until the end of my ti," she said, which made him smile.
"I’m glad you like it. Anyway, Vireline, I still have questions regarding this place," he said.
Vireline had already straightened her posture.
"What is it, my lord?"
"I’m actually curious why your main body, the World Tree is buried underground instead of standing on the surface like the others. Have you been in this place since the beginning? Was it the divine phoenix who placed you here underground?"
"No, my lord," Vireline answered as she resud walking, continuing their journey. "In the beginning, my main body was also on the surface, like any other tree. However, not long after I began to grow, the devils landed in this continent, along with others from outside the continent."
"Not long after their arrival, many powerful devils ca to this territory. I was alone, not yet as strong or as large as I am now, and I had to do whatever I could to fulfill my task. At that ti, I ca up with an idea, it would be best to bury my main body, both to avoid attracting attention and to safeguard this space along with the treasures left behind by the divine phoenix."
"Actually, so elves also ca to this territory and intended to build a settlent nearby. But they were too late, the devils had already established a strong foothold in the region. So the elves decided to move south, far from here."
"There were also many beasts that arrived and road near . Many of them ca from the devils’ side, which is why there are so many different kinds of beasts in this region."
"As the devils conquered this territory and the negative energy grew thicker, I remained underground to protect myself from the harsh environnt. Fortunately, the divine source at the base of this place was strong enough to cover my entire body, so the negative energy hasn’t seeped in."
Aldrian nodded, finally understanding the reason. It was actually quite surprising that the elves had initially intended to build their territory here. Perhaps they had sensed the presence of the World Tree and chose a location nearby because of it. This was the first ti he had heard of it, neither Emperor Ladwin nor anyone else had ever ntioned it to him.
He had also never read about this event while he was in the Ivory Empire. Maybe it had been placed among the forgotten histories of the elves, or perhaps the elves simply chose not to record it in their historical archives.
He had to admit, Vireline was truly clever to choose to bury herself underground. It allowed her to grow slowly without much interference and to take advantage of the formation’s foundation. With so many treasures and divine source energy gathered here, the energy in this space had beco incredibly rich, greatly assisting her cultivation.
Given all these conditions, it was no wonder she was so different from other World Trees. Besides being created directly by Seralis’s hand, she was able to make use of everything around her while remaining underground. She had grown powerful enough to survive in devil territory all this ti.
She then guided Aldrian to one of her branches that was protruding from the cave floor.
"My lord, excuse , but I believe it would be much faster if I use my own thod to bring us to the base of my main body. If we follow this path, it will take hours to reach it," she said as the branch in front of them suddenly began to move toward Aldrian.
"I’ve sensed a change in the atmosphere outside, my lord. The negative energy in the region is suddenly growing much thicker. I know you must not waste ti here, and you have to continue your journey. This change is not a good sign," she added, which made Aldrian frown.
He was still within the domain he had created earlier, and since his domain extended to the sky, he spread his senses across it. True to Vireline’s words, he could feel the sudden surge in negative energy. Although the divine aura from underground still managed to suppress it in the core area, the negative energy beyond its reach was steadily rising.
This was not normal, and it alard him. He then looked at Vireline.
"Wait, I will look outside to make sure," he said, which left Vireline confused. But she was stunned when Aldrian suddenly vanished.
Aldrian reappeared in the sky above the core area, scanning his surroundings before turning his gaze toward the black pillar. He looked up at the sky where the black pillar was still in the process of creating the portal. He then narrowed his eyes to focus on it.
At that mont, he finally noticed a change in the portal. Its expansion speed was noticeably faster compared to earlier when he last checked. Although the change might not be visible from a distance, his eyes could clearly detect the increased pace.
His frown deepened. He still did not understand the chanism behind the black pillar. Could the portal’s progress be accelerated? If that was possible, then why had it not been accelerated from the beginning?
This was truly bad news. The descent of the devil god might actually happen much sooner than he had predicted.
He set that thought aside for now, because dwelling on it would only waste ti. At the mont, he needed to act quickly. He then teleported back to Vireline’s side and looked at her.
"You are right. It seems the situation outside is getting worse, so I think we need to move quickly."
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