Chapter 5: The Creation Mother Tree
It could also be called the Dark Mother Goddess Embryo, the Palace of the Mother Goddess, the Dark World Tree, the Creation Mother Tree, and so on...
These were all bits of information Jiang Yan had gathered from the black fog world tree standing above the Chaos Sea.
But... are you sure you were granted by the River of History?
This level of grandeur—why does it feel no less impressive than the River of History itself?
Although Jiang Yan had never seen the historical gifts of others, he could be certain that this thing definitely had an extraordinary origin.
If Commander Lu and the Large Rat Guard, who had previously driven him to a dead end, came into this space, there would be no need for him to act at all—the chaotic currents alone could crush them to dust.
In that moment, Jiang Yan felt as if he were a lofty immortal god.
Overlooking all living things.
“But... is this really the historical-type ability I awakened?”
Jiang Yan's gaze grew suspicious.
He had clearly just seen his Historical Gift take shape, and then it had been swallowed by this mass of black gas—like a cuckoo laying its egg in another’s nest, a usurpation.
Could it be that this was some sort of bizarre entity from the River of History that had been washed along and then parasitized him?
Was everything before him just a hallucination?
But no matter how he checked, he could clearly perceive every detail of the Dark God Embryo, every rhythm—it was entirely under his control.
The only thing missing was information about its origin, as if it truly was a divine embryo not yet fully formed in the chaos—ignorant and naïve like an infant.
To be precise, the Dark God Embryo had no will of its own—only an extension of Jiang Yan’s soul.
As for those conspiracy theories…
When weak, all such groundless suspicions only reflected one’s own frailty and incompetence.
Jiang Yan disliked pondering meaningless things. As long as he became strong enough, the answers would come naturally.
“Wherever you came from… from now on, you are my power!”
A thought flashed through Jiang Yan’s mind as he began inspecting the abilities of the Dark Mother Goddess Embryo, his expression growing increasingly strange.
Though its form was that of a tree, its powers were somewhat…
Bizarre.
Its name—To Nurture Billions of Offspring!
He hadn’t even gotten married yet, and now he was to become a male mother?
Was he going to transform into a Zerg queen, nurturing endless offspring, sweeping through the River of History, and eventually devouring the entire universe?
Jiang Yan couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of individuals turning into broodmothers, their twisted and horrifying transformations.
And finally being challenged one after another by countless heroes... becoming a world-ending demon king.
But after studying it carefully, he realized he had exaggerated it in his mind.
“This is clearly a conceptual-level power!”
Rather than calling it nurturing, it would be more accurate to say it was creating.
The Dark God Embryo could turn all diseased lifeforms into raw material, nurture them anew, and bear fruit on the Black Fog World Tree, thus giving birth to its own offspring.
The term “offspring” was key—it didn’t just cover living beings. It could also nurture a target’s memories, skills, insights, items, and even the causal links of its existence.
All of the offspring would be under the absolute control of the Dark God Embryo, utterly loyal, incapable of rebellion, and could have their power extracted to enhance the user.
Moreover, different offspring could be combined and evolved—like material synthesis—to increase quality.
Of course, there were risks involved.
Especially with lifeforms.
They might fuse into higher-level offspring, but there was a greater chance that conflicting powers would lead to further distortion and collapse.
On the other hand, knowledge- and skill-based offspring, if from the same source, could be stacked and sublimated; if from different sources, there was a chance of conflict and collapse.
The more offspring nurtured, the more it would feed back and help the Dark God Embryo grow!
Currently, Jiang Yan could only nurture offspring, but could not actively control their forms, abilities, and so on.
In other words, the offspring were currently generated at random.
“This kind of feels like farming monsters for loot—but being able to bind it uniquely, that’s what makes true power truly one’s own!”
Jiang Yan marveled inwardly. In other words, the diseased beings that other monsters shunned would now become nourishment for his own strength.
The more diseased nodes he experienced, the faster he would grow stronger—what kind of monster would be created by piling up countless abilities together?
Going even further, if he were to devour the source of all the disease in the River of History, could he nurture an omnipotent Forbidden Immortal God?
"Thinking too far ahead..." Jiang Yan shook his head and forced himself to calm down, because he had realized a serious problem.
His Historical Gift had turned into the Dark God Embryo, so...
Where would he find supernatural material?
He originally had a Large Rat Guard doll, but it had already revived after being stained with his blood.
If he went back now, he would most likely be smashed into “Jiang Yan Paste” or chopped into dozens of pieces by Commander Lu.
Without supernatural material, how could he nurture his first offspring and protect himself from the pursuers?
"Stuck in a new death loop again..."
Jiang Yan frowned.
As for the idea of stalling for time in the Chaos Sea by exploiting a bug—impossible, because this was the depths of his consciousness, out of sync with external time.
"Wait, supernatural material... it's not like there's none..."
A spark flashed in Jiang Yan’s mind—he had already thought of a way to break the deadlock.
With a thought, the chaotic currents dispersed, and the scene of the medicine shop's secret chamber reappeared before his eyes.
Boom!
However, just as he returned, a loud noise erupted above his head. Mud and sand rained down.
Accompanied by several explosions, the door of the secret chamber was smashed and deformed.
Since it was only used for storing medicinal herbs, the material wasn’t alloy, and it quickly gave way under the impact, collapsing to the ground.
Light poured in through the opening, spreading rapidly like candlelight and illuminating the dark chamber.
A grotesque pig head hung upside down and peered in. Its eerie green eyes instantly locked onto Jiang Yan in the corner.
"You southern barbarian sure can hide, but unfortunately the stench on you is too strong—our noses can’t be fooled."
Within the medicine shop, the other Wild Boar Cavalrymen laughed wildly, having completely surrounded the place, forming an inescapable net.
Yet in the face of this crisis, Jiang Yan stood calmly. He neither panicked nor screamed at the sight of the monsters. Instead, he looked up, revealing a pale, bloodless face.
A mocking smile curled at his lips.
"Has this southern barbarian been scared stupid?"
The Wild Boar Cavalry frowned.
As hunters, they felt irritated seeing their prey not afraid, but smiling instead.
One of them reached out a fat, stubby hand toward Jiang Yan:
"Playing tricks, huh? Being eaten alive and having your flesh torn off is a great honor for a southern barbarian like you!"
Inside the medicine shop, the other Wild Boar Cavalrymen, thinking the prey had been caught, started to turn and leave with their stumpy hooves.
One of them looked at the companion still lying on the ground with his head stuck in the opening and urged: "Sasu, quit playing. We need to hurry back and support Commander Lu. Once we deal with that fat rat and anchor to the real world, we can finally escape that hellhole..."
"Uhh... uhh..."
But the only response was a deep whimper and strange piercing sounds.
"Sasu, what’s wrong?" That Wild Boar Cavalryman sensed something off and quickly approached, reaching out to pull his comrade back—but in the next second...
Puchi! Puchi!
A mass of blood-red threads burst out from the body of the Wild Boar Cavalryman named Sasu, pinning his corpse firmly to the ceiling.
That grotesque head and body had already been drained of all flesh, leaving only pigskin and bulging eyes. The dim pupils were filled with disbelief.
"What!?"
The Wild Boar Cavalrymen were stunned and all looked toward the basement.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Light footsteps echoed as Jiang Yan slowly climbed the stairs. His face was pale and his body trembled, like a sickly patient who might collapse with a single gust of wind.
Yet not a single Wild Boar Cavalryman dared to act rashly.
Because behind Jiang Yan floated a small coffin carved from crimson crystal, etched with mysterious, eerie patterns.
Shimmering white bones spread out from it, forming a strange tree-shaped symbol.
From a distance, it looked like a refined artwork—elegant and intricate.
Gray ash coiled around it, exuding a life-ending aura.
The lid of the coffin had opened slightly, and the blood threads that had pierced through the Wild Boar Cavalryman named Sasu were extending from within.
The threads were terrifying and grotesque, yet carried an inexplicable beauty.
Like a mandala blossom slowly blooming.
Staring at the Wild Boar Cavalrymen who were on high alert, Jiang Yan smiled—an utterly joyful smile:
"Speaking of which, I suppose to you all I’m also a foreigner, half a Westerner. So... if I beat you up, will you also drop land deeds and silver?"