# Chapter 70: A World of Sorrow
**[Blessing of the Nature Sovereign (Mythical)]**
*Within the protection range, all attributes of those holding this blessing are increased by three hundred points; for those at three hundred points or above, an additional two hundred points are added. Additionally, they gain high regeneration ability, high curse resistance, and immunity to a certain degree of mental attacks.*
*— Brave one, fear not, for the sovereign of nature is with you.*
**[Forest Sky Light (Legendary)]**
*Every plant and every friendly creature within the protection range will temporarily increase your maximum health and health recovery speed.*
*— Quiet your heart, listen—that is the prayer of the forest.*
**[Wrath of the Ancient God (Mythical)]**
*You temporarily gain divinity, immunity to instant death, immunity to aging, immunity to erosion, immunity to poison, and high damage exemption. Any of your attacks are considered holy damage and cannot be exempted.*
*— The wrath of the heavenly god bestows the power to execute divine punishment.*
Sacred power instantly filled the entire underground cavern. Even the ordinary stone walls seemed to take on holy silhouettes. Except for Joshua, everyone who had received the blessing of the Father of Nature was temporarily unable to control this sudden surge of power. Various terrifying energy pulses swirled around them. Around Ying and Hei, illusions of forests had already appeared—phantom images formed by overflowing divine power. Lin and Loranda were slightly better, managing to contain the power within their bodies, but their expressions still showed visible discomfort.
Two mythical-level and one legendary-level enhancement state instantly elevated everyone's strength by more than a full tier. Ying and Lin had yet to personally engage in combat, so they didn't know how to compare, but Hei and the paladin understood clearly—if an ordinary person or an elf received these blessings, they could tear apart a dragon with their bare hands on the spot. And not just one.
"Truly worthy of a true god's blessing..."
Loranda exclaimed in a shocked voice, unsure how many times this was today that he had been stunned. The paladin felt that ever since meeting Joshua, he kept encountering things that only existed in myths and legends—whether it was the ancient dragon's nest and space-time passage in the volcano, or the evil god invasion and sleeping ancient god behind that passage. These experiences were truly magnificent beyond imagination.
"Hiss..."
Hei cautiously breathed out a small flame. He deliberately didn't use the core in his chest to channel power, but even so, in that instant, a massive fire mist dozens of meters high—enough to completely burn down a house—was spewed forth by the half-dragon. This scene immediately frightened him into shutting his mouth, not daring to try again.
"We're weapons, you know... What do we need such powerful strength for..." The silver-haired girl complained softly, but there was no dissatisfaction on her face—in fact, she was very happy. She extended her hand, and a beam of pure light transformed into a greatsword of light identical to her transformed form. Ying excitedly showed off to Lin beside her: "Little brother, little brother, look! I can manifest my true form!"
"That's not how you use this power..." Looking helplessly at his sister, the black-haired boy complained verbally but did the same thing with his hands. A flash of light passed, and a light-formed great axe appeared in his hand. Lin examined it curiously: "So this is what I look like after divine mechanization..."
Although he knew that this power would certainly make their transformed forms sharper, more durable, and deal greater damage, it didn't stop them from playing with it before battle—after all, opportunities like this were rare.
Standing before the ancient tree, Joshua watched his companions gradually mastering this power and smiled. Then, he turned back to look at the Father of Nature, taking out several fragmented halos from his bosom.
"These are the halos you asked me to collect before."
He raised these halos—obtained from the Coordination Core and Thunder Mountain, exceptionally sturdy—presenting them to the enormous tree face. The warrior asked curiously: "What use are these things?"
For the sake of these halos, he had taken a solid hit from Thunder Mountain's self-destruction, falling unconscious on the verge of death. If not for the Azure Orb, he might still be unconscious.
"They will help you better understand what enemy you are truly facing."
Looking at these halos, the Father of Nature spoke slowly. As He spoke, a layer of green light appeared around the halos, which then floated up toward the enormous tree face. The deity gazed at the light mass enveloping the halos, and an invisible force immediately shrouded them. A deep voice echoed through the cavern.
"I will use divine power to trace back and find the memories of the halo's creator. There may well be information about the Calamity Evil God."
"Joshua, watch carefully. There is only one chance—do not miss any important information."
The moment He finished speaking, the halos shattered, scattering into fragments floating through the air. Joshua felt a great will preparing to communicate with him. Without hesitation, he accepted the invitation. Then, a vast and fragmented stream of memories surged toward him from the other end.
And he saw.
A world scarred and devastated, and a suffering soul.
"...I have won."
"...The war among the archmages has ended, but the aftereffects have not. Eighty percent of the world's land has been irradiated by mana energy, barren and lifeless. The continental plate tremors caused by Craig's Elemental Annihilation Cannon are still continuing. Earthquakes, tsunamis, gales—various natural disasters are still destroying the world we live in. Though I am the victor, I feel no joy of victory."
"...Dust and fog shroud the sky. The sun has not appeared for over ten days. Acid rain and bitter cold have killed the vast majority of plants. Is this the legendary Eternal Night Calamity? Hah, what an ironic punishment."
"...The magical system formed by years of war is too deformed. How laughable—my magic can destroy everything, yet cannot make a single seedling survive!"
"...Cursed war. Our world is no longer habitable. Everyone sustains life through magically manufactured food. We can manage, but ordinary people cannot survive like this. We need to find another way out!"
"...Natalie came to see me. She is a master of soul magic. This woman gave me a crazy suggestion, but one that is indeed feasible. Perhaps I should try it."
"...Gathering all the transcendent-level archmages was indeed not easy, but I managed it. The plan has begun. This may be the last hope of our civilization."
"...Everyone, whether formerly hostile or not, is now working together. It seems they also realize that if we do not set aside our disputes and join hands now, what awaits us is the eternal solitude after the end of civilization."
"...What a magnificent formation, covering the entire world, suspended above this dead continent. The World Coordination Array—that is the name I have given it!"
"...One billion, seven hundred ninety-six million, eight hundred forty-two thousand, and fifty-first soul upload complete. From now on, we will abandon this scarred material world. Magic will become the sole essence of our civilization, and the World Coordination Array will become our body."
"...Although we have abandoned the material world, part of the array's adjustment and repair still needs to be carried out from the outside. Creating some puppets to execute our tasks, to serve as our fingers, should be a good choice."
"...The puppets are still too clumsy. No matter how much we upgrade them, that's all they are. The overly frequent natural disasters also easily destroy them. Perhaps we should try to create some more precise and powerful puppets."
"...The Coordination Core Puppet is perfect. This existence, somewhere between spirit and energy, can ignore most damage and can also serve as the center for other puppets we create."
"...The World Coordination Array is functioning well. The spiritual world created by the illusion system has no errors. Perhaps this is our true perfect home, not that hateful material world."
"...Day thirteen thousand four hundred sixty-one, seventeen hours, thirty-seven minutes, and fifty-three seconds since the universal soul upload. The first batch of aging souls has died from exhaustion, but their true spirits will cycle within the array, generating new souls. Our world will reincarnate forever."
"...What is that?"
"...No!! Meteor!!!"
Everything that followed became fragmented pieces, impossible even for the deity's power to restore.
Only that meteor falling from the sky, a quarter the size of the moon, was so deeply etched. Even though the memory illusion had ended, Joshua still seemed to see that scene.
"So that's it..."
The warrior quickly understood. This was likely the memory of the world from which the Calamity Evil God was born. He had previously seen the origin of the Famine Evil God with the help of Carlis's World Will, so he was very familiar with this kind of scene. Joshua was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said in a low voice: "Perishing by natural disaster oneself, and therefore imposing natural disasters on other worlds?"
No matter how hard one tried to save oneself, it still ended with an unavoidable meteor. This world was truly too unfortunate. This deep anger and despair, unextinguished for millions of years, eventually transformed into an evil god reborn into the world...
Joshua's voice carried a trace of pity: "Truly a sorrowful existence."
But this could not shake the warrior's resolve.
He would not fear, would not hesitate, would not despair, and would not waver. No matter how pitiable this world was, since the other side was already an enemy, his heart was as unshakable as iron and stone.
Enemies must be eliminated. The warrior would surely achieve victory in this battle.
"The battle is about to begin."
The Father of Nature's voice echoed back and forth through the underground cavern. The enormous tree face gradually faded, completely disappearing, leaving only echoes: "I must begin preparing to awaken fully. It will take a long time. You must hold on."
"Warrior, I trust your promise. I hope you will not betray my trust."
His voice gradually dissipated, and the massive stone tree body began to tremble slowly. Strand after strand of green light flowed across it, shaking off countless gray stone skins, revealing the brown bark beneath.
And on the surface, the guards waiting on the airship, still awaiting the return of their lord the High Commander, witnessed an even more astonishing scene.
The earth suddenly trembled like water, splitting open with countless enormous fissures. From between these fissures shot forth endless dazzling cyan light. Sacred wind surged forth from within, instantly blowing away all surrounding chaotic aura, forming a massive semicircular protective halo.
Within the Origin Mountains, many peaks collapsed as a result. Amid the rumbling tremors, the existence wrapped within countless earth and stone revealed its true form for the first time—section after section of petrified branches. All the peaks of the Origin Mountains were formed with these branches as their skeleton. And at their base were even more crowns and trunks. This was the true body of the Father of Nature, the Heavenly Source Divine Tree.
Larger than a mountain range. Even if buried deep underground, its branches alone could surpass the clouds and enter the void—a true World Tree!
Strands of life-filled power surged along these petrified branches, gradually reviving them into brown bark brimming with life force. Green shoots randomly grew out, becoming emerald green leaves like gems. The life force contained within was enough to revive the dead and grow flesh on bones.
"Gods above! What, what is happening!?"
The guards on the airship were utterly shocked, while some quickly guessed the truth behind this scene—
"Is this, the Mother Tree from our myths?!"
"Is it awakening!?"
An elf trembled as he knelt from afar toward the giant tree's branches. His voice shook with extreme excitement: "The myths are not false!"
"In the most critical moments, even in disasters that could destroy the world, the Mother Tree will be with us!"
And while these elves were shocked and overjoyed, Joshua and the others had already walked out of the underground cavern and arrived at the peak of the mountain at the center of the Origin Mountains.
The warrior stood atop the split peak at the center of the Origin Mountains, frowning as he looked at the sky.
It was now the early morning of the fifth day since they had arrived in this world. Unlike the previous nights of heavy fog and torrential rain, the sky today was clear, without a single cloud. The light of dawn slowly appeared at the horizon's edge, but this faint light was completely overshadowed by the radiance of another existence.
That was the light of ten halos.
The Heaven's Revelation Array. The World Coordination Array. The remnants of a civilization ended by natural disaster. And the evil god who used natural disasters to end other worlds.
"Truly a sorrowful existence."
Raising his greatsword, pointing it at the sky, facing the countless rock giants and flying stone demons swarming from the distant horizon, Joshua showed no fear. Standing on Hei's back, unwavering, feeling the surging divine power within him like ocean tides, the warrior declared boldly to the sky:
"And also the most erroneous existence."
"I have come to end this error!"