Celis felt like crying. Unfortunately, he didn't have eyes to shed tears. "The hell? Stop right now!" Vines shot out of Celis's body and attacked the Soul Gem Orb. Celis wasn't holding back at all. However, just as they were about to reach Sister Orb, they froze in place.
[That won't do, my friend. In this Dimensional Realm, I'm god. Don't worry. You and Kentucky have selected each other, so I won't kill you or anything, nor will I stop your cultivation. It's just that you'll have to cultivate again for a while.] Sister Orb said with a smug tone.
Kentucky, Rean, and Roan couldn't help but ask, "Sister Orb, is it really fine to take his cultivation away? You see…he's really strong, and that would help us a lot in the future." Sure enough, someone at the Transition Realm would be a powerful asset, and Celis was at the very peak of it.
[No can do. It's not me who's taking Celis's cultivation away, but the Soul Gem System itself. Before it's done with the extraction, nothing will stop it. Even you two won't be able to stop it.] Sister Orb sighed. [Well, this was an option mission, so…]
They understood what Sister Orb meant. If they simply ignored it, Celis wouldn't lose its cultivation. Well, Celis would be locked in the underground forever as well.
Celis tried his best to resist, but his cultivation was taken away faster and faster. In the end, he understood that there was nothing he could do other than to watch it disappear. "Thousands of years of effort, gone just like that…why did I accept becoming the Zasfins' prisoner in the end?"
Kentucky patted the trunk of Celis as he tried to comfort him, saying, "Hey, it's fine. We can cultivate again. Besides, you became a prisoner because they didn't give you any other choice either. If you didn't, they would destroy you, afraid that you would destroy their planet instead. However, as long as you're here, that danger won't come again."
Celis was still dejected, though. Nevertheless, the process didn't stop.
Stage Nine, Eight, Seven…
As Celis's cultivation was taken away by the system, he gradually got smaller as well. Branches withered as roots retracted. The big old barks also fell down one after another, hitting the ground with loud thuds due to their weight. Eventually, Celis's cultivation stopped at the same level as Kentucky, Initial Stage Five. That wasn't a coincidence, though. Due to the link between the twins and Kentucky, the World Swallowing Cedar also had its cultivation limited to the twins' progression. Or, to be more specific, it got limited by Kentucky, who was limited by the twins.
*Pin!*
[Congratulations, Hosts. The mission Soul Gem System Processing Power Upgrade has been completed successfully.]
[Mission Rewards:]
[Soul Gem System Processing Power Improved by 2.16 times.]
[Destiny Points: 30000.]
[New Title Acquired: Grade 2 Efficiency]
[Authority Level Increase: 13.]
*Wow!*
Rean couldn't help but become excited, shouting, "So many Destiny Points!"
However, just as Rean was about to ask more about that, Celis's body began to transform. "The hell? What now?!" Naturally, Celis felt even more helpless. Wasn't his torture already over?
*Crack crack crack…*
Many cracks began to appear on Celis's trunk. Not only that, but Celis also saw how his Demon Core was cracking at the same time. "So I'm going to die, huh? Sure enough, it was too good to be true." Surprisingly, Celis didn't seem angry anymore, just sad.
[Dying? What are you talking about? There's no way you would die, idiot.] Sister Orb rebuked.
Naturally, everyone was puzzled by that, especially Celis. "What do you mean? My core is cracking. It'll break apart at any moment."
[That's not it. It's just that your body and core were too old. Not to mention that they were supposed to be used at Stage Nine. If we leave it like this, there will be side effects. That being said, the Soul Gem System left some of your own power by the side to work on a rejuvenation,] Sister Orb said all of that while the transformation continued.
However, it seemed that only Celis understood what she really meant. "I see…that's what this system you talked about wanted, the world essence that I accumulated after all this time."
Out of nowhere, a shattering sound came from Celis's body, and all the remaining old parts broke away. As if it was a bird coming out of its shell, a much younger and smaller World Swallowing Tree appeared. The same happened to Celis's core, which was much smaller but was brimming with life force.
Even Roan was shocked by that. "Does that mean the Soul Gem System has the power to make one young again?" Sure enough, that's what everyone thought.
Sadly, that wasn't the case. [Of course not. Hahaha!] Sister Orb replied as she laughed. [This only happened because the system used the world essence that Celis accumulated for a very long time. Also, it only worked because Celis is a Demon Plant. You must understand that plants are completely different lifeforms than demon beasts or humans. You can forget about using the same thing. As for Celis, he had returned to his prime. However, he paid a high price for that, his cultivation.]
Sure enough, it was too good to be true.
"Hahaha!" However, Celis laughed out loud. "Who cares if I lost my cultivation in exchange? Look at me! I'm young again! Not only that, I have all my experience of breakthroughs, so it'll be very easy to do it again as long as I have enough energy." Celis seemed very happy now that he looked at the new him.
Rean smiled in response, saying, "Well, all's well that ends well."
It was then that Rean saw Kentucky flying up and down as he carried many of Celis's old branches, leaves, and barks up. "What you doin', Kentucky?"
"Can't you see the big opportunity? Celis's old parts are very high level. They will make the perfect nest! Not to mention they're obviously very compatible with Celis himself. How can I let such an opportunity pass up?" Kentucky said as he worked on grabbing the parts as fast as possible.
It was quite weird, though. Kentucky never cared about something as a nest before. But now, it seemed like he was working on a life-changing task.
Celis was obviously even more satisfied as he said, "Great! Let me help you." Several of his vines shot out as he helped Kentucky with the project. After that, the two then entered their own world, not paying attention to anything happening around them.
Roan shrugged his shoulder as he turned around. "Leave them be. That has nothing to do with us." Following that, he glanced at Sister Orb and said, "By the way, we've reached Authority Level 30 and got a new title. It's time to see what we got from them."
Sister Orb agreed, saying, [Indeed. You have a lot more privileges now, so you can ask more questions. However, the system hasn't finished all its tasks yet…]
*Pin!*
[System Upgrade Finished. Entering Second Phase.]
The Soul Gem System's robotic voice soon echoed in Rean and Roan's minds once again.
Sister Orb sighed as she muttered, [I knew it. There we go.]
