Chapter 265: The Starfall Tree

Chapter 265: Chapter 265: The Starfall Tree

Morning arrived as the hyper-dense darkness receded, melting away like frost under a rising sun. The shattered stars in the sky slowly reformed, casting a pale, silver glow over the barren wasteland.

Lucian stepped out of the Azure Dragon City, the azure halo fading behind him as the gates closed. The blood-red earth stretched endlessly before him, the air already beginning to heat up under the strange, fragmented starlight. He wasn’t the only one leaving. Dozens of cultivators poured out of the city, a mix of Earth awakeners and alien participants, all rushing toward their own objectives. Some moved in groups; others traveled alone.

Lucian didn’t waste any time. He summoned the Dark Wyvern, the massive beast materializing with a low, rumbling growl. He mounted it, pulling the mental map he had extracted from Jarek’s memories to the forefront of his mind.

"Head east," Lucian commanded.

The Dark Wyvern launched into the sky, its massive wings beating against the heavy gravity. The landscape below shifted rapidly. The blood-red earth gradually gave way to a crystalline wasteland, the ground cracking open to reveal shards of glowing, star-metal embedded in the soil. The shards pulsed with a soft, blue-white light, radiating an ancient, cosmic energy.

The System appeared beside him, floating cross-legged in the air, looking entirely unbothered by the rushing wind.

"The Starfall Tree is a rare mutation," the System explained, its tiny voice carrying clearly over the wind. "It’s born from the core of a dead star. When a star collapses, its core can sometimes retain a fragment of its essence. If that core lands on a planet with sufficient mana density, it can germinate into a Starfall Tree."

Lucian listened, his eyes fixed on the horizon.

"It blooms once every thousand years," the System continued. "The fruits—Starfall Fruits—contain condensed star essence. Normally, absorbing a single fruit would take months, even for an Astral Realm cultivator. But with your Origin Devouring Art, you can accelerate the process to a few hours. Maybe less, if you push it."

Lucian smirked. "Perfect then. I can just take all the fruits."

"When now, you’re just been greedy.", The system chuckled.

The Dark Wyvern crested the ridge, and Lucian’s breath caught in his throat.

The Starfall Tree was colossal. It stood at the center of a massive crater, its trunk wider than a city block, its golden bark gleaming with veins of starlight. Its branches stretched into the sky like the fingers of a god, and from those branches hung thirteen fruits, each one glowing with the intensity of a captured star. They pulsed with raw, cosmic power.

But the tree wasn’t unguarded.

Coiled around the trunk was a massive, serpentine creature with scales of shimmering starlight. Its body was hundreds of meters long, its head resting on a lower branch, its eyes closed in slumber. Even in sleep, its aura was suffocating—Late Tier 4, the equivalent of a Late A-Rank beast.

And it wasn’t alone.

Lucian’s Primordial Sight activated, scanning the other guardians. A massive, flaming bird—its feathers made of pure fire and its wingspan as wide as a river—perched on the highest branch, its eyes scanning the ground below. A huge bull, easily fifty meters tall, stood at the base of the tree, its body covered in glowing runes and its fists the size of houses. A shadowy panther with twin tails and eyes like portals to the void paced around the crater’s edge, its form flickering in and out of reality. And a crystalline scorpion, its carapace made of a rare hard metal, burrowed half-buried in the ground, its massive pincers and venomous stinger ready to strike.

Five Late Tier 4 beasts. Each one capable of slaughtering a team of Peak Grand Core cultivators and Astral realm cultivators.

Lucian sent the Dark Wyvern back to the beast space, landing silently on the ridge. He crouched low, his eyes scanning the crowd of cultivators gathered around the crater’s edge.

There were hundreds of them. Most were Peak Grand Core with eyes filled with greed. A few were Early Astral Realm. And then there was the hooded figure—a Mid Astral Realm cultivator—standing apart from the rest, their face hidden, their aura suppressed but unmistakably dangerous.

’This is a mess,’ Lucian thought, his eyes narrowing as he looked around. ’A lot of these cultivators are hiding in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike. If a fight breaks out, it’ll be a bloodbath.’

But before anyone could make a move, a voice rang out.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Fellow cultivators! May I have your attention!"

The voice belonged to an elf. He was tall, with long, silver hair tied back in a ponytail, and a wide, jovial smile on his face. He wore light, leather armor and carried a pair of curved daggers at his waist. His aura was Early Astral Realm, but it was his demeanor that caught Lucian’s attention—relaxed, confident, and entirely out of place in this tense standoff.

"I am Bartholomew Grim," the elf announced, bowing dramatically. "But please, call me Bart. I’m a mercenary, a traveler, and—most importantly—a pragmatist. I see a lot of nervous faces here, and I understand why. Five Late Tier 4 beasts, thirteen fruits, and hundreds of cultivators. If we all rush in at once, we’ll kill each other before we even touch the tree."

A few cultivators muttered in agreement. Others glared at him suspiciously.

"So," Bart continued, spreading his arms wide, "I propose a temporary truce. We work together to take down the beasts, and then we can discuss how to split the fruits. Fair?"

Before anyone could respond, a haughty, feminine voice cut through the air. "A truce? With a ragtag group of mercenaries and low-born cultivators? Don’t make me laugh."

A woman stepped forward, flanked by a squad of armored guards. She was stunningly beautiful, with long, flowing silver hair, sharp violet eyes, and a regal bearing that screamed nobility. Her armor was ornate, made of white star-metal and gold, and her aura was Early Astral Realm.

"I am Princess Lyra of the Celestial Lotus Empire," she declared, her voice dripping with arrogance. "My empire has ruled the Drakon Galaxy for over many centuries. These fruits belong to me by right. My guards and I will take the tree. The rest of you may watch—or leave."

A ripple of anger spread through the crowd. A few cultivators stepped forward, their auras flaring, but Lyra’s guards immediately formed a defensive formation, their weapons drawn.

Lucian watched the exchange from the ridge, his expression unreadable. ’A princess and a mercenary. This is going to be interesting.’

Bart, to his credit, didn’t seem offended. He simply laughed, a light, musical sound. "Princess, with all due respect, your empire is a long way from here. And those beasts aren’t going to bow to your bloodline. We need to work together."

Lyra’s eyes narrowed. "I don’t need the help of—"

Bart cut her off, his voice suddenly cold. He turned, his eyes scanning the shadows behind the crowd. "And to those of you hiding in the dark, thinking you can wait for us to weaken the beasts and then swoop in to steal the fruits—I have a message for you."

WHOOSH!

Bart’s aura exploded, a violent, silver energy that swept across the crater’s edge. CRACK! The ground cracked, and several shadowy figures were forced out of hiding, their concealment spells shattered by the sheer pressure of his aura.

"If you don’t help us take down the beasts," Bart said, his smile returning, "I will personally hunt you down and kill you myself. No exceptions. We’re all in this together, whether you like it or not."

The hidden cultivators exchanged nervous glances. Slowly, reluctantly, they stepped forward, joining the main group.

Lucian remained on the ridge, watching the scene unfold. The System floated beside him, its tiny form flickering with interest.

"Well," the System said, "this just got interesting. What’s the plan?"

Lucian’s crimson eyes locked onto the thirteen glowing fruits.

"I’m going to let them fight the beasts first," he said quietly. "And then I’m going to take what I need."

He pulled his hood lower, disappearing into the shadows of the ridge.