As they climbed higher up the stairs, the energy density increased. This energy transformed into a tangible pressure, bearing down on everyone crawling towards the summit.
Iyeta struggled to climb, while Tao Qingqing had to half-walk, half-crawl to reach the top. Wen Wen, however, felt no pressure at all; he could even run and jump.
This wasn't due to Wen Wen's strength, but because he carried a token from Nivia, the Light of Life.
The sacred tree was naturally drawn to Nivia's power and had thus given Wen Wen a clear path.
Upon reaching the treetop, Wen Wen saw a platform naturally formed by the trunk. At the center of the platform was a clear spring.
Before the spring sat a True Order expert, half-human and half-bird, with green wings and feathers.
Wen Wen's eyebrows rose. He recognized this individual; it was the Divine Winged Attendant summoned to reality by Wu Wang from the inner world.
After their last battle, this attendant had vanished. Wen Wen hadn't expected him to be guarding the sacred tree within the realm of Natural Will.
The Divine Winged Attendant, being a monster from the Heavenly Sovereign's faction, naturally made sense in defecting to their organization here.
The last time Wen Wen had seen the Divine Winged Attendant, he couldn't even catch the attendant's eye, and had to rely on a transformation to barely scare him away.
This time, Wen Wen possessed power comparable to the Divine Winged Attendant himself.
After Iyeta presented the Moon God's token and explained the reason to the Divine Winged Attendant, the attendant filled half a mineral water bottle for Wen Wen.
"Hey, that's a bit casual. Couldn't you at least use a glass?"
Wen Wen took the bottle filled with the Spring of Life and gently shook it. The cool sensation transmitted through the plastic bottle made him feel refreshed.
The so-called Spring of Life was actually a liquid naturally secreted by the sacred tree. It only secreted a small cup's worth annually. This clear spring was the accumulation of countless years.
The life force contained within the spring water was akin to a mythical elixir for ordinary beings, capable of resurrecting the dead and regenerating flesh.
Even those on the verge of death could drink it to regain youth, achieve immortality, and gain a degree of invincibility.
However, for superhumans like Wen Wen, who already possessed immense energy, the Spring of Life's power was limited. It still acted as a universal restorative, instantly healing all his injuries.
Having obtained what he needed, Wen Wen wasted no time. It was now time to restore Wen Li to life.
Wen Wen found a relatively flat spot on the platform where the sacred tree grew and drew a rune with chalk.
The ritual for reversing undead creatures was simple; the key was possessing items with potent life force.
With all preparations complete, Wen Wen snapped his fingers, retrieving Wen Li's corpse from the containment facility and placing it upon the rune.
He then circled the corpse a few times, ensuring there were no issues. After that, he unscrewed the mineral water bottle, pried open Wen Li's mouth, and poured in half of the Spring of Life.
After being dosed with the Spring of Life, Wen Li's corpse immediately began to change. Dazzling emerald energy flowed from Wen Li's mouth and spread outwards.
The chalk-drawn rune array was also filled with green energy, manifesting as a phantom image of emerald hue.
Under this power, Wen Li's corpse floated up. His once pale skin began to regain its color, and his cold body felt warm.
Once the green light permeated every corner of Wen Li's body, a dark energy gathered in his chest, refusing to disperse.
This was the residual filth of an undead body, still concentrated in Wen Li's chest and unable to be expelled from his body. This indicated that the ritual's power was insufficient.
Wen Wen frowned. According to his calculations, half a bottle of the Spring of Life should have been enough to complete the ritual, but it seemed to be far from it.
"It seems Wen Li's undead body is much more powerful than it appears... after all, he's also me, so this is to be expected."
Wen Wen wasn't overly concerned, attributing it to Wen Li's unique talent. He then poured more Spring of Life into him, leaving only a small amount at the bottom of the bottle in his hand.
When all the Spring of Life had been poured in, the accumulated dark energy in Wen Li's chest transformed into a plume of black smoke that spewed from his mouth, forming a giant, fanged ghost face.
This ghost face bore a slight resemblance to Wen Wen, emanating negative energy similar to 'berserk,' but far more malevolent. This negative energy could infect ordinary people, or even low-level superhumans.
If this ghost face were allowed to dissipate into the air, the negative energy would eventually cause a catastrophe.
However, Wen Wen had no need to worry about this. The sacred tree's trunk exuded a pale green energy that gently enveloped the ghost face.
The malevolent, roaring ghost face gradually softened its expression within the embrace of this energy, then gradually became transparent before vanishing into nothingness.
The negative energy on the ghost face was neutralized by the sacred tree's immense life force, leaving no trace of any hidden dangers.
This was also why Wen Wen chose to perform this simple ritual within the sacred tree's domain; it minimized the negative side effects.
After the ghost face disappeared, Wen Li's corpse, no longer sustained by power, fell to the ground.
This was now equivalent to the corpse of a naturally deceased True Order expert. The clone Wen Wen would create from this corpse would no longer be as pathologically evil as Wen Li.
Wen Wen then lifted the corpse's clothing, took out a small knife, and carved a small rune array onto the body, dripping three drops of the Spring of Life onto the array.
Once activated, the array transformed into a tattoo-like pattern.
This new array would ensure that the power within Wen Li's corpse would not dissipate, nor would it decay or spoil, allowing it to remain preserved until Wen Wen was fully prepared for the ritual.
Three drops of the Spring of Life were sufficient for this purpose. Any more would cause the body to develop an independent consciousness and become a living zombie.
"Hoo, hoo... all done."
Wen Wen wiped the sweat from his brow, hands on his hips. Despite the apparent simplicity of these rune arrays, they had consumed a significant amount of his physical energy.
He was now somewhat grateful for having chosen to study runes in the first place; otherwise, he would have had to hire an additional rune master for this ritual.
Speaking of which, Wen Wen's current level of rune mastery could be considered truly accomplished. Even if all his power vanished and he reverted to being an ordinary person, he could still establish a foothold in the world of superhumans with his knowledge of runes.
Tao Qingqing looked strangely at the corpse on the ground. She knew nothing about Wen Li, so seeing the corpse now filled her with sudden terror.
Apart from its grotesque appearance, this corpse was indistinguishable from Wen Wen, even sharing the same mole above the navel.
Could it be... that Wen Wen had been eliminated long ago, and the Wen Wen standing before her had already been replaced!