Chapter 178: The Potion

But the Elven Empress did not want this war to happen, nor did she want to prevent the Tree of Cradle from breaking through either. So she concentrated all the defensive Formations around the Tree of Cradle and left the empire without a single defensive Formation, while she and her army took on the task of defending the empire and left the Formations to protect the Tree of Cradle!

The three races found themselves in a difficult situation. On one hand, fighting the Elven army would be a loss for them even if they won, while on the other hand, it was almost impossible for them to break through all those Formations within the necessary time.

They would need at least several weeks to accomplish that. And by then, the Tree of Cradle’s breakthrough would have ended regardless of the result!

Thus, the situation remained as it was, filled with extreme tension and anticipation for the result of the Tree of Cradle’s breakthrough.

After several hours of waiting, everyone was surprised by the sudden change in the weather and the lightning storms striking the sky!

Lightning covered an area spanning miles, while black clouds blocked the horizon. Suddenly, that lightning descended directly toward the Tree of Cradle, passing through dozens of Formations as if they did not exist before striking it!

The lightning failed to kill her, but it severely injured her and prevented her from breaking through to Level Five!

The eyes of the three races’ emperors lit up when they found that this was the perfect moment to get rid of the Tree of Cradle once and for all. But before they could clash with the Elves, they heard the voice of the Tree of Cradle echo in their ears...

"I will give you the method of creating the breakthrough potion in exchange for three conditions!"

The three emperors sneered at this proposal and replied, "What are we going to do with a failed potion!"

But in the face of their mockery, the Tree of Cradle remained silent for some time. After several seconds, she released an aura that caused the eyes of the three emperors to gradually widen until they reached their maximum!

That aura was clearly the aura of a Second-Grade Law, yet the Tree of Cradle herself had not reached Level Five!

When they asked her about her condition, she said, "I succeeded in obtaining a Second-Grade Law, but I failed to overcome the barrier and reach Level Five."

And when they asked her about the barrier, she explained what she had discovered after thousands of years of research, as well as the function of the human Energy Path and its flaws.

And when they wanted to obtain the method of creating the potion, she imposed three conditions on them...

First, any research or development they conducted in this regard had to be shared with the Elven Empire.

Second, they had to establish permanent trade with the Elven Empire and grant the Elven Empire the right to search for treasures within the territories of the three empires.

Third, none of their empires could declare war against the Elven Empire, nor could the three empires unite against it again.

These conditions were bound by a certain period. When they asked about the duration, the Tree of Cradle told them that it was tied to her death!

The day the Tree of Cradle’s life ended, this agreement would naturally end with her!

In return, the Tree of Cradle would give them the method of creating the potion, its function, and how it worked.

She would not give them the method of creating the Formation Law potion, as that was impossible, but she would give them the general method of creating the potion.

This offer was extremely tempting to them, but it was not enough, so the Tree of Cradle told them another secret...

"In less than one hundred thousand years from now, breakthroughs to Level Five will become possible. When that happens, a Great Era will emerge, and destruction will spread throughout the entire world.

Destruction a thousand times worse than the destruction that occurred during our ancient wars, and the first nation to perish will be the nation that has fallen behind the path of advancement!"

These words were like a bolt of lightning striking their ears, but they did not believe them immediately. They used one of the treasures of the Dragon Race, which they had obtained from the Lord during the ancient era. This treasure was the Scales of Truth, one of whose abilities was to expose lies.

The Tree of Cradle agreed to have the Scales of Truth used on her, and it became clear that she was telling the truth. When they asked her about the source of this information, she said that it was a prophecy that had come to her one day, and this was also true.

The emperors discussed this matter among themselves for several days. The Tree of Cradle’s offer was tempting, and if her prophecy was true, then they were the nations that had fallen behind the path of advancement, and they would be the first nations to perish throughout history.

But at the same time, the Tree of Cradle’s demands were unreasonable to them, so they went to negotiate with her to loosen the terms of the agreement. In the end, they agreed to change most of the clauses to better suit both sides.

Among these changes was a clause concerning how long the agreement would remain in effect.

They agreed that the agreement would remain valid until the Tree of Cradle died, or until the Great Era arrived, or for a maximum period of ninety thousand years, whichever came first!

To formalize this oath, they used a Blood Oath Formation. Using this Formation, the oath was bound to the core and the blood, and the oath was passed down through the generations.

After obtaining the method from the Tree of Cradle, each race spent centuries of research creating a potion based on the Law of their respective race. When they used it, the conditions of the sky changed just as they had with the Tree of Cradle, and lightning descended from the heavens and struck them. But none of them were able to withstand that storm and those bolts of lightning like the Tree of Cradle, and everyone who attempted the breakthrough ended up dead. However, after examining the corpses of everyone who had attempted the breakthrough, they found that their bodies contained Second-Grade Law Runes, while their cores remained at Level Four.

They knew then that they were on the right path. After dozens of attempts, they discovered something new: the more complete the potion was, the easier the breakthrough became and the less time it took. This became especially clear after observing every breakthrough attempt.

Thus, the four races continued developing the breakthrough potions to this day, and what was now in the hands of the Falcon Emperor was the latest potion developed several generations ago!

The old emperor held the potion with trembling hands and looked at it with mixed emotions!

This was the Wind Law potion that his ancestors had developed over tens of thousands of years, and he would be the first to earn the honor of using it to make a true breakthrough to Level Five.

The old emperor gripped the potion tightly and looked toward his sons. "Activate all the Formations in the palace and guard it well until I finish the breakthrough. Do not allow anyone to enter!"

"Understood, Your Majesty!" The three sons bowed and quickly retreated. Several moments after they left the throne hall, all the Formations were activated!

The old emperor held the potion, climbed the steps toward the throne, sat upon it, and stared intently at the potion in his hands for some time. After several moments, the emperor raised the potion, brought it to his mouth, and swallowed it!

The potion went down his throat as if it were nothing more than ordinary water. But when it reached his chest, specifically beside the core, it stopped there for several moments before beginning to twist and seep into the core!

The moment it entered as energy, the Wind Law fused with the core immediately began to stir. It was not an increase in affinity, but rather like someone being inside a sealed room containing nothing but a barrel of fuel, and then throwing a match onto that barrel of fuel!

The barrel would burn, and the one who lit it would burn as well. Either he would endure until the burning barrel destroyed the room and he escaped, or the barrel would burn him and the room together!

It was an extreme process that relied heavily on patience, determination, and endurance, but it was the most effective method!

The old emperor’s forehead twitched, and his veins bulged violently. He gritted his teeth from the intense pain and felt his chest growing hotter with every passing second. This continued for several hours!

A thin stream of blood flowed from the corner of the emperor’s mouth, his eyes bulged, and they filled with red veins. After seven hours had passed since the beginning of the breakthrough, a muffled explosion occurred inside the emperor’s body, and his body finally calmed down!

The emperor slowly raised his hand and felt the immense power coursing through it. A tired smile appeared on his face, then he tapped the throne and looked toward the door.

"Enter now!"