If one's own soul weakens when acting as the local deity, then one can use another creature to replace it.
As for how to ensure that this tree has sufficient vitality...
"That's it, I understand."
Angela immediately nodded in understanding.
"What kind of tree would you like to plant, Master?"
"That's still uncertain. Different trees will inevitably bring different magical effects. Apple trees, peach trees, and elm trees are all worth considering. Perhaps planting a Bodhi tree would be good too?"
However, tree species are not actually Hayden's current focus.
There was another reason why he wanted to plant trees at the ley line nodes and use plants to control the ley line.
"As long as I can get the tree's roots deep into the earth's veins, I can attach my consciousness to the tree and immerse myself in the earth's veins to conduct a wider search."
Karen was worried that he was under too much pressure and that his abilities were limited.
So Hayden needs to produce some results to prove his ability!
124: The storm has arrived.
Hayden declared that he would plant a tree on the mountain as the core of the city.
For some reason, Angela seemed quite happy.
"Planting trees is a good thing! Plant trees!"
She seemed even happier than usual.
"What kind of tree would you like to plant, Master?"
Hayden was still pondering what kind of tree he should plant, peach or elm, but seeing Angela's enthusiastic expression, he had a sudden inspiration.
What kind of tree do you like?
Then Hayden asked.
If it were Hayden in the past, seeing Angela's enthusiasm, he would probably have simply handed the tree-related matter over to her.
But after thinking about it for a while, he decided against it.
Angela rarely makes mistakes, but she also has her limits and has had many different perceptions and understandings from Hayden. Hayden believes in her and trusts her, but he also knows that Angela's perspective on things is different from his.
This time, Hayden wanted to prove his own abilities, so how could he give up the tree-planting operation?
However, if Angela wants, it's perfectly fine to let her choose her favorite tree species.
So Hayden handed the seeds of the Dream Flower to Angela, letting her choose.
Different trees possess different magical properties. For example, poplar trees can dispel fear, holly trees can alleviate anger and jealousy, elm trees can uplift the spirit and bring hope, and rowan wood, like the wood used for Hayden's Moonlight Staff, has protective properties... However, these strange magical properties are just minor details compared to Angela's own preferences.
Hayden knew that Angela had done so much for him all along. He owed Angela something he could never repay in his lifetime. Since she loved planting trees so much, he could at least let her choose the seeds.
"Should I decide?"
Sure enough, Angela seemed even happier after hearing Hayden's words.
She rummaged through Hayden's bag of dream flower seeds for a while, and finally took out an apple seed.
(This actually made Hayden secretly breathe a sigh of relief. No matter what he said, he was still a little afraid that Angela would really do something too strange.)
"Then, Master."
Then Angela's tone suddenly became serious.
Would you like to plant this tree yourself, or would you like me to plant it for you?
This is a rather strange question.
"Of course I'll grow them myself."
Hayden accepted the apple seeds that Angela had chosen.
"I'm here to achieve something this time, to prove I'm capable enough. What's the point of letting you plant anything else?"
Angela immediately looked regretful: "I see, I understand. I'll wait until next time to help."
...If she were to actually plant it, Angela would probably make headlines again.
So Hayden quickly walked to the open space where the leyline node was located. It was a patch of grayish-black soil that had long been polluted, but that wasn't a problem for the seeds of the [Dream Flower]. Hayden took out a small golden shovel, easily dug a small hole in the soil, put the apple seed in, and filled it with soil.
When using the seeds of the [Dream Flower], there's actually no need to worry too much about the normal planting environment or even the methods. Right under Hayden and Angela's watchful eyes, a slender sapling quickly sprouted from the soil, revealing tiny, bright green shoots.
There were no other trees nearby to block the sunlight, but the pollution clouds overhead prevented the sapling from receiving any. Nevertheless, it bravely unfurled two leaves.
These are tender buds that would break at the slightest touch. Yet even those towering giants, if traced back to their origins, didn't they all begin their growth from new buds in the same way?
So now is the time for Hayden to shine.
"If there is only sunlight and water, plants will not grow. Even if they do grow, they will not bear abundant fruit."
Besides, there's no sunlight here.
So Hayden drew a silver dagger, pricked his index finger with the tip, and sprinkled the blood onto the roots and leaves of the sapling, nourishing the newly born little life.
Blood is a symbol of life and can also be the vessel of the soul.
Therefore, he wanted this tender sprout to absorb his blood.
"All living things must die. Those who feed on plants will one day die, turning into soil and becoming nutrients for plants to grow strong."
Hayden let his blood drip continuously, forming tiny streams that connected his blood, the sapling, and the earth itself.
"But I do not have to die today. My blood has become one with yours, I have become your nourishment, I have become a part of you. I am you, and you are me."
As Hayden chanted softly, he gradually transferred a portion of his consciousness from his body, from his blood, into the tiny sapling, much like a drop of blood falling into water and slowly thinning and dissolving.
Angela watched quietly from the side.
Although it wasn't the first time she'd seen Hayden do something like this, no matter how many times she saw it, she couldn't help but think that Hayden's talent was indeed very strange.
Good heavens, Angela actually thinks others are strange. I wonder what Hayden would think if he knew.
But he didn't know that now. Soon, in his own empty consciousness, Hayden began to sense something, something that was definitely not human "memory," because humans have neither roots nor leaves, nor can they feel the "sweetness" of light and water.
He has entered the consciousness of "plant".
Hayden could sense that the sapling's roots were beginning to penetrate deeper into the earth, touching the spiritual veins. The growth rate of the [Dream Flower] was beyond reason, which was why Hayden's plan could succeed.
Plants can sense information that humans cannot, after all, they are completely different organisms with roots that penetrate deep into the earth. Moreover, plants actually exchange information with each other; the root systems of trees touching each other are like a neural network, enabling the exchange of various kinds of information.
But that alone is not enough.
Hayden needed more power and more information. He wanted to establish the foundation for the city's protective barrier on this mountain, and even wanted to find out the source of the environmental pollution and the "calamity storm" before Karen did.
Information exchange between plants alone is not enough to make a clear understanding.
So Hayden took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
The complete darkness, devoid of sound and light, instantly engulfed all his senses, causing his consciousness to plummet—
Following the roots of the sapling, he had sunk into the earth's vein nodes.
The convergence point of the earth's blood vessels and meridians, it absorbs all energy and information from all areas reached by the earth's veins, which can be said to be the heart and brain of the earth.
The ten realms possess language, and the six sense objects are all written. Theoretically, everything in the world that can be perceived can be transformed into words and information. However, the human brain has its limits and cannot extract much information from the flow of these ley lines; even plants cannot do so.
However, Hayden now is no longer human!
He has transferred his consciousness from the human brain to the earth's ley lines through the connection of blood and tree roots!
Hayden is now the core of this tributary of the earth's veins!
He is the earth's veins! He is the mountain!
Hayden could now feel his entire body suddenly surging with power. The tactile sensation of this natural force even began to intoxicate him!
It's breathtaking, this unrestrained omnipotence! With the vast earth as its body, immense energy surges throughout, like blood coursing through veins. This is a power only gods could comprehend—no, even the word "power" seems too insignificant to describe it!
Because all his consciousness and senses were connected to the mountain's spiritual veins, the mountain's power was now equivalent to his own. If he so desired, he could now cause the mountain to crumble and the earth to split with a mere thought, and unleash a raging storm with a swing of his arm. He possessed such an overwhelmingly massive body and could manipulate the powerful primal energy of the earth at will.
This is the exhilaration of being a ruler. It's the power to grasp everything in your hands and manipulate it at will, to crush it with a single thought!
Truly the power of the earth! An omnipotent force!
...Fortunately, Hayden had suffered once before when he became the White Wolf God, and had also undergone the alchemical enhancement of the goddess Hela, so he knew very well that this "omnipotence" was actually just an illusion.
There are many other gods in this world who control capital. What kind of omnipotence is it to merely control the ley lines of a mountain?
Moreover, a strange, repulsive feeling was constantly stimulating Hayden's nerves, making him realize that things were not so simple.
That's a sense of crisis.
Driven by an instinctive sense of crisis, Hayden followed this feeling of disgust and looked beyond the causal line. This was not physical vision, but a sensation emanating from the earth's veins. As if by divine revelation, a scene suddenly flashed through his mind.
The scene he saw was actually New Jersey.
Why New Yatu?
Although the earth god's power had robbed Hayden of a small portion of his thinking ability, the remaining part still puzzled him. Despite Neo-Arya's many unpleasant aspects, it was still Hayden's home, and besides, Neo-Arya's overall situation had actually improved significantly recently, with the people's lives becoming slightly easier. Why would Hayden suddenly feel aversion towards Neo-Arya?
...Could the enemy be in New Jersey?
Just to be on the safe side, Hayden released his consciousness and insight, probing into the vision of New Jersey like the roots of a plant. If he were still human, he probably couldn't do this. However, now his consciousness was released into the core of the ley lines. This mountain's ley lines had no local deity (after all, it had died over a decade ago), so Hayden's consciousness was essentially secretly sitting on the deity's throne, only with an apple tree as a cushion.
Since it is a land god, it will naturally be within the sight of the gods.
So in the void, Hayden soon saw something strange.
For some reason, in his vision of New Jersey, the air above the city seemed incredibly heavy, as black as ink. A year ago, Hayden wouldn't have found such a dark haze strange. However, the air quality in the city shouldn't be that bad lately.
A short while later, the interior of the dark cloud emitted a red glow as if it were on fire. The dark cloud began to swirl, or rather, it was more like the flames within the clouds began to swirl, and it emitted an indescribable, wondrous sound, as if a man and woman were singing in unison.
【Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha】
(Forward, forward, beyond, towards perfection, until enlightenment is achieved, attaining all merits)
This was a voice that was indescribable and that Hayden instinctively felt disgusted by, yet it inexplicably carried a solemn and sacred power.
Undoubtedly, this was some kind of mantra. As the mantra was chanted, the dark cloud spun faster and faster. It rotated counterclockwise, growing larger and larger with each turn. Several seconds later, Hayden finally realized what it was.
The black cloud storm is spinning counterclockwise.
This is a typhoon.
...But that doesn't make sense. How can a typhoon form on land?
Moreover, why would Hayden see such a strange phenomenon through the eyes of the earth god? And why would this phenomenon make him feel a sense of crisis?
It might be a little embarrassing to admit, but Hayden is now considered to be one with the spiritual veins of the entire mountain, a genuine mountain god and land deity. If the "enemy" is just a typhoon full of pollutants, it won't be able to do anything to him, and might not even be able to break through the protective barrier that Hayden has built with the energy of the earth's veins.
As mentioned before, the Earth God possesses the supernatural power to control the climate within his own domain to a certain extent. Now that Hayden controls the entire mountain's ley lines and has the [Dream Flower] to regulate and remove various pollutants, he can certainly ensure that the entire mountain's domain remains untouched by a typhoon.
After all, even a small, barren town like Shuainan has a protective barrier that can withstand pollution from the wasteland. Hayden, now seated on the throne of the land god, must have a barrier even stronger than that of an ordinary town.
Why could a mere typhoon trigger his instinctive sense of "crisis"?
Hayden found it increasingly strange.
Unfortunately, the insight granted by the land god's vision is limited to this. New Yatu has its own celestial deities, and even with the power of a tributary of the earth's veins, Hayden cannot truly penetrate its depths.
He withdrew his consciousness, allowing his five senses to return to his human body. The loss of omnipotence even made Hayden feel dizzy and disoriented for a moment. Fortunately, he had experience fighting the tengu ninja before, so this level of loss of control was not enough to make him lose control.
He opened his eyes, sat cross-legged next to the small apple sapling, and fell into deep thought.
Angela didn't know what Hayden had just encountered, but she could tell that something was wrong, so she immediately tilted her head and asked, "Master, what did you see?"
Hayden did not answer directly.
The magic of prophecy and divination sometimes yields not answers, but rather images.
He saw the storm, but was it really just a storm?
Is it a symbol of curse and calamity in the mouths of the subterraneans, or an economic storm that, as the Peacock King said, shook the thrones of the gods?
If it is the latter, then Hayden can also be considered a "god," albeit an earth god, but it is not surprising that he felt fear because of it.
There are many other possibilities besides these.
After a long pause, Hayden stroked his chin and said, "The collaborative project between Smoke Mirror Company and Mitra Group in New Seattle may have been directly overseen by deities. Their power can interfere with prophetic knowledge."
The conflict between the gods inherently involves intelligence warfare. Mutual deduction, interference, and countermeasures are commonplace.
"But I have other means besides magic."