A Demi-God’s Body, on Par with a Mortal

Solimens’s uniquely effective cocktails had been accidentally created by blending Asgardian brews with plant materials from the Little Rainforest that possessed Natural Magic.

It was precisely this unusual discovery that rapidly elevated his importance in Valhalla.

For this, Odin had even specially rewarded him with several recipes for Asgardian Royal Brew, while Oaks had granted him unlimited access to the Little Rainforest’s magical plants.

From initially being able to slightly influence emotions to now even affecting perception, Solimens’s bartending skills had, in Oaks’s view, already approached the realm of alchemy.

Especially this "Delicate Touch"—its effects had reached a level that even left Oaks somewhat astonished—

For ordinary people, this stuff truly had no particularly extraordinary qualities.

But for gifted individuals with super senses, like Matt, this drink could already provide a powerful sensation of enhancement.

Then what about someone like Oaks, whose soul was powerful and whose life perception could easily cover all of New York?

Oaks streaked through the sky like lightning.

At twenty times the speed of sound, he covered over sixteen hundred kilometers in less than four minutes.

The moment he drank Solimens’s cocktail, Oaks felt his connection with nature strengthen slightly.

Normally, that would not have been enough to extend his perception very far.

But Oaks’s reputation with the Gaia Hypothesis was currently just a tiny bit short of reaching "Respect."

Friendly 5998/6000, roughly like that.

The Benevolence Society’s branches across the continents had only just been established. Once they gradually gained a foothold locally and began operating smoothly, Oaks’s reputation would surge dramatically.

But this small cup of liquor caused Oaks’s instant increase in connection with nature to turn into…

Something like 5998/5995.

So Oaks’s reputation should now be something like "Respect—2/12000"…

But no matter how bizarre that was, his reputation had crossed into Respect.

And every time his reputation with the Gaia Hypothesis increased, Oaks had an opportunity to make close contact with It!

This time, in only a few seconds, Oaks had already made contact with the Gaia Hypothesis.

And… he sensed Its enormous mental fluctuations!

At that moment, Oaks possessed a "world’s-eye view."

So he immediately noticed the source behind the Gaia Hypothesis’s massive reaction—

West of New York, in Missouri, an incomparably vast amount of life energy had erupted within mere minutes!

But it did not belong to Earth’s Biosphere. It did not even belong to Earth!

Even in terms of Life Rank, it had already far surpassed Earth’s organisms!

That life aura had gone from being like wild grass, unable to even draw the Gaia Hypothesis’s attention, to nearly swallowing an entire city block in just minutes!

If it were allowed to develop like this, Oaks had no doubt it would devour the entire Earth!

After all, while the power of life was beautiful and great, uncontrolled, frenzied growth was equally dangerous and lethal.

Oaks instantly realized what it was.

Especially when that enormous, bizarre life aura abruptly stopped growing—

"Ego’s Seed… so it happened now…"

Oaks stared solemnly at the strange proliferating mass ahead, which glowed faintly blue and resembled a gigantic mudslide.

"Everyone, fall back! Leave a buffer zone of at least five hundred meters!"

Using his status as an Avenger, Oaks brought the situation under control and rescued the trapped people.

Then Oaks unleashed large-scale Nature Magic, constructing a forest dam in front of the mass.

"What terrifying vitality…"

After carefully sensing it for a moment, he took a deep breath and resolutely plunged inside!

"For thousands of years, I planted thousands of extensions of myself across thousands of worlds, all to achieve the one true goal of my life—

To grow! To spread! To cover all existence!"

"Until everything becomes… me!"

"However, one Celestial does not possess enough energy to accomplish such a great undertaking. But perhaps two Celestials can."

"Of everything I have done, my favorite was attempting to graft my DNA onto other species, hoping that doing so would produce enough energy for expansion…

But they all disappointed me. Not a single one carried the Celestial Gene."

"Until you, Peter. Of all my descendants, only you inherited the connection to this place."

"For the first time since I came into existence, I am no longer alone!"

"And then Peter Quill, ‘Star-Lord,’ was nearly treated as a Demi-God battery for real."

Within the enormous proliferating mass of Spirit Seed Growth Substance, Oaks gathered every bit of Nature Force he could command—

Right now, he was stronger than ever before.

Because after that earlier contact, a small portion of the Gaia Hypothesis’s power had already been bestowed upon him!

In Its awareness, this was a crisis concerning the survival of Earth, perhaps even the universe.

But Oaks knew that this thing would definitely be stopped by Star-Lord.

So, while doing everything he could to stop the imminent second wave of expansion, Oaks conceived a mad idea—

This was the best opportunity to directly observe a Celestial!

Standing within the gigantic proliferating mass, Oaks continuously used the Astral Energy in his hands to break through layer after layer of obstacles as he advanced toward its center.

In his perception, there was something there as conspicuous as the blazing sun in the sky.

Soon, after Oaks shattered the final obstruction, a faintly blue Spirit Seed, resembling a strange flower, appeared before him.

He took a deep breath, then resolutely grasped the Spirit Seed with his right hand!

Celestial Ego, the Living Planet—empowered by a portion of the Gaia Hypothesis’s power and using the Spirit Seed as an entry point, Oaks glimpsed Ego’s current state.

In the outer universe at some unknown distance, there were two powers of the same origin.

One was incomparably vast, yet filled with greed and the desire for expansion.

Just as Ego had defined his own mission—to devour endlessly, expand endlessly, and spread his existence throughout the universe!

The other was not only far weaker than the first, but seemed completely incapable of controlling itself, remaining entirely motionless.

Because of the Gaia Hypothesis’s empowerment, Oaks now appeared to them like Earth about to be devoured—

Merely one insignificant world among the thousands where Spirit Seeds had been planted.

But Oaks’s consciousness could not approach the center of that conflict. If he did, those two powers would immediately detect him.

And Oaks’s goal was not to do anything to Ego’s power.

Though Ego’s power was strong, it was utterly incompatible with nature. It was power exclusive to the Celestial Gene, and held no meaning for Oaks.

But the Spirit Seeds he had left behind over thousands of years across thousands of worlds—thousands of Life Planets—were Oaks’s true target!

"As expected… if it is merely vitality, it can be controlled…"

Using the powerful consciousness bestowed by the Gaia Hypothesis and Nature Force infused with the qualities of life as a bridge, Oaks instantly perceived the locations of these thousands of Spirit Seeds!

A large portion of them were located in worlds without intelligent life, yet the vitality of those worlds was not weak in the slightest.

And planets inhabited by intelligent life were even more precious treasures among them.

"As expected, there are still so many planets in the universe overflowing with Nature Force…"

Excitement appeared on Oaks’s face. Ego had truly done a great deed this time.

With these Spirit Seeds, Oaks had effectively gained the coordinates of these Life Planets—or perhaps even more!

"Fine, the most urgent matter is this: planets without intelligent life are one thing, but on planets with intelligent life… we cannot let them destroy the Spirit Seeds."

Oaks’s expression turned stern. Dazzling azure light flashed through his eyes as he began using Soul Magic to simulate Ego’s method of controlling Spirit Seeds with Celestial Power!

A Celestial like Ego could not devour the worlds containing his Spirit Seeds through the Seeds alone.

The proliferating mass spanning several city blocks right now had only been created because Ego had siphoned off a small portion of Star-Lord’s power.

And even with the Gaia Hypothesis’s limited empowerment, Oaks absolutely could not achieve that level either.

But if all he wanted was to hide the Spirit Seeds, Oaks could barely manage it.

And that was enough.

But just as he finished simulating the control method, the Spirit Seed suddenly flashed, and immense power began flowing into it once more—

Ego had pinned Star-Lord down again and started siphoning him dry!

"So soon!"

Oaks could only focus on controlling the Spirit Seed before him. The immense Nature Force even stirred the weather—thunder began rumbling through the clear, cloudless sky!

"Get back!"

With Oaks’s furious roar, the proliferating mass that was about to expand again was forcibly locked in place!

"Haah—!!"

As Oaks continuously increased his power, a green pillar of light that reached from heaven to earth even appeared at that location!

"Rumble…"

As Oaks continued unleashing his strength, the Spirit Seed Growth Substance began shrinking back bit by bit!

"Damn it! This is the power of a Demi-God… He’s still supplying thousands of Spirit Seeds at the same time, yet he’s this strong!"

Oaks snarled in frustration:

"How did this idiot manage to have a Demi-God’s body that was on par with a mortal’s?!"

This bastard was simply a peerless genius!

Unlike a Nature Demi-God, "Star-Lord" Peter Quill’s power came from the Celestial Gene. It was not simply condensed Life Essence.

He possessed at least half of Ego’s power. Ordinary Nature Demi-Gods were not even in the same rank as him in terms of energy scale.

But Oaks knew that, not to mention himself, even a sham Nature Demi-God like Durasol could stomp Mr. Star-Lord into the ground in a fistfight!

Sure enough, being this useless was a kind of talent too.

"Rumble…"

The situation changed. As Star-Lord’s resistance gradually intensified, the power he supplied to the Spirit Seeds began rapidly weakening.

With Oaks’s continued outburst, the Spirit Seed Growth Substance on Earth also began rapidly retracting!

"Finally…"

The Spirit Seed Growth Substance completely vanished, and Oaks finally let out a sigh of relief—

In his perception, those two Celestial-level powers were engaged in a fierce struggle.

"While Ego is still alive, I have to hurry!"