Chapter 212: Mutated Treant
‘Boom—’
A deafening explosion sounded, and the ground continuously sank.
Lin Yu shivered beside them, turning to flee, but unexpectedly, from beneath the deep pit, tens of thousands of branches shot out at extreme speed, piercing directly into his heart and dragging him into the pit.
Xue You returned to Sang Chu’s side, while Xi Rui stood by, drawing her bow taut, her expression serious as she stared in the direction of the ground collapse.
After Sang Jing Wen took Mu Xue into the carriage, Lu Min Feng drove the carriage to Sang Chu’s side. Looking at the sunken ground, he said with a worried expression, “A Chu, there’s a problem with the magnetic field here; the beasts are just going in circles.”
“Then go pick up your dad and the others first, and wait for me outside. I’ll take Xue You and the others down to meet the mutated tree.”
“Okay, be careful.”
Sang Chu nodded, and Xue You instantly transformed into a white mist, swirling around Sang Chu and drawing her into the depths of the ground collapse.
The depths of the ground collapse were dark and damp, with a decaying, fishy stench permeating the air.
The white mist Xue You transformed into formed a protective shield around her, warding off the branches that constantly reached out.
Xi Rui flapped her wings and followed closely. The branches attacked Sang Chu, but all were pierced by her arrows.
“Xue You, Xi Rui, can you sense the location of the mutated tree?” Sang Chu asked in a low voice, her voice exceptionally clear in the enclosed space.
Xue You’s white mist gradually expanded its range, spreading downwards, “It’s hidden too deep; it’s a bit hard to find.”
Sang Chu frowned slightly. Even Xue You couldn’t find it?
Xi Rui, “A Chu, let’s follow this tree downwards first. No matter where it’s hiding, it can’t grow separately.”
Xue You agreed with this point. After Sang Chu nodded, the white mist began to descend rapidly like a force that could break through anything, shattering all the branches that came their way.
They passed through layer after layer of rock and soil, going beyond where Sang Jing Wen and the others had seen, and were still descending.
Xue You, “We’re almost at the bottom, but I still can’t sense the source of that thing. This thing is not simple.”
Sang Chu, “Mm, everyone be careful.”
Xue You set Sang Chu down and stood beside her in human form. Xi Rui stopped closely behind, while Sai Yue and Qing Xiao stood behind Sang Chu to protect her.
Shi Feng covered their rear, arriving last. As he stepped onto the ground, he sensed a strange aura, “Master, I think I heard a corpse’s heartbeat?”
Sang Chu, “A corpse’s heartbeat? Are you sure?”
“Not sure, but it sounds very similar!”
Xue You, “He’s a professional in this area; he shouldn’t be mistaken. How about you release the Hellhounds? Their sense of smell is more acute.”
“Okay.”
Sang Chu didn’t hold back, releasing all four Hellhounds. They excitedly twitched their noses and instantly shot forward like arrows released from a bow.
“Let’s follow them!”
Sang Chu turned on the strong light on her optical computer, illuminating the dark underground as if it were daytime.
They arrived in a relatively open space.
A blue mutated tree stood in the center, its roots wriggling on the ground like tentacles, and the vines on its body rose and fell as it breathed.
Lin Yu and many zombie kings of his level lay on the ground like dead fish, covered in vine-like creatures that moved back and forth, feeding within the zombie kings’ bodies.
Xue You shielded Sang Chu, “A Chu, this thing is difficult to deal with.”
Sang Chu was shocked by Xue You’s words. He was a Demon King-level being, yet he still found this tree difficult to handle!
Xi Rui, “This is not its main body, so it’s hard to deal with.”
“You mean, if the main body can’t be killed, it will regenerate?”
Shi Feng, “Mm, it must be borrowing some kind of power, magic power, to differentiate like this, and then gain more power by devouring its own kind. Master, don’t confront it head-on.”
Xue You had initially thought it was just a small plant and didn’t take it seriously, but upon reaching the underground, she realized she had underestimated this thing.
It had already occupied a large area; the entire underground of Qing Liu City was its clones. No wonder those who entered couldn’t get out.
Its branches secreted a strange, hallucinogenic poisonous fog. Inhaling even a little would cause one to lose their way, like an ant’s death spiral. Once this poisonous fog was inhaled, one couldn’t leave the circle unless they died or were forcefully intervened with by an external force.
Sang Chu, “Xi Rui, can you communicate with it?”
“I’ll try.”
Xi Rui took a step forward and spoke in a language Sang Chu didn’t understand. The tree opposite clearly froze, its eating speed slowing down.
The vines on the tree slowly opened, revealing an ancient face. It looked at Xi Rui and spoke to her in the same language.
Xi Rui, “Master, it says it can let you leave, but it wants something from you, something that can give it power.”
Sang Chu took out the Spirit Stone Jade, “Is it this?”
The tree face visibly became excited, and its branches gestured animatedly as it approached Sang Chu, but it was directly flung away by Xue You.
The Hellhounds also barked ferociously at it, biting and eating the flying branches.
The tree face clearly didn’t care and continued to speak in strange words. Xi Rui frowned slightly, “Master, it says it agrees to the trade you discussed with Lin Yu, but the vegetables you were going to give Lin Yu need to be replaced with what you have in your hand.”
Sang Chu, “Alright, I’ll trade with you. However, I need your crystal cores and your strange poisonous liquid.”
The tree face stiffened. A direct confrontation was out of the question; the opponent could wear down many of its clones, making it a loss. But giving up its poisonous liquid was also not a good thing for it.
Sang Chu, “The ordinary people I took from your base were poisoned by you. To get the antidote, you need your poisonous liquid. You don’t want our trade to fail, do you? The Blood Moon is about to set, and you need more and more power. Currently, only zombie kings can satisfy you, but after that? Without the Blood Moon, you won’t be able to produce so many crystal cores to feed the supernatural ability users.
Naturally, you won’t be able to turn high-level supernatural ability users into zombies for you to consume. Now, you have no choice but to trade with me. You can also choose to fight me. I can’t destroy you, but you can’t stop me either. I only need to leave before you split further, and you won’t be able to do anything to me. Without the Blood Moon, you will die.”
Sang Chu stared intently at the tree face. The idea that treants would die when the Blood Moon set was just an immature speculation.
As Qin Si Feng said, the appearance of the Blood Moon represented purification, and purification needed a catalyst. These mutated plants might be the catalysts. They emerged after the Blood Moon rose, gaining strength with its power. Therefore, when the Blood Moon set and the power of purification disappeared, they might also disappear.
This was just Sang Chu’s current speculation, so she didn’t miss any expression on the treant’s face.
