Chapter 103 Old Tree: Hey, I'm alive again, aren't you angry?

Cheng Gan, supporting Zhou Jue, was completely dumbfounded.

It was deathly silent; even the strange smell in the air had vanished, as if the space had been formatted.

Zhou Jue gasped for breath, slumped in Cheng Gan's arms, utterly exhausted. Her mind was in the same state.

The system was forcibly logged off; I'm going back to sleep.

The disobedient "core silver-blue data stream" was put into solitary confinement.

The Starry Secret Box seemed to have been hollowed out, quietly floating in the sea of ​​consciousness, unable to send out even a single signal of "hunger".

She herself was almost completely drained. Before, she relied on equipment, brute force, and physical attacks in fights. This was her first time competing in mental strength, and the mental exhaustion was far more tormenting than the physical pain. She now felt that her soul was like an old garment that had been repeatedly stretched and crumpled, riddled with holes.

She made up her mind: she would go back and train her mental strength even more! Her physical shields included: an energy shield, her country's combat uniform, and power armor.

The three shields each had a thicker health bar than the last, but as for their mental energy, apart from eating the "Silver Flower Fruit" once, they hadn't really paid much attention to it!

This time, they actually managed to fight in my own sea of ​​consciousness, in my own territory! Damn it! In the next world, if I have spiritual power, I'll cultivate mental power!

"Xiao Jue? How are you?" Cheng Gan's voice trembled slightly.

She could feel that Zhou Jue's body was no longer burning hot, but his weakness alarmed her.

"Still...still alive." Zhou Jue forced a smile, but found he didn't even have the strength to move his face.

With a thought, he took out a small cup from the space of the Starry Secret Box.

The bottle contained crystal-clear spring water, which seemed to teem with endless vitality.

The inexhaustible spiritual spring.

It was a treasure derived from the life core of the vampire prince after he devoured her, and it was said to be able to regenerate severed limbs. She hasn't lost any arms or legs yet, but the mental damage she's suffered is, in some ways, more severe than the loss of limbs.

I don't know if this thing will even work.

There's no time to worry about anything else, let's try anything as a last resort.

She tilted her head back, brought the cup to her lips, and drank it all in one gulp. The spring water tasted bland.

But the moment it slid down my throat, a powerful yet gentle life energy spread out! It wasn't a violent energy surge, but rather like a spring rain suddenly falling on a dry, cracked riverbed.

Every parched cell, nourished by this life energy, let out a joyful groan.

Zhou Jue felt a warm current rise from his abdomen, instantly flowing through his limbs and bones, and finally rushing straight to the top of his head!

"Buzz—!"

Her sea of ​​consciousness trembled violently! Under the cleansing force of this pure life energy, her somewhat damaged sea of ​​consciousness began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Not only that!

After repairing all the damage, that life energy still had a large surplus! It didn't disappear, but transformed into the purest nourishment, gradually expanding the boundaries of her sea of ​​consciousness!

The entire sea of ​​consciousness, based on the repair, expanded outward by nearly double!

Zhou Jue was so comfortable that he almost groaned out loud.

"Hoo..." Zhou Jue let out a long breath, and stood up from Cheng Gan's arms as if he had been reborn.

“You…” Cheng Gan looked at her, his face full of disbelief.

Just a few seconds ago, Zhou Jue looked like he was about to die, but now he is full of energy, even more so than before?

"This is good stuff."

Zhou Jue took out another cup of "ordinary spiritual spring water" and handed it to Cheng Gan: "Sister Cheng Gan, have some too, to calm your nerves."

Cheng Gan didn't stand on ceremony, took the bottle, and drank it all in one gulp. Although the effect wasn't as extreme as Zhou Jue's "Unending Spiritual Spring," it greatly relieved the internal injuries she had suffered from the roar and the intense tension she had just experienced.

Once they had recovered, the two turned their attention to the figure who had shielded them from the fatal blow.

Old tree.

Or rather, the remains of an old tree.

Its massive body had completely lost the breath of life. More than 90% of the vines and roots that made up its body had carbonized and withered, turning into a pile of charred, rotten wood that would turn to ashes at the slightest touch.

In its chest, where the green light once shone, there is now a huge, open hole.

"Dude... I... this is all I can do..."

The old tree's last words still seem to echo in my ears.

Zhou Jue and Cheng Gan's hearts sank.

Although they had only known each other for a short time, this "old buddy" who talked a lot of nonsense but stood up for them in crucial moments won their heartfelt respect.

"It..." Cheng Gan's voice was a little hoarse, "It was to save us."

Zhou Jue remained silent as he walked to the remains of the old tree.

She is a selfish person, but she also knows how to repay kindness.

If it weren't for the old tree's warning, their reckless intrusion might have led to even greater danger.

If she hadn't blocked the attack at the crucial moment, she might have been fine, but Cheng Gan would probably have become nourishment for the "Heart of Life" by now.

Just when the two were filled with sorrow.

A faint, almost imperceptible green light quietly shone from the charred, hollow spot on the old tree's trunk.

"Huh?" Zhou Jue was taken aback.

She leaned closer to take a look.

Deep within that desolate, carbonized tissue, a tiny green sprout with only two tender leaves was trembling as it stubbornly emerged from the ashes.

The green buds exude that familiar life force, the very essence of an old tree!

Immediately afterwards, a weak yet somewhat cheeky consciousness echoed in their minds.

"What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a handsome guy come back to life?"

Zhou Jue and Cheng Gan both froze on the spot.

The surprise came so suddenly.

"Senior Old Tree! You're not dead?!" Zhou Jue's voice was filled with the joy of something lost and found.

"Death?" The green sprout shook its tender leaves, as if waving its hand: "What a joke. I've been fighting the 'Sick Heart of Life' for hundreds of years, and it hasn't killed me. With its meager, polluted energy, it thinks it can kill me off? Dude, you're playing a bit too far with this joke!"

Although the voice was weak, that familiar feeling was back!

"I call this 'shedding the cicada's shell,' understand? I threw away all the contaminated parts, along with that fatal blow, as if they were just a broken shell. Although I was severely damaged and turned into this tiny little thing, at least my manhood was saved."

Looking at the pitiful little green sprout, Zhou Jue suddenly had an idea.

"Senior Tree, this forest is safe now. Would you... be willing to move to another place?"

"Change locations?" Old Tree's mind was filled with confusion.

"Where to go? This forest is my home, where else can I go?"