Chapter 62

The morning light pierced through the crimson mist and fell upon the ravaged plain.

The ashes glowed with a faint golden light, but it could not conceal the deathly silence that permeated the air.

Ya Dou's eyes were bloodshot.

He barely slept a wink all night, silently guarding the seed 237 in his arms.

At that moment, he keenly noticed that the faint light in his arms seemed to be more stable than it had been the night before.

"...237?"

He called out softly.

The next instant, the branches and leaves of Seed 237 trembled slightly, and a faint light flashed across the crack in its forehead.

The light was not pure; it seemed to be mixed with shadows, yet it still made Ya Dou's heart tighten suddenly.

Slowly, 237 opened his eyes.

Deep within the pupils, light and darkness intertwine, like a sky being torn apart.

"... Bean Bean."

His voice was hoarse, yet carried an inexplicable calmness.

Yadou almost reached out to help him, but paused for a moment when she touched that unfamiliar aura.

He keenly sensed that within 237's body, a cold whisper was still stirring.

"how are you feeling?"

Sprout tried to remain calm, but her voice betrayed her worry.

237 remained silent for a long time before speaking in a low voice:

“I saw it…the shadow. It didn’t disappear, nor was it banished by me.”

The bean sprout's heart tightened, and its branches and leaves involuntarily contracted:

"So what is it... saying to you?"

237 raised his head and looked at the surging crimson mist in the distance.

His expression was complex, containing both determination and a hint of unease:

It was whispering. It said, "I don't have to be afraid anymore..."

"If I so choose, it will stand shoulder to shoulder with me, building a fortress that no enemy can breach."

Sprout 12 choked on his breath.

He looked into 237's eyes, where the light still lingered, but the darkness was no longer a mere threat, but rather—a possibility of symbiosis.

After a moment of silence, he spoke in a low voice:

"Did you... agree to it?"

237 slowly shook his head.

"I didn't accept it, but I also...didn't refuse it."

These words struck Ya Dou's heart like a heavy stone.

He understood that the real choice was no longer between life and death, but between whether light and darkness could coexist.

The wind howled, and the earth remained shattered.

Sprout 12 stared at 237, a deep contradiction flashing in her eyes:

He wanted to protect, but he was also afraid—

They feared that this protection would ultimately drag them both into an abyss from which there was no return.

Seed 237 simply watched the dawn quietly.

He murmured:

"Perhaps... this is the mother tree's true test."

A crimson mist surged.

A deep rumble came from afar, and the earth trembled once more.

The armored vine beasts of Broken Shell Ridge regrouped, like a moving torrent of steel;

The Chao Numb Lotus Alliance opened its underground channel in the mist, and foul-smelling water gushed out from the ground.

Meanwhile, the shadow buds of the shadow vine swayed in the void, like silent ghosts, searching for a way to penetrate.

They didn't have to wait long.

The three parties have confirmed Jing Yu's departure and that the light domain barrier has been shattered.

This time, they came with an aura of certain death.

Sprout 12 suddenly stood up, its branches and leaves sharp as blades, its whole body tense.

But just as he was preparing to fight, a branch gently touched his shoulder.

It is seed 237.

His figure was still weak, and the branches and leaves still had scorch marks, but he exuded an unprecedented calmness.

"let me."

His voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable weight.

Sprout 12 was startled and couldn't help but whisper, "237, now is not the time to be reckless. Your power hasn't recovered yet—"

Before he could finish speaking, the air suddenly froze.

Seed 237 slowly opened its arms.

The light and shadow within his body were simultaneously mobilized by him at the same moment.

Golden light rose from the earth, like the dawn breaking;

At the same time, a deep darkness emanated from his body, like a silent abyss.

Light and darkness are supposed to be mutually exclusive.

But at this moment, they intertwined, tangled, and rubbed against each other among the branches and leaves of 237, bursting out with a piercing roar.

Sprout 12 held his breath; he could clearly feel that 237 was walking on a knife's edge—

If he loses his balance even slightly, he will be completely swallowed by the shadows.

boom--!

The first armored beast crashed into the edge of the light field.

This time, however, what awaited it was not a fragile ruin, but a barrier of light and shadow.

The barrier's surface shimmered with golden light, yet its interior was inlaid with jet-black veins.

The attack of the Armored Beast was instantly swallowed up. Half of its power was reflected back as shattered light, while the other half was absorbed by the darkness and became nourishment for the barrier.

"How...how is this possible!"

The distant shadow buds uttered hoarse whispers.

They had never seen such a bizarre defense.

The water from the hidden channels of the Lotus Alliance of Tide surged in, but was evaporated by the light the moment it touched the barrier. At the same time, it was absorbed by the shadows and turned into streaks of black water, which were firmly fixed on the surface of the barrier, as if they had become part of the barrier itself.

For the first time, the entire Light Domain found new refuge in a desperate situation.

Sprout 12 stared blankly at everything in front of her.

His heart pounded wildly, filled with both shock and fear.

—Is this a miracle, or the beginning of an abyss?

Seed 237 slowly opened its eyes.

In those eyes, light and darkness coexisted, flickering uncertainly.

"I will not back down."

His voice was deep, yet resounding:

“This is my will…not itss.”

In the distance, the three forces dared not approach rashly for the time being.

The crimson mist churned, yet failed to engulf the field of light.

A brief balance was thus achieved.

Within 237's body, the shadowy host lurked silently, as if sneering.

It did not disappear; it merely temporarily accepted this "coexistence" agreement.

But no one knows whether this contract will lead to rebirth or destruction.

The wind howled, and the barrier of light and darkness stood like a lonely city in the wilderness.

Sprout 12 turned her head to look at 237, a complex light appearing in her eyes.

"What path... exactly did you choose?"

Seed 237, however, simply gazed silently at the shadows of the distant enemy forces, whispering:

"This is the path of the mother tree."

—Only by existing between light and darkness can one find true survival.