Chapter 98 Hey bro, I've been waiting for you for ages, did you bring the "key"?
key?
What key?
Zhou Jue's mind went blank for a moment. Her first instinct was to look down at herself; she didn't have any physical keys with her. A universal key? The system? Or the core she had just absorbed?
Cheng Gan, standing beside her, presented a completely different picture.
The moment that strange sound rang out, we instantly went into high alert.
Her muscles were not tense, but rather relaxed and stretched in an extremely subtle way, as if every cell was breathing and sensing every slight change in the surrounding environment.
Her hand had already silently gripped the handle of the pistol at her waist, the safety off. She was poised to fire.
The two stood back to back, one with a mental whirlwind of thoughts, the other on high alert, guarding the small open space as if it were an impregnable fortress.
The heavy footsteps sounded again.
"tread……"
"tread……"
One step, then another.
It was not pleasant, but extremely oppressive.
Without further hesitation, Zhou Jue quickly slapped a "Concealing Breath Talisman" onto his body, while shoving the other into Cheng Gan's hand.
Cheng Gan took the talisman, glanced at it, and stuck it to his chest.
The talisman transformed into a faint light and merged into their bodies. In an instant, the aura, heat, and even the fluctuations in their heartbeats of the two were locked in by an invisible barrier.
After doing all this, the two looked at each other and, instead of fighting head-on, retreated simultaneously in perfect unison, their bodies moving like two nimble cats, silently disappearing behind a towering ancient tree with a diameter of seven or eight meters.
Almost the instant they concealed themselves.
"Splash—"
The bushes next to where they had just been standing were violently parted by a tremendous force.
The darkness in the forest seemed to be parted by an invisible hand. Something emerged from the shadows.
Zhou Jue and Cheng Gan both held their breath.
That was... a person?
No, it cannot be called a person.
Its shape and outline are indeed similar to a human's, about two meters tall, with all four limbs. But what makes up its body is not flesh and blood, but countless intertwined dark brown tree roots and dark green vines.
The tree roots form a sturdy trunk and limbs, their surface covered with moss and mottled marks left by time. Countless tiny vines twine around them, and on the vines bloom small white flowers that emit a faint fluorescent glow.
The most bizarre thing is its "face".
It was a relatively flat burl, without any facial features, only two dark green spiral lines that looked as if they were drawn with light, slowly rotating.
At its chest, the roots and vines form a hollow structure, inside which a fist-sized, vibrant green light source is rhythmically pulsating.
That light was gentle, yet filled with an indescribable, boundless vitality.
That's it!
Zhou Jue's heart skipped a beat. The green light on this thing's chest was exactly the same as the energy reaction she had seen on the tablet!
This walking "tree person" is their target, or rather, their "safe haven".
"Outsiders..."
That hoarse voice rang out once more. This time, Zhou Jue was certain that the voice was indeed coming from the tree-man, transmitted directly into their consciousness through some unknown vibration.
"Don't be nervous, girls."
The tree-man stopped about ten meters away from them, not approaching any closer. It slightly "lowered its head," and the two swirling green light patterns seemed to be "watching" Zhou Jue.
It detected them! The "Concealing Breath Talisman" hadn't even blocked its senses!
"If I wanted to do something, you two would have become fertilizer the moment you fell into this forest."
That was incredibly blunt.
But it also exudes a sense of vicissitude, as if saying, "I'm too lazy to bother with you guys."
The tension in Zhou Jue's heart eased a tiny bit.
The other party seems... to have no malicious intent?
She didn't speak immediately, but quickly calculated in her mind.
The system is undergoing an upgrade, and most functions are unavailable. The Concealing Breath Talisman seems to be ineffective against it now. Facing this non-technological "creature," is a direct confrontation even possible? Judging from its physique and the way it entered the fray, it's likely to struggle.
The only thing we can rely on is the Starry Sky Box's devouring function and the teleportation talisman.
"Who...are you?" Zhou Jue asked tentatively, communicating with the other party using her consciousness. Since the other party could transmit "meaning," they should also be able to receive her "thoughts."
"I?"
The tree-man seemed to "smile," and the vines that made up its body trembled slightly, causing a few leaves to fall.
“I am who I am, who else could I be? A name is just a shackle. In this forest, you can call me ‘Old Tree’ or ‘Mute’ if you want, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, you might not meet anyone who can talk to me for hundreds of years.”
The way he's talking... why does it sound so strange?
Zhou Jue was a little taken aback. It felt like watching a skit on the Spring Festival Gala, with the other person's lines carrying an inexplicable "punchline" flavor.
"You two have quite the nerve," the old tree's voice continued, with a touch of a storyteller's tone: "You fell from such a height and weren't smashed to pieces, yet you still dare to wander around here. If it weren't for the 'key' smell on you, I wouldn't bother coming out for a stroll."
“The key…” Zhou Jue seized on this key word: “What exactly is this ‘key’ you’re talking about?”
Instead of answering directly, the old tree raised its "arms" made of roots and pointed at Zhou Jue.
"You have a small box on you, don't you?"
Zhou Jue's heart sank suddenly.
Starlight Secret Box!
It actually knew about the existence of the Starry Sky Box!
This thing is directly bound to her sea of consciousness; no one but her and the system knows about it! How did this tree-man "see" it?
"That thing is a good thing. It can hold the sky, it can hold the earth, and it can carry people all over the world without any logic."
The old tree said slowly, "We natives can never move from our place. To give you an analogy, we are like old padlocks locked to the wall, rusted by wind and rain. And the one you have is the master key that can open all locks."
"With it, you can go anywhere and explore any place. That's why I call it the 'key'."
This explanation is easy to understand, even a bit too straightforward.
Zhou Jue finally understood. The other party hadn't seen through her sea of consciousness, but rather sensed the unique "attribute" of the Starry Sky Box—its ability to traverse space and form its own world.
"So, this is the 'key' you've been waiting for?" Zhou Jue asked, following its lead.
"Yes and no."
The old tree took two heavy steps, pacing back and forth, causing the ground to tremble slightly.
"What I'm waiting for is an outsider who can come here with the 'key' and can talk to me. That's a very high bar."
It shook its head, and the vines on its body swayed.
"Over the years, at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, people have fallen into this forest. Some fell in riding iron birds, some drifted in in broken boats, and some silly lads just got lost and wandered in without knowing how."
"It's a pity that when they see me, they either run away in terror or point that fire-breathing thing at me. All they can think about is 'monster' and 'kill it.' How can we have a conversation like that?"
"As for those who can understand me... hehe, including you, you're the third."
Zhou Jue was startled.
The third one?
"What about the first two?" Cheng Gan, who had been silent until now, finally couldn't help but ask in a very low voice.
The old tree remained silent for a moment.
The two rotating green light patterns seemed to have dimmed somewhat.
"The first one was an old man wearing a tattered white robe, from hundreds of years ago. He could understand me, just like you. I asked him for a favor, and he agreed, but he was too old. Once he entered that place, he never came out again."
"The second one was a girl with a long braid, who was incredibly arrogant. Before I could even finish speaking, she barged in on her own, saying she wanted to take the 'Heart of Life' to save her sweetheart. As a result... she also perished inside."
The old tree's tone carried a hint of regret or helplessness that was hard to define.
"They...are all dead?" Zhou Jue's heart sank lower and lower.
“Death? It’s hard to say.” The old tree shook its head. “In that place, ‘death’ is a kind of liberation. They probably just ‘lived’ in a different way.”
These words sent chills down the spines of both Zhou Jue and Cheng Gan.
Living a life worse than death? What kind of hellish place is that?
"Is the 'heart of life' you mentioned the one on your chest?" Zhou Jue asked, looking at the emerald green light source.
Dealing with this kind of ancient monster who has lived for who knows how many years, trying to outsmart him is probably useless; it's better to be direct.
"Yes and no," the old tree replied, its answer now cryptic.
"This thing is a projection of the 'Heart of Life.' It allows me to move and speak; it's kind of a controller. The real good stuff is still inside."
It raised its root arms and pointed deeper into the dense forest.
“I guard a place. A door. Inside the door lies the true ‘Heart of Life.’ That thing is the root of this rainforest, one of the sources of life force for the entire planet. Whoever obtains it, let alone immortality, can live for a thousand or eight hundred years as easily as playing around.”
Zhou Jue's breathing suddenly became rapid.
Immortality!
Although she now has a system and doesn't value lifespan as much anymore, the words "the source of planetary life force" still carry immense weight!
What if the space swallows it up...?
No, even if the space doesn't swallow her up, the benefits she would receive from absorbing it herself would be unimaginable!
This is a million times more tempting than the US's technological core!
But wouldn't swallowing one of the sources of life deplete the planet's lifespan?
"What...do you want us to do?" Zhou Jueqiang suppressed her excitement. She knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch.
The other party has waited so many years and laid so much groundwork; they must have something to ask of you.
"clever."
The old tree nodded approvingly: "Talking to smart people is so much easier."
It stopped, its two green beams of light fixedly "staring" at Zhou Jue.
"I want you to take your 'key' and go through that door."
"Then what?"
"Then, help me... destroy the 'Heart of Life'."
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