"That drop of blood..." Pei Du subconsciously looked at his left palm covered with dark gold lines, and said in a low voice, "Where is the source?"
Qingman's gaze instantly became extremely hot, staring at Pei Du's left palm, like the most devout believer seeing the mark of God.
"That's right! The source!" Her voice trembled with an almost fanatical tremor. "Although it's only an extremely faint resonance, and although your power has been transformed beyond recognition... but that essence! That coldness and majesty that towers over all life forms! That aura that can make even the 'Mother Tree' tremble and make all the twisted life in this wasteland instinctively submit... there's no way I could be wrong!"
She pointed suddenly at the deepest part of the space, towards the dark outline of countless twisted vines beneath the murky green sky, resembling a massive mountain! There, a vast, ancient, chaotic, yet strangely ordered life wave emanated faintly!
"'Mother Tree'! It is the source of all the twisted life in this wasteland! It is the accidental formation of countless bodies contaminated by star cores, mutated and decayed, and ultimately devoured and merged in endless pain... a massive aggregated consciousness! It is confused, hungry, and in pain... but it instinctively senses the essence of the drop of blood in your body! That is... one of the original sources of contamination that created this hell! It is the power of the star core that is even older, purer, and closer to the 'original'!"
Qingman's dark green eyes locked onto Pei Du, with an unquestionable, sacrificial, and fanatical command:
"Now, fulfill your bargain! Lend your power... to the 'Mother Tree'! Let it feel the resonance of the Source! Let it gain a glimmer of... enlightenment from its endless pain and chaos!" She pointed in the direction of the outline of the massive mountain. "Go! Approach it! Touch it! Let the 'Mother Tree'... confirm your qualifications! This is your only value!"
Pei Du remained silent. The truth revealed by Qing Man was cold and cruel, a picture of hell, a scene of endless pain and distortion. Was the blood of the star core the source? Was it one of the creators of this living hell? The shock of this realization was no less than the shock of discovering that he and the Zero Sector shared a common origin.
His molten-gold eyes swept across the dark green vines still entwined around Xu Shuangyao, across Qingman's bark-lined face, written with fanaticism and an unyielding intensity. There was no choice. At least not now.
He slowly took steps, heading towards the massive silhouette Qingman had pointed at, dormant like a mountain within the depths of the shimmering green light. Each step thudded against the thick, slowly creeping moss. The dark gold lines covering his body remained dim, but the subtle marks on the palm of his left hand pulsed with a growing, increasingly intense throbbing intensity as he drew closer to the massive silhouette. It was as if a dormant being were awakening!
The surrounding scene grew even more bizarre. The closer we got to the massive mass, the thicker the moss grew, its color darker, from dark green to nearly pitch black, emitting a strong stench of decay. The twisted vines grew incredibly thick, covered in a thick, dark brown cuticle that resembled metallic scales. These grew giant, pale white fungi with constantly opening and closing spore sacs, spewing out visible clouds of pale green spores. The sweet, fishy smell of decay permeated the air, almost suffocating.
Pei Du felt like he was walking towards the heart of a sleeping, rotting planetary beast.
Finally, he reached the foot of the massive "mountain." Looking up, he saw no end in sight: countless giant vines, tens of meters in diameter, twisted and coiled like the spine of a mountain range, fading into the murky green light above. A vast, chaotic will, imbued with endless pain and primal hunger, emanated from the "mountain" before him like a tangible tide, impacting Pei Du's core. That will, imbued with the disorder of plants and the cold remnants of star cores, woven into a soul-shaking, mad whisper.
Directly in front of Pei Du, a massive, inward-facing cavern nestled in the vine-wrapped "mountain wall." The edges of the cavern were covered in thick, velvety black moss, from which a sticky, faintly green liquid continuously dripped. Within, a deep darkness shrouded the cavern, as if leading to the intestines of a giant beast. Directly below, countless thick, pitch-black roots emerged from the moss, entwining and twisting, ultimately rising upward to form... a massive, hideous, and thorn-covered throne of thorns!
The throne was pitch black, as if carved from the hardest ancient fossil wood, its surface covered in thick moss and patches of fungus dripping with slime. Countless sharp, metallic thorns jutted menacingly from its backrest, armrests, and base, like a giant, curled-up hedgehog. The ground around the throne was littered with a vast array of decaying skeletons—humanoid, giant beastlike, and other bizarre skeletons beyond recognition. Like dead branches drained of all nutrients, they silently spoke of the fate of those who approached this place.
An indescribable feeling of repulsion and... a strange attraction came simultaneously from the direction of the Throne of Thorns, pulling at the star core blood in Pei Du's body.
"Sit!" Qing Man's cold, hoarse voice came from behind, carrying an unquestionable command and a hint of hidden, feverish anticipation. "Sit upon the 'Throne of Thorns'! Place your hand upon the heart of the throne! Let the 'Mother Tree'... feel your blood! This is the sole meaning of your existence!"
Pei Du stood before the ominous Throne of Thorns, his molten-gold eyes sweeping across the scattered bones before finally settling on the throne's central armrest. There, covered in thick black moss and sticky bacterial plaque, a slightly sunken, irregular area could be vaguely seen beneath.
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