Chapter 85: "Truth" in Despair and New Buds of Jianmu
"Truth" in Despair and New Buds of Jianmu
After finally getting up from the ground, the two of them quickly distanced themselves from each other, each tidying up their messy robes, their eyes wandering, not looking at each other.
"Ahem..." Xuanjia poked his head out from under Mangu's armpit, breaking the strange silence. "Young man, you're hot-tempered. I understand, I understand... But shouldn't we first take a look at where we are? Also, those disgusting tentacles don't seem to be chasing us down."
After his reminder, everyone discovered that the black tentacles seemed to have stopped at the bend above, dancing anxiously but not chasing down, as if they were afraid of something.
The platform they were currently on appeared to be a large natural grotto in the middle of the crack. On the rock wall to one side of the grotto, there were also some faint murals carved. The style was similar to that in the previous secret room, but more ancient and dilapidated.
The Jianmu fragment in Ache's hand suddenly shone brightly, and the green halo filled the entire cave, even with a joyful mood!
At the same time, Jiang Xuelan felt that the charred Jianmu leaves in his sleeves were also slightly warm.
"Fragment... seems to like this place very much?" Ache looked around curiously.
Jiang Xuelan walked to the rock face and, using the light from the Jianmu fragments, carefully examined the murals. These murals also depicted the harmonious coexistence of the Shencun and the Zhe tribe, but they focused more on the massive Xirang Divine Tree! The images showed the tree's roots spreading across the earth, even reaching deep into the underworld, maintaining the vitality and balance of heaven and earth. In one mural, a major root of the tree passed through this very mountain range!
"This place... might be close to a main root vein of the Xirang Sacred Tree." Jiang Xuelan concluded, his voice tinged with a barely perceptible excitement. "The resonance between the Jianmu fragments and the fallen leaves is so strong, perhaps because they are close to the same source of life force."
Li Jiuyou also came over, looking at the giant, lush, and gentle sacred tree on the mural. A complex light flashed in his scarlet-gold eyes. He remembered that his brother Feng Ye seemed to have mentioned that the sacred tree was also very important to their Zhe clan...
"So, those disgusting tentacles don't dare to come down because they are afraid of the breath of the roots of the sacred tree?" Man Gu asked, scratching his head.
"It's highly likely." Xuan Jia nodded. "The life force of the sacred tree is the nemesis of those evil spirits. However, we're only near the roots here, and the aura is weak, so it can only make them temporarily wary."
The crisis was temporarily resolved and the cave fell into a brief silence.
However, this silence was soon replaced by another "crisis".
Perhaps it was the proximity to the sacred tree's roots that stimulated some kind of pure life energy; or perhaps it was the excessive emotional fluctuations during the previous tumbling and tangling; or even more likely, it was because the lingering resentment and foul energy in their bodies (the thing that Xuanjia predicted would have side effects) was still causing trouble...
An extremely strange, **strong desire to confide** and **emotional amplification effect** suddenly swept over Jiang Xuelan and Li Jiuyou!
Li Jiuyou felt his chest tighten. Seeing Jiang Xuelan's cold expression, as if nothing had happened, he became inexplicably furious. All he could say was, "Hey! Ice Face! Just now... just now I wasn't trying to take advantage of you! It was an emergency! If it was Man Gu, I would have protected him just the same!"
He regretted it the moment he said it! Isn't this just making things worse?!
Jiang Xuelan was also caught off guard by this sudden, blunt attack. Through the blood contract, he could clearly sense the other person's awkwardness, the anxiety of wanting to explain but not knowing how to begin. He instinctively wanted to retort with even harsher words, but his mouth seemed to lose control and he blurted out in a low voice: "...I know. Thank you."
After he finished speaking, he was stunned, his ears turned red, and he immediately pursed his lips and turned his head away.
Li Jiuyou felt like he'd been struck by lightning! What had he heard? This icy-faced guy actually said "thank you" to him? The sun was rising from the west?!
Jiang Xuelan's momentary embarrassment and annoyance, along with a barely perceptible hint of...sincerity? These feelings were clearly conveyed.
The atmosphere became even weirder.
Xingtong watched with great interest, chuckling softly with her hands covering her lips: "Oh~ Is this considered a friendship in times of adversity? Although this true love sounds more like a quarrel~"
Ah Che blinked and whispered to Xuan Jia, "Grandpa Turtle, it seems like Senior Brother and Big Brother Li are... speaking the truth?"
Black Armor's green eyes gleamed. "Tsk tsk, the side effects of this residual foul energy are quite interesting. It amplifies emotions and forces people to speak their minds? It's even more powerful than the truth mushroom!"
At this moment, the light of the Jianmu fragment in Ache's hand grew brighter again, and the charred Jianmu leaf that he had been carefully protecting actually floated out of the storage bag automatically and hovered above the fragment!
The charred surface of the fallen leaf rustled and fell, revealing a fresh, vibrant bud beneath! The bud absorbed the light from the Jianmu fragments and the faint scent of the sacred tree in the grotto at a speed visible to the naked eye, slowly unfurling!
"It's sprouted! It's really sprouted!" Ache exclaimed in surprise.
The pure breath of life emanating from the young buds lifted everyone's spirits, and even the remaining fatigue and hidden injuries in their bodies seemed to be soothed a little.
However, this rich breath of life seemed to have stimulated the black tentacles at the entrance of the crack above! They became manic again, and began to madly try to drill downwards regardless of the suppression of the divine tree's aura! Gravel fell down!
"Oh no! They've been aroused again!" Man Gu exclaimed.
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