Chapter 341 Stone
Xiong Hanhan's eyes widened in amazement. "This stone is a treasure!"
Silver Tiger and Eagle Wind's eyes changed; this thing could actually promote plant growth.
However, Yueqing's expression grew increasingly solemn.
She did not stop transmitting psychic energy.
As the crystal's brilliance grew brighter, an extremely subtle, decaying aura mingled with the pure energy and was absorbed by the moss.
The changes came suddenly and unexpectedly.
The once vibrant moss quickly lost its emerald green color, turning withered and yellow, with its edges even curling and blackening. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the moss had completely withered, turning into a clump of grayish powder, as if all its life had been drained away.
There was a deathly silence at the entrance to the stone house.
The bear opened its mouth wide and couldn't close it for a long time.
Yueqing withdrew her spiritual energy, and the crystal's radiance returned to its soft glow. She let out a long breath and explained to Silver Tiger, "See? This crystal is like a poison with sugar added. In the short term, it can provide a huge amount of life energy, allowing organisms to grow rapidly, but with long-term contact, the 'impurities' mixed in will act like the most terrible toxins, eroding life force from the root until it is completely destroyed."
She looked at the dying Deer Antler Clan members inside the stone house. "I guess their bodies are particularly compatible with this energy, but also exceptionally sensitive to those impurities. They've lived here for generations, absorbing the energy of the crystals, which is like taking a slow poison for millions of years. That's how their spiritual energy and vitality have been gradually depleted."
Silver Tiger's golden pupils suddenly contracted. He immediately turned around and gave orders to the warriors behind him: "No one is allowed to touch any glowing crystals without my permission, and no one is allowed to drink the groundwater here!"
The soldiers responded with a resounding roar, and their eyes, once so beautiful, now held a hint of apprehension as they looked at the crystals.
The old man, who had been silent all along, suddenly had a glint of sadness and understanding in his cloudy eyes the moment he saw the moss wither.
She understood that this outsider female truly understood the root of their tribe's suffering.
She raised her wooden cane again and struck the ground heavily.
This time, she first pointed to the crystal used in the experiment, and then pointed to the short white horn on the forehead of a deer-antler tribesman.
Then, she pointed her cane sharply to the top of the cave, towards the endless darkness, and made a gesture of rapid descent.
"boom."
She made a sound that mimicked falling.
After doing all that, she walked shakily to the flag in the center of the village, dipped her wooden staff in some water from the ground, and drew a simple but recognizable pattern on the flat stone slab—an island floating in the air.
A series of actions connected all the clues.
Yueqing's breath hitched, and a bold guess formed in her mind: "You mean these crystals fell from a floating island in the sky? And your Deer Antler Clan has a special connection with these crystals? Your horns are used to sense or absorb the energy of the crystals?"
The old man couldn't understand her words, but he could read her expression.
She nodded heavily, her eyes revealing a longing for the past.
She continued gesturing.
She made an embracing gesture with her hands, as if embracing a large tribe, and a happy smile appeared on her face.
Then, her smile vanished, and her hands slowly and limply fell to her sides, making a withering and decaying motion.
She pointed to the horns on the foreheads of her people, then to her own dry skin and sunken eye sockets, her face filled with pain and despair.
She is recounting a piece of history. A once prosperous ethnic group declined as a result of the weakening of some power.
Their pride—those antlers—became a curse that hastened their demise.
Finally, the old man turned around, his eyes, almost dry of tears, fixed on Yueqing.
She stretched out her withered hand, but instead of touching Yueqing, she solemnly made an ancient gesture in the air, representing new life and hope.
That silent plea carried more weight than any words, pressing heavily on Yueqing's heart.
Yueqing stood there, stunned. The old man's simple movements were like a key, instantly untangling a mess, only to reveal an even heavier and more complex chain behind it.
curse.
A curse etched into the bloodline.
This is more troublesome than any poison because it is intertwined with life itself, inseparable from it.
Their ancestors may have made a pact with some power in this land, gaining protection for survival, but at the cost of completely binding their bloodline to the environment.
When the environment is stable, they thrive and multiply; when the environment changes drastically, they face annihilation.
She turned and walked back to the entrance of the stone house, whereupon Yin Hu and Ying Feng's eyes immediately turned to her.
"The situation is more complicated than I thought."
Yueqing's voice was a little hoarse. She briefly explained the old man's indication and her own deduction: "This is not a simple case of poisoning. It is more like the collapse of a symbiotic relationship. These crystals, or rather the energy of this land, were once their nourishment, but now they have become a deadly poison."
Her gaze passed over the two of them, looking towards the darkness deep within the cave.
“I suspect that some unknown change is taking place on the floating island itself. This change alters the energy properties here, and the Deer Antler Clan, because of their bloodline being most closely connected to this land, became the first victims.”
Yingfeng frowned as he listened, feeling powerless at this unexpected turn of events.
Is there any hope for a problem rooted in one's bloodline?
"Yes." Yueqing's answer was soft, but clear.
Silver Tiger's golden eyes remained fixed on her face, capturing every subtle expression.
Instead of asking how to save him, he asked another question: "Could this change have occurred naturally?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it was like a stone thrown into a deep pool, stirring up waves in Yueqing's heart.
Yes, could it be natural?
A tribe silently marched towards extinction, all happening deep underground, as secret as natural succession.
But what if someone is behind all of this?
A name simultaneously surfaced in the minds of Yueqing and Yinhu.
Elder Xue.
That being, lurking in the shadows like a venomous snake, harbors immense malice towards the Tiger Clan and all living beings on this continent.
If he somehow found a way to corrupt the energy core of the floating island, thus triggering this disaster against the Deer Antler Clan...
This thought instantly chilled the aura emanating from Silver Tiger.
He had originally thought that Elder Xue's target was only the Tiger Clan, but now it seemed that his ambition and conspiracy were far greater and more vicious than he had imagined.
What he wants to do is perhaps to overturn the entire order of the orc world.
"Your Highness, I'm back!"
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