Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The forest at night appeared eerie and tranquil.
The sounds of wind, birds, and cicadas that existed during the day seemed to have vanished, leaving only the chorus of insects echoing in the air thick with a rich, metallic scent.
From deep within the dark woods came occasional low, strange sobs, resembling warnings of danger or cries for help from the brink of death. The clouds obscured the moon, and the dense foliage of the rainforest effectively blocked most of the moonlight. Yet, amidst the darkness, a soft green glow illuminated the forest, emanating from vines wrapped around the tree trunks.
Upon closer inspection, it became clear that these glowing vines were intentional. Many insects, drawn to the light at night, would fly toward them and be instantly ensnared by the vines' luminous green liquid, becoming fertilizer for these Azure Light vines.
This was part of the jungle's natural order and a means of survival for the vines.
Lu Fei Fan sat cross-legged, carefully observing everything in this forest.
In the night, there was always an undercurrent of danger brewing. The entire Green Ghost Jade Forest lay shrouded in darkness; some dead trees that once had robust trunks now appeared as sharp claws immersed in a pool of lifeless mud, looking utterly defeated. A stray beam of moonlight managed to sneak through and illuminate a branch where several birds were perched. Suddenly, from the mud pit below, a swift shadow darted out, snatching a few of those birds resting on the branch. The remaining birds erupted into startled cries as they took flight from their perches.
The accumulated dust on the branches swirled like whips in the night air while bubbles gurgled up from the muddy ground, remnants of feathers floating on its surface.
Lu Fei Fan had little interest in discovering what creatures lurked beneath the mud; he focused instead on practicing his Pulse Breathing Technique, cleansing his body cells in rhythmic cycles. Another batch of cells was about to awaken, and his stored Pulse Energy had been accumulating in that chaotic void without much expenditure lately. Two brilliant suns ignited this chaotic void, surrounded by a multitude of twinkling stars—at least eighteen in total.
He vaguely sensed that igniting two more stars would cause a third sun to rise slowly.
Perhaps due to his Pulse Breathing Technique, Fu Qinqin slept soundly beside him in her sleeping bag. Lu Fei Fan had given his sleeping bag to Adi, who was nestled inside it peacefully.
As for the others, Lu Fei Fan glanced around and saw they were also resting fitfully. During the first half of the night, he kept watch while others slept; after three hours, it would be Da Fu and Jiu Ye's turn.
Having just experienced a scene of slaughter, Lu Fei Fan could clearly sense that everyone else was somewhat on edge and not sleeping well.
This was their first night in the Green Mist Rainforest. Although there were many mosquitoes buzzing around at night, Cai Bi had procured a large supply of smokeless mosquito repellent powder to sprinkle around them. As a result, they were relatively undisturbed by biting insects.
According to Cai Bi, this powder was made from the ashes of those giant beasts that had perished; as for its formula, Lu Fei Fan could only speculate—it worked remarkably well.
Lu Fei Fan noticed Jiang Yu was also awake. He sat at a distance with a book in hand? Wearing special night vision goggles, he seemed to have noticed Lu Fei Fan watching him. He raised his hand in greeting before turning back to flip through his book.
Since being modified by the Black Sphere, Lu Fei Fan could still see clearly objects fifty meters away at night; naturally, he couldn’t miss the title of Jiang Yu’s book.
—— On the Reproductive Laws of Forest Races.
Lu Fei Fan found it increasingly difficult to understand this Fellow. His interests were eclectic, and his theories were well-founded, but Lu Fei Fan wondered about his combat abilities.
Never mind, he thought, shaking off the distractions. He continued to practice the Pulse Breathing Technique, feeling the waves of Pulse Energy coursing through his body like a spring, washing over every cell. Soon, a new batch of cells would awaken, and when that happened, the Pulse Energy released would help him break through to the next level.
At that point, he would be on the verge of reaching Fu Elite status!
Only one in a hundred people could achieve Fu Elite!
As for a General, that was only possible with one in a thousand.
And Master Fu? Well, that was a rarity of one in ten thousand.
Meanwhile, as Lu Fei Fan practiced his techniques, on the other side of the forest, there was a temporary camp.
A roaring fire illuminated a patch of darkness in the woods, where several Mercenaries were snoring beside it. Two others stood guard outside the firelight; one was in his forties, carving a wooden sculpture with a dagger while occasionally glancing around to stay alert.
The other had just returned from fetching a bucket of seawater and hung it on a wooden rack over the fire. As the water boiled, it spilled over onto the burning wood, creating hissing sounds as steam rose into the air.
The snoring camp didn’t exude warmth, but at least it provided some sense of security amidst the dark forest.
The younger Mercenary tending to the fire appeared to be in his twenties. He hummed softly as he added more sticks to the flames, hoping to keep them strong enough to prevent his sleeping comrades from getting cold.
Yet no matter how fiercely he stoked the fire, it couldn’t pierce through the pervasive darkness surrounding them; danger was silently creeping closer.
The older Mercenary glanced at his carving in the flickering firelight. The wooden figure was lifelike—a girl’s likeness.
He pulled out a photograph from a hidden pocket in his clothing and looked at it. The picture showed a warm family scene with three smiling faces. Satisfied after taking a moment to reminisce, he resumed carving while keeping an eye on their surroundings.
The younger Mercenary tossed a bullet into the air as if testing its weight. An oppressive atmosphere seemed to swell around them in the night. Suddenly, the older Mercenary's knife slipped from his grip and skidded across the wooden sculpture he had been working on. A piece of the nearly finished carving broke off unexpectedly.
In the darkness of the night, a sudden rush—
Something lunged forward!
A loud thud—
Scalding hot blood splattered across the face of the older Mercenary, staining half of his astonished visage red. He stared at the young companion before him, mouth agape, equally despairing at the sharp weapon protruding from his chest, resembling a withered branch.
With a whoosh—
The branch slowly withdrew, taking with it the life of the young body. His face turned ashen and gray, and he finally collapsed to the side.
The shadow of something began to rise from the ground, and in the flickering firelight, it revealed a human face, as if it were merely embedded in a tree trunk, while other parts moved like spider legs—these were tree claws!
"Enemy attack!"
The older Mercenary shouted as he suddenly drew his Energy Pistol from beneath his feet!
Bang!
Before he could pull the trigger, a tree claw pierced through, effortlessly lifting him off the ground.
His hand holding the pistol dropped limply; in an instant, all vitality seemed to be drained from his body by this monstrous being that was neither human nor tree!
The other Mercenaries in the camp sprang into action, weapons of various kinds clutched in their hands, ready to attack these monsters. Yet they were met with branches piercing through from the surrounding darkness or sweeping them away, dragging them into the abyss.
Throughout this ordeal, apart from the Mercenaries' cries of agony, they had no chance to fire their weapons. Soon enough, there were no survivors left among them.
In the darkness, more creatures resembling twisted hybrids of human and tree emerged. Some melded seamlessly with the trees; others burrowed up from the soil. Each one resembled a Withered Tree Monster, with human heads fused onto tree trunks. After slaughtering all the Mercenaries, they paused in bewilderment as if waiting for someone’s arrival.
Then appeared a humanoid creature adorned with several horns atop its head. It bore an enchanting woman’s face, its vital parts covered in bark-like armor. Its hands were similar to those of a human's, but behind it writhed two tendrils that moved like living serpents, coiling around her body.
She glanced around the camp and kicked over the pot of water that was boiling over the fire, extinguishing the flames with the splashing liquid.
Before long, a tall and muscular man emerged, wrapped in a skirt made of leaves, his body covered in tribal tattoos, including his youthful face.
"How is it? Are you satisfied?" the woman, known as Tree Being, asked him.
"No survivors?" the man turned and inquired.
The strange woman seemed to anticipate his question. She immediately turned away, revealing a tree creature entwined around a mercenary lying on the ground. The mercenary was severely injured and unconscious.
The man took a quick glance and nodded. "While he’s still alive, give him some Decaying Worm. I need more Tree Puppets."
"As you wish." The woman grabbed the nearly lifeless mercenary from the ground, and vines suddenly snaked out to grasp a writhing worm, forcing it onto the man's body.
The worm quickly latched onto the mercenary in the darkness, voraciously sucking his life force. The wriggling limbs burrowed into flesh, beginning to swell like budding seedlings.
The body started to crack and grow tree trunks and Tree Vines...
The man struggled in vain until he transformed into a Tree Puppet like the others. Only then did the woman step forward with satisfaction, surveying the soulless body of the Tree Puppet and casting a pleased glance at her creations.
"Soon enough, we will have enough forces to drive those mercenaries out of this forest," the man said eagerly, his emotions running high.
The female Tree Person looked at the impulsive young man and shook her head.
"Hao, this won't change the fact that Yun Kui doesn't like you."
"That's none of your business!" Hao seemed quite stubborn. "As long as I can drive these invading outsiders away, Elder will agree to let me..."
"You believe that old fool's words?" The female Tree Person sounded somewhat mocking.
Suddenly, the man turned around, gripping her shoulders with both hands as he pleaded, "Yura, you have to help me!"
"Hmph!" The woman named Yura, a Tree Person, seemed somewhat displeased.
"If you don't help me either, then I really have no hope," Hao said, feeling a bit sad.
"You think the worst thing in life is losing the one you love, but the worst thing is losing yourself because of that person," Yura remarked with a hint of indifference.
"Yeah, I've long lost myself. I think of her every single night, but she won't even spare me a glance. She likes Gui Luo..." Hao said, cradling his head in pain.
"Hopeless!" the woman finally snapped in exasperation. With a wave of her hand, the Tree Puppets quickly faded into the darkness as she turned to walk into the shadows herself.
After a moment, a reminder came from the darkness.
"If you don't leave soon, someone will come."
Hao's expression darkened immediately as he muttered to himself, "Hmph, I will definitely surprise you all!"
With that, he too transformed into a wisp of black mist and vanished into the night.
Comment 0 Comment Count