https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-195-I-Traveled-into-the-Body-of-a-Tree-/12530560/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-197-The-King-of-the-Black-Mist-Mountains/12530562/
Chapter 196: Fifty Years Later "Over there."
Chapter 196: Fifty Years Later (Seeking Subscription) "Over there."
Lin Yuan's heart stirred as he focused his consciousness.
Ever since his consciousness descended upon this world, he had encountered nothing but beasts and monsters.
As for other beings, he had little interaction with them.
This was mainly due to Lin Yuan's location in the Yunwu Mountains, a natural habitat and playground for these creatures.
"Someone's coming?"
Lin Yuan extended his senses and noticed a young couple approaching from several li away.
"Senior brother, are we taking too big of a risk by choosing the Yunwu Mountains for our training?" The young woman spoke cautiously, her eyes vigilant.
"You have to take risks if you want to gain something. Junior sister, our sect is offering many of its foundation and traditions to help fend off the invasion of the foreign evil gods," the young man replied. "If we can complete our training, we will be greatly rewarded and gain incredible opportunities."
"The beasts here in the Yunwu Mountains are dangerous, but they are much easier to deal with than the puppets of the foreign evil gods. If we fear even these beasts, how will we ever face the evil gods themselves?" he continued.
"Senior brother, you speak the truth," the young woman said, her eyes glistening with admiration as she looked at him.
Several li away, Lin Yuan cautiously observed the young couple.
Due to the language barrier, he couldn't understand what they were saying.
However, from their expressions, body language, and clothing, he deduced that they were disciples from some external force.
"Equivalent to the second stage, they're probably disciples," Lin Yuan speculated. The flow of time in this world was six hundred times faster than in the main world, so he couldn't afford to underestimate them. The strongest among them might even have reached the peak of the seventh stage.
Ever since discovering the young couple, Lin Yuan had spent most of his time observing them.
He had no intention of making a move until he fully understood their capabilities. Without thorough knowledge of their background, he wouldn't take the risk of exposing himself.
Who knew if these young disciples had a powerful elder backing them? If he killed them and drew the attention of that elder, it could spell trouble.
Lin Yuan's main purpose in observing the couple was to learn their language.
With his extraordinary comprehension, he could grasp most things by observing or hearing them just once. Learning a new language was no challenge at all.
All he needed to do was remember their pronunciation and the expressions they made while speaking, and he could piece together the meaning.
"Tianqing World? Tianqing Alliance?"
After half a month, Lin Yuan had overheard a lot of useful information from the couple.
First, he learned that this world was called the Tianqing World, and the most powerful force in it was the Tianqing Alliance.
The Tianqing Alliance was a formidable entity formed by countless factions within the Tianqing World to counter the invasion of the foreign evil gods.
"As I thought, the foreign evil gods have already made their move," Lin Yuan mused. Perhaps many years ago, they had attempted to invade this world but had been unsuccessful. That must have been why the ancestral demon tree scattered its seeds here, seeking another way to invade.
"The leader of the Tianqing Alliance must be incredibly powerful, likely having reached the seventh stage and beyond," Lin Yuan thought. On multiple occasions, he had heard admiration for the leader in the young man's words.
In the face of the foreign evil gods' invasion over the years, it was probably the leader's efforts that had kept the situation from becoming even worse. Otherwise, how could these disciples have the leisure to come to the Yunwu Mountains for training?
"They're leaving," Lin Yuan observed as he 'looked' toward the couple.
After hunting several second-stage beasts, they had completed their training mission and were preparing to return to their sect to claim their rewards.
Lin Yuan saw no reason to stop them, as there was no need. They hadn't discovered him, and taking action might only expose his presence.
"Carry on," Lin Yuan muttered to himself. He waited until the couple had completely left before resuming his own beast-hunting activities.
With his height now reaching seven to eight meters, ordinary first and second-stage beasts couldn't escape once they came within a hundred meters of him. They all became his nourishment.
A few days later, Lin Yuan decided it was time to leave.
"I should move on. I've hunted most of the beasts in this area, and if I want to maintain my current cultivation speed, I'll need to find a new hunting ground."
Lin Yuan gazed into the depths of the Yunwu Mountains, planning to shift his position.
The deeper one ventured into the mountains, the denser the spiritual energy became, and the beasts grew stronger as well. This would naturally provide greater benefits for Lin Yuan.
"However, before I leave, I should deal with that group underground," he thought, his eyes narrowing.
The Yunwu Mountains were one of the ten great mountain ranges in the Tianqing World, vast and expansive, home to countless beasts and monsters.
While many of these creatures roamed the surface, there were also those that dwelled underground.
The 'group' Lin Yuan referred to was a clan of Earthrock Mice.
These mouse-like beasts preferred to live underground, and with their abilities, they had created countless tunnels. At a depth of a hundred meters, they had even constructed a mouse palace, akin to a mouse dynasty.
The reason Lin Yuan had discovered their traces was that while extending his roots underground to explore, he had inadvertently stumbled upon one of their tunnels and thus became aware of their presence.
"There are probably around three hundred Earthrock Mice, and their king possesses second-stage strength," Lin Yuan estimated. The size of these mice was comparable to that of the purple-eyed rabbits, reaching half a meter in length, while their king was a massive two meters in height, resembling a wild bull.
The reason Lin Yuan had waited until now to make his move was that he hadn't been confident in his abilities before. He had been afraid that taking action would alert the entire clan, causing most of them to escape.
With over three hundred mice, the amount of blood, flesh, and souls they could provide was substantial, even without considering the mouse king. It would be more than enough to significantly boost Lin Yuan's strength.
Moreover...
"The reason that mouse king established its lair here must be because of an Earth-attribute spirit herb?" Lin Yuan wondered.
He carefully sensed the area and detected an extremely pure earth-attribute spiritual energy permeating the mouse palace, a hundred meters underground.
Lin Yuan guessed that the mouse king's ability to grow to such a size was somehow related to that spirit herb.
"It's mine."
"They're all mine."
Lin Yuan's eyes gleamed with intensity as he directed his branches and roots toward the mouse dynasty.
Several dozen meters underground, a complex network of tunnels crisscrossed in all directions. The grayish half-meter-long Earthrock Mice scurried back and forth, transporting the food they had found to their king.
Suddenly, one of the mice paused.
It sniffed the air cautiously, as if sensing something amiss.
Before it could react further, a black branch, as hard as refined iron, pierced through its body.
"Squeak!"
The mouse emitted a pitiful squeal as its blood, flesh, and soul were devoured by the branch.
And so it continued...
The End of the Earthrock Mice
Black branches pierced through one Earthrock Mouse after another, devouring their essence, blood, and souls, transforming them into his own foundation and power, thus forming a positive cycle.
"Ah!"
Above ground, Lin Yuan felt an extraordinary sense of fulfillment as the essence, blood, and souls of countless Earthrock Mice were converted into a torrent of power, nourishing him.
If it were just an ordinary Demon Tree seed, it wouldn't have been able to devour so many Earthrock Mice at once without being ruptured.
But Lin Yuan was different. As a seventh-stage evolver, his control over his realm allowed him to swiftly absorb all the power.
"These foreign evil gods are quite something." Lin Yuan mused as he continued to devour the Earthrock Mice.
The devouring ability he was exhibiting came from the innate abilities of the Demon Tree seed, inherited from the ancestral Demon Tree itself.
This ability was almost without any drawbacks. Even in the main world, evolvers with devouring capabilities would suffer some consequences, as consuming flesh and souls could affect the purity of their own souls.
But the Demon Tree's devouring ability was overwhelmingly dominant, treating both flesh and souls as nourishment without any negative effects.
"It's a pity that after reaching the seventh and eighth stages, it's more about one's comprehension of the rules, and the accumulation of energy isn't as important." Lin Yuan shook his head.
The 'Red Spirit Fluid' of the Chi Kun bloodline was a prime example of this. While the Demon Tree's abilities were incredibly effective at the sixth stage and below, they became less potent at the seventh stage.
"Hmm?"
"I'm almost at that mouse king's palace."
Lin Yuan's expression turned slightly solemn.
A hundred meters underground, a small palace stood.
This palace was entirely made of soil, and while it lacked intricate details, it was still an impressive structure for a rodent species.
However— Swish! A black branch, like a black dragon, swept through and crushed a tenth of the palace.
"Chitter-chitter-chitter—"
A two-meter-tall Earthrock Mouse King scurried out, its eyes flashing with anger as it looked at the ruined palace.
As a second-stage demon beast, the Earthrock Mouse King had attained a certain level of intelligence, which was why it had built itself a palace to reside in.
Now, seeing its palace in ruins, it couldn't help but feel agitated.
Just as the Earthrock Mouse King was observing the black branch, resembling a black dragon, and pondering how to attack— Boom-boom-boom! More black branches swept in.
Frightened, the Earthrock Mouse King retreated hastily.
"Chitter-chitter!"
The Earthrock Mouse King let out a series of shrill calls.
It was signaling the other Earthrock Mice to come to its aid.
However, no matter how much the king called, only a handful of mice arrived.
And before they could even get close, they were pierced by the black branches and swiftly turned to dust.
"Run!"
Even though the Earthrock Mouse King had second-stage strength, the sight before it struck fear into its heart, and it wanted nothing more than to escape.
Deep within the palace, there was a tunnel that the king had dug by itself.
This tunnel led to another location, and if the king could escape through it, it might just survive.
Crack! Before the Earthrock Mouse King could get very far, the pursuing black branches surrounded it.
Instinctively, the king activated its life-saving ability.
A yellowish light emanated from its body.
But against the relentless attacks of hundreds of black branches, the yellowish light shielding the king soon shattered. The two-meter-tall Earthrock Mouse King eventually met the same fate as the others, becoming nourishment for Lin Yuan's growth.
"Hmm."
"That felt wonderful."
Lin Yuan exhaled slowly, his branches swaying gently.
The second-stage Earthrock Mouse King was undoubtedly the most delicious creature Lin Yuan had devoured since his arrival.
The abundant essence and the fearful soul of the king left Lin Yuan feeling extremely satisfied.
"That should be enough."
"Let's see what that earth-attribute spirit herb is."
Lin Yuan manipulated his black branches to clear the underground battlefield and then delved deeper into the palace, to the place where the Earthrock Mouse King had resided.
There, he found a spirit herb the size of a palm growing.
Under its leaves hung several small fruits, each about the size of a thumb, emitting faint vibrations of earth-attribute spirit power.
"So, this is the earth-attribute spirit herb that catalyzed the birth of a second-stage mouse king?"
Lin Yuan examined the herb closely but couldn't identify it.
However, it didn't matter, as he would just devour it either way.
Lin Yuan was curious about what made such a small spirit herb so extraordinary.
"Eat it."
Without hesitation, Lin Yuan sent his black branches sweeping in, devouring all the spirit power and essence of the herb.
"Done."
"It's all over."
"I can leave now."
After devouring the Earthrock Mice and the spirit herb, Lin Yuan was content and began to manipulate his roots to slowly move deeper into the Yunwu Mountains.
Although the Demon Tree wasn't restricted to a specific location and could move on its own, its speed wasn't very fast.
To avoid attracting the attention of other demon beasts, Lin Yuan chose to move only when there weren't any demon beasts passing by.
Half a month later, Lin Yuan successfully ventured deeper into the Yunwu Mountains.
Here, in the outer layers of the mountain range's depths, the abundant spirit power also meant an increased number of demon beasts.
Swish-swish! Lin Yuan's branches swayed, having devoured hundreds of Earthrock Mice, including the mouse king and the earth-attribute spirit herb.
His height now exceeded ten meters.
The pitch-black trunk and branches, exuding an eerie aura, marked him as a part of the 'evil' camp, an innate trait of the Demon Tree's offspring.
"This won't do."
"I need to disguise my aura a bit."
Lin Yuan thought, "If I keep emitting this evil aura, I might as well give up on hunting. Which demon beast would dare come close?"
"Creating a secret art to conceal and disguise my aura shouldn't be too difficult."
Once again, Lin Yuan began to comprehend, drawing from the unique characteristics of the Demon Tree to create a concealment art unique to this type of life form.
【Your comprehension defies the heavens. Feel the flow of your own aura and try to create a concealment art.】 【Your comprehension defies the heavens. Feel the flow of your own aura and try to create a concealment art.】 【Your comprehension defies the heavens, feel the flow of your own aura, and attempt to create a concealment art.】 After a few days, Lin Yuan successfully comprehended a concealment art.
With this art in motion, his evil aura began to diminish, replaced by an inoffensive aura.
In this state, some passing birds even instinctively perched on Lin Yuan's branches to rest.
"Not bad, not bad at all."
Lin Yuan had no interest in these scrawny birds, as they barely had any essence, and he couldn't be bothered to devour them.
"What about that wolf demon?"
Lin Yuan extended his senses and detected a wolf pack's lair several li away.
The leader of the pack, a seven-to-eight-meter-tall behemoth, resembled a small hill.
And so, time passed swiftly.
In the blink of an eye, fifty years had gone by since Lin Yuan's arrival in this world.
Two chapters completed.
Seeking monthly votes~~~ Heart~~~ (End of Chapter)
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