We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 239 [The Seed of Corruption]

Along with the shrill cry of this deformed and ugly tumor, there was also Gelasi, who was preparing to bestow the Seed of Life upon Mumu.

As the "saint" chosen by the "Giant Tree God", Gelius has a special connection with the "Seed of Life".

At this moment, the fear and pain perceived by the Seed of Life were also transmitted to it.

Hearing Golis's scream, Nigel and the other tree people were taken aback, wondering what had happened.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Mumu fled backwards without hesitation.

Nigel, of course, was not going to let it escape, and roared.

"Catch it!"

Several tree-men immediately surrounded them from all directions.

They received the blessing of the Seed of Life, and their vitality was exceptionally strong.

Both its speed and strength far surpassed that of the withered and weakened wood, and it was about to be caught.

Despair welled up in Mumu's eyes.

But that's it.

A deep darkness suddenly spread across the sea.

Dark shadows spread and intertwined in this underwater forest, expanding infinitely like a woven net.

Amidst the interplay of shadows, countless tiny points of light emerge.

This makes the place look like the deep sea tens of thousands of meters below the surface, or a night sky filled with stars.

Beautiful, cold, and dangerous.

"What's this……"

Nigel stared blankly around, deeply shocked.

Amidst this seemingly breathtaking scene, it sensed a deadly threat.

It was as if he would lose his life at any moment if he made any rash move.

"Don't move! Don't move at all!"

Nigel warned his companions, "Stay where you are, don't move!"

Even Nigel, the strongest among the tree people, is like this, not to mention the other tree people.

Faced with this starry sea-like scene, they felt an unprecedented fear.

If I had to put it into words... it would be the fear of the stars, the universe, and their own insignificance.

"Ah! [Seed of Life]..."

Suddenly, a cry of surprise came from the darkness.

It was ELLASSAY's voice.

The tree people became even more panicked, but thanks to Nigel's warning, no one dared to act on their own.

Fortunately, the mysterious and profound darkness around us did not last too long.

In just a moment, the deep darkness began to recede like the tide.

Nigel looked around and, finding his companions all safe and sound, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Gloria stood there, unharmed, but her expression became extremely serious.

"That guy stole the Seed of Life!"

The Seed of Life that was previously located among its branches has disappeared.

Also disappearing was Mumu, who was surrounded.

"Damn it! This is bad!"

Nigel's expression was very unpleasant.

Its original plan was to directly transform Mumu into one of them, which is why it revealed those secrets without any scruples, so that its former friend could "die" knowing the truth.

But now, not only has Mumu escaped, but a Seed of Life has also been stolen from her?
If the elders above were to blame it, it would be finished!
"That darkness just now... was it a domain?"

In contrast, Gloria regained her composure more quickly, pondering, "A human! The one who attacked just now was a human!"

It knew very well that Mumu absolutely did not possess such unpredictable and bizarre methods.

Nigel, who was standing nearby, quickly came to his senses and exclaimed in shock, "It's that human who broke in earlier!"

The commotion that Xia En caused not long ago was quite significant.

It nearly alarmed half of the tree people in the [City of Giant Trees].

Connecting the two, the tree people could easily guess the attacker's identity.

"That guy actually stole the Seed of Life?"

"What does he want to do?"

Nigel and Gloria both found it somewhat difficult to understand.

In fact, no human traces have been seen in the City of Giant Trees for a long time.

—Except for humans who were forcibly pulled down from the sea by vines and thus sacrificed.

Unlike other underwater ruins, the explorers found in the City of Giant Trees are almost non-existent.

As the infamous reputation of the "City of Giant Trees" spread, even ships like the "Warm Snow" dared not approach this area easily, let alone other small vessels.

Furthermore.

When people go to the seabed to salvage artifacts, isn't it for the relics within those artifacts?

The City of Giant Trees is basically a primeval underwater forest, extremely poor and inhabited by tree-men who are eyeing humanity covetously.

Why would a salvage ship take such a huge risk to explore this place?
Wouldn't it be better to visit those safe and rich underwater ruins?
This is also why Mumu was unusually excited and curious when she met Xia En.

It was for this reason that Nigel and the other tree people felt extremely puzzled and confused.

Why would this human come to the City of Giant Trees?
And they want to interfere in the affairs of the tree-human beings?

As for the matter of taking away the Seed of Life, it seems even more incomprehensible.

The Seed of Life is a gift from the Giant Tree God, and not just anyone can use it.

Ordinary tree beings like Nigel do not have the ability to activate the Seed of Life; only "saints" with special status like Gelius can bestow it upon other tree beings.

Even if the opponent is a human, it's useless for them to obtain the Seed of Life!
"However, that person may not be a simple human being."

Recalling the shriek from the Seed of Life, Gelis felt both apprehensive and somewhat fearful.

This was the first time it had ever felt such intense fear from the Seed of Life.

Or rather, this was the first time it realized...

So, even the Seed of Life can be afraid?
Suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind, Ge Lisi spoke to everyone.

"In any case, the current situation is beyond our control."

“We’ll go report this to Grandpa Fana now and let the elders decide what to do.”

Ellis holds a pivotal position among the Tree People.

Once it spoke, the tree people naturally had no objections and turned to walk into the forest together.

……

the other side.

Xia En then led Mu Mu in another direction through the forest.

That pitch-black, deep darkness was naturally his domain, the Great Dark Heaven.

With Xia En's strength, killing these treants within the domain would be effortless.

But he had an instinctive premonition.

Killing other people would be fine, but killing that self-proclaimed "saint" Gelius would likely attract the attention of some being.

That is very likely the will of the Giant Tree God!

Shane has only just begun exploring the City of Giant Trees and has no intention of directly confronting the final boss.

on the other hand.

At least Ellis and Nigel were Mumu's friends.

Even though they seemed to have been transformed into different people under the influence of the Seed of Life, Mumu still held onto some old feelings and said to Xia En, "Don't kill them!"

Xia En then stopped.

While casting [Great Dark Heaven].

Shaun also noticed that the malice in the surrounding forest had become significantly stronger. It was as if hundreds of eyes were hiding in this dense underwater forest, spying on him with malevolent gazes.

Furthermore, an invisible force was spreading in the seawater, seemingly weakening his [Great Dark Heaven].

Although the reduction was not significant, it made Shane wary.

After all, if this weakening continues to accumulate, it would be tantamount to crippling half of his [Great Dark Heaven] abilities!
"Wait, could this be a clash between domains?"

Xia En suddenly woke up.

According to the tree people, this forest is the "divine kingdom" of the [Giant Tree God].

In other words, it is the domain of the [Giant Tree God].

As an outsider, one's own domain will undoubtedly be naturally suppressed by that domain.

This is the real reason why the [Great Dark Heaven] was weakened.

Upon realizing this, Shane was somewhat shocked.

As he looked around, all he could see was a lush, verdant forest that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Such a vast field was something he had never seen before in his life!
Moreover, despite its immense size, this domain still possesses considerable suppressive power and can still weaken his [Great Dark Heaven].

The combination of these two factors is quite terrifying.

One can only imagine just how powerful that being known as the "Giant Tree God" must be.

"As expected of someone who's given the title of 'god'..."

Xia En sighed inwardly, "But is He truly a legitimate deity?"

Shaen couldn't help but think of the form of the [Seed of Life] he had seen before.

Those filthy, ugly, deformed sarcomas have absolutely no connection to the word "vitality" and only evoke instinctive discomfort and disgust.

No matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem like a "gift" that a righteous god should bestow; it seems more like the creation of an evil god.

only……

Xia En looked down.

The previously deformed and ugly tumor has now returned to its original appearance as a bright green seed.

Judging from its appearance alone, it seems to be just a part of some kind of plant, and it doesn't feel like flesh and blood.

That faint aura of life seemed impossible to fake.

This seems quite strange.

If it weren't for Xia En's unwavering self-confidence, she might have even doubted whether she had been hallucinating.

However, even so, Shane still harbored a slight aversion to the seed.

It was as if his intuition was issuing a warning.

Therefore, Shane still believed that there was definitely something wrong with the seed.

The annotations on the panel also confirmed his conjecture.

【Seed of ▇▇】

[Quality: Epic]

[Type: Material]

[Description: A creation known as the "Seed of Life" by the Tree People, imbued with a mysterious power, making its true nature impossible to discern.]

[It is said that this can rejuvenate tree people and free them from their original shackles.]

So, what is the price?

For some reason, just like the previous [Fragments of the Alienated Tree Man], there are some blurry words in its annotations.

It was as if some special force was obscuring the content of these words.

Xia En immediately took it very seriously.

An existence that can even slightly affect the Eye of the Secret Sea must possess something unique.

However, based on the unobstructed content, Shane was able to deduce—

The ugly appearance of the Seed of Life that he had seen before was its true form!
"We need to bring it aboard and study it carefully."

Just as Xia En was thinking this, the wooden thing in his hand suddenly spoke.

"My benefactor, please put me down?"

Upon hearing this, Xia En gradually stopped and looked at the tree that had suffered a major blow.

"Are you OK?"

Even from Xia En's perspective as an outsider, Mu Mu's ordeal was excessively tragic.

She was bullied, betrayed twice, and harassed by a minotaur, and almost fell into evil in the end.

If it were a more weak-willed teenager, he probably would have given up entirely.

However, judging from Mu Mu's expression, although she was still somewhat disheartened, her emotions were relatively calm, which made Xia En breathe a sigh of relief.

"My benefactor, I'm alright."

Mumu said seriously, "Now I have to hurry up and find Grandpa Hunter to tell the other conservatives about this."

"Otherwise, the City of Giant Trees will be completely finished."

Xia En asked, "Do the conservatives still have the strength to fight back?"

Mumu smiled wryly, "If Uncle Fana hadn't betrayed us, we should have had a good chance of winning."

"But since it has defected, it means that the tree people among those who were executed will also turn to the reformists."

"Now... the hope is probably very slim."

There's one more thing Mumu didn't say to Xia En.

In reality, the conservative faction is not monolithic, and many members of the Shuren faction have always shown a tendency to waver.

At present, Elder Fana's betrayal will undoubtedly bring about a series of chain reactions, causing some wavering old tree people to change their stance.

Shaen then asked, "Speaking of which, why have you always been unwilling to join their side?"

"Is it because of Hunter?"

This matter actually piqued Xia En's curiosity.

Previously, regardless of whether Nigel and his group threatened or bribed Mumu, she had no intention of accepting the Seed of Life, not even a sliver of one.

Judging from Mumu's behavior, it seems more like a rebellious teenager.

Mumu frankly said, "Grandpa Hunter is certainly one aspect."

"Another reason is..."

“I have heard that, in fact, a thousand years ago, all of us tree people should have died in that great flood.”

"It was the goddess who made the sacrifice that allowed us to survive."

Even if life is miserable, at least you're alive, right?

Upon hearing this, Xia En was somewhat surprised.

"In short, that goddess has done a great favor for our clan."

Mumu smiled simply and said, "I just feel that I can't repay kindness with enmity, so I've never wanted to believe in that [Giant Tree God]."

"I see."

Xia En nodded: "Then do you know where the goddess's temple is in this city?"

"temple?"