466: Chapter 448 The Reason for Both Laughter and Tears

The sprouting vitality vanished in an instant, sending shockwaves through the entire Elf Clan.

The clansmen could not tolerate precious new life slipping through their fingers. They spontaneously searched the clan lands and the entire territory of the Forest of Spirits, looking for any suspicious traces.

The eighteen elders and the Sky Knights each carried out their respective tasks, carefully inspecting the soil throughout the Forest of Spirits.

Not daring to be negligent, the process took quite a long time. Zhang Mu waited until evening and, seeing they hadn't returned, decided to check the situation at the life tree first.

He and Frederica made their way back to the clan lands together.

On the way through the barrier toward the life tree, Zhang Mu discovered that the clan lands were in a state of chaos.

Someone had leaked the news. A few elves had learned of Zhang Mu's instructions, and through word of mouth and exaggeration, the rumors had evolved through several versions by the time they reached the ears of the common clansmen.

It had iterated from "Zhang Mu needs to understand the current state of the soil throughout the Forest of Spirits" to "Mr. Zhang Mu wants to taste the dirt."

Setting aside why Zhang Mu would want to eat dirt, the fact that the elves believed such an absurd rumor without any doubt was truly impressive.

At this moment, adult elves were running all over the clan lands, digging up soil they deemed to have "different flavors," which was then collected by designated personnel to be delivered to Zhang Mu.

Zhang Mu stopped a clansman running past him to ask the reason and covered his face, unable to look directly at the situation.

This action also served another purpose—if Zhang Mu's face were seen by the nearly frantic elves, he would likely be surrounded in an instant.

He was busy and had no time to get entangled with them.

By the time he reached the life tree, covering his face like a thief, the Elf King had already finished communicating with it.

"What's the situation?"

The Elf King's expression was incredibly confused. He opened his mouth as if to speak but hesitated, ultimately saying nothing, as if something incomprehensible had occurred.

What exactly happened?

Zhang Mu, who hated people who spoke in riddles more than anything, scratched his head. "Just say it, will you?"

"Um..." The Elf King hesitated, seemingly searching for the right words.

After a long while, he finally spoke. "The consciousness of the life tree seems... seems like it's not in pain. It's just crying out that it's hungry."

During his chats with Frederica, Zhang Mu had mentioned the "consciousness of the life tree."

It possessed life, similar to human life, and thus had independent thought. It wasn't very strong, but it could think and convey simple emotions.

Before Zhang Mu had spread the fertilizer, the Elf King had communicated with it several times. The emotional fluctuations it fed back were only pain and discomfort, like a patient suffering from a serious illness, tormented by various pains and nearing the end of their life.

The life tree's physical state was clearly worse than before, yet the reaction the Elf King received wasn't "pain," but "hunger."

It was an incredibly intense and clear emotion, like a child whose request for candy was rejected by their parents, sitting on the ground wailing and throwing a tantrum to force them to give in.

Zhang Mu looked thoughtful as he gazed up at the leaves, more than half of which were withered and yellow. "Elf King, can you transmit information to it?"

"Simple things, yes."

"Tell it that if it restores the color of its leaves, I'll help it replenish its nutrition again."

"Hasn't the spreading of fertilizer been ongoing?" Frederica asked.

"I'll explain to you in a bit."

The Elf King did as told, pressing his hand against the trunk.

A moment later, the life tree seemed to regain its vitality. The leaves rapidly turned back to a lush green, radiating vibrant life.

The Elf King opened his eyes and took a few steps back, looking up at the foliage in surprise. "This... what's going on?"

"It... this tree is not simple." Zhang Mu narrowed his eyes at the life tree.

"The life tree is a gift from the gods; naturally, its behavior is more miraculous than an ordinary tree."

"I mean..." Zhang Mu approached the tree and gently stroked the bark with his palm, "It actually understands the concept of a threat."

The Elf King froze for a few seconds. When he came to, he wore a strange expression. "Are you saying the life tree knows our clan depends on its power to survive and is using that to coerce us into providing it with nutrients?"

Zhang Mu laughed and pointed at the lush green foliage. "The facts are right before your eyes."

After thinking it over, the Elf King felt that while this was important, it wasn't the most critical issue. He brought the conversation back on track. "Since the reason has been found, how should we respond?"

"Who said the reason has been found?" Zhang Mu put his hands behind his back. "Its strange behavior indicates that the nutrient supply from the fertilizer was interrupted. But the spreading work has continued non-stop for three days; theoretically, that should be impossible. Well... let's wait for the elders to return before we talk further."

The Elf King couldn't think of a better way either, so he stood there silently waiting.

Zhang Mu and Frederica, on the other hand, were relaxed. They walked to a patch of grass a short distance away and began chatting.

"Zhang Mu, why do you think the nutrient transport was cut off?"

"I have some ideas, but I need to verify them." Zhang Mu lowered his head in thought, muttering to himself, "This situation usually only happens if one buys fake fertilizer. But does Neo have the guts to give me fake fertilizer?"

"Oh, I can't rule out a mistake by his subordinates either."

"But the probability is very small."

"Mr. Gao" had shown great power in America several times. In the hearts of the American people, he was a god.

To deceive a god—and one who had descended multiple times—Zhang Mu couldn't believe anyone would be so arrogant.

Then there was only one other possibility: the nutrients were being plundered.

There's a saying on Earth—no large grass grows under a big tree.

Why doesn't large grass grow under a tree with lush foliage? Is it because it doesn't want to?

Of course not.

The reason is that the tree's massive root system plunders all the nutrients contained in the nearby soil, and the dense leaves block out most of the sunlight.

Plants also need to compete for living space, and it is incredibly cruel and bloody.

The spreading of fertilizer never stopped, yet the life tree was throwing a tantrum for nutrients. The answer seemed clear.

However, another question arose.

Zhang Mu pinched his chin, a cloud of doubt lingering in his eyes. He murmured, "Given how terrifying the life tree is, who would have the ability to steal its nutrients?"

"Hmm?" His voice was low, and Frederica, standing opposite him, didn't hear clearly. "What did you say?"

"I said... Furei, in the Forest of Spirits, besides the life tree, are there any other plants that are comparable to it?"

She shook her head firmly.

"Then that's bizarre..."

"Mr. Zhang Mu!"

Zhang Mu's train of thought was interrupted. He looked toward the woods where the shout came from.

The First Elder came running with soil in his hands in a strange posture—his legs were crisscrossing as he ran, but his upper body remained perfectly still, likely worried about spilling the dirt in his hands.

"Come, let me see what's going on." As he approached, Zhang Mu quickly waved him over.

The First Elder held out his hands, and Zhang Mu studied them intently.

Having suffered long-term exploitation by the life tree, the soil of the Forest of Spirits was already barren. This handful of dirt showed none of the characteristics of forest fertility; it was a desolate earthy yellow, whereas it should have been pitch black.

It wasn't abnormal; it was in this state when Zhang Mu had investigated alone before.

He pinched a clod of earth between his index finger and thumb, rubbing it into fine pieces.

"Eh?" Zhang Mu noticed the texture felt a bit off. He immediately spread out the small pile of dirt the First Elder was holding.

Looking at the few slightly moist bits of soil in the middle, he asked with realization, "Did it rain yesterday?"

"There was a heavy rain."

"How heavy?"

"Very heavy."

"Learn some more descriptive words when you have time." Zhang Mu's face was dark as he turned to ask Frederica, "Do you know how heavy it was?"

"Probably..." Frederica tilted her head and thought for a moment, "A curtain of rain."

"I see." Zhang Mu smiled.

"Uh, Mr. Zhang Mu, does the rain have anything to do with this?"

"It has everything to do with it."

After saying that, a doubt popped up in Zhang Mu's mind. "It rained so hard last night, so why didn't I see any traces when I went to the forest just now?"

"The water in the soil is easy to explain—it was sucked dry by the life tree. But where did the dew on the leaves go?"

"The environment of the Forest of Spirits is quite special. When rain falls, it disappears very quickly."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure."

The technology tree of the people of Saul Continent and those on Earth were vastly different. The former developed using 'magic,' a naturally active energy in the air, while the latter used 'science.'

One of the essences of science is exploration; anything that cannot be interpreted will pique an Earthling's desire to explore.

Magic was different. In the cognition of the people of Saul Continent, magic was just there, inexhaustible and eternal; one simply used it.

This caused them to rarely care about strange phenomena. When they encountered one, their minds would only have two reactions: it can be used in the field of magic, or it cannot.

If it couldn't be used, they would toss it aside and ignore it.

Zhang Mu was from Earth, and he was truly curious about why rainwater couldn't even last a day in the Forest of Spirits during spring.

However, now was clearly not a good time for research.

Zhang Mu waved his hand. "The root cause has been found. Come, let's go to the airport."

The joy of the Elf King and the First Elder leapt from every cell, merging into their blood and flowing through their veins to their entire bodies—the outward manifestation was a slight trembling.

Zhang Mu instinctively prepared to fly there, but the Elf King couldn't tolerate the snail-paced speed of mid-air flight. Magic instantly enveloped the three of them as he activated the special ability of Gods Blessing: Teleportation.

The vision of the three went dark, and when the light returned, they were already standing in the middle of the runway.

While the entire Elf Clan was searching for anomalies, the pilots were unwilling to just watch. They had violated regulations and left the airport without permission to participate.

With the clan facing extinction, it was indeed a bit much to ask them to stay on standby. Zhang Mu felt it was understandable and didn't mention punishment, simply asking the Elf King to teleport them back.

The pilots were briefly dazed, but upon seeing their instructor after clearing their heads, they instinctively and quickly finished lining up.

Seeing them guiltily lowering their heads to avoid his gaze, Zhang Mu clapped his hands. "Don't be nervous. Relax, or there might be an accident later."

"Now, hear my command!"

"Present!"

"Everyone, board your planes and continue the mission!"

"Yes, sir!"

After several days of flying, they were already familiar with every step. They boarded their planes efficiently and took off into the sky.

The Elf King waited in silence for a long while. Seeing that Zhang Mu had no other actions and was just standing by the runway with his hands behind his back, he suppressed his urgency and asked as calmly as possible, "What do we need to do?"

"Do nothing."

"Huh?" The First Elder hurried over. "But, wasn't the cause found?"

"Yes."

"Then why not go..."

"Go solve it?" Zhang Mu figured that if he didn't explain clearly, the two would probably be restless, so he said, "The problem lies with that rain."

"The rain?"

"Yes. A large amount of water will dilute or even completely neutralize the potency of the fertilizer."

"Is that so?"

Zhang Mu said no more and looked toward the horizon. "It's been a day. Combined with the life tree's absorption, it's enough for the moisture to evaporate completely."

"Just wait. All the mist will be cleared away with one more round of spreading."