138: Anchor point intrusion
Meanwhile, just as Jiang Liu had feared, Jiang Huairen had already used the demonic mistletoe to parasitize the wutong tree.
Although it was only a single branch, the continuous supply of vitality allowed his strength to recover rapidly. He was no longer as afraid of the Golden Feather Phoenix Bird's flames as before.
With a casual swing of a vine, he interrupted the Death Fire Line spat from the Golden Feather Phoenix Bird's mouth. Although he was ignited by it, he simply chose to sever the vine, and a new one immediately grew from the break.
Now, there were hundreds of such vines waving around Su Ze; he was simply no match for them.
“An ancestor of the Jiang Family helping a junior in a competition... that's against the rules, isn't it?” Su Ze said, a drop of cold sweat rolling down his forehead as he forced himself to stay calm.
The reason he could still talk to the opponent in this situation was that Jiang Huairen had not taken the initiative to attack him.
“Help? Do I look like I'm helping him to you?” Jiang Huairen couldn't help but laugh as he spoke.
Indeed, looking at his current state, the original Jiang Ren had likely been completely replaced.
This kind of help was something probably no one would be willing to accept.
Jiang Huairen didn't move his mouth because a brilliant red flower was blooming inside it, but a voice rang out from all directions around Su Ze through the vines: “Of course I'm not here to help him. I'm here for myself.”
“Now that Jiang Ren is dead, you are the champion of the competition. Why don't you let your familiar go and pluck that wutong fruit?”
But Su Ze didn't move, as he wasn't sure what the other party's purpose was in reminding him.
He only felt a sense of security when the Golden Feather Phoenix Bird was by his side; he even felt like jumping off the tree to escape this monster.
Just as he was feeling uneasy, a voice sounded from behind him: “Go ahead, I'm here.”
Su Ze turned around and saw Lin Xi, still lazy and smelling of alcohol, having appeared behind him at some unknown time.
As for the other principals, they were still struggling to make their way up, showing the clear gap in strength.
Lin Xi smiled and said, “What are you standing there for? I don't think there's anything wrong with what he said. Besides, since someone was friendly enough to ask you to go, it would be rude not to.”
With Lin Xi behind him protecting him in place of the Golden Feather Phoenix Bird, Su Ze was no longer worried about potential plots.
The Golden Feather Phoenix Bird soared into the sky, revealing its true form—a massive Phoenix Bird with a wingspan of hundreds of meters.
In any other place, its size would have been awe-inspiring, blotting out the sun, but under the dome woven from the leaves of this wutong tree, it appeared to be the size of a normal bird.
The flames formed by the phoenix imprint appeared again, but it didn't care at all. Draped in fire like a phoenix rising from the ashes, it plucked the fruit in one bite and held it in its beak.
It then soared upward, passing through the dome of leaves.
This space held up by the giant wutong tree had no sun; it relied entirely on artificial light sources fixed to the leaf dome for illumination.
Thus, beyond the dome was pitch black, but now the Golden Feather Phoenix Bird was ablaze with golden-yellow flames.
The phoenix imprint contained within the wutong fruit helped her enter a second Nirvana. Amidst the flames, she was transforming toward a higher level of life—a Divine Beast!
During this time, Su Ze had been keeping an eye on Jiang Huairen, who had completely turned into a vegetable person—or rather, a plant monster—but he truly showed no interest in that wutong fruit.
He seemed completely indifferent to the object they had fought so hard for.
“Stop staring. He really was dying for you to help him take that wutong fruit away. He has completely assimilated with some kind of parasitic plant-type monster beast, so the phoenix imprint in the wutong fruit is like poison to him.”
“And a wutong tree without a phoenix imprint is exactly what he can parasitize without worry. He must have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.”
The flower at Jiang Huairen's mouth seemed to bloom even more brilliantly, perhaps representing a smile.
“So, do you plan to stop me? The former... Nightmare? It just so happens I'm also curious whether one can still dream after becoming a plant.”
Lin Xi shook his head. “I think it's too late now, isn't it? You deliberately left such a body here to mislead us, but in truth, for the current you, a so-called body probably ceased to exist long ago.”
Sure enough, following Lin Xi's words, that mangled body that could barely maintain a human shape burst open, and then Jiang Huairen's voice came from deep within the tree.
“That's right. From the moment I successfully parasitized it, everything was already set in stone.”
“If you let that student of yours come, there would indeed have been a chance to stop me, but you have to deal with another group of people first!”
Then, the wutong tree began to shake violently as if it had struck something. Along with the shaking, the shadows cast on the ground became deeper, and then several figures began to crawl out from within them.
“Those people are... Fusang Dark Guards?! How did they sneak in?” Su Ze said in surprise as he looked at the figures.
Lin Xi poured the last gulp of wine into his mouth and then said, “These guys are like flies. I knew they would definitely come to make trouble, I just didn't know how they would enter the Wutong Space. I didn't expect it would be by relying on this Old fellow from the Jiang Family.”
“Teacher, this Wutong World has no natural light source. If all the lights are turned off, would they be unable to come in?” Su Ze had a sudden idea.
But Lin Xi shook his head and said, “It's useless. They didn't invade through the Shadow Realm, but through an anchor point.”
“anchor point?” Su Ze looked carefully at the wutong tree and asked in confusion, “You mean this wutong tree is the anchor point? But it doesn't look like half of it is in this world and the other half is in another world.”
Lin Xi smiled and said, “Are you sure you've seen its full form?”
Su Ze finally realized something and looked at the ground. “Could it be...”
Lin Xi then explained, “Exactly. This wutong tree is actually rooted in the Monster Beast World and grows in our world.”
“It is precisely because of these unique conditions that it can use its branches and leaves to hold open a space between the two worlds.”
“And now, Jiang Huairen, who has parasitized the wutong tree, has moved the tree close to an anchor point controlled by Fusang, which is how they were able to invade this space.”
By now, the invading Fusang Dark Guards already numbered in the tens of thousands.
Seeing this, Su Ze clicked his tongue. “So many people, have they brought their entire foundation over? What on earth are they after?”
Lin Xi's gaze was fixed on three figures whose forms were shrouded in black robes, and the three implements they held in their hands. He said solemnly, “Clearly... yes. And their goal... is you...”
Hearing this, Su Ze interrupted him uneasily, “Me? No way, right?”
He had only wiped out a squadron of Fusang Dark Guards; there was no need for such a massive mobilization, was there?
Lin Xi continued, “I haven't finished yet. It's your familiar.”
“The Fusang Dark Guards have been collecting Divine Beast blood for some purpose. Now that your Golden Feather Phoenix Bird is evolving into a Divine Beast, it is clearly their target.”
Su Ze looked at Lin Xi expectantly and said, “Teacher, since you know so much, you must have made preparations, right?”
“Of course.”
Just as he finished speaking, Xiao Sheng was seen leading a group of the most elite Great Xia Spirit Guards, also emerging from the shadows.
“Did they think they were the only ones who could hide people in the Shadow Realm?”
Su Ze breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this; seeing Xiao Sheng somehow made him feel at ease.
However, Lin Xi's expression remained tense.