24: Chapter 24 The New World

"Ding! Sub-System activated. Due to a System restriction, the main System will temporarily shut down in one week. During this shutdown, it will automatically absorb transformation points."

"Ding! The Tai Chu Mother Tree has been successfully planted."

"Ding! Mission 6 complete. Awarding 0 transformation points. Current balance: 0 transformation points. The Astral Gate has opened. Awarding a Mysterious Treasure Chest (conditions not met, cannot be opened)."

"Mission 7 issued."

Mission 7: Planet Mission — The Path of Salvation

Mission Brief: The successful planting of the Tai Chu Mother Tree marks the host's success in turning a planet into a base camp, capable of transforming a dead planet back into a vibrant world.

However, destruction still runs rampant, and the vitality of endless worlds remains threatened by it. Following the rules of the Mother Tree, please save the worlds currently in destruction.

Mission Objective: Save the new world.

Mission Reward: World Treasure Chest.

After a cursory glance at the System prompts, Zhao Feng suddenly felt intense pain throughout his body.

Looking down, he discovered that he was gradually fading, transforming from his limbs toward his center into green particles that dissipated into the surrounding space.

"Am I dying?"

Before he even had time to feel afraid, his consciousness flashed, and Zhao Feng suddenly understood everything he was experiencing.

It turned out that he had now become the Incarnation of the Tai Chu Mother Tree—the very sapling in front of him.

The sapling had only two branches; one held a translucent, nascent leaf, while the other was completely bare. It could be said that this Tai Chu Mother Tree looked truly stunted.

But don't let the frail appearance of the sapling fool you. In reality, the Reincarnation of the entire Taichu Star was tied to the Tai Chu Mother Tree.

The Souls of deceased creatures were absorbed by the Mother Tree and returned to newly born life through special means.

While its roots appeared to be anchored in the small island, in reality, wisps of energy were faintly entering from the Void Realm, constantly replenishing Taichu Star.

Although it appeared that Zhao Feng had become the Tai Chu Mother Tree, he could actually regard the Mother Tree as a Clone; with a mere thought, he could reshape his Physical Body.

Of course, the Mother Tree was also a part of him he could not part with.

Having become the Mother Tree, Zhao Feng naturally understood the meaning of the Astral Gate and the missions.

Every time the Tai Chu Mother Tree modified and saved a planet, a leaf would take form.

Every time three leaves took form, a World Fruit would grow. The World Fruit possessed the ability to raise a planet's potential, promoting the planet's advancement.

A planet's advancement could increase the Mother Tree's authority, allowing both Taichu Star and Zhao Feng to gain greater power.

Of course, the maturation of a World Fruit would attract the covetous gaze of the demons of destruction, but after gathering the power of four planets, Zhao Feng might not necessarily fear the demons.

The newly grown leaf phantom was the planet newly linked by the System, which the System named "Planet of the Dead."

The Planet of the Dead was originally a vibrant planet, but for some unknown reason, the planet's life forms gradually turned into walking corpses.

These walking corpses attacked any living being, and the creatures of the Planet of the Dead, who were just about to enter civilization, were retreating steadily and were on the verge of extinction.

Zhao Feng's mission was to enter the Planet of the Dead, collect transformation points, and eventually plant a planet tree, allowing the deceased spirits of the Planet of the Dead to find a new home and enabling the life on the Planet of the Dead to enter a cycle once more.

Currently, the Human Race on Taichu Star could protect itself. Believing that the development of the Human Race, with Zhuang and Zhi as its core, would advance rapidly with each passing day, Zhao Feng could leave with peace of mind.

Zhao Feng solidified his Physical Body, found Zhuang and Zhi, and explained everything. After instructing the recuperating Thunder Flying Flood Dragon to look after the Human Race, he arrived before the Tai Chu Mother Tree, flashed his figure, and entered the leaf phantom.

Planet of the Dead, Giant Bear Tribe.

As the leader of The Ten Great Tribes of the Western Continent, the Giant Bear Tribe was once incredibly powerful. Chief Yaza commanded thousands of tribes, and no one under heaven dared to disobey.

But ever since that night ten years ago when the sky turned blood-red, the world had changed.

The corpses that had once died came back to life, and they attacked all living beings.

Animals, plants... everything was corrupted into corpses.

The land lost its vitality; it was impossible to forage or hunt on the mountains, and impossible to fish in the waters.

Fortunately, a Wheat-Planting Tribe that had migrated from the East possessed magical planting methods. They transported and sold their produce to the major tribes via giant geese, allowing a few remaining large tribes to survive.

"Chief, it's bad! The corpse tide is heading toward us!"

In the spacious stone cave, several bonfires were burning fiercely. Several large male bear-men, about 1.8 meters tall, were gathered together, discussing something, when they were interrupted by the shout of a scout warrior who had suddenly burst in.

"Pass down the order: all tribesmen, get to the defensive walls, prepare for battle!" The largest bear-man stood up abruptly, waved his large hand, picked up a thick stone bar, and roared loudly.

"Hoo-hoo!" The bear-men in the cave shouted in unison and stood up, grabbing their weapons.

While the Giant Bear Tribe in the Western Continent was preparing for battle, Zhao Feng, in another distant land, had begun to crazily farm trees.

The place where he had descended was once a forest, but now, one could only see some strangely shaped, withered branches.

These withered branches even had a hint of being alive; the branches could actually dance.

Upon his arrival, Zhao Feng was nearly ambushed, but fortunately, his Steel Body was growing stronger day by day, and he was carrying the "Dao Scripture," the martial arts within which he could now all use to a preliminary level.

He backhanded the ambushing branch, shattering it, and then smashed the entire Corpse Tree to pieces, harvesting 1 transformation point and 1 point of wood debris.

Taichu Star seemed to be the newbie village in the System; on Taichu Star, one could retrieve biological materials through the System.

But the Planet of the Dead was different; every piece of material had to be actively collected.

Furthermore, according to the System's instructions, it seemed that biological synthesis had also changed; it was easier to synthesize if it was related to the materials.

Seeing that smashing Corpse Trees could yield transformation points and materials, Zhao Feng was overjoyed.

Before coming to the Planet of the Dead, he had made ample preparations.

Creating a new System required 100,000 transformation points, which he certainly couldn't collect in the short term. He could only use the transformation points he collected to modify a supply base while continuing to collect more, and he had to try to do it within a week—this damned restriction.

He didn't know if he could get transformation points quickly!

To meet his daily needs during the initial period, he had also prepared enough water and food; after all, his Physical Body was still human.

The Great Dragon Fist was realized by the Human Race of Taichu Star after watching a giant Elephant-Foot Dragon push over trees. Although this fist technique was powerful and heavy, it wasn't fast, which might make it a bit slow for combat, but it was incredibly effective against the slow-moving Corpse Trees.

The fist technique could directly knock out the wood debris hidden within the Corpse Trees, whereas using blade aura would require cutting for a long while. Therefore, Zhao Feng put away his blade aura and focused on punching.

Boom! Zhao Feng focused his intent on his fists and palms, a warm current moving from his Dantian to his fist. With a lunge and a twist of his waist, he struck another Corpse Tree with a punch. The Corpse Tree immediately shattered, and another transformation point and 1 point of wood debris were obtained.

"Sigh, this efficiency is truly slow."

Zhao Feng sighed, but there was nothing he could do. Although he had obtained a treasure chest last time, it was in a restricted state because the conditions were not met. Other than diligently farming trees, there was simply no way to take a shortcut.

Seeing that it was gradually getting dark, and the Planet of the Dead had no moon, Zhao Feng could barely see his surroundings. If a Corpse Beast were to ambush him, the situation would be very dire.

After farming trees for a day, these trees had provided 132 transformation points and 65 points of wood debris; he could barely modify something now.

Just as Zhao Feng was tinkering with modifications, a slender figure burst into this forest.

"Survive, I must survive!"

This figure was running unsteadily, as if she would collapse at the next step.

But with a strong desire to survive, she managed to support her tottering body, dodging ambushing Corpse Trees while running around aimlessly.

It was pitch black, and she had to dodge Corpse Trees while being chased by Corpse Beasts from behind.

The young girl's situation was extremely critical; it looked like she might collapse to the ground the next second, die in the jaws of a Corpse Beast, and turn into a walking corpse, muddled and confused, until she turned into fly ash.

At this critical moment, her eyes suddenly lit up. In the distance, a soft radiance suddenly shone. Although this light was not intense or dazzling, it seemed to possess a power that warmed the heart.

"What is that?" A new strength surged within the young girl's heart, supporting her as she picked up her faltering pace again and ran toward the light.

The closer she got to the light, the warmer it became. The light was like a lighthouse guiding one forward, making one's heart tranquil and allowing one to constantly resist negative emotions like inner exhaustion.

The closer the Corpse Trees were to the light, the more restless they became. These Corpse Trees bared their fangs and brandished their claws, their shadows flickering and indistinct, as if countless hungry ghosts were preparing to devour people.

The light before her was already enough to let her see everything clearly.

In the midst of the warm radiance that filled the sky, a tall figure seemed to be walking toward her.

His whole body was suffused with divine light; could he be a deity from the heavens?