Chapter 1208 - 873: Revived

Chapter 1208: Chapter 873: Revived

When Shen Tang came last time, she only observed the mother tree from a distance and didn’t conduct any actual investigation, thus failing to discover any anomalies.

However, this time, the moment Shen Tang infused her power into the mother tree, she was shocked— the mother tree was not merely gasping its last breath; it had long been completely exhausted!

Who was controlling the mother tree to issue commands?

She injected her power once more into the deepest part of the mother tree and suddenly felt an extremely dark and chaotic aura.

The thing seemed like it wanted to escape, but Shen Tang was quick to react, using her spiritual power to rapidly form chains and entangle and capture it.

Sharp, venomous screams resonated in her ears.

"You damned beast, let me go!"

Shen Tang dragged the thing out, revealing it to be an amorphous mass of black gas.

The High Priest of the Parasite Clan was stunned upon seeing the entity; she had lived for hundreds of years and did not know what this thing was.

The small butterfly at her hair retreated its antennae, hesitantly saying, "Master, this is the power of the Abyss!"

"Abyss?" Shen Tang paused, feeling that the term sounded familiar.

Then she remembered hearing it in the illusion realm of Sea Race Secret Realm, where the Calamity Mermaid You Huang had once pledged allegiance to the Abyss thousands of years ago.

"Tell me everything you know about the Abyss."

Mansa, being a puppet loyal to its master, obeyed, "It is said that the core power of the Divine Hall comes from the Abyss. I have never seen the Abyss personally, but once while following the Great Saint Seat, I saw an envoy from the Abyss... Although I only watched from afar without the privilege to meet, I sensed the dark and sinister power emanating from him, identical to the aura of the entity you captured."

This provided explanations for some of the mysteries that resided in Shen Tang’s heart.

She always thought the hidden hand behind the Abyss was a specific person, but perhaps it’s a power from the Abyss.

Shen Tang pondered, "Where does the Abyss come from? Why do this? Do they wish to rule the world?"

Mansa shook his head, "I know very little about the Abyss; it’s just that once the Great Saint Seat accidentally leaked information that the power of the Abyss is destructive, advocating the old order’s destruction for the renewal of rebirth."

"I still remember when the Great Saint Seat said this, his eyes were filled with fervor and belief, praising the Abyss as the realm of the gods. Perhaps... they wish to completely destroy the existing world order and create a new world desired by the Abyss?"

Shen Tang scoffed, "How presumptuous and self-righteous! Millions of people strive to live their lives, why should they be destroyed?"

Shen Tang crushed the black gas.

Unfortunately, this black gas was merely a wisp of projected consciousness, unable to provide any useful information.

Though the black gas controlled the mother tree, it also kept its last breath hanging. As the black gas vanished, the mother tree quickly decayed, its vitality disappearing entirely, turning into deadwood.

The High Priest completely understood the cause, feeling extreme regret, "It was our ignorance that harmed the mother tree... It was all our fault."

"The Divine Hall had controlled the mother tree from the beginning, yet we were still serving the enemy! We missed the chance to save the mother tree and even became a tool for the enemy, harming others..."

Shen Tang also felt deeply regretful; the energy of this forest came from the mother tree, and once the mother tree withered, the forest would be significantly impacted. The Parasite Clan might also fracture, possibly plunging into chaotic civil war, also likely affecting other clans.

Shen Tang turned to the High Priest and asked, "Is there any way to resurrect the mother tree?"

"Are you- you want to help us?" The High Priest was incredulous; they had tried to harm her repeatedly, yet she still wishes to help them resurrect the mother tree.

Shen Tang calmly said, "Not to help you specifically, but to aid the ordinary citizens of the Parasite Clan. They are merely following orders and shouldn’t be implicated."

Moved beyond words, the High Priest said, "Thank you, before it was all our fault, we will never harm you again! If you have any needs, we will do our utmost to help!"

She pledged, "If I fail in my commitment, let lightning strike and exterminate our clan."

Shen Tang waved her hand, "There’s no need for apologies. So, does your tone imply that there’s truly a way to rescue the mother tree?"

The High Priest shook her head, "The mother tree is already completely dead, unrecoverable. But a hundred years ago, it left a seed. If it has successfully sprouted over these years, it could now be a grown clan member... It’s life continued. As long as we can find that Young Master, our clan could be saved."

The High Priest looked at Shen Tang and hesitated briefly before deciding to reveal the secret, "Our clan’s Young Master might be the person you mentioned."

Shen Tang’s heart was shaken; she had thought Fu Teng had an extraordinary background, but could he have such a significant origin? Could he be the missing seed of the mother tree?

Considering it further, that guy indeed has a tenacious life force, surviving multiple attempts at destruction, and passionately desiring territorial expansion; it does resemble the instinct of a founder clan.

Seeing Shen Tang remain silent, the High Priest cautiously asked, "May I ask, noble female, have you... have you really met the clan member outside? How is he now?"

Shen Tang carefully replied, "Yes, I’ve met him. However, we haven’t seen each other in a long time, so I’m not sure about his current situation."

Shen Tang didn’t disclose Fu Teng’s specific situation, to avoid unnecessary trouble.

"Though, my friend... he seems to be male," Shen Tang hesitated in speaking. When she first encountered Fu Teng, he was a beautiful being ambiguous in gender, but upon closer inspection, male characteristics were noticeable, implying he was in male form. Later, he maintained his male form around her, leading Shen Tang to subconsciously treat Fu Teng as male. However, she had seen his female form, and he even transformed into her likeness to deceive the Beast Husband.

Theoretically, Fu Teng is genderless, yet linking him to the mother tree felt awkward to Shen Tang.

Most of the Parasite Clan are gender-neutral beauties, many higher elders exhibit obvious female characteristics, while only a very few show distinct male traits among the Beastmen.

The Great Elder noticed her confusion, and his demeanor softened as he explained with a smile, "Our clan is born without gender, and can maintain genderlessness in adulthood. Across generations of proliferation, although we rarely communicate with the outside world, some clan members fall in love with foreign beastmen, leading them to assume a different gendered appearance. Later, many clan members attempted to emulate the Beast Clan, adopting dual genders. Since we Parasite Clan esteem reproduction, clan members tend to favor female identities and appearances. Once accustomed, many maintain a fixed gender identity, rarely changing it."

In essence, the mother tree was also genderless. But as it was the progenitor of the clan’s proliferation, it was titled as the mother tree, though it could equally be called the divine tree.

Regardless of Fu Teng’s connection to the divine tree, Shen Tang knew she must go back and find him. Meanwhile, the High Priest also spread the truth among the Parasite Clan’s beastmen, and they all felt profound remorse. They initially planned to send a group of guards to escort Shen Tang, which she declined. The Clan Leader and High Priest realized, despite the reconciliation, their past deeds had likely forfeited the noble female’s trust, and did not insist further. Instead, they took a cup of Water of Life from the River of Life and offered it to Shen Tang.

"Noble female, I sensed the presence of renewal within you. This precious cup of Water of Life is our clan’s apology."

Shen Tang had the system check it, finding no issue. The Water of Life is incredibly beneficial for the body, especially for pregnant females. She accepted it without refusal.

"Thank the Parasite Clan for their kindness. I’ll remember this favor."

The Clan Leader repeatedly shook his hand, "No, no, it’s merely our apology. If noble female requires anything more, please feel free to ask."

After bidding farewell to the Parasite Clan, Shen Tang and Jia Lan proceeded to the Dead Fern Swamp of Beast World Continent, one of Beast World’s five forbidden zones, full of polluted lands and mutated plants, also the birthplace of Fu Teng’s memory.

Years ago, Shen Tang buried a seed here. But over the years, the plants dramatically changed, and she couldn’t recognize the spot from where she initially planted it. Fortunately, she had the system place a marker.

Yet, upon arrival, they found nothing. Shen Tang felt a wave of disappointment, believing Fu Teng ultimately hadn’t resurrected. But Jia Lan sharply observed that the underground water flow seemed off.

A vast amount of water was converging underground in this location, achievable only by plants with particularly strong roots, impossible for ordinary plants, likely indicating Fu Teng’s resurrection.

Judging by the movement of the water level, he had resurrected and was located somewhere within this swamp.