Chapter 338 - 336: Another Path

Jiang Che sat beside Ren Fengxiang, talking to him for a while.

The world was so quiet; aside from the calm breathing beside him, there was nothing.

When the light outside dimmed, Jiang Che finally got up from the ground.

"Brother Xiang, I'll come to see you in a few days." Jiang Che waved his hand at the doorway.

When he returned to his dungeon, Tuantuan jumped in fright at the sight of his dark, lifeless eyes.

The Blood Slaughter Couple hurried over to check his condition.

Jiang Che's body showed no malfunction.

Jiang Che just patted Tuantuan on the head and took her for a ride on the carousel ride.

Behind the carousel ride, there sat a group of human children, all brought along by Jiang Che.

Strangely, although evil spirits wouldn't be afraid of such human devices, Tuantuan still screamed like the children behind her during the ride.

The Blood Slaughter Couple felt something was off with Jiang Che, but couldn't pinpoint what happened.

Jiang Che looked at them and shook his head, "I'm fine, just thinking about what to do next."

Hearing this, the Blood Slaughter Couple felt a little relieved.

It turned out he was just a little confused, trapped by the current situation.

He walked to the center of the dungeon, observing Black Crow's subordinate who was currently risking life and limb to clear the dungeon.

Black Crow hadn't come, but heeded the Dark Mother Plant's words to send his subordinates to Jiang Che's dungeon.

Jiang Che coldly watched the Gray Crow attempting to clear the dungeon.

Unlike before, when Gray Crows came here to die, Jiang Che didn't understand their intent.

Now understanding their aims, Jiang Che felt a fervor sweeping across his dungeon.

That fervor, along with the absorbed energy, remained inside the dungeon.

Presumably, when Black Crow came to attempt the dungeon, he would use this 'fervor' to devour him.

"Rest assured, I'll collect that 'fervor' for you, it won't be absorbed by the dungeon," said the Dark Mother Plant sharply, constantly reassuring Jiang Che.

Jiang Che remained silent, knowing that the spreading fervor was merely an illusion.

All orchestrated by the Dark Mother Plant.

In its words, the path it gave Black Crow wasn't wrong, just the methods it provided were.

Jiang Che stayed silent, unable to discern the truth in the words of the Dark Mother Plant or Black Crow.

He even struggled to identify which information from the Dark Mother Plant was genuine.

He thought, Black Crow must be the same.

Information mixed with truths and lies, leading Black Crow to verify and seize answers.

Thinking of this, Jiang Che looked at the center of his dungeon—the Dark Mother Plant.

Moments ago, in his fury, the Dark Mother Plant took the opportunity to root utterly within him.

His dark eyes showed no emotion.

Listening to its words, Jiang Che seriously nodded, having found a path of his own.

The next moment, the Dark Mother Plant sensed a surge of energy coursing through, about to erupt from Jiang Che's body!

Self-destruction!

It looked at Jiang Che in horror, realizing he intended to self-destruct!

Jiang Che looked at his body, now swelling, but paid it no mind.

Blood Slaughter never taught him self-destruction, but he later learned it.

"Are you crazy?" The Dark Mother Plant almost went mad; it had merged with Jiang Che for the most part, seeing Black Crow about to die, its plan was about to succeed, and Jiang Che wanted to self-destruct!?

Jiang Che possessed life-preserving items, and might resurrect after death.

But the path to vying for divinity didn't allow failure; those reborn from death would forever lose their chance to become a god.

If Jiang Che lost that qualification, it too would fail.

Jiang Che merely smiled, staring at the Dark Mother Plant, reaching toward the branch before him, tracing a gap with his finger. His fingertip blood continuously seeped into the plant.

Just as the blood dripped in, Jiang Che saw it expelled out.

Jiang Che smiled, realizing these Dark Mother Plants were masters of occupation.

It started by occupying the lords' dungeons, then instructed Black Crow to use fervor to capture his territory.

But it was always the Dark Forest invading others, while people, though reclaiming land through deforestation, only succeeded because the Dark Forest yielded.

Suddenly, he had a bold idea—what if he occupied the Dark Forest in return?

Blood from Jiang Che's fingers dripped into the gap on the branch, but the Dark Mother Plant expelled it.

The sap glistened on the split branch, exuding a refreshing aroma.

Jiang Che didn't stop, his body nearing the brink of self-destruction.

The first lesson from Blood Slaughter was to prevent self-destruction.

"Why merge with me! You'll lose yourself this way!" the Dark Mother Plant screamed, frantically expelling Jiang Che's blood.

Lose oneself?

Jiang Che smirked, speaking calmly, "I realized something."

The Dark Mother Plant realized too; should it not accept the merge, Jiang Che would surely choose self-destruction.

"Don't you care about your family? Your wife?" It desperately struggled, "If you die by self-destruction, what about them?"

Jiang Che chuckled softly, no longer speaking.

"Madman! Lunatic! Those humans weren't wrong about you!" It shouted hysterically.

After Jiang Che's furious outburst, it took advantage to invade him, incapable of leaving swiftly.

If Jiang Che died now, it would perish too.

Knowing this, Jiang Che made this choice.

He looked at the Dark Mother Plant, valuing his life, but believing the plant valued its own more.

He was sure it wouldn't choose mutual destruction, opting instead to relent.

"Madman! Madman!" The Dark Mother Plant felt the intense energy near eruption as Jiang Che's blood entered.

In that instant, the aura of self-destruction subsided, as if no madness ever occurred.

Jiang Che's blood continuously entered the Dark Mother Plant's branch, not halting even after stopping the self-destruction.

The Dark Mother Plant saw him halt self-destruction right before the critical point, played perfectly, then went insane.

"You tricked me! You tricked me!" The Dark Mother Plant felt Jiang Che's consciousness starting to wrest control.

Jiang Che remained calm, delving his mind into the Dark Forest.

"How can you say that? I just didn't want you to lose your life too," Jiang Che smiled carefreely.

The Dark Mother Plant fell silent, as Jiang Che aggressively vied for control.

Though Jiang Che appeared indifferent, he fiercely vied for consciousness control.

Until now, it realized it was deceived.

If Jiang Che truly sought death, could he halt just at self-destruction's peak?