“Don’t be ridiculous! Do you take me for a fool?”
Usumu tightened her grip on the sandglass as if she had just heard the world's biggest joke, her face twisted with mockery.
“How could I possibly hand my weapon over to an enemy and then gamble on some vague, empty promise?”
“Do you really expect me to believe you’ll keep your word and stop hurting me?”
Yue Shi shrugged, as if he had long expected to be rejected. He changed the subject and asked, “That sandglass—did you bring it out from the Mysterious Garden?”
At the mention of the “Mysterious Garden,” Usumu’s expression shifted instantly.
The countless branches and leaves on that sky-piercing giant vine rustled and swayed without a breeze, as if trembling with shock and fury.
“My apologies; it seems I’ve stirred up some unpleasant memories. I know you escaped from the Mysterious Garden,” Yue Shi said airily.
A flash of murderous intent crossed Usumu’s eyes, followed by a moment of realization. “I almost forgot—you killed the little bees and mushrooms. Did they tell you?”
“Why run away?” Yue Shi asked again.
As he spoke, his body shifted to the side, narrowly avoiding a vine that suddenly burst from the ground. The vine was covered in purple-red thorns that looked poisonous.
“Was the Tree of Truth not good to you?”
Usumu manipulated even more vines to coil toward Yue Shi, her expression complex and enigmatic. Finally, she only said, “The great tree that sheltered me from the wind and rain was also the same tree that hindered my growth.”
Yue Shi understood instantly. His talons lashed out, infecting the tips of the incoming vines with decay and causing them to wither rapidly.
“So you wanted to strike out on your own.”
“But looking at you now, you still seem very much afraid of the Tree of Truth.”
Usumu pursed her lips and fell silent, but her attacks became even more ferocious.
She was indeed afraid of the Divine Tree; that awe was engraved into the depths of her soul.
The battle officially commenced.
Usumu displayed a diverse array of abilities.
A rain of highly corrosive droplets fell from the giant vine.
A colorful, hallucinogenic mist drifted through the air.
The ground cracked open, and countless pale arms reached out, clawing at Yue Shi’s ankles.
Sharp mental shocks swept through everything in the vicinity indiscriminately...
To all of this, Yue Shi’s evaluation was: “Flashy, but utterly useless.”
They couldn’t even breach his defenses, and he even had enough spare energy to protect Huang Fengjing.
Yue Shi moved with agility, his gaze sweeping over the dense clusters of people hanging from the giant vine, a suspicion forming in his mind.
“The people who died in the supernatural domain became your nourishment. Are you using the abilities these transcendents had when they were alive?”
“The ‘Demon Seeds’ are nothing more than a total scam you cooked up.”
“You attract the greedy, only to devour everything they have in the end.”
“A decent scheme, but unfortunately, ‘Demon Seeds’ are such low-end goods that the people they attract certainly aren’t powerful.”
“They’re all bottom-tier gold miners. Even if you combine all their abilities, they can hardly play an effective role in a high-end battle.”
“Hahaha! What do you know? This is the path of using quantity to achieve a qualitative change!” Usumu let out a burst of laughter that echoed through the surroundings.
“There is no scam. I never forced anyone to enter the supernatural domain.”
“They all stepped into this place of their own free will to search for Demon Seeds.”
“I rarely even take the initiative to kill. It is they who are suspicious, they who fight, and they who kill each other!”
“It is human greed and the exploitation of their own kind that kills them!”
This was a blatant open scheme.
Most people knew that Demon Seeds were not good things.
The gentleness displayed by the Orphan's Grudge domain was also certainly an illusion.
But so what?
Usumu’s voice was mocking as she stated an interesting phenomenon: “The humans at the top enjoy ninety-nine percent of the world's resources, while the humans at the bottom can’t even get a scrap of the leftovers!”
“Those who struggle to survive day to day know that the ‘Demon Seeds’ are poisonous bait, sugar-coated arsenic.”
“But they have no future and no hope! Even if it is arsenic wrapped in honey, at least there really is a layer of sugar on the surface.”
“To be able to eat that layer of sugar is a massive temptation for many!”
“Humans are truly fascinating. It was only after leaving the little garden that I truly understood why the Divine Tree frequently invades reality.”
“The human world is full of nourishment for its growth!”
Yue Shi remained indifferent to a non-human creature’s commentary on humanity.
He wove through the dense attacks, asking in his spare time, “The Tree of Truth should be extremely powerful. You betrayed Him so casually; aren’t you afraid He’ll come looking for trouble later?”
Usumu fell silent again, her attacks becoming even more frantic.
Of course she was afraid!
Betraying the Divine Tree would most likely not end well.
The sandglass in her hand was originally the trump card she intended to use against the Divine Tree.
She had thought that the great power of manipulating time would be enough to allow her to deal with the Divine Tree, gain a chance at survival, or even kill it in return.
But now it seemed that even Yue Shi could violently break through a time loop. Compared to the Divine Tree, what was the power of the sandglass worth?
A sense of anxiety began to spread in her heart.
This trump card was effectively useless now.
Fortunately, she still had many other backup plans.
As the fighting grew more intense, Usumu gradually sensed that something was wrong.
Her attacks remained fierce, with endless methods striking at Yue Shi, yet she couldn’t even touch the corner of his clothes.
In contrast, her own thoughts were beginning to grow muddled.
An inexplicable dizziness and madness surged into her heart, causing her once precisely controlled abilities to occasionally stutter and stall.
Why?
Was the backlash from using the sandglass worsening?
Or was it something else?
Usumu’s gaze flickered toward the edge of the battlefield.
The Ghost seemed unaffected, merely floating there quietly.
However, the middle-aged man who had lacked any presence until now was in a very bizarre state.
His eyes were dazed, his face flushed unnaturally, and he was greedily inhaling the decaying sweet scent in the air.
He was even looking at the giant vine with a lewd expression!
Yue Shi also noticed Huang Fengjing’s state and Usumu’s growing abnormality.
Even she hadn’t fully realized it yet, but she was very much not herself!
The corners of Yue Shi’s mouth curled into a slight arc.
Huang Fengjing, this chess piece, was finally starting to play his part.
【Let's Hurt Each Other】—this incredibly troublesome ability was the most terrifying weapon when used in the right place.
It forcibly made the person inflicting damage and the person receiving it maintain the exact same state of injury.
This time, Huang Fengjing was suffering from some kind of mental influence.
Perhaps it was the contamination Usumu had placed in the environment, which was now being reflected back at her with equal intensity!
The more Usumu fought, the more alarmed and frustrated she became.
She didn't understand why she was becoming so irritable or why her abilities were no longer flowing smoothly, causing her main giant vine body to suffer several heavy blows.
That weak middle-aged man was staring directly at her true form with a disgusting gaze.
Usumu was both furious and uncomfortable. In this state, her openings became more and more frequent.
Now!
Yue Shi’s eyes turned fierce as he seized a tiny opening Usumu left in her irritation!
He stopped dodging and tanked countless attacks as his body vanished from its spot.
In the next instant, he appeared directly in front of Usumu.
Without giving the vermillion flower a chance to retract, his talons thrust out. His target wasn't the sandglass, but the connection between the flower Usumu sat in and the main giant vine!
Terrified, Usumu scrambled to mobilize all her defenses. The petals snapped shut, and countless vines surged out.
However, Yue Shi’s strike was merely a feint!
The moment Usumu’s attention was diverted...
Crack!
A fine black rift precisely severed the wrist Usumu used to hold the sandglass.
“Agh!”
Usumu let out a cry of pain.
The sandglass began to fall.
Yue Shi reached out and caught it, gripping it firmly in his hand!
An indescribable icy sensation surged through him instantly.
Having lost the sandglass, Usumu let out a shrill, piercing shriek.
The main giant vine shook violently as if enduring agony.
She still tried to struggle, but Yue Shi gave her no chance.
A single swipe severed the connection between the flower and the giant vine!
Boom!
The deformed vermillion flower, along with the beautiful elf within it, detached from the giant vine and fell to the ground.
Yue Shi stood at the base of the giant vine, not even looking at the flower.
His left hand gripped the sandglass tightly, while his right hand plunged directly into the root of the giant vine. As decay spread, a powerful suction force emanated from his palm.
Like a whale gulping down water, he frantically drained the giant vine’s source.
Sensing the threat of death, the sky-piercing giant vine began to shudder violently.
The “human fruits” hanging all over the vines opened their mouths in unison.
Their bodies shriveled rapidly, compressing and condensing their remaining energy.
In the next second, seeds shimmering with an ominous light were spat from their mouths!
These seeds varied in size and shape, shooting off in all directions to escape.
The deformed vermillion giant flower on the ground did not wither immediately.
At the center of the flower, the elf-form Usumu was still alive. She leaned against the stamens, her face pale and translucent, her aura flagging.
Her green eyes were filled with malice and resentment as she glared at Yue Shi.
Yue Shi continued to absorb the giant vine’s source, glancing at her in his spare time.
“The Life Vine isn’t truly dead; it still has backup plans.”
It was a statement of fact.
The battle just now had felt a bit competitive at first, but then it became one-sided, won too easily and smoothly. The life forms of plants were different from animals. Since the Life Vine dared to escape the Mysterious Garden and spread Demon Seeds everywhere, Yue Shi didn't believe such a cunning old fox would die so easily.
Usumu in the flower didn't answer, her eyes only widening with deeper hatred.
She was the will of the Life Vine. If she died, the Life Vine would bloom a new flower and give birth to a new Usumu.
However, there was no need to use such a divine power right now.
Yue Shi had made her suffer a massive loss for no apparent reason.
She knew full well that continuing to fight head-on was just a waste of strength and an over-exhaustion of herself.
One must consider failure before victory.
When she escaped the Mysterious Garden, she had already thought of the worst-case scenario. If she were one day found by the Divine Tree and couldn't win or even escape, what should she do?
Therefore, she had countless seeds and branch sub-bodies scattered all over the world.
Even if this “main body” was destroyed and most of her accumulated resources were lost, she could still easily make a comeback.
It was just a pity for this supernatural domain she had managed for so long, the “human fruits,” and that sandglass.
Thinking of the sandglass, Usumu felt both reluctance and a sense of schadenfreude.
The price to be paid for using something that could manipulate time was far beyond imagination!
She was waiting for Yue Shi to fall into the trap!
Soon, Yue Shi finally sucked the giant vine dry.
Boom!
The life-drained giant vine collapsed at the roots, turning into a pile of rotten wood.
The remaining flower was also rapidly withering.
Usumu’s aura within the flower grew weaker, but the hatred in her eyes did not fade.
As if on purpose, Yue Shi lightly raised his hand right in front of her.
The surrounding space rippled.
In the next second, the seeds the giant vine had spat out before dying were forcibly pulled back by a powerful force.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The dense cluster of seeds piled up into a small mountain before Yue Shi.
“I forgot to tell you—the space here was completely sealed by me long ago. No one can escape.”
“You!!!” Usumu’s pupils shook with shock and despair, and she was actually provoked to death by pure rage.
Seeing the battle conclude entirely, the Ghost finally floated over. Looking at the pile of seeds, he clicked his tongue. “Are these the Demon Seeds? So many?”
Yue Shi’s vertical eye on his forehead swept over them. “Yes, they seem to be the highest quality ones—seeds condensed by the Life Vine after devouring transcendents.”
“The ‘Demon Seeds’ are taken from humans and used on humans. Only the Life Vine makes a huge profit.”
As he spoke, Yue Shi didn't hesitate to press his hand onto the pile of Demon Seeds.
Crunch, crunch!
All the Demon Seeds, along with any of Usumu’s potential backup plans for revival hidden within them, were ground and crushed in a series of cracking sounds, their source extracted.
Huang Fengjing was still acting crazily. Yue Shi and the Ghost ignored him for the moment.
This chess piece had just served its purpose; now it could be put back into cold storage.
Afterward, Yue Shi’s gaze shifted to the sandglass.
Usumu’s severed hand was still stuck to the bottom of the sandglass, and the sand inside shimmered with a starlight luster.
【Sandglass of Time】
【「Loop Segment」: Place the sandglass horizontally to select an area and set a time anchor. This makes the time within that area an independent loop segment. When the loop restarts, the state of all things will be reset to the moment the loop began. Any damage or consumption incurred during the loop will be cleared.】
【「Death Countdown」: Place the sandglass vertically. While the sand grains flow normally from top to bottom, a single target can be locked. When the sand runs out, the target dies.】
【「Branching Paths」: Tilt the sandglass 45 degrees. The sand grains will defy common sense and begin to flow from bottom to top. At this time, a single “choice interference” can be performed, allowing the user to select a specific decision made by them within the past half hour and glimpse the timeline branches that would result from different choices.】
【「██」: After each use of the sandglass, it will enter a cooldown period of random duration. Furthermore, the user's presence will become thin until they are forgotten by time.】
【】: 7#x_{cȎ
Yue Shi frowned slightly. Why was the last piece of information garbled?
Was it an unknown side effect?
Forget it, it wasn't important.
Although the sandglass's abilities were practical, to Yue Shi, it was merely a sacrifice.
Rate on N.U.
