"Paladin..." Masa was finally able to speak. A slit-like mouth opened on the withered, yellowed Treant's head, but it had no eyes or nose.
"How did you become like this? Did you catch the Giant Fir?!" Unas asked in shock.
"No, I had no choice but to become like this, otherwise I wouldn't be able to regain my ability to speak..."
It turns out that the Treant Polymorph is a relatively advanced spell even for Druids, and only high-ranking Druids or higher-ranking Night Elves can master it.
Young Masa didn't know the spell at all, but only by transforming into Treant could he regain the ability to speak. So he forcibly transformed based on the rudiments he had learned before, resulting in a bizarre and grotesque monster.
Unas asked curiously, "Can't we use leopards or bears?"
"Animal transformations also involve using the vocal cords and tongue to produce sound, but Treant are completely different," Masa said, unwilling to elaborate on the topic. "Let's not talk about that anymore; I have an important discovery to tell you."
What was discovered?
"From the moment we fell underground, don't you think everything we've seen and heard along the way is the Giant Fir's feeding process? The prey is dragged into root cavities filled with poisonous gas, handed over to the white giant insects to devour, and then the giant insects' eggs are transported here..."
"Is this what the Giant Fir's stomach is like?" Unas guessed, recalling the passage he had passed through when he was pulled up by the vines. That might be what the Giant Fir's esophagus was like.
"Yes, this white venom is its stomach acid."
"But why not just drag the prey into your stomach and digest it? The gastric juices here can easily digest any food; there's no need to let the giant worm digest it first—that would be a waste."
"Large-ups and embryos are the purest and most promising forms of life. I think this is why the Giant Fir can condense the Essence of Life. The Purple-robed Person may have stolen the dragon eggs to cultivate this deformed giant tree, after all, the Red Dragon is one of the most resilient creatures."
When the dragon recounted its experience, the Little Red Dragon couldn't sense its egg after reaching the Forest. Could it have been digested?
Masa continued, "You should have seen those green creatures swimming in the pool too. They resemble the Sourcewood Spirits, the companion creatures of the Essence of Life, and have come here to absorb the Life Essence for the Essence of Life."
"Those little green monsters? They all ran away. I killed one and they all escaped."
The Druid asked urgently, "You killed one? Where's the body? Let me see it."
Unas used a lasso to drag the monster's corpse, which was floating not far away, over. The Druid's Treant had no eyes on its head; it could only be seen by touching it with its bear paws.
"I could feel the traces of life energy within it, but it's already dead, its essence has been lost. Otherwise, I could have used it to heal my injuries. Where have all the other Sourcewood Spirits gone?"
"Those mythical creatures at the top must have returned to the Essence of Life," the Druid said with a hint of excitement. "If we catch up with them, we'll definitely find the Essence of Life!"
Unas longed to pursue them, but he was trapped and could barely protect himself.
Unable to see Unas's expression, the Druid continued excitedly, "The Essence of Life is the core of the Giant Fir. If we destroy it, the Giant Fir will at least lose its regenerative ability, or even die outright. I can then use the powerful life force it contains to restore it."
The ideal was beautiful, but reality was harsh. Unas asked, "Do you have any other way to cure the poison? I've only recovered thirty percent of my strength; I'm no match for those vines."
The vines won't bother you if you stay in the pool, but if you try to climb up, you'll definitely get attacked. In your current state, it's impossible for Unas to climb to the top of the cave.
"I'm a useless piece of trash now, I can barely move a finger..." The Druid coughed twice, his body suddenly convulsing violently, but he continued, "I can't hold on any longer. You must find a way to find the Essence of Life, otherwise you, me, and the hostages outside are all doomed!"
A flash of green light appeared, Druid transformed back into human form. His face, which resembled a melting, terrifying wax figure, remained unchanged; transforming into Treant could not heal his injuries.
Unas pressed his hand against his chest; his heart was still beating weakly. This guy, on the other hand, fainted at the slightest provocation and shifted all the blame onto the Paladin.
Do we really have to use Fel?
There was no time to dwell on it any longer. Even if using Fel was like drinking poison to quench thirst, it was the only option for now. Unas steeled his resolve and decided to knowingly venture into danger.
"Bessarius, help me!"
"At your service at any time," Bessarius agreed quickly, her voice tinged with barely concealed smugness. "Come, as before, repeat the prayer of God with me."
The demonic spells, in the mouth of the Dreadlord, became divine prayers, Unas scoffed at; this damned demon loved nothing more than playing tricks.
Helplessly following the demon's long incantation, Unas felt a pang of fear, as if something important was slipping from his body. He wanted to yell at the demon for playing tricks, but he was afraid of interrupting the spell, his mind in turmoil.
"Move aside your useless Holy Light and accept the infusion of divine power!" Bessarius's tone grew increasingly arrogant.
Unas had no choice but to obey. Holy Light and Fel are completely opposite energies; when they meet, they will dissolve each other, and if they collide violently, they may even explode. No one wants their body to become a bomb.
Under the master's control, the Holy Power in his limbs and bones flowed back into his brow, including the Holy Power Vortex at his heart, which was forcibly broken apart.
The Holy Power concentrated between the eyebrows can radiate throughout the entire head to ensure that this area is not invaded by Fel; this is Unas's last line of defense.
As soon as the Holy Light withdrew, a burning sensation spread through his chest, Fel, originating from his heart, quickly engulfed Unas's entire body.
The demon's incantation continued, and the subtle changes throughout his body were clearly transmitted to Unas's central nervous system. At the same time, he felt his strength gradually returning.
Unas, mimicking the incantation, took out a rope, tied the Druid to his back, and strode toward the edge of the venom pool.
The outer layer of heavy armor was already riddled with holes, and it would fall off piece by piece with the slightest struggle, but the inner Judgement Armor was still sturdy and resisted the corrosive effects of the venom, with only slight deformation.
Before he even reached the edge of the pool, he leaped up from the venomous pool onto the tree wall, where he was less than half a meter from the surface. Perhaps because he was so low, the vines high above him still ignored him.
"Don't move. Take off your armor; it's an obstacle now," Bessarius instructed.
Unas did feel the Judgement Armor squeezing his body, not because the armor had shrunk, but because he was growing larger.
One piece of the suit was put into his backpack, one after another. The demon's magic was reaching its climax. Unas's muscles began to swell, the veins on his hands gripping the tree wall stood out, his fingers became thinner and longer, and his nails were developing into the claws of a wild beast.
Not just his hands, but his entire body felt burning hot, and the bones in his feet and knees were undergoing some unknown mutation. Perhaps, as Bessarius had said, he was turning into a demon.
The Fel surged, attempting to invade his head, Unas immediately stopped chanting, "Bessarius, that's enough."
The Dreadlord neither replied nor stopped. At this point in the spell's progression, it seemed that Unas chanted the incantation or not would have no effect on the demon's casting. He had no choice but to channel the Holy Power between his brows into an arrowhead and charge at the invading Fel with a death-defying spirit.
If the two sides were to collide so violently, the resulting explosion would be enough to easily sever Unas's neck. Dreadlord retreated, Unas was certain that he did not want to perish together with Unas.
"Alright, I won't touch your head, but an incomplete transformation will greatly reduce the spell's power. Don't blame me if you can't get rid of the vines later."
"I only need the antidote; I don't want to become a demon. Incomplete magic is exactly what I need. Let's continue."
Bessarius sighed mournfully and continued chanting the incantation. The spell was quickly completed, and Unas's body was completely transformed.
His muscles nearly tripled in size, transforming him from a slender young man into a burly, muscular giant. His skin became keratinized and turned crimson, his legs mutated into hooves with bent knees, and his hands were now more accurately described as claws. Two white bone spurs pierced through his sleeves and grew out from his elbows, making him look both terrifying and ferocious.
Despite his ugly body, Unas possessed explosive power; he felt that his half-demon form was stronger than his full-power form.
Upon opening the attribute panel, I saw that my strength and constitution had increased by nearly a third, and my agility had doubled. However, all my skills were grayed out and unusable.
Bessarius had said the transformation would only last about fifteen minutes, Unas immediately tried to climb up, but the demon said, "Wait, I forgot to tell you, because there was no sacrifice, this spell has consumed five years of your lifespan."
"What?! You piece of shit, you bastard, I'll fucking..." A string of curses came out of the Paladin's mouth.
How could I have forgotten something so important? The devil must have deliberately kept it from me.
"Don't worry, I'll teach you how to fix it."
What method?
"Life Drain, this spell can not only replenish your lost lifespan, but even grant you immortality." Bessarius's voice carried a hint of allure.
Immortality—who wouldn't want to live forever? Unas was momentarily tempted but quickly regained his senses. The Dreadlord was certainly not benevolent; the idea of draining others' lives sounded evil, and there must be a conspiracy.
But his five years of life were gone just like that, and Una was heartbroken; he wanted to live a few more years.
The demon sensed his hesitation and wavering, and continued, "I will teach you the spells; whether you use them or not is up to you."
Without waiting for the Paladin's agreement, a short incantation and casting gesture appeared in Unas's mind and were firmly imprinted in his brain.
The Dreadlord's grasp of human psychology is truly extraordinary. It would be fine if he didn't know this spell, but once he did, Unas couldn't help but think: I must at least make up for the five years of my lifespan.
The vines above his head became the target of his experiment. Unas silently Life Drain -draining spell, made a spellcasting gesture with one hand, and a green ray of light shot out from his palm, accurately hitting the root of a vine.
A warm energy was channeled into the body, and at the same time, the vine showed signs of resistance. However, this vine was only one of the millions of branches on the Giant Fir, and its weak resistance quickly dissipated. The vine writhed and withered at a visible speed.
The tiny life energy of the vine disappeared after entering the body, becoming part of Unas's life force, without any harmful abnormalities occurring.
The whole process was almost silent. Unas was slightly relieved. After sucking four or five more, the other vines noticed the abnormality. They abandoned their task and turned to attack.
Unas was abruptly jolted awake from the pleasure of Life Drain. He immediately stopped the spell, pushed off the tree wall with both hooves, and flew diagonally upwards to meet the approaching enemy.
The enhanced hands were like steel claws, and the ten fingernails were like ten miniature daggers. In the instant the two forces crossed in mid-air, the dozen or so vines were torn apart.
Unas grabbed a vine that was only half intact and swung it forcefully, sending himself flying to the opposite tree wall. Without stopping, he launched himself diagonally upwards again, and the second wave of vines that attacked him suffered the same fate.
After repeating this process twice more, all fifty-odd vines in the cave were torn to pieces and temporarily lost their threat. Unas then took the opportunity to jump onto the cave ceiling.
The massive lump of flesh was right in front of him, its central hole shrinking to the size of a pinhole. It seemed incredible that the Sourcewood Spirit could penetrate it. Unas extended a "claw" and squeezed it into the hole, easily spreading his five fingers apart. The inside was very elastic; he just didn't know if it could accommodate a human body.
He spread his hooves, clamped the lump of flesh, and hung upside down in the air. His two clawed arms simultaneously embedded themselves in the hole, and then he forcefully pried open a space large enough for a person's head to enter. He was carrying the Druid on his back, about the thickness of two human bodies, but he still managed to squeeze in smoothly.
The Sourcewood Spirits probably used this passage frequently, making it quite spacious. Unas's body twisted and struggled like a fish, its sharp and powerful claws constantly climbing upwards, rapidly advancing through the passage.
He soon felt faint tremors and muffled sounds coming from above, which were probably caused by the battle between the Giant Fir and the two dragons, indicating that he was getting closer and closer to the ground.
This further encouraged him, Unas climbed upwards with all his might. After an unknown amount of time, the passage made a sharp turn and became horizontal. With a "plop," the two of them slid out of the pipe and fell into a pool of green liquid.
Unas was afraid it was poisonous, so he jumped up, but in fact the green liquid was not poisonous. On the contrary, soaking in it made him feel warm all over, and his fatigue and wounds seemed to be slowly recovering.
Looking around, hundreds of Sourcewood Spirits filled the entire space, staring in terror at the two uninvited guests.
In the central pool, a dark green, human-shaped tree grows, bare and leafless, but its emerald branches radiate the glow of life. Countless stems or straws of varying thicknesses connect the branches to the fleshy walls of the cave ceiling, as if drawing its essence.
Could this be the Essence of Life?
Unas's first thought was to destroy it, but the Druid's words still echoed in his ears: it could be used to heal wounds.
Shaking Masa behind him, but seeing no sign of waking up, Unas realized that destroying the Essence of Life might prevent the Druid from recovering. Unas was at a loss when Bessarius's voice rang out. "Fool, such a great gift is placed before you, and you don't even know how to enjoy it."
The demon's meaning is clear: the Essence of Life must contain powerful life force, which can easily replenish the five years of lifespan Unas lost.
Unas ignored the demon, untied the Druid, and laid him flat to soak in the green water. The green water's healing properties could repair the Druid's body, but very slowly.
He dragged the Druid's body toward the Emerald Tree, Sourcewood Spirits immediately went berserk; to them, the Essence of Life was like a mother figure.
However, the fighting power of these little monsters was negligible, and the brief battle was not worth mentioning. Those who dared to rush up to block them were all smashed by Unas's single claw, and the remaining small group scattered and fled to various corners without a trace, leaving the entire space empty in an instant.
However, a quarter of an hour had passed, and the time limit for the Metamorphosis arrived after the victory. Unas knelt painfully in the pool, the drastic changes in his muscles and bones bringing terrible pain.
After a series of wailing and howling, he finally trembled and transformed back into human form. He was covered in sweat and collapsed into the pool, panting heavily.
After this transformation, the paralyzed muscles regained most of their vitality, equivalent to removing 60-70% of the toxins.
Although his appearance had returned to normal, his body was still possessed by residual Fel. This wouldn't do! Unas demanded, "Bessarius, quickly relinquish your 'divine power'!"
"These divine powers were obtained through a trade using your life force, so of course they belong to you, and I cannot take them back."
What utter nonsense! Unas knew he couldn't force the demons, so he could only say, "Then disperse them."
"Go ahead." The demon still had no intention of helping.
Unas had only learned the Water Mirror spell for communication and the spells for enslaving and sacrificing offerings, which were no longer applicable. He tried to mobilize the Fel within his body to see if he could force it out, but found that the Fel completely uncontrollable.
"Bessarius! What's going on? Why can't I control my 'divine power'?"
"You're just a beginner in divine power, how could you possibly master it so easily right away? Let me teach you a few more divine spells."
"Damn it!" How could Unas possibly believe the Dreadlord's words again? It must be that damned demon who's behind this!
Feeling the host's anger and helplessness, Bessarius laughed inwardly. Ever since he was reduced to a wisp of soul and attached to a human Paladin, he had been trying to find a way to revive himself every moment.
The first step, of course, is to completely control this human being, and now we are getting closer and closer to that goal.
Unas couldn't deal with the Fel "lingering" in his body for the time being; he could only slowly remove it later using Holy Power and Shadowfiend. Right now, there were more important things to do.
He dragged the Druid toward the Emerald Tree, and when they got closer, they noticed several circular protrusions around the base of the tree. Upon closer inspection, they realized that these were actually five giant eggs, mostly submerged in water, arranged in a five-pointed star pattern.
Although Unas had never seen dragon eggs before, these giant red eggs, about half a person's height, were most likely the stolen offspring of the Little Red Dragon.
The arrangement of the five points might be some kind of Magic Circle, so he dared not make any rash moves. He pressed his ear to the eggshell and listened, but there was no sound. It was unknown whether the dragon egg had lost its vitality.
Ignoring them for now, Unas took out Firekiss and cut off all the stems and straws connecting the Emerald Tree. Dark green sap immediately seeped from the wounds at the joints.
He dabbed a little with his finger and tested it. This almost black liquid seemed to be the same as the pool water—non-toxic and with healing properties.
Since the Essence of Life is the source of the Giant Fir's regenerative abilities, the fluid it secretes may also have powerful healing properties.
He quickly took out a cup and collected all the oozing liquid, almost a full cup, then smeared it on the Druid's face and head, and poured the remaining little into the other's mouth.
However, it did not produce an immediate effect; the Druid neither woke up nor regenerated his facial features.
Perhaps it wasn't enough? Unas pulled out a dagger, preparing to draw some "blood" from the Emerald Tree, when an aged voice suddenly appeared in his mind. "Thank you."
He quickly turned around to be on guard, looking around the entire area. It was quiet all around and there were no enemies visiting.
"Who's there? Stop hiding, I see you!"
The naive deception seemed to have failed; no one appeared, and the voice continued, "I'm behind you."
Unas, fearing he would be tricked, turned around and then back again, but still found no one. Had the other party become invisible? Thinking this, he secretly clutched the invisibility-breaking crystal that Huoye had given him.
Who exactly are you?
"I am Ofclausid, meaning 'Chuyun Fir,' a name I gave myself."
"You are..." Unas's heart skipped a beat, "... this Giant Fir?"
"Yes."
Masa was right; the Giant Fir truly did possess self-awareness. But the Druid had also stated that the Giant Fir's consciousness had been replaced by the Purple-robed Person. How could this be?
Unas immediately probed, "Purple-robed Person? Don't try to fool me with your tricks. Stop hiding and come out for a head-on battle!"
"The Purple-robed Person? You mean that evil Lich? He's coming down soon. Quickly bring your unconscious friend over; I'll do my best to heal him."
"Lich?!" Unas was skeptical. His "Sense Undead" ability had been constantly activated, and if any Undead were detected, it should have been displayed on the screen. However, when the Purple-robed Person appeared earlier, no red dot appeared on the thumbnail.
"You mean the Purple-robed Person is a Lich, and he's on his way here? Where are you? Why are you so eager to save my companion?"
I'm right behind you.
Unas turned around, and behind him was only the Essence of Life — the Emerald Tree.
"Are you this thing?"
"No, I was just trapped inside, almost in despair. I never imagined that an outsider could enter this place. It must be the protection of the Nature Spirit."
These idiotic religious bastards, they attribute all the favors to their faith. I clearly climbed here on my own, risking my life, and it was all thanks to me, Unas thought angrily, but deep down he believed them to some extent.
He dragged Masa to sit against the tree roots and asked, "Why did you save him?"
"Because I don't trust you." The other person was very direct.
"Why?"
"I sense light, darkness, and chaos in you; these contradictory elements make it impossible for me to discern whether you are a good or bad person. Your friend, however, is different. He makes me feel very close to him and must also be a being who believes in nature."
Light, darkness, and chaos represent Holy Light, shadow, and Fel. Druids are naturally drawn to trees, and this guy's senses are truly sharp; he saw through Unas and Masa's situation in an instant.
Emerald-green branches drooped down, soon enveloping Masa like a bird's nest. A warm green light shone, but instead of feeling eerie, it filled people with vitality.
Seeing that the other party truly meant no harm, Unas said, "Could you heal me too? You mentioned the Lich..."
"He's here!" the Giant Fir suddenly cried out in warning.
At the same time, a chilling aura suddenly appeared overhead, Unas quickly ducked to dodge a blue ice spike.
Looking up, they couldn't find the Purple-robed Person, and there was no red dot on the "Sense Undead" thumbnail. If what the Giant Fir said was true, and the Purple-robed Person was a Lich, he must have used some method to hide his Undead aura.
The second and third Frostbolt came one after another. The enemy was still invisible, and the launch point of the spells was unpredictable, sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right. Although Unas dodged the frontal attacks one by one, the cold air unique to ice magic invaded his body, and his hands and feet became more and more stiff.
Fel invaded his body, rendering most of the Paladin's main spells unusable, and he had little stamina left. The fourth Frostbolt almost grazed past him.
Unas's teeth chattered from the cold, but he had roughly figured out the enemy's movement pattern. There were two most likely places the enemy would go next: left or right!
He had no choice but to take a gamble. He crushed the hidden crystal in his hand and threw it to the right, while he lunged to the left with his sword.
The Crystal's Eye of True Sight failed to detect anything hidden within its range, and he himself found nothing, neither to the left nor right!
A chill ran down his spine as a blast of freezing air swept over him from above. Unas couldn't dodge in time and could only quickly pull out a shield to shield himself.
The freezing air didn't reach him directly, but instead went straight down to his groin. The pool water beneath his feet instantly turned into a large block of ice, freezing his legs. The cold air rose from his lower body, Unas felt completely frozen, unable to move a single finger.
As if his thoughts were frozen, his mind went blank, and the enemy no longer saw him as a threat, launching the next attack at the nest that enveloped the Druid.
The unconscious Druid was unable to offer any resistance; the emerald branches trembled and scattered, interrupting the healing.
Having eliminated all possible threats, the purple figure materialized in the air. Ignoring the two immobilized individuals, the Purple-robed Person hastily cast a spell to suppress the Emerald Tree's resistance, controlling the tree trunk and straw hanging from the cave ceiling to reconnect with the Emerald Tree. This was his most important purpose in coming here.
After dragging Unas and Masa underground, the purple-robed clone stopped paying attention to them and focused on dealing with the two dragons. In his view, the human and the Elf were already fertilizer for the Giant Fir and had no chance of escaping.
But just now, the Giant Fir suddenly lost its regenerative ability. At the same time, it felt its connection with the Essence of Life was severed, so it rushed down to check. Unexpectedly, it saw the two people it thought were dead. Surprised, it immediately launched a sneak attack and easily took control of the situation.
The Giant Fir's consciousness is now just a prisoner locked in a cage, with very little control over it. The connection repair work went quite smoothly. Once it was almost finished, the Purple-robed Person was in a hurry to return to the "Brain Pool" to direct the battle. However, before that, he had to deal with two troublesome little bugs.
"I underestimated you, human," the Purple-robed Person laughed maniacally, his two exposed eyes gleaming with a ghostly blue light, indeed possessing the appearance of Undead. "I don't know how you unsealed the Blue Datura Incense and crossed the digestive pool, nor do I care to know. Go to hell! Hahaha!"