Hmm?!
Beneath the Mutation Tree, Gu Qijue heard a rumbling sound.
He looked up, and his eyes narrowed slightly.
Terrifying rockets came hurtling in, wave after wave.
"What are those?"
White Fox knew nothing about human technology. Gazing at the flying objects filling the sky, she hesitated.
"Damn it, is the Imperial Army going to bomb this place?"
Two kilometers away, Zhao Hu, Ji Shang, and the others saw what was happening. Their scalps prickled, and they turned to run. They had no idea whether their Super Martial Armor could withstand a rocket barrage like this.
The countless Mutated Creatures gathered there heard the noise and looked up, bewildered. With no idea what the objects were, they could only stare in curiosity.
"Big Brother Black Dragon, those flying objects feel dangerous."
Even as a top-tier Evil Seed-tier creature, White Fox felt a sudden pang of dread.
Gu Qijue was just about to tell her to leave when—
the rockets drew within three kilometers of the Mutation Tree.
Then, an astonishing sight unfolded.
Every rocket that came within roughly three kilometers of the Mutation Tree suddenly sputtered out and fell from the sky.
They didn't explode. Not even a spark appeared.
"What's going on?!"
In the military conference hall, Lin Zhengxiao stared at the rockets tumbling out of the sky, completely dumbfounded.
The other high-ranking officers were just as baffled.
"This... This may be due to the Mutation Tree's magnetic field, which caused the rockets to malfunction," the head of the military affairs department ventured after a moment.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
It was the only explanation that made sense.
"What do we do now?"
The officers all looked to Lin Zhengxiao.
"That beast sure is lucky," Lin Zhengxiao said, his face dark. "Looks like we'll need an Ancient Martial Artist to kill him..."
Awooo! Roar—
Just then, earth-shaking howls rang out.
Thousands of Mutated Fruits on the tree ripened all at once, filling the air with an incredibly strange fragrance.
The countless Mutated Creatures gathered there went berserk. Like a flood, they surged toward the Mutation Tree, whose branches alone covered an area five hundred meters across.
Cackling—
The three Aberrant Creatures there scrambled excitedly up the tree.
The flying Mutated Creatures circling overhead swarmed toward it too.
The whole place descended into chaos.
Frenzied howls echoed in every direction.
White Fox took on her true form and raced up the fruit-laden tree as fast as she could.
Gu Qijue also assumed his strongest Dragon Man state. With lightning and stars circling him and the Thunder Dragon Sword in hand, he shot forward as a streak of black light, overtaking the three Aberrant Creatures as he sped up the tree.
In just a few breaths, all manner of Mutated Creatures had swarmed over the enormous tree.
As they climbed, they fought one another.
One could see Mutated Creatures falling from the branches in droves.
It was utter chaos.
The flying creatures had a clear advantage. Some snatched two or three fruits in their jaws and flew off, while others greedily swallowed them one after another—only to explode.
Gu Qijue grew anxious. He roared, and the Twin Dragons behind him roared with him.
Their roar sent many Mutated Creatures tumbling from the tree.
He activated the space inside the Sea of Consciousness between his brows.
In an instant, more than a dozen nearby Mutated Fruits vanished into the space between his brows.
At the same time, the Twin Dragons behind him each swallowed a fruit.
In just a few dozen seconds, a third of the thousands of Mutated Fruits on the tree were gone.
Dragon might surged around Gu Qijue. The lightning stars unleashed bolt after bolt of black lightning, slaughtering the Mutated Creatures around him.
He reached a cluster of more than ten nearby Mutated Fruits and, with a thought, pulled them into the space between his brows.
"Oh my god!"
In the distance, Zhao Hu and the others stared at the towering tree, now covered in Mutated Creatures, their scalps tingling.
If they joined in, they wouldn't last a few seconds before the endless monsters tore them apart.
Whoosh! Whoosh—
Meng Bao appeared. He swallowed two Mutated Fruits on the tree, plucked two more, and then left without a trace of greed.
He sensed that a golden Aberrant Creature had its eye on him.
"This... This is terrifying. There's no way we could go in and pick those fruits."
Mu Qingxue and the others had also approached to within two or three miles. Zhu Hongyu watched in horror, her scalp prickling.
Especially after seeing how powerful Gu Qijue was, she understood why Meng Bao hadn't dared to make an enemy of him. He was unbelievably strong.
Chu Beixuan watched in alarm, then looked deeply at his daughter.
Chu Mengxi said nothing, but Gu Qijue's strength had shaken her too.
She was incredibly grateful for the decision she'd made back then. Otherwise, her whole family might already be dead.
"Get lost!"
On the enormous Mutation Tree, Gu Qijue roared and drove off a golden Aberrant Creature, then plucked the seven Mutated Fruits nearby.
"You're asking for death!!!"
The golden Aberrant Creature flew into a rage. It let out a shrill roar, its body wreathed in eerie golden light, then lunged at him, slashing wildly with its blades and claws.
It was as fast as a streak of light. Even Meng Bao might have been killed in one blow.
Gu Qijue's eyes turned cold. The two lightning stars transformed into lightning spears and shot toward it.
Boom! Bang—
Terrifying lightning erupted. The golden Aberrant Creature convulsed from the shock. The spears pierced both its shoulders, and terror filled its eyes. Frozen with fear, it turned and fled.
Gu Qijue didn't chase it. The Mutated Fruits were more valuable than devouring the creature.
He swept across the Mutation Tree. By now, fewer than one in ten Mutated Fruits remained. After Gu Qijue collected five more,
less than two minutes later,
thousands of Mutated Fruits had been completely cleared out.
Buzz!!
Once all the Mutated Fruits had been picked, the entire enormous Mutation Tree began rapidly retracting into the ground.
The violent shaking sent Mutated Creatures tumbling from the branches in droves.
"White Fox, let's go!"
Gu Qijue called to White Fox, and they raced down the tree as quickly as they could.
His ferocious aura kept every Mutated Creature from daring to block his way.
White Fox hurried after him. She had swallowed three Mutated Fruits in all.
She was suppressing their immense energy inside her body and would need a safe place to absorb it.
"Is he a human, or that Black Dragon...?"
Mu Qingxue watched Gu Qijue and White Fox disappear into the distance, hesitation in her eyes. Then she turned to Chu Mengxi. "Mengxi, I heard you've been in contact with him. Do you know who he is?"
Chu Mengxi thought for a moment. "He said he was human. And he's interested in your shelter, Aunt Mu. If you offer it to him willingly, you won't have to make an enemy of him."
She had chosen her words carefully.
First, she would reveal Gu Qijue's identity, then mention that he wanted her shelter.
Perhaps they could resolve this peacefully.
Before you continue