The Roots of the Deep Sea

The enormous tree branch, with its unstoppable force, enveloped Yu Xing's body and propelled him rapidly into the sky.

The gust of wind that rushed towards him forced Yu Xing to squint. As his gaze shifted, he could almost see the Sunken Sun on the nearest vine pillar.

However, just like riding a drop tower, just as it reached the top, the branch, which was as thick as a dozen people standing on it, seemed to realize that Yu Xing had been caught by it, and abruptly stopped its upward momentum, crashing down to the ground beside it.

The force of that impact... even Yu Xing felt a chill run down his spine. If he had been slammed directly onto the ground, he would have turned into a pile of minced meat.

Fortunately, the branches seemed to be controlled by someone, completely protecting his body. Apart from the sudden darkness, Yu Xing did not feel any further discomfort.

He followed the branch and plunged into the ground, continuing downwards. The air began to disappear, and the entire trembling space became cramped.

The further down you go, the darker it gets.

At first, he couldn't see anything simply because there was no light at all. But down there, countless curses compressed the energy into an ink-like liquid, filling the space where Yu Xing was. His vision was covered by the ink, and he truly couldn't see anything.

He could feel himself drifting away from the Underground City, away from the still somewhat lively central part of the Ghost Tree, being dragged to the bottom by the branches.

Not being able to breathe was not a big deal for Yu Xing. It was as if, after he devoured the Water Ghost and gained the ability to breathe underwater, his concept of breathing was already quite different from that of ordinary people.

Not to mention the curse, which seems to have altered some basic human concepts of behavior, making breathing seem unnecessary.

After an unknown amount of time, and having sunk so deep, Yu Xing finally felt her position stop moving.

An endless chill enveloped him from all sides, and the cold even penetrated the impenetrable power of the curse, beginning to cling to his body.

Upon experiencing the tangible cold, Yu Xing realized that all this coldness stemmed from resentment.

For many, many years, the resentment of many, many people.

He shivered involuntarily, and then the branches that had been wrapping around him slowly dispersed in all directions. The uncomfortable and unbearable feeling of suffocation and being surrounded gradually faded until Yu Xing could move normally and the darkness before his eyes dissipated.

There are lights underground.

No, it should be said that there was actually light.

Yu Xing opened his eyes and looked around. There was also Sunken Sun at the roots of the Ghost Tree, emitting light and functioning normally.

Parallel to him were intertwined, slender tree roots, each only as thick Yu Xing's calf, but numerous enough to make up for it.

These tree roots extended downwards, forming a gaping net at Yu Xing's feet. Everything black turned into mist, clinging to these tree roots and eventually becoming black veins, which were then absorbed by the roots.

Besides the loud thud of the branches that had brought him there dissipating, Yu Xing also heard a very strange sound.

It sounds like flowing water.

It carried a deep sense of oppression—the sound of flowing water, like that of the deep sea.

He paused for a moment, then finally focused his attention on the gaps in the net made of tree roots beneath his feet.

The smell that hit my nose was very damp.

"Splash..."

Under the light emanating from the fruits, he witnessed a miracle that was almost impossible to see underground.

Gu Zhen

Beneath the net was blue, a deep, dark blue.

Just as his gaze focused on it, a huge black spine slowly swept past his feet in his sight.

The back with its fins even touched the edge of the tree root network, causing the net to vibrate slightly.

The sound of flowing water continued for a long time.

It was the sound of a huge, indistinct fish swimming past my feet.

In a very distant place, Yu Xing heard a long and strange cry from a living being, like the cry of a whale.

All of this reminded him that he was standing in the middle of the ocean.

Beneath the boundless sea surrounding Dead Silent Island, the roots of the Ghost Tree finally broke through the Dead Silent Island's soil and extended into the sea, creating a space with air... or perhaps there was no air at all, but Yu Xing no longer needed air and therefore didn't react immediately.

Yu Xing: "..."

Fortunately, he is brave and doesn't have megalophobia or thalassophobia.

That fish that just swam by probably had an eye as long as him in diameter.

Even looking directly at them creates a strange sense of pressure.

This reminded him of the giant, strange fish he had seen on the beach when he first arrived on Dead Silent Island; its markings looked remarkably like a human face, but it had many pairs of eyes.

If the entire ocean is filled with monsters like this, then this sea area is truly no weaker than any simulation dungeon filled with death points. The world itself where this Ghost Tree resides is simply too bizarre and grotesque.

It is filled with unspeakable dangers, and perhaps in this world, even the Ghost Tree is nothing.

It's best not to overthink this; the more you think about it, the more you realize how insignificant humanity is.

"Do you like the sea?" Suddenly, a man's voice came from beside Yu Xing.

Yu Xing withdrew his gaze from the strange sight beneath his feet and looked in the direction of the sound. He saw Yu Fengchen looking at him with a faint smile at the other end of the layered root system.

"Did you control that big tree branch just now?" Yu Xing raised an eyebrow. The person controlling the tree branch was clearly not very familiar with it, otherwise they wouldn't have been unable to control the distance.

"It's me," Yu Fengchen admitted.

As he spoke, the tree roots and branches in front of him seemed to have a mind of their own, automatically making way for him, as if Yu Fengchen had become the master of these branches.

"I thought it was Witch controlling the branches, but it turns out it was you." Yu Xing watched with relief as the branches between her and Yu Fengchen spread out, enclosing them in a very spacious area.

Of course, he didn't say anything nice, "Now you've taken over this tree? And you've done such a good job so soon after taking over, that's really impressive."

Yu Fengchen's figure was exposed to Yu Xing.

How to put it? It seemed a bit disheveled, and a bit strange.

His clothes disappeared, Yu Fengchen was wrapped in even smaller branches, which covered his vital parts. His body was covered with black patterns, just like what Yu Xing had seen below the tomb.

"The Witch isn't here. Her true form didn't actually return to this world; only the Tree Witch puppet is here." Yu Fengchen's glasses disappeared, and his doll-like, exquisite face smiled at Yu Xing. "I destroyed the Tree Witch's body."