It took Jia Li and Xixido two full days to cross the vast Broodmother Forest and reach its edge.
Hidden in the shadows, the two noticed a battle nearing its end.
A dozen or so Blood-Derived surrounded a demonic tree.
However, unlike the other vegetation in the Broodmother Forest, this tree had no creatures living in symbiosis with it. Instead, it had a gaping maw and countless eyes on its trunk. It lashed its branches about and roared furiously at the Blood-Derived surrounding it.
"Mutated species, or an outsider species?"
Jia Li, the Black Cloak, glanced sideways at Xixido. Seemingly quite interested in the battle, he asked in a low voice.
"Hmm... It's probably a mutation."
Xixido also seemed quite interested.
Soon, under the Blood-Derived's successive waves of attacks, the tree's branches were destroyed. It was as though all its arms had been chopped off. It wailed in pain, and bright red liquid seeped from its wounds, almost like blood.
The Blood-Derived surrounded it and slowly approached.
"Why? Why are you stopping me? What have I done wrong? Every one of our bodies is stitched together and sustained by the Painter's threads of inspiration. You, you, you—you're all the same. I only wanted to change my body, put myself inside this Broodmother, and live as a Broodmother plant. What did I do wrong? Why are you doing this to me...?"
The demonic tree demanded furiously.
"Holy shit!"
Jia Li, still hidden, couldn't help cursing after hearing what had led to the fight.
He could hardly believe his ears.
Though the two sides belonged to different species, he hadn't imagined these creatures would experiment on themselves in such a way, conducting taboo experiments that transcended the divide between life forms.
Even Xixido murmured, "That really is terrifying. It's trying to turn