Soul-Resting Tree, Something Is Wrong

Wu Hen performed several checks, confirming there were no unstable factors around the Tropical Pavilion.

Staying with his family, Wu Hen felt firsthand just how precious this tranquility was.

To be honest, Wu Hen hoped that everything before had been a nightmare, and that everything could return to the way it was: the family eating together, teasing his younger sister whenever he had the chance, and having the housekeeper make his bed in the middle of the night.

"Brother, aren't you sleepy?" Yu Yu lay on the cot, tilting her small head, her hair tied into cute twin tails.

"You go to sleep, I'll keep watch," Wu Hen said.

Sleepiness had long since washed over him, but Wu Hen had a premonition.

Once he fell asleep, he would likely wake up in that Otherworld Desolate Dust, and he truly felt reluctant to leave.

"Tap, tap, tap~"

Yu Yu went barefoot, eventually squeezing onto Wu Hen's narrow cot, her small, delicate body curling up in his arms.

"I'll keep watch over you too, until you wake up," Yu Yu told Wu Hen.

Wu Hen laughed, patting her head, and comforted her, "Actually, you were the one I worried about most before, but after seeing you pull off that shot, I felt much more at ease... It makes me believe that even without me by your side, you can protect yourself."

"I will work hard too, and not cause trouble for everyone," Yu Yu said sensibly.

Wu Hen held her, listening to her breathing slowly steady.

Before long, the snoring of a little kitten sounded; his younger sister had already fallen asleep.

Wu Hen decisively got up and climbed onto Yu Yu's cot to lie down.

The sleepiness was actually very intense, but Wu Hen still forced himself to stay awake.

It was right at this moment that Wu Hen suddenly felt a slight discomfort in his eyes, followed immediately by a line of subtitles appearing before him.

What was going on?

Had he eaten too many mushrooms?

How could pop-up messages appear out of thin air?

"Student Wu Hen, I have received word that you have woken up from the Desolate Dust once again."

Wu Hen quickly realized that he was still wearing the Virtual Iris.

After that thing had merged with his eyeball, there hadn't been any discomfort, and in the tension and busyness, Wu Hen had almost forgotten about it.

He hadn't expected that this Virtual Iris could also be used as a communication device.

Wu Hen blinked twice, then spoke in a low voice.

Sure enough, his words turned into text, transmitted out in a way he did not understand.

"Are you a beauty?"

"Just call me Ming Yi. Is your current environment safe?"

"It's safe enough."

"Your location is the Fanshan District of Licheng, right?" Ming Yi asked.

"Yes," Wu Hen replied.

"And your position in the Desolate Dust?" Ming Yi continued.

"Inside the Soul Flower of a Soul-Resting Tree," Wu Hen said.

"So, you also returned through a Soul-Resting Tree?" Ming Yi said.

"Is there a problem with that?" Wu Hen asked, confused.

Yuan You was clearly not something that could be found everywhere in the Desolate Dust.

"Your auditory sense is very powerful. I will release a Green Cicada while traveling through the Desolate Dust. If you hear the cry of a Green Cicada in the Desolate Dust, please follow it. That way, you can find our squad. Hmm... we need your auditory perception," Ming Yi said.

"I should still be some distance away from the Nuwa Divine Terminal..." Wu Hen said.

"If you are in a Soul-Resting Tree, that means you aren't too far from us. It looks like we might be able to meet in the Desolate Dust sooner than expected." Ming Yi sent a playful smiley face.

"Actually, I was hoping to meet you here," Wu Hen said.

"There will be a chance."

Closing his eyes, Wu Hen had originally just wanted some quiet.

But sleepiness surged over him like a tide; if he didn't sleep, he felt like his eyeballs were going to explode.

Sigh, forget it. Struggling was useless. Time to face reality!

Wu Hen stopped resisting and let the sleepiness wrap around his consciousness, pulling him into another vast, different dimension...

"Brother?"

"Big brother?"

Yu Yu didn't know how she had woken up, but she trotted over to Wu Hen's bedside, trying to wake him up.

But Wu Hen had already completely sunk into sleep; no matter how much she shook him, he wouldn't wake up.

Yu Yu's eyes instantly welled up with tears. Unwilling to let go, she squeezed onto the small bed, determined to nestle in Wu Hen's arms.

For a fleeting moment, Yu Yu wished she could follow her brother into that damned different dimension. No matter how dangerous it might be, as long as she could stay with him, it would be enough.

Amidst the flowerbeds, the mottled, colorful blossoms danced into the air on a gust of wind.

Yet, they did not drift away with the breeze. Instead, like dragonflies, they fluttered their petals, defying the wind to fly back into the flowerbeds.

On the Soul-Resting Tree, a massive Soul Flower was slowly withering. Its petals fell to the ground, rapidly turning into dust and mud.

Inside the Soul Flower, a man opened his eyes. He gazed at the breathtakingly beautiful flower valley with a calm yet somewhat dejected expression. Finally, he couldn't help but curse, "I knew the Bull Demon would be like this!"

It matched Wu Hen's guess perfectly.

If he returned to his homeland through the Soul-Resting Tree, then falling asleep in his homeland would be equivalent to a forced logout.

Surfing in his homeland was truly wonderful; he really didn't want to face this reality of the Desolate Dust!

"Ya ya yi~~~~~~ ya ya yi~~~~~~~~"

The chirping of cicadas drifted in from outside the flower valley. With his heightened sense of hearing, Wu Hen caught the sound immediately!

It really was the sound of a Green Cicada?

Was he actually this close to the beautiful Ming Yi?

He was finally going to meet her in the Desolate Dust!

Wu Hen couldn't help but feel a little excited. After all, having gained the recognition of Ming Yi's team, he was essentially "ashore." Even in the Desolate Dust, he still wanted to secure a steady meal!

"My beauty, I am coming!"

Wu Hen didn't dawdle. He stood up and began walking through the flower valley.

But after taking only a few steps, he thought about all the bags and supplies he would have to carry himself, and he glanced at another Soul Flower that was about to wither.

He still needed a maid.

At the very least, she had mastered the small skill of gathering pure food.

He was certainly better suited to be the combat strength of the team; leaving the trivial matters to Cha Cha would save him a lot of trouble.

It wasn't worth rushing.

Wu Hen simply stayed to the side and waited for a while.

Checking his reflection in the stream, Wu Hen was surprised to find that his face now resembled his original self by seven or eight parts!

Good grief, surfing the web in a Soul Flower private room even comes with a plastic surgery effect!

No way!

If Yang Qin wakes up and recognizes me as her classmate from the last two and a half years, how am I supposed to make her work like a beast of burden?

Maintaining a sense of mystery and unfamiliarity is the only way to command more awe.

"Xiao Yi, can your new ability add some handsome decorations to my face?" Wu Hen asked.

Xiao Yi understood perfectly. Soon, White Obsidian Crystal Whiskers seeped out from Wu Hen's cheeks, forming a flexible, form-fitting silver mask that covered the upper half of his face!

Wu Hen looked at his reflection in the stream again.

Perfect!

Evil, charming, and uninhibited—that describes me exactly!

"Don't sleep, don't sleep, absolutely don't sleep..." At this moment, someone's muttering drifted down from the Soul-Resting Tree.

Wu Hen looked up and saw that the Soul Flower had completely withered. Yang Qin was still there, muttering frantically, refusing to get up as if she believed that as long as she didn't open her eyes, she would still be back in her homeland.

With no other choice, Wu Hen climbed up and gave her a few "slaps" to wake her up.

"Ah... you are... Big Brother!" Yang Qin was startled, but eventually, she found a trace of familiarity beneath the handsome, devilish face.

"It's me. Pack your things; it's time to go," Wu Hen said indifferently.

"Big Brother, how did you mutate? Are you even human anymore?" Yang Qin couldn't understand how this mysterious big brother suddenly had such a strange facial ornament.

"Just an accessory. Stop dawdling, I have important matters to attend to," Wu Hen said.

"But..."

"Don't waste time. I've tested it—a single Soul-Resting Tree can only be used once. Don't count on being able to return home just by finding another blooming Soul Flower."

"Oh, oh, wait for me." Yang Qin accepted the reality, hurriedly shouldered her large and small bags, and followed behind the increasingly mysterious man.

Following the sound of the cicadas, Wu Hen stepped into a mountain forest.

The vegetation in the forest had strange colors, like a kaleidoscope, and it wasn't even static.

Wu Hen believed that the forest was in a state of flux, like a flowing river; stepping into this place an hour ago versus an hour from now could result in a completely different experience!

Fortunately, the cicada chirps were very clear and had strong penetrating power. As long as Wu Hen followed the sound, he wouldn't go wrong.

Along the way, Wu Hen saw many bizarre creatures. They had their own laws of survival; it wasn't that they weren't powerful or terrifying, but rather that humans were simply not their prey...

"Is it that stone valley up ahead?" Yang Qin asked.

They had been walking for a very, very long time.

Yang Qin was already exhausted.

Wu Hen hadn't expected it either. Although the sound of the cicada was clear, the distance was immense. It felt as though he and Yang Qin had been walking through the mountain forest for two days and two nights.

Fortunately, his soul had already been cleansed in the Soul-Resting Tree, and the closer they got to the Nuwa Divine Terminal, the lower the corruption became. Otherwise, Wu Hen might have started thinking Yang Qin was looking charming again!

"It's here."

Wu Hen finally found the Green Cicada on the trunk of a strange tree.

To others, the chirping of the Green Cicada sounded ordinary, but to Wu Hen, it was no different from a tracking device.

Wu Hen deliberately reached out to grab it, only to discover that the Green Cicada wasn't a living creature; it was actually a piece of precision mechanical insect technology.

Whoa, the beautiful Ming Yi is using high-tech gear!

"Big brother, big brother, look quickly! There's a Soul-Resting Tree in the stone valley too!!" Yang Qin suddenly cried out in excitement.

Wu Hen walked to a spot with a wider view and looked into the stone valley. He really did see a Soul-Resting Tree.

However, this Soul-Resting Tree looked like it was withering, and its vitality was far less vigorous than the previous one.

"Don't shout, there are other people down there," Wu Hen said, glaring at Yang Qin.

"They must be our fellow countrymen. After I woke up in the Homeland, I informed the authorities that the Soul-Resting Tree could allow everyone to return. They took this information very seriously and even said they would take special care of me..." Yang Qin said.

"So these people heard the news and came specifically looking for a Soul-Resting Tree to return home," Wu Hen mused, rubbing his chin.

"Yes, yes! We can go back to the Homeland again!" Yang Qin was still quite excited, not expecting things to go so smoothly and to find another Soul-Resting Tree.

"I still have a mission," Wu Hen said.

He had to rendezvous with Ming Yi.

While returning to the Homeland briefly provided some psychological comfort, Wu Hen was thinking about the bigger picture.

"I can't take it anymore, I have to hurry over, or there won't be any spots left for us in the Soul Flowers..." Yang Qin said.

"Wait!"

Suddenly, Wu Hen witnessed something incredible.

At the base of the Soul Flowers on the Soul-Resting Tree, a large amount of white mycelium had appeared. These mycelia were wriggling like sea-grass worms. As someone entered a Soul Flower to sleep, the white mycelium actually inserted itself into the flower's base like a tube...

The Soul Flowers here didn't look like life pods protecting humans; they looked more like parasitic containers for white worms!

Wu Hen couldn't help but gasp!

This Soul-Resting Tree was not right!!

In an instant, Wu Hen thought of the Insect-Eyed Half-Human that had infiltrated the Homeland!!