Nightglow Life Circle

The Devouring Worm's head was pierced by a sudden sword strike, pinning it viciously to a nearby tree, but that did not mean it was dead.

For some Dark Creatures, death might merely mean changing into another form of existence.

What could truly eliminate them was the devouring and counter-corrosion of energy.

Lincon had never feared mental contamination because, within his mind and soul, he possessed energy on a level higher than darkness.

Anything that invaded his brain would be devoured by the Seed Mark and turned into new sunlight.

The Devouring Worm struggled, actively controlling its body and allowing the Shadow Sword to slice open its head as it waved its pale arms at Lincon.

But in the next instant, the Shadow Sword suddenly erupted with bizarre sword energy, as deep as ink and just as viscous as the darkness around them.

The Devouring Worm immediately trembled as though it had been drenched in scalding oil. The sword energy spread across its body like bacteria, gnawing away at its energy.

Lincon swiftly pulled out his sword and slashed again. In just a few seconds, he struck more than a dozen times, completely dismantling and shredding the indescribable mass of limbs before him, allowing the Shadow Sword to chew through it faster.

Yet even so, the Devouring Worm kept trying to restore its body.

The two sides seemed locked in a stalemate, but overall, the Shadow Sword still held the upper hand.

Li Zhouhai watched Lincon, who seemed like a god descending into the world as he rapidly dismembered the Devouring Worm, and finally came back to his senses.

He turned around in astonishment and discovered that the entire swamp had been illuminated.

Specks of fluorescent light emerged beneath the murky, foul-smelling water, shining through the mud and making the surface glitter. Roots crisscrossed beneath it like pipes, forming a dense woven network.

The ordinary-looking water moss plants from the daytime were also now glowing with emerald halos. Their shriveled leaf buds became plump, as if filled with water.

On land, countless plants and fungi emitting a nightglow swayed in the wind as well. They recovered from withered, ash-gray states, some even on the verge of dying, and bloomed with the radiance unique to nocturnal plants.

It was like... a fantasy forest.

Li Zhouhai looked toward the center of the swamp, at the Demon Ancient Tree releasing the brightest glow, his tone filled with disbelief.

"Sir, I'm curious. How did you know they would glow at night?"

After all, this was the first time in Li Zhouhai's life that he had encountered plants that shone in the darkness. He was not the only one; the others were the same.

"It told me." Lincon did not look back.

There was no need to explain who "it" was.

With light came the courage to fight Dark Creatures.

No one could have imagined that such a strange ancient tree growing in a swamp would have anything to do with light.

But soon, their hearts filled with shame.

When danger had arrived, they should have been the ones standing in front of Lincon, yet the situation had turned out the other way around.

Their lord had saved them once again.

But this was not the time for reflection. Li Zhouhai quickly steadied his emotions. Aside from the few responsible for setting up camp, everyone else had to stand guard during the darkness.

There would definitely be more than one Dark Creature tonight. Li Zhouhai's Sixth Sense told him that the danger was far from over.

[You killed a D-Rank Anomaly Calamity. Sunlight +100, main class experience +100, secondary class experience +100.]

Only after the Devouring Worm had been completely consumed by the Shadow Sword's energy did Lincon stop dismantling the creature before him.

A D-rank Dark Creature could grant him 100 points of sunlight, a full hundred times more than an ordinary E-Rank Crystal creature.

Of course, the difference likely included a qualitative transformation in energy. D-rank Dark Creatures were no longer something ordinary people could fight.

If this Devouring Worm had not encountered him, even Li Zhouhai probably would not have been its match.

The Shadow Sword merged back into the shadows. Lincon did not compete with Li Zhouhai and the others for work that belonged to them, instead returning to the center of the group's encirclement.

"Thank you."

Lincon looked at the Demon Ancient Tree, sending out an invisible mental message.

"You said... we... are friends!"

The one who answered Lincon was the Demon Ancient Tree's innocent, childlike consciousness.

Had the Demon Ancient Tree not told him of its ability beforehand, Lincon would likely have panicked like Li Zhouhai after darkness fell.

What surprised him even more was that the Demon Ancient Tree possessed a domain ability similar to the Seed of Life.

The Demon Ancient Tree absorbed and devoured the Dark Energy in the air, as well as Dark Creatures, transforming them into an energy environment unique to itself.

Not only was this environment harmless to plants, it also guided them to mutate around the Demon Ancient Tree as their center, forming a unique life circle.

"Perhaps it could be called... the Nightglow Life Circle."

As he gazed at the countless nightglow plants coming to life in the night, Lincon could not suppress the delight in his eyes.

These were all plants that had already undergone an active advancement.

He gently held his hand over the strange nightglow plants.

[Lantern Mushroom]

[A strange fungus born from adapting to a special energy environment. It hung glowing caps like little lanterns and multiplied in great numbers like stars at night.]

[Red-veined Berry Bush]

[A low shrub born from adapting to a special energy environment. The berries covering its branches pulsed like hearts, lighting up in a dark red glow with each pulse. If physically damaged, it would produce a violent explosion.]

[Fluorescent Moss]

[A special plant born from adapting to a special energy environment. It was not a single plant, but a massive collective of fungal moss. It could only survive at night and would become rotten, falsely dormant matter during the day.]

What powerful potential!

His gaze swept over the surrounding plants. Just as Lincon had expected, these plants were equivalent to plants that had already evolved once.

Moreover, the Seed Mark could likewise consume sunlight to improve their quality.

"Can I gather some of the plants around you?"

The Demon Ancient Tree could not be taken away. He could only wait until he was strong enough to expand Longwind Fortress's territory to this place.

"You can..."

Perhaps because Lincon was the first person able to communicate with it, the Demon Ancient Tree seemed very generous.

In its view, even if Lincon wanted to cut off some of its roots, it would not mind.

If Lincon had not appeared, its consciousness might still have been wandering within Dark Energy.

Tonight, it had illuminated the night for Lincon and the others, but Lincon had brought light to it as well.

After obtaining the Demon Ancient Tree's permission, Lincon immediately took out his backpack and began gathering these unique plants.

Li Zhouhai, standing guard along the outer perimeter, saw this and roughly guessed Lincon's intentions. He then had Guan Teng lead two people to protect Lincon.

Li Zhouhai took a deep breath. Though the stench of rot filled his nostrils, he forced himself to adapt and fixed his gaze firmly on the darkness around them.

"They're here!"

"Brothers, now is the time to prove our worth to our lord!"

Li Zhouhai's voice was low, as though it came from his chest, yet it was like a flicker of flame that ignited the increasingly blazing hearts of the others.

"Prepare for battle!"