The Giant Blood Tree

Chen Ao cut off the giant snake's head. The blood gushing from its body was enough to drown him several times over.

He let the blood thoroughly soak his body, even urging his cells to absorb as much of the snake blood as they could.

He wanted his aura to resemble the giant snake's as closely as possible.

"If this still doesn't work, I'll have to use its droppings!"

Of course, Chen Ao was perfectly capable of doing something that disgusting. Back when the apocalypse struck Earth, he had done similar things just to stay alive.

Still, he would rather avoid it if he could. The stuff was stomach-turning, after all.

After soaking in the snake blood for so long, Chen Ao couldn't wash it off his body, no matter how many times he tried.

That was because his cells had absorbed some of it. Ordinary washing was useless; he would have to cleanse himself at the cellular level.

Continuing forward, Chen Ao saw one giant snake after another slithering through different parts of the cave.

"What a heavy stench of blood!"

Suddenly, he realized where that overpowering smell had come from.

It wasn't excrement, but the smell of snake blood.

Unlike the snake blood on Chen Ao's body, that overpowering scent seemed to come from blood that had been deliberately concentrated.

"Maybe there really is something good here?"

Who would bother refining their own blood without some special reason?

"These giant snakes have so much blood. Could there be a similar reason for that?"

Chen Ao ventured deeper. More and more giant snakes appeared along the way, and quite a few were already at the World Lord Level.

However, these World Lord snakes seemed somewhat listless, as though a great deal of their blood had been drawn.

Chen Ao suppressed his aura even further, then did his utmost to spread the scent of snake blood.

Perhaps because the smell here was already so overpowering, Chen Ao actually went unnoticed.

That made him breathe a deep sigh of relief.

If he was discovered, he would have no choice but to leave. Otherwise, death would be all but certain.

Chen Ao continued deeper and even discovered giant snakes at the Immortal Level.

Unlike the World Lord and Domain Lord snakes, these Immortal Level snakes radiated a golden glow all over.

It was so dazzling that Chen Ao's eyes hurt.

However, like the World Lord Level snakes, these Immortal Level snakes were also somewhat listless.

No, to be precise, they were even more listless than the World Lord Level snakes.

"Could all these giant snakes have had their blood drawn?" Chen Ao thought it highly likely. Otherwise, they wouldn't all be in the same condition.

He ran his tongue over his lips. It seemed whatever treasure lay here had something to do with the giant snakes' blood.

"No wonder that smell was so unusual. Even my cells were forced to absorb it. This really is something extraordinary!"

Soon, Chen Ao realized that he seemed to have entered through just one of many caves.

Hundreds of caves like the one he had just passed through surrounded an enormous basin or abyss.

"Tsk, tsk. I encountered tens of thousands of giant snakes just now, including dozens of Undying. If all these hundreds of caves are similar, how many Undying and World Lords would that make?"

There would have to be at least a hundred thousand Undying. As for the World Lord Level snakes, there were even more-probably no fewer than ten million.

Chen Ao cautiously approached the basin-like abyss below, hoping to see just what lay down there.

With one look, he immediately discovered that the ground below was covered in dense, vein-like patterns.

Blood flowed through those patterns as well.

And all that blood flowed in the same direction.

There stood a blood-red plant.

"So these hundred thousand Undying snakes and ten million World Lord Level snakes are actually using their blood to nourish this Blood Tree?"

Chen Ao was stunned. Had these giant snakes gone mad?

How could they do something like this?

Although the giant snakes lacked intelligence, their survival instincts should have stopped them from doing such a thing.

Losing so much blood severely depleted their vitality. Even an Immortal Level snake would need tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of years to recover after having its blood drawn once.

Yet the blood essence of all these giant snakes was being used to nourish that Blood Tree?

He couldn't make out the Blood Tree clearly from this distance.

Chen Ao decided to move a little closer.

Huff!

As Chen Ao slowly ventured deeper, many of the giant snakes inside the basin suddenly began instinctively turning toward him.

Scared half to death, Chen Ao hurriedly traveled through space.

He emerged in another direction.

These giant snakes hadn't had their blood drawn. They seemed to have retained their strength to protect the Blood Tree.

And every one of them was at the Immortal Level.

There were at least a thousand of them.

If they set their sights on him, he would probably be crushed to dust.

Escape with his Q Skill?

Not a chance. Immortal Level beings were far faster than he was. The instant he entered space, they could bind him with the power of laws, or even kill him outright.

Traveling through space, Chen Ao arrived somewhere farther away.

The giant snakes turned toward the place where he had appeared again.

Chen Ao hid on the body of an Undying giant snake, and it suddenly stirred.

"Damn it. It looks like Domain Lord Level snakes aren't allowed here. That's why these Undying snakes are reacting!"

Fortunately, Chen Ao seemed like one of their own. Otherwise, they would have attacked him immediately.

"Forget it. I'll head straight for the Blood Tree!"

Chen Ao frantically traveled through space, arriving directly at a spot near the Blood Tree.

Roar!

The instant Chen Ao approached the Blood Tree, many of the Undying giant snakes began roaring.

Clearly, they could sense that some creature had entered the Blood Tree's vicinity.

Chen Ao couldn't afford to worry about all that. He looked straight at the Blood Tree less than a kilometer away.

To his surprise, the blood-red tree bore none of the strange fruits he had expected.

There was nothing on the Blood Tree except branches and leaves.

Instead, beneath the Blood Tree, its roots seemed to have absorbed vast quantities of blood. Every root was extremely thick and a deep blood-red.

"Could the roots be the real treasure?"

Looking at those blood-red roots, which even seemed to pulse like hearts, Chen Ao instinctively felt a trace of longing.

It was as though eating those roots would allow him to evolve.

That instinctive craving from his body made Chen Ao understand at once.

"These roots must be treasures that improve life genes! Otherwise, my body's cells couldn't possibly crave them so much!"

His heart pounded with a longing stronger than anything he could feel for a peerless beauty. It was as though a living being would disregard everything to obtain this thing, even its own life.

"There are plenty of roots, but only thirteen are pulsing on their own!"

Perhaps the other roots were still developing, or simply hadn't matured yet?

Swish! Swish!

Even though countless giant snakes roared behind him, and some were already charging straight at him.

Chen Ao ignored them all and kept cutting at the roots with his sword.

"I've come all this way. If I don't grab something, I'd be letting myself down!"

He might be sneaky, but that was to protect himself better. When it was time to take a risk, he still had to take it. Besides, there wasn't really any danger, was there?

At worst, this body would die!