Seeing how powerful Grand Elder Zhigu was, Hu Yu had no choice but to intensify his attack, throwing an energy ball. However, the energy ball didn't explode on Grand Elder Zhigu's torso; instead, it focused on his branches and leaves. Hu Yu decided to be a barber and give Grand Elder Zhigu a haircut. Of course, Hu Yu's skills weren't great, so he could only give him a shaved head.
A loud bang echoed inside the Grim Slayer. A Zhigu branch had struck the Grim Slayer. The Reversed State Armor, which even the Xuan Star Civilization couldn't shake, was now rippling like water. However, the Reversed State Armor quickly returned to its original state. If the attack had been any stronger, the Reversed State Armor might not have been able to withstand it.
The attack from just a single branch was already more powerful than the energy ball attack from the Grim Slayer. Although the Treefolk did not have technology, it seemed that they simply did not need it. Humans develop technology to become stronger, but the Treefolk were born so powerful that there was absolutely no need for them to spend time and effort developing technology.
If Grand Elder Zhigu to attack with all his might, the Grim Slayer might not be able to withstand it. It's clear that although Grand Elder Zhigu is attacking fiercely, he is still holding back, after all, Prince Ninety-Seven is still with Hu Yu.
The Grim Slayer surrounded Zhigu, pouring dozens of energy balls of various sizes onto his branches and leaves. With a burst of violent energy, Grand Elder Zhigu's leaves flew everywhere, his twigs broke, and in the blink of an eye, the once lush tree had become a bare trunk, with only a few scattered leaves still fluttering, like an old tree in autumn.
"Humans, how dare you treat me like this? Fine, I'll show you my true abilities."
After speaking, the Grand Elder Zhigu was suspended in the air, unleashed an even more powerful energy. The space around him was completely deformed, and even the space around the branches became half-real and half-illusory. The Grim Slayer had no choice but to form an attack formation, preparing to face the real battle.
" Zhigu! Zhigu!"
"Chieftain, humans have gone too far."
An old tree, even larger than Zhigu, detached from another planet and flew to the side of Hu Yu's fleet. This old tree was truly ancient; its branches and leaves were no longer lush, and its trunk, which was over five thousand meters in diameter, was somewhat withered.
" Zhigu, you've gone too far! How can you treat a guest like that!"
"Chief!"
"Alright, you can go now."
Zhigu had no choice but to return dejectedly to the great pit to which he belonged. Just after he left the planet, a huge, deep pit appeared directly, which was where his roots were located.
" Zhigu, humans. I apologize for any offense I may have caused."
"Chieftain, we came peacefully, solely to rescue your prince and my people. In truth, we have also been offensive, and should not have treated Grand Elder Zhigu. Please forgive us."
Although Zhigu was irritable, the clan chief did not intervene at first, but only appeared when Hu Yu was about to actually fight. He probably wanted to test the strength of humans. If they were not strong enough, Zhang Yuanshan would probably have no hope. The power that the Grim Slayer had shown should be enough to make them take it seriously.
"It was your Zhigu that caused the offense first, how can you be blamed? May I ask how you should address me?"
My name is Hu Yu.
"So it's Lord Hu Yu. Please follow me. I'm getting old and can no longer stay in outer space for long to communicate. However, your fleet is too large, and there's no place on our planet to park it. I'll have to trouble you all to leave the warships for now."
"It's alright, we'll take the prince with us on the small spaceship."
" Old Hu, I'll take Ninety-Seven down there. You stay up here."
"It's alright, we've already flexed our muscles, it'll be fine. Besides, how are they going to rescue Zhang Yuanshan if I don't go down?"
"The general is right, I believe the clan chief." Academician Xiao nodded.
Seeing Academician Xiao nod, everyone understood that Academician Xiao must have collected the leaked brainwaves of the Treefolk and transmitted them back to Earth Two for analysis. The results showed that the patriarch was not abnormal.
"So it's General. Please don't worry about your safety. The reason we Treefolk chose to live in seclusion is because we're tired of fighting and killing. Now that you've come all this way to rescue our prince, how could we possibly harbor any ill intentions?"
"Chief, please excuse our rudeness; they're used to being wary."
Hu Yu could only awkwardly explain that their conversation inside the Grim Slayer could not be hidden from the Treefolk, and everyone even doubted whether the Chieftain could see into their minds.
"It's only natural to be vigilant; it would be abnormal not to be. Please follow me."
After speaking, the clan chief began to fly, heading towards the large pit where he had been. Hu Yu, along with Ninety-Seven, Zhang Yuanshan, and the others, followed behind the clan chief and landed next to his tree trunk.
The patriarch's roots had once again sunk deep into the soil at the bottom of the pit, and the planet had returned to its original state. The spaceship split open from the top like a clam shell, revealing its body, which was over Ninety-Seven meters long.
What's strange is that although this planet is huge, its gravity is pitifully weak, less than one-tenth of Earth's gravity. Academician Liu even stomped on the ground a few times to verify whether it was really a rocky planet.
"Child, child, how did you become like this? What suffering have you endured!" The clan chief gently lifted Ninety-Seven's body with a branch and said softly. This time, everyone finally heard the clan chief's voice, instead of relying on brainwaves to transmit information.
"Chief, this is what Ninety-Seven left behind when he saved our Human Civilization. He said that if he gave it to you, you would know what to do." Hu Yu took out a fruit the size of a fist.
"Thank you, General. Please wait a moment while I work with the elders to rescue the prince."
"Alright, we also hope to rescue the prince as soon as possible. However, Chieftain, the prince said that his consciousness will dissipate, leaving only a copied brainwave. Is the prince you rescue now still the same prince as before?"
"General, please rest assured. Although the prince's consciousness has dissipated, traces remain. Moreover, a single body cannot generate two consciousnesses. The prince who has been rescued is still the same prince as before."
"Then we can rest assured. Clan leader, you may begin. Should we excuse ourselves?"
"There's nothing to hide. Even if you see it, you won't be able to learn it. It's a special skill of our Treefolk."
The clan chief peeled back a section of bark from the Ninety-Seven tree, revealing a concave shape identical to the fruit. He placed the fruit left behind by the Ninety-Seven into this concave shape, and energy was continuously poured into the Ninety-Seven's body. Then, everyone could see the clan chief's originally verdant leaves slowly turning yellow, and yellow leaves continued to fall, quickly covering the ground with a thick layer.
An hour later, some of the patriarch's thinner branches had also withered. A gentle breeze caused them to break, and the ground was covered with dead leaves. The situation was similar for the Grand Elder Zhigu, who was several kilometers away. He, who already had few leaves, looked even older now. Two hours later, the patriarch finally opened his eyes, which were hundreds of meters long. He gently placed Ninety-Seven on the soft, withered leaves on the ground. By this time, the leaves on the ground had almost buried Hu Yu and his group. It took several people using their hands and feet to clear a space for them to settle down.
" Ninety-Seven, Ninety-Seven!" Wen Zhonghua shouted as he crawled over the dead leaves.