Chapter 202 The Blessed Golden Apple Reappears
After subduing Master Kabo, Mu En did not intend to engage in such meaningless acts of punishment or torture.
This high-ranking leader from an enemy country has a wealth of intelligence about the Dorok. Instead of venting our emotions, we should make good use of him to obtain this information.
After a thorough and frank exchange, Mu En obtained the information she wanted.
First, regarding whether the Dorok will continue to invade the Kingdoms of the Sea of Corruption, the answer is yes.
Judging from the way Master Kabo operates with the Dorok Principalities, news from here will reach the Holy Emperor's ears sooner or later, after all, the commotion caused by Pejite this time was too great.
Whether it was the loss of the Silver Battleship and the Guardian Fleet, or the disappearance of this Dorok Master here, it was impossible to hide it from the Dorok spies.
Even if it weren't for the desire to seize the Giant God Warrior, but simply to continue the infiltration plan that had been given a death order, other tribes would certainly flock to the scene after receiving the news.
"As soon as the news gets back to China, the other senior monks will definitely volunteer to go here, because whoever gets the credit will gain the emperor's favor."
Master Kabo described the political landscape of Dorok as follows: most monks were fanatical loyalists to the emperor, and there were few monks like him who could still think independently.
This was pretty much what Mu En had expected; the war wasn't truly over yet, it was at most a preliminary battle.
He will likely face enemies ten or even a hundred times larger than this one, and he must be fully prepared.
The next question concerned cloning technology.
Master Kabo was indeed very qualified to speak on this matter, after all, he had firsthand experience with the inner workings of the Dorok's upper echelons. However, the answer surprised Mu En somewhat.
"Almost impossible."
"Why? You can even clone Ohmu, is the human body more complex than Ohmu?"
An awkward expression appeared in the mind of Master Kabo.
"Ahem, this matter—it all begins with the lineage of the Holy Emperor."
He recounted history from two hundred years ago.
At that time Dorok was still under the rule of a brutal old dynasty, and the people were suffering terribly. The first Holy Emperor appeared out of nowhere with an army composed of psychic powers. He was invincible in the form of a god and finally overthrew the old dynasty.
And now, the Dorok is only in its second generation.
The current emperor Miralupa, has extended his lifespan by nearly a century thanks to biotechnology. No one knows how much longer he can live, and no one dares to ask that question.
"But even so, His Miralupa cannot truly attain immortality," Master Kabo continued to explain.
The Dorok truly possess astonishing biotechnology, as evidenced by their cloning experiments on the Ohmu.
But when it comes to the mysteries of humanity itself, they seem to be bound by some invisible curse, and every attempt to create a new body that can be used by the Holy Emperor ends in a tragic failure.
It is said that the first Holy Emperor died because he tried to transfer his soul into an immature clone, but the new body collapsed the moment it received the soul, and he bled profusely.
Moreover, even if the Dorok possessed the technology for human cloning, Master Kabo would not be able to answer questions about it, because that technology was entirely in the hands of another group of people, who Monk Council.
Only the chosen ones, who reside year-round deep within the capital city of Holy Mausoleum of Shuwa, possess those powerful biotechnologies.
Holy Mausoleum of Shuwa.
Hearing the name of this place—which represents the capital of the Dorok and the highest technology research institute—once again, Mu En felt a headache coming on.
It seems that this holy emperor, in order to maintain his rule, has firmly grasped all the core technologies in his own hands, leaving no possibility for any of his subordinates to rebel using those advanced technologies.
According to the description of the Master Kabo, those chosen ones were only loyal to the Emperor himself, and the knowledge and technology they possessed were never passed on to outsiders. Even the chieftains of various tribes only had a superficial understanding of it.
I can't exactly send troops to the capital of the Dorok just to create a mindless clone, can I?
If his power truly develops to that extent, he will probably have already found another solution.
The issue of clones remained unresolved, Mu En continued to ponder it.
If the animal body approach is blocked, then—what about plants?
The thought flashed through his mind for a moment, then became clearer and clearer.
He recalled that in the world of Elden Ring, there were mindless guardians like the " Erdtree Avatar " and mutated beings born from the Erdtree like the " Putrid Tree Spirit."
These things all originate from the Erdtree itself—meaning the Erdtree has the ability to create wood-based creatures, as evidenced by the fact that its tree avatar in the Castle in the Sky world can move its roots freely.
However, due to its size, its roots can only cover a range of up to ten kilometers, so it cannot be considered truly free to move around.
If one could inject the golden mycelium carrying one's own consciousness into this woody incarnation, perhaps a truly "living" body could be created, even capable of moving outside the root zone.
However, it seems that I haven't unlocked the ability to create avatars yet, so how can I verify this idea?
Mu En's imagination ran wild. Perhaps, such a complex creation wasn't necessary? Maybe simply making a wooden puppet would suffice?
The Erdtree is a tree, but the trees in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind aren't trees?
Without hesitation, Mu En manipulated the golden mycelium to spread from the tree roots, climbing up several different plants around them.
Trees, shrubs, vines, and even a tiny blade of grass just sprouting from the soil.
Such experiments naturally require multiple control samples, as different plant types, different growth stages, and different tissue structures can all affect the final results.
The process went surprisingly smoothly; the golden threads blended seamlessly into the plant as if they were part of it.
Mu En could clearly sense the hyphae rapidly expanding within the xylem, spreading along the direction of the vessels, and quickly invading every corner of the entire tree.
At the same time, the surface of the invaded plant turned a faint gold, and its leaves turned from emerald green to golden yellow, as if it were being assimilated by the power of the Erdtree.
Mu En was overjoyed. Could it be that the restriction preventing the bestowal of blessings upon plants was about to be broken?
But before he could even rejoice for a few seconds, the golden light suddenly dimmed.
The large tree withered from the roots, its bark peeled off, its branches and leaves dried up, and in just a few breaths it became a lifeless piece of dead wood.
The same was true for the bushes; their leaves curled and fell off, and their branches cracked and broke. The vines drooped down completely, as if all the moisture had been drained away.
Finally, all the plants turned to ashes and dissipated into the air, leaving only the spreading golden mycelium still suspended in place, outlining the original shape of the plants.
Even Mu En himself was startled; the golden threads could actually deprive other creatures of their life force to grow!
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Although the Erdtree was never a benevolent entity to begin with, and the " Erdtree Burial " ritual is essentially about reclaiming the believers' nourishment, at least blessings must be bestowed before extraction.
And these threads? Without even a word, they sucked the several innocent plants clean.
Could it be that I've misunderstood, and this terrifying attack method is the true purpose of the golden thread?
Just as Mu En was lost in thought, a faint golden light from under the tree caught his attention; it was from the small grass that had just been invaded by his mycelium.
This plant didn't wither; instead, its leaves turned a color that was almost pure gold.
"This is—" Mu En felt that this thing looked familiar.
His intuition was right. The next moment, the grass grew rapidly, blossomed, and finally produced a golden apple that looked as if it were cast from pure gold.
Subsequently, the vines and the mycelium within them vanished into thin air, leaving only the fallen fruit on the ground.
"---- Blessed Fruit!?"