Meanwhile, somewhere in Secondary Dimension World, Hailian is wandering around, choosing new targets.
Soon, she found herself in a deep blue liquid world. She released the snake venom and watched it dissolve in the liquid, her thoughts drifting as she worked.
"I wonder if the toxins I planted earlier have been effective..."
Hailian murmured to herself.
She could only spread poison everywhere, but dared not go back to check, because once the Pivot Snake was poisoned, Black Star would definitely be lying in wait near the scene, and if she went there, there was no telling what risks she might face.
The only way to determine if the plan has succeeded is to judge the state of the Pivot Snake based on the Mother Tree's perception. If the Mother Tree's perception of the Pivot Snake weakens or even disappears, it means the Pivot Snake is doomed. In that case, she wouldn't need to check which trap the Pivot Snake had fallen into.
Therefore, Hailian felt that her situation was relatively safe. She only needed to focus on setting up traps, and as long as the Mother Tree gave her feedback, she could retreat immediately.
Hailian added snake-killing agent to the azure Secondary Dimension before her and was about to turn away when the voice of the Ancestral Tree King suddenly came through the Psychic Network, bringing good news.
"The Mother Tree's connection to the Pivot Snake is rapidly weakening; your method should have succeeded."
"It really succeeded? So quickly?! The odds were so low; I thought it would take at least several years for the Pivot Snake to choose the Secondary Dimension I had tampered with..."
Hailian's eyes lit up with delight.
In her plan, it might take her two or three years to add enough snake-killing agents to enough Secondary Dimension before the Pivot Snake would have a high chance of being infected. But now, the plan has only been going on for a little over six months, and there aren't many Secondary Dimension with added toxins, yet the Pivot Snake has already chosen it so quickly. What kind of probability is this? What kind of luck is this?!
It was a complete surprise that the World Tree's greatest threat was successfully resolved in less than a year!
Ancestral Tree King was also quite pleased. He had entrusted Hailian with this task with a long-term plan in mind, and he hadn't expected it to be so effective so quickly.
Don't ask, the answer is destiny is in my hands!
This is definitely a stroke of luck for the World Tree!
"Come back. Once the Mother Tree confirms the death of the Pivot Snake, the position of Tree King will be yours."
"Okay, I'll go back now!"
Hailian, suppressing her slightly excited emotions, was about to open the portal and embark on her journey home.
However, just as she was excitedly preparing to return, the Ancestral Tree King suddenly exclaimed in surprise, interrupting her.
"Wait a minute, the Mother Tree's sensors have changed..."
Hailian was taken aback. "What is it now?"
"The Mother Tree's connection to the Pivot Snake has stopped weakening; on the contrary, it's starting to strengthen... Strange, this is too abnormal. What happened?" The Ancestral Tree King's tone turned somber.
The stronger the World Tree's connection to the Pivot Snake, the more mature the Pivot Snake is. Currently, the connection is only at a general level; once it reaches adulthood, they will be able to pinpoint each other's location precisely.
Just now, after weakening for a while, the signal from the Pivot Snake suddenly surged against the trend, quickly exceeding the previous limit and continuing to rise.
Hailian stopped moving, also taken aback.
Why did this happen?!
"You didn't do anything unnecessary, did you?"
The intensity of the sensation was still rising, and the Ancestral Tree King sensed something was wrong, his tone filled with strong suspicion.
"Absolutely not! I've been focused on setting traps the whole time, and even when we happened to encounter the fleets of Three Universal Civilizations, I didn't make a move!"
Hailian was so anxious that she almost swore an oath, and immediately shared the relevant memories in her Psychic Network.
The Ancestral Tree King quickly reviewed her experiences over the past six months, finding nothing unusual. His expression grew grave. "There's only one explanation: Black Star used some means to save the Pivot Snake, and also significantly accelerated its growth..."
Before he could finish speaking, the Mother Tree's consciousness suddenly became agitated, as if it were experiencing intense panic.
The Pivot Snake's sensing power seemed to have broken through some kind of limit; a large area of its sensing range suddenly disappeared and in the blink of an eye, it turned into a precise coordinate!
The Ancestral Tree King's eyes widened suddenly, his emotions fluctuating wildly. He felt as if he were in a weightless zone, and his mind almost went blank for a moment.
The connection between the World Tree and the Pivot Snake is bidirectional. When the World Tree can accurately locate the Pivot Snake, it means that the Pivot Snake has entered adulthood and can also locate the World Tree's precise coordinates in reverse.
So... the location of the Mother Tree has been exposed!
If he hadn't been certain that the Mother Tree wouldn't lie, he would have even suspected that the toxins it Mother Tree were actually a catalyst for the maturation of the Pivot Snake.
For a moment, the Ancestral Tree King was somewhat confused.
I sent someone to assassinate the Pivot Snake, and even if they failed, I would only lose a high-level combatant. How did it end up maturing the Pivot Snake prematurely?
Not only did it fail to resolve the threat, it also significantly shortened the time it would take for this hidden danger to erupt... We originally had decades to prepare, but now that buffer time is gone in an instant, and we've been caught off guard and attacked head-on.
What should we do?!
"How so..."
Hailian was stunned, frozen in place, questioning the meaning of life.
Before the two could recover from their shock, a spatial rift suddenly opened in this Secondary Dimension, and Han Xiao stepped into the void and slowly walked out.
Han Xiao's gaze swept around, quickly locking onto a seemingly empty area—which was actually where Hailian was hiding—and he laughed.
"Are you going to come out yourself, or should I come and get you?"
Hailian was startled, and her expression changed drastically.
The series of unexpected events had left her in a state of confusion. She hadn't expected Black Star to find her so quickly, and that he could see through the Stealth effect of the Leaf Concealment Garment with just a glance and pinpoint her location.
"Stop hiding. You can't escape my senses."
Han Xiao didn't wait. Streams of mechanical particles flowed along his arm, transforming into a circular device that released waves of invisible force fields toward Hailian.
Suddenly, in the empty space, Hailian's figure appeared, rippling like waves.
Realizing her whereabouts had been exposed, Hailian was startled and hurriedly tried to open a portal to retreat.
But at that moment, Han Xiao raised his hand and grabbed, and a mechanical disc rose from behind his head like a crown of light, freezing the space and shattering her teleportation spell.
Immediately afterwards, Thunder flashed, and a group of Mechanical Divine Apostle surged out with Mechanical Force, surrounding Hailian, but did not immediately make a move.
"Oh no..."
Hailian felt despair; the difference in strength was too great. She couldn't possibly fight Beyond God Grade opponent alone. She gritted her teeth and made up her mind to fight to the death.
However, at that moment, the shocked voice of the Ancestral Tree King suddenly echoed in the Psychic Network.
"Wait a minute, how come the Mother Tree's positioning of the Pivot Snake is on Black Star?"
Hailian was taken aback, glanced at it, and was immediately shocked.
The coordinates of the Pivot Snake locked by the Mother Tree were none other than the Black Star right in front of them... What's going on?!
At this moment, Han Xiao did not immediately take action. Instead, he looked at Hailian with interest and said, "Your idea of plotting against the Pivot Snake is quite good, but unfortunately it won't work. I know you have Psychic Network that allows you to communicate with each other regardless of distance. Help me deliver a message to the Ancestral Tree King: I already know the location of your World Tree's true form. You have already lost this battle."
"What have you done..." Hailian couldn't help but ask.
"You mean how I dealt with the genetic toxins you released?"
Han Xiao smiled, raised his hand, and a semi-transparent serpentine figure appeared in his palm, coiling and twisting. It was the Pivot Snake, which had been transformed into a virtual life form.
The Pivot Snake transformed into a virtual life form, and Han Xiao infused it with a large amount of data stream, nurturing and accelerating its growth in the manner of an intelligent life form.
The result delighted him; his previous assumptions were correct. The virtual life form of the Pivot Snake had broken free from the limitations of normal biological growth and could mature rapidly in this way. Furthermore, the Information State connection between the Pivot Snake and the World Tree had not disappeared due to the change in the Pivot Snake's life form; the two still maintained a two-way communication.
Han Xiao saw the World Tree's persistent assassination plan in [The Bold Explorer]. He initially thought it was just bad luck, but after seeing that Hailian and Harrison had a brief interaction, he became uncertain and made a bold conjecture.
Perhaps it was the Harrison halo that caused Hailian to choose the Pivot Snake as food, thus indirectly leading to the Pivot Snake being transformed into a virtual life form, maturing prematurely, and sensing the coordinates of the World Tree... Although the probability seemed low, for a protagonist-type character like Han Xiao, anything was possible.
Since virtual life is the life form that Han Xiao controls, he simply put the Pivot Snake into the Divine Body Fortress and turned it into a tool. In this way, even if the World Tree can lock onto the Pivot Snake in reverse, the coordinates obtained will only be his location, and he will be completely unable to bypass him to do anything he wants.
Upon witnessing this scene through the Psychic Network, the Ancestral Tree King instantly turned ashen-faced and immediately understood the current situation.
--I'm afraid there will never be another chance to eliminate the threat posed by the Pivot Snake...
Just then, Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and said to Hailian:
"Although you came to assassinate the Pivot Snake, you did me a favor. You could call yourself a hero of our Three Universal Civilizations, so I'll make an exception and give you a chance to live."
"... what are you up to?"
"I will seal you away. Perhaps you will have a chance to survive after we deal with the World Tree. You have nowhere to escape now, so you might as well obediently accept the seal and not make me waste my time." Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.
"I..."
Hailian's tone was hesitant, as if she were struggling with a decision.
However, the next moment, she suddenly sprang up, retreated swiftly, and unleashed a series of instant-cast spells, blasting a path through the mechanical troops in an attempt to break through and escape.
Before she could make a further move, the Mechanical Divine Apostle around her attacked together, instantly suppressing Hailian. Han Xiao flashed close to Hailian and grabbed her neck with one hand.
"Looks like you won't give up until you see the coffin."
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, then suddenly exerted force, shattering her protective spell, and flung her towards the Mechanical Divine Apostle force.
A fierce battle immediately broke out, but the outcome of the battle was far from suspenseful. The one-sided crushing victory did not last long, and the desperate Hailian Mechanical Divine Apostle her completely battered and nearly paralyzed.
Seeing this, Han Xiao floated in front of her, pressed her head down, and activated his ability.
Before long, the Space-Time Amber took shape, freezing Hailian's sorrowful and humiliated expression in time.
"Congratulations, Dominion, on catching the culprit. Indeed, nothing in this world can escape your eyes." Seeing this, Dark Emperor offered his congratulations in a deep voice.
"Alright, you're not cut out for flattery. Go back now."
Han Xiao waved his hand, feeling relieved.
If it weren't for the World Tree's machinations, he wouldn't have made the decision to experiment on the Pivot Snake so quickly. The World Tree has really shot himself in the foot this time.
"Now that we have the coordinates, let's call Harrison back... Come to think of it, this seems like we're riding on his coattails."
Han Xiao thought for a moment, then summoned the King of the Boundless to act as a relay station to contact Harrison.
Before long, Harrison's remote projection appeared.
"Lord Black Star, what brings you here?"
"You shouldn't go on the expedition anymore, come back."
Harrison was somewhat surprised and said helplessly, "Huh? Didn't we talk about this before? I remember you promised not to try to persuade me anymore. I've already decided to dedicate myself to interstellar society..."
Before he could finish speaking, Han Xiao interrupted him and laughed:
"Times have changed. I now have the exact coordinates of the World Tree itself, so the Expeditionary Army is no longer needed, and you don't need to risk your life any further."
Harrison was stunned, somewhat incredulous, and asked hesitantly, "Lord Black Star, you're not deliberately trying to trick me into going back, are you? How long has it been, and you've already found the World Tree itself?"
Han Xiao laughed and said, "This time, we owe a lot to your luck. If it weren't for you, I might not have been able to pinpoint the location of the World Tree so quickly. So, strictly speaking, some of the credit belongs to you. You've made a huge contribution to ending this war, and you can retire now... That's settled then. I'll teleport there later and bring you back."
After saying that, he hung up the call.
On the other side, Harrison scratched his head, completely bewildered and utterly confused.
No, what did I do? How did I make such a huge contribution? I don't even know it!