Taking the Lead in Traversal

"The seeds of the giant tree?"

Ren Anran had come to believe everything Zhang Xuezhou had seen, but Ren Anran still found it hard to imagine how a single tree could take over an entire planet.

All data regarding the height, density, weight, and air pressure that the trees withstand become irrelevant.

Scientifically speaking, a tree cannot grow that tall, nor can it have such a large root system to support its body.

The impossibility of cognition denied the existence of such a giant tree, and Ren Anran could not imagine what such a tree actually looked like.

Of course, drawing a tree on a sphere is a simple thing, but that's just a drawing, not what the real planet looks like.

If what Zhang Xuezhou said is true, a single leaf from such a giant tree could potentially cover an entire city, and the root system, trunk, and other components involved are so vast that they are difficult to comprehend.

Ants cannot imagine the human world, and Ren Anran cannot imagine the vast world built by the giant tree.

But the seed of the giant tree was placed in Zhang Xuezhou's palm.

Ren Anran had touched things before, but unlike Zhang Xuezhou, she couldn't perceive the images and sounds.

She carefully observed the seed that could potentially grow into a gigantic creature, while occasionally glancing at Zhang Xuezhou, wanting to hear Zhang Xuezhou understanding of it.

"Can it transform into a giant tree?" Ren Anran asked.

"Perhaps you've seen it grow!"

Zhang Xuezhou held the giant tree seed in his hand, glancing several times at the distant lake.

"You mean it... is also related to that Soul-Locking Pillar?" Ren Anran asked doubtfully, "But that's clearly a mountain!"

"It's a tree!"

Where are the tree's branches and leaves?

"It didn't even grow out; it just sprouted a bud, and then it drained everything in this world!"

Zhang Xuezhou pointed to the still-drizzling rain in the sky and then mentioned the burning and toxic smoke that everyone had seen earlier.

The colossal tree instantly turned to ash, a collapse akin to a whale falling and giving birth to all things; everything that devoured the world was giving back.

If he hadn't experienced it, even Zhang Xuezhou would find it hard to believe that all the impact was caused by this seed.

In Zhang Xuezhou and others' early reasoning, they attributed the situation in this area primarily to the burning of fireballs falling into the atmosphere, never considering the damage caused by the growth of giant trees.

He even belatedly began to reflect on Donghua's loud cry when he left.

After the explosion caused by the apocalyptic fragments, Donghua lost his composure and mentioned the 'power of the World Tree's binding force,' even describing his situation as being in prison.

Donghua rarely speaks, let alone expresses his innermost thoughts, but at that moment, he could not hide his emotions and blurted out some things.

This information was of little use at the time, but Zhang Xuezhou gained new insights from it as he continued to engage with it.

"Even someone as powerful as Donghua can't do anything to you?"

Looking at the seed of the giant tree, Zhang Xuezhou found it hard to imagine how this seed could restrain Donghua.

"Neither the staff nor the throne seems to be able to restrain Donghua!"

The staff was locked to the top of the main hall, and the throne had been withered for a long time. Zhang Xuezhou did not think that these two items could bind Donghua.

Even without these two items, the opponent still possesses formidable strength.

Even if Zhang Xuezhou only needs the staff, not depends on it, Zhang Xuezhou would be quite inconvenienced without it, but he wouldn't be unable to live his life. Donghua is unlikely to be so dependent on him that he is inseparable from him.

Even during their final battle, Zhang Xuezhou never saw Donghua insist on using the staff, nor did he show any inclination to snatch the staff from Zhang Xuezhou's hand.

"He must have felt resistance inside, and perhaps even wanted to escape!"

In the spiritual memories given by the tree chair and the giant tree seed, Donghua University's cross-dimensional mission failed, and the memory ended there.

Zhang Xuezhou felt it was a pity that he couldn't have an equal and friendly conversation with Donghua, since he genuinely wanted to take over Donghua's mess and also had a need to travel back and forth between the worlds.

He didn't know how to interact with the giant tree, nor how to avoid pitfalls.

"How do the ducks operate this altar?"

Zhang Xuezhou's tests on the giant tree seeds yielded limited results, and he had no intention of repeatedly reliving the memories of the giant tree's growth.

After putting the giant tree seed back in, Zhang Xuezhou also inquired about the mallard's behavior back then.

"It just kept chanting, 'The void is unbreakable, my body is immortal!'"

Ren Anran gestured for a moment, and then began to imitate the recitation in an extremely strange language.

The mallard duck did a lot of hard work for everyone, but the operation process was extremely simple.

Of course, the process of operating the mallard duck was extremely long, lasting for hundreds of hours.

"That duck was quacking in my mind, saying it was very depressed, and then the call was made," Zhang Xuezhou said. "Was there anything else going on?"

"Nothing special," Ren Anran shook his head and said, "At most, there are some threats, but no one interferes with the ceremony it holds!"

"This guy definitely needs a talking-to!"

Zhang Xuezhou didn't think hitting the mallard duck was a wrong thing to do. After all, the duck was just as cunning as him, and he could easily suffer the consequences if he wasn't careful.

The mallard duck wasn't having a very comfortable time, and Zhang Xuezhou was indeed in a gloomy mood after meeting Ji Wuyan.

If the only factor to consider when traveling between them is mindset, Zhang Xuezhou believes that achieving mental alignment wouldn't be too difficult.

Either they have a fixed emotion, or they have a sufficient understanding of each other to know each other's feelings.

"What was he feeling at that moment? Was he overjoyed to be back in my body, or perhaps he felt uncomfortable because of my many health problems? His Demon Thought shouldn't have any romantic feelings, so he wouldn't develop any special emotions because of treating an illness..."

Zhang Xuezhou sat in the altar, reciting the hymns of the dead souls while constantly adjusting his emotions.

The red-skinned undead standing beneath the sixteen giant rocks remained motionless. When Zhang Xuezhou inquired, he learned that the same thing happened when the mallard ducks chanted; the red-skinned undead would only chant voluntarily for the brief moments when Zhang Xuezhou regained his senses.

"Isn't Xuezhou able to go out and bring back supplies again?"

"His body hasn't recovered, and he must undergo the ritual; otherwise, there's a possibility of unpredictable consequences!"

"Then we'll have to wait a very long time again!"

"As long as we don't get assigned hard labor by that bird, we won't starve!"

"Good, Xuezhou brought a lot of medicine this time. Next time, we can reduce the amount of medicine and prepare more compressed food, and our lives will be better!"

I'm starting to feel like watching TV!

"I really envy the life of the Twilight Years Mansion!"

Zhang Xuezhou's adjustment period was extremely long, which attracted the attention of many people. Even Badun, who was lying down to recover from his injury, propped himself up to get closer and watch.

"Badun, can you understand this?"

"I don't understand, I'm not good at this kind of thing!"

What are your thoughts, Nagos?

"This looks like a sacrificial ritual, but I don't understand the core of such rituals. You can ask Zhang Xuezhou directly!"

"At this point, he can only figure it out by trial and error!"

Zhang Xuezhou kept trying at the altar.

Just like the mallard, Zhang Xuezhou spent a considerable amount of time on this task.

Although Zhang Xuezhou's attempt was simple, few people were willing to try it, and he subsequently lay down like a person in a vegetative state who had lost consciousness.

Zhang Xuezhou has the ability to regain his senses, but others may not.

To this day, no one understands the details of that battle. Badun and the others only know that the beings they encountered were of an extremely high level, even ridiculously so.

Compared to their counterparts, they are not just inferior by a small margin, but by a massive gap in all aspects.

Taking possession of what the other person has might bring benefits, but it's more likely to bring unbearable harm.

"As long as the void remains, my body will never perish; those who believe in me will attain eternal life!"

It's easy to say something, but putting it into practice is incredibly difficult.

In Badun's mind, there were many ways more terrifying than direct death, enough to drive even the most resilient monk to madness.

Badun was never afraid of death, but he was certainly afraid of the unknown.

Until other cases are available to verify this, Badun will obviously stick to the rules and avoid putting himself in danger.

Badun muttered a couple of words, and Zhang Xuezhou's body suddenly collapsed, while the red-skinned undead with physical forms around him roared loudly.

The sudden sound, which repeated what he was reciting, startled him.

Amidst the almost repetitive recitation, Badun felt as if something had emerged from the sky, directly binding and taking away Zhang Xuezhou's consciousness, causing it to vanish.