Chapter 112: Countless Corpses

It felt as if they had stepped from one world into another. The cacophony, the figures of the dead, and the sound of vines slithering through the rooms had all vanished.

"This must be the Liquid Core Zone. The potions we drank are ineffective here. The temporary concoctions Ling'er brewed were infused with wood-attribute energy to create a hallucinogenic effect, designed to deceive the corpses in the Liquid Crystal Zone. They likely hold no power here."

"Liquid Core Zone? Do these tree-body puppets have different levels?" Ye Bai asked, remaining vigilant of the motionless surroundings as he listened to Yao Ling explain the nature of these tree-bodies.

"They aren't ranked by level, but my teacher once mentioned that our family possesses a corpse of a 'Growth-stage' tree-body."

"There is a pulse—very faint, split into two parts. One is gathering toward us, and the other is moving toward the opposite side," Cao Xiaoseng said, his hand gently pressed against the wall. His earth-attribute energy flowed from his fingertips, sensing everything in the vicinity.

When Yao Ling heard this, she seemed to find confirmation for her theory. "My teacher once said that the zones where these tree-bodies are found are categorized into Liquid Core and Liquid Crystal based on the nutrients they provide. The Liquid Core Zone is the central area, where the controlled puppets undergo more significant mutations and possess greater strength. When they detect intruders, they react just as Xiaoseng described: one part protects the main host, while the other moves to annihilate us."

Ye Bai, who had also awakened earth-attribute energy, could sense a faint flow of energy between the walls and the ground. It seemed to be gathering, though it approached them at a sluggish pace.

"Can you pinpoint their exact locations?" The feedback Ye Bai received through his earth-attribute energy was vague; he couldn't determine their precise positions. He had awakened primarily with fire-attribute energy, which was what he usually relied on. Among the four elements, he was least familiar with earth, though he occasionally used water and wood in combat.

Cao Xiaoseng was different. He had awakened both earth and water attributes. Before entering the Purple Star Academy, he had been most familiar with earth-attribute energy, as his father had awakened only that element. His grasp of it was far superior to Ye Bai's.

Just as Cao Xiaoseng was about to speak, he hesitated, unsure. He pressed his hand against the guard station wall once more to sense again.

"At the end of the guard station—in the hospital." In Cao Xiaoseng’s perception, although all energy pulses were being funneled in from outside the guard station, the majority converged toward the hospital, with only a small portion branching off toward them. If Ling'er was correct, the true host of the tree-body was indeed in the hospital.

Ye Bai’s face lit up. Having found the true host, he no longer felt like he had power with nowhere to direct it. He was about to urge Yao Ling and Cao Xiaoseng to head toward the tree-body when Cao Xiaoseng spoke again.

"They're here. They're already close. Prepare for combat." Cao Xiaoseng activated his gauntlets, facing a large wall nearby, his expression full of caution.

Ye Bai turned to look behind Cao Xiaoseng, while Yao Ling stared at her smart device, trying to determine the direction of the impending attack. The situation turned dire in an instant. The three of them stood ready, the air around them seeming to congeal.

"Click, clack... crunch, crunch."

Suddenly, it felt as if giant pythons were burrowing beneath the surface of the wall Cao Xiaoseng was facing. The entire wall began to bulge. At first, it looked like the trails of snakes, but within moments, the entire wall was covered in a dense, writhing network, as if it were about to burst open at any second.

Yao Ling listened to the chilling sounds from the wall behind her. Since the Dark Era, no buildings were constructed with simple steel and concrete; almost every wall and room was reinforced with Type-A metal. This metal could withstand entry-level attacks, yet now, it was being consumed and fused by these plants.

She kept her eyes locked on her smart device. The screen showed only their three life-energy signatures, but in the blink of an eye, no fewer than ten more appeared.

"They're here," Yao Ling warned Ye Bai, who was guarding the same direction. Puppets with liquid cores were not like those in the Liquid Crystal Zone; they could be detected by the smart device.

The energy reserves and nutritional tissues within a Liquid Core puppet were compressed into solids, whereas Liquid Crystal puppets contained only liquid, or sometimes even gaseous energy, which the device could not detect.

Ye Bai channeled his fire-attribute energy, gripping his Jinghong Blade tightly, scanning the surroundings, ready to strike at any moment.

"Boom!"

A sudden explosion erupted from behind them, followed by Cao Xiaoseng’s voice. "Quick! Move!"

Cao Xiaoseng’s gauntlets entered their full form, his hands glowing with the yellow hue of earth-attribute energy. His dark eyes reflected grey-green vines bursting from the wall to attack them.

Having absorbed the Type-A metal, the tree vines were immensely strong. When they collided with Cao Xiaoseng’s gauntlets, they emitted a harsh, metallic screech.

In raw power, Cao Xiaoseng was no match for the tree-body. He twisted to dodge, leaving only five gouges on the vine.

As soon as Cao Xiaoseng gave the warning, Yao Ling and Ye Bai darted out of the vines' attack zone. The moment they cleared the area, several puppets controlled by liquid cores emerged from the shadows of the night.

*Bang!* Ye Bai’s Jinghong Blade collided with a puppet’s tentacle. Fire-attribute energy erupted from the blade upon impact. The white blade-light inherent to the Jinghong weapon seemed to elevate his physical attack to a new level, cleaving the puppet in two instantly.

Meanwhile, Yao Ling, separated by the vines, fired her pulse rifle. The white, thumb-thick beams of light struck the Liquid Core puppets squarely in their tooth-filled, gaping maws.

When hit, there was little blood; instead, scorched chunks of flesh—mixed with rocks and other debris the tree-core had previously absorbed—spattered everywhere.

After several consecutive shots, a Liquid Core puppet that had been rushing toward her collapsed, its tentacle-covered head burned into a gaping hole.

The tree vines, having forced back Cao Xiaoseng, bypassed Ye Bai and Yao Ling and lingered for a moment before the dead puppet, then retreated back into the wall. The wall returned to its original state, as if nothing had happened.

Ye Bai watched as the tree vines extracted a green crystal core from the dead puppet. Within less than a minute, the puppet, which had been dead for who knows how long, crumbled into a pile of white powder.

"Was that a retreat, or a probe?"

Yao Ling did not understand why the puppets and vines had emerged only to vanish immediately. Her family’s instructors had never said that a tree-body would allow living beings to invade its territory.

Ye Bai looked at the black vines still swaying in the sky outside the guard station, sealing it off. It clearly wasn't a mere probe, nor a full retreat.

"Let’s go. We’re heading for the main body of the tree. Let’s see what this skulking mutant beast really looks like."

Since the beast had withdrawn, it was time for them to take the offensive. Whether they could resolve this incident would depend on this final confrontation.

The moon, hidden somewhere unknown, made the summer night even more hazy. At the far end of the guard station stood the largest building, appearing like a dark smear against the night, with ripples of black energy constantly undulating across its surface.

"What is happening?"

Seeing the hospital rippling in the night, Yao Ling was nearly stunned into silence. In her mind, only Rank-King power could cause spatial distortions.

"This is impossible..." Yao Ling murmured. How could this be? How could a tree-body of this level appear here? The King should have sensed it, and so should the many Sovereign-level masters.

"Ling'er, what is it?"

Among the three, Yao Ling was the most knowledgeable, often providing them with information on rare mutant beasts, herbs, and metals. Ye Bai assumed she had discovered something.

"Only a Rank-King can ignore space and cause it to fluctuate. But this hospital..."

Yao Ling stopped, frantically adjusting her smart device, trying to detect Rank-King energy. Yet, every reading showed nothing more than Growth-stage fluctuations.

"What!" Ye Bai was shocked, and Cao Xiaoseng appeared equally stunned. "Are you saying this is Rank-King?"

Yao Ling nodded, then shook her head, saying with great uncertainty, "Maybe, but it shouldn't be. If a Rank-King mutant beast appeared, there's no reason for the King not to show up. Besides, the smart device isn't detecting a Rank-King, but these spatial fluctuations..."

"Let’s go inside and see. It shouldn't be a Rank-King. Setting aside the King for a moment, if a Rank-King beast really appeared, the Arya System would have detected it long ago." Cao Xiaoseng’s composure exceeded Yao Ling’s expectations.

*Thump, thump, thump.*

As their footsteps entered the hospital, a world of only black and white emerged, and the terrifying atmosphere of the place began to bleed from every corner.

*Creak, gurgle.*

Suddenly, various sounds erupted from every room: the dragging of hospital beds, the sound of chewing, and the cracking of walls. It was impossible to imagine that such a desolate, empty hospital could produce so many noises.

Yao Ling instinctively leaned toward Cao Xiaoseng, her eyes wide as she tried to see what was making the sounds.

Suddenly, the wooden door of a room nearby groaned with a harsh, grating sound, as if unable to bear immense pressure.

Yao Ling heard only the sound of splintering wood, followed immediately by Ye Bai’s voice.

"Prepare for combat."

Red fire-attribute energy surged forth, turning the rushing puppets into ash. Only then, by the light of the flames, did Yao Ling see the state of the corridor.

Puppets were streaming out of every room, and vines were constantly sprouting from the walls. The entire hallway was packed with human and mutant-beast puppets.