Chapter 762: Chapter 757: Sister Salacia
"Rein, have you been to the Heart Demon World before?"
Bai Pu asked.
"No, this is valuable information Leia got from communicating with the natives," Rein replied.
"You guys should be from the Guardian Camp, do you know which oath you joined?"
"Oath?"
Rein slightly frowned, "Not long after we were matched in, we found a settlement of underground natives called ’Mudong Village.’
"An underground human settlement?"
This news really surprised Bai Pu.
He thought the underground of the Heart Demon World was full of demons and that only the expedition teams from the Guardian Camp were human...
"Not ’human,’" Leia interjected, "The natives in that settlement probably have severely degraded eyesight and mild body deformities due to living underground for so long. They’re not like humans anymore."
"Under demon rule, such native settlements can still exist?"
"These natives regularly consume ’Corpse Demon Flowers,’ a specialty of the underworld, and have a death aura flowing in their veins. Demons have no interest in the flesh of these natives. The demon ruling Mudong Village merely requires the villagers to regularly hand over resources, otherwise, they don’t massacre indiscriminately."
Leia added, "In the underworld, there are many such settlements, but the natives there have no powerful individuals; at most, they reach the elite template. Demons also don’t allow strong native entities that could resist their rule to exist."
Bai Pu was amazed in his heart, never expecting such a strange situation where demons rule over human natives in the underworld.
Suddenly, a thin man who hadn’t spoken raised a steel claw, stopping the group’s advance.
"Be careful."
"Muro, what’s wrong?" the Star Map Scroll Lady Leia asked.
"Look."
On the tip of Muro’s claw was a spore ball with a dark green hue.
This spore ball was small, only the size of a fingernail. Yet, the expressions of Bai Pu and the others were somewhat grave.
Plant spores are inherently microscopic. How many tiny spores could be contained within this fingernail-sized spore ball? A hundred thousand or a million?
More importantly... before the Bone Dao, there were other floating spore balls, drifting and patrolling as if they were conscious sentries.
Suddenly, Muro coughed violently. He felt an itch in his throat, and after coughing, spat out a mouthful of phlegm.
A piece of dark red blood phlegm hit the ground.
The four’s faces changed; Muro quickly checked his status and exclaimed, "My life value just dropped by over a hundred points!"
While speaking, Muro displayed his status bar, where a negative status stood out conspicuously:
[Withering Spore (1 layer): Coughs occur every 10 seconds, causing action interruption and toxic damage. This negative status can stack.]
"Be careful not to touch these withering spore balls,"
Bai Pu reminded, then reassured, "Muro, you don’t need to worry too much. This negative status can’t last indefinitely... It’s just a poisoning status, after all. It has a duration, and once it ends, it will be fine."
Ashes Rein also suggested, "These spores can be defended against; if we circulate energy around our bodies, the spores can’t invade. It just expends a bit more energy, and we’ll pass through this dangerous area."
The four of them became more cautious, avoiding the dark green spore balls as they continued forward.
Only the unlucky Muro, with his cough and bloody phlegm every 10 seconds and the life value loss, was suffering miserably. Fortunately, Leia had healing skills, preventing Muro from bleeding to death for no reason.
...
In the Demon Bone Dao, amid withered thickets.
A verdant green figure was running in a hurry.
Suddenly, several giant roots burst from the earth, coiling towards the figure.
The verdant green figure leaped suddenly, dodging the root entanglement. However, her speed was also hindered, as several silhouettes blocked her path.
"Salacia, sister, you can’t escape,"
A woman’s voice echoed from behind.
The verdant green figure—Salacia—turned back to see Julian, surrounded by many people.
Behind Julian, stood two tall men, the awakened ones from the Muji Clan, sent by Zorath Muji, to support Julian’s ascension to Major General.
"Julian! You filthy bastard..."
Salacia cursed, "Father already allocated resources to you, even Zorath supports you... You’ve already gotten everything, why do you still want to eliminate me utterly? I didn’t hinder your ascension to Major General!"
"Salacia, sister, you clearly failed your ascension to Major General, why don’t you just become a defeated hound?"
Julian softly stated, showing none of the previous pitiful demeanor before Zorath, "I never thought, just a few days later, you would apply for the Major General trial again... It seems you’re very unwilling to give up your current status, still hoping to prove yourself."
"I just want to start over, what’s wrong with that?" Salacia coldly retorted, "We stay out of each other’s way!"
"You’re wrong, Salacia, sister,"
Julian slightly smiled, "What if... I mean what if you have a comeback and ascend to Major General? You might regain father’s favor and become the family heir again. To avoid such trouble, I must take preventative measures."
"Do you dare to kill me?" Salacia gritted her teeth, though her voice trembled slightly.
"Relax, I’m not that stupid..."
Julian glanced at the few Muji Clan guards nearby.
Even with Zorath Muji’s unconditional support, Julian could not incriminate herself by killing Salacia in front of allies.
Julian smiled and said, "The world is very dangerous, and you run around recklessly, so I’m worried about your safety... Therefore, I must restrict your movement. It’s reasonable, right?"
"You want to sabotage my Major General trial!" Salacia was taken aback, then exhaled, her expression somewhat complex. A bit of anger was there, but not much.
"Your mood is a bit strange, as if you feel a bit relieved. What, is the ascension too difficult? I remember failing the first Major General trial means the difficulty of the second ascension mission will increase significantly, right?" Julian continued her verbal assault.
"None of your business!"
Salacia turned and continued to flee.
Suddenly, a warning came from beneath her feet. Salacia quickly leaped aside, only to see the ground crack open, and a gigantic gray branch, like a whip, sweep up from below.
"Wretch!" Salacia assumed it was Julian’s doing and cursed resentfully.
Unexpectedly, there was also a shout from behind! The earth-splitting sound was relentless, with hundreds or thousands of gray branches suddenly swinging out from underground, as a pale gray tree rose!
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