Very strangely, while this huge heart seemed to be made of flesh and blood, when Xia Fei truly began his attack, he discovered that it was actually a plant!
It was hard to imagine that a plant would have a similar appearance to a human organ, and it could even grow to such a size in this barren Dark Space.
Plant versus plant!
The entrance to Secluded Springs was a plant, and so was Xia Fei’s Peacock Blue!
The difference was that Peacock Blue was an Immemorial Mystical Armament—a powerful killing weapon of the plant type!
*Rumble*
Peacock Blue grew over a thousand meters long with its five bluegrass blades all covered in white flowers of death. These flowers, made of pure energy, were of such sharpness that, when Peacock Blue moved with all its might, they became like countless knives, sharper than even the most powerful drill!
*Bam*
A loud blast and Xia Fei had opened a path for himself. He drilled past the heart of this enormous plant, entering the strange yet mystical world of the Secluded Springs!
Looking around, he saw channels everywhere, with strange plants growing in them.
These plants were of varying sizes, almost all in the shape of human organs; some pulsed like hearts, while others breathed like lungs. Everything looked very terrifying and weird.
…
The moment Xia Fei arrived at the hidden Secluded Springs, something strange happened on a planet by the name of Dunami, inside the territory of the Dark Puppets.
On the other end of a mountain was a temple, where countless people living on the planet were heading over to pay their respects. It rained last night, so the mountainside was completely muddy. However, these devotees still approached the temple in a very bizarre way—they were crawling toward it!
Be it male or female, young or old, everyone was crawling in the mud toward it. Their attitude was very pious. A woman of the Dark Puppet species was even carrying a newborn child on her back as she made this pilgrimage.
Aside from the mud, plenty of pointy rocks littered this mountain path, and they could easily cut these devotees’ bodies if they were not careful. However, these hardships did not deter them at all. It almost seemed like overcoming as many adversities as they could on the way to the temple only demonstrated their utmost devotion.
*Whoosh*
A spatial door suddenly opened by the foot of the mountain, and two well-dressed men in the prime of their lives stepped out. They were different from the impoverished locals, dressed in sharp suits and not a mote of dust on their shoes. In fact, just their outfit alone was not something any of these commoners could afford in their entire lives.
These two newcomers had completely bald heads. Both had the same sharp jawlines, facial features, and even temperament. The only thing different about these two were the tattoos on their faces. One had it on the left side of his face, while the other had it on the right.
*Splotch*
Without any hesitation, these two bald men began crawling forward on the ground just like the commoners, not at all concerned about the mud dirtying their beautiful clothes.
*Swish swish swish*
The two moved rapidly, and in no time at all, they had crawled their way to the entrance of the temple. They got up and approached it while standing alongside each other, hardly making a peep throughout.
The temple was low and gloomy. There did not seem to be anything special about it, and only if someone entered the premises would they realize that a skeleton was enshrined inside the temple! A pile of white bones!
The skeleton was bedecked in precious jewelry, all the offerings of devotees to the temple. Day and night, the people in the temple would quietly retrieve all the jewelry to maintain their daily consumption, but the next day, even more offerings could be found hanging over the skeleton.
These two bald men bowed deeply to this skeleton, but they did not stop. Instead, they darted into a small door behind and entered the backyard.
Here, the gloomy atmosphere was gone, and the garden had all sorts of pretty flowers and plants growing everywhere. An old woman was sitting cross-legged on the grass. Wrinkles filled her face; there was even a layer of lime-like substance all over her skin. Her head of white hair fluttered wildly in the breeze, making her look like a priest from a barbaric nation.
These two bald men made their way over and knelt on one knee, speaking in a low tone. “Aunt.”
The eyelids of this old woman lightly fluttered open. She tossed out a wooden doll figurine from her cuff with one hand. This small puppet splintered into pieces the moment it landed on the grass, turning into just a pile of scrap wood.
The two bald men were startled, curiously asking, “Is this person already dead? Who is he?”
Every Dark Puppeteer would have an origin life puppet the moment they were born, and now that this origin life puppet had broken into pieces, it signified that the person had already passed away, and it was done in an extremely cruel fashion. He had been ruthlessly killed!
The old woman’s face twitched as she whispered, “He was my son, your cousin.”
Four eyes were filled with puzzlement. They knew very well that their aunt had remained unmarried all her life, so how could they have a cousin?
The old woman was expressionless, or maybe it was the thick layer of lime that made it impossible for anyone to make out what her facial expression was. In any case, the death of her son had caused her to remark coldly, “The reason why I left the family and have continued to live by myself out here was I had an illegitimate son with a human.”
These two bald men furrowed their brows slightly but did not say a word. After all, the private affairs of their seniors was not something that they could intervene in or even comment about.
It was just that their aunt’s illegitimate child meant that he was half human; this point shocked the two greatly. Everyone knew that the two peak races were at loggerheads with each other. As such, it was no wonder their aunt had gotten exiled. An illegitimate child with a parentage from both the God and Demon Races would be an unacceptable existence by any family out there; their own aunt had essentially committed the greatest taboo.
“We’ll deal with this matter, but according to our family’s rules, his father will have to die as well,” the bald man with the left face tattoo calmly stated.
The woman let out a shrill laugh. “No need. Your cousin’s father was called Golcen Ward, and he’s already dead. I have nothing to say about his death, but you must pay back my son’s death with blood!”
These two bald men slightly nodded their heads, agreeing to the woman’s request.
Her eyes dimmed, and taking one last look at the world around her, she retrieved a knife from her cuff. It was a sharp knife used to cut throats.
*Squelch*
With a flick of her wrist, she stabbed her aged throat with the tip of the knife. The old woman was still expressionless and, in fact, made not a single sound even as fresh blood began spilling out from her mouth.
Meanwhile, her two nephews actually watched this tragedy unfold from the sidelines and with absolutely no intention of stopping her.
The old woman exerted force on the blade and cut off her own head!
*Splat*
Fresh blood spurted out from her corpse! It was a very gruesome sight!
The bald man with the tattoo on his left face did not wait until the head of the old woman landed on the ground and caught it mid-air. Her thick blood splashed all over the two brothers, but they did move or show any reaction toward this.
The two bald men exchanged glances; the man with the tattoo on his left face raised that severed head and solemnly rumbled, “Our aunt has made sacrificial death. This is the reward.”
With that said, he carefully stored her aunt’s head into his spatial ring, and the two brothers turned to leave, allowing the few vultures to tear at what remained of their aunt’s corpse.
This entire process was cruel and callous!
Just what sort of cold-blooded creature would actually watch their own kin remove their own head?!
The Dark Puppeteers were just an ordinary species of the Demon Race, but these two bald men and the old woman belonged to a family that was anything but ordinary. Their surname was Baynes!
The cold-blooded killers! Baynes!
…
Dark Space, the Secluded Springs.
Just as what the old demon lord said, the Secluded Springs had its independent ecosystem, where plenty of strange plants grew, all colorful and mysterious.
These abnormal trees bore kidney-like fruits. Sour yet sweet juices would fill the mouth of anyone taking a bite off them. The taste was truly not bad.
People who were not aware would think that they had visited hell in the mortal plain when, actually, these strange yet scary plants were not in the least bit dangerous. Instead, they contained plenty of energy, and the Secluded Springs residents depended on them for survival.
There was soil, breathable air, lakes, and any normal living conditions necessary for survival; the only difference was their odd shapes and colors.
However, Xia Fei was not in the mood to admire this fantastical scene before him. He had come rushing over for the clairvoyant Secluded Well, an old monster who had been living here in the Secluded Springs. The mission now was to locate him as soon as possible while avoiding any direct confrontation with the warriors here.
*Whoosh*
Xia Fei moved quickly, flying past the channel filled with all sorts of plants. The channel was circular in shape, with plants evenly distributed on both sides. Above his head, under his feet—Xia Fei could see them everywhere, growing wildly without any order to speak of.
The Dark Space was supposed to be just darkness but there was light in the Secluded Springs. This light came from plants that looked very much like soft rushes; their fruits, which made Xia Fei think of a dish called Nine Turns Fat Intestines, released lights even brighter than the sun rays. Xia Fei could completely do without his night vision or life support systems as he moved about in the Secluded Springs.
Breath Control provided Xia Fei with great protection amid the dense fauna. Aside from the entrance to the Secluded Springs being heavily defended, Xia Fei hardly came across anyone upon entering the place, and no one could even dream of discovering and stopping him.
“Another fork in the road. Which way should I go?” Xia Fei came to a halt and asked while squatting under a big tree.
It had been over two hours since he entered the Secluded Springs. After the many forks he encountered along the way, Xia Fei realized that the place was actually large, far larger than anything he could imagine. He had yet to bump into anyone in the last two hours, clueless on where they were all hidden.
Oro shook his head, helpless. “This place is called the Secluded Springs isn’t only because it exists in the chaotic Dark Space but also because the terrain will change every time and out of nowhere. Even locals will often get lost, trapped to their death in any of the long channels. Stil, there’s no need for you to panic. All you have to do is find a local and let him lead the way.”
Xia Fei frowned. “If I could find someone, would I need to ask you? If I knew that this would happen, I would grab hold of one from the entrance before I entered.”
*Whoosh*
Xia Fei continued his way forward, this time changing his plans. Whenever he came upon a fork in the road, he would always choose the left. Choosing the same direction every split was a tried and true method to get out of a maze; Xia Fei was hoping that this trick would be effective here as well.
Taking another turn, Xia Fei suddenly accelerated out! He had spotted a bunch of Secluded several miles in front!
There were about thirty men in this pack, each of them riding a Demon Chrysalis like a nomadic rider.
‘Ha! I’ve finally seen someone alive!’ Xia Fei said to himself. His two eyes suddenly sparkled, like a hungry wolf that had suddenly found its prey.
