Chapter 1234: Mother Tree Under Attack

Mother Tree Under Attack

Rustle—

A howling gale brushed past Chen Ling's ears.

As he slowly opened his eyes, the sky full of fallen leaves was dancing madly under the storm. The woods on the isolated island were rolling like ocean waves, as if they were about to be uprooted entirely by this terrifying storm at any moment...

Chen Ling frowned, his gaze looking toward the distance. An ancient castle in the distant shadows was exuding an eerie faint light.

"Storm Island..."

"Thought Calamity, it's you again."

Chen Ling clearly remembered that he had just fallen asleep a moment ago, only to open his eyes and find himself here again... Over the past half a year, Chen Ling had almost never dreamed of the Thought Calamity again, and had even almost forgotten its existence.

But looking at it now, even if he ignored the Thought Calamity, the Thought Calamity didn't intend to let him go.

From this gale, Chen Ling could vaguely sense the Thought Calamity's anger and urgency.

"I said, I don't intend to return to the Ghost Mockery Abyss." Chen Ling spoke calmly.

"I know you are all very anxious, but your life and death... what does it have to do with me?"

Roar—!!

The storm around Chen Ling erupted again, as if someone was furiously roaring in his ear.

However, Chen Ling completely disregarded this. He wasn't afraid of the Thought Calamity. Even if he lent it another bit of courage, it wouldn't dare to kill him in a dream... Right now, the situation facing the five major World-Ending entities was equally severe. If they angered the Calamity of Mockery, they would probably plunge the Gray World into civil strife before they even managed to capture the Human Domains.

The violent gale whipped up by the Thought Calamity persisted for a period of time, as if questioning and threatening. But finally, upon discovering that Chen Ling remained entirely unmoved, it gradually weakened, only accompanied by some gloomy and cold voices.

After that, Chen Ling's consciousness suddenly plummeted, and he snapped awake from his bed with a start.

The sky outside the Mother Tree was dim and lightless. Under the deep night, the entire Gray World was terrifyingly dead silent...

Chen Ling's mood quickly recovered its calm. Being disturbed by the Thought Calamity like this, he couldn't sleep either. He simply got up, washed his face, took the last volume of his Fusion theory textbook, sat back down at his desk, and began to study it carefully.

Time passed minute by minute, and before he knew it, the faint light of dawn rose in the sky.

Chen Ling glanced at the calendar on his desk. Today was the day for the in-class quiz on Fusion theory again. He directly packed up the books he needed and pushed the door out early.

"Morning, Big Brother Chen Ling!"

"Morning, Little Peach."

"Chen... Morning, Great King Chen Ling!"

"Little White, why do you look even darker today?"

"..."

Many students along the way came to greet Chen Ling, and he responded to them one by one. Over this half a year in the Integration Faction, Chen Ling's mood had recuperated quite well, and he was no longer that unapproachable look he had when he first arrived. Although his fellow disciples of the Ancient Vault of the Drama Path had left him, here, he had slowly also found a sense of belonging of his own.

Moreover, Chen Ling was very confident about today's in-class quiz. He estimated his rank could advance another three or four places. After finishing this book, he should be considered to have fully mastered Fusion theory. Thinking that he wouldn't need to desperately stay up late to catch up on classes anymore, his steps became much lighter.

Chen Ling arrived at the Cafeteria. Today's breakfast was pickled vegetables paired with white congee. Looking at the thin layer of rice grains floating on top, his brow subconsciously furrowed.

But he still grabbed a portion, sat in the corner, and began eating alone.

He scooped up a spoonful of rice congee and was just about to stuff it into his mouth when the next moment, the earth beneath his feet suddenly shook!

Buzz, buzz, buzz—

An ear-piercing creaking sound rang out from the surroundings, and Chen Ling's gaze focused.

"Another Calamity migration?" Chen Ling looked outside the tree hollow, as if he had discovered something, and his eyes narrowed slightly...

"No, that's not right..."

"This is..."

Crack—!!

A hideous fissure suddenly exploded open on the inner wall of the Mother Tree beside Chen Ling!

This fissure was over two meters thick, directly penetrating the walls of two floors. The children eating nearby let out screams, looking around in horror...

Not just here, the entire Mother Tree was trembling crazily. Densely packed cracks were simultaneously spreading inside and out, and one could even see fragmented twigs dropping from the canopy overhead!

The children were frightened silly. They stood blankly on the densely cracked wooden floor, at a loss for a moment.

"Run!!"

Chen Ling shouted loudly, ignoring everything else. Over ten tentacle-like strands of Red Paper drilled straight out from his sleeves, grabbing these children as he soared out into the air!

Boom—!!

The next moment, this section of the treehouse where the Cafeteria was located collapsed with a bang.

Fortunately, it was still early, and not many children had come to the Cafeteria to eat. Under Chen Ling's extremely fast reactions, almost no one was injured. As Chen Ling landed on the ground in front of the Mother Tree with them, those very young figures all widened their pupils and looked in the direction of the Mother Tree...

Not just the Cafeteria, looking from this angle, the entire outer shell of the Mother Tree had been climbed upon by some eerie roots. These roots came from deep within the Gray World earth, constantly tearing at and shaking the outer walls of the Mother Tree. Densely packed cracks were madly spreading in every corner of the Mother Tree!

"Mother Tree... Mother Tree!!"

"How is this possible? The Mother Tree has a natural ability to dispel Calamities, how could it..."

"Teacher Ye!! Holy Son!! Little Peach!! Linglong!!!"

"..."

The children rescued by Chen Ling were all frightened silly by this scene. Growing up safely within the Mother Tree until now, they had never imagined that this place would suffer such a terrifying attack. They shouted anxiously, wanting to rush in, but were grabbed by Chen Ling.

"You all stay outside, I'll go save them!"

The Great Crimson Theatrical Robe swept into the Mother Tree like lightning.

Chen Ling knew very clearly in his heart that although the origins of this Mother Tree were unknown, it indeed possessed a natural dispelling force against Calamities... But that was only limited to ordinary Calamities.

The simplest example was that Chen Ling himself was the Calamity of Mockery. He could go in and out of the Mother Tree without being affected at all. But for those below the World-Ending Tier, it was still very difficult to approach this place. Just like Wu Yi and the others, they could only dig holes around the Mother Tree.

In this world, the only things capable of harming the Mother Tree were those at the World-Destroying Tier.

Looking at it this way, the identity of the attacker was already quite obvious...

"It's the Calamity of Corruption!!"

Carrying several children, Zhao Yi dashed out from the direction of the dormitory area with a bang, roaring with bloodshot eyes, "Quick, leave the Mother Tree! It's going to collapse here!!"

The violent tremors had long awakened all the children from their slumber. At this moment, in the first-floor dormitory area, a massive number of figures ran out of the houses in terror, sprinting outside the Mother Tree amidst the teetering wood fragments and madly dancing thick roots!

At the end of the distant horizon, countless Calamity trunks and roots were slowly approaching here, just like a swaying forest of flesh and blood...