Chapter 363: Natural Response

The Southern Jungle has always been one of the regions with the most concentrated Spirit Qi. Now that extraterrestrial energy has invaded, it has become the area where Spirit Qi is most severely out of control. According to monitoring by the Shushan Sect, the rate of mutation in the jungle has grown exponentially in recent days, exceeding their scope of control.

"It seems the situation is more urgent than imagined." Li Yan muttered to himself, then rose into the air and flew toward the south.

On the way, he encountered several areas with abnormal Spirit Qi; purple energy ripples flashed in the sky from time to time, and the plants on the ground also displayed eerie growth states. These were all clear signs of extraterrestrial energy infiltration.

Two days later, when Li Yan arrived at the edge of the Southern Jungle, the scene before his eyes left him shocked.

Looking from afar, the originally uniform jungle now looked as if it had been sown by a giant; some massive trees had shot up, reaching heights of a hundred meters, with glowing vines wrapped around their thick branches, emitting intense energy fluctuations. Strange cries came from deep within the jungle from time to time, sounding both like the roars of animals and carrying the rustling sound unique to the growth of certain plants.

At the edge of the jungle, over a dozen Shushan Sect disciples had formed an Array, vigilantly monitoring the movements inside. Seeing Li Yan arrive, the leading Elder hurried forward to meet him.

"Senior Brother Li, it is fortunate you arrived in time. The situation here has completely exceeded our expectations." The Elder's expression was grave as he pointed toward the depths of the jungle, "Starting three days ago, the entire jungle suddenly accelerated its growth, followed by the appearance of some creatures never seen before. They... are difficult to describe using conventional animals or plants."

Li Yan nodded: "Take me to see them."

Led by the Elder, Li Yan passed through the protective Array on the jungle's perimeter and entered the mutated area. The deeper they went, the more obvious the changes became. Herbaceous plants on the ground grew taller than a person, and the forms of the trees had also become peculiar; some trunks were twisted into spiral shapes, while others had grown tentacle-like branches capable of autonomous movement.

"Careful!" a disciple suddenly warned in a low voice.

Not far away, a peculiar creature slowly emerged from the bushes. It was about the size of an adult human, with an appearance between a wolf and a bear, but its entire body was covered in dense, leaf-like structures. Its limbs were slender and powerful, and several thick vines grew from its back, swaying slightly. Most shocking of all, these leaves were undergoing clear photosynthesis, absorbing sunlight and Zhuanghua it into energy.

"Is it... half-plant, half-animal?" Li Yan asked in surprise.

The Elder nodded: "Not only that, they seem to possess considerable intelligence. These past few days, they have been observing us, but have shown no aggression."

Li Yan carefully sensed the creature's energy structure and discovered a surprising fact—the energy within its body contained both the Spirit Qi originally from Diqiu and the characteristics of extraterrestrial energy, yet these two energies, which should have been mutually exclusive, had achieved a marvelous balance within its body.

"This is impossible..." Li Yan muttered to himself, "Extraterrestrial energy and Diqiu's Spirit Qi are like fire and water; how could they fuse?"

Just then, the creature seemed to sense Li Yan's probing, slowly took a few steps forward, then stopped and watched him quietly. Its eyes were a deep green, and wisdom flickered within its pupils.

"It is attempting to communicate." Li Yan suddenly realized. He turned to the Elder: "Did you bring the Huo Fenghuang?"

The Elder nodded and took a small wooden box from his robes. After opening it, a miniature Huo Fenghuang flew out and circled around Li Yan.

Besides being a communication tool, the Huo Fenghuang also had the ability to enhance telepathy. Li Yan let the Huo Fenghuang land on his shoulder and attempted to send a telepathic signal of goodwill to the creature.

At first, there was only a vague sensation, like looking at a distant light through thick fog. But as Li Yan continuously adjusted his mental frequency, the connection gradually became clear. He felt an entirely foreign yet inexplicably familiar consciousness—one that possessed both animal intuition and instinct, as well as the tolerance and harmony of a plant.

In this peculiar mental connection, Li Yan obtained some scattered but important information. These new creatures were a kind of "immune response" of Diqiu's Nature to the extraterrestrial invasion. When extraterrestrial energy infiltrated in large quantities, the Spirit Energy Network of Diqiu, in a state of stress, gave birth to these creatures capable of absorbing and neutralizing extraterrestrial energy. They belonged neither to the original creatures of Diqiu nor were they variants of extraterrestrial beings, but were a brand-new existence, an "intermediate" that fused the characteristics of both sides.

What surprised Li Yan even more was that these creatures were still evolving. Their intelligence and adaptability were increasing every day, allowing them to balance the two energies more and more effectively.

"This is Diqiu's self-protection mechanism." Li Yan suddenly understood. As a collective life form, when facing an external invasion, Diqiu maintained balance by creating new life forms. Although this phenomenon had never been seen before, it was logical within the grand framework of life's evolution.

In the mental contact with the creature, Li Yan keenly noticed that the way its internal energy was balanced had a certain similarity to the Star-Extinguishing Flame. The Star-Extinguishing Flame could Zhuanghua extraterrestrial energy, while these creatures could absorb and neutralize it—both were essentially means of countering the extraterrestrial invasion, just in different forms.

"If I can understand and apply their energy-balancing mechanism..." A new door suddenly opened in Li Yan's mind.

He walked toward the creature and stopped at a distance of about two meters. He slowly extended his hand, and a cluster of Star-Extinguishing Flame ignited in his palm. The creature did not retreat; instead, it extended a vine and gently touched the flame.

A marvelous scene occurred—the flame did not harm the vine, but instead flowed along it, entered the creature's body, and then returned to Li Yan's palm. During this process, the color of the flame changed subtly, shifting from its original pure red to an orange-red with a green halo.

Li Yan felt the trajectory of the Star-Extinguishing Flame within his body begin to adjust spontaneously, as if inspired by something, evolving in a more efficient direction. This feeling was both strange and familiar, just like a martial artist suddenly comprehending a move of a higher realm.

"This is... an advancement of the Star-Extinguishing Flame!" Li Yan discovered with pleasant surprise that by studying the energy-balancing method within these new creatures, he had found an upgrade path for the Star-Extinguishing Flame.

He immediately sat cross-legged and began to adjust his breathing, guiding the Star-Extinguishing Flame within his body to run along the new trajectory. The creature seemed to understand Li Yan's intent and stood quietly to the side, occasionally extending a vine to release green energy to assist Li Yan's cultivation.

The surrounding Shushan Sect disciples watched this scene in surprise, not daring to disturb him. The Elder raised his hand, signaling everyone to step back to give Li Yan more space.

Time passed second by second, and an orange-red glow began to emanate from Li Yan's skin, the surrounding air distorting due to the high temperature. But strangely, this heat did not harm the surrounding plants; instead, it made them grow even more vigorously.