Chapter 957: The Spirit of the Ancient Tree

"Brother Chen, where is this?" Yu Sichen asked.

"This is underground, beneath the house of that boss and his wife. It's fine, we can find an exit." Chen Yu glanced around, then walked to the spot where the stone door had just fallen. He drew Lichen from his hand, gathered his Qi slightly, and slashed downward with his sword.

Boom—the stone door was shattered by the sword in Chen Yu's hand, and a passageway appeared before the two of them.

"Stay close to me," Chen Yu instructed Yu Sichen, then walked forward.

This was a single-person passageway with hard stone walls on both sides, and it wound and twisted, leading to who knows where.

Suddenly, a person appeared before them—or to be precise, a corpse.

It was a woman in her twenties, very young, and judging by her appearance, she seemed to have died not long ago. There was a huge bloody hole in her chest, a hole dug out forcibly by the claws of some creature.

Moreover, her internal organs had vanished, leaving only a shell. The expression on her face was terrified and ferocious; it was clear that she had been in extreme fear at the time.

"Brother Chen, what exactly are the boss and his family?" Yu Sichen looked away, unable to bear the sight.

"They are human; otherwise, I couldn't have failed to notice a problem. But I think their minds must be controlled by something. They aren't the scary ones; the scary thing is what's behind the scenes," Chen Yu said.

"Then what exactly is that thing behind the scenes?" Yu Sichen asked.

"It hasn't shown itself yet, but this thing should be skilled at mental control and not skilled at close-quarters combat. That's why it controls the boss and his wife to harm people here. Its mental control is very powerful; I saw it just now."

Thinking of the situation just now, Chen Yu still felt a lingering fear, because his Divine Sense was already strong enough, yet that thing had actually been able to make him fall into an illusion. So, it was not simple.

Chen Yu looked at the corpse, sighed slightly, then threw a Talisman Paper onto it to cremate the body, and then the two continued to walk forward.

But just at this moment, a stone chamber appeared before them again—or rather, the two of them inexplicably found themselves inside a stone chamber.

The walls of this stone chamber were incredibly smooth, as if polished by hand, and inside sat a stone coffin. Other than that, it was completely empty.

"Be careful, this thing is starting its mental attack again," Chen Yu stared at the stone coffin before him.

Because this thing had appeared inexplicably, even though it looked very real, Chen Yu did not believe it was real.

Suddenly, with a loud boom, the lid of the stone coffin was flipped open, and a huge "monster" inside sat up abruptly.

This monster was over twelve feet tall and was a Skull. It was clad in heavy armor and held a huge, sharp blade. It stood right before the two of them, giving off a tremendous sense of impact.

"Illusion," Chen Yu sneered. He closed his eyes, gathered his Divine Sense, then suddenly opened his eyes and glared at the monster.

The monster's body stiffened, then it looked at Chen Yu with an expression of disbelief. Immediately after, its body began to melt and collapse, and a moment later, it vanished without a trace.

Chen Yu slowly opened his eyes and pulled Yu Sichen along to continue walking forward. Heh, an illusion? With his powerful Mental Power, getting caught once was enough; would he be foolish enough to get caught a second time?

Along the way, they encountered corpses from time to time. Most of these corpses were female, and without exception, they all had an extra bloody hole in their chests, with their internal organs scooped out completely clean.

Finally, the two reached the end, and the scene before them made Chen Yu's pupils shrink.

Before them stood a huge tree. The tree was not tall, only three or four meters, but it was called huge because its trunk was very thick, enough for seven or eight people to wrap their arms around.

This tree was quite old, and its cracked branches had countless vines that looked like tentacles.

And beneath the trunk were countless white bones; these bones were the tree's nourishment. This thing actually fed on human flesh and blood.

"Look, that's the boss and his wife," Yu Sichen pointed to one side.

Following the direction of her finger, one could see a man and a woman kneeling on the ground. They were indeed the boss of the restaurant and his wife. Behind them were two vines that had pierced into their backs and straight into their flesh.

The two knelt on the ground, their heads hanging heavily downward.

"So that's how it is." Only after seeing this big tree did Chen Yu reveal a thoughtful expression.

The origin of this tree was unknown, but it had fed on flesh and blood for years and gained consciousness. As it grew day by day, it needed more flesh and blood, so the boss and his wife were controlled by it and driven by it.

The tree bestowed special abilities upon them, and they were willing to serve as Puppets.

Their foolish son must have been scared silly after seeing the tree. It was just that the boss and his wife were too desperate for their foolish son to carry on the family line, so they would target women traveling to Wurenqu and force them to marry their son.

Unfortunately, a fool is a fool after all; he would never be able to carry on the family line for them. Moreover, the fool was inherently cruel; as long as a woman resisted even slightly, he would tear her to pieces.

The female corpses in the passageway with their organs removed must have been the work of the fool.

There were dozens of white bones under the tree, all from people who had passed through here while exploring Wurenqu. They just never imagined that they would lose their Life here.

Suddenly, the boss and his wife opened their eyes, and the corners of their mouths curled into a strange smile.

The two slowly stood up and took steps with difficulty, walking forward slowly. They broke free from the vines that bound them; the sturdy vines tore through their backs and ripped away their flesh, but they didn't seem to notice at all.

"Such powerful strength. If I supplement myself with you, my growth rings will be able to increase by a circle. Then, I will be able to obtain the creation of heaven and earth, break free from the tree roots, and be born as a human," a strange voice came from the boss's wife's throat.

This was the voice of the tree. It could not speak, so it could only use the body of the boss's wife to produce it.

"I'm afraid you won't have that chance," Chen Yu stared at the boss's wife. "You two live so painfully; why don't I send you on your way so you can enter Reincarnation sooner?"

The two let out a roar, and their bodies swelled rapidly. Green branches and leaves sprouted from their limbs, and these branches and leaves quickly turned into sharp, piercing thorns.

Whoosh—several vines attacked Chen Yu. Chen Yu grabbed Lichen with his right hand and slashed forward with his sword.

Crack, crack—the countless vines were severed by Chen Yu. The momentum of Lichen in Chen Yu's hand did not diminish; he sealed the strike with his sword, and a thin line of blood appeared on the throats of both the boss and his wife.