Chapter 2945: The Person Who Became a Tree

Among the core spirit runes of the "Moon Curse Master," there was the 【Silver Moon】 spirit rune exactly the same as Xia De's. And when the gray-green light spread to her life ring, the brand-new spirit rune of blasphemy 【Decay】 appeared, while the miracle spirit rune she had already mastered—【Life】—took the initiative to flicker with even more dazzling spiritual light.

Her long black hair danced behind her while her whole body glowed. Xia De felt that at this moment she was truly communicating with this tree, and this process lasted for a very, very long time.

At the same time, the touch of gray-green light that rose from where the trunk met her palm also began to spread toward the entire trunk.

Downward, it lit up the tree roots underground. The spiritual light penetrated the soil layer, allowing Xia De to clearly see the distribution of this giant tree's roots underground. The area covered by the roots was even larger than the canopy;

Upward, it lit up the canopy above her head. The gray-green light flowed along every branch of the tree toward further places, until the area above their heads completely turned into a sea of gray-green light like a starry sky.

The only things that were not lit up were those "corpses." Of course, Xia De was also glad that they didn't glow.

In the end, even that touch of light spread to Xia De through their joined hands. However, Xia De didn't have a time curse, and he didn't have a deep friendship with this tree, so—

【Outsider, you have encountered the curse of the "Curse-Eating Giant Tree."】

"What?"

【Because of your own "Nature Affinity" trait, all effects of this curse are automatically exempted.】

The night rain was getting heavier. At 7:10 that evening, the lady who had closed her eyes finally opened them again. When her hand left the trunk, the light above her head and under her feet also disappeared bit by bit.

She turned her head to meet Xia De's gaze:

"It's no problem. As long as you find this tree again in 1854, it will hand Anthony Winslett over to you. It's just that this way, what you get is Anthony Winslett, who still has the time curse."

"This is a small matter. As long as the person is still alive... Speaking of which, what is the content of his time curse?"

"Cannot have a relationship with a woman."

Xia De was stunned for a moment:

"I see. I remember that the content of the time curse is related to the purpose of one's own time travel and one's own characteristics. Flora's uncle didn't travel through time to find a childhood friend, did he? How could... could it be that his uncle is..."

Communicating with this tree for nearly two hours certainly didn't just let her gain power and the tree's promise. Xia De guessed that this tree shared more secrets about the "Curse-Eating Giant Tree" with her, but they didn't need to stay in the rain to talk about it.

Xia De turned into a cat again and was then carried by the sorceress as she flew back into the city. She also had a place to live in the city, but it wasn't the Accordion Hotel, but a three-story apartment in the Old Town in the north of the city.

The apartment was slightly dilapidated, but sitting on the sofa in the dry living room listening to the sound of rain, watching the gas lamp illuminate the surroundings, Xia De felt that it was still very warm here.

"I saw some things."

The black-haired lady who had prepared tea for him said softly, her eyes looking at the void in front of her:

"That tree absorbed the power of the time curse, and in the end, it will become nourishment for paradox bugs. Countless insect eggs will attach to the tree after it reaches its limit and then suck it dry completely."

"And then that tree can re-extract the curses of the cursed people?"

"No, the Curse-Eating Giant Tree does not have the possibility of being reused. Paradox bugs themselves are evil objects that gnaw on the World Tree. Trees gnawed by them absolutely will not have the possibility of survival. By then, a new Curse-Eating Giant Tree will appear... I saw the memories of that tree before it died."

Seeing Xia De's worried expression as he held his teacup, she smiled gently and shook her head:

"I know what you are worried about. It's not what you think. This kind of evil object is not born from cursed people like me. Otherwise, one would have to gamble on luck to see how long it would take for a similar curse to appear."

"They are deliberately cultivated, so they can shoulder the responsibility of absorbing curses and raising bugs. Their bloodlines are being cultivated before they are even born, and even from the era of their ancestors, that power was preparing for their birth. Only in this way can it be guaranteed that all processes will absolutely not go wrong."

"I was indeed worried just now that someone deliberately cultivated you into a Curse-Eating Giant Tree."

Xia De said while holding the teacup worriedly. The sorceress smiled very gently:

"Xia De, in your eyes, are the thirteenth-ring sorcerers of our era that weak? Don't worry, the memories in that tree have already told me that every tree will work for exactly three hundred years, and every tree will be cultivated from his family.

His ancestors, his descendants, every three hundred years, a candidate will always be chosen to become a new tree. Yes, your guess was correct this time."

She said the final answer softly:

"Bennett."

"The tree we saw is the ancestor of the Bennett family you mentioned more than two hundred years ago, and now its three hundred years of time have come to an end. According to its calculations, in about thirty to forty years, it will be gnawed by paradox bugs. By then, among its descendants who are still alive, someone will become a new big tree."

"Who is it?"

Xia De asked. This question also received an answer:

"For a mortal body and soul to turn into a 'Curse-Eating Giant Tree,' it not only requires the power of some ancient being but also requires oneself to be exposed to enough time curses. The masked man in the Time Transit Station is the next 'Curse-Eating Giant Tree'."

"This requires a ritual. The ritual materials are the bones of the successive 'masked men' of these three hundred years, that is, the ancestors of the Bennett family. When the chosen candidate completes the ritual under the old giant tree, he can sublimate from human form into an evil object."

Xia De leaned back against the sofa backrest slightly. The comfort of the cheap furniture was not very high, but what he cared about more at this moment was the truth he had learned. Wisps of heat drifted from the teacup in his hand, and he seemed to see the reincarnation of these nearly a thousand years in the smoke:

"So, the Bennett family not only has to scout for news in the city for that ancient being but also has to operate the Time Transit Station to cultivate paradox bugs, and even has to sacrifice one person every three hundred years to become an evil object to absorb curses... This family is truly being used from head to toe."

Helena Carter nodded lightly;

"And every owner of the Time Transit Station is the head of this family and also the person who knows the family secrets best. The secrets of the Bennett family will not be told to all family members. They actually lived locally before Creekwood appeared."

"Initially, they were hunters hunting in the forest, then farmers in small villages. In the Creekwood era, they went from ordinary townspeople to nobles, and in the current Vista City era, they are well-known local merchants."

"So, the masked man in my era is actually Thomas Bennett?"

"Yes. In the memories, I saw Anthony Winslett, whom you are looking for, being hung up by the tree vines after seeing this tree. Then a young man appeared and took the bug out of Winslett's body. That person looked like this."

The sorceress wiped her hand, and an illusion constructed a person's appearance. That was indeed the young Thomas Bennett. Calculating the time, in 1821, he should have just taken over the work of the transit station, or was just running errands for his father.

This answer was also something Xia De had guessed long ago, but only after obtaining final proof could he arrange his plans afterward:

"Then regarding the Time Transit Station, is there any other information in that tree's memory? I know it's a tree hole, so what is that tree?"

But this time the sorceress shook her head:

"It has been rooted there for more than two hundred years. Time has worn away emotions, and the curse has worn away memories. Most of the memories it has left are related to the family and the tree itself. As for the Time Transit Station, the memory fragments it retains are only some stories of traveling through time. For love, for relatives, for feelings that cannot be cut off, those stories are very messy. Most people who go to the transit station want to regain something."

"You told me that the masked man is very strong in the Time Transit Station. If you want to defeat him, fight outside the transit station."

Besides the information obtained from the tree's numb soul, she also shared more information about the "Curse-Eating Giant Tree" itself with Xia De. The tree's power, the tree's characteristics, the tree's biological features, and the directions in which the tree might mutate were very similar to the knowledge Adele shared, but the power of the tree, which had been carefully cultivated since the era of its ancestors, was ultimately not as good as the tree Xia De saw in the apocalypse.

The night grew thicker, and the conversation in the apartment lasted until very late. Xia De even thought about whether to stay for a night and leave tomorrow, but when the midnight bell rang from the direction of the Golden Music Hall, which was still under construction, the sorceress took the initiative to "drive" him away:

"Don't stay in this era for too long. Go back."

She took a notebook from her pocket and then cut a lock of hair the length of a finger from her hair. After tying the black hair with a red string, she clipped it into the notebook and handed it to Xia De. This was the method to summon her projection in 1854.

Although she was not a witch, the hair of an ordinary Ringed Shushi still had important symbolic significance.

"I am waiting for you to summon me, Xia De."

Xia De looked at her across the coffee table at this moment. Actually, there were many things he wanted to say, but holding the notebook and that lock of hair, he found he couldn't say anything.

She knew her future and her end, and he also promised her that he would not change what was bound to happen. Her story with him had already ended in 1821 and had not yet begun in 1854.

The Time Transit Station certainly could not continue to exist, and Xia De would rather not use the power of the twisted tree hole if he could avoid it. Therefore, although this farewell could still have the gathering of the next projection, the true contact was very likely to be only this last time. ===== CHAPTER 2946 =====