Chapter 532 - 14: Underground Viral Organisms (2)
Chapter 532: Chapter 14: Underground Viral Organisms (2)
"My lord, this is an Energy Reception and Transformation Array." Chenxi, the administrator of the Wisdom Library, was the first to react. "That sphere in the center is the core of the Array."
"The energy transmitted from afar is converted into Undead Energy through that sphere."
After confirming that these Magic Arrays weren’t aggressive, Lin Yu and the others entered the cavern and began to study the huge, elliptical sphere in the center.
The viral organisms on this elliptical sphere all contained dense Undead Energy and were also constantly radiating it outwards.
Baining tried tearing off a small piece of these viral organisms and eating it. He was pleasantly surprised to find that they contained rich nutrients and were easy to digest.
Moreover, eating them didn’t affect the Magic Array’s operation at all, so he called over his offspring, and they all began to eat happily together.
Once the immobile viral organisms were stripped away, a Ku Shu was revealed at the center of the Array.
Baining’s roots probed the Ku Shu in the middle for a moment, then he stood motionless to the side.
Lin Yu and Chenxi, along with the researchers, curiously approached the Ku Shu and began a preliminary study.
After a while, Lin Yu noticed Baining had been still for a long time and sensed something was wrong. He walked over and asked, "Baining, what’s the matter?"
"That’s my friend!"
"Who? Who is that?"
"That one!" Baining’s roots pointed to the Ku Shu.
"The friend you mentioned before? The one who came with you to the all-you-can-eat buffet and ended up bursting?"
"Yes, that’s the one!"
"Don’t be sad. Once we shut down this Array, we’ll free your friend. Though, I think it’s probably already dead. I can’t sense any life force in it."
"I know. It had already stopped moving when I left back then. I’m just seeing its body now, reminiscing about our past together."
"Then after we free it, let’s give it a proper burial. After all, we should respect the dead."
...
Thanks to the efforts of Chenxi and the others, they quickly found a way to shut down the Magic Array.
BOOM—
After the Magic Array was shut down, however, the Ku Shu in the middle suddenly stirred. It waved its branches and roots, launching an attack on the researchers around it, as well as Baining.
The researchers were all hero-tier. Although taken by surprise, their years of experimental experience made them cast defensive Magic reflexively.
One Magic Shield after another blocked the Ku Shu’s branches and roots, but the attacks, filled with Undead Energy, caused a violent energy reaction with the Protective Shields.
Amidst a SIZZLING sound, the Protective Shields were directly pierced and broken by the branches and roots.
However, that brief moment of obstruction allowed the researchers to dodge far away, evading the Ku Shu’s attacks.
But Baining, who was standing stunned to the side, wasn’t so lucky. His reaction was a beat too slow, and with his massive size, he was instantly entangled by the equally massive Ku Shu.
The Ku Shu’s branches and roots drilled into Baining’s body without any resistance, then began continuously injecting energy into him. Baining instantly lost control of his body.
"AHHH~~~"
"Help~~"
Baining’s agonized voice echoed in his own consciousness. To communicate with these non-verbal great trees, the surrounding heroes had kept "Nature’s Resonance" or similar skills active, so they all heard Baining’s cries and immediately rushed forward to help.
However, the Ku Shu was incredibly strong and easily sent the helping researchers flying.
Immediately after, the small trees frantically swarmed forward, wanting to rescue their father from the terrifying Ku Shu’s grasp. But alas, if even Baining was no match for the Ku Shu, they stood even less of a chance.
Any small tree that got close was split in two by a single strike from the Ku Shu’s branches or roots. Fortunately, they were trees; as long as they weren’t unlucky enough to be split right down the middle and their root systems remained intact, they wouldn’t die.
Still, such injuries were enough to render them immobile.
Even so, the small trees fearlessly continued to rush forward to help, piling up around the Ku Shu until there wasn’t a single gap left.
Seeing that they couldn’t stop the small trees from throwing their lives away, and that the trees were now occupying all the melee positions, Lin Yu and the others had to think of another way.
The first to act was Rose, along with his Death Devourers.
Waves of deathly aura enveloped the Ku Shu, attempting to assimilate the energy within its body. Without energy to support it, the Ku Shu would naturally be unable to cause any more trouble.
However, after more than ten seconds, Rose called out, "My Lord, the energy level inside this Ku Shu is quite high! Assimilation is going to take a while!"
Lin Yu hadn’t expected that the ever-victorious Death Devourers, who had a special attack bonus against Undead Creatures, would actually be thwarted. He immediately commanded:
"Chenxi, you’re up. Use ’Purification’ to purify the energy inside that Ku Shu. Rose, pull back the deathly aura for now."
Chenxi and the surrounding heroes immediately adjusted their positions, began to regulate the energy within their bodies, and resonated with one another to prepare for a combined spell.
Rose and the other Death Devourers withdrew their deathly aura. Without them to restrict it, the Ku Shu immediately began injecting energy into Baining with all its might.
The needles on Baining’s crown were visibly turning from green to a grayish-white and even began to emit a dark gray energy. The cries in Baining’s consciousness grew incredibly faint.
"Chenxi, hurry up! Baining can’t hold on much longer!"
"Almost there!"
Chenxi sped up, drawing on her own energy to help the surrounding heroes synchronize their energy frequencies. After an extra expenditure of energy, everyone’s frequencies aligned. The energy began to flow between their bodies in a set pattern, finally forming the Combined Spell Formation.
Then, Chenxi guided this vast energy and unleashed a single-target Purification Magic on the Ku Shu.
A powerful Spiritual Energy transformed into a beam of bright light that enveloped the Ku Shu.
The Ku Shu’s constantly writhing branches and roots immediately went still. Wisps of highly concentrated, dark gray Undead Energy seeped out from its body, only to be purified by the Spiritual Energy.
Next, Chenxi cast another Purification Magic on Baining. Under the spell’s effect, all the Undead Energy in his body was purified as well. His screams finally stopped, replaced by pained groans.
Finally, Chenxi cast a wide-area healing spell on the surroundings. The small trees that had been injured but not killed by the Ku Shu slowly began to recover from their wounds under the spell’s effect.
(Of course, the severed branches and trunks didn’t grow back.)
With the emergency handled, Lin Yu led his people to the center.
"Baining, how are you doing?"
"I’m fine now! Lin Yu, thank you for your help. If it weren’t for you, I might have been a goner!"
"Don’t mention it. It was the least I could do. If not for my request, you wouldn’t have come here in the first place."
"No, you were just one factor that prompted me to come here. All these years, I’ve felt guilty for running away back then."
’I always thought that if I had taken it with me back then, it might still be alive.’
"So, I was bound to return here one day. And at that time, I probably would have been converted into... something like it!"
Baining looked at the Ku Shu, a little saddened. Though his friend’s body was still there, its core was completely different. It wasn’t his friend anymore.
"My poor friend~~"
"Alright, now. You may have lost that friend, but you’ve gained us as friends! We’ll always be with you!"
"Thank you, Lin Yu!"
"As long as you’re okay. Well then, I’m going to start studying your friend’s body, ’kay?~"
With Baining’s tacit approval, Lin Yu and Chenxi, along with the on-site researchers, once again began their study of the Ku Shu. Devoid of Undead Energy, the Ku Shu had lost all ability to move and could only be manipulated at their will.
Time passed slowly like this. After night fell, waves of Undead Energy, along with a bit of viral mist, drifted in from the cavern’s other passages. All of it was devoured by Baining and his offspring, who were hungry again after the intense battle.
This also proved that this planet had far more than just this one viral nest.
If they were lucky, the nests were all interconnected underground, and they could reach all the other nests starting from this one.
If they weren’t lucky, and only a few viral nests were connected, they would have to find the entrance to each nest on the surface and investigate them one by one. That would be a massive undertaking.