210: Chapter 205 There are demons in the world

Hearing Ono Koji's words, the three poisoned death soldiers seemed to feel less pain, and their expressions gradually became calm. One of them, as if experiencing a final moment of clarity before death, looked indifferently at Ono Koji and said, "Originally, the Family Head didn't intend to get rid of you. Sending us here wasn't just to monitor you, but also to resolve the final major trouble here. If we had lived, perhaps you wouldn't have had to die. But now that we're about to die, you won't survive either! Do you see those vines? Are they moving? Hahaha! The scent of blood has already awakened it! Your end will definitely be more miserable than ours! We'll be waiting for you in hell! Hahaha..."

After saying this, the three of them died almost simultaneously, yet their faces bore smiles of relief. Ono Koji suddenly felt a surge of alarm in his heart. He turned to look at the vine roots coiled among the gold, silver, and jewels, and was horrified to find that they were actually twisting. It's not unusual for plants to move; unlike animals, plants lack a nervous system and muscles, and don't perceive external stimuli in the same way. However, there are always exceptions in nature, such as the tumbleweed-like Selaginella, the African Man-Eating Tree, the Dancing Grass that sways left and right, the Mimosa, the Sunflower, the White Water Lily, and so on. Plant movement is a universal phenomenon, understood in various ways such as protoplasmic movement, turgor movement, and growth movement, while movements stimulated by the outside world include tactic, tropic, and nastic movements.

While other plants' movements can be explained by science, the vines before him were fundamentally different—or rather, they didn't seem like plants at all, because plants couldn't possibly move so flexibly. Each was roughly the thickness of an arm, with a smooth surface devoid of branches or leaves. They could be seen everywhere on the cave walls, ceiling, and floor, intertwined so densely that their total length was impossible to estimate. They could curve and stretch on the ground and in the air like snakes, and their speed was not at all slower than a slithering snake—perhaps even faster. Their tips could thrust out several meters like sharp arrows in an instant. They seemed to have senses, able to distinguish obstacles and accurately bypass them. If not for the characteristic plant-like texture on their surface, they would have looked entirely like some unknown animal.

When they first arrived, everyone's attention was entirely on the mountain of gold and silver treasures, causing them to overlook these inconspicuous vines. Now, he realized with horror what a fatal mistake he had made. He clearly knew that any unremarkable plant here could be extremely dangerous, yet even he had been blinded by wealth. Since those death soldiers had been specifically warned, it meant these vines were definitely the most terrifying thing here. Even without being a botanist, one could tell that the existence of this plant had transcended the scope of botanical life; it wasn't something that could be explained by simple tropism.

Flexible like an animal and even possessing a certain level of consciousness, this reminded him of some secret information his father, the previous Family Head, had told him and his brothers before passing away. Humans are not the only intelligent life in this world; other races of intelligent life exist on Earth as well. They possess intelligence no lower than humans and master supernatural powers that humans do not have—powers that are incredibly formidable, almost god-like! Those are Yaos!

In essence, Yaos are also animals or plants, but due to unknown reasons, their life level has leaped, and their life form has transformed accordingly; they can no longer be defined as natural flora or fauna. The Ono Family is a great family with centuries of heritage in Japan, and the secret information Ono Koji had access to was far more than that of ordinary people. He knew about the existence of Ability Users and had even met them; he felt that Ability Users weren't that miraculous and were within his range of acceptance. Back then, Ono Koji thought the legends of Yaos were just like those ethereal, unrealistic myths, listening to them only as interesting anecdotes. But now, facing such a thing for real, his worldview crashed and burned. This was followed by endless fear and regret. He didn't believe he could deal with a mysterious and powerful Yao, and he regretted killing those death soldiers too early, leaving him completely ignorant of the Yao here and unable to respond to the crisis at hand.

But it was too late for regrets. Now that he was alone, he could only rely on himself to escape with his life. Besides, it was just his guess; it was still unknown whether a Yao was truly that powerful! Those who haven't seen a ghost don't believe in the supernatural, and being Japanese, the life-and-death crisis completely triggered the ferocity and ruthlessness in his blood. He grabbed the flamethrower from the ground, preparing to spray fire at the encroaching vines. To his surprise, the vines' target wasn't him at all, but the corpses of the team members buried earlier and the three death soldiers. Ono Koji breathed a secret sigh of relief, thinking the vines had been awakened by the scent of blood and shouldn't be interested in living people. Moreover, nearly twenty corpses should be enough to satisfy its appetite. At the same time, he felt a bit of anticipation; the bodies of those three death soldiers contained lethal cyanide. If this Yao 'ate' them and dropped dead, that would be perfect.

However, things went contrary to his wishes. The vines split into two parts: a large portion plunged directly into the ground where the bodies were buried, while a smaller portion pierced the corpses of the three death soldiers. Subsequently, those three bodies began to shrivel at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if the muscle and fat were being sucked out, turning into skin and bones in an instant. And it didn't end there; in less than half a minute, the corpses, which were now just skin and bone, began to collapse. As the vines twisted, the skin was shredded. Looking again, there was no sign of bones; there was nothing left but some shriveled scraps of skin. The entire corpses had been sucked dry! Ono Koji was shocked; in less than three minutes, the flesh, organs, and bones of several corpses had been absorbed into thin air. He couldn't imagine what kind of ability could make a corpse be drained away as quickly as a liquid. The cyanide poison seemed to have no effect. After absorbing the buried corpses, the vines' grayish-brown skin turned scarlet, and they seemed to become very happy because of it, dancing wildly in the air. Their movement speed was faster than before, making the scene appear somewhat eerie.

After snapping back to his senses, Ono Koji quickly retreated, leaning against the cave wall without daring to move a muscle, even trying his best to suppress his breathing. He didn't dare to strike first, hoping the vines wouldn't be interested in him. If the vines didn't attack, it would be best for them to coexist peacefully; otherwise, he wasn't confident he could burn so many vines at once. He didn't move, but the vines did. All their tips suddenly pointed at him, and seeing that they were about to fly toward him, Ono Koji decisively activated the flamethrower. In an instant, a massive plume of fire sprayed five or six meters away, instantly engulfing a section of vines. The scene within the flames was unclear. Ono Koji tensely watched the movements of the other vines, intending to move the nozzle after about two or three seconds of burning to continue scorching the others.

But in the next moment, a sharp object shot out from the flames like an arrow from a bow, magnifying infinitely in his eyes. Then, he felt a sharp pain in his left eye, and his brain felt as if it had been pierced and exploded, instantly losing consciousness. The last image remaining in his mind was that scarlet vine, shrouded in a layer of red light, with not a single trace of being burned!

...

In the tunnel, Cao Xiao and his group were still walking at a leisurely pace. The scene occurring in the cave hall naturally couldn't escape his sight, and the abilities displayed by that demon vine truly horrified him as well. In fact, those weren't vines at all, but the roots of a massive tree! The vines in the hall were just a small part of its root system. For some reason, the crown of this giant tree was gone, leaving only a section of the trunk, but it was still staggeringly huge. Its diameter at breast height reached 36.5 meters, more than twice the size of the thickest known plant in the world. The cross-section was over 4,000 square meters, enough to build a skyscraper on. Just the bottom section of the trunk buried deep underground was over a hundred meters high. Cao Xiao speculated that when this giant tree was still growing, its height likely exceeded a thousand meters, making it hard for him to imagine what it looked like when it was whole. The roots covered an area of nearly two square kilometers, but most had already died; strangely, only the area near the jade vein still retained vigorous vitality.

When he saw the wood of the giant tree, he discovered that the red bogwood of an unidentifiable species he found yesterday had the exact same grain as this giant tree. It was highly likely to be a branch of this massive tree. He found many more pieces of bogwood made of the same material in the nearby ground. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any trace of the trunk portion within ten kilometers; otherwise, he would have truly struck it rich. This unique item, with a certain amount of stock, could be hyped into a new top-tier wood category like Golden Silk Nanmu bogwood. He was confident he could make it reach its maximum value, and the potential profits were so large that even he was incredibly tempted.

The wood of the giant tree was exceptionally dense, incredibly hard, and possessed amazing anti-corrosion capabilities. It had formed bogwood under geological conditions where it should have been impossible. Even the trunk still standing on the stump and the dead root systems had turned into bogwood, and of even higher quality. A portion had completely jade-ized, looking no different from red and yellow jade. Its luster was very high, and the fineness of the jade quality was comparable to the top-grade white hetian jade. It made Cao Xiao wonder if all jade was formed this way. This also indicated that the giant tree had existed for an incredibly long time, quite possibly appearing in the same geological era as the dinosaurs, surviving for tens of millions or even a hundred million years and still retaining its vitality. Waves of shock rolled through Cao Xiao's heart; aside from its other magical aspects, this point alone was a legend. Even a true immortal might not necessarily live through such a vast span of time.

The meaning represented and contained in the existence of this giant tree made him want to investigate it to the end. As early as when he discovered the giant tree, Cao Xiao had tried to collect it into his space, but to his surprise, his usually successful space collection ability failed this time. He tried several times without success. Every time he tried to collect it, the living parts of the giant tree would emit a mysterious fluctuation, blocking his probe and repelling the space power. This result created a sense of panic in his heart. Facing the first existence that transcended his control, fear was inevitable. His mind was filled with various conjectures. Unable to probe the interior, he brooded for a long time without figuring out what kind of existence this giant tree really was. The giant tree's roots didn't reach the vicinity of the camp; if it truly became impossible to withstand, he could just hide in his space. He then prepared to test it, and the results of the test made him breathe a sigh of relief—after much effort, he finally found a way to deal with it.

The parts without vitality were cut and collected by the space power without any reaction. The living parts could move and release a layer of red energy protection, but like ordinary plants, they feared fire. However, the temperature had to reach over 10,000 degrees Celsius to quickly consume its red energy and destroy the protective shield. Once the energy shield disappeared, it could be cut with super-alloy blades or directly destroyed with ultra-high-temperature flames. As long as it could be dealt with, there was nothing to fear. What he needed to do was find a way to get it into his space for slow study. However, the mysterious fluctuation emitted by the giant tree left him helpless, which was why he decided to come down and see for himself, also wanting to know if those Japanese people had any way to deal with it.

Seeing what happened in the cave hall, Cao Xiao's scalp also felt numb. He hadn't expected this giant tree to be so bloodthirsty, with roots that could move flexibly and release a liquid capable of decomposing flesh and bone into pus for absorption—it looked purely evil. That attack speed was as fast as lightning; not to mention a low-level martial artist like Cao Xiao, even an Anjin Martial Artist like Xiahou Anbang or even a legendary Huajin Martial Artist wouldn't be able to dodge it. With so many roots in the cave hall, plus the energy shield, even an army brought in with high-powered weapons would be wiped out. The Japanese had terrible luck, which Cao Xiao was naturally happy to see, but what he cared about was what the death soldier said before dying. Since the Japanese had stored their plundered wealth here half a century ago, perhaps wanting to use the giant tree to guard those treasures, it meant they must have had some way to deal with the giant tree or at least coexist with it. But those death soldiers died too suddenly; Cao Xiao hadn't even noticed Ono Koji quietly poisoning them. Now, to find the answer, he could only look through the items on the death soldiers.

Strangely, checking all the items revealed they were all normal, except for one odd little speaker. This left him a bit puzzled, and he could only look for the answer on the speaker. This speaker was spherical with its own power source. Its stereo sound quality was far clearer than any speaker on the market, and although small, the volume was very loud; it must have been custom-made by the Japanese from a high-tech enterprise. It had no external audio port or wireless transmission connection chip module, only a storage chip containing a single, small audio file.