Chapter 23: Spirit Annihilation
[Discovered Intermediate Danger Zone: Falling Star Sky Eye]
[Received Intermediate Exploration Reward: +5 Free Physical Attribute Points]
[First intelligent lifeform from Milky Way Order detected entering this zone. +50 Origin Merit Points for Milky Way Order]
[Received +5000 Milky Way Order Merit Points]
With these rewards, Liu Xiao's Milky Way Order merit points officially exceeded 20,000—20,050 to be exact. If converted to dollars, he'd now be a millionaire two hundred times over.
Too bad these points were nearly useless in the Origin—good only for knowledge purchases, language learning, and transporting worthless items.
Dumping all five attribute points into Agility brought it to 25. After seeing the lizardman super-soldier's stats, this still felt pathetically low.
"Baby steps," Liu Xiao muttered to himself. With the Devouring Spirit Body already in his possession, greed would be ungrateful.
The world beneath the blood-red mist was eerily desolate—no flora, no fauna, just dark crimson soil and scattered pools of liquid across this dozens-of-kilometers-wide sinkhole.
Except for one thing.
At the center stood a gargantuan tree with a blood-red canopy, its top third vanishing into the mist. Two hundred meters tall, it dominated the landscape.
"This is an intermediate danger zone?" Liu Xiao muttered, still descending in the vine basket. "Where are the threats?"
Plop.
The basket touched down. After checking the vine rope (his only escape route), Liu Xiao examined his surroundings. The soft soil oozed reddish liquid with each step. Sniffing a sample confirmed it—diluted blood.
Airborne particles resembling dandelion seeds dissolved into blood droplets upon contact. Everything here reeked of danger and wrongness.
The colossal tree seemed the only answer.
As he trekked toward it, irregular root protrusions broke the terrain. Bloody bubbles burst in shallow pools, releasing metallic stenches. What had rendered this place lifeless? What saturated it with blood?
That tree?
Honestly, Liu Xiao felt unnerved. An intermediate zone teeming with powerful creatures would've made sense—he could've retreated to return stronger. But this emptiness? Why would lizardmen come here? To... lay eggs?
The thought almost made him chuckle, but the oppressive atmosphere strangled humor.
Halting abruptly, he fished out a cigarette. Nothing calmed nerves like nicotine—even if he only "pack-smoked". The damp air kept extinguishing it until he finally got it lit properly.
Should've splurged on premium cigarettes, he mused. Next time, getting the most expensive brand.
Nearing the tree, its true scale became apparent—easily rivaling Earth's largest man-made structures. Beneath its blood-leafed canopy, Liu Xiao spotted glimmers among withered flowers.
His jaw dropped.
Spirit energy crystals. Countless crystals hanging like fruit.
"What the—? Leng Yufeng said these came from mineral veins!" His brain short-circuited. "Is this tree the damn 'vein'?"
Modern slang had truly gone off the rails if this counted as mining.
Then euphoria hit.
He'd struck the motherlode! These crystals powered spiritual evolution and were prized even by advanced civilizations like the Milky Way Order. With unlimited supply, he could feast endlessly—maybe pickle all remaining lizardmen and spend a year gorging until becoming a four-attribute superhuman.
His gleeful fantasy shattered when a voice boomed in his mind:
"Vermin! Why do you dawdle?!"
Liu Xiao whirled around—nothing.
"Ho? Not a Mothoan but a... human?" The voice dripped with disdainful surprise. "At least slightly smarter than those reptiles."
"Who are you? Where are you?"
"Can't see me? Hahahaha!" The laughter shook the entire canopy. "Perhaps not so clever after all."
"FACE ME!"
The psychic shout nearly buckled Liu Xiao's knees. Turning slowly, he realized—the voice came from the tree itself.
"Now visible, foolish human?"
Foolish human—why did every alien love that phrase?
"Are you... Mr. Tree?"
Silence. Even the ancient entity seemed cringed.
"...Milky Way Order human," it finally said. "Your kind southward provided decent blood-meals."
South—the river valley plains? It drank blood from that distance? With roots this extensive, perhaps possible.
"Newly Awakened, passable archer, slaughtered many in skirmishes, carries a whiff of Sealer stench... You've troubled the Mothoans greatly."
Liu Xiao felt naked before this entity. What level was this thing? Intermediate danger? It made him feel insignificant.
"Mr. Tree," he ventured, "are Mothoans those green lizardmen?"
"Obviously. Only those self-cannibalizing reptiles inhabit this wasteland."
"Since we share origins, I'll spare you," the tree declared imperiously. "But by killing Mothoans, you assume their duties."
"Which are?"
"Providing blood-meals. Once, hoofed beasts sufficed. Now, human blood proves superior. Deliver 100 live humans daily."
So that's why lizardmen captured pack animals—to feed this thing! Liu Xiao barely suppressed the urge to suggest it try excrement instead.
"Mr. Tree," he feigned subservience, "by 'daily,' do you mean an Origin cycle? Remaining humans are scarce—perhaps insufficient for your needs."
"Obviously. What do you offer?"
"Same as the Mothoans—bloodblooms and energy crystals."
Aha—the lizardmen's bloodblooms came from here.
Liu Xiao put on his best sycophantic grin. "But Qixiao and remaining Mothoans threaten us. They may deplete your future meals."
"That," the tree sneered, "is your concern."
Screw this, Liu Xiao thought. Chopping you down would net endless crystals.
"Vermin..." The voice turned dangerous. "You scheme."
Roots erupted around Liu Xiao like striking serpents.
"Misunderstanding, Mr. Tree!" He backpedaled, drawing his bow.
"Your spirit core will confirm the truth!"
So much for negotiation. Liu Xiao fired while retreating—but where to aim? The trunk was wider than a soccer field.
Roots snagged his ankle, yanking him toward the tree. A knife severed the restraint, but a spear-like root impaled his calf—and began draining his blood.
Leech tree?!
Chopping the root sprayed his own blood. Red pellets healed the wound as he fled at 25-Agility speeds which is faster than Olympic sprinters but slower than cheetahs.
Ten kilometers later, panting at the vine basket, he realized—no roots pursued.
Then the ground trembled.
Giant roots thicker than his body burst forth like subterranean dragons.
"Now you're just cheating!"
Time for Plan B.
Fire.
A line from Romance of the Three Kingdoms flashed through Liu Xiao's mind: "To defeat Cao Cao, fire is the key!"
What lay stretched across the massive sinkhole before him was essentially Cao Cao's legendary fleet - except this wasn't just "iron-chained boats" anymore. This had evolved into a full-blown aircraft carrier!
Burn it all to the ground!
If he was going to set this fire, he'd have to play the role of Huang Gai this time. Without getting a fire ship close enough, the flames would never catch. He vividly remembered how the cigarette he'd lit earlier had extinguished itself almost immediately when he wasn't actively smoking it. The blood-qi concentration in this sinkhole was simply too dense.
But before any of that, he needed to shake off these relentless roots and get closer to the main trunk!
He wasn't entirely sure how the tree spirit was tracking his position at this distance. Could it actually see him? He seriously doubted a tree spirit would have that level of visual acuity. So how then?
Liu Xiao deliberately arced in a wide, sweeping curve, leaving the pursuing roots behind while simultaneously tilting his head to carefully observe their movement patterns.
His position was still being precisely tracked.
Experimentally, he dragged out several lizardman carcasses from his [Defective] storage space and hurled them into the distance. As predicted, a portion of the roots immediately diverted toward where the corpses landed, quickly wrapping the lifeless bodies into tight, mummy-like bundles.
This subtle change in the roots' behavior gave Liu Xiao the clue he needed.
The roots only reacted after the carcasses made impact with the ground. Does that mean...the tree spirit tracks movement through ground vibrations?
To test his theory, he forcefully kicked off the ground, propelling himself high into the air before landing cleanly over twenty meters away.
While still airborne, he watched with satisfaction as countless roots erupted from and then tangled together at his original takeoff point, grasping uselessly at empty air.
So that's the trick!
Hypothesis confirmed!
Hmph! "Moderate danger" my ass!
Liu Xiao shot a fierce glare toward the distant trunk, his eyes narrowing to dangerous slits.
No special tools or equipment were needed now. Liu Xiao simply bounded toward the sinkhole's center in a series of powerful leaps, while the roots bursting from the ground could only ever lock onto his previous landing spots - always one critical step behind, always just a moment too late.
"You actually dare to return here?"
The familiar voice echoed through his spiritual consciousness once more when he'd closed to within 500 meters of the massive trunk.
Liu Xiao ignored it completely. Mid-air during one of his leaps, he produced one of the black, gelatinous spheres he'd collected from the lizardmen. Skewering it onto an arrowhead, he vigorously rubbed the sphere's surface until it burst into bright flames. Landing lightly, he immediately leapt again, drew his bowstring taut, and loosed the flaming arrow straight at the densest part of the canopy.
One arrow wasn't nearly enough. He repeated the process methodically - he'd stockpiled dozens of these lizardman-made incendiary spheres. Seven, then eight fire arrows streaked toward different strategic points in the towering tree's crown.
"HOW DARE YOU?!"
The voice in his head didn't sound panicked exactly, but the undercurrent of pure, unadulterated fury was unmistakable.
Where the arrows struck, flames immediately took hold across the ancient branches. What began as insignificant-looking sparks rapidly swelled into roaring, spreading infernos.
"My sincerest greetings, Lord Cao Cao! Did you miss me?"
Liu Xiao's face split into an infuriating smirk, his expression practically begging to be punched.
"Insignificant human wretch! Do you have even the faintest conception of what you've just done?!"
Typical villainous monologue nonsense. Liu Xiao couldn't be bothered to dignify it with a response.
The roots that had been chasing him earlier now stretched desperately toward the burning sections of trunk, whipping violently at the flames in increasingly futile attempts to smother them. The effect was precisely the opposite - the roots themselves caught fire, and their frantic thrashing only succeeded in spreading burning embers to previously untouched areas.
Within mere minutes, fully one-third of the kilometer-wide canopy was completely engulfed in roaring flames.
Spirit-energy crystals began raining down like overripe fruit, clattering against the ground in a continuous, almost musical cascade.
Liu Xiao's heart soared at the sight - until his gaze fell upon the countless blood cherry blossoms withering and blackening in the spreading firestorm. His triumphant smile faltered, then disappeared entirely.
With the roots now completely distracted, Liu Xiao moved through the chaos like a street urchin during market closing time, swiftly gathering every fallen energy crystal he could find and stuffing them unceremoniously into his [Defective Goods] storage. His movements were practiced to the point of reflex, each motion optimized for maximum efficiency.
When particularly large burning branches crashed down around him, he made sure to collect any intact blood blossoms they carried with them.
While Liu Xiao's inner child rejoiced at the windfall, the ancient tree spirit quite literally bled.
The entire canopy had now become a swirling, churning pyre. The colossal blood cherry tree emitted deep, mournful groans that resonated through the sinkhole as its massive flaming limbs collapsed one after another. The ever-present blood-colored mist high above was completely overtaken by billowing black smoke, transforming the entire area into something straight out of an apocalyptic nightmare.
All across the battlefield, charred roots slumped lifelessly like defeated serpents. The ancient tree, having thrived for who-knows-how-many centuries, now twisted and writhed in its death throes amidst the all-consuming flames.
Meanwhile, darting through this hellscape like some demented mushroom-picking sprite, a gleeful Liu Xiao continued his harvesting spree, pocketing pearlescent energy crystals and pristine crimson blossoms with unrestrained glee. This haul would fuel his sweetest dreams for years to come.
Until—
[Warning: Falling Star Eye has been upgraded to High Danger Zone]
[Warning: Falling Star Eye has been upgraded to Extreme Danger Zone]
[Warning: Falling Star Eye has been upgraded to Death Zone]
[Critical Warning: Falling Star Eye has been upgraded to Realm-Distortion Zone]
*W-what...the hell...does this...mean...?*
Liu Xiao stared at the cascading system alerts with dawning horror, his mind completely blank. Something far beyond his comprehension was unfolding before him.
The sheer, incomprehensible scale of this new threat made every single pore on his body contract simultaneously.
"This blood cherry tree has been the vessel for my spirit for nearly a thousand years! And today, you—a worthless human maggot—have destroyed it all!"
It was the same voice, but now dripping with something far more dangerous than anger—icy, calculated self-mockery laced with promises of unimaginable retribution.
"Uh...Mr. Tree? What exactly are you saying right now?"
For perhaps the first time since arriving in this world, Liu Xiao's voice lacked all traces of his usual cockiness. "Moderate danger" had been at the absolute limit of what he could handle—this was something else entirely.
"Hahahahaha!"
The laughter that followed was utterly manic, piercing his skull like rusty nails.
"Mr. Tree? You actually believed I was merely a blood cherry tree all this time?"
Before Liu Xiao could formulate a response, he watched in mounting horror as blood began separating itself from the surrounding soil, from the nearby pools, even from the very air itself—coalescing into hundreds of floating, pulsating crimson spheres.
"No matter. Humans are pathetically weak, but given current circumstances, I've little choice remaining."
Without warning, the blood spheres shot toward him like magnetized bullets. Though they caused no physical pain upon impact, they merged seamlessly around his body, encasing him completely in a giant, quivering blood bubble—only his head remained exposed.
He tried to move, to struggle, but found his body completely unresponsive. Even more terrifying, his own bloodstream seemed to have turned traitor, locking every muscle in place with paralytic precision.
"Listen, there's clearly been some kind of misunderstanding here—"
The blood bubble abruptly compressed with terrifying force. Every bone in his body screamed in protest as he felt his entire form being crushed, as if some invisible giant had closed its fist around him with the sole purpose of reducing him to paste.
White-hot agony flooded his nervous system as his vision blurred at the edges. In his fading awareness, he barely registered a particularly dense crimson streak shooting from the burning trunk directly into his open mouth.
The foreign entity slithered through his body with nightmarish purpose, homing in unerringly on his spiritual core. What followed was a soul-deep numbness unlike anything he'd ever experienced.
So this...is what spiritual annihilation feels like...
His consciousness dimmed like a guttering candle. True spiritual death would mean complete, irreversible erasure.
Memories flickered across his mind's eye—twenty-some years of life replaying in seconds. The mental reel froze abruptly on that mundane afternoon in the café, the last normal moment before everything changed.
So this is how it ends.
Turns out I really was just an ant after all.
The void crept in from all sides, devouring his mind, his self, his very existence piece by inevitable piece.