Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 271 The Mother Tree of Flesh and Blood

In the deep darkness of the night, only silence pervades.

—To be honest, this situation is actually very abnormal, even somewhat bizarre.

The mountains are teeming with insects and birds. It's still early spring, not the dead of winter when all is silent. Normally, you should be able to hear some chirping no matter what. But now...
Even when the Jing Shen Food Potion was activated to its fullest extent, not a sound could be heard. It felt as if the entire world had died.

Although he couldn't see anyone, Zhou You still cautiously made his way through the hidden areas.

He hadn't learned any stealth techniques before, but with the support of his own magic and the lightness technique taught by Xuan Yuan, he was no less capable than an ordinary thief.

If someone were to look down from above at this moment, they would only see a faint black shadow rising and falling in the house, making no sound at all when it landed.

As for the destination.
Need I say more?
The young Taoist priest had repeatedly warned him that he absolutely must not go to the alchemy room.
-
As night deepened, the fog still lingered for some reason.

Since Zhou You arrived here, except for the bright midday sun, he has never seen the fog dissipate. The thin, veil-like fog lingers around, bringing a damp and mysterious atmosphere.

He walked through the fog and soon arrived at the western side of the mountains.

Several dilapidated buildings loomed in the darkness, barely visible in the haze. Zhou You had inquired about Changsheng Temple beforehand; this place on the back mountain was its original site, which was later abandoned due to inconvenient transportation. After Houtu Sect occupied it, it was in use again for some reason. Although it was repaired later, the traces of wind and rain damage were hard to conceal.

However, this actually benefits us.

Zhou You looked up, then lightly touched the ground with his toes and easily jumped onto the two-zhang-high wall—but he didn't land afterward. Instead, he quietly climbed over the eaves on the inside of the house and into the courtyard.

however.

There was no sound here; even listening intently, there was only deathly silence.

Could it be that they've finished work and gone home?
—But wait, I heard from other places that this guy always refines pills until midnight before going home.
But just as he was wandering around pondering this,

Suddenly, the courtyard gate creaked open, and several young Taoist boys carrying lanterns filed in.

Zhou You frowned and hid himself even deeper.

These guys ignored everything else and didn't even glance at anything else. They all hurried into the main house.

However, Zhou You still noticed some problems in these few eyes.

First of all, unlike those who were assigned to work every day, these young Taoists all had dull eyes, as if they were in a daze.

Secondly, everyone here is radiating vitality.

A surging, overflowing vitality!
"This guy probably has the energy of dozens of strong men in each of them, right? Putting aside how he managed to produce this much energy, what kind of weird pill is he trying to refine?"

Although he only had a superficial understanding of alchemy, he knew that the foundation of alchemy must be based on yin and yang. Even if evil practitioners used human lives to refine pills, it was still the same. But so much vital energy, let alone being used in medicine, could easily cause the entire batch of pills to explode if one even got close to it.

Unless what this guy is practicing isn't even a pill at all!

Even with a thousand doubts in his heart, Zhou You could only lie prone on the roof tiles, blending himself into the night.

After about one stick of incense.

The alchemy room remained silent, but just as Zhou You felt his legs getting numb and wanted to change his position, the door suddenly opened, and the Daoist boys came out again.

The only two differences are
One of them is missing.

Moreover, the one in the lead was carrying a huge food box.

Was he murdered?
However, Zhou You immediately denied this conjecture.

He had been continuously chanting the incantation since the beginning, and was absolutely certain that there was not a trace of blood or death.

It's unlikely he'd stay inside, as Master Wang would never leave anyone around while refining pills to prevent the formula from being leaked.

The only possibility is...
Zhou You glanced at the huge food box.

Could it be... that the Taoist acolyte was trapped inside?

...But that doesn't make sense either. Although the food box is large, it's impossible for it to hold a thirteen or fourteen-year-old teenager.

Zhou You wanted to follow and see, but considering the purpose of his trip, he could only suppress his curiosity for the time being and continue to wait.

I don’t know how long it took.

A hunched man in a blue robe walked out of the house.

With his mustache and bark-like face, it was none other than Wang Chengen, the geomancer.

The man looked utterly exhausted, his wrinkled face making him resemble an old man on his deathbed, yet his excitement was undeniable. He muttered something to himself, hands behind his back, and almost trembled as he left the alchemy room.

Only after the other party had gone far away did Zhou You roll over and fall from the eaves.

At this point, there was no one else here except him.

The primary goal, naturally, is this alchemy room.

But just as Zhou You reached out to push the door open, he suddenly realized something and abruptly pulled his hand back as if he had been electrocuted.

Then, he took two steps back, frowned, and examined the main hall. He then picked up the Evil-Slaying Sword, gathered up the surrounding mist, and swung it forward—

A thin mist seeped through, giving off a slightly strange feeling.

It is silk thread.

The silk threads, formed from magic, are wrapped around the entire alchemy room.

Zhou You knew perfectly well that if he had touched it without permission, the piercing alarm would have resounded throughout the entire mountain!

"Damn, I never would have guessed. This old man is really cunning."

Zhou You walked around in circles several times, but in the end he shook his head and gave up helplessly.

He excels at using a single sword strike to overcome all obstacles, regardless of who comes at him; he simply slashes them down. However, when faced with a task that requires a meticulous solution...
Putting everything else aside, he hasn't studied it either.

However, since this place was inaccessible, there were other places to explore—Zhou You turned and headed directly towards the side room.

The room had no alarm system, but it wasn't very big either. The room was filled with incense, so it seemed to be a place where the God of Wealth or something similar was worshipped—but the original owner had been moved away, and in its place was a graceful clay statue with its back to people.

"Is this the Earth Goddess they worship?"

But despite saying that, Zhou You was still somewhat unsure.

This was also the first time he had ever seen the statue of this goddess. Other religions would love to put their own gods right in people's faces, but for some reason, the Houtu Sect kept its goddess extremely well hidden. Not to mention the previous temple fairs and festivals, there were no portraits or sculptures of her in the Changsheng Temple.

But why is this thing hidden from people?

Zhou You walked around, wanting to get a clear look at the empress's face—but the moment it came into view, he was suddenly stunned.

How can you have any shame?
Or rather, what kind of face is it?

Right before his eyes, a colossal tree made of flesh and blood stretched straight to the sky. Countless strangely shaped birds, stripped of their bark, soared among the withered branches. On the ground were countless rotting entrails and pools of blood. Numerous bizarre creatures, each over ten feet tall but emaciated, knelt on the ground, worshipping the giant tree.

In a daze, a leader stepped forward, raised the flesh-and-blood scepter in his hand, and shouted in a voice that was neither male nor female.

Zhou You had no idea what that voice was, but for some reason, he could hear it clearly.

That is it. "Our ancestors, the ancestors of the stars, were commanded by the Lord to become one family, conquering all directions. Gods and Buddhas fled in terror. We offered ourselves to the Lord in this world. All things perish, flesh and blood grow in vain, but only this mother tree, spanning ten thousand years, protects us, forever!"

The sound was like a vortex, dragging all consciousness into it. But at that moment, the bloodline of the Heavenly Dragon was naturally activated. Accompanied by a faint dragon roar, a surge of hot blood rushed to his mind, jolting Zhou You awake.

There was no giant tree of flesh and blood, nor the strange 'ancestors'; only an uncarved, empty face appeared before one's eyes.

Zhou You stood there in a daze for a while before finally coming to his senses.

Touching his forehead, he found it was covered in deep cold sweat.

"Is this the damn thing that the Thick Earth Cult worships?"

At this moment, Zhou You felt as if he had fallen into a huge pit—the feeling he had just experienced from the flesh and blood mother tree was no less than that of Maitreya before he became a Buddha, not to mention the strange chieftain of the ancestors.

But after pondering for a long time, he still couldn't figure it out.

In the end, Zhou You could only shake his head and decide to leave this godforsaken place first.

—Forget it, there's always a way out. We'll see when the time comes.

Otherwise.

Just as he pushed open the door, intending to leave.

Suddenly, someone bumped into him.

Perhaps because he was pulled into the illusion earlier, the Jing Shen's bait-eating song was interrupted for a few beats, and as a result, he didn't even notice that a living person had come to the door!
Was it a Taoist boy or Master Wang himself who came?
—Forget it, whoever it is, let's figure out how to fight our way out first!

Zhou You's long experience in battle made him make a decision immediately—but just as he saw the man's face clearly, he suddenly stopped.

Wearing night clothes and a black mask, he looked like someone who was also out at night, only his gear was much better and he looked much cooler.
wrong!

Zhou You took a deep breath, quickly bringing his wandering thoughts back. Then, holding his sword, he bowed slightly, as if to say hello—and then asked.

"Who are you, Your Excellency?"

He asked the question, but his voice was deliberately hoarse, as if he were a middle-aged man in his forties.

"."

There was no reply from the other side; instead, they were scrutinizing Zhou You's attire before they seemed about to say something.

"It seems you're on the same page, me too."

But at that moment, the face hidden behind the mask of the newcomer suddenly turned ugly.

Zhou You was taken aback.

For some unknown reason, this person suddenly had murderous intent!
Then, a talisman suddenly ignited out of thin air, and the entire space instantly froze—

Holy crap, is this bastard a dog? How can he turn on you so easily?

Seeing the other party unleash talismans, Zhou You disregarded everything else and immediately drew his sword.

The murderous aura was so intense that it broke through the surrounding constraints, and the longsword transformed into a silver-white line, heading straight for that person!

Because it was impossible to distinguish friend from foe, the place he slashed was not a fatal spot—but the moment the blade touched that body, the opponent's figure shattered like a bubble.

When I looked again, the guy was already standing on the high wall, and the talisman in his hand was about to take shape again.

Just now.

Then a sound of "Om" was heard.

The man swayed a few times, and the spell in his hand suddenly stopped. At this moment, Zhou You had already caught up with him by drawing his sword.

—If a mage lets a warrior get close, he's just asking to get beaten up!

The other party understood this principle and decisively smashed a jade pendant at his waist. Clouds and mist billowed up, and he floated up as if weightless, then landed on the grass dozens of feet away in the blink of an eye.

Finally, he gazed deeply at Zhou You one last time, then turned and disappeared into the woods without looking back.

Zhou You could have tried to hold onto the Broken Moon Bow for a while—the moonlight was bright enough to condense moonlight arrows—but after thinking about it, he gave up on the idea.

Firstly, since we are currently on enemy territory, making too much noise could easily attract the attention of that geomancer, Master Wang. Secondly, if we investigate from the same late-night perspective, this person is also hostile to the Hou Tu Sect. After we have a proper conversation, he might be able to become our ally.

But the most important thing now is...
Zhou You looked up at the moon, which was already setting in the west.

Forget it, I'd better go catch up on some sleep first.
-
The next day.

It's still the canteen.

The merchant surnamed Xun looked at Zhou You, who was yawning repeatedly, and asked curiously.

"Hey bro, why are you so tired? Haven't you been sleeping well these past few days?"

—It's not that we didn't sleep well, it's that we barely slept at all.

However, Zhou You couldn't say this to the other party, so he just laughed it off.

"Pretty much, except the room is incredibly damp, and I keep having nightmares."

Upon hearing this, the fat businessman slapped his thigh hard.

"Absolutely! This Thick Earth Sect is great in every way, except the living conditions are just awful! Even my pigsty is better than this. To be honest, young man, I've been having nightmares for days on end—and they're really weird. I keep feeling like I'm in a bright red world, surrounded by a strong smell of blood."

Hearing this, Zhou You became somewhat interested.

"And then, what else did you see, bro?"

The fat merchant simply shrugged and said...

"What else could I possibly see? Every time this happens, I wake up in fright. Fortunately, I only dream about it once and never dream it again, otherwise my body couldn't take it."

Okay, I knew I couldn't count on you.

While the two were chatting, a commotion broke out in the vicinity.

"I won't eat it! I'd rather die than eat it! I'd rather starve to death than eat it! *glug glug*"

—Oh well, here we go again.

Zhou You and the fat merchant exchanged a glance and saw the child being held down in a chair by two Chinese characters, one tall and one short. The shorter one was holding the child's hands, while the taller one was holding a bowl of porridge and sweating profusely as he forced it into the child's mouth.

After a long while, the difficult feeding finally stopped. The child wiped his mouth, his head covered in fresh bruises, glared at the people sitting there, and then ran out of the house in a flash.

Only then could the tall and short men prepare their own breakfast with wry smiles.

However, after getting their food, this time they didn't go to find a separate table. Instead, they took their bowls and sat down opposite Zhou You and his companion. The shorter one cupped his hands in greeting and smiled.

"Please excuse my earlier behavior, gentlemen. Well, we'll be colleagues from now on, so I thought I'd like to introduce myself. My surname is Chen, and my given name is Hua. This cold-faced man next to me is my sworn brother, whose surname is Dugu and given name is Wanjun. Together, we're known in the martial arts world as the Two Tigers of Hunshan. May I ask how you two should address me?"

　I'm feeling better lately, and I estimate I can catch up on the missed updates in a few days. I'm really sorry about that.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)