Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 329 Birth
When they met again, Tao Le'an was still swaying, like a straw at the end of the year, as if he might fall over with a gust of wind.

Judging from his appearance, no one would guess that he had just participated in the fierce attack to kill the Hidden King.

However, unlike his extremely weak appearance, his eyes were very bright, as if a fire was burning within them.

Looking at Zhou You and the other person, Tao Le'an first showed a look of surprise, but it quickly turned into an expression of knowing he had expected it. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something.

But all that came out was a series of "ah" sounds.

"."

Zhou You silently stepped forward, put his dislocated jaw back in place, and then gently straightened his chin, sighing.

"I say, Master, you've really gone all out—by the way, are we in the City of the Underworld now?"

Zhou You rolled his eyes and said without any politeness.

"I'm being lenient by not killing you—tell me, how much have you been hiding from me? Now you can give me an explanation, right?"

Tao Le'an, with his handsome face, suddenly laughed.

"Master, would you believe me if I said I knew nothing before?"

Before Zhou You could even speak, Headmaster He rolled up his sleeves and prepared to make a move.

"You damn thief, let me tell you, I've been putting up with you for far too long. My apprentice just confessed to another one, and now I'm seething with rage. I'm telling you, if you're going to confess, fine, but if you don't do it properly, I'll let you experience the power of our Maoshan Soul Searching Technique."

That being said, he mostly used threats and had no intention of actually taking action.

To everyone's surprise, Tao Le'an's expression remained as calm as ever.

"Sect Leader He, you've probably misunderstood something. I really didn't know anything about these things before."

Faced with such an unyielding fellow, Headmaster He was truly furious, but this time Zhou You stopped him again.

It wasn't that he didn't want to beat up the riddle-solving guy. Rather, after spending some time with him, he had a general idea that while the guy might be lazy, he was absolutely reliable when it came to real trouble.

If he says he doesn't know, then he probably really doesn't know.

"I heard you say 'before' before, so now you should know, right?"

Tao Le'an was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly said something.

"Daoist Master, do you know why I, at such a young age, have been able to rise to the position of Chief of the Evil Suppression Division?"

Why bring this up now?
Zhou You looked at Tao Le'an for a while before speaking.

"I don't know."

And so the extremely handsome young man sighed.

"Although I, Tao Le'an, have some skill in talismanic arts and a decent family background, to be honest, there are many talented people in the Evil Suppression Division. There are those with higher skill levels and stronger abilities than me. Why should I, at such a young age, hold such a high position?"

"The reason is simple: because of my special identity—I am a keeper of secrets."

The moment I heard this.

The sect leader next to him suddenly stood up, his face showing surprise, but before Zhou You could ask any questions, he sat down again with a furrowed brow.

What on earth are these people up to?
Zhou You felt completely bewildered, but seeing the atmosphere around him, he patiently continued listening.

"Just as the name suggests, each of us who guard secrets possesses an ancient secret, and I correspond to this Netherworld City of Songzhou."

However, this time Zhou You finally couldn't help but interrupt.

"Then why didn't you tell us before? If you had just been direct, I wouldn't have... wait, what you said before..."

Tao Le'an nodded as he watched Zhou You fall into deep thought.

"Just as you think, Master, it's not that I don't want to say it, but that I can't—you've met Master Yu before, and you should have learned about the nature of these things from him."

Zhou You murmured softly.

"It cannot be heard, it cannot be seen, it cannot be named."

“That’s right.” Tao Le’an, struggling to maintain his strength, pointed to his head. “So whenever we have a mission that involves keeping secrets, we forcibly seal our memories before we leave and only arrange a superficial operation. We’re afraid that knowing the secret will lead to us being forcibly infected by ‘those beings.’”

However, at this point, Zhou You thought of another question.

"Aren't you afraid that you'll stray from your mission because you don't have the memory?"

Tao Le'an laughed again, looking at Zhou You with such bright eyes.

"There is no need for you to worry, Master, because every keeper of secrets will eventually come to the secrets they are guarding—just like you. This is what is called destiny."

The voice was so firm that there was no room for doubt. Zhou You remained silent for a long time before continuing.

"I think I understand what you mean, but... is it alright for you to say all this now?"

Tao Le'an's face was still pale, but he still managed a smile and said.

"We've already entered the secret realm, and the most difficult time is over, so there shouldn't be any major problems."

Zhou You nodded.

"Then I'll get straight to the point—can you explain all of this?"

This time, Tao Le'an did not refuse, but answered cleanly and decisively.

What follows is actually quite similar to what Zhou You saw during this period.

According to Tao Le'an, this Netherworld City was the last stronghold of the Heavenly Demon's retinue thousands of years ago. Back then, the allied forces of various races, led by the Three Saints, paid a heavy price, sacrificing tens of thousands of lives, before finally breaching the city.

Unfortunately, the vitality of these beings known as the 'Ancestors' was beyond anyone's imagination. No matter how many times they were killed, they would be resurrected, even if their bones were crushed to ashes. Seeing that they could not be eradicated, in order to prevent future generations from suffering further harm, the Three Saints had no choice but to sacrifice themselves and use their own flesh and blood to forever suppress the Netherworld City underground.

"And so, thousands of years passed. There had been no problems, and apart from our branch, the world had basically forgotten about this place. But who would have thought that the leader of the Thick Earth Sect, through some unknown method, would by chance enter this Netherworld City and then receive the blessings of the ancestors."

"We originally planned to mobilize the army to annihilate them in one fell swoop, but unfortunately, due to the obstruction of the Hidden King, we could only let the Zhenxie Division take action first, and then... you know what happened next."

And that's how things got started.

Zhou You sighed, and then said.

"So what should we do now? Now that you've regained your memories, you should have a way to deal with this, right?"

To everyone's surprise, Tao Le'an gave a bitter smile.

"To let the Daoist know, I did indeed make a plan before sealing away my memories, one that could continue even if the entire Sili army were wiped out. But the problem is... all my schemes ended with the killing of the Hidden King, because once he died, the Netherworld City could not reappear. But who would have thought..."

"Did they come out even though they shouldn't have?"

"exactly."

Tao Le'an sighed, but there was no trace of despair on his face. He simply continued speaking as usual.

"But even so, I have another way—the foundation of this Netherworld City is a flesh and blood mother tree. Originally, this thing should be indestructible, but when I came in, I suddenly found that its veins were much weaker than recorded. It should be that thousands of years have gradually worn away its foundation. So as long as we can cut it down, we should be able to stop everything, but the problem is..."

Tao Le'an spread his hands, saying helplessly.

"Similarly, because so much time has passed, the recorded route map has many gaps, and I simply cannot find the location of the mother tree."

As they were talking, Zhou You suddenly frowned and covered his forehead for some reason.

"Master, what's wrong?" "No, it's just that the baby's crying got louder and louder."

This time, it was Tao Le'an who was confused.

"Master," I said, "where did that crying sound come from?"

"Can't you hear me? This is clearly—" Zhou You was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly remembered a word.

It is a term that was used by both the early leaders and the leader of the Thick Earth Sect.

"Borrowing an egg to give birth".

Is it possible?
Zhou You suddenly stood up, then frowned and quickly said to Tao Le'an.

"Old Tao, I think I know where the Mother Tree of Flesh and Blood is, but I'm afraid there's not enough time—are you still able to move? If you are, come with me right now!"

Tao Le'an had no objections, not even a question, and forced himself to get up from the pile of clothes despite his illness.

However, at this moment, Sect Leader He, who had been ignored, suddenly spoke up.

"No, I mean, didn't any of you ask me anything? Brother Tao, you tricked me into coming here. I just wanted to avenge my apprentice, who would have thought I'd get involved in this mess?"

Tao Le'an simply sighed softly.

"Master He."

"What's the matter."

"If I told you that Songzhou is about to suffer a great calamity, and all the people in the prefecture will be plunged into eternal misery, given the character of your Maoshan sect over the years, would you take care of this matter?"

“That’s true.” Sect Leader He readily agreed, then called out to the outside.

"You brats, stop fucking resting, we've got work to do at Maoshan!"
-
The ruins and rubble quickly faded from view.

Due to the time constraints, they did not bring any burdens this time. Zhou You carried the immobile Tao Le'an, while Sect Leader He led his disciples—a total of no more than ten people, even fewer than the small team that Buddha Heart had used when attacking the city.

But this was a last resort.

As time passed, the cries grew louder and louder, and a sense of unease gradually filled the air—Zhou You felt as if some great terror was about to befall the world, and even the hairs on his body stood on end.

After running for an unknown amount of time, until the disciples were all panting, the group finally arrived at a ruin.

Here, the cries seemed to become tangible, echoing in their ears like waves. Zhou You and the others exchanged glances, then left Tao Le'an behind and took a step forward.

The scenery was still dilapidated and desolate, with only two differences.

Before them appeared a giant tree and a seemingly endless sea of ​​corpses.

With only a thin line separating them, the thing seemed to appear out of thin air, suddenly reflected in their pupils.

Moreover, unlike what I had seen in my previous dreams, this thing now appeared even more magnificent—although the churning pools of blood were gone from the ground, the entire tree, standing amidst countless corpses, resembled a towering mountain, piercing straight into the sky from the ground.

then.

The tree trunk connected to that blood-red moon.

Or perhaps the blood moon itself is its face.

At the top of the branches, against the backdrop of countless pieces of flesh and blood, the moon laughed wildly, its silent sound waves resounding in all directions. Even just hearing a little of it would make people involuntarily feel endless madness.

Some of the disciples were already struggling to hold on, their features beginning to distort—fortunately, their master was right in front of them, the magic sword that sealed Qiongqi roaring back, finally creating a small patch of pure land.

Headmaster He also looked up, his mouth so big it could almost fit a duck egg.

"Buddha, oh no, I mean the patriarch above, I, Old He, have lived for so many years and this is the first time I've ever seen something like this—it's almost as powerful as the legendary Primordial Beast—no, that kid from the Evil Suppression Division, what should we do with this thing?"

Tao Le'an was also staring at that thing, and only after being called several times did he suddenly come back to his senses.

"It's simple, just dig out its core. I remember it's near the root. The Three Saints tried it before, but failed. But now I feel like it can work!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked up.

Dozens of monsters of various shapes stood guard before the tree trunk.

So what else can I say? Kill them.

Zhou You drew the Broken Evil and took a step forward.

Despite having a numerical advantage, dealing with this wave wasn't too difficult.

Perhaps they had become familiar with the bizarre attack method, or perhaps there weren't many that the mother tree could convert this time; in about half an hour, those creatures were all slaughtered.

It's relaxed, even a little incongruous.

Stepping on the pile of corpses brought a sticky and strange sensation. Even after thousands of years, these things had not rotted and still looked exactly as they did before they died.

Strangely, even though they had already approached the creature's base camp, nothing came to stop them—the mother tree, as large as a mountain, remained motionless, allowing everyone to get close.

Just as Tao Le'an said, the bark had long been weathered and corroded by the passage of time. Not to mention the evil-slaying sword, it seemed that even an ordinary iron sword could easily cut off a piece of it.

However, for some reason, Zhou You's unease grew stronger.

The crying grew louder and louder, until...
Filled with joy?
Zhou You's expression changed, and then he reached out, grabbed a Maoshan disciple next to him, and forcefully flung him away.

"Taoist priest, what are you doing—"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou You had already grabbed another person and thrown him away in the same way.

"Master, have you also been infected?"

This time, consciousness finally allowed him to control his throat.

Zhou You gritted his teeth and then roared.

"Something's wrong, let's get away from here—"

However, at this moment, the crying suddenly intensified.

And now, everyone can hear it.

Looking up, I saw that the mother tree, which stretched to the sky, was rapidly withering.

A massive amount of vital energy erupted from it, and in Zhou You's consciousness, the entire city—no, it should be said that the entire Songzhou—began to provide energy to this mother tree.

All the Taoist temples and strongholds, wherever the Houtu Sect existed, displayed the results of their original 'Longevity Pill' refinement, and then in the blink of an eye, they crossed the endless void and all converged at this point.

The true foreshadowing of the Thick Earth Cult is revealed here.

— Xie Anming, you're really something!
The next moment, the blood moon fell and the trees crumbled.

Among countless crumbling and decaying logs, the true essence hidden within is finally revealed to everyone.

—All that could be seen was a sticky, strange, giant egg that had emerged from within.

then.

A huge, deformed hand extends from it.

(End of this chapter)