Runeterra: I actually know a little bit about everything

"Zuo Chi, how did you find your way here?"

At this moment, Ah Li's voice rang in Zuo Chi's ears, pulling him back to reality.

Zuo Chi raised his hand and flicked Ah Li's forehead: "My boss suddenly disappeared without a trace, so of course I have to do everything I can to find you!"

"Ouch!"

Crying in pain, Ahri raised her hands to cover her forehead: "I was worried that it was my only chance in this life, who knew it would be so dangerous here."

Ahri had never been to Bilgewater before and knew nothing about the Shadow Isles, so she naturally didn't understand the danger level of the Shadow Isles like Zuo Chi and the others.

Zuo Chi also thought of this, so he didn't dwell on the topic too much, but instead looked directly at Mao Kai, who was repairing the trees in front of him.

"Ah Li, how did you meet Maokai?"

Ahri pursed her lips and said excitedly, "I followed the black mist all the way here. I was almost torn to pieces by sea monsters in the ocean, but Maokai saved me in the end. Maokai saw the Sun Gem on my waist and said that a magical artifact similar to this gem had appeared on Blessed Light Island before!"

Hearing this, Zuo Chi felt a lingering fear, but his eyes also lit up.

Although they went through many ups and downs, at least he and Ahri were working in the right direction.

Zuo Chi turned his gaze to the vast black mist in the distance and said softly, "Next, we need to find the Vasani Sunstone in Planck's possession!"

As they were talking, Maokai’s enormous body appeared beside Zuo Chi and Ahri.

"Human, are you going to the southern Shadow Isles?"

Zuo Chi looked at Maokai and nodded to him: "Maokai, the Black Mist stole the sacred artifacts from the Temple of Baru in Bilgewater. We need to go to the southern Shadowlands to retrieve them."

"You probably won't be able to get there."

Following Zuo Chi's gaze, Mao Kai also looked in that direction, but his tone was somewhat solemn.

"Ok?"

Upon hearing Maokai's words, Zuo Chi and Illaoi, among others present, all looked at him. Only Bronn stood somewhat dejectedly behind Zuo Chi, seemingly pondering what other ways there might be to heal the children of his hometown.

Maokai seemed to be lost in some painful memories. He said in a deep voice, "A thousand years ago on Blessed Light Island, human magicians were mainly distributed in the southern part of Blessed Light Island, while the northern part was the forest where I am."

Later, the disaster swept across the entire Blessed Light Island. All the humans in the south became spirits forever unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation. Although the north was also infected, because there were no humans there, only some magical creatures in the forest were corrupted by the black mist.

"The black fog in the southern Shadow Isles is many times denser than in the north, and it contains countless undead, including several extremely powerful ones. If you encounter the undead whose body is riddled with spears, or the hybrid of a human and a warhorse, you must stay as far away as possible."

As they listened to Maokai's account, the solemnity in Zuo Chi's group deepened, and Zuo Chi could even vaguely guess who the two powerful undead Maokai had mentioned were.

Kalista, the Spear of Vengeance!

Hecarim, the Shadow of War!

However, since Hecarim had already encountered him, Zuo Chi was somewhat unsure whether Hecarim had died from his Ascension power back then.

At this moment, Illaoi suddenly spoke up: "My divine power can protect us from the undead in the black mist. We just need to find Planck as soon as possible and retrieve the Heart of the Temple!"

"It's not that simple."

Maokai continued, “Your goddess is indeed very powerful, and I have even met her once. But as I mentioned before, many magical beings in the forests of the northern Shadow Isles were infected by that catastrophe, and among them are many beings that you cannot contend with.”

"And if you want to get to the northern Shadow Isles, that forest is the only way!"

Maokai's large eyes swept over Zuo Chi and the others in front of him, as if he were struggling with some kind of dilemma.

On the Shadow Isles, Maokai was unable to absorb any magical elements from the surrounding air; once his power was depleted, it could not be replenished.

In order to preserve the slim hope of purifying the Shadow Isles someday, he must preserve his power and the life-giving water within him to the greatest extent possible, because he truly is the last hope of the Blessed Isles.

But now, he couldn't bear to see these few humans fighting against the black mist alone. He also didn't want to see Zuo Chi and the others clash with the magical creatures in the forest, and for one side to die in the battle.

Like these twisted trees, those magical creatures are also his children!

After a long silence, Maokai finally sighed.

"Alright, alright, I'll escort you through that forest."

"!!!"

Upon hearing Maokai's words, a strong sense of surprise flashed in the eyes of Zuo Chi and the others.

Zuo Chi had to admit that among all the native demigods of Runeterra, Maokai was truly one of the most friendly beings to humans.

"Alright, let's not waste any more time, let's go!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Maokai strode forward with his strong legs, many thick vines hanging down from his body, dragging on the ground with a "whoosh" sound.

Behind Maokai, Zuo Chi gently patted Brown's shoulder: "Brown, let's think of another way together, okay?"

Bloom looked at Zuo Chi, his eyes filled with emotion.

After a long silence, he nodded emphatically: "My friend, thank you!"

Without saying anything more, Zuo Chi and his group followed Maokai and quickly headed towards the forest that separated the northern and southern parts of the Shadow Isles.

Several hours later, Maokai's pace gradually slowed down, and a forest composed of countless twisted trees appeared in front of Zuo Chi and his group.

The pitch-black trees twisted their bodies in an extremely bizarre shape, their bare branches resembling the menacing tentacles of demons.

Although it is a forest, there are still valley-like landforms within it, and Zuo Chi even saw quite a few magic altars.

Twisted Treeline!

Chapter 67 The God of Nature and the Spider God!

Looking at the vast forest he had created with his own hands, Maokai's eyes were filled with remembrance and heartache.

Everything was so beautiful in the past, but the more beautiful it was in the past, the more regrettable everything is now.

"Follow behind me, and be careful of the spider webs around you. Try not to disturb it!"

"Ok?"

Upon hearing Maokai's words, Illaoi, Ahri, and the others were taken aback, somewhat confused about what Maokai meant by spider silk. However, Zuo Chi's brow twitched.

蛛丝

Zuo Chi looked out at the vast forest, wondering what the relationship was between Mao Kai and that giant spider.

"Tread! Tread! Tread!"

In the dark forest, the sound of Zuo Chi and his group's footsteps scraping the ground was quite noticeable, and in addition to their footsteps, there were also bursts of beast roars and the wails of the dead.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, Zuo Chi stopped in his tracks and turned sharply to look in the direction to his right.

He had just clearly sensed a dark shadow flash by in that direction!

At the same time, Maokai's voice also rang in Zuo Chi's ears.

"Just ignore them. Although their minds have been warped by the black mist, they will not attack any living beings outside their territory."

"Maokai, what is that?" Zuo Chi asked Maokai.

"The Shadow Wolf pack in the forest used to become extremely aggressive after being corrupted by the black mist."

"Shadow Wolf" Zuo Chi tilted his head: "Does Twisted Treeline also have three wolves? And do they have raptors?"

As the creator of the Twisted Treeline, Mokay clearly knows this forest very well.

With his guidance, Zuo Chi and his group encountered no danger as they ventured deep into the heart of the jungle, avoiding all magical creatures.

However, at this very moment, a towering valley appeared in front of the group!

From within the valley, a strong, fishy stench wafted out on the eerie wind, striking the faces of Zuo Chi and his group.

"here it is"

Suddenly, the vine that Maokai had been dragging behind him seemed to come alive and quickly wrapped around Maokai.

However, at that moment, a vine emerged from Maokai's body and gently brushed against Braum's body.

Moments later, a suit of vine armor made entirely of thorny vines covered Maokai's body.

Maokai's voice rang out: "Stay close to me, this will be your only chance!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Kai Mao stepped into the valley. Zuo Chi and the others concentrated their mental energy and followed closely behind Kai Mao.

Upon entering the valley, Zuo Chi and his group all frowned deeply.

Although Braum, Illaoi, Pyke, and Ahri were all warriors who had witnessed death, their eyes still showed a deep sense of horror when they saw the scene in the valley.

On the cliffs on either side of them, countless cocoons wrapped in spider silk hung upside down, some of which were even oozing yellowish-green pus.

Spider webs were scattered throughout the valley, beneath which lay countless white skeletons!

Such a scene is truly no different from hell on earth.

Seemingly sensing the shock of the crowd, Maokai's voice, filled with intense killing intent, rang out.

“Hundreds of years ago, a vile creature, following the scent of death, set foot on the Shadow Isles and, while I slept, ventured into this jungle.”

"It occupied the very heart of the forest and turned it into its spiderweb-bound forbidden zone, even feeding on some of the forest's native creatures."

Upon hearing Maokai's words, Zuo Chi couldn't help but pause slightly.

According to Zuo Chi, Blessed Isles was transformed into Shadow Isles by the Curse of Ruin about a thousand years ago, while Maokai said that the filthy creature landed on Shadow Isles several hundred years ago.

If that's the case, then the Maw of Vengeance isn't a native of the Shadow Isles, and it's also immune to the Shadow Isles' black mist. So what level of being is it?