He changed Tiwat

She weighed the "Mist Cutter" in her hand.

"See this sword? This is the 'prize' I got after defeating General Thunder! I've already passed the 'Anti-General Thunder Training,' so what am I afraid of a few sneak attacks?"

Infected by Ying's confident smile, Tina also smiled and said, "Then I'll leave it to you, my friend."

The road to the center of the "Dead Zone" was not smooth. In addition to the "Withering" that was constantly eroding life and the arrows shot from the "Rotten Branches", Ying even saw monsters blocking the way.

"This is... a fungus beast?"

When Ying was investigating the rock creatures at the bottom of the Rocky Abyss for Hydif, she had also encountered these mushroom-like monsters. In her memory, these little guys weren't very aggressive, and most of them were clumsy, silly... even kind of cute.

She had witnessed a planktonic fungus try to attack her by spitting bubbles, but accidentally got itself trapped inside one of the bubbles. It struggled for a long time, waving its little arms, and finally knocked itself unconscious...

But the mushroom beast in front of them was wrapped in a terrifying red light, and its two eyes were also bright red. When it saw people, it pounced on them like a madman, and even the bubbles it sprayed contained a sinister dark and turbid current.

"It is the 'Apostle of Withering'."

Tinari drew his longbow and mercilessly pierced the mushroom beast with an arrow.

He explained rapidly: "They are monsters completely dominated by the 'Dead Zone' and have become its puppets. Many of them are even 'zombies' that have been resurrected from the ley lines here after they had already died."

"The red glow on their bodies is the protective power of the 'Dead Zone,' capable of neutralizing attacks from all other elements except grass. To deal with them, we must first use grass to break through their defenses!"

Just as Tina was explaining, a group of mushrooms emerged from the soil and surged forward like a tide, with Yingmei at the forefront.

This time, Ying has no intention of giving up the main DPS position to Tinari again.

"Overgrown with dense grass!"

With a flick of her longsword, tiny specks of green light shot towards the attacking monsters like arrows, clearly mimicking Tina's earlier "Flower Basket Arrow." Her other hand formed the shape of a musket, and she unleashed "Water Splash" at the monsters.

When the green light of the grass element touches the blue light of the water element, green seeds suddenly appear and bloom.

Yingmei confidently turned around. Well, beautiful girls never look back at explosions.

In an instant, the "Withering Apostles" were wiped out.

Ying struck her signature hands-on-hips, chest-out pose: "Although I don't understand advanced mathematics, I do understand 'advanced element reaction theory' very well!"

Chapter Seventeen: The World Tree (6/10)

With the elemental attributes of lightning, water, and grass, Luna is a perfect member of the bloom reaction team. Clearing out those "withering apostles" is incredibly easy for her. The more they come, the more the explosive power of the grass seeds becomes.

Meanwhile, Tinari used his amazing calculation ability to destroy those "rotten branches" along the way. As long as those "rotten branches" dared to "shoot" at him or Yingmei, they would be accurately "counter-sniped" by Tinari in the next instant.

The two worked seamlessly together, one close and one far, and advanced to the location of the "Death Zone Tumor" within half a quarter of an hour.

As planned, Ying attacked the "Dead Zone Tumor" as "bait" to attract the counterattack of all the "Dead Zone" forces.

Tinaly, meanwhile, pointed his longbow to the sky, observing the enemy's attack trajectories while silently gathering his strength.

The attacks from the "Rotten Branches" came from five directions, but Yingmei, who had experience with the "Anti-Lightning General Special Training," easily dodged them all.

Then--

"The branches reveal the workings of nature, and a single leaf offers a glimpse into life's cycle... 'Life is created by the vine's arrow!"

Tinari shot his arrow.

This was the first time Ying had ever seen an "arrow that could curve".

Six green vine arrows rose into the air simultaneously, collided with each other in mid-air, and then, using the force of the collision, deflected in six different directions.

Five vine arrows hit the "rotten branches" in five different directions, while the sixth vine arrow fell vertically and struck the core of the "dead zone tumor" without missing a beat!

Green light burst forth from the "Dead Domain Tumor," and the red light that was originally condensed within the "Dead Domain Tumor" was freed from its cage, transforming into strands of red light that flowed into the earth's veins.

Centered on the "dead zone tumor," the "vitality" that had been taken away suddenly erupted, sweeping across the earth like a spring breeze, with tender green grass breaking through the soil.

As if a black-and-white photograph had suddenly turned into a color one, in the blink of an eye, the withered and gray "dead zone" disappeared without a trace, and lush greenery returned to this valley.

Paimon, Amir, and the others had been anxiously waiting outside the boundaries of the "Dead Zone." As soon as the smog in the "Dead Zone" dissipated, they rushed in.

The two sides met up, and Little Paimon danced with joy: "We did it! Tonight we're going to have a big celebration feast!"

Yingmei glanced sideways: "Why do you talk as if you're the one who eliminated the 'dead zone'..."

Tinari, however, didn't seem to care at all and included Paimon in the list of heroes: "Well, you can have whatever you want tonight, it's on me. Thanks to your help, we were able to get back to normal here so quickly."

Paimon flew around Tinari once, then asked with some displeasure, "Tinari, why do you look so unhappy... Look, your brow is always furrowed..."

"Uh... is it that obvious?"

Tina rubbed her temples, and Amir and Naslin nodded silently.

“Sigh… alright.” Tinari sighed. “I am indeed very worried because the rate at which ‘dead zones’ are appearing has increased significantly recently. Even if we eliminate one ‘dead zone’ like we just did, a new one will soon appear.”

“If it were just that my workload increased as a result, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but the state of the ‘dead zone’ will affect every aspect of the rainforest. For example, even if we just restored this area to normal, not all the plants in it will be able to come back to life.”

He turned around and pointed to several tall trees around him.

That place was once the location of the "Rotten Branches," and it was also the place most severely eroded by the "Dead Zone"... They should have originally been lush and towering trees, but now they are bare, with cracks and breaks all over their bark.

“Currently, the populations of many plant species in the rainforest have declined drastically, and changes in plant populations also affect related animals. The rainforest's ecosystem is becoming increasingly precarious.” Tinari's expression grew even more worried. “Furthermore… since the situation in the ‘Dead Zone’ began to worsen, Kolei’s Demon Scale Disease has also become more severe.”

"Huh, how could this be?" Paimon's expression turned grim when he heard that Cole's illness was related to the "Dead Zone".

Tina shook her head and said, "The specific reason is still unclear. However, I received a letter a few days ago from an acquaintance in the Church of Christ who told me that many patients do indeed have similar conditions."

Ying then raised her hand and asked, "Isn't there a way to eradicate the 'Dead Zone'?"

Tina Li shook his head again: "As far as I know, no. The 'Dead Domain' has existed in Sumeru for thousands of years, and its origin comes from a deeper part of this world..."

"By the way, have you ever heard of the 'World Tree'?"

Ying and Paimon revealed a clear and innocent look.

Tinari gestured with his eyes to the ground beneath his feet: “'The World Tree' is located deep within the earth beneath us. Although it is not a tree in the biological sense, you can roughly think of it as a large tree growing upside down. You should know about 'ley lines,' right? They are like the root system of the 'World Tree,' crisscrossing underground and extending from the deep, enormous void all the way to the surface.”

Ying remembered the "dream" she had the night before last.

"The crisscrossing root system," "the deep, enormous cavity," and that giant tree... Could the "illusion" she saw when she lost consciousness actually be the "World Tree"?

Tinari continued, "'Legions' constantly absorb the memories of this world, and the 'World Tree' also gathers all the information and wisdom of the world from ancient times to the present."

"The reason why the Grass God is also called the 'God of Wisdom' is because her consciousness is connected to the World Tree. The power of the Grass God can actually be said to be a manifestation of the power of the World Tree... and the appearance of the 'Dead Zone' is a disease of the World Tree."

"'World Tree'... is sick?" Ying stared wide-eyed in surprise.

The Grass God's consciousness is connected to the World Tree. The "Dead Zone" is the World Tree's disease, so doesn't that mean... the Grass God is also sick?

Thinking back to what the "little bird" had said on the "Golden Apple Islands" and the experiments of the Fools, Ying had a vague sense of unease.

Tina's face darkened. "Yes. Long ago, my ancestors learned of this from the retinue of the Great Tree King, but those mysterious beings didn't know how to heal the World Tree. We rangers will probably have to fight the 'Dead Zone' for a long time to come..."

The battles against the "Dead Zone" have never been without casualties, and as the "Grand Ranger," Tinari has attended the funerals of his subordinates several times.

Although he had used all the knowledge and methods he had learned, including but not limited to meticulously planning patrol routes and establishing comprehensive procedures for dealing with "dead zones," which greatly improved the survival rate of the rangers when they encountered "dead zones," accidents always happen, especially when "dead zones" involve travelers from other places.

More than half of the forest rangers who died were doing so while rescuing travelers from other places.

He shook his head slightly, suppressing his sadness, and said to Ying and the others, "Alright, let's leave this topic here for now. Everyone has had a hard day. Now that things are over here, let's return to Huacheng Guo."

Chapter Eighteen Baroga Shona

Ying and Paimeng gained a direct understanding of how busy the "Grand Forest Patrol Officer" was—they had just returned to Huacheng Guo and hadn't even had a chance to rest when more business came knocking.

A brightly colored tarantula carrying a letter fluttered down onto a perch not far from Tinari's room.

"Hmm? That's..."

Tinali paused for a moment, which was unusual for him, and then stomped his foot.

"Oh no, it's Hibasha! This night-blooming jay is specifically there to deliver urgent messages for Hibasha!"

Paimon clicked his tongue in surprise: "He can actually recognize what a bird looks like..."

“Hai Ba Xia…?” Ying felt like she had heard this name somewhere before.

“It’s the scholar you met before,” Tinari explained simply, then quickly ran over and took the letter from the beak of the Nightingale.

Ying and Paimon followed him and watched as Tinari unfolded the letter... Then his expression became strange, as if he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Paimon peeked out from behind Tinari and peeked at the letter in his hand—the letter only had three crooked lines on it.

"What do these lines mean?" Paimon asked curiously.

Tina didn't seem to care about Paimon's peeking, and replied with a hint of helplessness, "Let me explain. Here's what happened: After Cole and I brought you back to Huacheng Guo from Haibasha that day, she started meditating again. When she opened her eyes again, it should have been just now."

“She hadn’t eaten for almost three days, but she forgot to prepare any food beforehand, so we had to hurry over and rescue her.”

Paimon leaned back tactically: "What? She's been sitting there for so long—wait, how did you deduce so much from just a few lines?"

Tina sighed, "Of course, it's because something like this has happened before. Last time she drew five lines! Never mind... I don't really want to recall that. Haibasha's condition shouldn't be too bad right now, but it's best to go see her as soon as possible."

"I still need to look after Kolei and deliver emergency food to Haibasha. Could you please help me with that?"

Paimon immediately complained, "Hey, don't let 'emergency food' deliver emergency food!"

Tina: "?"

Paimon coughed and changed his excuse: "I mean, there's 'Lingfen Fragrance' at Haibasha's place. If Ying smells it, will there be any problems?"

Tina smiled and took out his "Knowledge Seed Thunder" from his pocket.

"Ying, smell this again and tell me how it feels?"

Yingyi took a sniff and commented, "It has a very refreshing fragrance."

"Huh? You're not feeling bad anymore? Really?" Paimon asked in surprise.

“Hmm, I don’t feel uncomfortable at all.” Ying looked at Tinari. “I don’t think I need ‘recuperation and observation’ anymore, right?”

“Of course. I know you’ve already recovered.” Tinari nodded. “When you were helping to clean up the ‘Dead Zone,’ I let you smell the ‘Knowledge Fruit Seed Thunder.’ You didn’t show any discomfort at the time, which means you’ve obviously gotten used to the ‘Spiritual Fragrance.’”

"Moreover, you are now able to skillfully control the power of the herb element, so even if you had any discomfort with 'Lingfen Fragrance' before, you won't have it now."

He put the "Knowledge Seed Thunder" back into his pocket and said seriously, "Ying, when I was telling you about the roots of the 'World Tree,' were you thinking that those things sounded similar to your 'hallucinations'?"

Ying countered with a question: "What I saw wasn't an 'illusion,' right?"

“Yes, those are not illusions,” Tinari readily admitted. “However, I do not intend to apologize for the previous lies, because what you can see is very important to Sumeru, and even the entire world.”

"What do you mean?" Ying frowned.

Tina raised her hand and smoothed her fox ears.

“You must be curious about my race, right? My race is called ‘Barogashuna,’ which means ‘great dog of the desert.’”

“We were once subjects of the king of the desert—the ‘Red King.’ My ancestors lived in the vast desert, and most of them had light-colored fur and large ears to dissipate heat.”

He wiggled his large, dark green tail again. "Later, a disaster struck the desert, and the kingdom of the 'Red King' was destroyed. Our 'Barokashina' clan was saved by the Tree King's grace. From then on, our fur turned into a deep green that matched the Tree King's."

"To repay the grace of the Grass Goddess, my ancestors and the Tree King made a vow to protect this kingdom together with her. Although there is no formal title of 'familiarity,' every member of the 'Barokashina' clan holds themselves to the duty of being a 'familiarity of the Grass Goddess.'"

"The reason I lied to you before and left you in Huacheng Guo was to observe you closely, to see if you would be a threat to Xumi, and whether you were trustworthy..."

"Is that so!" Paimon puffed out his cheeks, a little angry.

Ying smiled slightly: "And what are the results of your observation?"

Tinari smiled in response: "You have earned my respect through your actions, so I think there is no need to keep this a secret from you any longer. Just like I told you in the 'Dead Zone'—you are my friend."

Ying glanced at Paimon with a smug look, as if to say, "See, that's how popular I am!"

Paimon pretended not to understand her pleading look, thinking, "Hmph, I'm not going to let this guy get any more cocky."

Tina's expression turned serious once again: "You must be very curious about what you saw when you were unconscious, right? I can give you the answer now—it was the 'World Tree'."

"At that time, your consciousness connected with the 'World Tree' and you saw the memories within the 'World Tree'."

This answer didn't surprise Ying, but she still had some questions: "When I was approaching the 'World Tree,' I heard a woman's voice say to me, 'The world...forget me...'"

Do you know whose voice this is?

Tina pondered for a moment and shook her head: "For more details, I suggest you ask Haibasha. Because both meditation and 'Lingfen Incense' are for her to do the same thing as you. She has experience with the 'World Tree' and should be more suitable to answer your questions than I am."

Paimon recalled his first encounter with Hibasha and couldn't help but say, "But will Hibasha really answer us? When we first met her, she wouldn't say a word to us!"

"That's because she's currently in a special state of spiritual practice and needs to avoid talking to others as much as possible. She's actually quite friendly. Um, please wait here for me a moment."

After saying this, Tinari turned and went inside. A few minutes later, Tinari came out carrying a lunchbox and an envelope.

"Take these." He handed the items to Yingmei. "These are 'emergency rations' for Haibasha. This envelope contains a letter I wrote to Haibasha. If you show this to her, she should be able to answer all your questions."

Chapter Nineteen: The Speaker of the Ominous Sign

Paimon, "the best guide in Teyvat," finally played her part this time. Although she got lost when she first entered the rainforest, that was because she was in an unfamiliar place.