Nan Deng slept almost all day and hadn’t eaten anything, so he was extremely hungry.
Lian Yi ordered food from the hotel’s restaurant. When the waiter delivered it, Nan Deng took the opportunity to ask the waiter for a pair of small scissors.
His hair was already a bit long, and he figured he could cut off quite a bit. Nan Deng held the scissors and measured his hair, but he was worried he might not cut it well or that it wouldn’t be long enough.
He was eager to return to the area where the parrot was, wanting to know how it used the hair.
Lian Yi stopped him in time and took away the scissors. “No rush.”
He could ask Lin Jiu to try inquiring about the use of the hair. If the parrot knew that Lin Jiu had met Nan Deng, it might be willing to communicate, considering the mountain god’s influence.
However, it wasn’t the hair that could cure the plague, but rather the breath of the mountain god, or perhaps the divine power of the mountain god.
Nan Deng hadn’t returned to his soul state for a long time. During this period, his power had been slowly increasing, though he was unaware of it.
With the rabbit head, Lian Yi, and the earth spirit by his side, he was always well-protected in times of danger.
As for the identity and abilities of the “mountain god”, Nan Deng only had a vague understanding now.
“Shall we go to the hospital tomorrow? To check the situation,” Lian Yi suggested, checking the time. “It’s too late now.”
There were many celestial masters guarding the hospital at night, making it hard to approach. The rose flowers still needed a suitable place to be placed.
Nan Deng nodded obediently. “Mm.”
No matter what, the person he trusted the most was Lian Yi.
Nan Deng habitually reached out to hug him and softly murmured, “Hungry…”
Dinner was ready. Lian Yi led Nan Deng to the table, first feeding him a piece of pastry.
—
After dark, the two of them quietly went out, just like the previous night.
Nan Deng had instructed the rabbit head not to cause any disturbances again. Obediently, the rabbit head hid in his pocket, only its ear tips peeking out.
Due to the unusual events of the previous night, the frequency of celestial masters’ patrols had increased. Occasionally, the rose flower sent out signals to avoid detection.
There were also more restless resentful spirits roaming around. While they could avoid the celestial masters, they couldn’t avoid the spirits. This situation provided good combat experience for the rose flower.
After walking through several streets for half the night, the rose flower dealt with many resentful spirits and finally found a place it liked.
It was a park in the center of the area, with a short wall on one side. The wall’s base seemed originally intended for planting flowers, but due to the heavy evil energy in the area recently, new plants couldn’t survive and all had died.
The rose flower extended a branch, indicating it wanted to be planted there.
Nan Deng approached the short wall and placed the flowerpot on the ground. The rose flower proactively extended its roots, slowly embedding them into the soil beneath the wall.
After planting itself, the rose flower grew a new branch, with a small flower bud at the end.
Nan Deng stroked the new leaves and bud, happily saying, “Cao Mei, you’ve grown again!”
At this rate, the rose flower should be able to grow many branches and buds, eventually covering the entire wall.
Plant spirits have limited mobility. But their branches can extend very far, allowing them to clear resentful spirits in a large surrounding area, leaving the rest to the celestial masters.
The rose flower was reluctant to part with Nan Deng, its branch clinging to his wrist for a long time before releasing.
Then, following the scent of the resentful spirits, its branch swiftly shot into the park.
Nan Deng, still worried, waited by the short wall for a while. He hadn’t slept much and yawned twice.
Lian Yi wiped away the tears at the corner of his eyes. “Let’s go back. You don’t need to worry about Cao Mei.”
The rose flower had been with Nan Deng the longest, growing the fastest and being far stronger than it appeared.
Since it chose this place, it meant it was ready.
Nan Deng responded with an “Mm” and walked away, looking back every few steps.
In the latter half of the night, a few patrol squads of celestial masters took a break and exchanged information.
Someone said over the communication channel, “Isn’t it a bit too quiet tonight?”
As soon as he said this, several others agreed.
“Why does it feel like there are fewer resentful spirits?”
“Have they all hidden? That shouldn’t be the case…”
“It’s not that there are fewer; it’s a lot fewer than expected.”
Last night, there was a suspected ghost king-level aura, causing all the celestial masters in the area to be on high alert. Tonight, they had almost everyone out, fearing the resentful spirits would gather while searching frantically for the ghost king.
But in many places, there were no resentful spirits at all, and the situation was much calmer than they had anticipated.
“Why is that? With such a strong evil energy, wasn’t it a ghost king?”
“Look at the announcement! The latest one!”
Announcements could be received by all celestial masters in the area and were used for important action notifications. At the top of the communicator screen, a small line of text appeared.
“A plant-type earth spirit has been sighted in the city center. The nearest team should go immediately to protect it!”
After Lian Yi and Nan Deng left, some patrolling celestial masters were the first to discover the rose flower.
The branches creeping along the ground were too conspicuous, and they could hear the angry roars of resentful spirits coming from the darkness.
“A newly born earth spirit? How can it appear at this time…”
“And it’s a plant type… incredible.”
The heavier the evil energy, the harder it should be for plants to survive. Moreover, the appearance of this newly born earth spirit seemed to have no prior signs.
Previously, there were rumors that an area had possibly found the mountain god, and later, the chaos god had also appeared there once. Could this earth spirit be related to the mountain god?
Several teams immediately headed to the coordinates mentioned in the announcement. If it was truly a plant-type earth spirit, they had to protect it well.
However, upon arriving at the garden in the city center, the reality was different from what they expected.
Under the short wall was a rose flower, with long branches extending in all directions, pulling out resentful spirits hiding in the corners of the garden.
The screams of the resentful spirits were accompanied by sounds of tearing and swallowing. In the darkness, a large flower bud loomed.
The celestial masters who first discovered the rose flower stood by the short wall. When they saw their companions arrive, their expressions were very complicated.
“This earth spirit is extremely fierce,” one of them said in a low voice. “It probably doesn’t need our protection…”
—
The next morning, Lian Yi took Nan Deng to the hospital.
The hospital had the highest number of patients and a centralized quarantine area. To prevent unauthorized entry, a sign blocked the entrance.
The two disguised themselves as relatives of patients and easily got inside.
The quarantine area was very quiet. Most patients were lying in bed resting. As Nan Deng walked through, he saw many people with ghastly complexions, looking as if they were withering away.
Almost every room was full of patients. Many families were all sick.
Passing by one room, Nan Deng saw a woman sitting by the bed, gently rocking a two- or three-month-old baby in her arms. Both clearly had the illness.
The hospital was understaffed, so only the most severe cases were admitted. Nan Deng could vaguely see a dark blue aura on the foreheads of these people.
He asked Lian Yi, but Lian Yi couldn’t see it.
Although celestial masters practice spiritual techniques, they often need to use instruments like compasses or have exceptionally high perception abilities.
Lian Yi couldn’t see the black aura, nor did he sense anything unusual. Even the Bagua ring remained motionless.
Nan Deng was confused. “Did I see it wrong?”
“No,” Lian Yi’s tone was somber. “You didn’t.”
The person spreading the plague had very clever methods.
Without Nan Deng, the situation would spiral further out of control in time.
The communicator in Lian Yi’s jacket vibrated twice. He took it out and saw it was Lin Jiu.
“I’ve found some information and suspect it’s related to Elder Xie Yun. But I haven’t found any evidence yet.”
“Elder Xie Yun has deployed many people to several areas near you. The purpose is unclear for now. But you must stay vigilant, and I’ll try to come over to assist you.”
Seeing the name “Xie Yun” on the screen, Lian Yi wasn’t surprised.
He had investigated the incident that caused Elder Xie Yun to fall seriously ill. It was quite suspicious, and the scale of the battle matched the rabbit head’s description.
If the plague was also Xie Yun’s doing…
Although Xie Yun was one of the elders, his spiritual techniques were not the best. But he excelled in talisman arrays and pharmacology.
Almost everyone had drunk his concocted talisman water.
Lian Yi’s expression changed slightly as his communicator received another message.
“By the way, Elder Gu Xu is dead.”
Lin Jiu didn’t know the cause of Gu Xu’s death, only that he suddenly fell unconscious one night. Attempts to wake him up throughout the following day were unsuccessful.
As soon as Lin Jiu received the news, he immediately informed Lian Yi.
At the same time, Xie Yun also received news of Gu Xu’s death.
“What a useless fool,” he sneered. “If I had known he was this worthless, I would have just consumed him directly.”
Swirling mist surrounded him, and a voice similar to his own said, “It’s almost time… I’ve already digested all the living souls.”
“No, it’s not enough.”
Greed gleamed in Xie Yun’s eyes. “There’s still Lian Yi. His living soul must taste exquisite.”
“Kill him, and the Mountain God will lose its protection,” Xie Yun continued. “Then, where could that monster possibly hide the Mountain God?”
He picked up the communicator beside him and sent a set of coordinates.
“Lian Yi has fled to this location,” Xie Yun said in the message. “Elder Gu Xu died due to his sorcery. This person is extremely dangerous. Capture him quickly.”
After ending the communication, the fog-shrouded specter asked, “What about the Mountain God? What do you plan to do once you capture him?”
“We’ll see,” Xie Yun replied, showing signs of fatigue as he propped his hand against his forehead. “He just escaped from the tower recently and is probably weaker than the lowest-level ghost.”
Moreover, in such a short time, two newly born earth spirits have already appeared.
Earth spirits rely on the Mountain God’s nurturing, which must have drained a significant amount of divine power.
—
On the other side, Nan Deng was still at the hospital.
Lian Yi was checking the messages while standing by the hallway, watching a few nurses rush by.
The nurses also seemed sick, with faint dark circles under their eyes. However, their symptoms were mild enough for them to continue working.
Nan Deng felt a bit down and rubbed his dry eyes.
He quietly picked up a strand of his own hair, feeling even more lost and unsure if he could really help these people.
Suddenly, Nan Deng sensed something unusual.
It felt as if most of his strength was being drained from his body. An invisible pressure radiated from his position, expanding outward until it enveloped the entire hospital.
Nan Deng’s vision blurred, and he almost fainted.
Lian Yi caught him in time, gently touching his cheek. “Nan Deng?”
Nan Deng recovered and nuzzled into the warm palm. “I’m a bit tired.”
Lian Yi adjusted his mask and then lifted him in his arms, preparing to leave the hospital.
Nan Deng leaned against his neck, inhaling a familiar scent.
With his eyes closed, he held Lian Yi tighter. “I’m hungry again…”
