Chapter 108: The Spiritual Root [Please Vote]

Following the sound of a crying infant, Li Yang made his way toward the Tuzu tribe’s village. The Tuzu, who lived in the remote mountains year-round, built their dwellings in a style somewhat akin to the Miao people’s—elevated wooden stilt houses several meters above the ground. However, unlike the delicate craftsmanship of the Miao, the Tuzu’s architecture appeared rougher and more rudimentary. Due to the steep terrain, their homes varied in height and were arranged in a disorderly fashion.

Behind the village stood a massive stone cliff, perpetually damp from the nearby waterfall, its surface slick and glistening with moisture.

“Hmm...” Approaching closer, Li Yang spotted a narrow, concealed cave at the base of the cliff. The entrance was small, barely wide enough for a single person to pass through. The faint cry of the baby echoed from within. Peering inside, Li Yang saw only darkness, accompanied by a sharp, acrid stench of blood and decay that assaulted his senses.

Within the cave, water seeped from every crevice, rendering the space damp and shadowy. The smooth stone walls bore clear marks of artificial polishing.

Li Yang cautiously felt his way deeper into the cave, traveling over a hundred meters. The fetid smell of blood and rot intensified with every step. Soon, a faint light flickered ahead.

“What is this...?” he murmured, quickening his pace toward the glow. Before him appeared an oval-shaped cavern resembling a roofless furnace. A brilliant shaft of sunlight pierced through a narrow opening above, illuminating the chamber.

At the center lay a vast pool filled with thick, dark-red blood. Among the viscous liquid, the skeletal remains of both animals and humans floated eerily.

“Qingyuan Fruit!” Li Yang exclaimed. In the blood pool’s center grew a vibrant green fruit tree. Its translucent, aquamarine crystalline trunk revealed faint, vivid red veins coursing through it. The tree stood about ten feet tall, with lush foliage shimmering under the sunlight, radiating a dazzling, ethereal glow.

Most striking was a jet-black vine spiraling around the tree’s trunk, its inky darkness starkly contrasting with the crystalline green.

“Hmph... What damned beasts!” Li Yang’s eyes narrowed fiercely as he surveyed the cave’s walls, which were embedded with wooden cages. Inside each cage sat refugees clad in tattered clothes, their faces blank and numb. Anger surged within him as he shouted aloud.

From this sight, Li Yang quickly discerned the grim truth. The natives, having learned some dark sorcery from an unknown source, forcibly used life essence to prolong the spirit root’s life. This Qingyuan fruit tree was clearly dug up from somewhere unknown.

The spiritual energy and environment here were insufficient to sustain such a root’s existence. So these natives captured wild beasts and living humans, extracting their blood and life force to nourish and forcibly sustain the spirit root.

Looking at the prisoners trapped in cages carved into the mountainside—mostly mountain villagers whose faces were dull and vacant—Li Yang’s eyes flickered with a chilling light. Most were women, scantily clad and bearing cruel scars. Several bore swollen bellies, clearly used by the tribe for breeding and as outlets of abuse.

Even a newborn infant, skin wrinkled and frail, lay gasping on the ground, barely clinging to life.

“Sigh... such is the suffering of the mortal world, where beings endure countless hardships. Your vengeance has been avenged by me;I'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.