Chapter 19: The Plant Men
Zachariah's ancestral graves had exploded on the spot. Just from the name "Ancestor," one could tell how much Zachariah's family valued their forebears.
Now that the resting place of over a dozen generations of ancestors had been blown up, could Zachariah tolerate it? The answer was yes, he could tolerate it. He had no choice but to tolerate it, as there was no telling who had bombed his family's graves. Although the weapon style strongly resembled Heizei's, this matter didn't add up. The three major forces on Penitent's Heights had always coexisted peacefully, so Zachariah could only rage impotently.
Su Xiao naturally couldn't care less about Zachariah's psychological trauma. He had already returned to his residence in the Central Courtyard, just as he had said—blow things up, then go home and sleep.
Although this attack on the Ancestor faction hadn't yielded any benefits, it had given Su Xiao a clear goal. The Ash Sprout was within the Ancestor's territory. As long as he obtained this item, his promotion mission would be complete.
It seemed within reach, but in reality, it was not. According to Bubu Wang's observations, under the current circumstances, it was impossible for Su Xiao to break into the Central Area.
Based on Bubu Wang's observations, there were rarely any living people in the Central Area. The only burly man he had seen gave Bubu Wang a very dangerous feeling. According to Bubu's estimation, Su Xiao was definitely no match for that man.
Not only that, but the Central Area was also filled with numerous living corpses. These living corpses weren't all cannon fodder; many were elite individuals. They guarded the vicinity of the altar, and among them was one living corpse whose aura was even stronger than Su Xiao's by a notch.
If Su Xiao were to face the leader of the Ancestor faction, that living person, Su Xiao would undoubtedly die. That was beyond question. However, if it were a multi-person siege, there might be some chance.
Bubu Wang had arrived, but Sha was still missing. Whether Amu and Beini could enter the Black Abyss was unknown. This meant Su Xiao couldn't pin his hopes on a siege.
Su Xiao began to sit on the sofa and think, a cigarette held between his fingers. Seeing his expression, Bubu Wang let out a long sigh, his eyes clearly saying, "Looks like someone's about to be in trouble again."
"Pfft~"
Lillis scoffed at this. After a period of self-reflection, she had realized she was destined to be incompatible with schemes and conspiracies. Her brain clearly couldn't keep up with such matters. Following the absolute law that if you can't have the grapes, the grapes must be sour, she began to resent old schemers.
Was Lillis a cold and aloof female demon warrior? After some time of contact, Su Xiao knew she wasn't. At best, she was a dazed female warrior—very dazed, not too cute, but the type that could really throw a punch.
"Lillis, can you contact the Demon Clan?"
"No, I'm here in the Black Abyss to train and find my own 'power,' so I won't accept too much help."
Although Lillis said this, she never looked at Su Xiao, indicating she was lying.
"Contact your sister, Lilim."
"I already told you—"
Lillis turned to look at Su Xiao and found him smiling warmly at her. The last time she saw that smile, she had been knocked out, stripped naked, and buried in the sand for a night.
"Contact her. It's urgent."
"..."
Lillis hesitated for a long time before finally muttering a curse and tossing the necklace from her neck towards Su Xiao.
Catching the necklace, Su Xiao tried to connect to it through his mental energy. No response. After switching to demonic energy, the ruby on the necklace emitted a white light. The light seemed almost solid, eventually forming a crystal mirror.
"Oh, oh, oh, my dear little sister actually took the initiative to contact me?"
Lilim's face, which could be described as a disaster, appeared. To make matters worse, this girl was soaking in a wooden tub, with steam slowly rising.
When Lilim saw the situation inside the crystal mirror, she shrank a bit deeper into the water.
"I thought it was that girl giving in, but it's our ally. Taking the initiative to contact me, you're not missing me, are you?"
Lilim's eyes were seductive as she let out a series of charming laughs. Since her little sister still needed Su Xiao's care, she had to be appropriately accommodating.
"Have you heard of the Ash Sprout?"
Su Xiao got straight to the point. Although the situation on Penitent's Heights was becoming clearer, the actual development trend was growing stranger. He needed to know what was about to happen here.
"I've not only heard of it," Lilim exhaled a puff of hot air and rested her hand on the edge of the tub. She seemed to be recalling something before slowly speaking, "The Ash Sprout is actually the ash formed from a Soul Fruit that has over-ripened. If I remember correctly, there's one on Penitent's Heights, in the hands of a man named Zachariah."
"I see."
Su Xiao suddenly understood. So the "Ash Sprout" was an over-ripened Soul Fruit. Thinking about it this way, the Ancestor faction wasn't growing Soul Vines for the first time.
"You're not interested in that thing, are you? If you compare the Soul Vine to a starting point, then the 'Soul Fruit' and the 'Ash Sprout' represent life and death respectively. The Soul Fruit is full of vitality; eating it can awaken new abilities, representing life. The Ash Sprout is over-ripened, reaching the point of death, but it's not quite 'death' yet. You've probably seen those living corpses, right? They've been affected by the Ash Sprout."
Lilim had clearly been to the shallow layers of the Black Abyss before, and might have even clashed with Zachariah.
"So, does Zachariah carry the Ash Sprout on him?"
"How could that be? That thing represents 'death.' Even Zachariah wouldn't dare touch it casually, unless he wanted to become a living corpse. That thing is near the altar, and it can only be near the altar."
"Understood. One more thing, when will you come to snatch the Soul Fruit?"
Su Xiao stared intently at Lilim. This was his biggest concern.
"Should be... soon. The lord in charge of this matter is notoriously impatient. And this time, those sissies from the Feather Clan are getting involved too. Those damn sissies, they're prettier than women, pfft!"
Lilim grew angrier as she spoke, clearly having a terrible relationship with the Feather Clan.
"Thanks for this. I'll contact you again if there's a chance."
With that, Su Xiao stopped injecting demonic energy into the necklace.
"Hey, I answered so many of your questions, I have something—"
In Lilim's bedroom, her hand froze mid-air, her cheek twitching.
...
In the underground room, Su Xiao tossed the gem necklace back to Lillis. Most of the doubts in his mind had been resolved.
The Ash Sprout was also a product of the Soul Vine, just over-ripened. But this didn't mean the Ash Sprout was worthless. This thing could create living corpses and control them. To some extent, its value was even higher than the Soul Fruit.
Or rather, those corpses transformed by the Ash Sprout were no longer considered living beings, nor were they living corpses or zombies. They had completed a transformation into plants—no breathing, no heartbeat. Judged by biological standards, they were dead. But judged by plant standards, they were actually still alive, becoming literal plant men. In the Black Abyss, they were called "Assimilators."
The current problem was that if Su Xiao tried to snatch the Ash Sprout, those Assimilators would stop him immediately. The Ash Sprout was like their signal tower, controlling them with the highest priority.