Free Web NovelChapter 345: Chapter 208: Devouring [Jade Magic Ring Tree] (Part 2)
He would enhance the stealth properties of the Eating Phase·Insect King Curse to evade detection by potential Middle Rank Gods.
Only then could Zorn calmly raise the Eating Phase·Insect King Curse to a considerable strength.
...
BUZZ! BUZZ!
Jade ripples bloomed across the vault of the sky.
The presences of two Travelers from the Wanderer Sequence suddenly descended.
After descending, the two Travelers—Middle Rank Gods—immediately began to investigate their surroundings.
Several hours later, having found nothing, the two Travelers who were Middle Rank Gods gathered together.
"Found anything?"
"Just a slight disorder in the radiating veins of the Jade Magic Ring Tree. You?"
"Same here. The chaotic trajectory of those few Jade veins clearly points to some kind of parasite, or perhaps a strange creature that clings to the Jade Magic Ring Tree."
"Like some kind of Elemental Spirit?"
"That’s what it looks like to me."
"The observers insisted there was something unusual here and sent us to investigate. They said it could be someone from the Calamity Court Divine Kingdom or the Secret Wilderness."
"These days, we have to investigate every little stir. I haven’t had a chance for proper cultivation in years."
"All right, stop complaining. It’s the same for everyone."
"It has no physical form, is perfectly attuned to the Jade Magic Ring Tree, and even feeds on the elements of the Jade Magic Ring."
"The disturbance here must be caused by some kind of Jade Elemental Spirit."
"A spirit like that probably has more Faith in the Jade Magic Ring Tree than we do. What threat could it possibly pose? Let’s go. Time to report back."
"Right."
After whispering amongst themselves, the two Middle Rank Gods departed once more.
About two hours later.
The two Middle Rank Gods who had just departed returned.
One of the Middle Rank Gods chuckled derisively.
"That Elemental Spirit is extremely cautious. It’s more attuned to the Jade Magic Ring than we are, so it definitely sensed our approach. Your plan to catch it is probably impossible now."
"Heh heh heh..."
The Middle Rank God who was being laughed at looked somewhat embarrassed.
"Let’s go, let’s go!"
He took the lead and departed.
Several hours after the two Middle Rank Gods of the Wanderer Sequence had departed.
An Insect King Curse in the shape of an Elf Fish leaped directly out from a wave of surging elemental ripples.
The Elf Fish-shaped Insect King Curse then gazed toward the Jade Magic Ring Tree and murmured to itself.
"It feels... about right."
After looking around for a moment, the Insect King Curse began to devour and digest the power of the Jade elements, using the rising elemental ripples as springboards to constantly move closer to the Jade Magic Ring Tree.
A full half-month passed.
Only then did the Elf Fish manage to cross the expanse of the sky and approach the verdant branches of the Jade Magic Ring Tree.
The Elf Fish Insect King Curse then leaped directly onto a branch and burrowed inside.
After finding a suitable location.
RUSTLE...
The Insect King Curse displayed the essential trait of an Insect Curse: gnawing!
Before long, the Insect King Curse’s entire body had completely vanished into the tunnel it had gnawed.
The Insect King Curse then secreted a portion of the phase-state energy it had gnawed from the Magic Ring Tree, sealing the tunnel entrance completely.
Having accomplished all this, Zorn let out a long sigh of relief.
’A Level 13 Insect King Curse can devour the Rune Elemental Traits of Magic Ring Trees and then perfectly integrate into the Jade Magic Ring Tree, becoming a part of it.’
’At the same time, I can use these Insect Curses as cores and the tunnels as a network to spread my Cosmic Magic Net throughout the interior of the Jade Magic Ring Tree.’
’The efficiency of a single Insect King Curse is still a bit slow right now.’
’But if all seven Insect King Curses are deployed, that will be a different story.’
’I can deploy one in about a month’s time. I’ll just proceed at this rate.’
Immediately, Zorn selected another location and began cultivating a new Insect King Curse.
One month, two months, three months...
Time flew by.
Before he knew it, more than a year had passed.
...
「Deep within the Jade Magic Ring Tree.」
A Jade Insect Nest Node.
SPLASH...
With a surge of the Jade Ripple Wave...
Zorn’s projection silently condensed here.
The emerald-green projection looked just like Jade, fitting in perfectly with the Jade Magic Ring Tree.
And all of this was thanks to the Jade Insect Nest Node.
After meticulously observing the Jade Insect Nest Node, Zorn nodded in satisfaction.
’Through the gnawing and weaving of the Insect King Curse, this Jade Insect Nest Node has already connected with the Jade Magic Ring Tree.’
’The chosen location is also excellent; it’s become the operational core for this section of the Magic Ring Tree.’
’If it were to be destroyed, the damage would radiate out to a huge section of the Jade Magic Ring Tree.’
’More importantly... this is inside the Jade Magic Ring Tree.’
’A Level 13 Insect King Curse can get in, but the Middle Rank Gods of the Jade Realm cannot.’
’Basically, this Insect Nest Node inside the Jade Magic Ring, created by the Insect King Curse, has become my own personal space.’
’Here... I can perform the ritual and absorb the origin of the Jade Magic Ring.’
At this thought, Zorn chuckled softly.
Zorn had planned for this, using the Insect King Curse to carry a large amount of resources when he sent it.
Now that he was inside, Zorn planned to construct the ritual to extract the origin.
These Insect Nest Nodes were actual nodes of the Jade Magic Ring Tree itself. The efficiency of extracting the Jade Magic Ring’s origin from here would be incredibly high.
’I’ll set up two rituals in each node.’
’One is the ritual Lord Ossirion gave me, which will help our Calamity Court Realm extract the origin of the Jade Magic Ring Tree.’
’The other, of course, will be my own ritual.’
’The growth of my Tree of Calamity Magic Ring and my Calamity Divine Kingdom depends on this absorption of the Jade Magic Ring Tree’s origin.’
In one node after another.
Zorn began to continuously construct the rituals.
As time went on.
The number of Jade Insect Nests created by the Insect King Curses inside the Jade Magic Ring Tree began to grow.
The number of rituals Zorn set up also increased step by step.
The major powers on the outside also gradually began to sense that something was wrong with the Jade Magic Ring Tree.
...
Naturally, the first to discover the anomaly was the Jade Realm, the controller of the Jade Magic Ring Tree.
They could clearly monitor that the rate at which the Jade Magic Ring Tree’s origin was draining had surged.
This discovery, of course, made them furious.
Under normal circumstances, after the various channels had been established, in five to six hundred years, they would have reclaimed about ninety percent of the Jade Magic Ring Tree’s origin.
At that point, it wouldn’t be out of the question to spread Magic Ring Trees within the Divine Kingdoms of other Upper Rank Gods.
If even one Ancient God could emerge from this batch of Upper Rank Gods, it would be a massive windfall.
However, the rate at which the Jade Magic Ring Tree’s origin was draining had been accelerating recently.
It was as if... a breach had been opened in the Tree of the Origin of the Magic Ring, and it was gushing out like a flood.
And the breach seemed to be within the Jade Magic Ring Tree itself.
This naturally prompted the Divine Spirits in charge to begin an investigation.
After all, if a problem occurred inside the Jade Magic Ring Tree, the trouble would be immense.
...
「Black Star Divine Kingdom.」
Within the towering Stone Hall.
Ossirion sensed the ever-increasing flow of the Magic Ring Tree’s origin over the past six months.
He had a vague idea of who was responsible.
But he didn’t tell a soul.
Instead, he quietly dispatched personnel to expand the projection of the Calamity Court Magic Ring Tree and increase its absorption of the Jade Magic Ring Tree’s origin.
An opportunity like this only comes once every million years or so; it was not to be missed.
At the same time, the Hidden Wilderness Realm, which was projecting its Desert Magic Ring Tree in the Ancient Divine Kingdom, also noticed the situation.
They entered into negotiations with the upper echelons of the Calamity Court Realm.
The content of their negotiations was, of course, not known to outsiders.
However, the Calamity Court Realm still transferred a portion of the origin to the Hidden Wilderness Sect.
...
As time went on.
Zorn, who was still inside the Jade Magic Ring Tree constantly building Jade Insect Nests, finally ran into trouble.
A group of Magic Ring·Demon Tree Messengers had begun to infiltrate the interior of the Magic Ring Tree.
