Chapter 922 - Forest Discovery
"Only a bit of discomfort, huh?" Neron muttered bitterly, feeling a bit conflicted.
He felt it was unfair that he was the only one to suffer such a torturous feeling. But on the other hand, he was also glad that his junior sister didn't have to go through the same experience.
Suddenly, Neron's eyes flickered with a sudden thought.
"Junior Sister, don't you find this strange? The Cataclysm erupted for quite some time now, but we were perfectly fine when we left the Geyser Kingdom. However, now that we are returning from the Crawford Kingdom, we immediately experience problems," Neron mentioned.
Lina's eyes flickered upon hearing her senior brother's words.
She immediately noticed his subtle use of 'kingdom' instead of 'empire' when addressing the Crawford Empire. Even so, she didn't plan to enter a debate with her senior brother over it.
"We've stayed in the Crawford Empire—or rather, we stayed by the World Tree for some time. The air in that place is very pure. Thus, I can think of two possibilities for our current condition, Senior Brother," Lina stated.
"Oh? Let's hear it then," Neron said with interest.
He also has some speculations, but he is curious to find out whether their thoughts match or differ from one another.
Nevertheless, Lina nodded.
"The first possibility I thought of was that our bodies have grown accustomed to the pure and thriving land around the World Tree. Thus, our bodies had grown weaker to the sunlight and foul energy," Lina started speaking.
"But upon further thought, this possibility is the least likely. The atmosphere outside the World Tree's domain seems to stir our awakening cultivation's energy and has nothing to do with our bodies."
Neron nodded in agreement upon hearing up to that point. He had also thought of such a possibility before ruling it out.
"And the second possibility?" Neron pressed.
"The second possibility is that the foul energy density and sunlight intensity has reached a higher threshold compared to a few weeks ago. Furthermore, it's a threshold that affects our cultivation," Lina stated.
Neron nodded with a smile.
"I thought the exact thing, Junior Sister. Glad to know we are on the same wavelength," Neron inserted.
Lina replied with a forced smile.
Nevertheless, Neron quickly shifted Lina's attention elsewhere as he pointed to the grass outside the forest.
"Take a look at the tips of the grass in the field. Under the World Tree, the grass is as green as it can be. But here, the tips have all turned purplish red. Furthermore, their shapes are deforming; this is a sign of mutation," Neron mentioned.
Lina took a more careful look up close before she returned and nodded.
"It is as you said, Senior Brother; the grass is mutating under the sunlight," Lina confirmed.
"However, this happened under prolonged exposure to the sunlight. On the other hand, our conditions are triggered almost immediately once we expose ourselves to the current sunlight. The problem lies in our energy."
"Seems like there's a serious problem with the energy we extract from Redstones to cultivate. However, everyone in the Geyser Kingdom cultivates with Redstone. If my condition is already this bad, what's happening to the experts back in the kingdom?" Neron wondered with a serious look.
"When the Cataclysm erupted, numerous giant blackwater domes were erected over every major city along the coast to negate the harmful sunlight," Lina mentioned.
"The issue might not be that serious back in the kingdom. But, we know for sure until we head back and check the situation with our own eyes."
"Let's hasten our journey back, Senior Brother," Lina urged shortly after.
"Alright," Neron nodded.
However, he shortly suggested with a wry look, "But let us head back through this shady forest first, Junior Sister. The feeling of my Fire Transcendent Crystal wanting to go berserk is very unpleasant to bear."
"Alright, Senior Brother," Lina agreed.
The forest wasn't big; it only stretched for several hundred yards at most. It was nothing compared to Extreme Misty Forest, which occupied the north of the Human Domain.
Even so, Neron suddenly paused his steps halfway through the forest. After walking a few steps ahead, Lina glanced back with a puzzled look.
"What's the matter, Senior Brother? Are you feeling unwell?" Lina noticed the frown on her senior brother's face.
"No," Neron shook his head and said, "It's just that I suddenly picked up the scent of blood in this forest."
"The scent of blood?" Lina uttered with surprise. She quickly inspected the surroundings but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.
"Give me a moment, Senior Brother."
Shortly after, Lina placed her palm on a nearby tree and connected her senses, feeling every part of it, including the underground roots.
When she didn't pick up anything from one tree, she extended her shared senses to the other trees and increased the range of her search.
It didn't take long before she made a discovery.
Lina's eyes immediately flickered before she alerted Neron, "There are several bodies buried just five yards from your left, Senior Brother."
"Oh?" Neron uttered with narrowed eyes.
Nevertheless, he quickly moved to the designated location and dug out the earth.
The tracks had been well hidden, which showed that the buried bodies were purposely hidden to prevent others from finding out.
"This is…" Neron's pupils shrank when he uncovered the four bodies from the buried pit. After seeing their faces, he quickly concluded, "These people are from the first group of envoys sent by the kingdom two weeks back."
"What? Shouldn't they have long returned to the kingdom? How could they be buried here?" Lina uttered with shock.
"Evidently, someone killed them all and prevented them from returning to the kingdom," Neron's gaze sharpened before he quickly urged, "Junior Sister, check if you can find any more buried bodies in this forest."
Lina followed Neron's instruction without hesitation, sensing the severity of the matter. Before long, she made a few more discoveries.
The bodies of the second, third, and fourth groups of envoys were all buried in the forest.
None of the envoys had made it back to the kingdom!