Chapter Seventy-Seven: Your Turn

As they spoke, the three entered; this time there wasn’t a long passage, and they emerged directly into the next chamber. With past experience in mind, none dared to rush forward. They pressed close to the walls, flashlights raised, and together peered toward the center.

This pool held no water, nor the previous molten rock, only thick, bowl-sized roots tangled within, some even attempting to crawl up onto the platform. Zhou Yi was shocked. He knew well how barren this place was—outside lay the desert, nothing but wasteland. Even the rare trees out there resembled a Mediterranean with thinning hair: sparse, fragile, rare species.

So many roots—where could they possibly have come from?

He followed the roots’ trail to the center. All these fibrous strands seemed to converge into a bundle thick enough for two people to wrap their arms around, stretching upward toward the stone chamber’s ceiling.

The flashlight beam illuminated the darkness above. All he could see were the roots climbing higher; where they led, the eye could not discern.

Cheng Zhi clutched his chest, his face flushed, clearly struggling to restrain an urge to rush forward. Zhou Yi quickly uncapped his water bottle and splashed its contents across Cheng Zhi’s face.

The shock seemed to awaken him instantly. Cheng Zhi stared at Zhou Yi in terror, clutching his chest, breathing hard.

“My god, I could feel the tree calling to me just now.”

Fatty drew closer.

“A tree?”

Cheng Zhi nodded.

“A tree!”

Fatty rolled his eyes. “It’s nothing but a bunch of roots—where’s the tree? If all these roots belonged to trees, would the desert outside be so desolate?”

Cheng Zhi shook his head, then nodded firmly. “I’m not lying. It really is a tree, imprisoned here. It’s calling for me, asking me to release it. It’s dry and hot here, no sunlight—it’s dying.”

Fatty scrutinized Cheng Zhi, sizing him up, then leaned in and lowered his voice. “Is it female, or at least maternal?”

Cheng Zhi nodded again, glancing at Zhou Yi with earnest eyes, as if he couldn’t explain the feeling beyond that expectant expression.

Zhou Yi mused for a moment. “You sense the spirit stone?”

Cheng Zhi nodded once more. “Yes, it’s the spirit stone that’s imprisoning it here. If I remove it, I think it’ll be freed.”

Zhou Yi pressed his lips together, eyeing the roots. Though there was no visible change, he sensed an atmosphere of joy and anticipation—probably the tree’s signal.

“Tell it to wait. We’ll return to help once we’ve investigated. But if we free it and it grows wild, destroying this place, we’ll put the spirit stone back and suppress it again.”

Fatty stared in astonishment at Zhou Yi. Was he serious? Having Cheng Zhi communicate with the tree—and threaten it?

Yet Cheng Zhi nodded solemnly, closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, excitement barely contained. “It agreed!”

Zhou Yi waved a hand and walked along the platform edge toward the very center, his mind piecing together the puzzle. The first stone chamber was water, the second fire, the third mercury—metal. This one, tree roots—wood. So, would the next be earth?

If so, it would be the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, earth—the cycle that maintains balance here.

But if the balance were broken, what would happen? Zhou Yi dared not imagine. Still, since they’d come, they couldn’t leave empty-handed; at least they had to understand this place.

During his previous attribute test, the brightest were black and white—spirit and space. Metal, water, fire were present, though not as strong. But earth had never lit up.

Worried, Zhou Yi moved quickly, marking a six-pointed star above the central passage, then entered first.

This passage was now very wide, requiring just a slight bend to pass through. As soon as he entered, dust billowed, stinging his eyes.

Zhou Yi raised his elbow to shield his mouth, squinting through the haze.

As expected.

The pool in the center was filled with sand, boiling and rolling as if a cauldron had been set alight.

Cheng Zhi was dumbstruck, not daring to approach. Flowing sand was more terrifying than water or fire—a pool of boiling sand set every hair on edge.

Zhou Yi sensed the chamber, brow furrowed.

Fatty, meanwhile, shuffled his bulk forward, glanced at the others, squatted at the platform’s edge, and plunged his hand into the sand.

Cheng Zhi wanted to stop him, but Zhou Yi held him back, knowing Fatty’s caution well.

If Fatty was unafraid and proactive, perhaps...

Just as he thought it, Fatty grinned, turning to them. “Heh, you might not believe it, but someone in the sand seems to be inviting me to come play. Is this a joke?”

Seeing that neither looked shocked or surprised, Fatty smacked his lips and jumped up, unable to hide his excitement.

“Damn, boss, do I have attributes too? Why is mine sand?”

Almost as if annoyed by Fatty’s words, the sand in the pool churned even harder, the whole chamber swirling like the heart of a sandstorm.

Zhou Yi glared. “Settle down. Sit, relax your mind, and sense if there’s anything calling to you. If so, repeat what I told Cheng Zhi earlier.”

Fatty rubbed his nose, nodded quickly, turned and sat, closing his eyes to concentrate.

Zhou Yi kept his flashlight busy, scanning every inch of the stone room. There was no exit; it seemed his initial guess was right. This place was the energy center of the world.

The early settlers, or perhaps the Hunter Tribe, must have designed this as a formation of the five elements, nurturing and restraining each other. Once this world was sealed for a certain time, it would serve another purpose—only the base seized it unexpectedly.

As he pondered, movement stirred in the pool.

Cheng Zhi stepped closer to Zhou Yi, gripping his shovel tightly, alert and wary.

The sand ceased its chaotic dancing, rolling now in waves from the center outward, rippling to the edges.

At the center, a yellow stone egg appeared. Without the flashlight, the chamber was already aglow.

The stone egg rose and floated toward Fatty, landing in his arms.

Crack!

The egg broke open, revealing a yellow crystal, palm-sized and walnut-shaped, which danced around Fatty, even bouncing atop his head. Cheng Zhi tried to reach out, but Zhou Yi stopped him.

It seemed to be a form of communication; interrupting might trigger unforeseen consequences.

The process repeated several times. Fatty opened his eyes, grasped the yellow crystal, rubbing it with a look of tenderness.

“Come with me,” he said, then looked up at Zhou Yi.

At that moment, Fatty’s aura seemed transformed. He took a deep breath, still visibly excited.

“Boss, I think I’ve gained some earth attribute from the spirit stone, though I don’t have complete control. Can I take it with me?”

Zhou Yi glanced at the pool and the yellow crystal, somehow feeling the color suited Fatty.

“If you take it, will the chamber rupture, or will something go wrong?”

Fatty shook his head honestly. “I don’t know. Look, I seem to be able to control the sand.”

He extended a hand, and the sand flowed from the pool to his palm, then, with another wave, returned to the pool, merging and bubbling as if responding to Fatty.

Zhou Yi nodded. More words were useless; the spirit stone must be taken.

“Alright, let’s go back the way we came, bring the earth spirit stone.”

Fatty grinned, tucking the stone into his chest.

The three quickly retreated through the passage. Upon emerging, they found themselves again in the room filled with tree roots.

Zhou Yi turned to Cheng Zhi. “Hurry, it’s your turn!”