Chapter 216 The Real Divine Tree!

Fortunately, they are allies.

If it were an enemy, I probably wouldn't have even had a chance to activate [Mirror Jump] in that instant.

Evelyn did not pay attention to Lin Hui's vigilance.

Carrying a kerosene lamp, she walked slowly forward, her voice drifting through the mist: "The exit of Misty Town is hidden somewhere within the Wall of Mist."

Evelyn explained as she walked.

"After more than 20 years of exploration, I have learned that there are two ways to leave."

"First, your own life level has completed a leap, reaching level 8 or above. Life forms at that level can resist the mist's domain, see through the mist, and walk directly out of here."

Lin Hui's lips twitched.

8th order?

At present, even Tier 2 players are extremely rare, so this path is simply not viable.

"Second," Evelyn continued, "is to temporarily make the fog disappear or weaken."

"As you've probably already guessed, this mist isn't a rule of the town itself, but rather a 'domain' unconsciously emitted by a high-level being."

"Only by severely damaging the beings in the manufacturing field and thinning the mist, will the exit appear and make it possible to leave."

Lin Hui nodded; this was consistent with his deduction.

But the key question is, where is the boss? Is it that divine tree?

Evelyn stopped in her tracks.

At this moment, the two had arrived at a high slope.

Evelyn pointed to the thick, impenetrable fog ahead and said, "Take another look with your pale eyes. Only in the fog... can you see its true form."

Upon hearing this, Lin Hui unhesitatingly pulled out a bottle of [Basic Mental Energy Potion] that he had seized from the Freedom Alliance and gulped it down.

The medicine went down my throat and transformed into a cool energy that flowed to my brain, slightly restoring my mental energy that had been completely depleted.

Lin Hui gripped the cold eyeball again, channeling his spiritual energy into it.

hum!

That pale, fully transparent perspective returned once again.

The fog before our eyes was gradually peeled away.

Then, Lin Hui saw the sacred tree.

In that instant, Lin Hui felt his scalp tingle and a chill run down his spine to the top of his head.

What kind of divine tree is that?

It was a huge, deformed, disgusting aggregate of plants and flesh!

The leaves, which should have had a jade-like texture, were now withered, yellow, and charred, covered with mold-like spots.

The branches are not made of wood, but are countless tentacles and nerve synapses dancing wildly in the air.

What made Lin Hui's scalp tingle the most were the "sacred fruits" hanging on the branches.

Those were tumors that were still pulsating slightly!

They resembled countless unhatched demon eggs, hanging among those dark brown tentacles.

However, what terrified Lin Hui even more was yet to come.

Shift your gaze downwards.

Beneath that enormous and disgusting divine tree, countless figures were kneeling.

Lin Hui's pupils suddenly contracted.

He recognized them.

Among those figures were elderly residents of the town dressed in tattered clothes, police officers in uniform, and even new players who had just entered the instance a few days ago and had eaten the holy fruit to resist the curse!

Standing at the very front, bowing in worship to the sacred tree, was none other than Inspector Lyon, a man with a stern face and an air of righteousness!

At this moment, Lyon had lost the majesty and composure he had during the day.

Like everyone else, he held the disgusting tumor in his hands, raising it high above his head, his face extremely devout, his eyes shining with a fanatical and obsessive light.

A series of low, muffled prayers came from their mouths:

"The mother root that pierces through the earth..."

"A withered forest shrouded in starlight..."

"Wherever there is soil, that is your territory..."

"Wherever there are trees, your name will be known..."

"Wake up, Seranosh..."

"Let the world return to your silence."

Seeing this scene, Lin Hui gasped. Even from a distance, he could feel the overwhelming sense of depravity.

"Seranosh..."

Lin Hui murmured to himself, repeating the name over and over.

Is that the name of the BOSS?

"Do you see? The divine tree during the day is just an illusion; only at this time is it real."

Evelyn's voice drifted over, "Eating the sacred fruit will plant a seed within you. In the beginning, the seed will provide power to help you resist the erosion of the mist, allow you to temporarily retain your memories, and make you a devout believer..."

"But if the divine tree so desires, the seed will sprout immediately, devouring the host's flesh and soul, and eventually... the host will become a new tree demon."

She looked at the frenzied crowd with sorrow in her eyes. "By the time I realized it, it was too late. My husband, Ryan, and my child, Annie, had already eaten the sacred fruit to fight the town's curse."

Lin Hui withdrew his gaze and looked at Evelyn, asking, "And what about you? You didn't consume the sacred fruit, yet you've retained your memories for over twenty years?"

Evelyn nodded, reaching out to stroke the kerosene lamp in her hand, her expression complex.

"I am a servant of God."

"I received God's 'blessing.' That higher power allowed me to maintain my memory for over twenty years without needing to consume sacred fruits."

At this point, she suddenly raised her head, her watery eyes fixed on Lin Hui, her gaze seemingly trying to see through his soul.

"I've been observing you for the past few days."

"You did not eat the sacred fruit, yet your memory remains intact."

"In this town, only two kinds of people can do this. One is a servant of God like me, and the other... is a being of a higher status."

Evelyn asked, "You...you must also be a servant of the gods, right?"

Lin Hui was stunned for a moment.

Servant of God?

He shook his head: "I did receive a position as a servant of the gods, but I declined."

That was the reward Lin Hui received for completing the hidden quest "The Gaze of God"—a "servant spot of the God of Eerie Bones".

"Rejected?" Evelyn's face showed disbelief. "In this survival game, someone actually rejected the blessings of the gods? That's a source of power that so many people dream of..."

Her ability to possess power comparable to a 7th-tier being is also due to the blessings of the gods.

Evelyn stared at Lin Hui for a long time, finally shaking her head and sighing, "You really are special..."

Is it special?

Lin Hui felt a slight stirring in his heart, but did not explain much.

His consciousness instantly sank into another dimension.

In that vast, sea-like pile of supplies, his gaze swept over the mountains of scrap metal, shells, food, water... and finally looked toward the deepest part of the alternate dimension.

There, there was a cluster of spheres of light, layered upon each other, radiating an ethereal glow.

This is the "servant of the gods" position that he disliked.

At this moment, the ball of light was pitifully stuck to the ground, like abandoned trash.

Beside it, the zombie overlord, Xiaobai, who should have been corrupted by the mist and sprouting new branches, was now standing there looking completely bewildered.

Its mutated features... have all disappeared!

The bark and buds seemed as if they had never existed.

Above them, a simple, unadorned brass key floats.

It was that extraordinary, mythical item brought out from the enormous temple in the "Dark Forest"—the [Brass Key]!

It originates from an indescribable, great being!

At that moment, as Lin Hui's gaze fixed on the brass key, the space around the key seemed to be distorted by some kind of force.

He vaguely saw a magnificent, indescribably grand, double-leaved gray stone door.

The door was tightly closed, and a hint of ancient and desolate atmosphere emanated from the cracks.

It was this aura that kept all the surrounding curses at bay.

Lin Hui clearly remembered that the phantom of the gray stone door appeared on the third day after he entered the Misty Town, which was the day the town's curse began to affect Chen Ye.

In other words, it was precisely because of the existence of the brass key that he was immune to the town's curse.

......