Chapter 3600: Entering The Mother Forest
Chapter 3600: Entering The Mother Forest
The others followed suit, each taking out their own tokens.
As soon as the tokens were revealed, a subtle change occurred.
HUMMM
A faint wave of energy spread outward from them, almost imperceptible, yet undeniably present. It moved through the forest like a whisper, flowing along the roots and branches, carried by the very life of the trees.
Then...
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Even the wind seemed to halt.
Not a single leaf moved.
Not a single sound remained.
Meng Bai held his breath unconsciously, feeling as though the entire forest was watching them.
Seconds passed.
Then—
A response.
SHUA
From deep within the forest, a second wave of energy emerged. It was far stronger, far more ancient, and carried an undeniable authority. It surged forward, meeting the energy from their tokens.
The moment the two forces touched, the tokens in their hands began to glow.
Acknowledgment.
Permission.
And then... The forest changed.
What followed was something none of them, except perhaps Lin Mu, had ever witnessed before.
The trees began to move.
Not violently, but gracefully.
Tremble
They shifted aside, their roots sliding through the earth as if it were water. The ground itself adjusted, rising and falling as hills reshaped and mountains subtly sank. The terrain rearranged itself in perfect harmony, guided by an unseen will.
A path emerged.
Wide.
Clear.
And ancient.
It felt as though it had always been there.
Meng Bai’s mouth fell open.
"This... this is..." he struggled to find words.
His formation knowledge was vast for his level, but what he was witnessing now was beyond anything he had studied.
"This isn’t just one array..." he said slowly. "It’s... multiple arrays layered together. Illusion arrays, barrier arrays, confounding arrays and more... all integrated into one system..."
"And not constructed," Daoist Chu added quietly, his eyes gleaming with understanding. "Grown."
Meng Bai nodded rapidly.
"Yes... grown..."
Xueyan smiled slightly, clearly pleased at their reactions.
"This is why no one can enter the Mother Forest without permission," he said. "Even if someone were to stumble upon it, they would never find the true path."
Lin Mu observed the shifting terrain for a moment longer before speaking.
"Even I would require at least a month or two to break through this without a token," he said.
That statement alone was enough to send a chill through Meng Bai.
’If even Master...’
They truly understood now.
This place was not meant to be entered casually.
With the path revealed, Shrubby resumed his movement, though this time they did not take to the sky.
Xueyan quickly explained why.
"If we fly," he said, "we’ll exceed the permitted boundaries of the array. It will detect us as intruders and redirect us back out... or worse, trap us."
Lin Mu nodded in agreement.
"Then we proceed on foot," he said.
Though in Shrubby’s case, "on foot" was still incredibly fast.
The great beast surged forward once more, his powerful legs carrying them across the newly revealed path. Even without flying, his speed was unmatched, and the journey continued swiftly.
Three more days passed.
And finally...
They arrived.
The Mother Forest.
The moment they crossed deeper into its domain, the atmosphere changed completely.
Life.
That was the only word that could describe it.
The air itself felt dense with vitality. Every breath carried an energy that nourished both body and spirit. The trees were taller, their trunks thicker, their leaves more vibrant than anything they had seen before. Even the ground seemed alive, pulsing faintly with natural energy.
Lin Mu’s eyes softened slightly.
’This place... The amount of Nature energy here is immense.’
He had only felt something similar once before.
The sanctuary of the Lotus Spirit at the Green Lotus Temple.
But even that...
Felt slightly lesser in comparison.
Others could not perceive it as clearly as he did, but they still felt its effects.
Meng Bai took a deep breath, his expression relaxing involuntarily.
"It feels... amazing..." he said.
Daoist Chu nodded, his usual composed demeanor showing a rare hint of contentment.
Even Cattaleya stretched slightly, as if her body was responding positively to the environment.
But among all of them...
Elyon was the most affected.
He stood still for a moment, his golden amber eyes scanning the surroundings as a strange emotion surfaced within him.
"...This feels like home..." he said quietly.
It was not something he could explain. But it resonated deeply within him.
Meng Bai, curious as ever, looked at Xueyan.
"So... where exactly are we going?" he asked. "The Mother Forest is huge, right?"
Xueyan nodded.
"Yes," he said. "The entire forest is home to the foxkin. But there are specific settlements within it."
He raised a finger as he explained.
"Each major tribe has its own region. The White Fox Clan, the Flame Fur Fox Clan, the Frost Fox Clan... all of them have designated areas."
Lin Mu glanced at him.
"The Frost Fox Clan as well?" he asked.
Xueyan nodded again.
"They do," he confirmed. "Though only a small number of them stay here. Most of their population remains on the Eastern Prism Sky Continent. The ones here are mainly for diplomatic and cultural ties."
Meng Bai nodded thoughtfully.
"That makes sense..."
Xueyan then pointed forward, deeper into the forest.
"But where we’re going..." he said, his tone gaining a hint of reverence, "...is not just any settlement."
He paused for a moment before finishing.
"It is the Heart of the Mother Forest."
The words lingered in the air.
And somehow...
Everyone could feel it.
That whatever lay ahead...
Was something far greater than anything they had encountered so far.
And sure enough, the journey through the inner path of the Mother Forest was unlike anything they had experienced before.
At first, it seemed like a simple continuation of the trail that had opened for them earlier, but as they progressed deeper, it became increasingly clear that the path itself was alive in a way that defied conventional understanding.
The ground beneath Shrubby’s feet subtly shifted, roots withdrawing or extending just enough to maintain a smooth passage, while the trees adjusted their spacing ever so slightly, ensuring the group was never obstructed.