“It should be around here. Search carefully, everyone.”
Qiao Hua’s voice was hoarse and his appearance disheveled, but he still exuded a sense of confidence and good spirits. His gaze kept its confidence and steadiness while his face had a morbidly excited red blush. Only the corners of his eyes displayed his fatigue.
Everyone knew that Qiao Hua was bearing a heavy burden.
The blood catastrophe situation was rapidly deteriorating. There were sightings of blood fiends in many cities. Due to the emergency, the ones deeper in the Garden of Life were pressed by a heavy atmosphere. Even the areas that had been burned still had blood-red sprouts growing from the charred ground. The blood plants had a resilient vitality, instilling fear in everyone.
The blood fiends were getting stronger. Just seven days ago, they were hit by a sneak attack from a blood wolf, causing three deaths and six injured. This was the first instance of severe injuries and death received since they entered the Garden of Life. The blood wolf was a strong but cunning dire beast that quickly became everyone’s nightmare. Since then, the troop had become startled by the smallest things.
Their caution, however, did not improve their situation. They began to suffer continuous attacks from different blood fiends, increasing the number of casualties. This further strengthened their belief that they were traveling in the correct direction.
Qiao Hua continued to command them deeper into the Garden of Life while praying for divine intervention.
The burdens in Qiao Hua’s heart increased, but he continued to encourage himself, saying that this was the best option to take. As long as they discovered the first blood tree, they would be able to find a solution.
The blood poison could not be dealt with using ordinary ideas, which was evident from the blood grass that was growing from the charred soil. They sprouted at an astonishing rate. Only a few days had passed, and the blood grass had already grown past their kneecaps.
The fire, intended to prevent the spread of the blood poisoning, aided it in becoming stronger instead.
Qiao Hua examined the newly grown blood grass and realized that the blood poison in them was slightly different from the one gathered in his initial investigations.
Layers upon layers of transformations had taken place, and the blood poison became increasingly formidable—to the point that Qiao Hua experienced fear.
He did not express his worries and fears, knowing that the troop’s morale was undergoing some subtle changes. Everyone was tense and strained as they had yet to find the blood tree left behind by Si Nan. Furthermore, the continuous escalating attacks by the blood fiends and the loss of their people made their confidence in Qiao Hua waver.
The loss of confidence and intensifying insecurity made them extremely weak.
Qiao Hua’s resolute nature showed itself; he did not have the least bit of hesitation and held on to his determination. He believed his conjecture was correct and was not the least bit swayed.
Everyone dispersed to seek out the potential target.
Si Nan’s notes were decades old; since his time, there had been many changes in the Induction Ground. Even the geological landscape had noticeable differences. Furthermore, the notes had been organized by Si Nan’s students, and so many details were indistinct and unclear.
After analyzing the notes, Qiao Hua had jotted down a few potential locations.
Most of the people were in low spirits and were not encouraged by Qiao Hua’s words since their previous searches had proved to be fruitless. Everyone maintained their patience out of respect for Qiao Hua’s high rank. Their tolerance, however, was running thin. Some of the troop members were starting suspect whether Si Nan’s notes were real.
“Found it!”
An agitated voice suddenly rang out, and everyone involuntarily paused in their movements. After a moment of silence, they erupted in cheers.
Everyone rushed towards the loud shout.
Qiao Hua’s knees went soft. He no longer cared about his image and plopped butt-first onto the ground. He looked utterly exhausted. He did not think that their journey would have been met with so many mishaps, nor did he predict the blood poison to have worsened so rapidly. The burden he shouldered had been heavy beyond expectation.
The blood catastrophe had worsened with a swiftness outside of anybody’s expectations, even Qiao Hua’s. There were rumors of displeasure from the elders who had been persuaded by him.
The winner takes all while the loser is left with nothing.
If he could successfully resolve the blood disaster, then he would rapidly become the hero of the Induction Grounds—no, of the entire Avalon of Five Elements. To him, this was critical. As long as he succeeded, his population would be elevated to unprecedented heights.
Always, he had hoped and longed for such a chance. His ambitious nature had been stirred since long ago.
They finally found it….
As long as they found the blood tree, he was halfway to success. This implied that there would be a feast for them soon.
It would be one of celebration, the best reward he could ever get. The courage he invested would soon reap numerous rewards. He could almost envision his name in the river of history, praised by millions of people.
He did not know where he got the strength from, but he stood and walked towards the group of people.
The crowd automatically parted to form a path, like the welcoming of a crowned victor.
With a steady pace, Qiao Hua held his head up high. The gazes that turned his way were no longer filled with doubt and suspicion but instead were of adoration and respect. Finding the blood tree was evidence of Qiao Hua’s correct theory.
They all believed that they would soon witness the destruction of the blood disaster. Most of them were overcome with emotion.
Qiao Hua did not let the success go to his head. Instead, he calmed himself and approached the blood tree. After regaining his absolute tranquility, he inspected the blood tree carefully.
After four hundred years of growth, the sapling had grown into an ancient tree of the firmament.
Not an inch of grass grew within a perimeter of fifty meters.
The top of the tree was thick and scarlet red like the evening maple in late autumn; it was breathtaking. Qiao Hua, however, did not raise his head. His gaze was fixated on the black streaks on the tree trunk.
The dull-red tree trunk was covered with black patterns like a totem from the ancient times. It exuded an indescribable gloom and evil.
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