Chapter 705

Chapter 705: Chapter 705 – A Strange Place

Translator: Irene_ Editor: X, TYZ

The rock beneath his feet was piercingly cold, and Ai Hui felt as if he was walking on a polar ice sheet .

How long had he been walking? He couldn’t be sure .

Time elapsed in a strange and unpredictable manner, like the meandering of streams . In this space, Ai Hui wasn’t able to accurately judge the time .

After several failed attempts, Ai Hui decided not to waste any more energy on it .

It wasn’t just his ability to judge the time, but also his sense of direction that had been affected . There were no stars above him and no distinctive features on the terrain either . The ice-cold, barren land displayed no trace of life .

Ai Hui had traveled extensively, but there was nothing like this place .

There was no vegetation, no insects, no elemental energy wave motion, and not even a breeze . There was nothing but the black, ice-cold rocks to keep him company .

How strange .

He could only advance aimlessly .

Some time later, a slight glimmer appeared before this muddle headed man, jolting him out of his daze .

Just imagine an exhausted traveler, having trekked under the empty sky for a whole night, finally catching sight of the first rays of the morning sun . There was nothing more stirring and exciting than this .

Ai Hui’s body was boosted with a sudden surge of energy . All of his weariness was emptied out .

He sped toward the glimmer, moving faster than a cheetah .

The surroundings became increasingly bright as he shrugged the darkness and nothingness behind him . Ai Hui felt himself crossing the boundary between yin and yang .

Suddenly, he stopped and looked down . A tender, jade green color had caught his attention .

It was an ordinary looking blade of grass that grew on the black rock .

Ai Hui observed it carefully . The grass had no unique characteristics and was no different from a typical weed . The only difference was that the blade of grass wasn’t growing from in between the cracks, but from within the rock . Then again, this also wasn’t anything special since many plants absorbed nutrients from these rocks . Some would even turn the solid rocks into soft silt .

Thanks to his accumulated experience in the Wilderness, Ai Hui was somewhat of an expert when it came to identifying different vegetation .

A few names flashed across his mind, but he eliminated them one by one . At first glance, all these seemed possible, but upon closer inspection, this blade of grass had indefinite features .

Ai Hui shook his head . It was probably a new species . He simply couldn’t be sure .

He quickly threw this insignificant thought aside . Being able to locate a live being amid this completely desolate land was undoubtedly a huge encouragement .

Ai Hui sped up a little and was welcomed by more greenery and light .

He couldn’t identify the source of the light since there were still no stars and no moon above his head .

“What a strange place,” Ai Hui muttered to himself for the umpteenth time .

He continued walking, and the greenery grew lusher, making it difficult for him to see any exposed black rock . The ground became uneven in height . Ai Hui was no longer standing on a vast plain .

The number of species of vegetation started to increase as well . He even discovered a thicket .

It was a fluffy and brightly-colored thicket, no different from a bloodied dog’s tail, that reached Ai Hui’s waist . Since there were no weeds within the radius of a meter around this thicket, the black rock was exposed and the thicket was exceptionally eye-catching among the ridged, mountainous land .

As such, Ai Hui was able to notice it from afar .

Yet another species he hadn’t seen before .

The hollow, heart-shaped leaves were slightly bigger than fingernails and looked like red balloons . The branches were extremely fine, almost similar to natural silk . Ai Hui suspected that the leaves would drift far off into the sky if their branches were cut off .

He tried breaking a fine branch, but instead of floating, the connected leaf burst like a bubble and vanished out of sight .

A balloon-like thicket?

What a strange thicket .

Ai Hui shook his head . He couldn’t be bothered to think any more .

This entire place was just odd .

As he was about to continue on his journey, he felt something fall . He looked up and saw countless light specks sprinkling down from the endless void and breaking the dark night .

A vast whiteness filled his vision, as if a snowfall had just occurred .

Ai Hui reached his palm out subconsciously, allowing the light specks to land on it .

The specks were the size of grains and emitted a soft radiance . They fell onto his palm without the least bit of harshness . It was an unexpectedly warm and comforting experience .

Indescribably, Ai Hui was attracted to these light specks . A weak whirlpool formed as the specks within a few meters from him came toward him . The glimmering balls fell onto him and disappeared instantaneously as a gush of faint warmth took over his body .

Clap, clap, clap .

A condensed wave of explosions sounded from close by .

Ai Hui was alarmed and hurriedly followed the source . All he saw was the bursting of the red thicket leaves, which created many tiny, tender, and fresh lips . The silk-like branches danced hysterically as these red lips nimbly caught the miniscule glimmers . They were like a bed of snakes, dancing in disorder, yet precise and free from entanglement .

They were so rapacious that it was as if they had been waiting for a long time .

The once fluffy and cute thicket had, in an instant, turned devilish .

Not just the thicket, but even the lush, carpeted grass had sinisterly transformed . The blades of grass were frantically waving, mimicking arms in attempt to capture the drifting glimmers .

The previously peaceful land had turned savage, similar to how a group of predators would transform upon smelling blood .

The “snow” only lasted for about 20 breaths before disappearing . It came and went without any warning .

Suddenly, Ai Hui’s vision regained clarity . Peace had returned to the bloodthirsty grass and the devilish thicket . Everything had changed so fast, leading him to suspect that it could all have been an illusion, like a dream that ended before it could begin .

He shuddered uncontrollably .

What just happened wasn’t an illusion or a dream .

The nearby thicket had grown a notch . The grass patch under it had thickened as well .

All within those 20 breaths .

What a strange place .

Ai Hui looked around, all while raising his guard .

While that crazy experience had left him unsettled, he had also benefited from it . His footsteps had gotten lighter, and he could feel warmth spreading within his body . Absorbing these warm flows would strengthen his ability .

Ai Hui continued on his path without stopping .

More species appeared along the way . There were wild flowers of all sorts of colors, and he could even see a grassland with splendid colors . It was no longer a monotonous scene .

Thickets became a common sight as he moved forward . They had all kinds of shapes and variety . It was an eye-opening experience for Ai Hui . He hadn’t seen two identical looking thickets thus far . Each one was unique .

By now, Ai Hui had encountered three “snow falls . “

One was crystal blue, one emerald green, and the other a faint red . These three “snow falls” occurred irregularly and lasted for a different period of time as well . The longest lasted 40 breaths, while the emerald green one ended the fastest, lasting only seven breaths .

Ai Hui did not know what these light balls were, but evidently, these peculiar “snow falls” had a nourishing effect on this land .

Whatever the case, everything around here was strange .

It was no longer a dull sight before him . He could see huge trees of great heights, beautifully colored vines, and scattered thickets . Yet, despite being knowledgeable in plants, Ai Hui wasn’t able to identify any of them . They were all different .

Some trees were pencil-straight with silvery trunks that stood like swords pointing to the sky and had leaves that looked like clouds and mist .

There were also trees that had coiled branches, as soft as snakes, that opened themselves to form a huge web when the “snow” fell .

Ai Hui could be sure now that other than the grass at the outermost edges, he wouldn’t spot any two identical plants .

This grotesque and variegated world left Ai Hui with an unreal feeling .

He had never heard of a place like this, except perhaps in fairy tales .

It was a pity that he wasn’t in one right now since this world was not only monstrous, but also full of danger .

It was even more so than in the Wilderness .

Ai Hui walked on the rocks carefully . The black rocks that he had loathed before had become his refuge . That ice-cold sensation kept him grounded .

The vast green land was no longer visible .

Ai Hui understood the ultimate goal of the evolution of these plants–to catch the falling “snow flowers” which were also their food . In this region, the grass weren’t able to survive . The more oddly shaped and bulky plants were the final victors .

Ai Hui quickly realized that these victors emerged not through their physical attributes but through their shocking “hunting techniques . “

Ai Hui had witnessed for himself how some blood-streaked, ringed vines had wrung a stumpy, gurgling brown tree with feather-like leaves to death . The coils of these vines were like Indian kraits, agilely twining around their victim . The stumpy brown tree’s leaves then plugged themselves into the streaked rings, causing a blood-like juice to flow out from the vines . While the leaves absorbed the juice, the vines continued tightening their grip around the stumpy tree trunk, essentially strangling it .

The tree trembled slightly, releasing a strange and urgent cry . More leaves started piercing the blood-streaked, ringed vines and sucking the juice within .

Just as the vines were almost embedded in the tree, the blood-streaked rings started snapping . Each section became a seed and sprouted wildly .

Amid this conflict, the more skillful blood-streaked, ringed vines emerged as the final winner . The stumpy tree collapsed and turned into a pile of delicacy .

The ringed streaks around the vines were no longer red, but golden .

They turned their gaze toward Ai Hui .