Earth and Water: The Genesis of Freedom

"Who's there?!" Du Chen's heart jolted. Who could speak so close without being noticed?

He glanced left and right, and soon, in a corner of the Lotus Pedestal, he spotted a pair of... very mournful, large eyes.

It was the tree seed! It had actually ended its dormancy and awakened prematurely!

"Y-you can talk?" Du Chen was dumbfounded. A tree seed clearly had no mouth!

"See my eye? It's not just an eye; I eat, drink, excrete, and even talk and fart through it!" The tree seed said, winking its "eye."

Du Chen's Adam's apple bobbed.

The tree seed added, "Don't get the wrong idea! I consume natural elements and excrete natural elements. It's not like you humans, who eat meat and then... well, you know!"

Du Chen let out two dry laughs, then demanded, "You're certainly at leisure. Now, explain yourself! Are you the culprit who brought me here?"

The tree seed's voice was filled with exasperation. "Explain myself to you? Who's going to explain *to me*? I just crawled out of my Old Mother's body, and you shoved me right back in! I haven't even asked *you* for an explanation yet! Do you think this is easy for me?!"

Du Chen waved a hand dismissively. "Let's discuss past matters later. First, clearly explain what exactly is going on with all these Huhuhu Beasts."

The tree seed grumbled, "Within this Lotus, you're the Old One. How could I dare not answer your questions?" It winked. "Do you know what this place is?"

"The City of Penance!"

"Wrong! This is my Old Mother—the Life Tree's internal impurity purification field! You can think of it as humanity's trash can!" The tree seed continued, "See that well? That's the garbage chute!"

Du Chen, the Divine, asked with a strange expression, "So, those irregular geysers from the Central Atrium are just your mother throwing out trash?"

Du Chen's mouth twitched. So, he'd been tossed into a trash can... No wonder there were so many elemental essences near the Central Atrium; they were all just unwanted... *garbage* the Life Tree casually discarded!

"Exactly! But what my Old Mother discards as trash, to you, is called... Plant-elemental Primal Power! If absorbed in small quantities, this power can extend one's lifespan by thirty to fifty years. But absorb too much, and the plant-elemental growth power will stimulate evolution and mutation—like these Huhuhu Beasts!"

Du Chen wondered, "The Violet-Bloods in the City of Penance have also absorbed this gas; why haven't they mutated?"

"Sigh, talking to such a simpleton, do you think it's easy for me?!" The tree seed sighed again, explaining, "Violet-Bloods aren't Huhuhu Beasts; their bodies are different. Absorbing the same 'trash' is an overdose for Huhuhu Beasts, but for Violet-Bloods, it's just right. It ensures their longevity, at most causing minor symptoms like dizziness or nausea!" This was also why Old Lady Elizabeth and the others had collapsed!

"But the Violet-Bloods' lifespans haven't extended; they're still around a hundred years..." Du Chen abruptly clamped his mouth shut. For Violet-Bloods to maintain a lifespan comparable to humans in such a harsh environment, the Life Tree truly was having an effect!

"So, the Huhuhu Beasts absorbed excessive Plant-elemental Primal Power, leading to their evolution or mutation!" With the Huhuhu Beast situation clarified, Du Chen posed his second question, "Why did you suddenly wake up? My Eldest Brother said you were supposed to be dormant for a long time!"

The tree seed sighed deeply. "Don't even mention it! I was in dormancy, recovering my strength, so why did you bring me here?!"

It suddenly raised its tone. "I'm telling you, are you doing this on purpose? You just *had* to bring me here at this exact moment! A few minutes earlier or later, and it would've been fine, but you chose precisely when my Old Mother was dumping the most trash! And you woke me up! Argh! It's ruined! I've been woken up by you several times in a row now, my power only depleting, never recovering. Now there's not a single shred of strength left in my body!"

Du Chen was alarmed. "You're out of power?"

The tree seed said bitterly, "What do you think? Do you know why I couldn't speak to you before? Because I'm an Undead tree seed, suppressed by your Precious Lotus Scripture to the point where I couldn't even let out a fart! I could only secretly recover a bit of power. But now, my power has been completely used up by you... With fewer Undead elements in my body, I'm no longer so afraid of your Precious Lotus Scripture, so of course, I can talk to you now!"

Du Chen's brows furrowed tightly, and he urged, "Then do you have any other way to get me out of here?"

The tree seed fell silent for a long time. After Du Chen pressed it again, it said helplessly, "This garbage dump has only a one-way gate; you can only enter, not leave. If I recovered my power, I could indeed take you out. But now, the elements in the City of Penance are so sparse that even if you released me from the Precious Lotus Scripture to enter dormancy, it would still take at least several hundred years to fully recover! Alas, no one can save us, not even my Old Mother, because she has an agreement with Bonis not to let anyone from the City of Penance leave!"

Du Chen asked, "Is there any other way for you to recover your power? Can't you absorb your mother's energy?" Du Chen pointed at the well opening where the 'trash' was being discarded.

"Impossible. My Old Mother discards Life Force, but my intrinsic attribute is The Undead..."

Du Chen's heart suddenly grew heavy. Was he truly destined to be trapped in this hellhole for centuries?!

The man and the tree seed on the Precious Lotus Scripture fell silent. After all, no one wished to be imprisoned for centuries in a sunless, moonless hellhole!

"Hey, wait a minute!" the tree seed suddenly exclaimed. "There's still one way!" Its gaze, however, immediately dimmed. "But it's practically impossible to achieve!"

Du Chen's eyes lit up. "Tell me first!"

"I am a tree seed! If you can plant me and cultivate me into a great tree, I will become the source of all Undead power in the world—the Undead Tree! By then, taking you out of here will be no trouble at all!"

Du Chen smiled, then quickly frowned and asked, "You're a source of plant-elemental power. Cultivating you into a great tree probably won't be that easy, will it?"

The tree seed also looked troubled. "Indeed. I have over ten siblings, but not a single one has grown into a mature tree! That's because the conditions for us to grow into a tree are simply too harsh. We need at least... sigh!"

Du Chen said, "Growing a tree essentially requires earth and water. Do you need earth and water energy of a similar level? Where would I even find the primal source of earth and water for you... Damn it, I have what you need!"

Du Chen abruptly tore off the necklace from his neck. "I have a drop of sword-tear from The Weeping Tear!" Haha, good thing this necklace has always been around my neck!

The tree seed's eyes gleamed brightly. "Hmm, the water is taken care of. Now, you just need to find some Essence of Earth. If you can't find that, something slightly inferior to Essence of Earth will also work—your Precious Lotus Scripture is quite peculiar; perhaps it can compensate for soil deficiencies!"

Du Chen slammed his fist on the Lotus Pedestal. "It's all here! There are raw, refined soil deposits everywhere next to the Central Atrium, and I just happen to be an alchemist! As long as I can gather the tools and materials to refine them... hehe!" He patted the tree seed. "Then you can grow into a great tree and become the source of all Undead power in the world!"

"I have a chance to grow into a tree, ha! Ha! Ha!" The tree seed laughed three times, then let out a mournful sigh. "It's ruined, completely ruined! Even if I grow into a tree, I'll still be Undead, and you'll still be the death of me..."

This time, it was Du Chen's turn to laugh three times. He patted the tree seed again. "Alright, since you're a smart tree seed, accept your fate. From now on, you'll be called... Duding!"

The tree seed—oh, no, Duding—grumbled melancholically, "Sigh, you definitely won't let me escape your grasp! But let's negotiate, okay? In the future, please, absolutely no more of those unscrupulous deeds, alright?"

"What unscrupulous deeds?" Du Chen asked curiously.

"It's just... if you ever encounter someone who's just crawled out of their Old Mother's body, please, for the love of all that's holy, don't shove them back in again!" Duding said with profound feeling.

Having found a way to return home, Du Chen's mood lightened considerably. He urged the Precious Lotus Scripture skyward. Looking down, he saw the Huhuhu Beasts still prostrating themselves before the Central Atrium, but now, Du Chen found it merely amusing—what was so worthy of worship about a garbage chute?!

Secretly scooping up a few handfuls of raw, refined soil deposits, Du Chen turned the Precious Lotus Scripture towards Brockman's stronghold. In his view, these Huhuhu Beasts, having coincidentally led him to the right place at the right time to find a way home, no longer held much significance. Du Chen had already devised a plan: once Duding grew up, the innocent prisoners of Brockman would be taken away, while the truly guilty Violet-Bloods would be abandoned here to maintain the Huhuhu Beasts' Food Chain.

This way, his conscience would be clear!

But had the Huhuhu Beasts truly become meaningless to Du Chen? He was still in the City of Penance, after all, and the Huhuhu Beasts had just become the dominant species here!

Shortly after Du Chen left, the Central Atrium finally returned to peace, but the Huhuhu Beasts were anything but peaceful.

"Heh-gakka, you'll listen to me! I am the leader of the Kursk Base!"

"No, my tail is bigger than yours; you'll listen to me!"

"Shut up, all of you! My tail is the biggest, just look!"

With so many Huhuhu Beast leaders gathered, a scene from the Kursk Base was replayed. Once again, they squabbled over who would be the Old One of all Huhuhu Beasts—or rather, they were vying for the position of Huhuhu Beast King!

Finally, two Huhuhu Beasts had tails of identical size, leaving only one solution: if their tails couldn't decide, then a fight would!

Below the Central Atrium, the Huhuhu Beasts set up a fighting ring. The two Huhuhu Beasts with the largest tails battled fiercely, yet neither could gain an advantage. It seemed the size of their tails truly was an indicator of their strength!

If humans had witnessed this scene, they would surely have burst into laughter, finding these little creatures amusing. But at that moment, a very small Huhuhu Beast suddenly emerged from the Central Atrium. Compared to the others, he was incredibly tiny.

"Heh-gakka, who are you? How dare you enter our Mother Goddess's Well!?" The Huhuhu Beasts by the Central Atrium instantly flew into a rage. They had just declared the Central Atrium a blessing from their Mother Goddess!

"Get out, quickly! You Heh-gakka fellow, you've defiled the Mother Goddess's well water!" the Huhuhu Beasts roared in unison.

The two Huhuhu Beasts vying for the Beast King's throne exchanged glances. One suddenly declared, "Since neither of us can gain an advantage, whoever kills him first becomes king! One, two, three, go!"

The two Huhuhu Beasts darted like lightning towards the small Huhuhu Beast on the well's edge. But the little Huhuhu Beast let out a "Heh-gakka," lifted its head, and its tail, rising from behind its head, slowly emerged from the well water, higher and higher...

After a good while, the two Huhuhu Beasts who had intended to kill it were stunned midway through their charge. Yet, this small Huhuhu Beast's tail still hadn't fully surfaced!

Heavens, how enormous was its tail?!

The Huhuhu Beasts stared at the Central Atrium, which was a full forty to fifty meters in diameter, their hearts filled with both fear and... anticipation!

Fifteen minutes after Du Chen left the Central Atrium, a mountain range suddenly appeared in the central area of the City of Penance—forty to fifty meters high, stretching for hundreds of meters... and it was *moving*!

Immediately after, the howls of the Huhuhu Beasts echoed throughout the surroundings, "Our mighty King, who received the Mother Goddess's baptism and mutated within the Mother Goddess's Well, please lead us to devour all those Violet-Bloods!"