Chapter 295: Chapter 258: Three Chances, Successful?

Not long after Su Ze and Mr. Ya entered the right fork, Jasim, Gu Chengguang, and their three companions also entered the spaceship.

Jasim spread out his Spiritual Power, but it could only cover a radius of a dozen or so meters. He couldn’t find any trace of Su Ze or Mr. Ya. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

He said with some dissatisfaction, "Mr. Gu, your two young comrades from Dongli seem to be lacking in team spirit."

Gu Chengguang just smiled. "Young people, you know? Always love adventure and aren’t afraid of death. When I was young, I was even crazier than them. Unmanageable. Completely unmanageable."

Jasim didn’t say anything more and led the way forward.

Before long, they arrived at a fork in the path.

Facing three different paths, he turned back and asked the others for their opinion in a consultative tone.

In the end, after a brief discussion, the group decided to take the middle path.

They all felt the middle path was the most likely to lead to the core area.

...

A few minutes after Jasim’s group entered the spaceship, Amida and Ye Muni, who had been standing quietly to the side, suddenly moved toward the vessel.

"What do you think you’re doing!?" the hegemon from the Great Desert Kingdom guarding the outside roared. "Don’t come any closer, or don’t blame the Great Desert Kingdom for being inhospitable!"

Beside him, a group of Butterfly Stage experts from the Great Desert Kingdom went on high alert, ready to launch a combined attack at any moment.

"Don’t be so tense. Our two countries have been friendly neighbors for hundreds of years. Why be so guarded?" Amida said with a chuckle. "I’m merely curious about the alien spaceship. If your esteemed country would allow me to go inside for a look, I’m willing to offer a certain payment."

"And what do you plan to offer?" the Great Desert Kingdom’s hegemon asked with a cold smile, his eyes narrowing.

"How about a vial of a fifth-tier extract?" Amida stroked his beard.

"A fifth-tier extract!" The Great Desert Kingdom hegemon’s heart skipped a beat. ’There’s no guarantee we’ll gain anything from entering this alien spaceship, yet Luofan Country is willing to pay a vial of fifth-tier extract just for a look?’

’If Luofan Country was being this generous, it wasn’t out of the question. After all, it was just two more people exploring the spaceship. The Great Desert Kingdom and the Dongli Kingdom had a total of five hegemons inside. Even if a conflict arose with Amida and his companion, the Great Desert Kingdom would hold the absolute advantage.’

Besides, his purpose in guarding this place was merely to buy time, giving Jasim and the others a head start in their exploration. He never intended to truly block everyone who wanted to enter.

Right now, it was manageable with just two hegemons from Luofan. Later, when the hegemons from the other three kingdoms arrived, he wouldn’t be able to stop them even if he wanted to.

However, he wasn’t easily convinced. He said coldly, "If you’re sincere, show me the extract first."

"Would I lie to you?" To his surprise, Amida actually produced a vial of cyan extract!

The Great Desert Kingdom’s hegemon was slightly stunned. In that very instant, Amida targeted his mental weakness and launched a vicious Spiritual Power attack.

The Great Desert Kingdom’s hegemon was instantly struck by a splitting headache. His eyes rolled back, and his consciousness blurred.

At that same moment, Ye Muni, who was behind Amida, rushed forward, a piece of jade in his hand.

Within the jade, a faint silhouette could be seen—the very image of the God of Flame Evolution!

Flames ignited in Amida’s hand and flowed into the jade.

The next instant, a five-to-six-meter-tall God of Flame Evolution, wreathed in roaring flames, appeared before them.

The pressure, like that of a deity descending upon the mortal world, made the Butterfly Stage experts from the Great Desert Kingdom fall to their knees, unable to control themselves.

The Great Desert hegemon had just recovered his senses from Amida’s Spiritual Power attack when he saw the giant God of Flame Evolution descending upon him, suppressing him with a single palm.

"Let’s go!" Amida put away the fifth-tier extract and dashed into the spaceship with Ye Muni.

A few breaths after they entered the spaceship, the God of Flame Evolution finally dissipated.

The Great Desert Kingdom’s hegemon had an ugly expression on his face. He wanted to give chase, but he knew Amida and Ye Muni had come prepared. He would surely be at a disadvantage if he went in alone.

Moreover, he had to continue standing guard outside to prevent others from entering.

He tried to contact Jasim and the others inside to warn them, but he discovered that the spaceship blocked all communication between the inside and outside.

Meanwhile, Ye Muni and Amida reached the fork in the path. They exchanged a glance, and Amida said:

"Jasim’s group most likely took the middle path. While we came prepared, facing the five of them would put us at a great disadvantage. Let’s avoid them and take the left path."

Ye Muni, still somewhat dispirited, nodded. "You’re right."

Amida spoke again. "Those two kids from Dongli who came in first, do you have any impression of them?"

Ye Muni shook his head. "I’ve never seen them before. But that’s what’s so strange."

’If they were really nobodies, why would Gu Chengguang bring two Butterfly Stage cultivators and let them enter the spaceship? And the ship even opened on the command of one of them.’

But Amida said, "I may not have seen their faces, but one of them gives me a very familiar feeling. Among Dongli’s Butterfly Stage cultivators, who would be so highly valued by Gu Chengguang and also feel familiar to me? Who do you think it is?"

Ye Muni exclaimed in surprise, "You mean... Su Ze?"

"It’s highly likely." Amida glanced at Ye Muni. "You’ve been listless lately. That’s why I specifically asked you to join this operation. You must understand that until you reach the Saint level, you are still a mortal. Growing old, getting sick, dying, or being killed by others—these are all normal occurrences. You should take a longer view. Whether it’s friendship or something else, nothing lasts longer than life itself."

"You’re right." Ye Muni took a deep breath. He had indeed been despondent ever since he learned of Zhao Yuanyi’s death.

Zhao Yuanyi was a friend he had known since childhood. When Zhao Yuanyi was young, he had studied abroad in Luofan, and the two had been classmates. Regardless of anything else, their friendship had been genuine and pure.

’If I get a chance to capture that Su Ze later, perhaps he’ll know some of the inside details of Zhao Yuanyi’s death...’ Though Ye Muni verbally agreed to let it go, he was already making other plans in his heart.

...

Su Ze and Mr. Ya were now approaching the entrance to the nursery.

Su Ze asked the Mother Tree, "Mother Tree, where did your master usually keep his most treasured possessions?"

Mother Tree: "In the Central Treasure Vault. It’s a section not shown on the map. There’s a secret passage that leads there, but I don’t have the authority to open its door."

Su Ze asked, "Then what kind of power would be needed to force it open?"

Mother Tree: "In any case, it’s sturdier than the spaceship’s main entrance door."

’Alright...’ Su Ze gave up on that idea.

Soon, they arrived outside the "door" to the nursery... if you could even call it a door.

To their side was a giant mouth with purple, petal-like "lips." The lips were slightly parted, revealing two rows of sharp upper and lower teeth clamped tightly together.

Above this giant mouth hung a sign with alien script that Su Ze couldn’t understand.

However, by comparing it to the text information from the map in his mind, Su Ze knew that the sign read "Nursery."

"Is this really the nursery? How do we get in?" Su Ze asked the Mother Tree in his mind.

"Lightly touch the centermost tooth on the top row, and a keypad for entering a password will appear. However, I don’t know the password. We can only try a few of the master’s commonly used ones. If the password doesn’t work, you’ll need to prepare the Big-Mouth Flower’s favorite food to get it to open its mouth," the Mother Tree replied.

"What does it like to eat?"

"Fire. The higher the tier, the higher the temperature, the more intense the flame, the more it likes it. Ordinary flames won’t be enough to make it open up."

"A plant that eats fire?" Su Ze found it bizarre. But neither he nor Mr. Ya had any suitable flames to feed the Big-Mouth Flower.

Su Ze found the large tooth the Mother Tree had mentioned. Under considerable psychological pressure, he gently touched it, terrified that the giant mouth would suddenly open and swallow him whole.

This was especially true after he learned the mouth belonged to a living Spiritual Plant; after all, carnivorous Spiritual Plants were not uncommon.

Fortunately, the giant mouth didn’t move. A password entry interface really did appear on the tooth, but Su Ze didn’t recognize any of the characters on the keys.

"First, press the third button in the first row, then the second button in the third row..."

Following the Mother Tree’s instructions, Su Ze pressed the buttons on the interface in sequence, entering the password.

A moment later, the entry interface turned red and began to flash continuously.

Without the Mother Tree needing to explain, Su Ze knew the password was incorrect.

A few seconds later, the interface returned to normal. At the Mother Tree’s direction, Su Ze tried a second password, but it was also wrong!

This time, however, after the incorrect password was entered, a line of red alien text popped up on the interface, accompanied by a symbol that looked somewhat like an exclamation mark. It looked very dangerous.

"What does this line of text mean?" Su Ze asked the Mother Tree.

The Mother Tree replied, "It’s a warning that you only have three chances. If you enter the wrong password three times in a row, the Big-Mouth Flower will attack."

Su Ze took a deep breath. "What exactly is in this nursery? If it’s not important, we should just give up. There’s no need to take the risk."

Mother Tree: "The nursery just contains the flowers and plants my master cultivated. There’s nothing truly important. It’s better to go straight to the warehouse."

’Flowers and plants? Spiritual Plants? Natural medicines!’

’The Mother Tree’s master was undoubtedly a legendary god-level being. What tier of Spiritual Plants would the "flowers and plants" he cultivated be?’

Su Ze cleared his throat. "Flowers and plants are living things, too! They’ve been trapped in this spaceship for so many years with no one to care for them. They must be so lonely. I have to rescue them!"

Su Ze split off a Liquid Clone, while his main body and Mr. Ya retreated to a safe distance. Then he said to the Mother Tree, "Go ahead and try the third password."

The Mother Tree recited the third password, and Su Ze controlled his Liquid Clone to press the keys on the tooth.

WHOOSH! The Big-Mouth Flower opened its mouth.

"It worked!" Su Ze said joyfully.

But the next moment, he watched as the Big-Mouth Flower swallowed his Liquid Clone in one gulp.

Su Ze’s consciousness was connected to his Liquid Clone. He felt it plummeting as if into an abyss, falling continuously until the connection was completely severed.

’Failure...’