novelden Chapter 268 Green Territory
Chapter 268 Green Territory
Continuing onward, the trees towered high, their canopies blocking out most of the sunlight. Vines and shrubs beneath them clung to the tall trees, striving to reach the sun. The thick trunks were covered in various vines and moss, the dampness trapped at the base, so heavy it almost completely shut out the outside air; only above ten feet could one hear the free chirping of birds.
Meanwhile, they intertwined and planted a sea of rosemary trees in the surrounding forest, releasing a faint mist that allowed lost humans to wander around before leaving the area. Ning Xiaoxi personally witnessed two hunters circling a few times before retracing their steps. Hunters capable of venturing deep into the forest are no ordinary individuals; or rather, how could any hunter possibly reach this point?
The Eldar really think of themselves as savages.
[Like you said, it's just for survival!] Thinking back to the first Elven girl I met, could she really survive in such an environment, given how she was raised?
Ning Xiaoxi turned her head sharply and met a pair of cold, snake-like eyes.
Xiao Jiu quietly peeked her almost transparent, ruby-red head out from Ning Xiaoxi's collar, her eyes coldly fixed on the giant python that was as tall as the tree.
The python trembled all over, clinging tightly to the tree, too afraid to move.
Ning Xiaoxi's hand slid along its slender body, paused for a moment at the snake gall on its abdomen, and then left with a sigh.
She landed on a tree branch, next to a huge bird's nest filled with colorful feathers, but no birds were inside; they had apparently gone out to forage. A massive shadow swept across the sky, but there was no sound of wings flapping or the wind it stirred. Ning Xiaoxi squinted and looked up at the sky, only seeing three dark figures disappear quickly into the distance, their features unclear.
Turning back, she continued following the person in front, passing through a small lake hidden in the woods, teeming with life. Along the way, she hadn't detected a single species that had become a demon, nor a trace of demonic energy. This greatly surprised Ning Xiaoxi. This forest stretched for tens of thousands of miles, inhabited only by normal forest creatures besides the spirit race. The absence of demons was understandable, but the complete absence of any demons was quite strange.
How many Eldar do they have now?
Fewer than ten thousand people lived in the tribal lands.
[They wiped out all the demons in this forest with less than ten thousand people? That's incredibly powerful!]
"Hmm, that is indeed strange. Logically speaking, the environment here should make it very easy for demons to grow."
Suddenly, Ning Xiaoxi stopped. She seemed to have just touched something, or rather, she seemed to have passed through something.
The Forest Shield, created using the natural energy of the forest, forms a massive protective barrier that envelops the entire settlement. This shield possesses formidable defensive capabilities, capable of withstanding various magical attacks and physical impacts. Its energy source is inextricably linked to the forest's vitality; as long as the forest remains intact, the shield will endure.
Ning Xiaoxi looked at the green shield that had appeared before her. It was because she had used her Ecological Resonance ability to conceal herself in the environment, allowing her to pass through the shield naturally without being detected. Similarly, it was because of this shield that she had been unable to locate the Spirit Clan's territory when sensing the entire forest before.
Upon entering the shield, one could clearly feel that the concentration of spiritual energy inside had increased significantly, the vitality of the trees was stronger, and the decaying grass on the ground had decreased considerably. Every hundred feet or so, there was a towering tree, each tree serving as a fortress.
Paths branched out from under the tree roots, leading in all directions, and many members of the Spirit Clan came and went.
There were green treehouses hanging from the branches or built among the forks, surrounded by green vines. The treehouses were all different in shape, and the spirits who came in and out all looked happy and peaceful.
The treehouse fortress was topped with watchtowers and arrow towers, where Eldar warriors carrying bows stood guard and defended from above. However, this defensive posture now seemed more like a charade, with the weariness on their faces clearly visible.
Recalling the defense mechanisms he had seen along the way, it was clear that Aoki Rei-oh was a very insecure person before. He had set up as many protective mechanisms as possible for himself to buy himself as much preparation time as possible.
However, years of peaceful life eventually dulled the sharp edge and alertness of combat, rendering these mechanisms useless.
Qingying and Qingfeng did not linger at these treehouse fortresses, but continued to move quickly deeper into the area, bypassing one treehouse fortress after another.
While passing through a canyon between two mountains, we came across a sprawling barrier of thorns. This barrier possessed remarkable resilience and regenerative abilities, and the spiritual energy emanating from the thorns was so intense that it was visible to the naked eye.
She blended into the thorny barrier like snow, combining her wood-based magic with the patterns and flow of spiritual energy on the barrier. A strange feeling welled up inside her, and a rich life force flowed through her skin into her body.
Just as Ning Xiaoxi began to sense the spiritual energy flowing through the thorn barrier, the swiftly moving green figure in front of her suddenly stopped, turned around, and quietly gazed at the thorn barrier.
"Xiaoying?" Qingfeng stopped in confusion and looked at Qingying.
Qingying frowned. "I think I sensed an aura that didn't belong to our clan just now."
Qingfeng's expression hardened, and he quickly came to Qingying's side, watching the thorny barrier warily with her.
"I didn't feel anything," Qingfeng whispered to Qingying after confirming that he hadn't noticed anything unusual.
Qingying's tightly furrowed brows didn't relax, and her expression turned grim. The aura she had sensed just a moment ago was the same as the one she had been tracking earlier, but now, even with her full concentration, she couldn't sense anything. This wasn't right, very wrong.
"Xiaoying, we should inform the clan leader as soon as possible." Qingfeng didn't mean to doubt Qingying's intuition, but if someone they couldn't confirm even after careful observation had followed them in, they had to inform the clan leader immediately. After all, who would sneak around like that during a normal visit? They needed to warn the clan as soon as possible.
Undeterred, Qingying sensed again, and indeed, she detected a change: the thorny barrier had grown even longer, and the spiritual energy was now more concentrated. This made Qingying very uneasy. Was this meant for her? But the crucial point was that she couldn't see anything!
Finally, Qingying had no choice but to give up and abandon her investigation of the thorny barrier, following Qingfeng back to her clan's territory.
Overflowing with boundless vitality, Ning Xiaoxi connected with the thorny barrier, extended to the mountain peaks on both sides, then to the treehouse fortress, connected with the forest shield, and connected with the entire forest. At this moment, she was no longer herself; she was the forest itself.