What kind of tree must this be?
Just a single branch formed a vast mountain forest that seemed to have no end.
Dust had accumulated into soil a few meters thick.
It was as if time itself had sculpted a brand-new mini-world upon this colossal branch, creating an awe-inspiring and bizarre new ecosystem.
Such an abnormal ecological structure also meant many new dangers.
“Be careful of signs of life, as well as natural toxins and bacteria,” Jiang Ke’er said solemnly.
“Our bodies only have resistance to the bacteria and toxins of Shenzhou. If we come into contact with even a small amount of unknown pathogens from a different dimension, it will be extremely troublesome.”
“Is it really that serious?” Jie Shui looked around randomly. He suddenly crouched down and pointed at a fluffy orb in the dirt, laughing.
“Look, there’s such a cute little guy here…”
Jiang Ke’er quickly grabbed Jie Shui by the back of his neck and pulled him back.
“That’s a fungal spore. If you want to grow mushrooms on yourself, go ahead and touch it.”
“…A spore as large as a fist?” Jie Shui stood there, dumbfounded.
“Clearly, many things here are thousands of times larger than what we know,” Jiang Ke’er’s gaze was heavy.
“Fungal spores are one thing, but if we encounter insects, even a random fly could probably swallow you whole… Fortunately, there don’t seem to be any monsters like that here.”
If it weren’t for her Appraisal Technique, it would have been difficult even for Jiang Ke’er to discover that this place was actually just the branch of a tree.
Everyone else had preconceived notions that the environment would not be much different from Shenzhou, causing them to lower their guard.
However, if one truly underestimated the dangers of a different dimension, they would effectively be throwing their lives away.
“The pursuers are coming.” Jiang Ke’er looked back toward the direction they had come from and saw trees collapsing in the distance.
“I need a safe place to recover my Spiritual Power. During that time, we can also search for our planned destination.”
“But they’re chasing us too fast,” Gan Ruanruan said worriedly.
Jiang Ke’er thought for a moment, glanced at the fist-sized spore, and said, “This ‘cute’ little guy might be able to help us… A Miao, dig a deep pit immediately.”
“Alright.”
A Miao moved instantly upon hearing the command. He poured his magic into the ground, blasting a hole about the width of a bowl and 10 meters deep.
“Look for more of these little fluffballs. Since there’s one here, there’s likely a massive colony nearby,” Jiang Ke’er said.
The little demons searched quickly and soon made a discovery.
“Found them!”
Lin Gang discovered the source of the spores at the top of a tree. A mushroom the size of a house was growing on the canopy, its cap covered with wriggling spores.
“Don’t touch them with your hands. Use branches to knock them to the ground.”
*Patter, patter.* The spores fell to the ground like raindrops, as if someone were shaking a mature jujube tree.
Jiang Ke’er used a branch to push the spores into the pit one by one, then added some of her homemade catalyst—the catalyst was the key.
Afterward, she began to set up the environment outside the hole.
She left a few strands of hair near the entrance and splashed her own blood along the path leading to the pit.
She created a messy trail and finally used dirt to partially bury the bloodline.
Once finished, she clapped her hands and quickly retreated with the other members of the Bagpipe Squad.
“How could they fall for such a clumsy trap?” Gan Ruanruan expressed deep doubt.
“It only needs to delay them for a while, though there might be some pleasant surprises… Humans are more likely to fall into simple traps when they’re in a tense state.”
“Wait!”
The leading Human Cultivator suddenly raised his hand, signaling the other team members nearby to stop.
“On guard! I smell blood!”
The cultivator’s expression was grim. He drew his sword with a *clang* and swept it across the ground.
The soil was turned over, revealing the crimson red mixed within.
“Be careful, there might be a trap,” the cultivator whispered through a voice transmission.
“Tell the other teams to move toward this location.”
“Is she injured?” another cultivator asked.
“It’s possible, but it could also be a feint. Let’s be careful and not rush.” The scout cautiously used his sword to poke away the blood-stained soil bit by bit, searching for the direction the blood trail spread.
“The enemy intentionally tried to bury the blood with dirt. They likely did it to hide their tracks, not wanting us to find it,” someone noted.
“Hard to say,” the scout remained vigilant.
“It could have been buried on purpose to mislead us and make us lower our guard. Let’s investigate slowly and see where the blood leads…”
More and more Cultivators gathered at the spot.
However, to be safe, they did not get too close. Instead, they observed from a distance, focusing their attention and remaining on high alert.
Finally, following the blood mixed in the dirt, the scout found the hole.
The opening wasn’t large, but… Chen Bule, who was watching from afar, suddenly snapped to attention.
He shouted, “Don’t forget that those demonic talents can take their demonic forms! That Qing Yi is extremely petite; she could crawl into that hole without any difficulty!”
The scout was startled by the words and scrambled back a few steps, seemingly afraid that Jiang Ke’er would jump out from within to launch a surprise attack.
“Blow this damn hole up! What could her schemes possibly do then? Regardless of whether she’s hiding down there, blast it! Send her and this hole to the sky together!” someone suggested, and the proposal immediately received widespread support.
“Demonic talents are sinister and cunning. Using brute force to break their tricks is the best strategy! Regardless of what trap is there, we can solve it by blowing it up! Blast it!”
“Blast it!”
The order was given. A Magic Cultivator stepped forward, accumulating Spiritual Power to condense an extremely unstable orb of energy. Then, the energy orb left his hand and flew straight down into the depths of the hole!
Boom—
The echo of the explosion resounded through the entire mountain ridge.
This was an all-out attack with nothing held back, sending clouds of dust and dirt flying everywhere.
The flying soil landed on the Cultivators’ protective shields, carrying some strange little gifts within the dirt…
Sizzle—
The sound of Spiritual Power shields being rapidly corroded caused their faces to turn pale.
The shields of the weaker individuals were eaten through instantly, and the fist-sized fluffy objects landed directly on their faces.
“Ahhh—”
Screams tore through The Jade Heavens.
They had clearly intended to stay away and avoid it, but with such a powerful explosion, it was impossible to dodge completely unless they abandoned the pursuit and flew far away.
As it turned out, they had truly fallen for the trick.
Although more than half of the spores had been destroyed by the blast and lost their combativeness, a small number of spores had used the bodies of other spores as a buffer to stubbornly survive… becoming a nightmare the Cultivators on the scene would never forget.
“Don’t be afraid, I am a Medical Cultivator! Everyone, hold your breath and wait for treatment!” someone shouted.
Unfortunately, under the influence of the special catalyst, the growth speed of the giant spores far exceeded everyone’s imagination.
In the blink of an eye, one cultivator’s face became unrecognizable. He lost his human form and turned into a mushroom standing on the soil.
There was simply no opportunity for the Medical Cultivator to step in and save them.
In the Jiangdu venue of Shenzhou, the entire audience was silent.
They had watched with their own eyes as Jiang Ke’er set everything up, their minds filled with the relief that no one would ever fall for such a brain-dead trap.
Not long after, they witnessed the current scene.
The Human Cultivators, eager to claim credit, were unwilling to let go of any chance to kill Jiang Ke’er.
They chose the method they thought was the safest… but it was the only way that allowed the trap to achieve its maximum lethality. Blasting it.
Was it a coincidence? Was it luck? Was the execution too stupid?
It seemed so.
The foolish actions of the Human Clan had successfully reduced their own numbers, losing another three combatants.
Although the death toll wasn’t high, it left a lifelong psychological shadow on the remaining participants and delayed them for a significant amount of time.
Everything was attributed to the stupid act of “blowing up the hole.”
“But… what if all of this wasn’t a mistake?” Si Lian’s voice drifted slowly from the Box Prison into the ears of Emperor Jing.
The relaxed expression on Emperor Jing’s face gradually vanished, though he still said calmly, “My clan has countless geniuses. The fall of a few means nothing. Your team is now at the end of its rope; they won’t make it much further.”
“Is that so?” Si Lian chuckled softly.
“Then keep watching.”