Evolution Begins With A Big Tree

Chapter 18, Shroud of Mist and Hallucinogen

Translator:  Ashish

Translation Checker: Silavin

As dawn painted the sky with hues of gold and crimson, the sun bid its farewell, casting a tapestry of vibrant colors in its descent. 

The battle during the day shook the entire canyon, and even now, it has not completely subsided. 

In the distance, a thick scent of blood was lingering in the air, unable to dissipate.

But at this moment, Yu Zi Yu was surging with a rare sense of anticipation.

Yes, anticipation.

Apparently, his current status screen had already undergone a complete overhaul.

Race: Mutant Willow Tree

Title: Tree Demon.

Life: 0.4/200 Years

Evolution Points: 149 (Can be obtained by absorbing unknown energy and refining under the sunlight, or by preying on other animals, even plants, and extracting from them.)

Rank: Tier-1 (You have undergone a metamorphosis in the hierarchy of life, and evolved into a powerful existence.)

Innate Skill: Superb Regeneration – A terrifying talent unique to the plants. It greatly enhances the speed of regeneration. Even if relatively fragile parts like branches are damaged, they can regenerate in an instant with the help of the surging energy in the body. (Can evolve)

Unique Abilities: Mutated branches (50) – Flexible like arm, swift like wind. (Can evolve)

Mutated roots (9) – Terrifying roots that are like a black Python, strong enough to strangle everything. (Can evolve)

Life Essence – A Spiritual Elixir bred within the body. It’s capable of speeding up the evolution of other species, and also has therapeutic and restorative effects. (Caution: Using it in excess should be avoided, as excessive expenditure of it would degrade your own foundation.) 

Compared to the beginning, his status screen had undoubtedly become much richer.

Furthermore, his Evolution Points had also reached a staggering 150!

So many Evolution Points granted him a chance to advance his strength to a higher level once again. However, that was not the most important thing. The truly important discovery was a very pleasant surprise on his status screen!

He could choose the direction of his ability evolution to enrich his own tricks in his arsenal!

For example, Shroud of Mist (Active skill) – It would trigger the release of a dense fog from the body, shrouding several kilometers, or even dozens of kilometers around him, allowing him to hide himself.

Hallucinogen (Active skill) – It would imbue the mist and even the branches with hallucinatory effects, which were capable of deceiving the perception of animals and even Humans to some extent.

These were two excellent abilities and they caught Yu Zi Yu’s eyes.

If there were no unexpected developments, these two abilities would become the foundation for his future development while lying low.

Of course, the most important thing right now was to activate these two abilities.

Hearing the cold electronic synthesized voice, Yu Zi Yu nodded and confirmed, “Yes.”

The moment he gave his confirmation, his body violently trembled, followed by a warm current coursing through his body. Subsequently, a mysterious message also surfaced in his mind.

“Is that how it works!?” Yu Zi Yu, as if enlightened, suddenly stirred the branches and leaves.

*Rustle…* Accompanied by the shaking of countless leaves, faint mist began to rise.

The mist was not that dense, but it resembled the misty air of the mountain. Slowly, like a magical veil, it began to envelop Yu Zi Yu’s body.

And right at this moment, Yu Zi Yu also activated another ability – Hallucinogen.

Hallucinogen – It had the power to fool the perception of animals and even Humans to some extent.

Abilities like Hallucinogen were not uncommon. Many plants possessed similar abilities. They would secrete special substances, which could then in turn induce delirium. Only, it never occurred to Yu Zi Yu that it would be possible for him to cast hallucinations to others in the form of a Willow Tree.

Smiling, Yu Zi Yu also concealed his own aura, and silently observed.

*Screech!* A sharp cry resounded in the distance as a Peregrine Falcon that was still feasting alongside a Red Fox suddenly became restless and flapped its wings, as if it had noticed something. It slowly took flight as a hint of doubt flashed in the depths of its eyes.

Not only it, the other Peregrine Falcons, and even the Red Fox, seemed to have noticed the anomaly, and slowly stopped eating.

Their gazes wandered everywhere as a sense of unease filled their eyes.

[Disappeared! Master has disappeared!]

*Tap, tap tap…* A little cautious, the Red Fox slowly tread on the ground. But after a moment, a burst of red light suddenly ignited in its beautiful eyes.

Immediately after, it let out a joyful howl before it pounced forward.

“Impressive, I didn’t expect you to actually see through my dense fog.” Laughing, Yu Zi Yu waved his branch, gently deflecting the pouncing Red Fox, and, incidentally, dissipating the power of Hallucinogen.

The next moment…

*Screech! Screech! Screech!* Joyous cries resounded through the canyon as the eight Peregrine Falcon flew over one after another.

…

Not long after, a sudden groan attracted Yu Zi Yu’s attention.

Raising his gaze, he looked toward the two women bound by his branches. One of them seemed to be waking up as the furrow on her brow gradually relaxed.

“Is she finally waking up!?” Filled with a rare sense of anticipation, Yu Zi Yu knew that he had to face the real ordeal now.

However, before that, he seemed to have something to do.

For instance…

Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind, and subsequently, the mist rose up, gradually shrouding the woman. The activation of Hallucinogen ability required a medium, and mist happened to be the excellent medium.

Furthermore, it was worth mentioning that the ability to create dense fog had become instinctive for him, like undergoing photosynthesis, he was constantly inhaling and exhaling dense fog. This way, his dense fog would envelop the entire canyon and the surrounding mountains at a terrifying speed.

Furthermore, he planned to further strengthen the ‘Shroud of Mist’ and ‘Hallucinogen’ abilities, utilizing them to create the world’s first forbidden zone – the Valley of Mist.

Since it was the Era of Transcendents, a forbidden zone was absolutely necessary. Outsiders were forbidden to enter, any trespasser would meet their demise. 

It would become a forbidden zone for Humans and all creatures alike.

Slowly, a wild ambition was rising within Yu Zi Yu. If peaceful coexistence was not achievable, then non-interference would suffice. If even this basic requirement could not be met, Yu Zi Yu would not mind rallying the hordes of beasts and initiate a true race war to secure a foothold.

Of course, the final outcome ultimately rested upon the choices made by the Humans.

As for whether Humanity could rise in the Era of Transcendents…

Apologies, as a true intelligent species, Yu Zi Yu believed that even if Spiritual Energy favored plants and animals, Humans would still rise.

Intelligence was undoubtedly the most powerful weapon.

Furthermore, Human civilization possessed extremely terrifying high-tech weapons that unless a true champion emerged who could face Humanity’s high-tech weapons, the position of Humans as the dominant species would remain unshakable, even in the Era of Transcendents.