Chapter 281: Want to Cooperate with Me?
The pure energy merged into Jiang Che’s dungeon, and Jiang Che did not care about the life that had been transformed into dungeon energy.
In his eyes, Gray Crow had come to die, so this energy was just an incidental offering from his death.
Only Long Yun in the distance could feel himself growing stronger and stronger, that life merging into the dungeon was strengthening his power as well.
He could clearly sense his own aura becoming more potent, power surging forth in an endless stream.
He had already abandoned the thought of taking revenge on Jiang Che. Ever since Jiang Che kept his promise and agreed to bring his subordinates, Long Yun had lost all hope of vengeance and decided to serve Jiang Che with all his heart.
Even if it meant just guarding the door.
The hatred of the past seemed to have vanished like smoke in this moment; he knew his fate was now tightly bound to Jiang Che’s.
Jiang Che stared at the notebook in Gray Crow’s hand—the burning notebook turned into drifting ash.
He had been tracking the energy the notebook became, and saw that it wafted through the air like a ghost, then twisted strangely into another world.
The energy plunged headfirst into the world of evil spirits, and Jiang Che immediately informed Ding Ning.
He and Ding Ning had forged a telepathic bond, always able to exchange messages at critical moments.
Both understood well that, to go further and more securely together, the timely sharing of information was crucial.
Hearing the news Jiang Che transmitted, Ding Ning couldn’t help but furrow her brow.
Because this scheme of Black Crow was truly outrageous!
Dark Star had poured in so much effort, made so many preparations, just to successfully nurture a Leng Feng, and even then dared not let Leng Feng die easily, for he was the key to absorbing the seed, and the pivotal factor for getting stronger.
Yet Black Crow so recklessly sent his carefully cultivated pawn to die.
This person had never shown himself before anyone, meaning he had been Black Crow’s secretly hidden ace all along.
Ding Ning instructed Jiang Che to check the life energy absorbed by the dungeon.
Jiang Che did as told.
But after a thorough check, there was nothing amiss.
Ding Ning still suspected something fishy, but as Jiang Che said, even if she brought her senses over to probe, she found nothing at all.
Jiang Che looked at Ding Ning’s grave face and couldn’t help but ask, "Could it be there really is no scheme here, he simply wants to see how my dungeon can be cleared?"
"If I advance further in the future, and he comes to clear his own dungeon, will there be some other change?" Hearing this, Ding Ning paused slightly, because only now did she remember that the so-called ancient rule of clearing ten domains was something Black Crow secretly told her. As for what might happen after clearing ten dungeons and surpassing the power of ten Lords, no one knew.
"At this point, we’ve no way out." Ding Ning shook her head, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes. "Since we don’t know what he wants, killing him is the safest move."
Only death can shatter all conspiracies.
"It’s almost done. It’s time to open the passage." Ding Ning said seriously.
Before, she thought she could delay a bit more, give Jiang Che more time to grow.
But after the Black Crow affair, she realized that besides herself, Black Crow was also preparing on many fronts.
So many Lords, and she found Black Crow the most unfathomable and bizarre among them.
After confirming things with Jiang Che, Ding Ning went to meet the other Lords to start clearing out the passages occupied by the Dark Forest.
Jiang Che also arrived at the other end of the passage, finding himself surrounded by collapsed walls and ruins, the remains looming hazily in the darkness.
Rotting stones lay scattered everywhere, rusted metal twisted and deformed, as if narrating past carnage.
The vines of the Dark Forest writhed like snakes, coiling tightly around everything, exuding a sinister aura.
He noticed that the Dark Tree occupying the passage was quite different from those around—it was the mother tree Ding Ning had spoken of.
The Dark Tree would not corrode humans above the thirteenth rank. Out of caution, Jiang Che was still careful with his actions.
The moment he made his move, he heard a voice. That voice was uncanny to the extreme, as if from the Nine Nether Abyss, yet at the same time astonishingly soft.
"Wa—wait—"
Jiang Che was startled, immediately scanning the surroundings in alarm, but found nothing.
He searched for a long time before realizing it was the mother tree before him that was speaking.
"Wait a moment..."
Jiang Che’s brow furrowed, eyes fixed on the eerie mother tree. "What do you want to say?"
"Wait..." The Dark Tree mother shook its branches violently, those limbs flailing like mad demons, stirring gusts of ominous wind.
Jiang Che frowned even deeper, full of suspicion, his eyes locked on the mother tree. "What are you trying to do?"
The voice from the Dark Tree came like a ghost’s whisper, full of sly persuasion: "Don’t act rashly. I overheard you; don’t you want to clear the dungeons of all the Lords? We can work together."
Shock appeared on Jiang Che’s face. Most of his conversations with Ding Ning were private—this thing actually knew what they said.
The mother tree continued, "I can hear everything in this forest. Every leaf is my ear."
"Within this domain, even telepathic speech holds no secrets."
When it finished, Jiang Che frowned, his eyes full of doubt and vigilance; he probed, "Then do you know what Black Crow wants?"
The Dark Tree’s branches shuddered, the voice eerie: "I know."
Jiang Che’s brow knitted even tighter. He had never met Black Crow, but had learned a bit about him from Gray Crow.
The fanaticism in Gray Crow’s eyes before death lingered vividly in Jiang Che’s memory.
Those crazed eyes, that resolute cry, were branded into Jiang Che’s mind, impossible to shake off.
Whenever Jiang Che remembered that scene, a chill crept through his heart.
He didn’t understand what kind of belief could impel someone to such extremes, sacrificing even his own life without hesitation.
That fanaticism was like a raging fire that consumed his very life.
Someone like Black Crow would never easily let anyone know his plans.
But next, the Dark Tree’s words would completely shatter Jiang Che’s perceptions.
The mother tree’s branches thrashed wildly, colliding with each other and producing a chilling creak.
Its voice grew louder, no longer cautious as before—now utterly lost in madness.
"Because he’s just my collaborator!" The Dark Tree mother laughed maniacally, voice full of lunacy and abandon.
"The news you know about clearing ten domains—I was the one who told him." Its tone grew ever sharper, full of distortion and insanity.
Strange patterns surfaced on its bark, writhing as if alive, exuding a disturbing aura.
"Now, will you collaborate with me?" The Dark Tree mother’s voice grew coaxing, like a devil’s whisper lingering at Jiang Che’s ear.