As a Border Relic that occasionally emerged in Hell at depths beyond 20, the Jug of Tree Blood had effects that defied common reason.

Typically, Alchemists used it as a one-off crucible, more upscale and convenient than the second-hand ones Huai Shi had purchased—it was almost impeccably effective for grafting in the Domain of plant-based Potions.

It preserved the characteristics of both materials while endowing the Potion with a horrific vitality. Generally, whoever drank it would undergo plant transformation, but when used on plants, the effects were perfect.

In more lavish scenarios, it might even be used as a flowerpot in important conservation projects for prized species.

And were it to be used as a blood dialysis device, Huai Shi's vessel would be directly infused with this terrifying vitality, granting him plant-affinity traits.

And incidentally, turn him into a vegetable.

But with the foundation of a Stigmata Yin Soul, Huai Shi didn't need to worry about this outcome. With advanced materials, the evolution of the Mountain Ghost came naturally.

Not only did he acquire that surging vitality, but it also raised his starting point—a two-for-one deal.

The Raven, adhering to principles like, "It's the holiday season, everyone's dead, since we're here, life is hard, they're still a child, it's for your own good, you'll get used to it," decided to go all in and cause more chaos.

With his resistance to poison so high, he wouldn't die any time soon, so why not boldly introduce some poison...

After all, the core of the Mountain Ghost and Yin Souls lies in sharing.

With the Fear Aura formed by the Apocalypse Fog in place, what's the harm in adding a Plague Halo into the mix?

It's just that the variety of the plague needed careful selection. It had to be strong but not lethal to Huai Shi. It required growth potential, but its starting point couldn't be too low... Having received a gift from the Butcher of Heaven, Okun, the Raven simply elected to craft it herself.

Convenient and quick.

Right, just risking a failure that would send him spiraling to Heaven...

It's like not feeling the itch from too many lice. Since so many deadly things had already been done, what's one more, right?

After Huai Shi lay down, the Raven flapped her wings. An invisible force tore open a brand-new IV bag and inserted the attached tube into a blood vessel in Huai Shi's arm.

The other end was deeply wedged into the Jug of Tree Blood under the Raven's gaze.

On its wooden exterior, a face identical to Huai Shi's opened its eyes in an instant. As it was infused with streams of blood, its eyes turned a bright crimson, darting about with a shocked expression, its lips silently mouthing words.

"Mother of God, where am I?"

The Raven lip-read Huai Shi's words and shook her head helplessly. "A normal phenomenon of Source Substance flow, proving it has become a part of your body through the blood... Just lie still, don't move around."

With a flap of her wings, Huai Shi, who had been convulsing on the ground mat, lay still again.

The thick blood then began to rise slowly from the bottom of the Jug of Tree Blood, tinged with a hint of green.

As it was nearly brimming over, another tube was inserted on its left side. The connected dialysis machine began to hum deeply as it started to operate, extracting Huai Shi's blood from the jug and re-infusing it into Huai Shi's vessel.

Huai Shi felt like he was about to explode again.

Hm? Why use so many "again"?

Just as this overwhelming vitality poured into his vessel like a tidal wave, Huai Shi opened his mouth to scream, but felt his face becoming rapidly numb.

When he reached out to touch it, the sensation from his fingers was no longer that of soft flesh, but of the rough, fibrous texture of wood.

He saw it, on his own hands, as the wood grains spread rapidly along the protruding veins.

"It's starting."

The Raven looked down at Huai Shi as he slowly transformed. "Hold on a bit, don't lose your mind."

Huai Shi couldn't help but want to laugh.

Ha? Wasn't this level of pain just routine? Did it really require endurance?

Soon, he realized that more intolerable than the pain… was the itching spreading throughout his limbs, and what was more horrifying… was the crazily growing fingers and the air roots extending between them.

He froze, looking at the Raven. His hardened vocal cords struggled to vibrate, producing a sound, "I seem to have become..."

A tree.

Then he became a tree.

A human-shaped tree, unaware, frozen with an expression of astonishment.

CLICK!

As the flash lit up, the sound of the shutter clicked, leaving an image of Huai Shi's stupefied, terrified face on the Raven's screen.

"If there be someone on the mountain slopes, entwined with ivy and garlands of wisteria…"

She lifted her wings, opened the test tubes in the dry ice box, and poured the pitch-black virus entirely into the Jug of Tree Blood.

"Sweet dreams, young man."

Following the increasingly dark green blood, endless malice and despair flooded into Huai Shi's vessel… yet Huai Shi felt nothing.

He was merely a vegetative person, like a plant.

The sensation of becoming a plant was unexpectedly bizarre—so bizarre that Huai Shi began to wonder—with what organ was he thinking? Surely he had no brain left?

Without control of his physical body, Huai Shi's Soul lay within its tree-like prison, curiously looking around the darkness, then examining its own form.

Was the Soul human-shaped? Not a spherical orb of light, which seemed rather surprising.

He curiously manipulated his form, stretching it long, squishing it flat, twisting it into an S shape, then arranging it into…

After finishing his foolish antics, he started to contemplate reality.

So, what should I do now?

Evolve?

It seems that's not within my control either. Having turned into a plant, should I just wait and see what happens?

Then, fight zombies?

But there have to be zombies for that...

In a seemingly endless darkness where time lost its meaning, he felt as if he were floating in the universe with nothing to do but think. So, he began to ponder.

Who am I? Where am I? Where am I going?

Why does the world exist, what is the value of life, what is the meaning of living... and what kind of messed-up thing has that idiotic Raven done behind my back again?

If a ship is continuously refitted with new parts during a long voyage until every original part is replaced, what should I have for dinner tonight?

If there's a group of endlessly screaming brats tied to the left track ahead of a train, and a middle-aged man picking his feet and talking loudly on his phone tied to the right track, how can I make the train drift and run over both sides?

If the Ranch Owner and the people of Green Day fell into the water at the same time, how could I devise a way to throw the Raven in as well?

Among these inevitably unsolvable conundrums, Huai Shi embarked on a seemingly endless journey of thought.

The initial anger and fear gave way to pointless resistance and repulsion, then clumsy struggling with illusory hopes, until eventually, amidst numbness, he completely sank into the darkness.

In absolute darkness, this state seemed to stretch on for an eternity.

Huai Shi forgot where he was going, forgot where he was, and even forgot who he was.

He really felt as if he had become a tree.

He felt his roots growing, slowly yet relentlessly, delving deep into the soil. Numerous twisted branches sprouted from his now formless arms, filling every inch of the cellar, weaving through earth and stones.

He was growing. Silently, he grew.

Slowly but determinedly, he extended towards the surface. When the first tender bud broke through the soil, Huai Shi felt the faint warmth of sunlight upon him.

For some reason, he suddenly felt a sincere joy.

It was the sweet happiness of a life realizing its own existence. Even if the world was so cruel, even if insects gnawed at its limbs, still, it was alive, stubbornly growing, embracing the sunlight.

Synthesizing chlorophyll sure is joyful.

He bathed in sunlight, truly feeling this way.

As for Huai Shi... Who is Huai Shi?

Who cares.

Growth is joyful~

As long as it's joyful, that's all that matters.

Thus, ignoring the alternation of dawn and dusk, day and night, he immersed himself in this joy of growth, spreading countless roots from the nine layers of earth beneath him.

His roots pushed aside soil, broke through concealed layers, delved into subterranean rivers, probed into lairs, and anchored themselves amidst the cold concrete and steel of the city.

Unknowingly, his root system had spread like a vast net for hundreds of kilometers. It undulated underground, connecting to the integrated root network of countless trees beneath Qingshiu Mountain. It merged with the myriad mosses in the dark sewers beneath Xinhai, and from these points, it further connected with innumerable flourishing flowers, grasses, and trees.

Countless lives merged into one, truly United as One.

Tiny trembles wove into a surging pulse. The delicate shifts of uncared-for plants, when layered, formed a deep roar that seemed to cover the entire mortal world.

It was a murmur no one could hear, whispers unknown to all, songs unheeded by anyone—like the deep aftertones of a cello, echoing in his ears.

For a moment, Huai Shi heard the sound of his Soul shattering, just like a seed germinating.

Amidst the long wait and nurturing, the miracle of the Yin Soul emerged naturally, like water finding its course. This miracle, one that serves death, embraced the vastness of life before it, joyously merging to become one with them.

A radiant light, forged from death, shone out from his lignified shell, flowing through every note of that unheard song.

In that instant, Huai Shi finally broke free from the physical manifestation of roots and husk. He shattered the chains, and his Soul was set free. Like the wind, it nimbly leaped among the countless flora, traversing every place.

He felt wild animals walking and the wind caressing beneath his shade. He heard the mating calls and playful sounds of feral cats. He sensed the flowers and grasses swaying under the starry sky.

He saw the turbulent stream of people, the hasty passers-by after work, the children loitering at street corners, the old people watering plants, and the laughter echoing on the green fields.

Then, Huai Shi caught sight of the slender figure of the Teenage Girl.

It was Fu Yi.

A streak of lightning suddenly flashed through Huai Shi's mind, as if recalling something.

From within a potted plant in the corner of her bedroom, Huai Shi stared in astonishment at the Teenage Girl. Her back was to him as she loudly responded to her mother before shutting the door.

His consciousness, aghast, strained to move forward. The potted plant it inhabited struggled to shift an inch, as if trying to find the best viewing position.

Huai Shi stared intently, holding his breath.

In that moment, an invisible force suddenly erupted, yanking at his Soul—backwards!

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