Mu Yuan and Ling Yan simultaneously turned their heads towards the purple glowing tree trunk.
At this moment, the tree trunk had opened up in the middle, like a large tree opening its mouth.
Purple light emanated from the opening, and gusts of hot air spewed out.
Then, something slowly floated out from the tree trunk.
The cavern was enveloped in purple light, and the surrounding temperature continued to rise.
Before long, the purple light gradually dimmed, the heat dissipated, and the flowers on the huge Suixin Tree rapidly withered, and the tree trunk finally withered.
A five-petaled Suixin Flower fell from the air. Mu Yuan reached out and caught it. The fleshy petals looked somewhat thick. Mu Yuan extended a finger to lightly touch a petal, but the petal turned to dust and dissipated.
Mu Yuan took a breath, raised his head, and unconsciously frowned, asking Ling Yan, who had already walked to the side of that thing:
"What is this?"
Ling Yan's fingers rubbed his lower lip as he carefully observed the thing that had been spat out of the tree trunk.
This thing was a lump, looking like metal and also like stone, but its surface was pitted and uneven, as if covered in a layer of soil, making it difficult to determine exactly what it was.
[Mei, what is this?]
[Mei?]
Ling Yan's brow furrowed tightly.
This was the first time he had lost contact with Mei in his consciousness.
He couldn't help but stare at the thing floating in the air.
Without asking, he knew that he had lost contact with Mei since this thing had appeared. This was unprecedented.
However, based on Mei's previous analysis, this thing was hidden in the tree, and it had been constantly luring alien beasts to attack Snowgate Island.
"Ling."
Ling Yan looked at Mu Yuan, who had already walked to his side, and explained, "This is very likely the treasure hidden here."
Mu Yuan looked incredulous, looking again carefully at the thing floating in the air.
Its overall shape was round, but it had protrusions on it, and it seemed to have a pointed tip extending upwards.
"What kind of treasure could this broken clod of earth be? It doesn't look like one at all."
As Mu Yuan spoke, he reached out his hand, wanting to examine this clod-like "treasure."
"Don't touch it!"
Ling Yan loudly stopped him, reaching out and grabbing his arm. Mu Yuan's hand stopped about five centimeters away from the clod, pulled back by Ling Yan.
However, even though Mu Yuan hadn't touched the lump, the thing seemed to have sensed Mu Yuan's intention.
The clod made a buzzing sound and began to tremble.
Then, a blinding purple light erupted from within the clod.
The next moment, Ling Yan and Mu Yuan disappeared together.
After an unknown amount of time, a child's voice suddenly reached Ling Yan's ears.
"Brother Yan, Brother Yan..."
Ling Yan frowned.
Where did this brat come from, so noisy.
"Brother Yan, look how beautiful that flower is! Can you help me pick one? Just one, please!"
"Wow, Brother Yan, look! This flower smells so good, it's sweet! I like it so much!"
"Wuwuwu, Brother Yan, don't go! Where are you going? Don't leave me, okay? I won't have you pick flowers anymore."
The child's crying irritated Ling Yan greatly. He wanted to shut this unknown child up as soon as possible.
"Okay, I won't go. Don't cry."
"Really? Don't lie to me. If you take this flower, if you accept my flower, you can never leave me again."
"Hmm, I won't leave."
The boy finally stopped crying. Ling Yan felt a light flashing before his eyes. He forced himself to open them.
Then he saw an extremely beautiful little boy.
The boy had fiery red short hair, black eyes with a golden ring around the outside, and tears still glistened in his eyes.
His skin was very fair, his small face round, and his pair of small, tender hands were tightly clutching a flower.
A pale red Suixin Flower.
When he saw Ling Yan, his smile was even more beautiful than the flower in his hands.
"Brother Yan, you're finally back."
...
[Boss! Boss!]
Ling Yan opened his eyes, finally able to breathe deeply, and the stuffy air in his chest was completely exhaled.
[Boss, I was being interfered with just now. We were disconnected for about ten minutes. Are you alright?]
Ling Yan looked left and right. About two meters away from him, he found Mu Yuan curled up into a ball.
Ling Yan supported himself with one hand and stood up from the ground, quickly walking to Mu Yuan's side. He knelt on one knee and slowly helped Mu Yuan sit up.
Mu Yuan's face was extremely pale, sweat beaded on his forehead, his lips trembled, and he kept muttering something. His body was curled up, as if he was holding something in his arms.
Ling Yan pulled open his tense body and saw that what he was holding in his arms was actually that round-headed, pointed clod of earth.
Ling Yan forcefully pried the clod from Mu Yuan's hands, put it aside, and began to softly call Mu Yuan's name.
Ling Yan knew that Mu Yuan must have fallen into some inexplicable dream, just like himself.
He called Mu Yuan's name twice, but his body continued to tremble, and he even sobbed helplessly.
"Don't... don't burn it, please."
"Run... run quickly... they're coming!"
Mu Yuan's body struggled violently. Ling Yan steadied his head and continued to call out,
"Mu Yuan, Mu Yuan!"
Mu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes, his dark eyes filled with terror, staring blankly at the top of the cavern.
"General, it's alright now."
Ling Yan patted Mu Yuan's arm.
Mu Yuan gasped for breath, just like Ling Yan had when he first woke up. However, Mu Yuan's condition was more wretched.
He was soaking wet, his face as white as paper. He mechanically turned his head, and only after seeing Ling Yan did the tense muscles in his body slowly relax.
Ling Yan comforted him softly, "It's alright, it was just a dream."
Mu Yuan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried hard to adjust his emotions. Two lines of tears slid down his cheeks. He then realized that he had actually cried in the dream just now.
He reached out and wiped the tears from his face, feeling somewhat dazed.
How many years had it been? He thought he could never shed another tear. Unexpectedly...
Mu Yuan's gaze turned fierce as he looked at the clod of earth beside him.
He quickly got up and with a *thump*, kicked the ball-like thing far away.
"What is this thing? Not only does it bewitch people, it also throws their minds into chaos!" After venting his anger, Mu Yuan looked at Ling Yan, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Ling, why are you completely unaffected?"
Seeing that Mu Yuan had regained his senses, Ling Yan's mood also relaxed, and he quipped, "Maybe it's because... I have strong willpower?"
Mu Yuan rolled his eyes at him, disdainfully patting the dirt off his body, as if the person who had just been curled up and sobbing wasn't him.
Mu Yuan reached out his hand to Ling Yan. Ling Yan generously took it, allowing him to pull him up.
Then, Mu Yuan took out a personal handkerchief from his pocket, unfolded it, and reluctantly walked to the clod of earth he had just kicked aside, using the cloth to pick it up from the ground.
Ling Yan followed him and took the handkerchief from Mu Yuan's hand, then clicked his tongue.
"What is it? Did you find something?"
Mu Yuan, understanding Ling Yan's work habits, spoke without thinking, blurting out the question.
Ling Yan glanced at him before returning his gaze to the thing he was holding in his hand.
"This thing looks a bit familiar."
Ling Yan brought it closer and examined it carefully.
[Boss, received your previous command. This thing is made of purple gold and is solid. However...]
Ling Yan looked at it for a moment, then handed the thing back to Mu Yuan, continuing Mei's words,
"Looking at this thing, it seems to be a gourd, but only half of one."