Before Liu Hai could act, he quickly lost consciousness. Zhang Nu noticed that the moment his blood made contact with the Tree YaoGuai, the creature began to tremble violently. Realizing that the YaoGuai was genuinely afraid of his blood, Zhang Nu gripped its vines even tighter, refusing to let it escape so easily.
Meanwhile, far away on the mountain's peak, the Illusion YaoGuai sensed Zhang Nu's blood and was shocked. Throughout history, only one type of blood could restrain the Tree YaoGuai---blood from the Ancient Yao Beasts. However, according to the Illusion YaoGuai's knowledge, those ancient creatures had long since perished. How could this be?
Could Zhang Nu possibly be a descendant of the ancient Yao beasts?
The Illusion YaoGuai's excitement grew. If Zhang Nu truly carried that bloodline, devouring him could greatly enhance its power.
Unaware that his identity had been exposed, Zhang Nu had no idea about his potential lineage. Suddenly, the Tree YaoGuai, out of desperation, slammed Zhang Nu forcefully to the ground, knocking him unconscious. Upon seeing Zhang Nu collapse, the YaoGuai panicked and fled, no longer daring to confront either Zhang Nu or Liu Hai.
Fearful for its own survival, the Tree YaoGuai abandoned its position and retreated, although it remained within the second level of the mountain, choosing instead to hide and wait in another location.
When Zhang Nu and Liu Hai slowly regained consciousness, they found themselves lying on the ground, unharmed. Liu Hai was the first to wake up, and when he saw Zhang Nu stirring, he quickly helped him sit up.
"Zhang Nu, how are you feeling?" Liu Hai asked with concern.
Zhang Nu, still feeling a bit dizzy, raised his hand and noticed that it had been bandaged. "Did you bandage my hand? Thank you," Zhang Nu said with gratitude.
Liu Hai waved it off casually. "No need to thank me. If it weren't for you, I'd still be trapped by that YaoGuai."
"We're friends, after all. There's no need to be so formal?" Liu Hai added, then asked curiously, "But why was the Tree YaoGuai afraid of your blood? If it's so powerful, why didn't you use it earlier?"
Zhang Nu shook his head, still unsure himself. "I honestly don't know. I kept hearing this voice telling me that my blood would work, so I decided to give it a try. I didn't expect it to actually be effective."
Liu Hai nodded thoughtfully, realizing that whoever had whispered to Zhang Nu probably knew more about his true identity than Zhang Nu did himself.
"If even you don't know the answer, there's no point in dwelling on it," Liu Hai said. "Now that we're free, it's clear the Tree YaoGuai has been dealt with. Let's continue exploring and see if we can find anything that might help us level up."
Zhang Nu nodded, and the two of them resumed their search. Yet, after a while, they realized there wasn't much left to help them grow stronger. It seemed as though the Tree YaoGuai had taken its offspring with it, leaving behind only the weaker ones.
Just when they were about to give up, they stumbled upon a small stream.
"Zhang Nu, our luck's been pretty bad, don't you think?" Liu Hai muttered. "Why haven't we found anything useful?"
Zhang Nu shook his head, feeling that something wasn't quite right. If the Tree YaoGuai had fled, how could it have taken all its descendants with it so quickly? Was this some kind of trick to mislead them?
"If there's truly nothing left in this layer, then the Tree YaoGuai must have hidden everything," Zhang Nu speculated. "But what could be so important that it would go to such great lengths to conceal it?"
Liu Hai shook his head, uncertain. "Who knows? Maybe this place was the Tree YaoGuai's lair. Or it could have absorbed the weaker creatures to power up."
Zhang Nu considered this, thinking that Liu Hai's theory made sense. The Tree YaoGuai might have consumed all the other creatures in the area to enhance its strength.