Evolution Begins With A Big Tree

Chapter 171, Earth Elemental Erosion

Translator:  Ashish

Translation Checker: Silavin

“An apparition of a towering tree?” General Li’s eyes slightly narrowed, his eyes flickering constantly in contemplation.

After a moment, as if having made a decision, a voice suddenly rang in the conference room, “Pull back our forces in the Sichuan region. Furthermore, focus on surveilling Misty Mountains as the top priority.”

Saying this, General Li stood up, and stated, “If everything goes as expected, I’ll be making a trip there in a few days.”

“You can’t.” Everyone was taken aback by this revelation. Professor Yan even hastily stood up, trying to intervene, “General Li, you are the most important general of our country . We can’t afford to have you absent.”

“It’ll be alright.” Waving off, General Ji further added, his expression turning solemn, “This time, I must go.”

Saying this, General Li cast a deep look at everyone and continued, “As you are now, you guys don’t truly understand what a Tier-3 signifies. Such beings possess intelligence not inferior to our own. They can even communicate with us. For this reason alone, I must make this trip. Furthermore, it’s within our border, and I need to understand the specific situation of this Tier-3.”

…

Saying that, General Li turned around and left, without waiting for the others to respond.

The sudden appearance of a Tier-3 was quite a challenge, even for him. It was swift and sudden, in an unbelievably manner.

According to estimates, a Tier-3 should not have appeared yet. While the evolution of Humans was slow, it was not that slow.

Just for instance, he, who stood at the pinnacle of Humanity, was just at the peak of Tier-1, yet a Tier-3 had appeared. It was simply too unbelievable.

After all, an evolution was a qualitative change in life. The difference between each Tier was unimaginably vast. It was evident just from the fact that it would be a daunting task for Tier-1 Superhumans to overpower a peak Tier-2 Transcendent, no matter how many ganged up on it.

The peak of Tier-2 meant having over 900,000 Spiritual Energy.

Whereas the most a Tier-1 Transcendent could have was 80,000-90,000.

How could mere numbers bridge such a gap?

Moreover, the stronger one was, the more terrifying their Talent would be, and the more likely they would awaken unique and strange abilities.

These gaps could not be filled by a mere quantity.

In other words, if a Tier-3 Transcendent truly appeared, it would be better to look for other alternatives than being its enemy.

Even with the current strength of China, victory would be a costly affair.

*Ha…* A deep breath escaped General Li’s lips as a hint of seriousness flashed within his eyes.

[If necessary, I would have to bring out some hidden cards.]

…

Meanwhile…

North Canyon remained far from peaceful.

Yu Zi Yu’s Spiritual Energy was still climbing at a visible rate, while his tree body was glowing radiantly.

However, while Yu Zi Yu was undergoing a significant leap in his life, leveraging this tremendous opportunity, deep within the earth’s depths, a subterranean plaza staked with Earth-Attribute Spirit Stones underwent a bizarre transformation.

At a speed visible to the naked eye, piles upon piles of Earth-Attribute Spirit Stones suddenly liquified, seemingly drawn to something.

The liquified Spirit Stone was earthly yellow in color, like that of soil, but it did not look dirty, and rather exuded an ethereal and sacrosanct aura.

Afterward, the liquified Spirit Stones flowed along Yu Zi Yu’s roots, slowly spreading upward.

In a short while, while Yu Zi Yu’s consciousness was muddled, a substantial portion of his roots seemed to have petrified, taking on a rock-like texture.

At the same time, a cold system prompt sounded in Yu Zi Yu’s ear,

…

Repetitive prompts, as if issuing a reminder.

However, at this moment, Yu Zi Yu was excessively exhausted, so tired that he could not even keep his eyes open.

At this point, Yu Zi Yu finally understood a little that the Flying Willow Leaf Blade not just consumed Spiritual Energy, but also consumed his ever so mysterious psychic energy.

It was no wonder the Flying Willow Leaf Blade could be so sharp.

Amidst the intermittent prompts from the system, the petrification of Yu Zi Yu’s roots accelerated.

In less than half a day, the exposed part of Yu Zi Yu’s trunk above the ground had also already taken on a rock-like texture. No, it could not even be called ordinary rock anymore.

In certain areas, one could even spot a crystalline transparency resembling that of diamonds.

Diamonds were the hardest naturally occurring substances in the world. However, while it possessed a diamond-like crystal clarity, it also possessed an indescribable sense of mystery.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed like something translucent was circulating within it. And this translucent allowed its hardness to multiply geometrically.

Spirit Diamond – Everything is evolving, including minerals. Spirit Diamond is based on diamond, but is endowed with even more terrifying hardness and certain regenerative properties.

If nothing unexpected happened, the evolution of these minerals would likely make the future era even more splendid.

Treasures, Immortal Artifacts, Divine Artifacts…

These fearsome weapons that only existed in ancient legends might reappear before people due to the emergence of these rare minerals. Of course, another point could not be ignored. That was the Humans.

After all, what often restricts Human technology was not knowledge but materials. If these rare minerals were discovered by them, Humanity’s technology might experience an explosive leap.

…

Not long after this, Yu Zi Yu’s consciousness began to slowly recover, bit by bit.

But before he could fully regain his senses, a cold sensation spread from his core.

“Huh!?” His gaze fell upon a certain branch tip, where Yu Zi Yu was astonished to discover a towering Willow Tree standing between heaven and earth.

However, this towering Willow Tree seemed to be crafted from crystal. While it was translucent and sparkling, it also gave off the feeling of being extremely hard.

“Erm…” After a brief hesitation, Yu Zi Yu decisively pulled up the attribute panel.

A moment later, his eyes fell upon a line of blood-red words, seemingly issuing a reminder.

Earth Elemental Erosion – The excessively concentrated Earth Element has eroded the host’s essence, petrifying the host’s body, transforming into an eternal statue standing between heaven and earth.

“No way!?” Yu Zi Yu’s eyes widened in incredulity.

[Are you kidding me? I had only taken a brief nap; how could Elemental Erosion happen already?] He had been quite cautious about absorbing the Earth Element, and sometimes he even refrained from doing so.

Just at that moment, as if sensing something, Yu Zi Yu’s expression suddenly changed. In his gaze, he noticed that more than half of the Spirit Stones in the underground plaza had vanished, with only a few remaining quietly lying there, some even appearing as if a part of them had melted.

At the same time, Yu Zi Yu also noticed some liquid substance slowly spreading along his roots.

“What the heck…” A myriad of thoughts rushed through Yu Zi Yu’s mind, realization dawning upon him slowly. [I guess I had unconsciously absorbed Earth-Attribute Spiritual Stones as if they were that colorful Spiritual Energy.]

*Haaaaa…* Yu Zi Yu exhaled a long, deep breath without hesitation.

Instead, he actively retracted his consciousness and tentatively inquired to the system, “Damn it… What should I do now?”