novelraw Chapter 160 : Flower Cloud Dream
Chapter 160 : Flower Cloud Dream
Chen Sui felt her entire body constrained, something moving around her neck, gradually tightening. Her airway was being constricted, the surrounding air seemingly isolated from her, awakening her survival instinct. Space energy gathered, drawing in the oxygen around her.
As oxygen supply resumed, her foggy consciousness gradually awakened, her perception of the surroundings becoming clearer.
An eerie sensation crawled up her arms and calves, cold with a rough friction that raised goosebumps as it passed.
Chen Sui suddenly opened her eyes. Her vision swept outward to see lush greenery, large patches of flowers, and continuous mountain ranges. Vegetation completely covered the ground, various plants growing in competition with each other. The fragrance of soil mixed with fresh grass, and dazzling sunlight cast a creamy glow over the entire energy field. Ignoring the plants before her, it seemed like a fairy tale dreamscape.
But everything disappeared when the enormous tree that soared into the clouds extended its branches.
The Wood-Born Flower giant tree was too tall to see its top, its thick branches stretching into the distance, endless.
Its main trunk was like a sky pillar supporting heaven and earth, with layers of green light seeping through the cracks in its bark.
Chen Sui looked at the vines extending from its trunk. Extremely thick vines wrapped around her mecha's limbs and neck, wood-attribute energy enveloping Forest Envelopment, attacking her mental domain.
This was the energy of the Wood-Born Flower that Chen Sui was extremely familiar with, but at this moment, it existed as her enemy.
Song Baining's words still echoed in her ears.
The fracture fragment's anchor point had accurately transported her from the space turbulence to the Wood-Born Flower's presence, indicating that it was mobilizing the fracture's energy.
Looking into her mental domain, Chen Sui could see the energy crystal at the center of the vast mental ocean spinning, but its visibility was decreasing, energy constantly weakening, as if a pair of hands were pulling at the energy crystal, gradually severing her connection.
The perceived resonance level was rapidly decreasing, replaced by the increasingly strong green light from the Wood-Born Flower giant tree.
Chen Sui bit her tongue, the pain making her fully regain consciousness. Her hands, restrained by vines, struggled with difficulty. Red General, sensing her mental turmoil, let out a series of resonant chimes.
The mecha's hands, tightly wrapped in vines, gripped the scarlet spear, the sharp point at the spear tip growing brighter.
As the Wood-Born Flower tightened its vines, Chen Sui suddenly activated the energy crystal in her mental domain. A faint green aura emanated from her, almost merging with the vines.
Just as the two energies began to blend, the energy crystal at Red General's tip erupted into a storm!
An invisible space centered on Chen Sui suddenly expanded outward, the range rapidly extending, spreading in the blink of an eye. An invisible wind pressed down the plants on the ground with the force of a northern gale, even breaking apart the huge cottony white cloud clusters in the sky. The immense energy seemed poised to envelop the entire Flower Cloud Dream.
The Wood-Born Flower sensed the invasion of foreign energy. Enraged by the violation of its territory, its branches and leaves shook violently, the rustling sound growing more urgent, branches frantically extending, its form constantly expanding.
The entire ground of Flower Cloud Dream was covered by the shadow of tree leaves. The unsettling emotions affected the energy bodies within, plants beginning to grow wildly, countless energy storms gathering around energy bodies from all directions, converging toward the central Wood-Born Flower.
Chen Sui sensed an extremely powerful force gathering before her.
Flower Cloud Dream possessed energy far exceeding the God-Abandoned Domain and Machine Tower. The Wood-Born Flower was even connecting to the fracture, intending to devour all energy—an incredibly difficult task.
No wonder Song Baining had said every step brought them closer to death.
But right now, only she could block the entire energy of Flower Cloud Dream. The Wood-Born Flower's resonance devouring ability and her awakened space energy were the only possibility.
Only by cutting off the energy could she seize control of the energy crystal in the instant the Wood-Born Flower lost its power over energy. There was no other way.
Once the Wood-Born Flower descended, the entire Star Alliance would have no force capable of opposing it.
Chen Sui recalled Song Baining's words in her mind. Red General's light broke through the misty green haze, the expanded space beginning to violently absorb surrounding energy. Transparent space blades instantly cut the vines binding the mecha's right hand. The freed mecha hand swung the spear, and the energy carried by the space energy crystal exploded along its trajectory, forming a massive energy vortex in midair in the blink of an eye.
Large amounts of space energy expanded Chen Sui's mental domain, the transparent shadow of the energy crystal gradually becoming solid as energy filled it.
Energy flowed in like an ocean flooding a land, surging like a deluge into her mental domain. Chen Sui felt a skull-splitting explosion, her pupils flashing with light, sprouts emerging from her hair ends, extending forward, forming emerald vines that seamlessly connected to the ends of her hair. Her shoulder-length hair immediately extended to her back and continued growing.
Inside the cockpit, green lines began climbing across the military student's exposed skin, resembling special ancient runes, fiercely coiling on her skin, emanating a faint glow.
The Wood-Born Flower, sensing the loss of energy, began frantically thrashing the vines wrapped around Chen Sui, trying to separate her, but the remaining vines had already been connected by the wood-attribute energy she controlled. They couldn't break free and could only serve as channels to drain the Wood-Born Flower's vitality!
The mecha was smashed to the ground by the energy body, countless plants crawling into the mecha's crevices, gnawing at the neural connections between Chen Sui and the mecha. The vines continuously battered her, as if trying to force her to disconnect voluntarily.
Under this assault, Chen Sui grew even more frenzied in absorbing the surrounding energy.
Suddenly, violent gusts arose in Flower Cloud Dream, plants swaying in all directions. Energy flowed into the Wood-Born Flower's body along the wind, immediately replenishing the depleted energy as the Wood-Born Flower began drawing energy from the energy field.
Chen Sui felt the energy crystal being pulled, another force competing with her.
"You're getting desperate."
Forest Envelopment's shell had already been damaged by the Wood-Born Flower's various attacks. The mecha's face was smashed hard against a rock, completely caved in. The cockpit was beaten by vines, Chen Sui being thrown around, drops of blood streaming from her forehead down her eye, making her appear extremely manic. Her soft, whispered voice sounded like the silent insanity from a horror film.
The Wood-Born Flower couldn't sense her emotions; the energy body was completely immersed in the struggle for the energy crystal.
It could never have imagined that in the moment it chose Chen Sui as a host, it couldn't foresee that this vessel, selected to nurture its energy crystal, would one day become its competitor for the crystal's ownership.
Chen Sui raised her eyes, looking at the Wood-Born Flower through blood-reddened eyes, her eyelids extremely heavy, almost closing.
"Little Flower..."
Before darkness enveloped her vision, Chen Sui only uttered an extremely faint murmur.
As her eyes closed, space energy completely erupted, her entire mental domain like an underwater tornado, consuming surrounding energy like a dragon devouring clouds. The high energy pressure gathering in Flower Cloud Dream threw the entire energy field's level into chaos. Starting from the edges of Flower Cloud Dream, vegetation began to wither!
"Commander, energy field level fluctuations in the God-Abandoned Domain have stabilized!"
Zhao Loulan received the report from the energy field monitoring department and, as expected, looked up: "I understand."
Song Baining had already explained the reason to her.
Immediately after, another communication from the energy field monitoring department connected: "Flower Cloud Dream energy level in violent fluctuation!"
Zhao Loulan immediately opened communications with the God-Abandoned Domain. After a brief white screen, Song Baining connected.
"Patching in Flower Cloud Dream energy monitoring," Zhao Loulan told the switchboard operator from the energy field management department. The control room received a light signal, which she immediately patched into the God-Abandoned Domain channel.
Song Baining watched the entire distorted wave pattern. Flower Cloud Dream's energy levels were fluctuating dramatically, jumping back and forth between normal non-energy field levels and far exceeding SSS-level energy field levels, like alternating between a deep dive and taking off from the ground, making one's heart race up and down.
"Has she begun?" Zhao Loulan asked.
Song Baining's gaze was glued to the chart. Hearing the question, she nodded in response: "Space wave level intervention. Activate all absorption devices."
She said to Zhao Loulan.
If Chen Sui succeeded, the absorption devices could lower the Star Alliance's energy level at the moment Flower Cloud Dream returned to calm.
If she failed, they could at least gain a brief window of time when the Wood-Born Flower opened the fracture to descend.
Zhao Loulan sat upright, her expression somewhat tense as she watched the chart changes.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the scene at Flower Cloud Dream.
In Zone Eleven, Song Xingzhang sat in the corridor, looking up at the starry river where no daylight could be seen, his gaze dim.
He had only two disciples. He hoped nothing would happen to her.
Song Xingzhang closed his eyes briefly. A man in a long robe walked out from the analysts' hall, saw his silhouette, and approached. The newcomer took a breath, suppressing his emotions, and said quietly: "Master Lalnuo has passed away."
He Lanyi had received news from his family, his tone carrying a hint of sighing lament.
Song Xingzhang turned to look at him. He Lanyi had not meddled in the Analyst Association's affairs for years, unburdened and appearing many years younger, faintly resembling his youthful self—spirited and energetic, quite unlike him.
"I know. The Main Star sanatorium has taken in all survivors from the Hela district. Master Lalnuo saved everyone."
He Lanyi sat beside him. "From mental domain collapse until now, Master Lalnuo had a difficult time. I heard he made a communication to you before his self-destruction?"
Song Xingzhang didn't speak, but He Lanyi was an exceptionally clever person who could quickly guess their connection. Associating it with Song Baining's arrangements, he followed Song Xingzhang's gaze: "How is your judgment always so good? Every student you choose turns out to be an outstanding talent, a genius worthy of a place in Star Alliance history."
Song Xingzhang remained silent for a while before moving his lips, finding his somewhat hoarse voice: "They can only be considered geniuses if they survive."
He paused, looked at the other man, and politely asked: "Why have you come?"
"I was afraid you'd worry yourself to death," He Lanyi lay back on the bench, smiling, his gaze incredibly calm.
Song Xingzhang closed his eyes. From the moment he learned of Chen Sui's parasitic infection, he had been helping her increase energy crystal resonance while also enhancing her ability to fight energy bodies without energy—anticipating this very scenario and making preparations in advance.
Many times he had wondered if what he was doing was right, pushing a child who had just recently come of age into such a position where one misstep would mean death.
If he had removed Chen Sui's energy crystal earlier, letting her live as an ordinary person, at least she would have survived.
But if that had happened, what would become of the Star Alliance's future? Once the Wood-Born Flower reclaimed the energy crystal, there would be no way to stop it.
But why did Chen Sui have to be the one pushed forward to bear all the risks?
Just like years ago, Song Xingzhang had often wondered why it was Vina who self-destructed in the God-Abandoned Domain. If he hadn't taught her those things, would the outcome have been different?
He Lanyi glanced at him, and noticing his silence, knew he was overthinking again.
"I don't know what you're thinking, but sometimes, these are their own choices."
Even if Song Xingzhang had a way to extract the energy crystal parasitizing Chen Sui's mental domain, how could he know she would be willing to abandon this and become an ordinary person?
Everyone in the Star Alliance knew of that child's murderous intent toward energy bodies. Even given the choice, the result would have been the same.
Just like years ago, Vina had also made the right choice. Her self-destruction bought time for her companions to retreat, enabled Song Baining's survival, and allowed the parasitic plan to continue for ten years, becoming the source of the Star Alliance's remaining hope.
If Song Xingzhang could be persuaded by a few words, he wouldn't have remained isolated on Wisteria Star for ten years.
He didn't want to discuss this matter further, so he exhaled and said calmly: "I hope Little Sui can return safely."
"She will," He Lanyi said with certainty, surprising even Song Xingzhang with his conviction. But the man's eyes shone like bright stars as he looked over: "Don't forget, all these years, the younger generation of the Star Alliance has always been the ones creating miracles."
Whether it was Song Xingzhang back then, or Vina and Song Baining, or now Chen Sui—all of them were like this.
The energy levels in the God-Abandoned Domain were stabilizing. The military students were still inside, along with Zone Eleven's former highest Commander. As soon as the energy fluctuations stabilized, Zone Eleven unanimously approved the emergency channel rescue operation, with the dispatched Border Army rescue team on the way.
Zhu Jing Fu had just learned of Chen Sui's whereabouts and her mission. After Song Baining finished speaking, the usually noisy military students fell silent.
Until the rescue arrived and Song Baining left with the Border Army, the group of students looked at each other. Those who wanted to speak opened their mouths, but closed them again without saying anything.
Some wanted to ask if Chen Sui would return alive, but as soon as they opened their mouths, they knew this was a question no one could answer.
On the rescue starship leaving the God-Abandoned Domain, the entire passenger cabin was eerily quiet.
Everyone's expression varied, but most showed concern, even self-reproach.
During the silent return journey, in a corner of the starship, Xie You opened the cabin door and knocked on Xie Chunshi's window beside him.
The curly-haired young man, immersed in his mental domain trying to draw energy from the soothing imprint left by Chen Sui, opened his eyes. Seeing the expressionless Black Mamba, his expression carried a trace of bewilderment.
He opened the cabin door, and Xie You passed a well-preserved safety charm through the gap.
"Here."
Looking at his expression, Xie You pointed to his palm: "At least it's the safety charm you devoutly prayed over for seven days and seven nights. I'm generously lending it to you."
"May the sincerity of your prayers that moved the electronic deity also bless her this time."
The safety charm was one Xie Chunshi had been tricked into buying from an online store during Xie You's awakening period.
His awakening had not been smooth, experiencing energy interference for a full ten days, his entire being in a confused state of consciousness, with persistent high fever.
Xie Chunshi was still young then, and was duped by a cyber-spiritual charlatan on the StarNet who sold him a safety charm, claiming he needed to pray devoutly before an electronic shrine for seven days and seven nights. After doing so, he placed the charm that had received electronic incense under Xie You's pillow.
That very night, Xie You woke from his awakening, becoming the earliest awakened one of his generation in the Xie family—SSS-level.
Looking at the slightly yellowed edges of the charm, Xie Chunshi recalled the memory. His fingers traced the folded edges, and seeing this, Xie You reminded him: "I'm just lending it to you. When Chen Sui returns, remember to give it back."
After speaking, he awkwardly turned his head, glancing at Xie Chunshi's expression from the corner of his eye.
Xie Chunshi's lips twitched, seeming to smile briefly, and only then did Xie You plunge back into the passenger cabin.
The charm in his palm radiated subtle warmth. Xie Chunshi sensed the soothing imprint in his mental domain that still had energy, but his mind remained unsettled.
Ah Sui.
Please come back.
As Chen Sui's consciousness drifted, she seemed to hear a voice in her ear, like a call transmitted through energy, continuously calling her name.
This voice kept a thread of clarity in her consciousness. As she was filled with the energy from the entire energy field, Chen Sui could clearly feel her body becoming like a balloon about to burst, with energy continually flooding into her mental domain.
Forest Envelopment, bearing the immense energy storm, had its exterior covered in fractures, with only the Red Rust on its back still intact. Space energy held it together, preventing the mecha from instantly falling apart.
Looking across Flower Cloud Dream energy field, withering signs spread from the edges toward the center, like wheat fields in the wind, instantly turning from emerald green to withered yellow. Only the Wood-Born Flower giant tree at the center still maintained its vitality.
In her mental domain, the energy crystal filled with large amounts of wood-attribute energy became increasingly visible. Chen Sui's perception gradually connected with the wood-attribute energy, and the moment she touched the energy crystal, resonance began to surge rapidly.
The Wood-Born Flower sensed the separation of energy, followed by the loss of life force. The surface of its main body experienced a momentary pause in luminescence.
Chen Sui's eyes remained closed, but through her perception, she recognized this was a perfect opportunity.
Red General sensed her fighting spirit, and the spear's surface erupted with a bright light.
Her body felt incredibly heavy, absorbing energy from the entire Flower Cloud Dream energy field. Chen Sui found movement extremely difficult. Her head felt like it was filled with water, her body seemingly not her own, completely uncontrollable, acting purely on instinct.
That was the instinct she had trained day and night since coming from the wasteland world to the interstellar world.
The mecha gripped the spear with maximum force.
"Red General."
"Transfer!"
Following her laborious words, the energy crystal at the spear's tip burst forth with a light as bright as day, expanding to envelop the mecha, instantly erasing its silhouette.
At the very top of Flower Cloud Dream, beyond the visible cloud ceiling.
The black and gold mecha fell in a straight line, fierce winds lashing against her face and body, making the fragmented mecha crackle and pop. In her ears was the roaring of the wind as the mecha plunged into the dense branches and leaves. Branches were severed by the tremendous energy pressure from the high-altitude fall, flattening everything in its path!
Heading directly toward the Wood-Born Flower's main trunk.
Chen Sui's mind, clouded by energy perception impacts, gained a moment of clarity. Her eyes flew open, both pupils simultaneously emitting a bright light!
At the instant the Wood-Born Flower's energy was depleted and it prepared to connect to the fracture to obtain energy, Red General swung out a crescent-shaped scarlet light blade, cutting down from above.
The spear tip, made of Zhu Jing Stone, parted the surrounding energy and directly pierced into the Wood-Born Flower's trunk.
"BOOM!!"
The sound of splitting wood was like thunder from a clear sky. As the spear tip opened a gap in the Wood-Born Flower's main trunk, a green light suddenly flared, soaring into the sky, forming an incredibly bright green light pillar.
Chen Sui didn't even need to react. The energy crystal at Red General's tip flashed, and a massive devouring storm erupted, almost greedily sucking in the surrounding energy.
The Wood-Born Flower's branches and leaves began showing withered yellow coloration, starting from the outermost edges.
At this moment, the energy throughout the entire Star Alliance began to change.
Countless energy flows surged toward Flower Cloud Dream, forming massive energy storms along the way, driving all energy bodies in the energy fields into a frenzied state. Energy field levels began jumping wildly, with differences as vast as heaven and earth, making everyone's emotions rise and fall with them.
Song Baining nervously observed the data on the light screen before her. Due to the Star Alliance's unusual energy storm, the starship had made an emergency landing in the Seventh Star Ring, not reaching Zone Eleven.
But looking at this scene, Song Baining couldn't worry about anything else. Watching the monitoring levels of Flower Cloud Dream and the Star Alliance, she felt a massive stone hanging in her heart.
Xie Chunshi looked at the light screen through the air, then lowered his gaze, once again sinking into his mental domain.
The imprint still had energy.
He looked at the fluctuating core crystal in his mental domain. The spirit body Mist's long tail gently swept across the crystal's surface. Water waves flowed along the traces of the mermaid's tail, with a few drops seeping into the cracks covering the crystal. A faint blue light flickered on the crystal's surface, causing the soothing imprint to emit energy fluctuations of the same frequency, attempting to calm his turbulent energy and spirit body.
But the imprint's energy was suppressed by the mental domain's owner. To continuously monitor the imprint owner's safety, Xie Chunshi hadn't used the energy from the soothing imprint.
Seeing the synchronized soothing energy signal, he was like a desert traveler encountering an oasis. His tense expression finally relaxed slightly, his bloodshot eyes closing briefly, instantly enveloped by an acidic feeling and fatigue.
If Xie Chunshi could see through the imprint to Chen Sui, he would witness the entire Flower Cloud Dream, once a fairy tale garden, transformed into a withered wasteland, the Wood-Born Flower giant tree gradually losing its vitality.
At the moment when the Star Alliance's energy converged.
At the tip of the spear piercing the Wood-Born Flower, the space energy crystal locked in Zhu Jing Stone made a crack sound.
A fracture spread across the energy crystal, penetrating deep inside, as if breaking from within.
Space energy continued to seal off the massive energy storm while continuously absorbing more from the outside.
Large amounts of energy filled the Wood-Born Flower energy crystal, which trembled frantically in the mental domain, as if unable to bear the burden.
The Wood-Born Flower's main trunk flashed with a blinding green light, but Chen Sui paid no attention. She devoured vast amounts of energy, directly pouring it all into the Wood-Born Flower's energy crystal.
In the instant of energy infusion, the Wood-Born Flower's energy crystal burst into countless fissures from the inside out, covering the entire crystal.
"Crack—"
The spear drove deeper, directly into the Wood-Born Flower giant tree's main trunk!
The spear tip emerged from the other side, cleaving from top to bottom.
The entire Wood-Born Flower giant tree, with its endless main trunk, was completely split open!
As Chen Sui's mecha hit the ground, the crystal in the spear crackled like fireworks, bursting into multiple cracks.
Space energy dispersed from Chen Sui's mental domain.
Forest Envelopment, losing its energy support, shattered into pieces, fragments scattered across the ground.
The cockpit quickly ejected, sending its pilot to the ground.
Chen Sui landed on one knee, still with consciousness remaining. Looking at the Wood-Born Flower giant tree that had completely lost its light, its trunk fully split, green fading away, Chen Sui suddenly tugged at the corner of her mouth and said in a nearly inaudible but extremely contemptuous voice—words that would have infuriated Wu Ye:
"What kind of Wood God."
"Nothing special at all."
As soon as she finished speaking, space energy carrying the Star Alliance's abnormal energy storm thunderously surged into her body!
The intensity of the energy infusion, combined with neural damage from the mecha's shattering, sent Chen Sui crashing to the ground.