Chapter 2198 Inheritance
Not only Fang Heng, but also other humans partic.i.p.ated in the infiltration of the Ring of the Ages.
Originally, the Leaf tribe had arranged three members from the Tree Whisperers Alliance.
It was a bit of a gamble.
With Fang Heng"s partic.i.p.ation, Senzo felt more confident.
During breaks, Fang Heng conversed with the three members of the Tree Whisperers Alliance, finally learning some information from them.
"So that"s it, the battle for inheritance."
Earlier, Fang Heng had some doubts about the relationship between the four factions within the tree spirit tribe.
Now it was starting to make sense.
They were compet.i.tors!
Each time, as the sacred tree of the tree spirit tribe declined, they would timely select a new generation of leaders.
In the past, whenever this time came, the four factions would engage in a fierce struggle.
The last victor was the Soul tribe, thus they controlled the sacred tree of the tree spirit tribe and unified to establish the Elders Council, commanding the entire tree spirit tribe.
Now, the Elders Council of the tree spirit tribe had been abandoned, and the tribe lacked leaders. The next leader was bound to emerge from among the four major factions.
The conflict between them was unavoidable.
Without the Elders Council to mediate, this time"s struggle might be even more out of control.
Fang Heng lifted his head, looking at the barrier shrouding the Elders Council ahead.
The four major factions of the tree spirit tribe were gathering separately in four domains.
As the last Wood tribe arrived, the patriarchs of the four major factions headed to the central area for discussion.
At this moment, Fang Heng and the other three members of the Tree Whisperers Alliance stood behind a Leaf tribe patriarch.
Due to the strained relationship between Fang Heng and Vannes, the Great Elder Senzo a.s.signed another Leaf tribe patriarch named Osman to lead the group.
"Everyone, ahead is a special barrier set up by the Elders Council. We"ve investigated before, and the Elders Council has been completely abandoned. To open it from the outside, we need to gather the strength of all four major factions."
"Elder Senzo a.n.a.lyzed that each of the four factions wants to become the leader of the tree spirit tribe and will not easily give up. Most likely, they will fight for the treasures left behind by the Elders Council once we enter."
"At the moment, the patriarchs of each faction are discussing specific actions. After they break the external barrier together, all factions will enter the Elders Council. Then, I will lead you to bypa.s.s from behind and enter the Ring of the Ages."
Osman continued, "The factions are wary of the Elders Council"s holy land area, so they probably won"t enter the Ring of the Ages first. This will buy us some time, but not much."
"Got it."
"Unauthorized entry into the tree spirit tribe"s holy land without permission from the Elders Council will incur punishment from the sacred tree and backlash from the bloodline. However, how much deterrence these have on the current people is unclear. We will be waiting at the entrance of the Ring of the Ages to receive you. You need to find the Altar of the Wood G.o.d as soon as possible."
"Got it."
The group silently noted down the key points Osman mentioned.
Fang Heng nodded to indicate his understanding.
They remained in place, quietly waiting.
Soon, the elders of the various factions of the tree spirit tribe reached some kind of agreement and collectively activated the primal power to break the outer seal of the Elders Council.
As the ground beneath them trembled slightly, specks of light appeared on the green barrier ahead.
"Bang!"
With a faint sound, the entire barrier shattered before their eyes.
Almost simultaneously, the prepared factions of the tree spirit tribe rushed forward, led by the elders, entering the Elders Council area from all four directions.
"Let"s go!"
Osman called out and immediately led Fang Heng and the others swiftly into the Elders Council.
Initially, the various factions of the tree spirit tribe remained calm outside the Elders Council, and there was no open confrontation.
As Fang Heng followed Osman through the main hall, he could faintly hear the sound of arguments emanating from inside.
Silent all the way, Osman led Fang Heng through the main hall and then through a small path behind the Leaf Language Hall, directly through the ivy-covered corridor to a narrow valley entrance.
"We"re here, everyone. Ahead is the entrance to the Ring of the Ages, the sacred land of the Elders Council. Go on, our people will guide you from outside. Hurry."
"Alright."
Fang Heng responded and wasted no time, entering the valley entrance along with the other three members of the Tree Whisperers Alliance.
[Hint: The player enters a special area.]
[Hint: Flying is prohibited in this domain. Within this domain, the player"s natural science abilities are reduced by 80%, and their effects are decreased by 80%].
Fang Heng glanced at the game hints.
No wonder the tree spirit tribe believed they would be affected by their bloodline here, unable to fully utilize their abilities.
The entrance to the Ring of the Ages ahead was narrow, only accommodating one person moving forward at a time, sometimes requiring them to turn sideways to pa.s.s through.
Fang Heng led the way at the front of the group, slowly advancing along the pa.s.sage.
After about ten minutes of walking, the canyon ahead gradually widened.
Fang Heng couldn"t help but slow down his pace.
The three companions from the Tree Whisperers Alliance, who had been following Fang Heng, saw him stop but didn"t hesitate; instead, they quickened their steps and pa.s.sed him.
"Swoosh! Swoosh!"
Suddenly, several mottled flower snakes darted out from the cracks in the rocks on both sides!
"Watch out!"
Ana, who was at the front of the group with a robust physique, saw the shadows ahead and immediately shouted to alert everyone, simultaneously swinging the machete in her hand forward!
"Crack!"
A half-meter-long patterned snake in mid-air was cleaved in two and fell to the ground.
The reactions of the other two weren"t as quick.
Despite hearing Ana"s warning and attempting to evade, one of them was still bitten by the suddenly darting snake!
Ana swung her machete repeatedly, escorting the injured person back.
"Swish! Swish!"
The group immediately drew their beam weapons from their backpacks and retaliated against the approaching flower snakes, clearing them out.
"Not good, the snakes are highly venomous!"
Seeing their companion"s lips turn purple, Ana immediately realized the severity of the situation. She took out clean water to clean the wound and applied ant.i.toxin from the backpack to the injured area.
The injured person"s pale face gradually regained color.
They managed to pull through for the time being.
Ana and the others looked ahead at the pa.s.sage again, their eyes flashing with vigilance.
The pa.s.sage was long, and who knew how many poisonous snakes lurked within the cracks of the rock walls on either side.
"It seems the situation is not good."
Ana spoke and picked up a stone from the ground, then forcefully threw it towards the depths of the pa.s.sage.
"Smack!"
The stone heavily struck the side of the rock wall.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...!"
Immediately, more than ten snakes of various sizes were disturbed and emerged from the cracks in the rock wall, only to quickly retreat back into the crevices.
This was bad.
A sinking feeling settled in the hearts of the group.
They had heard from Osman that the Ring of the Ages was fraught with dangers, but they hadn"t expected to encounter such trouble before even fully entering the gorge.