Chapter 130: The True Deal

Night fell once again. After orienting himself, Lu Chen soon appeared in the vicinity of the giant tree.

As before, sensing the presence of prey, the massive tree immediately grew restless. Countless roots and branches swept toward him like pythons, blotting out the sky.

A cold glint flickered in Lu Chen’s beastly eyes. As his claws touched the ground, he infused them with the laws of energy he had just comprehended. Instantly, the area within a hundred-square-meter radius around him transformed into a muddy, viscous swamp.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Successive explosions erupted one after another. Although Lu Chen’s body was protected by a thick armor of mud, he still felt the impact of the massive shockwaves. The synergy of his two mutated abilities produced power several times greater than before.

Countless wood shards and leaves were sent flying. A vacuum was violently blasted open within the mist, causing the white vapors to surge and churn.

A shrill, piercing scream emanated from the trunk. Indeed, this thing could no longer be described merely as a plant; it was more like the "plant-like life form" mentioned in the information provided by the humans.

When the explosions finally ceased, Lu Chen saw that the giant tree had been blasted in half. Only the edge of the trunk held on, barely preventing a total collapse thanks to the connection of the bark—a true testament to the tree's resilience.

Suddenly, he turned his head toward the center of the mangled trunk. A thick, bloody stench wafted from there, accompanied by an alluring, subtle fragrance.

Filled with curiosity, Lu Chen approached. He saw a blood-red object pulsing slightly in the heart of the trunk. Even after such a violent explosion, it remained intact.

"What is this..."

Damn it!

Upon seeing the appearance of the red object, Lu Chen was completely stunned: the thing looked exactly like an animal's heart! It was pulsating rhythmically, with thick, sturdy tubes extending directly into the trunk. Every time it writhed, it seemed to gather blood energy.

Could a tree with a heart still be called a tree? The bizarre nature of this strange dimension once again exceeded his imagination.

Soon, the astonishment in Lu Chen’s eyes was replaced by longing. Was this thing poisonous? Could it be eaten? Regardless, he decided to harvest it first.

With a slight shift of his consciousness, a claw formed from gathered earth reached out and wrapped around the heart-shaped object.

"Hiss, hiss..."

In the next second, the tree seemed to suffer a fatal blow, its screams becoming continuous and frantic. The remaining branches and roots went completely mad, flailing through the air and attacking Lu Chen with desperate speed. Clearly, the entity had sensed a mortal threat.

Boom, boom...

The explosions resumed. Crunch... Lu Chen did not hesitate; he seized the opportunity to tear the heart-shaped object from the trunk and retreated rapidly into the distance.

Unexpectedly, the moment the object was removed, the flailing branches seemed to instantly lose their vitality, dropping from mid-air and hanging limp against the trunk, falling completely silent. It seemed his guess was correct: the heart-shaped object was the core of the giant tree. It was its presence that granted the tree consciousness and the ability to hunt. Deprived of the tree’s nourishment, the object eventually stopped pulsing.

Filled with anticipation, he used his claw to cut off a small piece and placed it in his mouth to taste—or rather, to appraise.

"Prehistoric Demon-Devouring Tree Psionic Wood Core. Provides 300 energy points..."

How much?!

At that moment, Lu Chen truly felt that the Misty Forest or the Hot Spring Valley was his lucky land. First, he found a spiritual vein, then encountered a prehistoric marching termite colony, and a few days ago, humans had delivered Grade 3 spirit stones. Now, he had obtained a Prehistoric Demon-Devouring Tree Psionic Wood Core... His luck had been absolutely explosive lately!

A small piece provided 300 energy points; a chunk this size must be worth tens of thousands!

Lu Chen couldn't wait to swallow the entire Psionic Wood Core, and an indescribable sense of happiness welled up. It tasted quite good, with the rich, mellow flavor of foie gras and caviar... Over 50,000 energy points—this already surpassed the value of a Grade 3 spirit stone.

Such a bountiful reward made Lu Chen once again consider bringing his three saltwater crocodiles here to settle. However, it was just a thought. The environment of the misty dimension was peculiar and hidden with many powerful, vicious beasts. Even Lu Chen could not guarantee his own safety, let alone theirs. Thus, it was fine to treat it as a hunting ground or a mine for now, but living here was out of the question; the danger was currently too high. At the very least, the waterfall dimension was more suitable for the saltwater crocodiles.

After fully digesting the Psionic Wood Core, Lu Chen checked the information regarding his evolution level on the system panel.

Evolution Level: 5 (When the host accumulates 10 million energy points, the next level of evolution will be unlocked. Current completion: 69.2%).

With completion nearing 70%, it meant that in another three million energy points, he could become a Level 6 saltwater crocodile. Originally, he had estimated it would take two months, but at this speed, it wouldn't take nearly that long. More importantly, if his deal with the humans was successful, he would also gain a large sum of spirit stones.

After exiting the misty dimension, Lu Chen immediately contacted Dong Mingjun via the communicator.

"Your Excellency Dragon King, may I ask what orders you have?" Upon receiving Lu Chen's call request, Captain Dong appeared very happy and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Ever since the two sides agreed to cooperate that day, the giant mutated crocodile had disappeared again. The emergency response team had deployed multiple drones to search the Tiannan Mountains but found no traces. Meanwhile, the communication device had been hijacked by a group of monkeys who used it to watch movies and television. The monkey king, in particular, had developed a great interest in "The Story of a Bald Lumberjack and Two Bears." The staff in charge of monitoring had been too afraid to miss the giant crocodile, so they had helplessly watched several hundred episodes alongside them, essentially reliving their childhood memories.

Just as they thought the creature had returned to the Madura primeval forest, the communicator finally connected again.

"Captain Dong, a set of... sword cultivation techniques from another world... plus a broken alien spacecraft. Are you interested?" Lu Chen asked in an awkward tone.

"Cultivation techniques? Did you obtain them from the strange dimension?" Captain Dong exclaimed excitedly upon hearing this.

If this were true, it would have a major impact on the country's supernatural department. One had to realize that it had been over three months since the dawn of the Great Transformation Era, and research into mutated abilities had been progressing very slowly. Those humans who had successfully undergone mutations were currently only at a very superficial level of application. The main reason for this was that everyone was "feeling their way across the river," lacking corresponding cultivation methods to allow them to unleash their true potential. Due to various reasons in the past, even the ancient martial arts sects in the country had not preserved complete cultivation methods.

Therefore, if the cultivation techniques offered by the saltwater crocodile were effective, everything would change. In short... the value was immense.

"Correct," Lu Chen nodded his massive head and replied affirmatively.

"Your Excellency Dragon King, please wait a moment. I will report this to my superiors immediately..."

Just half an hour later, Dong Mingjun called back.

"Your Excellency Dragon King, we are willing to offer 1,000 Grade 1 spirit stones to obtain the sword cultivation techniques and the alien spacecraft..."

"10,000 Grade 1 spirit stones, or 100 Grade 3 spirit stones," Lu Chen continued to speak in his awkward tone.