Chapter 190: The Fight of Two Tigers

Without the colorful light shield covering it, the Bottle Gourd looked more real, appearing like an ordinary plant. But Zhang Mu knew deep down that this was no ordinary gourd.

Just now, it was this plant that fully absorbed his massive elemental crystal. He knew nothing about this plant, all he had heard about it was hearsay. He hadn’t even seen the real appearance of this Bottle Gourd.

Despite longing for it for a long time and the imminent return of the white fox or Long Qi, Zhang Mu, faced with this ordinary gourd within arm’s reach, hesitated, unwilling to take a step forward.

Harvest and risk go hand in hand.

Breaking through the last defense line didn’t mean Zhang Mu could easily pluck the hanging Bottle Gourd on the stem. He found himself in a dilemma with nothing left around. Would he rely on the Obsidian Beetle and mutated wolfhound to investigate?

Zhang Mu hesitated; he felt somewhat confident about the Obsidian Beetle, but if the mutated wolfhound encountered danger, it might not survive.

After much thought, Zhang Mu decided to proceed by himself. With the Blood Lotus, he could sacrifice its vines to overcome any unforeseen situations. A few vines wouldn’t harm the essence of the Blood Lotus; given enough time and energy, it could easily recover.

Approaching the edge of the colorful light shield, raising his left arm slightly, Zhang Mu concentrated on the direction of the Bottle Gourd. The Blood Lotus responded, obediently following Zhang Mu’s lead in a stealthy manner towards the roots of the Bottle Gourd.

Zhang Mu didn’t dare to pull Bottle Gourd away all at once. Instead, he gently extended the two smallest vines of Blood Lotus to rest on its stem and slowly reach upwards.

Great, still no reaction so far.

Zhang Mu didn’t relax his guard just because of this. He wouldn’t doubt his intuition from earlier. The current calm was only surface-level and couldn’t mean that the mature Bottle Gourd had no final defense measures.

Of course, he hoped his worries were unnecessary and that resolving this quickly would be the best outcome.

However, things were starting to take a turn for the worst, according to Zhang Mu’s expectations.

Just as Zhang Mu was about to touch the main body of Bottle Gourd with the vines of Blood Lotus, he suddenly felt a warning in his heart and wanted to move away from the stem of the Bottle Gourd. Even if he was just a tiny distance away from capturing it, he didn’t hesitate to retract Blood Lotus.

However, Zhang Mu’s body didn’t follow his thoughts, and his sudden intuition didn’t help him.

Because his speed of retreat was just too slow.

Right as Zhang Mu lifted the vines slightly, an astonishing change immediately occurred.

Zhang Mu’s eyes focused on Bottle Gourd, but it remained still in its original place, without any sound.

What changed were its roots, the plain and simple green roots now turned bright red. As the vines of the Blood Lotus were about to leave, small sharp thorns emerged from the surface of the roots, piercing into the body of the Blood Lotus, binding them together tightly.

Only one vine was firmly pierced, seemingly draining the power from the Blood Lotus. This power, similar to the force that extinguished the elemental crystal earlier, was disintegrating the structure of the vine while gaining energy.

Zhang Mu, as a precaution, tried to abandon the vine, but suddenly found himself unable to control the Blood Lotus.

Despite his increased mental control, he faced strong resistance from the Blood Lotus Seed parasitizing his left arm.

At that moment, the Blood Lotus Seed sent him a vague but strong desire.

It didn’t want to abandon its vine; it wanted to challenge the Bottle Gourd, another plant!

Zhang Mu’s heart was almost breaking as he realized he couldn’t control the Blood Lotus at a critical moment.

He always thought he had absolute authority over the Blood Lotus, but reality gave him a rude awakening. He didn’t possess complete control; it was merely lent to him.

Blood Lotus felt challenged, as it was a rare mutated plant species that originated from ancient fossilized lotus seeds. Now, Zhang Mu made it encounter a similar creature with devouring abilities and the instinct of Blood Lotus sparked its intelligence, leading it to resist Zhang Mu’s will.

Zhang Mu had no say in the matter, as Blood Lotus directly pulled him over. Although the Blood Lotus Seed was currently dependent on Zhang Mu’s body for nourishment, it entwined itself with the root stems of the daring Bottle Gourd that could pierce through its body.

It wrapped around the root stems of the Bottle Gourd, which retaliated fiercely by thrusting its sharp thorns into the once resilient body of Blood Lotus. The vines of Blood Lotus reciprocated by sending roots into the body of Bottle Gourd, causing havoc and intertwining with the thorns.

At the spot where they unraveled, both sides were absorbing, depriving, and contending for energy as if fighting over a piece of land.

Helplessly watching, Zhang Mu saw that the energy had not affected him yet, so he could only observe like a bystander, unable to intervene as the root stems of his Blood Lotus and Bottle Gourd were entangled. How could he act?

Standing still in the wind, Bottle Gourd watched silently alongside him.

Would they really have to wait until one emerged victorious?

What would happen if Blood Lotus won? If the root stems of the gourd emerged victorious, would he not be used as fertilizer?

A shiver ran down Zhang Mu’s back as he looked at the battlefield between the two, feeling a sense of unexplained panic.

Blood Lotus, if you want to fight, you have to win. If you lose, do you want me to cut off my left arm to break free?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep