ABRIWMTHM Chapter 137

As Chi Yao’s mocking words fell, the attack from the king beast was almost instantaneous.

A barrier was established between Chi Yao and Shi Xing right after.

The mental power attack collided with the barrier.

Resisting—

An explosion.

Chi Yao’s barrier at the front was shattered by the king beast’s attack, while Shi Xing’s barrier at the back absorbed part of the mental power from the king beast’s attack. When Shi Xing didn’t reinforce it, the barrier just happened to meet the attack, fragmenting once again.

The king beast was stronger than they were.

By quite a bit.

Things were becoming tricky.

With the two barriers down, Shi Xing launched an attack at the king beast, which naturally didn’t dare to harm him. Chi Yao coordinated with him, and after a few exchanges, both sides tacitly withdrew.

One of the claws of the king beast was now bald in a patch, a result of Shi Xing’s devouring ability.

Both Shi Xing and Chi Yao had expended a considerable amount of mental power, while also grasping the strength of the king beast.

In short, for the two of them, killing the king beast and retreating unscathed was nearly impossible.

Even if Shi Xing sacrificed himself to devour the king beast, he wasn’t sure he had a hundred percent success rate.

His devouring ability had only reached its limits during the last pursuit.

After returning to the empire, there wouldn’t be so many star beasts for him to practice on, and he was uncertain.

But the feeling… it would be very difficult.

The king beast was likely the strongest star beast in terms of mental power that he and Chi Yao had ever encountered.

“I remember now.”

The king beast spoke slowly.

“The double kings of the empire, you have their mental power on you.”

“They,” after pausing, unsure if it was sarcasm or genuine confusion, the king beast with heterochromatic eyes asked, “are they still alive?”

This was too provocative. Knowing the reason behind Chi Yao’s parents’ early deaths, Shi Xing subconsciously glanced at Chi Yao.

However, Chi Yao’s expression was calm, showing no intention of attacking.

“How could humans compare their lifespans to star beasts?”

Before the words were completed, it was a typical half-finished statement.

But the king beast nodded, “I agree.”

It actually understood.

This, in some way, was unsettling.

It was just that the way of speaking was too much like someone, which shouldn’t be.

Both Shi Xing and Chi Yao felt the increasing pressure in their minds.

Yet they didn’t show it on their faces.

The king beast licked at the fur that had been cut off from its claw, slowly saying, “You are not my opponents.”

Shi Xing’s heart skipped a beat.

Chi Yao’s initial provocative remark was meant to anger the king beast, testing its strength. Shi Xing understood his intent; the king beast getting angered meant its subsequent actions would synchronize with them. But the fact that the king beast could understand… this brought Shi Xing’s sense of strangeness to its peak since entering Blue Star.

Chi Yao also pressed his eyebrows down but didn’t let his words lose momentum.

“When you attacked our star system before, you thought it was quite easy too.”

The king beast replied, “Interesting.”

The brown star beast standing by was shocked by what it was witnessing.

It was astonished that there were actually beings capable of injuring a king beast. There was anger, but it was minimal. More than that, it was shock.

It hadn’t seen a star beast challenge the king beast’s authority since birth.

This was the first time.

Chi Yao began to ask about something else, “How did you learn the language? By relying on the teaching materials left by Blue Star?”

Shi Xing’s heart stirred.

The king beast, however, ignored him, its golden and silver-colored eyes looking directly at Shi Xing, “When are you preparing to take me away from Blue Star?”

Shi Xing replied, “We haven’t settled the terms yet.”

The king beast said, “That’s true.”

“Then let’s start negotiating now.”

Calmly, it presented an astounding statement.

Shi Xing actually didn’t want to negotiate right now.

In the plan, today should have been for them to first get acquainted with Blue Star, then learn about the current situation there, but…

The king beast had a higher intelligence than they had anticipated. Also, if it had learned the language, it might understand the cultural environment of the Twin Star Galaxy more thoroughly.

Because it had studied on Blue Star, as a planet of therapists, there shouldn’t be any other planets that were as well-received by the other planets of the galaxy as Blue Star, nor any that maintained good diplomatic relations with all the other planets in the galaxy.

Hesitating for a moment, Chi Yao answered for Shi Xing, “Okay.”

“Is that how we negotiate?”

The words brushed past as the king beast scrutinized Shi Xing’s appearance, concealing Shi Xing’s abnormality.

“That’s how we negotiate.”

After staring at Chi Yao for a moment, the king beast said.

The negotiation proceeded with Chi Yao representing them.

It was relatively quick.

The conditions were accepted by the king beast, but they hit a snag at the final step.

“What do you mean by forging a contract in the mental sea?” The king beast hesitated and articulated each word slowly.

“One of the capabilities of Blue Star humans, the contract can bind the mental sea. If violated, the mental sea will be shattered.”

“Of course,” Chi Yao added, “it’s beast cores for you.”

The king beast was at a loss for words.

With a face full of skepticism and disbelief.

Chi Yao said, “I have it in my mental sea, I can release my mental power for you to feel it, but it’s impossible for you to scour my mental sea; the trust between us hasn’t reached that level yet.”

The contract was activated by Shi Xing, and the king beast felt another type of energy wave emerging from Chi Yao’s mental sea, which wasn’t his own mental power.

The king beast was utterly silent.

Chi Yao continued, “You agreed so quickly; you don’t think we have no way to impose restrictions, right?”

“Is there any clause now that allows you to back out?”

The king beast narrowed its eyes, the look in them turning dangerous.

This confirmed Shi Xing and Chi Yao’s suspicions; all the promises made, the king beast would not fulfill them, so whatever they proposed, it would agree to because, for it, it had never intended to comply.

For a mere piece of paper, the king beast would naturally respond with “Sure, sure, sure,” agreeing first and figuring things out later.

Taking a deep breath, Shi Xing once again calmed his displeasure.

Finally, unexpectedly, an unexpected incident occurred.

This time, it was the king beast saying it needed to think things over.

Making this request itself was meant to trouble the king beast, and Chi Yao feigned reluctance, arguing with the king beast for a while before reluctantly accepting the other’s proposal to consider.

However, some other demands required immediate fulfillment from the king beast.

Like narrating everything that truly occurred on Blue Star.

As well as the current situation on Blue Star.

And allowing them to roam freely on Blue Star for inspection.

These were trivial matters, and the king beast simply stated, “No problem.”

But it was not done by it directly; it called an old star beast, which had been with Shi Xing and Chi Yao since its invasion of Blue Star, and was now clearly nearing the end of its life.

Shi Xing said, “I thought you would speak to us directly.”

The king beast’s reply had become indistinguishable from what a person would say, “I think it’s best that we not have any further conflicts before leaving Blue Star; otherwise, if I accidentally kill one of you, it won’t be good for either side. What do you think?”

A threat, nakedly.

Shi Xing gritted his teeth and remained silent.

Chi Yao asked, “That star beast won’t use energy to relay messages, right? It can talk?”

Star beasts that know the language of Blue Star should all be those born on Blue Star, not from its original group.

The king beast replied, “Not much, but it can talk about what happened before, which should be enough.”

This star beast was a partner to the king beast in learning the language but was not very smart and had little interest in the language of the galaxy, having learned only a fraction, so it spoke in a jumbled manner with inaccurate pronunciation.

However, it could understand, so it would suffice.

The story was short and not vivid, just a few sparse words, but it made Shi Xing truly feel the destruction of Blue Star.

The king beast grasped people for healing; no one was willing, and then what the star beasts were best at—plunder and slaughter—occurred on this planet.

Until the last Blue Star human was killed, it came to an end.

The extinction of a planet’s race, the energy on the planet exploded, coupled with the special energy field surrounding the exterior of Blue Star, the accumulation of energy opened a wormhole, causing Blue Star to shift to its current galaxy.

Indeed, it was short, just a few sentences, but the reflected real scene from those years made Shi Xing not dare to think too much.

After dismissing the star beast, Chi Yao said solemnly, “The intelligence of the king beast is very high.”

Shi Xing nodded, “Yes.”

Not only could it understand human affairs, but it would also learn to avoid conflicts. Comparing it to a human’s thoughts, aside from differing perspectives, there was no obvious distinction.

The two remained silent, yet they understood each other’s meaning.

Such a king beast was exceedingly difficult to kill.

Shi Xing continued, “Even if we try to deflect it, it would do the same to us.”

Describing the negotiation between the two sides today with insincerity was quite fitting; both sides were spewing nonsense, considering only their own goals, regardless of what actual conditions were raised or whether the other side could fulfill them.

The king beast intended to seek revenge on them later.

They, too, found it inconsequential to promise anything to a beast destined to die.

Shi Xing let out a breath; with no solution in sight, he felt a headache coming.

After a moment of silence, Chi Yao suggested, “Didn’t you say you wanted to tour Blue Star? Shall we go now?”

The small mothership was not large, and the king beast would likely need two days to think it over. They could explore Blue Star in those two days.

Shi Xing finally softened his expression and nodded.

Before setting out, they needed to eat something. Worried they might run out of food, Xu Jin and Yan Changyue had prepared a lot of cooked food frozen for their use. After finishing the meal, Chi Yao even juiced two crystal fruits for Shi Xing, and when the juice was served, Shi Xing’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Close your mouth, don’t let your eyes fall out.”

“It was Long Yue who insisted on bringing it; he said you liked to drink, so he prepared it for seven days. If I say I wouldn’t, I feel like he would teach me on the spot. Do you believe that?”

His tone was amusing, making Shi Xing very happy.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

He received it with thanks.

Chi Yao looked at Shi Xing’s cunning smile, paused for a moment, and patted his head.

Since arriving at Blue Star, it was the first time he smiled.

“Drink up, after our nap, we’ll go explore the planet.”

“Mm.”

In the afternoon, they flew around the planet in the mothership.

The original living areas, buildings, of Blue Star had long been abandoned, with no signs of human life.

Fortunately, the Mother Tree at the birthplace remained, though Shi Xing didn’t sense any mental power from the Mother Tree as they passed by, which was somewhat strange.

“It doesn’t look dead; if it were dead, after a hundred years it would have long withered.”

Shi Xing nodded, his gaze filled with worry.

“Let’s come here last.”

“Sure.”

The original city still remained, and the marks of battles were evident, with many collapsed buildings in the residential areas.

Houses that were rarely inhabited were basically abandoned unless there was no star beast activity nearby.

The city had a high density of buildings, and large star beasts were reluctant to enter; plants still grew everywhere, retaining much of their former presence.

Finding a map of Blue Star, they decided to make a trip to the capital.

The capital had no other city that was well-preserved; most battles had occurred there. Shi Xing touched the collapsed walls and ruins, uncertainly saying, “I feel like I can sense the residual mental power above.”

Chi Yao tried, “Indeed, there are residual energy signatures.”

It must have been an intensely fierce battle back then.

Chi Yao couldn’t feel the mental power of the Blue Star humans, but he could feel that of the star beasts was intact.

After silently wandering through the capital, they finally stumbled upon a relatively intact school where Shi Xing found some books and reading materials about Blue Star’s technology to bring back to the mothership.

“Do you want to explore further?”

Shi Xing proposed to leave, and Chi Yao asked him.

Shi Xing wearily shook his head.

He wanted to say something but paused.

After a moment, feeling drained, he said, “No thanks, it’s too distressing; I don’t want to see anymore.”

Everywhere were signs of battle, and inside, they could still see some bloodstains.

The most terrifying thought was that they hadn’t seen a single corpse, implying that they must have all been consumed by the star beasts.

Shi Xing didn’t want to look anymore; these buildings left behind civilization but also suffocating cries of despair.

Chi Yao understood and reached out.

Shi Xing grasped his hand; the two intertwined their fingers, silently leaning against and supporting each other.

The last stop was the birthplace.

Shi Xing had specifically brought a pair of pruning shears, inspired by the Mother Tree of the Imperial Capital, thinking that if there were still Mother Trees left on Blue Star, bringing two might please them. Although Shi Xing had never learned pruning, Chi Yao said he had, having studied theory in the royal art course.

In any case, the pruning shears made it onto the mothership.

Upon arriving at the birthplace, encountering it again after a century was a moving experience for Shi Xing.

Some Mother Trees had already withered and died, but new ones had emerged and grown.

As he approached, Shi Xing finally understood why he wasn’t sensing any mental power; these Mother Trees seemed… inactive?

They couldn’t be compared to the one in the Imperial Capital at all.

What’s going on…?

“What happened?” Shi Xing wondered.

Chi Yao observed for a moment, uncertainly said, “It seems like they are… asleep?”

They had both growth and mental power, but they weren’t moving much.

But do Mother Trees sleep?

Shi Xing approached one and shook it; there was no response, and its activity level was far from when he encountered it on Blue Star.

They seemed completely like the trees in the Imperial Capital, just plants, not in a state between the two.

“Try releasing your mental power,” Chi Yao suggested.

It turned out that Mother Trees indeed could sleep.

Or rather, it was a kind of protective mechanism (as Chi Yao speculated).

When Shi Xing released his mental power, with the first Mother Tree awakening, the mental power spread, revealing a familiar aura. A spectacular scene unfolded before the two of them, as waves spread from the first Mother Tree they touched, causing the once quiet forest to awaken one by one.

The mental power began with the first tree; in Shi Xing’s sight, the lively mental power of the Mother Tree gradually released, filling the entire area.

Shi Xing felt a sense of belonging.

Chi Yao felt as if he was staying in the orchard, and the countless layers of Mother Tree’s mental power overlapping made it impossible to feel any frustration. All he felt was comfort.

That gentleness of mental power unique to Blue Star humans.

When the first tree awakened and discovered Shi Xing, it acted as if it had found a treasure, branches brushing against him.

That day, Chi Yao heard the rustling sound of hundreds of branches shaking.

The Mother Tree seemed to be saying hello.

Shi Xing touched the trunk, filled with countless emotions, ultimately turning into four words, “Long time no see.”

The Mother Tree wanted to pick up Shi Xing, testing it out, wrapping around him and then letting him go, before circling around him and cautiously pulling him in.

Shi Xing asked, “Do you want to take me inside?”

The branches shook as if seeking Shi Xing’s opinion.

Shi Xing nodded, “Sure.”

As soon as the words with mental power were spoken, he suddenly felt a blur and was taken inside by the Mother Tree, excitedly conveying the experience.

In Chi Yao’s vision, Shi Xing’s figure quickly vanished as he was led into the dense canopy by the Mother Tree.

As if treating him like a small child, the Mother Tree passed Shi Xing from one tree to another in a large circle. Chi Yao wasn’t idle either, being guided by the Mother Tree, the deeper they went, the stronger the mental power felt.

It should be taking him to the heart of his birthplace.

While walking, Chi Yao noticed blue fruits hanging on the trees, feeling a hint of oddness.

His thoughts raced—if there were blue fruits on the trees, why hadn’t there been a single Blue Star human on the planet for so many years?

Some of it didn’t make sense, yet he felt that it didn’t seem like the star beasts had consumed them.

After all, there weren’t too many star beasts around here.

Realizing something, he froze for a moment and looked back at the blue fruits.

Do star beasts… eat blue fruits?

The moment that thought crossed his mind, Chi Yao’s first reaction was to frown.

He shook his head, shrugging off these thoughts, following the branches’ direction and continuing forward.

The Mother Tree was friendly to him too; the branches lightly brushed against him but didn’t harm him, only leaving a gentle aura that relaxed him.

Arriving at the central area of the birthplace, Chi Yao saw an open space.

Before long, Shi Xing, who had been passed around, was finally set down. His face was beaming; he was covered in leaves that had fallen from the Mother Tree. The branch that had placed him down seemed reluctant and needed a push from Shi Xing to truly let go.

Chi Yao’s gaze softened as he reached out to help Shi Xing brush off the leaves on him.

Shi Xing smiled, “They haven’t seen people for so long; they’re so happy.”

Especially since it had been over a hundred years since they last met.

Shi Xing sighed, “They’re too enthusiastic.”

Each tree wanted to rub against him, and the next tree would urge another—Shi Xing didn’t know how to describe it.

“Mm, they haven’t seen their child in a long time, I suppose.”

Looking at Shi Xing’s smiling face, Chi Yao softly commented, carefully helping him remove the leaves.

Once Shi Xing was tidied up, he let out a surprised sound, “This place?”

“What happened?”

“This is where the Imperial Mother Tree was transplanted.” Before finishing his sentence, Chi Yao suddenly said, “Shi Xing, look up.”

Shi Xing raised his head and froze at the shocking scene.

The tree trunks and branches were pieced together into a silhouette—of a priest.

“Priest?” Shi Xing murmured absently.

Receiving a sway from a branch.

Chi Yao understood, “They should be saying that you didn’t recognize wrong.”

Next, the branches formed into the shape of a star beast and then into a circle.

Shi Xing didn’t understand, but Chi Yao looked for a while and began to grasp, “Perhaps they want to show you everything that has happened on Blue Star since you left?”

He said it rather uncertainly.

But the Mother Tree responded with a sway.

They sat down in that open space.

Chi Yao’s guess wasn’t wrong; the Mother Tree used branches and leaves to piece together numerous scenes, telling Shi Xing about everything that happened on Blue Star, with the priest’s figure the most frequently seen.

They must have known Shi Xing would return, and the priest had instructed them.

Scene after scene painted a depiction far more detailed than the king beast’s narrative, evoking resonance.

Even if it spoke of the same event, the immersive experience was something words could not replace.

They saw the meetings on Blue Star, witnessed the invasion of the king beast, and the fierce resistance from Blue Star, ultimately seeing the destruction of Blue Star.

The priest arrived at the birthplace, passing away with the company of the Mother Tree.

Shortly after the extinction of humans on Blue Star, the star beasts needed to survive there and would consume blue fruits.

For a while, under this harvesting pattern, the Mother Trees sank into a collective slumber.

Shi Xing looked at the branches, still adorned with blue fruits, rage boiling within his chest.

Chi Yao felt that the Mother Trees knew something; even if they couldn’t speak, they could communicate.

Chi Yao asked, “So, did the priest leave any information?”

Shi Xing asked in sync, “How is the king beast’s beast core good?”

These two questions were essentially one for the Mother Trees.

A blue fruit dropped down to roll before Shi Xing.

Realizing something, Shi Xing trembled as he caught the fruit with his hand.

Chi Yao frowned, “Wait, this isn’t a normal blue fruit.”

Chi Yao visited the Mother Trees often, so he knew what blue fruits were like.

He finally understood why he had felt something was off when he first entered the birthplace; these blue fruits were abnormal, not the regular fruits produced.

“This is…”

“An empty fruit.” Shi Xing said slowly.

Both of them looked towards the Mother Trees.

The Mother Trees swayed their branches in agreement.

Chi Yao understood, “They probably don’t want blue fruits to be consumed, they can’t control the ‘results’ process, but they can choose not to nurture any life within.”

After speaking, they received another confirmation from the Mother Trees.

The guess was correct.

Chi Yao asked, “So, the king beast eats blue fruits? Why?”

Shi Xing gazed at the empty fruit in his hand, slowly answering, “The fruit from a hundred years ago can still nurture life… the ones that need to mature should carry healing mental power.”

When they were young, they couldn’t control their healing mental power.

They only learned to gradually use different mental powers as they grew.

Chi Yao was at a loss for words.

The Mother Trees silently swayed their branches, all excitement gone.

Shi Xing was correct.

Shi Xing tightened his fingers, unable to control the anger within him.

Chi Yao asked, “Then what’s the message the priest left?”

“Did they leave any messages?”

The Mother Trees shook.

Again, they pushed the blue fruit towards the two.

Chi Yao didn’t understand.

Neither did Shi Xing.

The Mother Trees repeated this action several times, thinking they didn’t understand and even made silhouettes with their branches and leaves.

It showed the priest holding the little child named Lily in one hand while holding the blue fruit in the other.

Something flashed through Shi Xing’s mind.

In the Nest of Trees, the Mother Trees had done the same for him…

Countless scenes pieced together, and Shi Xing’s eyes momentarily blurred; suddenly, he spoke.

“I understand now.”

Chi Yao looked at Shi Xing.

But Shi Xing once again focused on the blue fruit, his gaze sharpening with excitement as he murmured.

“So that’s how it is.”

——“Don’t force it. After you return to Blue Star, all the answers will naturally be revealed before your eyes.”

The words of the priest echoed in his ears once more.

So, it actually meant this.