Deep night, silent trees, cicadas chirping in the secluded forest, Chen Bugu climbed up from the ground.
When the sun rose the next day, the sacrifice would begin, and he and the Long-haired Treant would be taken to the sacrificial altar, to be offered to the gods as offerings.
As for the method of offering, it was simple and crude, just like burning paper money for ancestors on Earth: burning them…
The Muka people's bodies were basically composed of wood, and flames would ignite them instantly. From ascending the stage to passing away, it would only take a short half an hour.
Of course, Chen Bugu would not sit idly by. During the day, he specifically observed this stone cage. Although he didn't know its material, it was hard and cold, something he couldn't break.
At the cell door hung a strangely shaped lock, like a small ball, with no keyhole. It resembled a tenon-and-mortise structure, simply placed next to the door, yet it could firmly lock it.
Chen Bugu was a bit surprised at first, not expecting the Muka Tribe to possess such a unique design concept. He then realized that traditional keyholes had no meaning for the Muka people.
When Chen Bugu was thrown in, he had observed this spherical lock. The branches on the Treant guard's fingers split into hundreds of dense strands, each controlling a small part, completing the assembly at an extremely fast speed.
However, this was not a problem for Chen Bugu.
“Hey, you, I'm leaving, what about you?”
Chen Bugu suddenly realized that he still didn't know the Long-haired Treant's name.
“Leaving for what? Don't think the Qianxin Ball Lock is easy to open. That thing has thousands of parts; if you make one wrong move, you can't open it.”
“Moreover, if the Ball Lock is opened incorrectly three times, the guards will immediately receive a signal. Otherwise, why do you think they dared to just throw us in here?”
The Long-haired Treant lay on his side, his back to Chen Bugu, his eyes sleepy, almost yawning.
While the Long-haired Treant was explaining the ingenious design of the spherical lock, Chen Bugu was not idle. The purple light in his eyes had gradually faded.
“Creak~”
The sound of the stone door turning and rubbing was even more jarring in the silent deep night.
Fortunately, their cage's location in the tribe was still relatively secluded, so they weren't discovered.
However, the Long-haired Treant heard it. He was already sitting up, turning around, with a ghost-seeing expression, staring intently at Chen Bugu and the Qianxin Ball Lock in his hand.
“How did you do that?”
The Long-haired Treant moved closer to Chen Bugu, reaching out to take the disassembled Qianxin Ball Lock from his hand.
Chen Bugu shook his hands, dodging the Long-haired Treant.
“You still have the mind to care about this thing? Hurry up and leave, if we're discovered, I can't beat them.”
After speaking, Chen Bugu crouched down and crawled out through the low doorframe.
After running a few steps, Chen Bugu suddenly realized that the Long-haired Treant hadn't followed him out.
He looked back and saw that the guy had actually walked back to his original spot and lay down.
“What are you doing? The door's open, are you really planning to be a sacrifice?”
Chen Bugu suddenly had a headache, not understanding what this Treant was doing.
“It's useless. We are not the gods' opponents. They will find us sooner or later. Just be a sacrifice, it's all the same eventually.”
The Long-haired Treant's tone was lazy, his posture relaxed, as if he had completely given up hope and was just lying down, waiting to die.
Chen Bugu was stunned. He never expected these words to come from a Muka person who claimed to have abandoned the gods.
Chen Bugu no longer had Space-Time abilities, couldn't use Fireball, and his physical quality had dropped to Black Iron Four Star. If he just ran out like this, unfamiliar with the Treant's land, he might very well be caught again soon.
He had originally hoped this Long-haired Treant could provide him with help, but now it seemed that guy was completely a useless lump.
“Then tell me, where else can I find Muka people who have abandoned the gods?”
Chen Bugu didn't want to bother with this Long-haired Treant wanting to stay and be sacrificed, but he had to know where else he could find allies and his companions.
In his conversation with the Long-haired Treant, Chen Bugu had already learned that a small portion of the Muka people had realized they should no longer rely on the gods' power, because this power was uncontrollable and would eventually lead to conflict.
So, while other Muka people knelt down one after another, transforming their legs into roots and re-embedding themselves into the earth, this small portion of Muka people stood, looking directly at the divine radiance.
The gods felt offended and casually brought down divine punishment, killing all the Muka people who stood there on the spot.
Before leaving, the gods issued a command to the Muka Tribe who had submitted to them, telling them to spread the “divine oracle” far and wide, so that the Muka people who were not present could make a choice.
Submit, or die.
After that, the entire Muka Tribe changed. Regardless of age, they all knelt down, bowed their heads, and transformed their legs into root systems, becoming the new Muka Tribe.
Only a small portion of the Muka people, after learning about their ancestors who had stood and died before the gods, made a different choice.
They chose a third path between submission and death—resistance.
They became the Muka people who had abandoned the gods.
Therefore, the enemy of an enemy is a friend. Whether it was to find companions or to acquire that stellar weapon, Chen Bugu needed the help of these Muka people.
However, facing Chen Bugu's question, the Long-haired Treant froze in place. His gaze towards Chen Bugu was very strange.
“Kefuke, your question today… how should I put it… did you hit your head and lose your memory?”
“The Muka people who abandoned the gods, besides you, only I am left.”
Chen Bugu was struck as if by lightning upon hearing this. He had never considered this answer. Then Bai Ting and the others…
“Where did the other Muka people who abandoned the gods go?”
“They were casually killed by the gods.”
“Is there a possibility that new Muka Tribe members have separated from the land and abandoned the gods?”
The Long-haired Treant, hearing Chen Bugu ask this, shook his head with a disdainful laugh.
“Heh, Kefuke, you underestimate the gods too much. Sometimes it's easy to kneel, but it's much harder to stand up again.”
“But I look at you, even with legs, claiming to abandon the gods, yet you kneel more completely than anyone.”
Chen Bugu retorted without showing any weakness.
“You…”
The Long-haired Treant looked as if Chen Bugu's words had hit a raw nerve, and he stood up directly from the ground in anger.
“Heh, if you don't want to come with me, fine, just answer one question.”
Regarding the whereabouts of Bai Ting and the others, Chen Bugu already had a rough guess. If his guess was correct, at least they shouldn't need him to worry.
Therefore, he had to figure out the second purpose of this trip.
“I ask you, among the Muka Tribe, is there a very famous bow?”
The Long-haired Treant looked at Chen Bugu, then extended his hands. The branches in his hands wove and transformed into a large bow, about 1.7 meters long. However, held in the hands of a three-meter-tall Muka Tribe member, it seemed just right.
“Kefuke, your questions are still so strange. You've seen it, the Muka people all possess the ability to 'transform into myriad tools.' We never need any famous weapons, because our bodies are the most powerful weapons.”
Chen Bugu's face was full of black lines, because he had been trying, but he simply couldn't use this talent of the Muka people.
“Alright, alright, I can't transform into weapons, alright.”
“Have you fallen so far that you can't even transform tools? Then I'll give you this bow.”
The Long-haired Treant gently flicked his hand, and the connection between the bow and his arm broke. The transformed longbow fell to the ground, turning into an ordinary wooden bow.
Chen Bugu gently picked up the wooden bow, finding it very crude. It was just a suitably shaped piece of wood wrapped with a bowstring woven from tree bark. Such a thing would only be used for firewood in peaceful times…
“Take it. You can't transform weapons, so you can't fight them empty-handed, right?”
The Long-haired Treant then conjured a few wooden arrows and handed them to Chen Bugu.
Chen Bugu felt that the Treant had a point. The Wind Gale Dagger was missing in his storage ring, and he indeed needed a weapon.
He reached out and took them, said thank you to the Long-haired Treant, then turned to leave.
Although the stone prison was in a secluded location with few guards around, he had already delayed for a considerable amount of time. The longer he waited, the more complications might arise, so it was best to escape as soon as possible.
“Kefuke, I have one last question I want to ask you.”
“Go ahead.”
“Where did you get your mental abilities from? Is it really the power of a demon?”
Chen Bugu turned his head, his gaze fixed on the Long-haired Treant's eyes, speaking each word clearly and forcefully.
“That is my own power!”
After speaking, Chen Bugu no longer hesitated, turning and swiftly darting into the nearby forest.
The Long-haired Treant stood still, seemingly struggling with something, then also ran out of the stone prison, chasing Chen Bugu's figure and disappearing into the dark night forest.
…
The next morning, Chen Bugu and the Long-haired Treant were resting in a cave about fifteen kilometers southeast of the camp when they suddenly heard sounds from outside the cave.
Chen Bugu's right hand immediately rested on his bow.
“Someone!”
He and the Long-haired Treant exchanged glances and nodded at each other.
Last night, after Chen Bugu left, the Long-haired Treant, for some unknown reason, changed his mind and quickly followed Chen Bugu.
Then, the Long-haired Treant led him to hide in this cave, saying that it was secluded and even Muka Tribe members who were very familiar with the forest would not be able to find it.
However, at this moment, through the warm and dazzling morning sun, they had already seen five Muka Tribe members appear at the cave entrance.
Through the backlit silhouettes, they clearly saw that the feet of those five Treants were rooted in the earth.
The Long-haired Treant's hands immediately transformed into arrows, ready to be fired at any moment.
“Wait a moment!”
“It might be our own people.”
Chen Bugu pressed down on the Long-haired Treant's hand, which was about to be raised.
“Kefuke, do you know what you're saying!”
The Long-haired Treant found him increasingly absurd.
“I know!”
“Give me a few seconds, I'll confirm. If something's wrong, we can still fight.”
Chen Bugu's right hand gripped the bowstring, and his left hand rested on an arrow on the ground.
He stared intently at the five silhouettes at the cave entrance and softly uttered five words.
“Odd changes, even doesn't!”