Chapter 1234: Attack on the Mother Tree

*Rustle—*

A howling gale brushed past Chen Ling’s ears.

As he slowly opened his eyes, leaves were dancing wildly in the storm. The trees on the isolated island were rolling like waves, as if they were about to be uprooted by this terrifying gale at any moment...

Chen Ling frowned and looked into the distance, where an ancient castle was emitting an eerie, faint light in the shadows.

"Storm Island..."

"Calamity of Thought, it’s you again."

Chen Ling clearly remembered that he had just fallen asleep, and yet upon opening his eyes, he was here again... Over the past half year, Chen Ling had almost never dreamed of the Calamity of Thought; he had almost forgotten its existence.

But now it seemed that even if he ignored the Calamity of Thought, it had no intention of letting him go.

The wailing wind swirled in Chen Ling’s ears. He didn't know if it was his imagination, but the storm on Storm Island was far more terrifying than it had been half a year ago; he could barely stand on this hill.

From this gale, Chen Ling could vaguely sense the anger and urgency of the Calamity of Thought.

"I said, I don't intend to return to the Ghost-Mocking Abyss," Chen Ling said indifferently.

"I know you’re in a hurry, but your life or death... what does that have to do with me?"

*ROAR—!!*

The storm around Chen Ling erupted again, as if someone were roaring angrily in his ear.

Chen Ling, however, was completely unbothered. He didn't fear the Calamity of Thought; even if it had the guts, it wouldn't dare kill him in a dream... The situation facing the five World-Ending Calamities was equally dire. If they angered the Calamity of Mockery, the Gray World would likely fall into internal chaos before they could even conquer the human domains.

The gale whipped up by the Calamity of Thought continued furiously for a while, as if questioning and threatening, but after realizing that Chen Ling remained indifferent, it gradually weakened, accompanied only by some chilling sounds.

After that, Chen Ling’s consciousness plummeted, and he woke up from his bed with a start.

The sky outside the Mother Tree was dim and lightless. Under the deep night, the entire Gray World was terrifyingly silent...

Chen Ling’s mood quickly returned to calm. After being messed with by the Calamity of Thought, he couldn't sleep anyway, so he simply got up, washed his face, took the last volume of fusion theory books, and sat back at his desk to study carefully.

Time passed minute by minute, and before he knew it, the faint light of dawn rose in the sky.

Chen Ling glanced at the calendar on the table. Today was the day for another in-class quiz on fusion theory. He packed the books he needed and pushed the door open early.

"Good morning, Brother Chen Ling!"

"Morning, Xiao Tao."

"Good... Good morning, King Chen Ling!"

"Xiao Bai, why do you look even darker today?"

“……”

Many students greeted Chen Ling along the way, and he responded to each one. Over the half year in the Fusion Faction, Chen Ling’s mood had recovered quite well, and he was no longer the "strangers keep out" person he had been when he first arrived. Although his master from the Ancient Treasure of the Opera Path had left him, he had slowly found a sense of belonging here.

Moreover, Chen Ling was very confident about today’s quiz. He estimated that his ranking would rise by three or four places. After finishing this book, he should be able to fully master fusion theory. Thinking that he wouldn't have to stay up late to catch up on lessons anymore, his steps felt much lighter.

Chen Ling arrived at the cafeteria. Today’s breakfast was pickled vegetables with white porridge. Seeing the thin layer of rice grains floating on top, he subconsciously frowned.

But he still took a portion and sat in a corner to eat alone.

He scooped up a spoonful of porridge and was about to put it in his mouth when, the next moment, the ground beneath his feet suddenly shook!

*Hum, hum, hum—*

A harsh creaking sound erupted from all around, and Chen Ling’s gaze sharpened.

"Another Calamity migration?" Chen Ling looked outside the tree hole, as if he had discovered something, his eyes narrowing slightly...

"No, that’s not right..."

"This is..."

*CRACK—!!*

A hideous crack suddenly burst open from the inner wall of the Mother Tree beside Chen Ling!

This crack was over two meters wide, piercing directly through the walls of two floors. The children eating nearby let out screams, looking around in terror...

It wasn't just here; the entire Mother Tree was shaking violently. Dense cracks were spreading both inside and out, and one could even see thin, broken branches falling from the canopy above!

The children were scared witless, standing blankly on the cracked wooden floor, at a loss for what to do.

"RUN!!"

Chen Ling shouted, ignoring everything else. More than a dozen red paper tentacles sprouted from under his sleeves, grabbing the children and soaring into the air to rush outside!

*BOOM—!!*

The next moment, the tree house where the cafeteria was located collapsed with a roar.

Fortunately, it was still early, and there weren't many children in the cafeteria. Thanks to Chen Ling’s extremely fast reaction, almost no one was injured. As Chen Ling landed with them on the ground in front of the Mother Tree, those young figures stared with wide eyes toward the Mother Tree...

It wasn't just the cafeteria. From this angle, the entire outer shell of the Mother Tree was covered in some kind of eerie roots. These roots came from deep within the Gray World, constantly tearing and shaking the outer wall of the Mother Tree, and dense cracks were spreading wildly in every corner!

"Mother Tree... Mother Tree!!"

"How is this possible? The Mother Tree has a natural ability to repel Calamities, how could it..."

"Teacher Ye!! Holy Son!! Xiao Tao!! Linglong!!!"

“……”

The children saved by Chen Ling were terrified by this scene. They had grown up safely inside the Mother Tree until now and had never imagined it would suffer such a terrifying attack. They shouted anxiously, wanting to rush back in, but were grabbed by Chen Ling.

"You stay outside, I’m going to save them!"

The bright red opera robe flashed into the Mother Tree like lightning.

Chen Ling knew very well that although the origin of this Mother Tree was unknown, it did indeed have a natural power to repel Calamities... But that was limited to ordinary Calamities.

The simplest example: Chen Ling himself was the Calamity of Mockery; he could enter and exit the Mother Tree without being affected at all. But it was very difficult for anything below the World-Ending level to get close to this place; for instance, Wu Yi and the others could only dig holes around the Mother Tree.

The only things in this world capable of harming the Mother Tree were World-Ending level entities.

Looking at it this way, the identity of the attacker was already quite obvious...

"It’s the Calamity of Turbidity!!"

Zhao Yi rushed out from the direction of the dormitory area, carrying several children, and roared with bloodshot eyes, "Get away from the Mother Tree! It’s going to collapse!!"

The violent tremors had long since awakened all the children from their sleep. At this moment, in the first-floor dormitory area, a large number of figures were running out in terror, sprinting away from the Mother Tree amidst the crumbling wooden debris and the dancing, thick roots!

At the edge of the distant horizon, countless Calamity trunks and roots, like a swaying forest of flesh and blood, were slowly approaching...