When Xiao Sheng saw the crude oil flowing on the ground, he immediately felt something was wrong. The reason was simple: this fire was likely man-made. So, why did this happen now and not earlier? It happened precisely when he was fighting the treant.
Xiao Sheng was not foolish. Whoever took the opportunity to attack the cave when the treant was away and the cave had no defenses must have used the ability management bureau. While the ability management bureau was fighting on the front lines, they seized the chance to launch a sneak attack, thus causing the mutated plant to be caught off guard and heavily wounded!
"Could this have something to do with Shen Feng?" Xiao Sheng thought to himself.
The people from the ability management bureau could be ruled out first. During this time, Xiao Sheng had been with them all along. They had no reason or opportunity to do this. Then, the only remaining people who were so familiar with the actions of the ability management bureau were Shen Feng and his group.
At this moment, Xiao Sheng had narrowed down the target of the arsonist, believing it was most likely Shen Feng's group, and possibly even Shen Feng leading the operation.
However, at this moment, Xiao Sheng remembered something important: the plant heart was still on top of the giant treant's crown. Since he had found his target, he needed to capture it. Fortunately, it was still at a considerable height from the sea of flames on the ground, so the flames would not harm the plant heart anytime soon.
With this thought, Xiao Sheng immediately charged towards the giant treant. The billowing black smoke from the burning crude oil had already blackened the top of the cave and the surrounding walls. Moreover, the fire spread quickly. Crude oil was still liquid, and wherever it flowed, it would immediately catch fire. The flames leaped upwards, reaching heights of three to four meters.
Although Xiao Sheng was immune to fire attacks, he could not avoid the smoke. The black smoke kept rising. This black smoke was actually the result of incomplete combustion of crude oil. After walking a short distance in the sea of flames, Xiao Sheng's body had already turned black, stained by the residue of incomplete combustion.
Xiao Sheng could not avoid this situation and could only endure the interference of the black smoke, continuously approaching the giant treant.
Besides Xiao Sheng, the ordinary treants also wanted to rescue the plant heart. However, ordinary treants did not have Xiao Sheng's immunity to fire. Thus, within two minutes of falling into the sea of flames, the treants turned into charcoal. Only the giant treant, due to its massive size, could withstand the sea of flames for a longer period.
Xiao Sheng quickly reached the giant treant's side and instantly felt a bit dizzy. He knew that he was experiencing oxygen deprivation, otherwise, he would not be in such a state for no reason.
"I must leave immediately, otherwise, the oxygen in the cave will be consumed by these flames," Xiao Sheng muttered, then continued to climb the giant treant. When Xiao Sheng finally reached the treetop, he saw the plant heart on the crown.
"Hey, I know you can understand what I'm saying. Now I'll give you a chance. I'll take you away from here, and I'll protect you in the future. Hurry up and consider it. Staying here is certain death, so you'd better come with me." Xiao Sheng wasted no time and directly stated his intention to take the mutated plant. In the current situation, the mutated plant had almost no other choice; agreeing to Xiao Sheng's suggestion was the most sensible thing to do.
However, the plant heart showed no response to Xiao Sheng's words, as if it couldn't understand anything. Moreover, the plant heart's pulsation was slowing down at this moment.
Xiao Sheng couldn't help but glance at the sea of flames below. The flames on the ground had already climbed onto the giant treant. It was only a matter of time before the entire giant treant was engulfed in flames. In this situation, the sea of flames could no longer be extinguished directly.
"Hey, ugly, say something! Don't pretend to be dead. If you don't speak, I'll assume you've agreed," Xiao Sheng continued.
The plant heart still showed no movement, only extending a few vines to secure itself to the giant treant.
Seeing the urgency of the situation, Xiao Sheng couldn't care less. He had come all this way, how could he leave dejectedly? With this thought, Xiao Sheng stepped forward, swung his hand, and cut off the vines securing the plant heart. He then hugged the plant heart and turned to leave.
But at this moment, Xiao Sheng felt something was wrong. When the plant heart fell into his hands, its pulsation had completely stopped!
Upon discovering this, Xiao Sheng felt a sense of unease. He couldn't help but look at the plant heart in his hand and found that behind it, on the plant heart, which was the size of a washbasin, there was a cut. Seeing this cut, Xiao Sheng understood. No wonder the plant heart's pulsation had become so slow; it had been stabbed!
"Damn it, a wasted trip!" Xiao Sheng couldn't help but curse. He hadn't expected that after all his efforts, he still couldn't capture the plant heart. It had been stabbed before he even entered the cave.
This immediately gave Xiao Sheng the feeling of "drawing water with a bamboo basket," all in vain. He had put in so much time and effort, more than others could imagine, only to end up with this result. Xiao Sheng found it completely unacceptable.
At this moment, Xiao Sheng felt a surge of power within him. This feeling of immense power was so wonderful to Xiao Sheng; he had never felt so powerful. However, after this surge of power, Xiao Sheng felt an unspeakable anger because all his painstaking efforts had yielded only a dead plant heart.
Xiao Sheng was furious and wanted to vent. Others could cause earthquakes and instantly change the terrain after an outburst. Yet, he, a renowned esper, after finally unleashing his power, could gain nothing. This feeling of having immense power but being unable to do anything was too unbearable. Xiao Sheng felt like killing someone.
In the end, Xiao Sheng could only leave the underground, carrying a massive plant heart.
When Xiao Sheng appeared outside the cave with the plant heart, everyone saw his actions and realized he had indeed brought out the legendary plant heart. They erupted in cheers: "Oh... we succeeded!"
"I knew it. If we set our minds to it, we could definitely accomplish this."
"Alright, alright. Those who don't know might think you're the hero who captured the plant heart. You were just cheering from the sidelines."
"Even so, we still have a harvest. As long as there's a harvest, it's not a failure. Don't you all agree?"
For a moment, the air was filled with a joyous atmosphere. Everyone tacitly agreed that the mission was complete. Now that the plant heart was in their hands, they would become heroes upon returning to the country. They would no longer have to toil in such desolate places to complete missions.
However, at this moment, Xiao Sheng threw the plant heart to the ground and said, "You're celebrating too soon."
Everyone looked confused and quickly examined the condition of the plant heart. They then discovered that the plant heart had been stabbed. Although the mutated plant was still opening its eyes, its entire body had stopped pulsating, clearly indicating that it was dead.
Upon discovering this fact, the members of the ability management bureau looked incredulous, seemingly unable to believe what they were seeing.
For everyone, the happy life they had long awaited was right before their eyes. But at this moment, they realized it was all a false joy, and their dreams were shattered. How could they accept such a cruel reality?
Xiao Sheng then explained the situation he had discovered underground. When everyone heard that someone had used them to tie down the treant and then used a sneak attack to kill the mutated plant, they became enraged. There is a saying in ancient poetry: "Bitter hatred year after year, weaving golden threads, only to make wedding clothes for others."
At this moment, the members of the ability management bureau felt exactly this way. They had worked tirelessly for days, making all sorts of arrangements to deal with the treant. But now, someone had stepped in and ruined the entire plan. All their hard work had gone to waste. How could they accept this?
"We must find the person who used us and deal with them severely. Preferably, kill them directly. Damn it, how dare they use us! They must have the guts of a leopard." The members of the ability management bureau said angrily.
After hearing Xiao Sheng's description, Jin Ziju began to analyze: "I think this was done by Shen Feng and his group from Chongqing. To use us to burn the mutated plant, they must have been fully aware of our situation. Furthermore, to be able to instantly stab the plant heart in such a short time, only Shen Feng could do it. Shen Feng's true burst speed can reach the speed of sound. Moreover, Shen Feng's Chongqing has a plant heart, and Shen Feng also understands the weaknesses of a plant heart."
After hearing Jin Ziju's analysis, everyone immediately understood and said in unison, "It must be him. It must be Shen Feng who did this. Now we'll go find him and demand an explanation."
Originally, the members of the ability management bureau had a good impression of Shen Feng's Chongqing forces. After all, it was rare for Shen Feng to travel such a long distance to support them. It could even be considered a life-saving favor. However, when the incident pointed directly at Shen Feng, everyone found it unacceptable.
But at this moment, Xiao Sheng directly stopped the crowd who wanted to confront Shen Feng and said in a deep voice, "This is all your speculation. Do you have any evidence?"
The crowd was stunned. At this moment, Xiao Sheng suddenly felt his body weaken, realizing that the after-effects of consuming the century plant seeds had appeared. He became weak and fell to the ground, his body fat disappearing in a short period.