Lu Yizhen quickly discovered where the energy converged on the treant. What appeared as rough bark to others was, in Lu Yizhen's eyes, a network of energy pathways. Ultimately, all the energy flowed to the base of the giant treant's trunk, near its thighs, which corresponded to the hip area on a human.
In this location, Lu Yizhen found an object where energy had condensed into a heart, and this object was even beating.
Although Lu Yizhen had never seen the true form of a mutated plant before, he had heard from Jin Ziju about what a plant heart looked like. At the time, Jin Ziju hadn't realized how precious a plant heart was, and it later became a cash cow for Yuzhou.
Now, with his mutated eyes, Lu Yizhen had directly seen the location of the plant heart and was overjoyed. He quickly shouted to Shen Feng, "Shen Feng, the plant's core is at the base of the giant treant's roots. Attack here!"
However, upon hearing this, Xiao Sheng urgently called out, "Shen Feng, don't do anything! The mutated plant is something we need to bring back to China. If you kill it, we'll be in trouble!"
Xiao Sheng's greatest concern was that Shen Feng would kill the mutated plant. If that happened, their hard-earned credit would vanish.
Shen Feng was inclined to kill the mutated plant immediately. As for whether Xiao Sheng and the others would be punished upon returning to China, Shen Feng didn't want to consider it. As long as the mutated plant in Yuzhou was safe, that was enough. However, even knowing the plant's core, Shen Feng still needed sufficient strength to defeat the treant. If he couldn't even defeat the treant, there was no point in talking about holding back.
Shen Feng continuously attacked the giant treant, and the wind blades in the air never ceased. Shen Feng's abilities were best suited for open spaces, as air circulation generated stronger winds. In confined areas, the wind force was insufficient. Therefore, underground, Shen Feng's true strength was difficult to unleash.
The giant treant's crown had become sparse. Many branches and leaves had been mercilessly severed by Shen Feng. Leaves and luminous fruits fell to the ground. Some fruits that landed in the water drifted away with the current. The cave's light source had originally come from these glowing fruits. Now, with the fruits scattered on the ground, the cave's light quickly dimmed.
The luminous fruits floated towards the cave entrance with the river current, turning the entire lake into a starry expanse. Such a spectacle was rarely seen by ordinary people. However, those present had no inclination to admire the scenery. The most important thing at the moment was to end the battle. They either had to defeat the treant using their current numerical advantage or quickly retreat to find a place to rest and recuperate.
All of this depended on whether Shen Feng could achieve victory against the giant treant. If he couldn't even deal with the giant treant, it was best to retreat early, as staying would only be a waste of time.
Shen Feng was single-handedly holding off the giant treant, while the others could only watch. Shen Feng was quite displeased with this and shouted loudly to the group in the distance, "If you think the treant is so easy to deal with, then you go ahead. Especially you, Xiao Sheng!"
On the surface, Shen Feng had already cut down many of the giant treant's leaves and branches, seemingly gaining the upper hand. However, only Shen Feng knew that the giant treant had not sustained any substantial damage. The wind blades had caused some harm, but they had only severed insignificant branches and leaves. As for the damage caused by the wind blades hitting the trunk, it was quickly healed. With its sixty-meter height, defeating it easily was impossible.
Shen Feng's statement made his intentions clear: he could not defeat the giant treant at the moment.
Upon hearing this, everyone understood that Shen Feng could not win, so there was no point in continuing the fight. They should seize the opportunity to retreat.
"If you can't win, then retreat quickly. Don't drag it out, or the City Lord will be overwhelmed soon," Qi Lingshan shouted urgently.
Xiao Sheng looked at the people present. Many of them had just escaped, were disheveled, and their combat effectiveness was not guaranteed. He himself could at most tie down some ordinary treants, but he couldn't kill them.
"Everyone retreat! We'll buy time. Don't just stand there," Xiao Sheng shouted.
The group had just escaped from the trees. Although they had recovered their strength and abilities, they did not have Qi Yunfang's physique and could not fully recover. Their combat effectiveness was not guaranteed. Upon hearing the order to retreat, they immediately complied.
However, as they were retreating, Chai Kefu suddenly detected the presence of electromagnetic waves and hurriedly called out, "Xiao Sheng, the mutated plant is emitting electromagnetic waves. You all need to hurry up and follow. Be careful of any unexpected changes."
With that, Chai Kefu and the others immediately retreated towards the cave entrance. The cave where the mutated plant was located was a vast space. Even a sixty-meter-tall treant could move freely within it. However, the exit was quite narrow, and a treant only about ten meters tall could barely pass through.
In the end, only five people remained in the depths of the cave to block the treants. Shen Feng was holding off the giant treant. Although he couldn't win, as long as he could keep the treant occupied, it was enough.
In addition, Xiao Sheng, along with Jin Ziju and Zhang Zi, were blocking the treants. Flames, lightning, and ice were constantly flying within the cave. The treants, in turn, were swinging their vines. The battle had reached a fever pitch. However, the treants had not sustained any serious injuries, while the ability users had expended a great deal of energy. With this imbalance, the treants were steadily advancing, and the situation was gradually tilting in favor of the mutated plant.
Qi Lingshan stood at the cave entrance to cover Shen Feng. After ensuring that all those who needed rescuing had safely exited the depths of the cave, he shouted, "City Lord, they are all out. We can retreat now."
Upon hearing Qi Lingshan's call, Shen Feng immediately prepared to retreat. "Bye-bye, I won't play with you anymore."
Shen Feng said this to the giant treant, but he didn't expect the giant treant to reply. Moreover, this was Siberia, and he was speaking Chinese, so he certainly didn't expect the treant to understand.
As a result, after Shen Feng said this, a crack appeared on the giant treant's trunk, and airflow passed through it, allowing it to emit sound.
"You can't escape anymore. Prepare to die," the treant said directly.
The treant's words were in standard Chinese, but there were some issues with the flow of its speech, making it sound like a synthesized voice. However, even from these words, the meaning was clear.
"You can speak Chinese?" Shen Feng was astonished. He knew that mutated plants had consciousness, but for it to speak Chinese so readily was quite extraordinary.
The giant treant offered no further explanation for Shen Feng's astonishment, as if it were natural. The treant finally said mechanically to Shen Feng, "Die!"
With that, the treant directly attacked Shen Feng. A thick branch smashed down from above. If such an attack landed on Shen Feng, he would undoubtedly be crushed to death by the heavy branch. A previous unfortunate ability user had met such a fate, turning into a pulp that merged with the ground, leaving nothing to be picked up.
Fortunately, Shen Feng was fast. He easily dodged the branch that smashed down from above.
Next, Shen Feng and the others who were covering the rear prepared to retreat. At this point, those who had been rescued had already retreated outside. With the giant treant's immense size, it was impossible for it to follow them out, so their retreat would be unimpeded.
However, at this very moment, an unexpected event occurred. Lu Xian, who had just rushed out of the cave, returned with a look of panic on his face. "City Lord, Mr. Xiao, treants have appeared outside as well. The treants are crossing the suspension bridge and will be here soon."
"What? Treants outside too? Weren't these treants out hunting? Why are they here?" Shen Feng was stunned by this response. He hadn't expected the treants that had left the cave to hunt earlier to make a surprise return.
The giant treant was quite pleased with this outcome and said, "You are surrounded. I know all about your plan. Don't underestimate me."
Upon hearing the treant's words, Shen Feng's expression shifted to one of disbelief. He hadn't expected the mutated plant's evolution to be so terrifying that it had learned to use strategy. If what the treant said was true, then the treant had long known about Shen Feng and Qi Yunfang's plan of collusion and had devised this trap. The most critical point was that this plan had succeeded.
Shen Feng often encountered mutated plants in his laboratory in Yuzhou. The most intelligent among them was the Nine Deaths Returning Tree, which had learned to beg for mercy when it was almost killed a second time. However, Shen Feng had never encountered a plant that could scheme against humans like this.
Xiao Sheng, however, did not ponder as much as Shen Feng. Upon discovering that there were enemies outside the cave, he immediately realized that retreating in this situation was out of the question. Otherwise, all of them would be trapped in a narrow passage, and they would truly be caught in a pincer movement.
With this thought, Xiao Sheng urgently shouted, "We cannot retreat! Absolutely do not let the treants get close, or we will be attacked from both sides. We must defend the cave entrance at all costs. Shen Feng, go and hold off the giant treant!"
Shen Feng had originally planned to retreat. After all, victory was unlikely, and staying longer in this situation could lead to their capture. Helpless, Shen Feng had no other choice. He had to fight on, muttering in frustration, "This damned mutated plant is truly insidious, to have tricked us!"
At this moment, Lu Xian arrived beside Shen Feng and said urgently, "City Lord, Xu Xing asked me to give you a message."
Shen Feng, preparing to charge into battle, couldn't help but ask, "What is it? Don't you know the situation is urgent right now?"
Lu Xian took out a strand of Xu Xing's hair from his person and handed it to Shen Feng, saying earnestly, "City Lord, Xu Xing feels very guilty for implicating you. Now that we are facing an attack from both inside and outside, she can only fight to the death. If she can hold off the treants outside, please do not stop her from doing what she wants in the future. If she unfortunately falls in battle here, please take this strand of hair back to Yuzhou and give it to her mother!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Feng immediately understood. Hearing Xu Xing speak like this, it sounded like a farewell!
"What is Xu Xing doing? I haven't blamed her at all. Why would she do something so drastic?" Shen Feng asked urgently.