Chapter 147 Ambush

The mission prompt said that in the territory of the World Tree, outsiders had almost nowhere to hide, and Han Xiao became increasingly vigilant about the unknown detection methods of the World Tree.

"The World Tree civilization's monitoring of its own territory far exceeds that of the three major civilizations. If I don't figure out what's going on, I'm afraid it will be difficult to move an inch here..."

Han Xiao frowned.

Now that his whereabouts had been discovered, continuing to flee would only result in continuous pursuit. With the convenience of the World Tree's mind network, the pursuers could share information and encircle him, which would be quite troublesome for him.

"It seems I need to adjust my plan. Now is not the time to carry out the mission of seizing territory..."

Han Xiao thought to himself.

If he didn't figure out what the World Tree civilization's detection methods were, he wouldn't even know how he was exposed, and he wouldn't know how to avoid it.

Since pursuers were behind him, it wouldn't do to not deal with them. He might as well try to find out the mechanism of their detection methods from them. He had originally wanted to see if Virtual Purification would work on the people of the World Tree civilization, and now the opportunity had presented itself.

Due to the mechanism of the mind network, contact with the people of the World Tree civilization would result in his actions being observed, posing many risks, such as the other party calling for reinforcements, and he might have to leave without being able to continue the mission.

However, this was not a big problem. The World Tree civilization's territory was not a place he could only visit once. There was no time limit for the mission of seizing territory. If he couldn't do it this time, he could do it next time. On the contrary, if he could learn about the World Tree's detection methods from the pursuers, he thought it would be of greater value, at least he wouldn't have to blindly search.

"However, although I have been discovered, it's not like I have no advantages..."

Han Xiao's eyes flashed.

The current situation seemed to be that the enemy was in the dark and he was in the light. However, the pursuers had discovered him, but probably didn't know that he had noticed them through the panel mission. Thinking about it from another perspective, perhaps it was the enemy who was in the light and he was in the dark.

Although he didn't know what the pursuers were like, they were probably following his trail. Perhaps he could set up an ambush, and with preparation, quickly end the battle and prevent the pursuers from seeing too many of his methods.

"Tsk, I just wanted to sneak around, but they had to force my hand."

Han Xiao's mouth twitched. He stopped moving forward and instead flew back a distance, starting to make preparations.

...

A green streak of light streaked across the starry sky, speeding along.

Babani always had his high-dimensional information vision activated, tracking the traces left by Han Xiao. In his eyes, a path composed of glowing particles extended continuously.

"What audacity, he actually dares to stay and try to gather more information. Seeking death."

Babani was not angry but happy, becoming even more excited.

Although the Holy Tree Envoys were highly regarded, they mostly had nothing to do. After all, the World Tree connected everyone, and there were no criminals or rebels, so there was basically no internal strife. These powerhouses did not engage in production, and apart from training and material enjoyment, there was nothing else to do. Many people were even too lazy to manifest and were constantly asleep in the tree, living in the virtual world.

Now that he had finally encountered something interesting, Babani was overjoyed, his heart full of anticipation.

"I hope these outsiders have some skills, so I can have some fun."

However, just as he was lost in thought, an unexpected change occurred!

The surrounding space suddenly shook, as if it had instantly turned into a solid, and Babani's speed plummeted, as if he had fallen into a swamp.

At the same time, dozens of points of starlight suddenly lit up in his vision. The next moment, dozens of huge blue-white beams of light struck from all directions, attacking across visual range. Babani was located at the intersection of the beams, and the dazzling light instantly engulfed his body.

"This is an ambush?!"

The searing pain of flesh evaporating swept through every nerve like a volcanic eruption. Babani felt his body dissolving and his vitality rapidly draining away. The power of the attack exceeded his expectations, and he was instantly shocked and angry.

It couldn't be anyone but the outsiders. Babani could hardly believe it. These outsiders had actually noticed his pursuit and, instead of fleeing, even wanted to launch a counterattack!

Babani was filled with shock and anger. Just as he was about to endure the pain and break free, a line of red light suddenly appeared within the dozens of blue-white beams. The next instant, the red light suddenly expanded, instantly dyeing the beams crimson, and the output power surged.

The intersection of the beams exploded, like a red sun being born!

Babani's figure was thrown out, covered in wounds, almost as if he had been scorched, terrified.

The destructive power of this attack startled him. He didn't expect that with his abilities, he would be seriously injured in one exchange, and he hadn't even seen the enemy's figure.

These outsiders actually possessed such formidable power!

‘I can't handle this alone, I need to call for help!’

Babani hurriedly wanted to take action, but at that moment, a line of faint light suddenly appeared in his field of vision, sweeping across his body.

At that moment, Babani's body suddenly froze, revealing a blank expression.

At the same time, Han Xiao, who was observing this scene remotely through his equipment, raised his eyebrows, looking surprised.

"Virtual Purification worked?"

Han Xiao had set up ambushes in the places he had passed before, using a bunch of Jebo's technologies to conceal the traces as much as possible. These dozens of high-intensity beams came from a special floating weapon array, which was a universe treasure-level mechanical equipment, originally a part of the Mechanical Deity's accessories, with astonishing destructive power.

He had thought that the pursuers might be a fleet, and Han Xiao had prepared to attack forcefully if the ambush failed. However, he found that the pursuer was just one person. Based on his understanding of the World Tree civilization, this person was likely a Holy Tree Envoy, an Ancestral Spirit, or some other Super-A Grade powerhouse. It couldn't possibly be one of the ridiculously powerful Five Tree Kings.

Without saying a word, he launched an ambush and obtained the other party's combat information through the panel, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.

Babani's level was far lower than his, with an energy level of around 53,000, just an average Super-A Grade. Even if he could borrow some of the World Tree's power, he would still have no chance to fight back in front of him.

Therefore, after using [Virtual Purification · Restoration], Han Xiao had prepared to immediately take action to kill him. However, the feedback from the combat information made him pause. The panel actually prompted that Virtual Purification had taken effect!

"It actually works!"

Han Xiao gasped.

When he obtained [Virtual Purification · Restoration], he had suspected that this move might be effective against the World Tree, but he didn't expect it to actually work.

The World Tree's mind network connected everyone, which he saw as an extremely large intelligent host, processing, distributing, and monitoring the information of each individual. All the lives devoured by the World Tree had their minds rewritten. No matter how much hostility they had, they would eventually be loyal to the World Tree. Negative memories had not disappeared, but had been diluted.

The effect of [Virtual Purification · Restoration] was to purify intelligent targets infected by viruses. The nature of lifeforms devoured by the World Tree would also change, becoming a kind of symbiotic relationship. Even without physical form, they could live in the virtual world created by the World Tree, similar to intelligence. Therefore, Han Xiao was not sure if this move would work, but now it seemed that he had guessed correctly.

But Han Xiao didn't rejoice for long, and soon realized a problem.

Virtual Purification only temporarily restored the other party's original thinking, but they were still individuals devoured by the World Tree. This connection would not be broken, so the World Tree could rewrite the other party's thinking at any time, overwriting the effect of Virtual Purification, meaning that this move might only make the other party temporarily conscious.

Moreover, this move could only be used on enslaved objects. If the target was originally loyal to the World Tree, it would obviously be useless.

Fortunately, this guy named Babani was not a native of the World Tree civilization, but an enemy devoured by the World Tree civilization during its cosmic conquests.

"What am I..."

Babani was stunned, countless memories colliding in his mind. The memories of his own civilization being destroyed by the World Tree's iron hooves were once again vivid. He even remembered being devoured and becoming an accomplice in the destruction of his own civilization, with countless of his people dying at his own hands.

Twisted thinking was quickly corrected, the perspective on things returned to normal, and long-lost hostility and anger erupted like a volcano.

"World Tree! What have you made me do?!"

Babani suddenly clutched his head, trembling all over, roaring and wailing at the same time, the pain contained within moving.

However, at this moment, Han Xiao activated his short-range teleportation equipment, arriving next to Babani in a flash, grabbed his body, and said in a deep voice:

"Are you awake? Time is short, I don't have time to waste words with you. If you're awake, tell me the secrets you know!"

Babani broke away from his grief and immediately remembered what he had been doing before he regained consciousness. These memories would not be erased by Virtual Purification.

Without much explanation, he instantly understood the meaning of the outsider in front of him, as well as his current situation.

Without any hesitation, Babani immediately revealed the World Tree secrets he knew - after regaining consciousness, as far as Babani was concerned, no matter what the outsider's background was, as long as they were enemies with the World Tree, they were worth helping, without any need for further thought.

Seeing the other party being so cooperative, Han Xiao also breathed a sigh of relief, concentrating on recording the information.

Rapidly divulging important secrets, before long, Babani's expression suddenly changed, a look of struggle flashing across his face.

"They've noticed, you leave quickly, the people of the World Tree will arrive at any moment... It's monitoring everyone, it's already discovered that I've regained consciousness, I can't resist its will, my mind will soon be rewritten."

Han Xiao also saw the duration of Virtual Purification in the status bar rapidly decreasing, his heart skipped a beat, knowing that the World Tree had already noticed this "out of control" individual.

He let go of his hand and was about to retreat, but found that Babani took the initiative to raise his hand and push him away forcefully, then his whole body lit up with crack-like light, obviously about to detonate all of his energy.

When the light reached its peak, Babani gave Han Xiao a deep look, his tone resolute.

"We are beyond saving, whoever you are, don't lose!"

Boom!

The next moment, a violent explosion suddenly spread, Babani instantly self-destructed, turning into dazzling fireworks.

Han Xiao was slightly moved.

The actions of this "awakened one" were far more resolute and decisive than he had imagined. Only intense hatred could drive the other party to make such a choice.

"I may have underestimated this move..."

Han Xiao's thoughts raced.

But there was no time to consider this. Han Xiao quickly collected the mechanical equipment on the scene, activated his short-range teleportation equipment, and teleported away from the area again and again.

...

After a while, a spatial rift suddenly appeared in this area, probing out World Tree roots, and a huge fleet sailed out, quickly materializing, and several Holy Tree Envoys descended together to inspect the scene.

"The information-state warning network just issued the highest alert, showing that the most serious information leak to date has occurred here!"

Several Holy Tree Envoys looked serious, they had come immediately after receiving the alert.

Not long ago, the World Tree shared Babani's experiences through the mind network, and everyone was shocked.

"Babani betrayed us? How is that possible!"

"He actually revealed the secrets!"

"What exactly happened? What means did the outsider use to bewitch him?"

"He's turned back into a seed. We'll have to wait until he matures next time to ask him what happened."

These Holy Tree Envoys found this situation difficult to understand, because no one had ever been able to betray the World Tree, not even the thought of betrayal would arise.

At this moment, more and more spatial rifts opened, probing out roots, sending batches of fleets and powerhouses to this place.

Suddenly, the cold voice of the Tree King resounded in the mind network of everyone present.

"Hunt him down, do not let this outsider leave alive!"