Chapter 687: Peach on the Twig
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The legion of snakes had gathered all around the mystic peach tree. Han Sen also saw the black bear and its cub there. A blue beast and a crane of sorts were there, as well. Every creature he had encountered at the tree the last time, minus the bone elephant, were here at the tree once again.
Han Sen’s arrival was not without trouble, however. His coming led to unrest with the pink snake and its legion. And indeed, the legion of snakes did not disperse with the silver fox’s coming. As Han Sen arrived, all of the snakes lifted their heads, as if to warn Han Sen not to tread any closer.
The pink snake was sat upon the titanboa as it once did. It stared at Han Sen with cold, poisonous eyes; it was evident it had not forgotten who he was.
But for some reason, the pink snake avoided Han Sen and did not attack. This behavior surprised him.
The black cub on the other hand, looked delighted to see Han Sen. In surprise, it ran out to Han Sen’s feet, ignoring the legion of snakes. With a little observation, Han Sen noticed that the cub had grown in size since the last time it met. It had grown up fast.
When the cub reached Han Sen, it ran in circles and sniffed around him. Then, it signaled for Han Sen to sit next to the big bear.
Han Sen, taking a look at the peach tree, noticed that there weren’t any peaches on it yet. He watched it for a while, but then, after some time, noticed two peaches manifest between the green leaves. They were about the size of ostrich eggs. The peaches were red on the bottom and pale on the top; they looked as if they were moments away from ripening.
"Such a giant tree only produced two peaches?" Han Sen looked to his left and right, and indeed, the mystic peach tree had only produced two peaches.
One was hanging at the tip of the twig and the other was a little further up.
The super creatures that had gathered there, all looked up at the peaches. The little angel and the silver fox were almost as powerful as the two bears, in comparison. Han Sen alone, could almost equate to the power of the silver fox and he wagered he could beat at least two super creatures to the punch of nabbing the peaches.
Han Sen then took a look at his competition; pink snake, blue beast, crane, little bear and big bear. There were five super creatures, and against the legion of snakes there, it’d be difficult to take the peaches.
Han Sen went near the big bear, which sat away from the peach tree. Strangely enough, none of the super creatures sought to go close to the tree. They circled it, almost as if there was a radius they had to be outside of.
This confused Han Sen. Seeing two peaches on the tree, with one at the end of the twig and the other a little above, they both shone like a fruit from heaven’s very own orchard. They emitted a pleasant smell, a smell even nicer than the smell of the peach flowers.
But despite the tantalizing prospect of the peaches being right there for the taking, no creature dared make a move. It was like they weren’t in a rush to take them.
The black bear was lying on the ground of the Peach Forest, but it looked up, seemingly focused on the two peaches. But look is all it did, and it most certainly did not appear ready to take them.
The pink snake and the blue beast looked the same way. The crane was perched on a nearby peach tree, but still away from the mystic giant tree.
The cub continued to circle Han Sen but then stopped to stare at the silver fox that was resting on Han Sen’s shoulder. It seemed really interested in the creature, as it couldn’t stop staring.
"Strange. Those peaches are going to ripen, so why are they keeping their distance? Shouldn’t they each be vying for it right now? Aren’t they afraid of someone else stealing it?" Han Sen stared at the mystic peach tree and began to feel as if something was wrong.
He used Jadeskin to unlock his gene lock and heighten his senses. Although he did not have the eighth sense yet, his senses and perceptions still exceeded that of the super creatures.
Han Sen used his new sensory functions to inspect the peach tree and his face looked horrified.
Through the use of his heightened senses, he noticed there was something wrong with the mystic peach tree. On the tree there was something really small, but it was something alive that moved around. In fact, there were many of them, and they were moving all over. When observing the twig that held the peaches, Han Sen could see them crawling around like ants. Just seeing it made his head itch.
"Bugs? Why are there so many strange bugs on the tree?" Han Sen was shocked. The bugs were so small, yet the tree was huge. They dug underneath the bark of the tree and with average eyesight, you could not tell they were there through simple observation.
If it wasn’t for Han Sen’s sense, he wouldn’t have noticed their presence even if he went to stand directly in front of the tree.
"What are those bugs? Even the super creatures are avoiding them. They don’t even dare to go close." Han Sen frowned.
Han Sen was positive the last time he was here at the tree, there were no bugs. Otherwise, he’d have known about them coming here.
He was practicing Dongxuan Sutra for a long time beneath the boughs of that great tree, so there was no way he had managed to avoid sensing them during that time.
"Strange. Where did all these bugs come from? There is no way they can be super creatures, can they? But why are the super creatures scared of them? And why do they avoid going near the tree?" Han Sen mulled the peculiar situation.
Han Sen then remembered the time he got Princess Yin Yang. She informed Han Sen about the nature of the sacred-blood class Silver Beetle mother. Perhaps the bugs weren’t all too different to the silver beetle. She explained that the smaller silver beetles were little more than weapons, created by the mother. They weren’t actual living creatures.
If these bugs were able to make the super creatures that scared, the mother of the bugs may have been a super creature, as well.
"If this is true; that’s bad news. A super creature that can produce countless smaller insects will be a terrifying foe. I shudder at the thought!" Han Sen then sensed the ground, but his abilities were still a little limited as he had yet to fully unlock the eighth sense. Therefore, he could not find out what was going on beneath the earth.
Unable to ascertain where the mother might be, Han Sen returned his gaze to the smaller bugs on the tree. They were inside the bark, eating it. Although they did not eat much, it was still a shocker to see.
The mystic peach tree was something sacred. It was something that even the super creatures greatly admired. It was a surprise to see these bugs eat and desecrate it like so.
Han Sen, being unable to figure out what the bugs were, was just like the bears now. He remained motionless, staring at the tree, not daring to get close. They just waited until it was ripe.
A few days later, the peach on the upper reaches of the twig, had already turned jade. Strangely, it emitted a red mist. A holy presence emerged from the peach like jade, as well. The scent was carried by the wind, coating the next few hundred miles with its pleasing fragrance.