Chapter 2345 Evading “Tippy, do you know her?” Fang Heng stroked his chin, a hint of puzzlement crossing his brow. Among all the major tribes, the Soul tribe was the most mysterious, and Fang Heng had the least interaction with them before. It seemed like an unusual person had arrived. What could their purpose be? When Tippy mentioned letting the tree spirit tribe discuss a plan before coming to him, it was more of a delaying tactic to stabilize the tree spirit tribe. In his view, it would take at least ten days or even half a month for the four major tribes to discuss a plan. It was even possible they might flip the table and attack directly. He hadn’t expected the tree spirit tribe to come knocking so quickly. Fang Heng rallied his spirits. “Let’s go, we’ll meet her.” … In the reception hall, Fang Heng saw the young woman sitting across from him. Tippy, the elder of the Soul tribe. Among all the tree spirit tribes, the appearance of the Soul tribe resembled humans the most. Despite being hundreds of years old, Tippy still looked no different from a maiden. Fang Heng had observed Tippy once before in secret. She was powerful. Moreover, Tippy possessed a sacred weapon from the tree spirit tribe’s inheritance-the sacred tree branch. Unlike the sacred tree branch with world teleportation coordinates, this sacred tree branch was highly offensive. Using it, Tippy effortlessly defeated Vannes, even when he was enhanced by the sapling of the Sacred Tree. “Elder Tippy, I didn’t expect you to come find me personally, and so quickly,” Fang Heng said. Observing Fang Heng, Tippy nodded. “Fang Heng, as the inheritor of the previous leader of the tree spirit tribe, I am here representing all the clans of the tree spirit tribe to meet with the leader of the vampires.” “Fancy meeting like this?” Fang Heng couldn’t help muttering to himself, curious. “So, what’s this about? Have you actually come to a conclusion?” “Yes, we four major tribes unanimously agree that since the vampires have passed the inheritance test, they naturally qualify to become leaders.” “Oh?” Fang Heng was taken aback. He was genuinely surprised. The tree spirit tribe actually acknowledged it? This didn’t seem like their usual style at all! “However, to truly become the leader of the tree spirit tribe, it also requires the recognition of all four major tribes.” Fang Heng heard this twist and silently nodded. Exactly! This is the consistent style of the tree spirit tribe! Fang Heng smiled. He no longer needed their recognition to gain the sacred tree qualification? No need at all! Anyone dissatisfied with him could simply be eliminated! However… Fang Heng was rather curious. What were the requirements of the four great clans? Fang Heng was genuinely curious now, wondering what exactly the four major tribes were asking for. “So, what do I need to do to earn your recognition?” he asked. “Fang Heng, do you know why the tree spirit tribe completely disappeared from the Inner World?” Tippy’s question immediately caught Fang Heng’s attention. He dropped his playful demeanor and looked serious. He realized he didn’t know much about this. While he had suspicions regarding the departure of the tree spirit tribe from the Inner World when he entered the World of Forests, those doubts had been overshadowed by the reopening of the passage to the Inner World and the ensuing competition for the sacred trees among the four major tribes. At that time, enhancing his strength was crucial, leaving him with little time to ponder over such matters. Fang Heng gestured for Tippy to continue, intrigued by what she had to say. “The rumors outside claim that survivors from our four major tribes were lucky to have escaped to the Outer World before the passage to the Inner World was completely closed,” Tippy began, her voice tinged with regret. “But the truth is different. The tree spirit tribe has always disliked life outside our habitats. If it weren’t necessary, we wouldn’t easily leave our homes.” She sighed deeply before continuing, “All of our four major tribes were ordered by the Elders Council to leave the Inner World for a mission.” Fang Heng’s curiosity piqued even further as he inquired, “What mission?” “To evade disaster and seek strength.” Tippy looked at Fang Heng and began to explain slowly, “When we left, the pollution fog’s strength erupted again. To counter the encroachment of the black fog, the strength of our tree spirit tribe’s sacred trees was greatly depleted. After a long period of suppression and sealing against Shaluba, the black fog finally subsided once more, but our sacred tree’s strength suffered significant losses.” “Pollution fog!” That’s the demonic seed! So the tree spirit tribe has fought against the black fog! And it sounded like the tree spirits had the upper hand, at least temporarily sealing away the black fog! But who is Shaluba? One of the demonic seeds? Fang Heng’s heart skipped a beat. He interrupted Tippy and asked cautiously, “What is the black fog? And who is Shaluba?” “The black fog is a very unique force,” Tippy explained. “Its most notable feature is its ability to devour perception and possesses terrifying infectious and corrosive capabilities. In domains shrouded by the black fog, one can easily become infected and gradually become a puppet controlled by the black fog.” “Shaluba, on the other hand, is a creature born from the black fog, also a controller of the black fog, and possesses extremely strong power.” “I’ve heard from the Leaf tribe before that you’ve used a power similar to the black fog,” Tippy said, looking at Fang Heng. She asked, “How did you come into contact with that kind of power?” Fang Heng processed the information Tippy provided and nodded before explaining, “We came from the Outer World, where we also encountered pollution from the black fog. However, there it’s known as demonic seed pollution.” “In our fight against the demonic seeds, I found a way to collect and utilize some of that power, nothing more.” Tippy whispered to herself, “Demonic seeds…” before looking up and continuing, “Regardless of the origin of the black fog’s strength, we couldn’t completely seal it. Over time, the seal on the sacred tree often became unstable, and to maintain it, the strength of the sacred tree was continuously depleted.” “The appearance of the black fog accelerated the decay of the old generation of sacred trees. Around that time, we suddenly encountered a huge problem: the sacred tree seeds we had preserved for the next cultivation showed anomalies.” “Anomalies!” Fang Heng’s mind raced. This aligns closely with Sandy’s previous premonitions—the arrival of the vampire progenitor likely affected the sacred tree seeds. “The exact reasons are currently under investigation by the Elders Council. When we left the Inner World, the investigation hadn’t been completed, so I don’t know the full truth. I remember at that time, due to the seed anomalies, the cultivation of the new sacred tree faced significant challenges.” “After hearing about this, the Elders Council dispatched elite teams from each of the four major tribes, each with slightly less affected sacred tree seeds, to leave the Inner World and enter the Outer World. In the Outer World, each tribe could use the sacred tree branches to enter other dimensional worlds, absorbing energy from those dimensions to restore the strength of the sacred tree seeds.” Upon hearing this, Fang Heng couldn’t help but furrow his brow and interject, “Why go through all this trouble to go to the Outer World? Why not just handle it within the Inner World?”