Qin Siyang and Hu Chan both stiffened at the same time, their pupils trembling slightly, the blood in their bodies seeming to stop flowing.
'The Nightmare Lantern Tree, again?'
But as the two of them searched for the source of the dark gold light, they were both stunned.
"Hu Chan, why is your forehead glowing?"
"President Qin, your forehead is glowing too!"
They both felt a faint pressure forming at their foreheads, as if something inside their bodies was struggling to break through their skin.
Before they could react, a fist sized, dark gold lantern shaped seed slowly floated out from their foreheads.
The seed hovered in midair, swaying and spinning, as if it were an illusion.
Qin Siyang tried to touch it, but his palm passed straight through the seed in front of him without any resistance.
Just like the lantern fruit that had pulled Qin Siyang into the dream before, this seed also had no physical body.
Under their shocked gazes, the seed stayed floating and spinning in the air for several minutes, then drifted toward their hands, finally landing lightly in their palms.
The moment it made contact, the seed that had been unreal and unstable gradually became solid, as if turning from illusion into reality. It became heavy in their hands, taking on a subtle sense of weight.
Qin Siyang's fingers twitched slightly as he lowered his head to stare at the seed in his palm.
The surface of the lantern shaped seed was covered in dense patterns, every line looking like it had been carefully carved.
Dark gold light flowed between the patterns, like blood flowing through veins.
"Th… this, what exactly is this thing?", Hu Chan's voice carried a hint of fear, trembling slightly. His fingers carefully touched around the seed.
Qin Siyang stared at the seed in his hand, his brows tightly knit.
He could clearly feel that this lantern shaped seed was not just an object. It seemed to contain some kind of consciousness, some kind of presence that could resonate with the human mind.
He slowly closed his eyes, trying to use his spirit to sense the subtle feeling coming from the seed.
The moment he closed his eyes, a warm yet faintly chilling power came from the seed.
That power gradually spread through his whole body, like a tiny electric current passing through muscles and bones, activating every cell inside him.
Right after that, Qin Siyang felt a beautiful dream forming around him.
Just as he felt he was about to completely merge with that power, he suddenly opened his eyes and returned to reality.
"President Qin… you felt it too, right?", Hu Chan's face was pale, fear in his eyes, as if he had just gone through a hallucination as well.
Qin Siyang took a deep breath and nodded, "That's right. This seed, it seems to be able to affect our minds."
Hu Chan's hand trembled slightly, "President Qin, is this what you just mentioned, the precious material left behind by the Nightmare Lantern Tree?"
"Probably."
"Then should we keep it?"
"What do you mean? You want to throw it away? Then you might as well just give it to me," As he spoke, Qin Siyang was about to take advantage of Hu Chan not yet reacting and reach out to grab the seed in Hu Chan's hand.
Hu Chan was just about to curse Qin Siyang for being shameless, but something even more shocking happened.
Qin Siyang's hand passed straight through the seed in Hu Chan's hand and grabbed nothing but air.
"What is going on? Did the seed not already gain a physical form?"
Feeling the sensation in his palm, Hu Chan found it even more mysterious.
He looked at the seed in Qin Siyang's hand and also reached out to try to touch it, but he could not touch it either, only ending up touching Qin Siyang's hand.
Curious, he felt around the part of Qin Siyang's hand that was in contact with the seed, but felt nothing unusual.
"Holy Son, are you addicted to touching? Take your hand off my hand!"
"I am not interested in you. This is verification!"
"Verifying what?"
"The seed separated from our minds, and it seems to have formed a contract with us. Only its owner can touch it."
After hearing that, Qin Siyang stared intently at the seed, unable to put it down as he marveled, "Stuff from a large god really is different. You do not even need to cut yourself or pee on it to form a contract."
Hu Chan asked uneasily, "What do you think… what use will the Nightmare Lantern Tree seed have?"
"I do not know. But I am sure that if others find out we have this kind of treasure, it will bring us huge trouble."
The two exchanged a look and quickly put the seeds into the storage box.
"You absolutely must not tell anyone about what happened today. Not even Yu Ziying!"
"You too. Do not tell Li Tianming or Zhao Longfei!"
"Okay."
"What do we do next?"
"Wait a second."
Qin Siyang flipped open the calendar on his phone.
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[Blue Star Calendar 2010 July 7]
[Gregorian calendar, Wednesday]
[Summer calendar, Gengyin year, fifth month, twenty sixth day, Minor Heat, good for hunting, good for setting nets, avoid moving into a house]
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"Good for hunting, avoid moving into a house?"
Qin Siyang decisively accepted the guidance of the summer calendar, "Since the drill cabin's throttle works, and the summer calendar also says it is suitable for hunting gods, then we keep going."
"Keep going?", Hu Chan had just survived a disaster and had just obtained a priceless treasure, and no longer had his earlier enthusiasm, "Do we not go back to the Safe Zone to adjust first? At least learn about the seeds we have."
"No adjusting. Studying materials takes too much time and effort. We should keep hunting gods."
"But I am really exhausted in body and mind."
"I know you really worked hard this time. When we get back to the Safe Zone, I will give you some Titan Grass inner leaf fragments."
"Titan Grass inner leaf fragments."
Seeing Hu Chan hesitate, Qin Siyang said, "You are really getting full of yourself. You do not even care about the material that can save Protector Yu's life anymore?"
"No… I just feel like I woke up from a big dream only to fall into another beautiful dream, like riding a roller coaster, and I have not caught my breath yet."
"So are you agreeing or not?"
Hu Chan took a deep breath, "I say I am tired, but it is not that bad. President Qin, do not worry. As long as you give me Titan Grass inner leaf fragments, killing a few minor gods is nothing."
"That is more like it. Let's go!"
Qin Siyang slammed the accelerator, and the two of them gradually disappeared into the underground.
———
On the Surface—
The Nightmare Lantern Tree suddenly appeared, standing in silence, and for some reason the thin mist around it had been driven away.
And on its highest branch, a black bird whose outline could not be seen clearly was perched there.
The dark gold lantern fruits on the branches trembled nonstop, as if shaking in fear.
The black bird gazed at the empty ground, as if it could see through the earth into what lay beneath, its gaze slowly drifting far away.
Then it spread its wings and flew high, disappearing into the dark starry sky.
After the black bird left, the towering Nightmare Lantern Tree fled in the opposite direction from where Qin Siyang had gone, vanishing in an instant.
[T/N: I didn't know I liked the mystery genre till now.]
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