The treant withdrew the branch-formed railing it had made, then used its branches to build a kind of slide from the platform down to the ground. The slide was extremely smooth and could even be described as finely crafted.

“Amazing,” the eagle couldn’t help but marvel.

Nan Muran also smiled and patted the treant in praise.

Seeing the treant’s performance, Nan Muran thought to herself, It’s true that those who’ve been out in the world are different. Xiao Liu would never have this kind of awareness.

The treant was overjoyed by her praise. Ranan had acknowledged it — it was so, so happy.

Xiaobai: So shy.

Treant: Are you more embarrassed than when you absorbed that precious level-six crystal core and still didn’t level up?

Xiaobai: So mad!

It had been Xiao Liu who, during a casual chat among the three little ones, accidentally revealed that Xiaobai had absorbed the level-six crystal core they had worked so hard to obtain — and yet still hadn’t broken through.

Since then, even the few low-level little ones would mock Xiaobai now and then.

Xiaobai had been depressed for a long time about it: Ranan didn’t even blame me.

Treant: What else could she do? You’re just that useless.

Xiaobai: I’m your second sister!

Treant: Still useless.

Xiaobai: I really want to beat it up.

Treant: You can’t win.

Xiaobai: So infuriating!

Nan Muran would occasionally catch snippets of their arguments, but she never paid them any mind. After all, a bit of bickering was good for keeping the brain active. Besides, Xiaobai really was a bit useless.

Absorbing a level-six plant-type crystal core like Luanshu’s and still failing to break through — Nan Muran hadn’t expected that either, so she had no objections to the treant’s words.

Seeing the smile in her eyes, Si Ye knew she must have overheard the lively chatter again.

“Be careful, we’re heading down,” he reminded.

The five of them smoothly slid down the treant’s makeshift slide to the ground. It had to be said — the treant was truly clever. It had built the slide facing backward, so even if someone at the Daoist temple looked over, they wouldn’t spot it.

At the same time, in the rear courtyard of the Daoist temple, ten robust young wolves — four of them level-two mutant wolves — launched their attack on the tiger.

Although the tiger was the king of the forest and extremely powerful one-on-one, its mutant powers and stamina were ultimately limited.

Under the wolves’ dense assault, even with unwillingness in its heart, it could only be torn into a bloody mess and collapse, unable to move.

Wolf King: You brought this upon yourself.

The Wolf King had always been wary of the tiger and had never planned to kill it. After all, even with a detailed plan, the wolf pack would suffer heavy losses. But the tiger had been greedy, snatching away their stockpiled winter rations.

The Wolf King had a premonition that the extreme cold was about to arrive. Although there were many mutant beasts in the mountains, they were getting harder to catch. The humans, defenseless and powerless, were the best winter food. If the tiger took them away, when the extreme cold came, the wolf pack might starve to death.

Tiger: What a pity. You won’t escape either.

Hearing the tiger’s words, the Wolf King was stunned for a moment, then immediately turned its head.

At the entrance to the second courtyard, four adults and one child had just stepped over the threshold.

Not all of the wolves had gone into the Daoist temple to fight. Some had been left outside to stand guard, specifically to watch for that detestable mutant rat. Yet these humans had walked right up without any alarms — meaning, the lookouts had already been dealt with.

Even the two level-three mutant wolves guarding the outside hadn’t resisted at all.

Clearly, these five humans were very strong.

The Wolf King slowly turned its body, staring at the five people entering. It first looked at Si Ye, then shifted its gaze to Nan Muran.

Its blue eyes radiated an icy chill that could make others instinctively tremble — but it had no effect whatsoever on Nan Muran’s group. Even little Xiaoqijin, holding Jiawu’s hand, showed no fear.

Wolf King: Humans… perhaps we can talk.

It wasn’t sure if the strongest human could understand it, but it wanted to try — for itself, and for the survival of the wolf pack.

The treant conveyed the Wolf King’s words to Nan Muran.

Nan Muran’s lips curved into a faint smile, her eyes cold and indifferent. “You no longer have any bargaining chips.”

After the treant translated, the Wolf King was briefly puzzled, then suddenly let out a low roar.

The wolves cornered by the wall immediately started moving toward the thirty-plus surviving people from the electromechanical factory.

Clearly, the Wolf King considered those humans its bargaining chips.

“Xiao Liu,” Nan Muran said casually.

From the eagle mother’s pocket, Xiao Liu shot out like lightning, circling all the survivors of the electromechanical factory at breakneck speed. By the time people registered what had happened, the survivors were already surrounded by a wall made of intertwining willow branches.

The eagle’s parents and brothers stared in disbelief. Was this really the tiny sprig of willow no longer than a thumb they had seen earlier? Had it become a spirit?!

“Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Taozi — just stay with Xiao Liu and don’t move. They can’t hurt you,” the eagle quickly reassured them when he saw some people were clearly frightened.

The mother looked at her second son, unchanged and familiar, and let out a long breath of relief. “Okay, Mom will listen to you.”

The Wolf King stared at the faintly glowing green Xiao Liu and felt his heart sink to the bottom. This was a level-seven mutant plant.

Even with the treasure in the back mountain of Lingshan, it would be impossible to find another level-seven plant. The strength of these humans was truly terrifying.

“You have no leverage anymore,” Nan Muran said, her voice calm and cold. “And your crystal core is very important to me.”

The Wolf King was a level-five mutant beast. With its core, either Wu Ge or Si Ye could break through to level five. It was useful — though not absolutely necessary.

The Wolf King was in despair: Is there seriously no room to negotiate?!

Nan Muran watched him quietly without speaking. The treant had told her earlier that the tiger had mentioned a cave in the back mountain.

Combining that with Si Ye’s judgment and the Wolf King’s level, Nan Muran guessed that the Wolf King might know where the substance causing all the mutations was located.

Wolf King: There’s a super treasure in the back mountain of Lingshan!

Hearing this, Nan Muran showed a trace of disdain. “You’re just a level-five mutant beast. How amazing could your so-called treasure be?”

At the same time, the treant leapt from Nan Muran’s left wrist and instantly formed a humanoid shape on the ground.

Wolf King: How is there another level-seven mutant plant? These humans are too terrifying! No wonder she can talk to me directly.

The Wolf King continued to struggle: The treasure is really incredible! It can help all living beings evolve! If you let us go, I can take you there.

Nan Muran sat casually on the steps. “I already said, I’m not interested.”

The Wolf King was cursing inside but still tried to persuade her: I’ll take you there now. You can decide after you see it. With your strength, we can’t beat you anyway.