Everyone who came to this island arrived through the Sacred Tree. They usually found themselves under the Sacred Tree when they opened their eyes. Then they would leave the Sacred Tree to arrive at the village, where they lived for a period of time. Later, as the end arrived, they would return to the Sacred Tree the night before they died, turn into a tree, and then finally be absorbed by the Sacred Tree.

They descended from the Sacred Tree and ultimately returned to the Sacred Tree.

Tang Mianmian asked incredulously, “What about the ones near the Sacred Tree? What about those trees?”

The middle-aged man said tremblingly, “Every time someone dies and is absorbed by the Sacred Tree, a tree will grow where they died the next day…”

“So you are so scared because you think your end is approaching?” Xiao Tangqiu raised an eyebrow, “But you can still turn from a tree to a human, which means you won’t die for the time being. You get food from the Sacred Tree and the Sacred Tree treats you as food again, this is really a short food chain… Your water resources also came from the Sacred Tree, right?”

The middle-aged man shivered and said, “Yes, after cutting the Sacred Tree’s bark, clear and clean water will flow out. We can only survive by drinking that water…” 

Xiao Tangqiu sighed, no wonder the Sacred Tree’s worship prevailed on the island. Everyone descended from the Sacred Tree and eventually returned to the Sacred Tree. All the resources to sustain their survival came from the Sacred Tree. For them, it may really be the existence of “God”.

“The Sacred Tree will only appear in the evening?” Xue Junli asked the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man nodded, “The Sacred Tree only appears in the evening, so all of us arrived on this island in the evening…”

Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian looked at each other and said, “It seemed to be evening when we came.” But they didn’t arrive from the Sacred Tree.

Suddenly, Xiao Tangqiu remembered something, “By the way, you said that the first group of people who came to the island… There one person still alive?”

“Yes,” the middle-aged man said tremblingly, “but he…”

“What’s wrong with him?” Xiao Tangqiu asked.

The middle-aged man hesitated for a while and continued, “He said before that he will return to the Sacred Tree today…”

Xiao Tangqiu’s heart shook, “He is going to die today?”

“He said that his time is almost up,” the middle-aged man’s voice became smaller and smaller, “all of us know that sooner or later there will be such a day…”

Xue Junli immediately said, “Take us to find him!”

The middle-aged man hesitated and nodded.

Xiao Tangqiu secretly observed these islanders. Perhaps it was because time passed too fast, but there were no young people on this island. Most of them were middle-aged men or old people who seemed on the verge of death.

After a while, they stopped at the oldest and most dilapidated house in the village. The middle-aged man knocked on the door, then pushed in without waiting for a response.

A gray-haired, shriveled old man with thin hair, cloudy eyes, and wrinkled bark-like skin sat cross-legged on the ground. Despite seeing someone coming in, he was motionless and unresponsive as if no one came in.

Xiao Tangqiu almost thought the old man was dead. His breathing was very weak, his chest barely rising and falling.

The middle-aged man nudged the old man and called several times, but the old man remained motionless as if he hadn’t heard any outside voices.

The middle-aged man sighed, “…Starting a while ago, he slowly lost his language ability, and he doesn’t seem to understand us anymore.”

Xiao Tangqiu frowned. In such a situation where communication is completely impossible, how should they inquire for clues?

“Even like this, he can still…” Tang Mianmian paused, and said awkwardly, “Do… the tree… the tree burial? Or do you guys send him there?”

The middle-aged man shook his head and said nothing. His eyes gradually dimmed. After a while, he said hoarsely, “Sooner or later, I will become like this…”

Xiao Tangqiu frowned, “Did he tell you anything about the Sacred Tree before? He should know something, right?”

“I’ve said everything he knew, there’s nothing else…” The middle-aged man sighed before he paused suddenly, “But… if you want to leave this island… maybe… You can go back into the Sacred Tree with him…

“We all descended from the Sacred Tree, and we will eventually return to the Sacred Tree. If you want to find a way to leave, it must also have something to do with the Sacred Tree…” The middle-aged man looked dazed, mumbling.

Xiao Tangqiu raised an eyebrow, “Didn’t you try to find a way out from the Sacred Tree?”

The middle-aged man paused and said tremblingly, “We tried, but we can’t leave… We are destined to be unable to leave…”

Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian looked at each other, then looked at Xue Junli, “Wait?”

Xue Junli paused, then said lightly, “Then we wait until evening.”

Bai Yushan immediately said, “Just wait? You’re joking! Stop wasting time!”

Xue Junli said directly, “Then split up and do what you want. We will wait here.”

“You are really wasting time here!” Bai Yushan gave them a cold look, then walked away.

After Bai Yushan left, the rest of the Reincarnation Team started a long wait. Just as their patience was about to run out, the evening finally came.

The old man who had been sitting on the bed cross-legged and motionless suddenly moved. He slowly and stiffly got up from the ground and walked out the door.

“Follow!”

Xiao Tangqiu was shocked and quickly followed.

Although no one called out, everyone came out of their houses at the same time. They walked towards the entrance of the village one after another, but their movements were very slow as if they were waiting for someone. Only when the old man took the lead out of the village did they follow one by one.

The old man walked slowly in front of the crowd, and the crowd followed his slow pace. No one was rushing and everyone followed quietly and orderly.

After a while, the large group came to the giant pit and everyone looked at the giant pit in awe.

“Where is the Sacred Tree?” Duan Hongzhen looked around and saw that the pit before them was still a pit, not a tree. Where was the Sacred Tree?

At this moment, the old man suddenly fell to his knees and bowed in the direction of the giant hole. His limbs and forehead pressed closely against the ground and everyone else knelt down.

“Fuck, this instantly looks like the scene of a large cult…” Tang Mianmian murmured. A group of people knelt to the ground at the same time, all of them with a pious and respectful expression. This kind of scene really looked like a cult.

As soon as his voice fell, the ground shook under their feet.

In the next moment, a huge tree slowly grew out of the huge pit!

Everyone was stunned. Xiao Tangqiu’s eyes widened. He had never seen such a huge tree. The tree grew to more than a hundred meters high instantly and it continued to grow wildly, finally reaching the clouds.

He suddenly understood why the islanders would fanatically worship the Sacred Tree. If this tree grew in the real world, it would likely have countless fans.

But, when he carefully looked at the Sacred Tree, he couldn’t help but feel his hair raise. Although the Sacred Tree looked like a normal tree from a distance, its bark was not normal on a closer look. It was a mass of slowly squirming, fleshy things.

After the Sacred Tree appeared, the islanders who fell on their knees got up, crowded forward, and began to tear pieces of “meat” from the Sacred Tree with their bare hands. The old man also walked up and he slowly tore off a piece of “meat” before shoving it hungrily into his own mouth.

Not long after eating the “meat”, the old man fell to the ground with an expression of pain and soon breathed his last.

After a moment, a sapling grew from his corpse.

The tree sprouted from the old man’s chest as if bursting out of his body. It grew very fast, growing to the size of an ordinary black thorned tree with a rustle.

The old man’s corpse did not disappear, but it seemed that all his nutrients had been absorbed by the tree that broke out of his chest and he instantly turned into a skeleton.

The islanders silently watched the scene before them. Silently watching their once-familiar companion’s chest get broken open by a tree that absorbed his body. Silently watching the old man “turn into”… be replaced by a tree.

At this moment, a big hole opened at the center of the Sacred Tree’s trunk and a thick vine-like thing poked out.

Although this thing looked similar to a vine, it was extremely thick, about one or two meters in diameter, and the top seemed to be a “mouth” with jagged teeth.

The Sacred Tree slowly stretched the vine to the tree that the old man had turned into and then swallowed the tree with the tip of the vine… The black thorned tree that originally looked strong with vitality instantly withered and died and the skeleton was thrown aside.

As the Sacred Tree was slowly preparing to retract the vine, Xiao Tangqiu rushed up without hesitation and jumped directly onto the vine, hugging it tightly. The rest of the Reincarnation Team also reacted quickly and jumped one after another onto the vine.

The newbies couldn’t react as they watched them jump on the vine, but even if they reacted, they probably didn’t have the courage to jump on it. They all just saw this thing suck a person dry… Only the most courageous newbie gritted his teeth and jumped up.

“Who are you? Scram! Leave our Sacred Tree!”

“Scram! Scram!”

When the islanders saw that someone dared to climb up their Sacred Tree, they immediately became enraged. They immediately picked up rocks and threw them up, trying to smash Xiao Tangqiu and them down.

“Fuck! That hurts!” Tang Mianmian was hit by a stone inadvertently, and suddenly yelled, “These people… deserve to never be able to leave!”

Xiao Tangqiu originally just wanted to give it a try. But when he looked down at the islanders with almost distorted facial features, he subconsciously tightened his grip on the vine… If they fell now, the islanders would probably beat them to death!

But now was not the time to consider this kind of problem.

He raised his head and looked at the big hole in the center of the Sacred Tree’s trunk. He didn’t think it would be so easy for them to leave this instance… and the main goal of their trip has not been achieved yet!

The huge hole was completely dark, allowing no one to see what was inside. It was mysterious and unpredictable, like a passage to a different world… And like a bottomless abyss.