Chapter 790: The Chaotic Embrace of the Forest

“Come back…”

Just a second ago, Lu Xin’s right hand pierced through countless spaces to grasp the bride—a girl in a tumbled wedding dress—that had fallen into the fountain. In an instant, he retracted his hand and felt something new clutched within. Glancing downward, he was taken aback.

What he held wasn’t a lovely girl with an easel but a bizarre plastic doll.

Strangely, the doll wasn’t cradling an easel at all; it was clutching a playing card adorned with eerie patterns.

“Wow…”

“The bride is mine…”

“…”

Before Lu Xin could even inspect his prize closely, a piercing clamor erupted all around him.

It sounded like a swarm of noisy children crying uncontrollably.

The shrill noise reverberated throughout the forest, turning every tree’s lament into an ocean of agitation.

Every tree began trembling violently; a creaking groan echoed before the earth from every direction suddenly surged, as though a colossal beast had emerged from the depths in an instant.

“Pfft” “Pfft” “Pfft” “Pfft”

Without warning, chunks of soil burst open, and black vines erupted from below.

“Ssshhh…”

At the end of one vine, a swollen, dark pouch burst open like a blooming bud.

The only difference was that a bud radiates beauty and purity.

But this dark pouch reeked of decay, clinging to sticky, stringy strands.

Like the snapjaw of a man-eating tree, it flung wide until a half-human torso clawed its way out.

Massive vines sprawled in every direction, accompanied by the sight of countless dark, half-buried torsos.

From the pouch atop the vines, a figure reached out to snatch the plastic doll from Lu Xin’s hand.

A chaotic sensation overwhelmed every space around him.

Lu Xin felt enclosed, as if surrounded by a swarm of demanding children for candy.

“Sister…”

He shouted instinctively while extending his palm.

But in the very next moment, he realized his hand was utterly empty, leaving him momentarily stunned.

“Hey, where’s my sister?”

“…”

Confused, he spun around to see that his sister had instead caught hold of Sissi—the one who had fallen from the sky.

His expression shifted from surprise to a subtle smile.

His sister wasn’t disobedient; she had simply learned to care for others.

Without her assistance, his agility had taken quite a hit.

So, at that moment, he quickly changed his plan, slowing his lunge.

In the next instant, the surrounding air twisted as his mental force field burst forth.

Dense strands of mental power collided head-on with the black vines emerging from every direction.

All the black vines were flung aside instantly, lopsided and disoriented.

Yet Lu Xin pressed on relentlessly, lunging forward and slashing with his left hand.

“Splash!”

His fingers pierced the snake-like body of a vine, splattering a putrid liquid.

“Let’s see what you really are…”

He yanked the vine toward him, his gaze turning icy as he stared intently.

But to his astonishment, the moment his grip tightened, the vine rapidly withered. He could even feel the once resilient, sturdy vine losing its life force, transforming into a brittle, decayed remnant.

Its mental energy had fled, leaving nothing but a desiccated, wooden husk.

“Hehehehe…”

At that very moment, mocking, brain-racking laughter echoed throughout the forest.

“The bride is mine…”

“The bride is mine…”

“…”

The taunting voices, sometimes near and sometimes far, floated throughout the woods—crying, yelling, and laughing as if they wouldn’t rest until the treasure was reclaimed.

They made it clear: they wouldn’t give up without a fight.

“Even at this point, you still won’t run?”

Amid the maddening clamor, Lu Xin exhaled deeply.

Muttering to himself, a cold sneer spread across his face.

Then, without warning, he raised his blackened left hand and touched the ubiquitous mental radiation permeating the forest.

In one swift motion, he clutched that mental radiation and yanked downward with all his might.

“Crack, crack…”

The forest roared as trees began collapsing in a heavy, thunderous cascade.

The entire dense woodland seemed to be ensnared by an enormous net, pulled inexorably toward Lu Xin’s position.

It was as if they were bowing in submission.

…

…

“Ahhh…”

Amid the chaos, a cry of panic shattered the tumult.

Even the thing that had sneered moments before, comfortable within its own web of control, was caught in this fabric—used to commanding every inch of its domain.

It had absolute control over everything within its net, not expecting anyone to break the rules.

But Lu Xin had torn that net right off.

Trapped within it, the creature was forced to rush toward Lu Xin.

“Hehehe…”

Lu Xin felt a spark of excitement inside.

Ever since he entered this forest, he had been waiting for a moment like this.

Being a tyrant… no, ‘Tyrant’ was just a childhood nickname given to him when he was reckless.

Regardless, wielding the power of black particles granted him a fearsome ability to crush nearly all forms of mental energy. Still, there was one severe limitation: the black particles lacked any pollution ability.

So when facing mental contamination, he often felt helpless against the overwhelming forces.

Back when his father was by his side, he could borrow his father’s mighty pollution ability to disperse the taint of the black particles.

Though the effect was diminished, it was still invaluable.

Now that his father had reclaimed his authority and roamed the world to regain his strength,

Lu Xin had lost a formidable crutch.

Especially when confronted with incessant mental pollution that seemed as pervasive as a tidal wave.

There was nothing he could do.

No matter how powerful his point might be, eradicating an entire field was a formidable task.

Fortunately, he had reached the Fifth Stage.

Not only had he gained the power of Illusion, his understanding of black particles had deepened significantly.

While traversing this tangled forest, he’d always sensed that the omnipresent mental radiation was, on some level, tangible—something he could almost stroke, or even grab in one decisive motion…

And now, he had seized it, pulling it relentlessly.

The results were beyond his expectations.

…

…

“Sliiirrup…”

As he hauled the tendrils of mental radiation toward him, Lu Xin unleashed the power of Illusion in an instant.

He had always harbored a glaring weakness.

Other ability users or mentally attuned beings, upon reaching the Fifth Stage, could tap into their own fields or pollution logic to release Illusion. But since Lu Xin’s black particles lacked pollution ability,

his Illusion could only be activated by borrowing someone else’s field or by using his own Distorted Force Field…

And with his mental magnitude being a mere ten thousand,

a full release barely covered a diameter of one to two hundred meters.

In ordinary situations it sufficed, but in critical moments it was often inadequate. That’s why, during his encounter with the Sword-Bearer in Qinggang, Lu Xin had relied on Teacher Xiao Lu’s pollution logic to unleash an Illusion that affected the entire Second Satellite City.

This time, however, he directly harnessed the field that he had yanked in front of him.

At the moment his fist clenched and his Illusion burst forth, the mental energy covering the forest trembled violently.

A high-level influence began to spread rapidly.

Sissi had initially tried to control the entire field, step by step, suppressing and seizing it.

But Lu Xin was different.

He was a king, and within this field, he seized all the initiative.

Even if it was merely a forest.

Doctor An had already stated that even trees possess mental energy.

So long as you wield mental power, you must acknowledge: I am your king.

…

…

Crack, smack, crackle.

It was the sound of delicate, supple bones being molded by the power of Illusion, softly being shaped into various forms.

Countless intricate, interwoven sounds merged into a cacophonous nightmare.

As Lu Xin’s Illusion expanded rapidly, myriad bizarre creatures within the forest felt an overwhelming terror. Many screamed in a desperate bid to escape, only to have their fleeing motions freeze as the Illusion’s force submerged their bodies, transforming even the deepest layers of their mental traits into something tender and benign…

“Ssshhh…”

As the unbridled expansion of Illusion continued, a clear sound of tearing fabric suddenly cut through the air.

It was as if one of the entities within that mental field, gripped by fear, was actively shredding it.

Like taut threads snapping in an instant.

Almost all the trees, previously arched like bows, straightened abruptly while still trembling softly.

“You still managed to escape?”

Lu Xin frowned as he glanced down at his palm.

At once, the collapsing, tearing mental energy stabilized.

The dizzying chaos that had once spun through the forest abruptly halted, as if no intermediary had ever existed.

Every illusion, every whispered sound and rustle of wind dissolved in a heartbeat.

“Phew…”

In the midst of extreme terror, Doctor An and the others sighed heavily after what felt like an eternity.

Their eyes glazed slightly as they looked toward Lu Xin, who stood nearby.

…

…

“Eee, eee, eee…”

At the forest’s distant edge, a soft crying sound emerged: “The bride…”

“He… he has taken the bride…”