I'm a villain, not a devil

Chapter 701 The Mother of Corruption
This is the first time that the Stoneheart people have gone deep into the giant pit since the whole clan moved here.

The clan leader Shi Gan Dang leads the way, and the clan members behind him escort the tree man prisoners used as sacrifices. Shi Yuan, the daughter of Shi Gan Dang and one of the controllable protagonists in the game, is also in the team.

Sean followed the team closely, wanting to see where this sacrifice would go.

Going deeper into the pit, the scarlet fog became thicker.

However, Shi Gandang, who had been prepared, had all the tribesmen wear special masks that were part of the ritual so that they would not be corroded by the scarlet mist and become mentally disturbed.

The tree people naturally did not have such good luck. The scarlet mist continued to invade, and the surviving tree people had already shown signs of confusion. Some even had their eyes rolled back and passed out, but their bodies were still dancing in strange postures.

When the team reached the bottom of the pit, the corrupt, dead Tree of Life appeared before everyone.

Seeing the giant tree, Shi Gandang and a group of Shixin people immediately knelt on the ground, tears dripping from their eyes.

They knew that their mother was in some kind of difficult situation, but they did not expect that her body had become so heartbreaking.

"Mother, we have sensed your pain. Please forgive the Stoneheart children for being so slow!"

After apologizing, Shi Gandang wiped his tears and immediately urged the tribesmen behind him: "Hurry up, we need to offer sacrifices to our mother and help her recover as soon as possible!"

"Yes, patriarch!"

The Stoneheart people escorted the tree man towards the tree hole in a mighty procession. Each of them had a sad but determined look in their eyes, hoping only to relieve their mother's pain as soon as possible.

Sean, who was following behind, frowned slightly.

It's normal for a stone-hearted person to have a devout faith, but crying out loud is a bit too exaggerated...

The scarlet mist in this place is also a form of pollution, which can indeed corrode people's minds, but the Stoneheart people have already put on masks, so they should not be affected by the pollution.

There is no reason for this tree that claims to be Sean's old friend to cause such extra emotions in its believers.

Gods do not need the sympathy of mortals.

Faith is enough, all other emotions are a waste, because the gods do not need or want to sense too many emotions. This is one of the insights Sean gained after receiving the power of faith.

Instead of immediately following the team, he took a deep breath of the ubiquitous scarlet mist.

Sure enough, the pollution immediately began to wreak havoc within his body, just like the frenzy he had been feeling during the Crimson Stage.

Sean exhaled slightly, clearing out all the pollution in his body.

"The Stoneheart people suddenly started crying. Sure enough, it wasn't the pollution here that caused the crying... Was it the Mother of Corruption? Has she already begun to secretly influence the minds of the Stoneheart group?"

Sean made some inferences in his mind, and in a flash he caught up with the Stoneheart tribe.

In the tree hole, the Stone Heart people, who had already known about the ceremony, had begun to prepare.

There are eleven altars with a light red amber border where offerings can be placed.

Starting from the eleventh, there is room for exactly one hundred people, and so on, by the time you reach the first altar, there is room for exactly one thousand one hundred people.

Of course, now it’s not a person, but a sacrifice.

The Stoneheart people slaughtered the Tree People mercilessly, like lambs.

Regardless of whether they were dead or not, the tree people were placed on the altar one by one.

The Stoneheart Man was busy as hell, while Sean was suspended just above the reddish lake.

He looked towards the bottom of the lake. The last time he came here, he was still at the peak of Crimson. The sudden terrifying aura coming from the lake almost froze him in place.

Now, Sean has turned into deep blue, and it is a deep blue that has long completed the conversion of original energy. He once again tried to spread his consciousness into the light red lake.

He was very cautious and didn't dare to let his consciousness go beyond the boundaries.

It’s not that Sean was worried that he would be hurt by something terrible, but that he didn’t want his consciousness to be discovered.

If the person who replaced his 'old friend' was really the mother of corruption, then the mother of corruption could only be hiding in this lake.

Sean controlled his consciousness to slowly extend deeper into the amber. When it reached a critical moment, he sensed something and immediately retracted his consciousness slightly.

I already knew there was something underneath, but if I went beyond that limit, I would attract that thing's attention...

However, the sense of crisis that it gives people seems familiar.

Last time, Sean sat on the first altar, and then used fox magic to conjure up the image of his own fictional god, which caused the lake to riot, and the monster hidden in it almost broke out of the lake.

He didn't think it was the Mother of Corruption, just like the consciousness he had almost run into just now.

guard.

Sean was very sure that what he had triggered last time and what he almost triggered this time were probably the same thing.

The mother of corruption is being watched over in it?

Sean had a lot of questions in his mind that were not answered. Moreover, after entering this place for so long, the 'old friend' who had communicated with him consciously last time did not send any consciousness again.

This place has an air of fraud, which is an important reason why Sean instinctively acknowledged the other party as his 'old friend'.

However, this time, the aura of the Deceitful Heart did not reappear, and the voice of his old friend did not sound in his mind.

The mother of corruption has replaced her old friend?

While he was wondering, the large group of Stoneheart people below had already placed their offerings.

From eleven to one, from one hundred to one thousand and one, six thousand six hundred tree people lost their lives, their bodies were placed where they should be, green blood seeped into the ground, slowly gathered and flowed into the light red lake.

Shi Gandang asked all his tribesmen to retreat, leaving only him and the great elder.

The two looked at each other and used the power of manipulating rocks to create a small altar.

They stood up one on the left and one on the right, then knelt down devoutly, supported the ground with their hands, and recited words of prayer.

Sean pricked up his ears and listened. There was nothing wrong with the prayers of Shi Gandang and the Great Elder. They were given to him by his "old friend" and then passed on to Shi Xinren by him.

Moreover, as the prayer continued, Sean also sensed the restlessness of the power of faith.

This proves that the prayer was indeed directed to Sean's old friend, and his act of receiving the power of faith is still continuing.

The prayers continued, the blood of the tree people gathered, and then the lake began to roll.

Just like a slow cooker cooking over a low fire, bubbles were rising from the lake.

It contains the original color of the lake and the green of the tree man’s blood.

The two colors of steam intertwined and then slowly merged into the corrupted World Tree. Suddenly, Sean opened his eyes slightly, revealing a look of surprise.

The Breath of a Deceitful Heart...

He could feel that the tree trunk began to revive to a certain extent, and it was this revival that also brought about the revival of the aura of the Heart of Deception.

If this continues, then the entire ceremony itself should be fine...

Sean kept his eyes on his surroundings, ready to disrupt the ceremony the moment something went wrong.

However, the ceremony went much smoother than he had imagined.

The ceremony was coming to an end. Shi Gandang and the great elder stood up, their eyes red as they looked around with piety and joy.

New buds began to grow on the withered and rotten tree!

Mother, she is really going to be revived!
At this time, Sean also heard the voice he had heard before.

The last time I came here, the sound of the woman crying in my mind sounded like that of a young girl, yet it also contained the sadness and misery of an old woman.

But this time, Sean could clearly feel that the voice did not change, but it was no longer crying.

"Successful? The Mother of Corruption did not appear? That's unscientific... The Mother of Corruption had previously affected the game I brought back from the small world. In the game, the Mother of Corruption directly confronted me... Her level should be very high, and I have not interfered with the Stoneheart Clan for the time being, so the plot should not change drastically..."

Sean frowned slightly. "Could it be that my 'old friend' is the mother of corruption? That's too fucked up..."

As soon as this thought popped into my mind, the female voice that had just sounded suddenly changed.

The sound suddenly became strange and eerie, and Sean's head seemed to be hit hard by a hammer.

Countless crazy thoughts suddenly came to my mind, and my mental strength was almost lost in an instant.

In just a moment, Sean realized that he was no longer in the same place.

No, it’s not a spatial ability, but his consciousness has left his body and been pulled into another dimension.

His eyes sank slightly, filtering out all the madness in his mind.

His mental strength was so strong that it could pull his consciousness away from his body in an instant... There shouldn't be a being with this ability in this world.

Even if a plague-level evil god descended on the scene, he would not be able to do this.

Sean was very confident that he was no match for the plague-level evil god, but it was impossible for the other party to take away his consciousness easily!

He looked around and immediately realized that something here looked familiar.

There are spreading roots everywhere, and pustules are constantly bursting on the surface of the roots.

He seemed to be trapped in a hole full of roots.

He had seen this root system on the etheric layer of the game he brought back.

It is...the mother of corruption!
I was dragged into this world by the mother of corruption? When was it?
At this time, a cold and strange female voice slowly sounded: "Are you confused? Sean..."

Sean slowly looked up and saw a huge face that could not be seen clearly but seemed to be made up of roots.

After staring for a moment, Sean slowly uttered the other person's name: "Mother of Corruption..."

The other party laughed grimly: "You really know me... Haha, someone is meddling in your business and wants you to know my existence in advance... Unfortunately, this is not a good thing for you."

Sean narrowed his eyes slightly: "You dragged me in? Why, are you inviting me to tea?"

The Mother of Corruption just stared at Sean with her huge and disgusting face, and finally said slowly: "I'm a little uncomfortable. You didn't talk to me like this before... But, this is the so-called real you, right?"

Sean raised his eyebrows: "Were we familiar with each other before?"

The Mother of Corruption laughed. "Of course, we are so familiar with each other... It's just that you used to trust me, but now you are wary of me. Ha, I still like you better."

Sean said noncommittally, "I shouldn't have been that stupid in my past life, right?"

The Mother of Corruption made a sound of surprise: "Oh? You have indeed seen some of the past, but, obviously, there are still many things you don't know."

Sean scoffed, "Then why did you pull me in here?"

He clenched his fists: "It seems that you can't do anything to me now?"

Sean certainly wouldn't chat in front of an evil god who might be a pillar or even an Old One. While talking to him, he was already constantly testing the surrounding consciousness space.

He had already figured out the answer. Although the other party had dragged his consciousness out directly, he was not helpless here.

And the other party cannot treat him as a persimmon.

The Mother of Corruption simply let out a huge, almost thunderous laugh.

"I called you here to express my gratitude."

He was laughing: "Sean, when you appeared, I had already noticed you - you knew of my existence, so naturally, I also knew of your existence."

Sean frowned slightly, not understanding the meaning of this sentence.

The Mother of Corruption seemed to see through Sean's thoughts and just smiled and said, "My roots are all over the world, in every world you know. Any behavior that may affect me or observe me will be sensed by my roots - haven't you noticed it?"

The game I brought back was once affected by the Mother of Corruption. Is that the so-called 'root system'?

However, I was very sure at that time that my actions were not sensed by the Mother of Corruption...

The Mother of Corruption sighed, "I know what you are thinking... Indeed, I have too many roots. Even if the roots sense something, I, as the mother, cannot get the same information in the first place. However, you sensed me, but you don't understand what you are."

His roundabout way of speaking only made Sean frown deeply.

The Mother of Corruption seemed to be in a very good mood, so good that she was willing to explain it all to Sean.

"Sean, you care about me too much - and your mark, your past, everything about you is so different. Even if others curse me ten thousand times in their hearts, I won't know. But you are different. When you start to be wary of me, my roots sound the alarm."

"After a little thought, I realized that you probably knew about my plan to rely on your useless friend to descend."

He laughed strangely: "This stupid tree... I have already merged part of its roots, but it knows nothing about it and still wants to use its devout people to complete the initial recovery."

"My original intention was to occupy his body and temporarily exist as him - and this is very simple for me. I just need an anchor point for my consciousness to descend."

"Originally, I had another anchor point, but after receiving the warning from the root system, I knew that if I used that anchor point, it might be destroyed by you. Although it's not a big deal, it's not pleasant at all."

"But, fortunately, I have you, Sean—you are my anchor now."

(End of this chapter)