Barr and the others looked as if they had just woken up from a dream. They all tried to fly away from the tree, but as soon as they moved, the branches came for them.
Barr was a primitive deified elite. If he used his power, he could blow up a planet with one punch. But he couldn't fight back against the vines. He was wrapped up by the vines and turned into a cocoon. Only his head was visible.
It wasn't just Barr. Even the transmutation Elder Nader couldn't escape. His power exploded like crazy, but under the power of the branches, it was like the spring sun melting snow. The branches melted away, and he was wrapped up by the branches.
None of the creatures standing on the tree were spared. They were all wrapped up by the branches and turned into cocoons of various sizes. They hung from the tree.
Han Sen looked at them. They looked like the cloth bag bugs he used to see in his old home. They were all hanging from the branches, and it was a weird sight.
Han Sen kept looking and retreating. Even Elder Nader couldn't fight back. Han Sen didn't think he was that much stronger than Nader. If he got too close, he was afraid he'd be wrapped up by the branches, too.
Dragon One and Bao Lian were thinking the same thing, too. They were both retreating faster than the other.
A clear chirp of a bird rang through the air. A moment later, Han Sen and the others felt a very scary pressure descend upon them. Before they could react, that pressure pressed them down from the sky. It was as if they had crashed into a plane. They all hit the charred ground, creating craters in their wake.
Han Sen was in the crater, and he couldn't get up. That scary pressure was pressing down on him. His face was deformed, and he couldn't get up no matter how hard he tried.
Han Sen tilted his head and looked in the direction that the bird's cry had come from. He saw a big bird burning with white flames in the sky. The scary pressure was coming from that bird.
Han Sen really couldn't describe what kind of bird it was. It was elegant, proud, gorgeous, and majestic, like a god from heaven. It looked very similar to the legendary phoenix, but Han Sen had never seen a real phoenix, so he naturally didn't know whether this was a phoenix or not.
The huge bird slowly flew over the mountains and rivers. Wherever it passed, the originally charred mountain rocks and trees seemed to come back to life, regaining their vitality.
As the big bird flew, it was as if the whole world had recovered its vitality with its flight. The trees were green, and the ground was full of flowers. Wherever it went, there was no sign of death. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was a holiday paradise.
"A phoenix! It really is a phoenix!" Bao Lian, who was also lying on the ground, screamed in shock.
"I've been so unlucky lately. Whenever I enter an undeveloped xenogeneic space, I encounter a true god class xenogeneic phoenix. This is worse than winning the lottery." Han Sen felt depressed.
Fortunately, the phoenix didn't fly toward them. Instead, it flew toward the tree of Two Ape Mountain. It flew slowly for a while until it reached the tree.
After circling in the air three times, the white flaming phoenix landed on the tree trunk. Its flames didn't hurt the tree trunk. Instead, it made the tree's vitality stronger, and the branches grew faster.
The phoenix lowered its head and looked at the creature closest to it. That creature was like a giant elephant, and it had been wrapped up by the branches into a cocoon. Only its head was visible.
"Answer me a question. If your answer satisfies me, I will forgive you." The phoenix didn't speak, but a voice sounded in the heads of all the creatures nearby.
"What is it that you want to ask?
I will tell you everything I know, "the giant elephant creature said loudly.
"If one day, you and your partner are in danger, and one of you must die to escape, you have the power to choose. Would you choose to die and save your partner? Or would you choose to let your partner die and save yourself?" The phoenix's voice sounded again, and it was clearly reflected in everyone's heads.
Everyone was shocked. They thought the phoenix was going to ask a secret question, but they didn't expect it to ask a question like that.
It was a difficult question, and no matter what the answer was, it didn't seem right.
But since the phoenix had asked a question, the giant elephant creature had to answer. He said, "I will sacrifice myself to save my partner. I will let her live …"
"Hypocrite!" The phoenix's voice sounded in everyone's heads. It sounded disdainful.
The next second, Han Sen saw the phoenix lower its head and open its beak at the giant elephant creature.
But the phoenix didn't bite him. Instead, it sucked gently at the giant elephant. A strange power flowed from the giant elephant's body into the phoenix's mouth.
As the strange energy flow was sucked away, the exposed head of the giant elephant gradually dried up. In the end, it actually turned into sand and scattered. When the wind blew, it disappeared without a trace, leaving no trace behind.
Everyone was aghast. Although the elephant was only a king level entity, it had been reduced to sand after being sucked in a single breath. This was too frightening.
However, the phoenix did not seem to care about it at all. It was as if it was a matter of course, completely ignoring the giant elephant that had turned into sand and scattered all over the place. Then, it looked at another creature that looked like a sack of worms that was hanging on a tree branch.
It was a creature with a head that looked like an octopus. Han Sen recognized him. He had been with Elder Nader for a long time, so he must have been one of his students.
Being stared at by the phoenix, the creature's face turned white. Then, the phoenix's voice sounded in everyone's heads again. "If one day, you and your partner are in danger, one of you must die to escape. You have the power to choose. Will you choose to die and save your partner, or will you choose to let your partner die and be saved?"
The creature was scared to death, but when it heard the question was the same as before, it was overjoyed.
The giant elephant had already eliminated one of the answers. If that answer was wrong, then he only had to answer the other one. Then he would be saved.
Thinking of this, the creature quickly said, "I will choose to live …"
"Shameless!"
Before the creature could explain why he chose to live, the phoenix's angry voice sounded in everyone's heads.
There was no suspense. The phoenix lowered its head and sucked. The creature's power was sucked away, and its body turned into sand.
Everyone felt their hearts go cold, and they had goosebumps. They thought that if they answered the question correctly, they would be saved. But now, it seemed that the phoenix's question had no answer. Whether it was right or wrong depended on its mood.