Chapter 6: Xiangxiang and Old Tree Bark (Part 2)

  Xiang Xiang grabbed Cao Sen's hand and pulled hard, "You're so capable, go save my sister quickly!"

  "They and your sister are all Espers?" Cao Sen asked Xiang Xiang.

  "Yes, come on, let's go! The entrance of the ancient path is just behind that giant stone!" Xiang Xiang pulled Cao Sen and ran towards the giant stone.

  The old tree bark was nailed to the pine tree by a knife, and hurriedly shouted: "Two, two, put me down, I can help you!"

  Cao Sen and Xiang Xiang ignored him and continued running towards the giant stone.

  "There's chaotic energy flowing in the ancient path, you'll all be doomed if you go in!" The old tree bark shouted.

  Cao Sen stopped in his tracks and walked back, "Explain clearly, what is this energy chaos?"

  "I don't know the specific reason, I just know... Ah, look at me, how can I not remember?" Old Tree Bark thought with a worried and bitter face, his eyes slanting to glance at the combat knife on his shoulder.

  Cao Sen stretched out his hand and grasped the hilt of the knife. "You'd better think carefully about the consequences of playing tricks on me after I let you down."

  "Absolutely not! Under no circumstances!"

  Cao Sen's arm exerted great force and pulled out the knife. The old tree bark withered and fell to the ground, using his hand to stroke his wound.

  Xiang Xiang anxiously asked her own sister, rushing over to punch and kick the old tree bark, "Damn it, quickly say, what's going on with the energy chaos?"

  The old tree bark seems to be enjoying the beating, half-closing its eyes in ecstasy. Xiangxiang noticed that it was furious, with more strength in its hands and feet, but the old tree bark actually hummed comfortably.

  The one who was hitting used up all his strength, but the one being hit felt comfortable instead. What to do? When Xiang Xiang had no way out, Cao Sen suddenly handed her something - a lighter.

  The spark of the lighter jumped out, and the old tree bark waved its hand repeatedly, "No, I'm saying, I'm saying."

  The ancient path was a place where many hermits had closed themselves in to cultivate their skills a long time ago. There was a strange kind of energy there that had a great promoting effect on people's special abilities. A few years ago, it was accidentally discovered by someone with special powers and they opened it up as a base for people with special powers to gather and cultivate. This morning, for some unknown reason, the energy suddenly became disordered and unstable, affecting everyone who was cultivating in the ancient path, causing them all to go crazy. Xiangxiang's sister had gone in originally to bring reinforcements to deal with Cao Sen, but as soon as she entered the ancient path, she was also knocked down by the energy flow. So Xiangxiang and Cao Sen waited for half a day without seeing anyone come out.

  "How did you know all this?" Cao Sen asked.

  "I am extremely sensitive to all kinds of energy in the world, even if it's separated by mountains and rocks, I can still detect the situation inside through my perception of energy."

  It's a bit like an infrared thermal imager, Cao Sen looked at the old tree bark and thought to himself, this old guy is actually quite useful.

  The old tree bark was stared at by Cao Sen's gaze, and he felt a chill run down his spine. Since being defeated by Cao Sen earlier, he had almost instinctively feared this young man in front of him.

  "Is my sister still alive?"

  "It's all about living." With Xiang Xiang's question, the old tree bark escaped from Cao Sen's gaze, and he secretly let out a sigh of relief.

  Xiang Xiang also let out a sigh of relief, her sister's life was not in danger. This made her less anxious than before, but she still urged Cao Sen to go to the ancient road to see what happened.

  "Will people with special powers be affected when they enter the ancient path?" Cao Sen, however, was not in a hurry to go in. What if he went in and was also knocked down by some kind of energy flow? Wouldn't that be looking for trouble?

  "It should be so," replied Tree Skin, "this little girl can't go in, but you're fine, big brother."

  "Who are you calling little girl?" Xiang Xiang held up her lighter and gestured to Lao Shu Pi, "Call me big sister... Hmm, what do you mean? Why can't I go in when he can?"

  "This big brother has great martial arts skills and eyesight, I really admire him, but he's not an ability user, whereas you are, Big Sister, so..."

  Cao Sen coldly stared at Lao Shu Pi, "Don't play tricks, you want to lure me into the ancient path and use the energy flow to get rid of me, right?"

  "No, no, absolutely not that kind of meaning." Old Tree Bark said repeatedly, "So to say, Big Brother, you're also an ability user? No way, I don't see any hint of abilities on you?"

  "What does an Esper look like in your eyes?" Cao Sen's heart moved, he could also see various energies, and from the old tree skin, he could learn something.

  "There is a faint white energy circle on the body of people with special abilities, and the higher the ability, the thicker the circle." The old tree bark's eyes kept looking back and forth between Cao Sen and Xiang Xiang, as if comparing the differences between the two.

  Cao Sen concentrated his mind and looked at Xiang Xiang, and indeed found a very faint white energy thread around the girl's body. The thread was almost transparent and intermittent, and without Old Tree Bark's reminder, he really hadn't noticed it.

  But Cao Sen looked at himself and indeed did not see any white energy threads, why was that?

  Xiang Xiang and the others were getting impatient, urging Cao Sen to rescue his sister in a flurry, completely forgetting that they had just been gnashing their teeth and wanting to deal with Cao Sen.

  "You," Cao Sen said, pointing at Lao Shu Pi, "want to follow me to the colorful world of humans?"

  The old tree's eyes lit up, "Of course, big brother, as long as you take me with you, you are my father, my mother..."

  "Less nonsense, from now on everything listens to me, there's good for you." Cao Sen heard a old tree demon of the same age calling himself "dad and mom", his heart was as awkward as it could be.

  "Remember, don't give me any more trouble or play tricks on me from now on, otherwise I'll throw you into the desert! Go, take me to the ancient road."

  The old tree skin trembled with fear after hearing Cao Sen's threat. This young man really knew how to find his own weakness, and the consequences of throwing a tree into the desert made Old Tree Skin shudder at the thought. He stood up and honestly led the way in front.

  Xiang Xiang followed Cao Sen closely, admiring him to the point of being speechless. This cool big boy was too awesome, taking down a thousand-year-old tree demon in just a short while, and he wasn't even afraid of his sister's Soul-Confusing Technique! Hmm, from now on I'll follow him around! But how can I get him to acknowledge me as his little brother?

  Cao Sen didn't care what the girl was thinking, and from time to time asked Old Tree Bark some questions about his abilities. Old Tree Bark answered truthfully, letting Cao Sen know a lot of things about energy.

  In front of the giant stone, the sports car and jeep were quietly parked there, unchanged from when they left earlier. However, Cao Sen and Xiang Xiang's relationship had transformed from hostility to reliance, with Xiang Xiang about to rely on this cool guy to rescue her sister.

  Xiang Xiang pointed at the giant stone and said: "We entered from here." After finishing, she looked at Cao Sen with a sincere expression, implying that he should quickly enter to rescue people.

  Cao Sen looked at the stone wall in front of him, a huge boulder as tall as three people, without any cracks or crevices, let alone any mechanisms or hidden doors.

  The old tree bark also looked at Cao Sen, wanting to see how this young man would enter the ancient way. However, what surprised both of them was that this seemingly profound and mysterious young man actually had no idea how to enter.

  "There is no door, how can I get in?" Cao Sen muttered to himself.

  A whiff of fragrance, an old tree's bark is old and wise, basically guessing some things.

  "You focus your attention on the boulder."

  Tsao Sun-zhuo did as he was told, and discovered several threads of energy that were drawn into an arch shape, with a flow of energy flowing slowly within the threads.

  "Try to merge your spirit with the energy you see and control it, then the door will open." The old tree bark reminded Cao Sen cautiously, fearing that any word would offend Cao Sen and lead to punishment.

  Caosen had never attempted this before, but as the old tree bark said, he let his spirit envelop the energy threads that made up the archway. Immediately, an unprecedented experience swept through his mind, and he seemed to touch the threads, clearly feeling the coolness and smoothness of the energy transmitted, and the energy under his spiritual wrapping was like a transformed entity with no weight, Caosen could clearly feel that he could easily manipulate the energy threads.

  The door opens! Cao Sen's mind moved, the energy flow that formed the arched gate suddenly accelerated, and the speed was incredibly fast. With a loud bang, dust flew everywhere, and Cao Sen, Xiang Xiang, and Old Tree Skin instinctively lay on the ground. When the flying rocks and dust finally subsided, the three people looked up at the giant stone.

  Good heavens! Xiang Xiang cried out in her heart, what kind of person is he? Or is he even human? How can he have such immense power?

  The old tree bark was also a bit stunned, where did this young man come from? He just pointed out one sentence to him, and he had such power. If he practiced systematically again, wouldn't he be able to turn the world upside down in the future?

  Cao Sen stared at the scene in front of him, also somewhat disbelieving his own eyes. Could it really be something he had done?

  The giant stone had vanished into thin air, revealing a long tunnel before them. The walls of the tunnel were covered in rubble and debris, with Rose's red sports car almost buried under the stones. Jeep was also covered in dust, looking rather disheveled. Xiang Xiang, who was closest to the giant stone, was buried up to her neck, only her head visible as she stared blankly at the spot where the stone had disappeared.

  The old tree bark crawled up and ran to Xiangxiang's side, with seven hands and eight feet, dug out Xiangxiang, and casually flicked off the dust on the girl's body. In this process, the old tree bark naturally had a big appetite for tofu.

  Xiang Xiang came back to her senses, put her hands together and pushed the old tree bark with a loud bang. An energy ball blasted the old tree bark into mid-air. She didn't care if the old tree bark was dead or alive, she pulled Cao Sen towards the cave and shouted: "Sister, sister, I'm here!"

  Cao Sen, however, did not understand the girl's urgent desire to save her sister. He roughly grabbed Xiang Xiang and pushed her out of the cave, "If you dare to take one step into the cave, be careful, I'll ruin your face! Go find my car key!"

  Watching Cao Sen walk into the cave, Xiang Xiang jumped up and scolded loudly, but didn't dare to enter the cave. She knew that Cao Sen was doing it for her own good, just as Old Tree Bark had said - if she entered the ancient path, she might not be able to come out again.

  The old tree bark rubbed against Xiang Xiang's side again, "Hey, don't worry, I'm here..."

  Roll! The fragrant eyebrow inverted, and another energy ball was emitted against the old tree bark. As a result, the old tree bark flew in mid-air with its teeth and claws exposed.