Chapter 152: The Golden Grade Standing Firm in the World

At this moment, Wu You’s entire mind was focused entirely on the Mountain Tree, which was struggling to break through the barrier of a major evolutionary rank.

He was merely worrying about the massive volume of the Mountain Tree, remaining completely oblivious to the panic and turmoil triggered by the various field storms in the outside world.

Of course, Wu You had sensed the fluctuations in various fields, but he had not delved deeply into their implications, focusing most of his attention on the Mountain Tree’s frantic absorption of those energies.

The first to react, ironically, was the primordial demon Salasso.

Many of its blessed followers were currently in hospital emergency rooms. When numerous devices along the southeastern coast plunged into paralysis, those in the hospitals were the very first to perceive it.

The emotional fluctuations of the followers fed back to Salasso, letting it know that the outside world had fallen into a certain degree of chaos and information blockade.

This allowed Wu You to instantly glean the external situation as well, realizing that at least for the moment, there was no immediate danger of colliding with an airplane.

It was the dead of night, compounded by the churning mist and the field storms, rendering visual observation and scanning by information equipment completely useless.

The only real fear was an aircraft blindly crashing straight into it.

The disorder of magnetic fields and signals at various levels centered around the coastal region, with its overall radiation range affecting three provinces and diminishing progressively toward the surrounding areas.

This anomaly was rapidly detected by large state-run agencies, and within an extremely short span of time, the possibility of an invasion by another nation was ruled out.

Because up to the present, no country possessed the capability to execute interference of such scope and depth.

Even if one truly could, how would the attack be launched? Why on earth would they pick the dead of night to attack China, and why not strike more vital targets?

Modern China’s technology, whether in the military or civilian sector, was no longer what it used to be. While it was possible that certain technologies might fall slightly short, being outpaced to the extent that China couldn't even react in time was sheer nonsense.

Consequently, the investigation into this large-scale interference quickly shifted toward the field of astronomical research.

National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

A group of on-duty observers grew frantically busy, placing phone calls one after another.

"Ring-a-ling-ling... Ring-a-ling-ling..."

The smartphone on the bedside table buzzed and rang.

A hand covered in age spots picked up the phone.

The caller ID showed Zhou Yunsheng, one of the phone owner's most prized disciples and the current director of the National Astronomical Observatory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"Hello, this is Cheng Maoguan."

On the other end of the line, Zhou Yunsheng’s steady voice came through.

"Teacher, please make sure to come to the observatory headquarters at the institute."

"Alright!"

The old man did not waste words. Zhou Yunsheng had always held him in high esteem; something major must have occurred.

His wife at his side grumbled a couple of times before falling back asleep.

"Teacher, the car to pick you up will arrive in 8 minutes!"

"Good, I'll be waiting. Fill me in on the general situation."

...

Similar scenarios were playing out everywhere. Almost every capable astronomer was awakened late at night, visited, and then whisked away by dedicated vehicles.

Before the heavyweight experts even arrived, countless observation data points were compiled at headquarters, relayed from various unaffected observatories and observation stations scattered across the country.

Zhou Yunsheng stared at the observation data on the electronic screen, his brow furrowed into the shape of the Chinese character for "river."

Judging from the monitoring data gathered by peripheral observation stations that suffered weaker impacts, the composition of this storm was extremely complex.

It was primarily composed of matter resembling cosmic storms, which drove and affected Earth's localized magnetic field.

Radioactive charged particles, high-energy cosmic rays, geomagnetic reactions...

Yet, these were merely contents on paper.

No observable major impacts had occurred to celestial bodies, and there had been no pre-emptive warning observations whatsoever.

It was as if the anomaly had suddenly formed from outer space and then plunged into the Earth's surface, concentrated within such a minuscule area.

Fortunately, as far as current conditions showed, it had no effect on the human body, at best causing certain devices to malfunction.

They could only wait for their collective wisdom.

Roughly half an hour later, the National Astronomical Observatory headquarters gathered the older and middle generations of astronomers who could be brought in on short notice. Combined with the young researchers of the institute, three generations—elderly, middle-aged, and young—were gathered under one roof.

Eighty-two-year-old Cheng Maoguan wore the reading glasses that had accompanied him for over twenty years, carefully examining the analysis sheet in his hands just like everyone else.

Several conference tables had been temporarily set up in the observation statistics hall, piled high with documents and data sheets.

As soon as new data and information were observed, they were printed out and delivered straight here.

When all known astronomical common sense failed to explain the phenomenon in the southeastern coastal region, a somewhat absurd thought crossed Cheng Maoguan’s mind: a second kind of contact?

"Director!"

A young observation researcher suddenly shouted loudly from his seat, shattering the contemplation of the many experts.

"The mixed field storm has vanished!"

"What!?"

All the experts turned their heads in astonishment...

The sudden field storm had lasted for less than an hour, and then, just as it had arrived, it vanished completely without a trace.

The Mountain Tree, whose total height had now reached three thousand meters, finally ceased its growth, its lush branches and leaves covering nearly the entire Mount Shiniu region.

Its sheer volume and footprint had truly reached the exaggerated scale of a small city.

Wu You looked down from the sky with a hint of helplessness.

This was completely baffling. The simulation effect of the churning mist was indeed formidable; as long as it didn't differ too much in height from the surrounding mountains, it wouldn't be discovered, and with the added influence of mental abilities, it was foolproof.

Yet now it was a staggering three thousand meters tall. It wasn't just a matter of crashing into airplanes anymore; it was blocking the surrounding sunlight itself.

How was this supposed to be handled? Should he recall the Mountain Tree?

But if he recalled it now, half of Qiantang would probably collapse.

System prompt: The Mountain Tree has successfully undergone super-rank evolution, its life essence has drastically altered. Would you like to rename it?

The system prompt interrupted Wu You’s entanglement, but it also perked him up; perhaps there was no need for him to worry at all.

When the Mountain Tree was initially created, the issue of being discovered had already been taken into consideration, which was why the churning mist had manifested later on, while mental benevolence was based on the World Tree's fantasy-like abilities.

There was no reason why evolving into a higher life form would somehow cause even the foundational concepts to regress.

Select rename: Natural Ancient Tree.

Renaming confirmed.

Alchemical Creature: Natural Ancient Tree, Name: None yet.

Talents: Resilient Immortality, Power of Nature, Reality-Fantasy Interference, Materialization of Mental Field.

Abilities: Purification, Mental Benevolence, Mental Tying, Life Guardian, Evolutionary Energy.

Basic Rating: Low Gold (Cultivation possible, requires Transcendent Energy materials).

System Description: A miraculous creature standing tall above all living beings.

As the brand-new system description concluded within Wu You’s consciousness...

It was as if it were proclaiming the emergence of a true Gold-tier entity.

A wave that was neither mental nor material emanated from the location of the Natural Ancient Tree.

"Thump..."

A heartbeat sound that only Wu You could hear echoed, as if the Natural Ancient Tree had just stirred its trunk slightly, yet it also seemed as though it hadn't moved at all.

This brief and imperceptible fluctuation was like a gravitational tide.

It instantly swept across every corner of the globe.

Some animals sensed it all, yet remained at a loss as to what to do.

Sensitive humans also felt a stirring, though their attention toward it was no greater than that of a mosquito bite.

However, on this planet, there existed another kind of creature that seemed to inherently understand the significance of this ripple.

All alchemical creatures briefly halted whatever they were holding in their hands.

Surprised, bewildered, lost, or calm, they raised their heads or closed their eyes, sensing it meticulously.

Even the giant sea monsters that usually frolicked in the ocean were no exception.

Like Wu You, they had never witnessed a Gold-tier creature before, nor did they understand the power of beings on this level.