Chapter 239
She smiled indulgently, allowing the shimmering lights to settle on her shoulders and hair, while nodding at Ye Bai. “I understand your purpose. The other key you seek is at the top of the Tree of Life.”
Following Ai Nuo Lu Xi Ya’s words, Ye Bai looked up.
However, the Tree of Life was too tall and vast, with a layer of dreamlike leaves made of pure life energy, obscuring the view of what lay above.
Instinctively, Ye Bai, already in task mode, asked, “Is there something I need to do to obtain the key?”
Upon hearing this, Ai Nuo Lu Xi Ya tilted her head slightly, her ice-blue eyes blinking in confusion. “Of course not. I will take you up there. You are the messenger of the God King, and I have been waiting for your arrival.”
“Really?” Could it be that she didn’t have to do anything to complete the task?
It felt so easy that Ye Bai began to wonder if she was dreaming… Oh, to be precise, she was indeed ‘dreaming’ right now.
“Absolutely.” Ai Nuo Lu Xi Ya was very friendly and didn’t mind Ye Bai’s skepticism. She smiled and nodded. “If you need, I can take you up right now. The other two versions of me up there will also assist you.”
“Wait… other two versions of you?” Ye Bai caught the strange information hidden in the fairy queen’s words.
“Right, I almost forgot to mention.” Ai Nuo Lu Xi Ya seemed to just remember this detail and quickly explained to Ye Bai. “Because this dream is limited, even with the power of the Tree of Life, it’s not easy to contain the entire Emerald Forest and the high elves. So, I split myself into three, each residing at the bottom, middle, and top of the Tree of Life.”
“Since we were originally one, the three ‘me’ will merge upon meeting, so I can’t take you directly. But don’t worry, you possess the token of the God King, and the other versions of me will help you.”
Split into three… After hearing Ai Nuo Lu Xi Ya’s explanation, Ye Bai finally understood that the seemingly normal fairy had paid such a price.
“What about the other elves…” Ye Bai pointed at the glowing dots.
“They are as you think.” At the mention of this, Ai Nuo Lu Xi Ya’s expression visibly darkened, her gaze drifting to the surrounding lights. “They returned their bodies to the Tree of Life, reverting to their spiritual essence.”
Noticing the queen’s mood, the glowing dots immediately swirled around her fingers, gently touching her as if to offer comfort.
Ai Nuo Lu Xi Ya perked up again, looking at Ye Bai. “Fortunately, you’ve finally arrived. The God King said that when someone with the other half of the key arrives, it will mark the end of this great annihilation.”
Catching two important pieces of information from her words, Ye Bai immediately pressed on. “Do you remember when the God King left? And what is this ‘great annihilation’?”
Ai Nuo Lu Xi Ya gently shook her head. “In dreams, time cannot be confirmed. The God King came to the Emerald Forest, told me how to move the Emerald Forest into the dream, and then left. As for the great annihilation…”
She paused for a moment. “I don’t fully understand it either.”
Seeing the questions swirling in Ye Bai’s eyes, Ai Nuo Lu Xi Ya pointed behind her, and a green sprout began to grow from where Ye Bai stood.
The sprout rapidly stretched and blossomed into a massive bud, which then opened up, forming a natural seat with soft petals and a flower center, while the leaves extended forward to become a tea table.
“It’s a long story, and I haven’t seen an outside guest in ages. Please, sit down and let’s talk slowly.” As she spoke, a similar seat appeared behind Ai Nuo Lu Xi Ya.
“That sounds great.” Eager to learn more, Ye Bai nodded and curiously sat on the ‘flower chair.’
Seeing Ye Bai settled, Ai Nuo Lu Xi Ya glanced at the empty ‘tea table’ and suddenly remembered something. “Oh, right.”
In the next moment, Ye Bai saw a mirror-like spatial passage appear beside the fairy queen, revealing a glimpse of the Tree of Life’s treetop, where several crystal-clear fruits resembling emeralds hung.
With a gesture from Ai Nuo Lu Xi Ya, one of the emerald-like fruits flew out and landed on the green-leaf tea table beside Ye Bai.
Upon seeing the fruit, Ye Bai took a deep breath. She recognized it immediately; if a player joined the high elf faction, this was the item that appeared at the top of the reputation exchange list—
【Fruit of the Tree of Life】
Level: Mythical
Effect: Restores all health and energy; removes all non-soul negative states; increases health limit by 4000; energy limit by 2000; all attribute limits by 30; experience points +1,000,000.
Description: Condensed essence of the Tree of Life, only given to guests who have earned the respect of the elf race.
Truly, the fairy queen was generous!
In an instant, Ye Bai’s admiration for the stunning elf skyrocketed, feeling as if she had already been won over.
“Ah!”
At that moment, a braying sound interrupted, and Ao Tuo Fei tilted his head, his big black eyes wide as he looked at Ai Nuo Lu Xi Ya.
“Oh, sorry, I almost forgot there’s another guest.”
Ai Nuo Lu Xi Ya paused for a moment, then smiled again. She waved her fingers, and in front of Ao Tuo Fei, a green-leaf tea table identical to Ye Bai’s appeared, followed by another fruit of the Tree of Life landing on it.
Ao Tuo Fei happily called out to Ai Nuo Lu Xi Ya in thanks, then leaned forward, nibbling on the fruit of the Tree of Life, his eyes filled with delight.
This was the first time Ye Bai had seen Ao Tuo Fei eat something without swallowing it whole, which showed how extraordinary it was.
Noticing this, Ye Bai cautiously picked up the emerald-like fruit. Even before bringing it close, she could smell a refreshing fragrance that invigorated her spirit.
“Crunch…”
Slowly taking a bite of the fruit of the Tree of Life, Ye Bai closed her eyes just like Ao Tuo Fei, overwhelmed by a flavor that was simply beyond description.
When she came back to her senses and opened her eyes again, her hand was empty; the fruit of the Tree of Life had been consumed without her even realizing it.
At the same time, a system notification chimed:
【You have consumed a ‘Fruit of the Tree of Life’. Health limit +4000; energy limit +2000; all attribute limits +30; experience points +1,000,000.】
【You gained the temporary effect ‘Life Surge’: In the next 24 hours, your health and energy recovery speed is increased by 200%.】
The various legendary mutated foods Ye Bai and Ao Tuo Fei had eaten along the way didn’t even come close to the attributes gained from a single fruit of the Tree of Life; its effects surpassed even the enhancements she received from leveling up.
After finishing, Ye Bai regained her composure and looked at the smiling fairy queen, thanking her for the hospitality before continuing to pursue her earlier questions.
Ai Nuo Lu Xi Ya took a moment to gather her thoughts. “The God King described the great annihilation as follows: the ‘balance’ of this world has been broken. If each race does not exercise self-control, all beings will gradually face an unknown end at an unknown time.”
“Unknown time, unknown end…” Ye Bai mulled over this phrase, feeling she had grasped some vague thoughts, and then asked, “So what does self-control entail?”
“We are the result of that control.” Ai Nuo Lu Xi Ya replied. “After the Emerald Forest was moved into the dream, aside from returning the bodies to the Tree of Life, no new elves have been born since.”
Ye Bai was taken aback; such a resolute method of control could hardly be called anything less than a fantastical version of ‘family planning’…
Moreover, the fairy queen had acted on the God King’s words without fully understanding the ‘great annihilation,’ indicating a deep trust in him.
Suddenly, Ye Bai thought of the deep sea that had been moved to the purgatory layer. If self-control was the goal, then the purgatory race was undoubtedly the hardest to achieve it, bar none, because the essence of purgatory was the continuous breeding of purgatory creatures.
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