Chapter 28: Sprites and the Tree of Life
"Now that they've all left, what should we do?"
Xianyue asked Du Xin.
Since Du Xin had already revealed his true identity to Xianyue, he saw no need to be overly cautious anymore; after all, he was here to have fun, so he might as well enjoy himself to the fullest.
"Miss Xianyue, actually, my name isn't Ye Yan—it's Du Xin. I'm someone from 'up above.' You don't need to keep searching for that Patterned Wood Beast anymore; I can help you."
Du Xin gazed at Xianyue and spoke slowly. Xianyue met his gaze, waiting for him to continue.
"Alright—what I mean is, I can offer you something even better. Plus, there won't be any danger involved. Now, watch this."
Du Xin circled his fingers through the air, gathering tiny specks of elemental light. There were no incantations, no hand seals—the light simply detached itself from Du Xin's hand and drifted upward. As it neared the forest canopy, it burst apart with a resounding boom. The scattering sparks illuminated everything within their line of sight; yet, these sparks continued to fly, continuing to explode. In a mere few seconds, the Dark Night Forest was transformed into a world of pure light.
Xianyue's jaw dropped in astonishment. A wave of emotion washed over her heart; the sheer beauty and breathtaking spectacle left her utterly speechless. Half a minute later, the display ceased. Scattered clusters of light now dotted the entire Dark Night Forest. Rather than fading away or falling back to earth after their explosion, these luminous clusters hung suspended in the air—resembling countless glowing stars suspended against the deep, dark canvas of the night sky.
"Let's go!"
Du Xin swept Xianyue up into his arms, holding her securely around the waist. Channeling his wind magic, a pair of massive azure wings unfurled behind him. And just like that, with Xianyue still in his arms, Du Xin began to stroll amidst the "stars."
"Hey! Do you realize just how rude it is to pick up a lady without her consent?"
After recovering from her initial shock and awe, Xianyue—who was currently resting in Du Xin's embrace—finally found her voice. Blushing deeply, she spoke with a haughty, tsundere air.
"In that case... I'll just let go!"
Du Xin teased, deliberately gesturing toward the ground—now dozens of meters below them.
"Hmph!"
With a huffy snort—a sound laced with both indignation and a touch of haughty pride—Xianyue reluctantly accepted her fate and began to simply enjoy the breathtaking scenery unfolding around her. Du Xin flew quite slowly; the ambient light fell just right, causing the ground below to shimmer with a soft glow. Various mushrooms grew upon the earth—growing to extraordinary sizes, often several meters in diameter, due to the absence of any other ground-level vegetation. Wild beasts wove in and out among the giant fungi, while occasionally, magical beasts perched in the treetops would fix their gazes upon Du Xin and his companion, their eyes flashing with a glint of fear.
The more mysterious a place, the more it tends to possess a beauty capable of leaving one awestruck. As they drew closer to the heart of the forest, the trees grew ever taller and their trunks ever thicker. After flying for half an hour, Du Xin and his companion finally reached the very center of the Dark Night Forest. There stood a colossal tree, hundreds of meters in diameter. Although a few luminous orbs drifted through the air here, they were entirely superfluous; the towering tree itself was blanketed in a dense array of shimmering points of light. These points sparkled and gleamed as if a river of stars had fallen from the heavens to settle upon the earth. Only upon drawing closer did they realize that these "points of light" were, in fact, tiny humanoid figures—each no larger than the palm of a hand—whose translucent, cicada-like wings glowed with an inner radiance that illuminated their surroundings.
"Oh? A subspecies of elves? I never expected to find such adorable little creatures here. I imagine they've received quite a bit of care from Youmeng."
Upon seeing these tiny figures, Du Xin immediately understood the reason behind the existence of such a massive tree in this place. Only Xian Yue remained bewildered, unable to grasp the meaning behind Du Xin's words.
"Elves? Are these the legendary elves? They don't seem particularly powerful... And who is this 'Youmeng' you mentioned?"
"These aren't true elves, merely a subspecies. It appears they were nurtured and brought forth by this very tree—hmm, I suspect this tree likely sprouted from a single seed of the legendary Tree of Life. As for Youmeng... well, you humans probably know them as 'Sacred Unicorns.' Youmeng is their King."
Although she had long suspected that this "Youmeng" was no ordinary being, Xian Yue was nonetheless utterly astonished. This was a creature of pure legend—a sacred entity held in equal esteem to the Great Sages of Magic! To hear it spoken of now by Du Xin—and in such a casual, understated manner—only served to deepen her realization of just how extraordinary a person Du Xin truly was.
"Come on. Let me go fetch you something nice."
With those words, Du Xin drifted slowly forward. The little elves, having now spotted Du Xin, began to flutter and dance around him; enveloped by their starlight as if by a celestial aura, Du Xin continued his gentle flight toward the depths of the forest. Judging by the fluctuations of magical energy, every single sprite here possessed the strength of a Third-Tier being; among them, there were even some Fourth-Tier entities. They swirled around Du Xin in flight, appearing less as a mere entourage and more as a protective guard, for they sensed emanating from him a gentle, primordial power.
The closer they drew to the colossal tree, the greater the number of sprites became. Surrounding Du Xin were hundreds of thousands of sprites in flight—a host that included tens of thousands of Fourth-Tier beings, and even hundreds of Fifth-Tier sprites, who were capable of understanding and speaking human tongues.
"Most Holy Lord, we are humbled and grateful for your arrival. We, the Dream Sprites, pay our respects to you."
A leading Fifth-Tier sprite addressed Du Xin with profound reverence. Instantly, the entire host of hundreds of thousands of sprites bowed down in perfect unison—a spectacle that startled Xian Yue. The sprites gathered here were numerous and powerful enough to contend against an elite imperial army; yet, such formidable beings treated Du Xin with such deference. Perhaps, just as he had claimed, he truly was the Son of God!
Moving further forward, two sprites radiating an aura of terrifying power stood before the colossal tree, their heads bowed in respectful humility. Such immense power was something Xian Yue had sensed only once before—from the Guild Master of the Magic Guild in Yubei City. She knew, without a doubt: these were Sixth-Tier powerhouses!
"We humbly welcome you, Lord!"
The two sprites bowed deeply to Du Xin, their voices trembling with emotion. Du Xin could sense the immense power within them, yet he also perceived the withering of their life force. It was not out of disrespect that they had failed to step forward to greet him; rather, they were simply no longer able to venture beyond the immediate vicinity of the colossal tree.
"Dream Sprites... how long have you dwelt in this place?"
"My Lord, our clan has resided here for three hundred years."
Du Xin raised his eyes to gaze at the massive tree. Though it appeared colossal and robust, he could clearly sense its vital energy slowly draining away.
"This lesser Tree of Life... it is withering away, is it not?"
"It is, my Lord. In ages past, our clan boasted the presence of Seventh-Tier powerhouses. Yet, decades ago—for reasons unknown—the power of the Tree of Life began to wane, and our clan, too, began to steadily weaken. Were it not for the aid of Lord Youmeng, we would surely have been annihilated by those who coveted the power of the Tree of Life."
Nodding slowly, Du Xin turned once more to address the clan leader of the sprites. "I've come to borrow something from you all. Rest assured, I won't be taking it for nothing."
Hearing Du Xin say this, the sprites were instead overcome with alarm and hurriedly spoke up:
"My Lord, we wouldn't dare! You need not offer us any compensation."
Ignoring the sprites' protests, Du Xin flew over to the Tree of Life. He extended his hand and beckoned toward the trunk; a thumb-sized piece of wood detached itself and flew out, glowing with a verdant light. Upon it, six distinct纹路—mystical markings—could clearly be discerned.
Now it was Qian Yue's turn to be stunned. Throughout history—from ancient times to the present day—a piece of *Wenmu* (Patterned Wood) bearing six markings had never once appeared. The highest grade ever recorded was a five-marked specimen found a century ago; even that had been revered as a supreme treasure and enshrined within the headquarters of the Mages' Guild.
"This! Isn't this supposed to come from inside the *Wenmu Beasts*? Why is it here? And a six-marked one, at that?"
"Even if they are looking out for you humans, it's hardly realistic to expect them to empty out their entire family coffers, is it? The entire Tree of Life possesses only a scant few pieces of this material; extracting one causes actual damage to the Tree itself. As for the *Wenmu Beasts*—well, seeing as they've taken to calling themselves 'Dream Sprites' now, naturally those are just fakes. These sprites have done quite a lot to look after humanity, you know!"
Indeed, Qian Yue turned back to gaze at the Tree of Life; it had withered significantly. Even the sprites gathered outside appeared visibly listless and drained of energy.
"Consider this a small recompense for you all."
Gazing at the withered Tree of Life, Du Xin gave another wave of his hand...
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