Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After planting the sapling of the Tree of Life at the northeast corner of the yard, Sofia said, “Generally speaking, a sapling of the Tree of Life would take about a thousand years to evolve into an Ancient Tree of Intelligence. When that happens, we would be able to obtain a few drops of Water of the Spring of Life every day!”
Yang Ling almost fainted when he heard Sofia. A thousand years? He would most likely have turned into a pile of mud before the sapling secreted any Water of the Spring of Life!
“Oh Yiblis, I won’t see it in my lifetime! Perhaps there’s a small chance that the great-great-grandson of my great-grandson will be able to witness it!” Yang Ling shook his head and let out a bitter smile as he looked at the weak sapling of the Tree of Life. Now, he finally realized why the Water of the Tree of Life was so rare, and why even the elf tribes valued it so highly.
“An average person would have to wait at least a thousand years. That is also why many small elf tribes do not have any Water of the Spring of Life.” Seeing Yang Ling shake his head and sigh, Sofia continued, “But two days ago, when my grandfather was reading through some ancient documents of the elves, he found a shortcut…”
Shortcut?
Yang Ling’s eyes sparkled. There were many uses for the Water of the Spring of Life. It could not only accelerate his speed of cultivation, it could also hasten the evolution of Magical Beasts and neutralize the secret Crimson Pill of the Anca family. If he could quickly obtain a large amount of Water of the Spring of Life, it would benefit him greatly.
After cautiously surveying the surroundings, Sofia carefully took out a thin piece of vellum from within her robes. Looking closely at it, Yang Ling saw that it was covered with small words. It looked like ancient Chinese characters at first glance, but when he looked at it closer, it felt a little different.
“Brother Yang, my grandfather said that this is a psychic spell practiced by the ancient Tree Shepherds. Upon mastery of the spell, you would be able to communicate directly with plants and summon Withered Tree Warriors. You would also be able to boost the growth of plants. You have to hide it well!”
After confirming that there was no one around them, Sofia patiently taught Yang Ling the ancient elven language on the vellum. According to the records, in ancient times, both Tree Shepherds and Forest Elves used the same ancient elven language and were closely connected. Even though not many could read the ancient elven language in this day and age, it still paid to be cautious.
After studying the document for a while, even though Yang Ling could not figure out how he was going to cultivate the technique for the time being, he felt that describing it as a “spell” was misleading. Instead, it felt like a unique cultivating mantra.
It was different from the Wizard Mantra, which required him to absorb spiritual energy from his surroundings. This mysterious psychic spell seemed to absorb the life force that was present in all of nature. But strangely, the circulation of this energy was rather similar to the Wizard Mantra, as if both techniques had some connection with each other.
Could this be a special Wizard Mantra?
After silently repeating the mysterious psychic spell a few times, Yang Ling had a thought. Tree Shepherds were able to summon a large number of Withered Tree Warriors. He himself could tame ancient trees with spiritual qualities using his blood. There was a possibility that the Tree Shepherds of ancient times were Wizards in this world. That would explain the many similarities.
Could the Tree Shepherds of ancient times have something to do with how he had strangely arrived in this world?
Yang Ling lost himself in thought as he considered many possibilities, and he only came to his senses when Sofia shouted at him.
Yang Ling did not understand much. At the same time, seeing him quickly memorize the mantra and effortlessly recite it, Sofia was incredibly envious. The intonations of the ancient elven language would take an average forest elf more than ten days to remember, much less an average human.
“Brother Yang, my grandfather said that this spell is incredibly mysterious and would perhaps benefit you greatly. He wants to spend some time looking into it!”
Seeing Yang Ling deep in thought, Sofia felt a little awkward. In truth, she knew that helping Yang Ling rapidly improve his abilities wasn’t her grandfather’s only reason for handing the mysterious vellum to Yang Ling.
After unintentionally discovering the spell practiced by the Tree Shepherds under their altar, her grandfather had gathered a few elders from the elf tribe. They were unable to decipher the secrets on the vellum, though; they could recognize every word, but nothing happened when they tried to cultivate the technique. In their frustration, all they could do was to pin their hopes on Yang Ling.
It was rumored that in ancient times, the Tree Shepherds had a close relationship with the elves. Even if Yang Ling could not understand the vellum, the family behind him might be able to decipher the secret. As long as Yang Ling achieved the breakthrough and greatly improved his abilities, the elves would also receive benefits. At the very least, Yang Ling would be able to help them summon a few more powerful Withered Tree Warriors.
“Alright, please thank the elf elders for me!”
Yang Ling kept the mysterious vellum. Even though Sofia tried her best to hide it, the sharp Yang Ling could still detect that there was something hidden from him in this situation.
But he didn’t believe that Sofia’s grandfather had any malicious intent toward him. At the very most, he probably hoped that Yang Ling would be better able to protect the elf tribe. After all, in the eyes of the elf elder, there was a powerful family of Ancient Summoners behind Yang Ling. If he could receive the aid of Yang Ling’s family, it would definitely be an immense help to the tribe of forest elves.
It was a misunderstanding, a large misunderstanding!
Yang Ling knew that the elves, barbarians, troops, and even the ordinary townspeople saw him as someone rich, born into a powerful family. But since the people thought of him that way, he was not going to contradict them. After all, this misunderstanding had brought him unexpected benefits. He would be truly foolish if he didn’t take advantage of this.
After shelling a few crunchy hazelnuts for Yang Ling, Sofia bade her goodbyes, seeing that it was getting late. There were still many things to settle in the Evening Primrose Bar. According to their agreement with Yang Ling, the elf tribe would be able to obtain half the profit of every barrel of rum sold. Since the bar opened, the tribe had not only been able to improve the lives of its members, but also their weapons, much to the elation of her grandfather.
“Brother Yang, tomorrow… I’ll come visit you again tomorrow!”
Sofia couldn’t bear to leave. She had wanted to say a few more words, but seeing Yang Ling’s naughty smile, she could not help but recall the awkward situation in the bathroom. Her watery eyes glared at him as she turned to leave.
After watching the elf beauty leave, Yang Ling continued his research on Wizard Amulets. It was already deep in the night, stars dotting the sky, when he went back to the yard to catch a breath of fresh air.
Just as he was prepared to sit down and cultivate his Wizard Mantra, a pale green glow in the corner of the yard suddenly caught his eye. Walking over to take a look, he saw that the originally chopstick-sized sapling of the Tree of Life had already grown to the level of his knee. The speed of its growth was astonishing. And the spirit energy surrounding the sapling was even richer than the other plants in the yard, as if the sapling was absorbing the spirit energy on its own.
It’s growing at rocket-like speed?
In his confusion, Yang Ling decided to sit cross-legged beside the sapling of the Tree of Life and began to recite the mysterious psychic mantra. Quickly, the large trees around him started to release streaks of green life force. The life force mingled with the Wizard Power in his body, circulating in a mysterious path.
At the same time, as the psychic spell activated, the trees around him started manically absorbing the rich spirit energy within the Spirit Gathering Spell Formation. The large trees absorbed the rich spiritual energy while Yang Ling absorbed the green life force released by the large trees, creating a win-win situation.
From far away, the large trees in the yard seemed to sway without the wind. Even the many troops stationed at the edge of the Terras Forest could feel a massive amount of magical power suddenly gathering above Wissen Tower.
Sometime later, Yang Ling felt a cool breeze blow past him. He slowly came to his senses. Opening his eyes, he saw that the sapling of the Tree of Life had grown to reach his waist, tender leaves sprouting from its branches. At the same time, the Wizard Power in his body was fused with a larger amount of green energy, as if his red veins had been enveloped by green vines.
Even with his eyes closed, Yang Ling could clearly feel the movements of everything within the radius of a dozen steps. Every large tree in the yard, every root, even the maize that could be seen everywhere, seemed to have turned into his eyes and limbs.
At this point, anybody who passed by the area would notice a pale green glow surrounding Yang Ling. From far away, he looked like a rock covered in algae, or a green tree trunk blending together with the plants in the yard.
