IRM Chapter 135

To win the favor of most players, Yuan Yuan’s voice was a cub’s soft and adorable baby voice. Although Ji Chi seriously tried to steady his tone, he still had no presence at all, sounding more like he was acting spoiled.

The Elven God silently picked up a teacup and took a sip. “Slurp.”

Ji Chi was covered in black lines and moved closer to Him, desperately flashing with light to attract His attention, looking even more like a glittering laser ball in a KTV. “I’m being serious.”

“Alright, alright.” The Elven God raised a hand to block the blinding light, his expression gentle as he said, “I know you’re being serious, and moreover…”

He touched the circular blocks of other colors on Ji Chi’s crystal body, curling his lips into a smile. “These are the powers of other divine authorities, right? The auras on them are all very calm and stable. It seems you are quite trusted by Them…”

The Elven God didn’t immediately answer him, but instead relaxed his back against the cushion, turning to gaze at the gentle firelight of the fireplace. His exquisitely refined face that transcended gender was very gentle. “I’ve been controlled here for a very, very long time, so long that I can no longer remember the passage of time… Can you tell me about the world outside?”

Ji Chi thought for a moment and picked out a few interesting things to tell Him, but then didn’t know what else to say. He had encountered many kind people and also experienced quite a bit of darkness—these were all unavoidable.

Finally, when he had nothing left to say, he remembered the words Brandon had said to him on the snow plains and said softly, “The world outside is slowly getting better.”

“Is that so? That’s very good…” The Elven God smiled. He stood up, his golden long hair flowing like water over his dark green cloak. He said, “I can give you half of my authority right now, because what you’re going to help me with next cannot be done without it.”

“My power is composed of ten types of nature spirits. These nature spirits are free and also unstable. To use them, I need to regularly appease them. Unfortunately, I’ve been trapped inside the Mother Tree and haven’t been able to communicate with them for a very long time.”

“Among these ten types of spirits, there are three most powerful spirits—the Light Spirit, the Dark Spirit, and the Wood Spirit. They can take human form and freely explore this world.”

“However, their powerful strength also means they’re prone to losing control. I’ve already lost the powers of the Light Spirit and Dark Spirit, and now, the Wood Spirit is also about to leave me.”

A trace of sorrow rippled through the Elven God’s gentle jade-green eyes as He looked at Ji Chi. “Help me appease them. When I regain my power, I want to try to break free from this cage!”

The quiet and warm treehouse began to tremble slightly, cracking inch by inch. The warm brown walnut furniture, the square and cozy fireplace, the delicate and exquisite handcrafted ornaments—all these beautiful appearances were reduced to dust.

The Elven God closed his eyes, and an emerald green circular crystal floated out from his chest. He frowned slightly as a crack spread across the crystal, neatly dividing it in half.

The Elven God suddenly let out a muffled groan. With a “crack,” the crystal split apart. One half fell dimly back into the depths of his chest, while the other half leisurely approached Ji Chi, adhering to Yuan Yuan’s body and completing another of its flat surfaces.

The Elven God smiled at him with a pale face. “This is the power of [Freedom]. I hope you can let it truly become free.”

At the Elven Spring, Dominic waited anxiously. Ji Chi was still closing his eyes, quietly touching the Mother Tree without any movement at all.

The Elven Mother Tree also seemed to have fallen asleep, with deathly silence all around.

But very soon, the enormous Mother Tree suddenly began to tremble slightly. As the leaves collided with each other, they produced a deafening rustling sound. The Mother Tree’s abnormal condition attracted the attention of all the elves. They looked worriedly at the Mother Tree, their hearts rising high—

“Crack!” A subtle yet crisp sound of crystal splitting rang out in every elf’s mind. As they were still puzzled, they suddenly saw that nearly half of the green leaves on the Mother Tree withered in an instant!

The yellowed leaves fell in profusion like a rainstorm, covering the surface of the Elven Spring and scattering throughout the elven tribe with the wind.

In the blink of an eye, the verdant Elven Mother Tree became half flourishing and half withered—half with lush green leaves, and half with grotesque withered branches pointing toward the sky.

The elves were first stunned, then submerged in indescribable terror. Red threads appeared in their jade-green eyes, and blade-like gazes stabbed toward the outsider standing beneath the Elven Mother Tree.

“What did that human do to the Mother Tree?!”

“Oh my god, he hurt the Mother Tree… I’m going to kill him!”

The elves, who would normally lament for half a day over a single fallen leaf from the Mother Tree, absolutely could not accept such a result. They seemed to go mad, removing the bows from their backs. The resilient bowstrings were drawn into full-moon arcs as their wings beat rapidly, flying toward the human beneath the Mother Tree!

The guards at the Elven Spring were also in a state of fury. Bound by their king’s orders, they were momentarily conflicted, unsure whether to block their tribesmen or surround and attack that human together.

They cast complicated gazes toward Dominic.

Dominic’s face was currently extremely grim. He stared fixedly at Ji Chi, veins bulging on his clenched fists as he also endured his own desire to attack.

“Domi, don’t! Trust him! He won’t let anything happen to the Mother Tree!” Evan, who was observing from outside, was the first to sense something was wrong and shouted anxiously at Dominic, “Give him a little more time! Please! Just give him a little more time!”

After saying this, he turned to his companions and said, “Let’s block the elves together. Don’t let them get close to Ji Chi, and don’t hurt them either!”

After speaking, Evan took out his wand first. He closed his eyes and murmured, as gentle light rose from his hair and body.

“Light Binding!” He opened his eyes, and a bright magic circle spread out from beneath his feet with him at the center, quickly covering a large area around the Elven Spring.

The elves who stepped onto the magic circle, and those who flew above it, were all frozen in place, their bodies bound by light, unable to move at all.

The magic circle was like a giant spider web—any prey that hit it could hardly escape. However, the light binding the elves only restricted their movements without harming them in the slightest.

The others also came to their senses. Chloe transformed into a mechanical giant, surrounding one corner of the Elven Spring. Linton released puppet beasts that swallowed the elves one by one, temporarily trapping them in steel-made stomachs.

Saintess Coralie’s golden hair and blue eyes receded like a tide. She opened a pair of blood-red pupils, transforming back into demon form.

Summoning circles drawn in blood split open from her palms, and sticky swamp monsters wriggled out from the summoning circles, covering the clear Elven Spring shore. The elves who accidentally stepped on them had their legs sink deep into the swamp, unable to move a single step.

All of Brandon’s skills were offensive. He could only hold his greatsword horizontally in front of his chest, blocking whichever elf he could.

They used all their skills and worked very hard to surround the Elven Spring, but unfortunately, the area of the Elven Spring was truly vast. Moreover, the elves’ method of attack was three-dimensional—if they blocked those on the ground, they would inadvertently let through those in the air.

More and more elves crossed the Elven Spring, attacking toward that oblivious person beneath the Mother Tree!

“Dominic!” Evan roared!

Dominic clenched his fists. He took a deep breath, removed the elven bow from his hair, held the bow, turned to face the rain of arrows, drew the bowstring, and said softly, “Water Barrier.”

The Elven Spring suddenly began to boil. Countless water droplets rose from the spring’s surface, gathering at his fingertips and flying toward the sky. A moist blue barrier spread out from the spring’s surface, enveloping the Mother Tree inside.

At the same time, the arrows and elves followed their momentum and crashed into the barrier’s surface one after another, then fell “plop, plop” into the water.

The elves outside the barrier angrily pounded on it, shouting at Dominic. “Lord Domi! Why are you protecting him! Look up at the Mother Tree! Look at what he’s done!”

Dominic’s eyes were bloodshot red. He bit his lip and said nothing.

Just as his tribesmen’s gazes toward him grew increasingly disappointed, Ji Chi finally opened his eyes.

For an instant, his pupils were jade green, but they quickly settled into ink black. Ignoring the chaos around him, he knelt down on one knee right there. His hand that had been pressing against the tree trunk slowly slid downward, touching a fresh and tender medicinal herb.

“With divine power, I grant you peace.” Ji Chi said softly according to the Elven God’s teachings. His tone was unprecedentedly gentle, and a gentle power also flowed from his fingertips onto the herb’s leaves, spreading along the leaf veins and stems, continuing to flow and diffuse outward.

Gradually, the clamor outside the barrier quieted down. They saw pure and gentle Wood Spirits emerging from the depths of the forest, walking toward the Elven Mother Tree, passing through the water barrier without obstruction, and gathering beneath the Mother Tree.

No one dared to attack anymore. Wood Spirits were extremely precious treasures to the elven race—losing even one would be a tremendous loss.

The Wood Spirits, with flowers, grass, branches and leaves wrapped around their bodies, lowered their heads toward the Mother Tree, clasping their hands in front of their chests. Little green glimmers of light floated from their bodies, slowly seeping into the Mother Tree’s trunk.

As more and more light points appeared, the moment they reached a critical point, the Mother Tree’s withered half suddenly lit up with green radiance. Crystal-clear flowers bloomed on the dried branches.

Half green leaves, half fresh flowers—the extraordinary sight made everyone forget their current predicament.

“The Mother Tree… is blooming?”

“My god, I’ve never seen her bloom before. What is this…”

The elves forgot their hatred and anger. They were captivated by the beautiful scene before them and couldn’t help but lower their bows and arrows, exclaiming and conversing with each other in amazement.

Not only that, but at the instant the flowers fully bloomed, the Wood Spirits began to sing softly. A melody filled with peaceful and soothing notes spread throughout the entire forest, and the originally restless vegetation gradually calmed down.

Starting from a single flower, the song of freedom echoed through the Elven Forest in response. Flowers bloomed, vegetation danced, and living beings felt peaceful and joyful. Their power had been appeased—their deity had returned.

Dominic stared blankly at all this. He half-crouched down, his trembling fingers touching a blade of grass—the sharp wailing sounds were gone, the chaotic cursing had also disappeared, leaving only a peaceful melody that spread from the leaf to his heart.

The water barrier suddenly dispersed, but not a single elf rushed forward. They felt the Mother Tree’s and the living beings’ joy, lowered their heads, put away their weapons, placed their hands on their chests, and offered the elven tribe’s respect to the person at the center of this vitality.

Ji Chi stood up and smiled at Dominic. “Thank you for your trust. However, it’s not over yet. Her power hasn’t fully recovered. When it does, I’ll return to you an even more lush and powerful Elven Mother Tree.”

Dominic showed his first smile in a long time. “Yes, I believe you.”

At night, there weren’t many bothersome insects or beasts around the elven tribe. The forest was utterly silent, with only starlight flickering faintly.

Ji Chi hadn’t gone to sleep yet. He lit a firefly lamp at the corner of the table.

The fireflies in the royal palace had official positions. They conscientiously performed their light-emitting duties, obediently staying inside the lampshade without crawling or looking around, producing very stable light.

Ji Chi drew the scabbard from the demon sword, revealing the sword’s snow-white lustrous blade. Five of the seven cracks on the blade had already been filled—

Before coming to the Elven Forest, he had found Harvey next door and obtained the white [Time], and had also found time to choose a full moon night to use the Nightingale to teleport to the Demon King’s Castle and obtain the purple [Rules].

Now he also possessed the green [Freedom]. The colors on the magic sword were becoming more and more abundant—multicolored and garishly tacky-looking.

Ji Chi sighed, took out some Dragon Heart powder from his magic bag, melted it with Fireball, and carefully filled in the green crack.

“Knock knock—” Two knocking sounds came from the door. Ji Chi had just extinguished the flame in his hand, and the room still had a trace of warm residual heat.

“Come in.” Ji Chi admired the demon sword with its flowing radiance under the lamplight while casually responding.

Dominic walked into this room that was obviously much warmer and was momentarily stunned, but didn’t ask too much. His eyes immediately caught sight of the extraordinary demon sword, and he hesitantly praised it a couple of times. “Well… this sword is quite beautiful…”

Truly a child beloved by the Elven Mother Tree—his tone and phrasing when complimenting things were exactly the same!

Ji Chi’s mouth twitched slightly. He helplessly put away the sword and turned to look at him. “What brings you to see me? Is your sister feeling better?”

A gentle smile appeared on Dominic’s face as he said warmly, “I came here on Beatrice’s behalf to thank you. She woke up once this evening and said she feels much lighter physically and is no longer anxious.”

Ji Chi nodded. “That’s good then.”

Dominic paused and said, “I’m very sorry about what happened before… My tribesmen were just too worried about the Mother Tree…”

Ji Chi smiled. “It’s fine, I understand. The Mother Tree’s sudden withering was indeed my responsibility. I haven’t apologized to you all yet.”

“But please rest assured, she will only get better and better in the future.” Ji Chi added.

Dominic nodded. “Yes, I believe you.”

“Oh, right, Domi.” Ji Chi thought of the other two types of nature spirits and looked at Dominic. “Do you know where the Light Spirit and Dark Spirit live?”

Dominic paused, his expression suddenly becoming uncomfortable. “Why… why are you asking about them?”