Chapter 134: Sneaking to the Desert.

As early as ten years ago, Shu Li had discovered clues about the Fire Spirit in an ancient text.

After years of research and speculation, he determined that the Fire Spirit had once appeared in the Ergoga Desert of the Izera Empire. If he wanted to find it, he would have to venture into the desert.

But at Shu Li’s current age, there was no chance he would be allowed to go out adventuring.

So he turned his attention to the Mother Tree.

The Mother Tree’s roots spread beneath the entire Austin Continent. Although they had been contaminated by dark power, once they were fully purified, she could transport him anywhere through the space within her roots.

For the past several years, Shu Li had asked the Mother Tree to prioritize purifying the roots leading to the Ergoga Desert.

He had expected to wait a while longer, but today, the Mother Tree suddenly told him that the roots beneath the desert had been successfully purified.

“That’s wonderful, Eunomys!”

Shu Li was beside himself with excitement when he heard the news. As for the Mother Tree’s concerns, he had already thought of a solution.

“I’ll just scout the area and stay near your roots. If anything happens, you can bring me back immediately.”

Five years ago, he had obtained a piece of sunstone and asked the Elven King to fashion it into a set of magical protective equipment.

It was said that protective equipment made from sunstone was resistant to fire and extreme heat. Anyone wearing it could move unhindered through scorching places such as volcanoes and deserts.

He wanted to test it now so that he could venture deeper into the desert in search of the Fire Spirit in the future.

Hearing this, the Mother Tree knew she would not be able to dissuade him.

Sperien was a very opinionated Little Fairy. Once he had made up his mind, he rarely changed it.

“Are we going now?” Shu Li asked eagerly.

There were still three hours until midnight. He would take a quick look at the desert first, then head to Wanaku to purify one of the Mother Tree’s offshoots, along with Fruit Number Three, Fruit Number Five, and Fruit Number Ten.

Yes, over the years, he and the Mother Tree had successfully stolen seven fruits from the Dark Elves.

Newly grown fruits were quick to purify and could be transferred before long. Older fruits had absorbed too much dark power, so their purification progressed extremely slowly.

Fruit Number Three, for example, had been growing for more than forty years. After five years of purification, the process was finally nearing completion.

Fruits Number Five and Ten were twenty and thirty years old respectively. They had been undergoing purification for two years, but there was still a long way to go.

Dark Elf and white Elf fruits matured at different rates. Shu Li did not know whether the fruits transferred to the Mother Tree’s branches after purification would still need to gestate for a hundred years.

If Fruit Number Three had not been purified, an Elf cub probably would have been born from it this year.

Shu Li’s immediate plan was to focus on purifying Fruit Number Three and transfer it to the Mother Tree’s main trunk before the cub was born.

Otherwise, a white Elf cub born within Dark Elf territory would not only be in danger, but would also expose the secret operation he and Efit had been conducting.

Efit was an excellent partner. If anything happened to him, their plan to steal the fruits would be forced to a halt.

For the sake of the Elven people’s future, Shu Li had to be cautious.

Shu Li changed into his protective equipment.

His robe was a high-grade magical robe custom-made by the weaver Rolin, capable of withstanding attacks from anyone below the rank of Senior Mage. His circlet, armlets, bracers, belt, and leg bands comprised the sunstone protective equipment forged for him by the Elven King. When worn together, the complete set formed a protective barrier from head to toe that effectively kept out the heat.

Shu Li also wore a golden Phanis Ring around his left wrist.

When he had first been “born,” he had asked Aisha for underwear. Unable to understand his request, Aisha had assumed that he wanted a toy and given him an old bracelet she no longer used.

After he learned magic, Aisha taught him how to use the bracelet.

The Phanis Ring could create illusions.

Shu Li had previously entered strange illusions on several occasions and suspected that the Phanis Ring was responsible.

When he asked Aisha, however, she told him that was impossible.

The Phanis Ring could create illusions only when powered by magic. Otherwise, it was nothing more than an ordinary ornament.

In addition, Shu Li had hung a gleaming golden dagger from his belt buckle.

The dagger was an enchanted weapon he had paid a weaponsmith to forge from materials he had gathered himself. Not only could it pierce the defenses of a sixth-rank magical beast, but it could also serve as a fruit-peeling knife. It was extremely practical.

On his feet, Shu Li wore a pair of strappy sandals resembling Roman footwear. They might not look like much, but they were enchanted to increase his speed—the perfect shoes for making a quick escape while traveling.

Once he was fully armed, he stood in front of the mirror and discovered that he was dripping in gold and jewels. His entire body practically gleamed with five enormous words:

Come and rob me right now.

After some thought, Shu Li took out a hooded cloak made for Fairies.

Once the gray cloak covered him, it finally concealed his air of extravagant wealth.

He pulled up the hood, spread his wings, and flew toward the window.

At this hour, most of the Elves had not yet gone to sleep, and bright lights shone everywhere.

Shu Li glanced toward his three friends’ rooms and discovered that none of them was asleep.

They had only just received their letters of recommendation to the magic academy. Naturally, they were all still excited!

Left with no other choice, Shu Li flew down along the outside wall. Keeping close to the grass, he crept toward the Mother Tree, skipping the usual round of greetings, nuzzling, and cuddling with the little fruits, and slipped directly into her trunk.

Walking through the courtyard colonnade, the Elven King seemed to sense something. He stopped and turned toward the Mother Tree.

Eunomys, protect him.

Yes, my king.

Standing beside one of the colonnade’s pillars, the Elven King gazed up at the star-filled night sky, his green eyes unfathomable.

Transportation through the Mother Tree’s root space was incredibly fast.

Only a few seconds after Shu Li entered the trunk, he arrived at his destination. A wave of scorching air struck him head-on, and his sunstone equipment activated instantly, shielding him from the heat.

The temperature around him returned to normal, and Shu Li breathed a sigh of relief.

He poked his head out and looked around. To his surprise, everything around him was lush and green. The Mother Tree’s root had broken through the soil and blended seamlessly among the exposed roots of an enormous tree.

“Eunomys, where are we?”

“This is an oasis in the middle of the Ergoga Desert,” the Mother Tree answered. “My roots seek out places suitable for growth on their own.”

So that was it.

Understanding dawned on Shu Li.

Where there was an oasis, there was water, and where there was water, plants could grow.

“Then should I... take a look around the oasis?”

“Be careful. Do not approach the magical beasts here.”

The magical beasts of the Faerie Forest were wary of Fairies and Elves and did not dare behave recklessly around them. Magical beasts beyond the forest had no such qualms. Once one of them set its sights on him, he would become its prey.

“All right, I understand.”

Of course Shu Li would not be foolish enough to treat magical beasts from the outside world as friends.

To ensure his own safety, he would use magic to repel any enemies.

Fluttering his wings, Shu Li pulled his cloak tightly around himself and flew more than twenty meters upward. Concealed among the leaves and branches, he surveyed the oasis.

Judging by the sun’s position, it was around one or two in the afternoon in the Ergoga Desert—the hottest time of day.

Shu Li touched the sunstone embedded in his bracer and silently congratulated himself.

The equipment crafted personally by the Elven King truly was the best of the best. It completely insulated him from the desert’s heat and dryness, leaving his skin as soft and dewy as ever.

Shu Li was reassured. With this set of sunstone equipment, he could travel freely through the desert.

The oasis was roughly the size of a football field. A pond lay at its center, providing water to the trees and weeds. Several low-rank magical beasts resembling lizards inhabited the area around the pond, forcing every animal that came to drink to cautiously avoid the predators.

Perhaps the magical beasts had only recently eaten their fill. They lay lazily with their eyes closed, making no attempt to attack the small animals drinking nearby.

The magical beast beneath the water, however, silently approached the shore. It suddenly burst from the pond, clamped its jaws around a small animal’s neck, and dragged it underwater. A crimson bloom of blood soon spread across the surface. The other animals recoiled in terror, no longer daring to approach the pond.

Snakes wound their way along the branches, flicking out red tongues as they searched for prey. Among the grass, venomous scorpions and crawling creatures fought a perilous battle to the death.

Several of the more powerful magical beasts were secretly observing Shu Li, the strange creature who had suddenly appeared among them.

They were trying to decide whether the tiny winged thing was an insect or a bird, whether it was venomous, and whether it was edible.

Shu Li sensed multiple predatory gazes fixed upon him, but he was not afraid. By his estimation, none of the magical beasts in the oasis surpassed the fourth rank. They would not even be enough to fill the gaps between Mr. Serpent’s teeth.

After spending more than half an hour exploring the entire oasis, he landed on a branch, folded his wings, and stopped to rest.

He remembered the ancient text stating that wherever the Fire Spirit passed, no vegetation survived.

In other words, the Fire Spirit had definitely never appeared in this oasis.

Shu Li gazed at the boundless desert stretching beyond the oasis and clicked his tongue.

Nope. I’m not going in there. Absolutely not.

Even as a Senior Mage, he did not dare enter the desert recklessly. If he became lost, he might never return to the Faerie Forest for the rest of his life.

“Eunomys, how far into the desert do your roots extend?”

“My roots are present in more than a hundred oases throughout the Ergoga Desert.”

“What about beyond the oases?”

Trees needed water. He understood that. But wherever the Fire Spirit appeared, there would certainly be no plants.

“They extend three to four hundred meters beneath the desert.”

There were underground rivers at that depth, allowing the roots to absorb water and sustain themselves.

“Can they grow up to the desert’s surface?”

“I’m afraid not. Without water, even I, the Mother Tree of the Elves, would wither.”

Shu Li understood.

As expected, finding the Fire Spirit would not be easy.

Then again, that made sense. If it were easy to find, the Elven King would have found it long ago. It would not still be missing after ten thousand years.

Shu Li put the matter aside and prepared to return.

He spread his wings and flew toward the foot of the tree. Suddenly, a chill ran down his back as a dangerous presence lunged at him from behind.

In an instant, countless green vines sprouted from the branch and bound the creature attempting to attack him—a snake.

A cobra as thick as a large bowl had been twisted up like a pretzel by the vines.

“Hissss—”

The cobra flicked its red tongue. A vicious light gleamed in its bestial eyes as it raised its triangular head defiantly and opened its jaws, revealing sharp venomous fangs.

After becoming accustomed to Mr. Serpent’s imposing magnificence, Shu Li did not find this cobra frightening in the slightest.

He waved his magic staff, and the green vines tightened. The cobra thrashed violently under the pressure and spat a stream of venom at him.

Shu Li darted aside and avoided it.

It seemed this second-rank cobra had absolutely no sense of its own limitations.

“Down you go—”

Shu Li swept his magic staff downward. The vines hurled the cobra from a height of twenty meters, smashing it heavily into the undergrowth.

The cobra rolled across the ground from the impact. The green vines rooted themselves in the sandy soil and wrapped around it again and again, forming a long green cage that trapped it securely inside.

“Hiss! Hiss!”

The imprisoned cobra cried out furiously.

Shu Li looked down at it from above, not a trace of pity on his delicate little face.

He understood the law of the wild, where the strong preyed upon the weak. Showing mercy to an enemy was merely being cruel to himself.

He had not killed the cobra on the spot only because he did not want blood on his hands.

Shu Li exhaled, ignored the cobra, and flew toward the Mother Tree’s root.

Crack. Crunch.

“Hissss—”

A loud commotion sounded behind him. Shu Li could not help looking back in midflight. An enormous lizard had opened its jaws around the cobra’s neck. Ignoring its venom, the lizard tore through its scales and devoured its flesh.

Half of the cobra’s body remained trapped by the vines, leaving it unable to move, while the other half dangled from the lizard’s mouth. It struggled weakly a few times before finally giving up.

Shu Li stared, dumbfounded.

The magical beasts in this oasis were vicious!

The lizard quickly finished the cobra, leaving behind nothing but an empty snakeskin. It glanced in Shu Li’s direction, flicked its tail, and crawled slowly toward the pond.

Shu Li blinked and continued flying until he found the tree containing the Mother Tree’s root.

“Eunomys, which one is your root?”

So many roots were exposed above the ground that he could not distinguish hers from the others.

“Here—”

One root wriggled, lifted its tip, and waved twice.

Seeing it, Shu Li flew toward the root tip.

Just as he was about to slip inside, a bedraggled party burst into the oasis. Fire and earth magic erupted with thunderous crashes, startling the birds and small animals into fleeing in every direction.

“Sperien, an adventuring party has entered the oasis!” the Mother Tree warned him. “Quickly, return to my root space.”

The adventuring party consisted of humans, dwarves, orcs, Dark Elves, and goblins. They reeked of violence and blood, and one glance was enough to tell that they were dangerous.

If a Little Fairy crossed paths with them, he was unlikely to escape unharmed.

Shu Li remained calm and asked the Mother Tree, “Can your roots secretly approach them?”

“What do you intend to do?”

“Eavesdrop.”

An adventuring party would not enter the desert unless there was something to gain. He wanted to discover their objective and gather useful information.

“Sperien, it’s too dangerous. If they discover you, you won’t be able to defeat them.”

“That Dark Elf is an Intermediate Archmage!”

“I’ll be careful and remain ready to escape at any moment.”

Shu Li felt that the Mother Tree had been much bolder when her mind was clouded. He had only been five years old then, yet she had dared transport him straight into Dark Elf territory.

Now that he had purified her, the Mother Tree was no longer bald. Her branches were covered in green leaves, and she had even begun bearing fruit. Yet she had become increasingly cautious in everything she did.

He understood that she was worried about him and cared for him, but how could he grow without enduring a few hardships?

Besides, as long as he did not reveal himself and remained hidden within the Mother Tree’s root space, the members of the adventuring party would never discover him.

Unable to overcome the Little Fairy’s stubbornness, the Mother Tree reluctantly agreed. Once he had entered her root, she silently extended it underground toward the adventuring party’s camp. The tip emerged near the base of a tree, where no one would notice it without looking closely.

Shu Li hid inside the root tip, spread out his senses, and switched into eavesdropping mode.

The human mage in the party burned a ring of grass with fire magic. The Dark Elf then turned over the soil with earth magic, ruthlessly driving away the venomous insects and snakes to clear a campsite suitable for the night.

The orcs were strong and skillfully erected two tents.

The dwarf carried an axe into the woods. After a burst of relentless chopping, he returned to the camp dragging a heap of dead branches and dry grass.

The goblin used an ingenious hunting trap to catch two unfortunate rabbits.

Although the adventuring party looked thoroughly battered, they worked in an orderly fashion, each member carrying out a clearly assigned task. Before long, they had finished setting up camp.