Chapter 75: He shouldn’t have been so soft-hearted as to help the Fairy Mother Tree in the middle of the night, sob...

The courtyard was extraordinarily quiet at night. Half the moon hid behind the clouds, leaving the light dim. The Elven mother tree, which already looked eerie during the day, appeared even more frightening in the darkness. Its bare branches twisted and curled, clawing at the air with sinister menace.

After flying out the window and into the courtyard, Shu Li gradually slowed and landed on a blade of grass five meters from the mother tree. He rummaged through his storage ring and found a magic stone lamp small enough for a Fairy to carry.

The surroundings instantly lit up.

Shu Li quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, his storage ring was crammed with all sorts of miscellaneous things. He had specifically bought this magic stone lamp in the commercial district near the divine tree the last time he went to complete a task at the amethyst tree, just in case he ever needed it. He had not expected it to come in handy now.

Although the magic stone lamp was small and exquisite, its brightness was not diminished in the slightest. It was comparable to a fifteen-watt light bulb.

With the lamp in hand, Shu Li boldly approached the Elven mother tree.

To be honest, this was his first time meeting the mother tree in the dead of night, and an inexplicable chill ran down his spine.

The Elven mother tree had always given him a strange feeling.

He had once asked the Elven King what the mother tree had originally looked like.

The Elven King had shown him a painting.

It depicted a colossal tree with a lush, flourishing canopy. Every leaf glowed with a soft green light, creating a dreamlike sight. Golden oval fruits hung from its branches, intricate patterns flowing across their surfaces. Within them, the future Elf cubs were being nurtured.

After seeing the painting and then looking back at this bare, ugly tree, Shu Li had felt that the two were worlds apart, as though they were entirely different species.

Moreover, this ugly tree’s branches were damaged. A third of its originally umbrella-shaped crown was missing, utterly destroying its symmetry.

Shu Li did not like getting too close to the mother tree.

The air around it always carried a nauseating stench of decay.

That ethereal voice often complained to him that bad people had harmed her, causing her to lose her former beauty.

Looking at the miserable tree before him, Shu Li felt boundless sympathy for her and anxiety for the Elves.

Who knew when the mother tree would regain her former splendor?

Yet the mother tree had pinned her hopes on him. She was clearly so desperate that she was grasping at straws.

“I’m here.” Carrying the magic stone lamp, Shu Li stopped two meters from the mother tree’s trunk and raised his head to search for her lone surviving leaf.

Whenever he visited the mother tree during the day, he could spot that leaf at a glance. But now it was pitch-black, and he could not see a thing.

The magic stone lamp illuminated only a limited area.

“Over here... over here.” Excitement filled the ethereal voice. “Fly a little higher... then look to your left...”

Following her directions, Shu Li flapped his wings and flew four or five meters upward. At last, among the bare branches, he saw the leaf protected beneath layer after layer of wood.

A faint green glow shimmered across its surface. He truly would not have noticed it without looking carefully.

Shu Li flew closer to the green leaf.

Just as the mother tree had said, it had grown.

During last year’s Midsummer Festival, it had been only five centimeters long. Now it was over ten centimeters, nearly the size of an adult’s palm.

What surprised him most was the tiny green tip emerging on the opposite side of the branch.

No wonder the mother tree was so delighted that she wanted every living creature in the world to know she had grown a new leaf.

Shu Li was happy for her as well.

“Congratulations!” he said sincerely. “As long as you keep growing new leaves, you’ll slowly regain your vitality.”

“Hehehe... Little Sperien... I’m so happy... It’s all thanks to you...”

Shu Li tilted his little head and said in confusion, “But I haven’t done anything!”

Apart from watering and fertilizing the mother tree during every Midsummer Festival, he had done nothing special.

“No... you’ve helped me so much...”

“I really haven’t.” Shu Li did not dare take credit. “Anyway, I’ve seen the leaf now. If there’s nothing else, may I go back to sleep?”

He yawned.

Although he had already slept for a while, a child’s body was not suited to staying up late. He was growing sleepy again.

“Little Sperien... could you cast a purification spell on me?”

There was a pleading note in the mother tree’s voice.

Shu Li blinked and frowned. “I’m only a Mage Apprentice right now.”

Purification was advanced light magic used to oppose darkness. Not only could it cleanse people’s hearts and restore light to the earth, but it could also save living creatures corrupted by darkness.

Asking him to cast a purification spell on her was making things difficult for him.

“Perhaps you could ask another Elf to cast it for you,” Shu Li suggested.

Most of the Elves in the Elven Kingdom had lived for tens of thousands of years and possessed power on the level of Mage Sovereigns. Any one of them would have more than enough strength to cast a purification spell on the mother tree.

“No... their purification spells don’t work on me... Little Sperien... only you... Only you can help me...”

Shu Li’s head began to ache.

Was the mother tree latching on to him?

She ignored all those powerful Elves and insisted on seeking help from a Little Fairy who had only just begun learning magic.

“I only know low-level light magic—if you don’t mind,” Shu Li said, puffing out his cheeks.

“I don’t mind... I don’t mind...” the mother tree answered repeatedly.

She agreed awfully quickly!

Shu Li warned her in advance, “Let’s get one thing straight. Don’t blame me if it doesn’t work.”

“I won’t... I won’t...”

Since they had already come this far, Shu Li stopped putting it off. He held the magic stone lamp in one hand and the magic staff in the other while swiftly searching his memory for the purification incantation.

He had seen other Elves and Fairies cast purification spells before.

He closed his eyes slightly, entered a meditative state, and dug through the images buried deep in his memory.

There it was!

During the Midsummer Festival a year ago, they had visited the hot springs on Mount Amitai and unexpectedly encountered a strange magical beast.

For some unknown reason, the magical beast had suddenly gone berserk and attacked them.

The Elves had rushed forward and subdued it in only a few moves. After examining it, they concluded that it had been corrupted by darkness. The Elves then cast an advanced purification spell, and the magical beast returned to normal.

At the time, Shu Li had found it strange that a magical beast corrupted by darkness could appear in the Elven Kingdom.

According to Ilio’s analysis, that magical beast did not belong to the Elven Kingdom.

In other words, it might have come from the other side of the mountain.

And what lay beyond the mountain?

The sea.

The magical beast had webbed feet, which meant it could swim.

It was an amphibious sea beast.

If Shu Li had not deliberately searched his memory, he probably would not have remembered the purification incantation.

After learning meditation, everything had become easier.

He composed himself, opened his eyes, and gazed solemnly at the mother tree.

“Great Light God Leient Freyus, I am Sperien of the Faerie Forest. I ask you to command the light elements to gather around me and bring me the power of light to purify corruption, drive out darkness, and oppose evil—”

Silence.

Nothing happened.

Shu Li looked up at the sky. The moon was still hidden behind the clouds, and the night was pitch-black. Had all the light elements gone into hiding?

Or perhaps his incantation was wrong.

Purification was advanced magic. Did his modified incantation fail to meet the requirements?

But the Elven King had said that magical incantations were not bound to a fixed form. As long as they began by praising a god, whatever followed could be freely composed.

If the incantation was correct and there were plenty of light elements, yet the spell still failed, then only one possibility remained: his rank was too low.

A Mage Apprentice was like a newly enlisted soldier with neither achievements nor rank. Trying to command officers above him was nothing more than a ridiculous fantasy.

Shu Li said helplessly to the mother tree, “I’m sorry. I can’t cast a purification spell.”

“Little Sperien... try one more time... I believe in you...”

Shu Li sighed. “It doesn’t matter whether you believe in me. I don’t believe in myself.”

“Please...”

Hearing that pitiful ethereal voice, Shu Li’s heart softened. “I’ll try one more time. If it still fails, we’re giving up.”

Once he advanced to Senior Mage, he could purify her then!

Shu Li raised the magic staff and pointed it at the Elven mother tree. He took a deep breath, focused his attention completely, and reconstructed the image in his mind.

“Great Light God Leient Freyus, I am Sperien of the Faerie Forest. I ask you to command the light elements to gather around me and bring me the power of light to purify corruption and save the Elven mother tree trapped by darkness—”

The scope of his previous incantation had been too broad. With his meager magical power, it had been like tossing a single drop of water into the sea. Its failure was perfectly understandable.

This time, he had narrowed the scope and specified a single target. That should improve his chances of success.

Shu Li stared intently at the tip of the magic staff. When tiny specks of starlight began to gather, delight rose in his heart.

More and more starlight converged, swirling into a huge sphere. Brilliant radiance burst from it and illuminated the entire courtyard.

“Ah!”

Shu Li had not expected to create such a massive sphere of light. He instinctively swung the magic staff, flinging it toward the Elven mother tree.

The sphere shot toward the bare giant tree like a bolt of lightning. The instant it touched the mottled trunk, it exploded.

Boom—

Shu Li jumped in fright. He instinctively raised an arm to shield his eyes and rapidly retreated.

However, the explosion spread too far and engulfed him in an instant.

Shu Li’s vision turned white, and he could no longer see anything. His consciousness grew hazy, and his body seemed to be carried far away by the wind.

He was overwhelmed with regret.

Sure enough, he should not have let the mother tree coax him into helping after only a few words.

Great. Now he had caused trouble!

The sphere’s explosion had thundered deafeningly. It must have awakened every Elf in the Crystal Castle.

Hopefully the Elven King would not blame him.

Waaah—

What he should be worrying about now was whether his own magic would rebound on him.

After an unknown amount of time, his mind gradually cleared, and his body finally stopped drifting. He hurriedly lowered the arm covering his eyes and looked around.

Huh?

Where was this?

To his astonishment, Shu Li found himself wedged between the forked branches of a tree, holding the magic stone lamp in his left hand and the magic staff in his right. He was completely unharmed.

Thank goodness!

Shu Li struggled free from the fork, stuffed the magic stone lamp back into his storage ring, and tightened his grip on the magic staff.

It was daytime here, so he no longer needed the lamp.

However, he was in unfamiliar surroundings. He could not afford to lower his guard and had to remain vigilant at all times.

He hid behind a leaf and carefully surveyed the area.

This was a strange giant tree.

It resembled an ancient banyan tree, with an extensive root system burrowing deep into the soil. Its branches were dark purple-black and covered in deep green leaves, while enormous grayish-blue fruits hung densely from its boughs.

Shu Li tipped his head farther and farther back until his neck began to ache.

For some reason, the sight of this tree reminded him of the enormous painting depicting the Elven mother tree’s original appearance.

Just as he was puzzling over it, a noise came from below. He swiftly lowered his head.

Through a gap in the leaves, he saw two lavishly dressed... Dark Elves approaching the tree!

Shu Li’s pale green eyes widened in disbelief.