Chapter 1848: The High Priest and the Ancient Tree
This female elf had a gentle appearance and a slender figure, standing over two meters tall with an ample bosom and perky hips. Her long silver hair was adorned with a semi-transparent gauze outfit. Beneath the gauze, a bikini-style leather armor and well-defined muscles clearly indicated that this elf was no mere administrator.
She wore a crown carved from wood, with silver ornaments adorning her long, pointed ears, complemented by three dangling earrings. An emerald gemstone was embedded in her forehead and navel, and golden rings encircled her thighs. All these signs pointed to her being a person of great importance.
Upon seeing this female elf, the female hunter captain knelt on one knee and said, “Greetings, High Priest.”
“Hmm, is this the Elf Friend you mentioned?” the elf addressed as High Priest asked, looking at me. Her voice was like singing, and her pupils were as pure and bright as a silver moon, emitting a silver-blue light.
I wasn’t surprised that the High Priest knew of me. Before entering the forest, I had seen them release a magic-constructed Owl, clearly meant to relay information to the higher-ups.
“Yes, it is her,” the female hunter captain replied, her head bowed low, daren’t meet the High Priest’s gaze. I, however, looked up indifferently and met the High Priest’s eyes.
“Guardian Spirit, you are a Witch, but your main body is not here. I heard them say you are willing to help us reclaim the Life Tree Seed?” The High Priest recognized my identity.
“Who I am is not important; this is merely a transaction. It doesn’t matter that my main body isn’t here; my Guardian Deity can exert greater power than my main body,” I stated.
This wasn’t a baseless claim. A Guardian Deity could indeed wield more power than the main body. After all, the Guardian Deity possessed a stronger physique and refined equipment, capable of unleashing all of the main body’s magic. Most crucially, I dared to risk the Guardian Deity’s life, but not my main body’s.
“Very well, I agree to your transaction. As long as you can bring back the Life Tree Seed, you can choose any treasure from our vault, up to the equivalent value of three Life Tree Seeds,” the High Priest declared.
“High Priest!” The female hunter gasped, raising her head in astonishment. She understood the implication of “equivalent value to a Life Tree Seed,” which was almost equivalent to emptying half the treasure vault.
Elves lived for a very long time, thus accumulating vast treasures. These included many legendary Elven weapons, rare materials, some even extinct in the outside world, and even Spirit medicine that could extend lifespan.
It was precisely because of this that the female hunter was confident these treasures could entice outsiders to help them retrieve the Life Tree Seed. However, she had never imagined offering items of equivalent value in exchange. In her opinion, these outsiders were merely mercenaries, and it was already generous enough to send them away with a few treasures.
Especially since the Elves had just had their Life Tree Seed stolen, an unwarranted disaster caused by outsiders. She already held a strong prejudice against outsiders, and if not for the First Mate…
Now, to use equivalent treasures for a transaction with outsiders! This meant the Elven race was bound to suffer commensurate losses, regardless of whether the Life Tree Seed was recovered.
“It’s alright. We must show sincerity for our friends outside to be willing to fight for us. And items are inanimate, while our kin’s living space is our foundation. Without those treasures, my brave guards can still protect our territory. And as long as we have the Life Tree Seed, we can ensure our living space,” the High Priest explained.
Her words were profound and her perspective clear. The female hunter captain didn’t know if she was convinced, but she still bowed respectfully and said, “Everything is as you command.”
It was evident that this High Priest was likely the supreme leader of this Elven territory, capable of deciding on the transaction single-handedly.
I stated directly, “High Priest, all situations are still unclear. We haven’t even seen our enemies, nor do we know if we can retrieve the Life Tree Seed. We can discuss other transactions after clarifying the situation. For now, I only want the materials I mentioned; you’ve heard about them, haven’t you?”
“Indeed. Then follow me now. I will let you remember the aura of the Life Tree, and then I will take you to obtain the Poison Spring Flower spring water,” the High Priest replied with a gentle and elegant smile.
The location of the Life Tree was the holy of holies within the Elven Holy Land, the most critical place, heavily guarded by numerous guards. Access was only granted with the High Priest’s escort.
As the grand gate, intricately designed with numerous interwoven silver strips characteristic of Elves, swung open to both sides, I entered a massive tree hollow formed by countless towering trees. In the center, I saw an ancient tree person.
He had a beard composed of dense vines, a totem resembling a bird’s wing on his crown, and wisps of blue magic light swirling around him.
“Ancient Tree?” I asked with a hint of uncertainty. An Ancient Tree was the evolved form of a Life Tree after living for a long time and absorbing vast amounts of magic. It was said there was an even more powerful Eternal Tree, the apex of all tree people.
“Unexpectedly, you can recognize this. Your knowledge is indeed vast. That’s right, precisely because our mother tree is an Ancient Tree, we can control such a large area of Kaelen Forest. And because of this, those three stolen seeds are even more important. Do you understand now?” the High Priest elaborated.
In truth, I had only just understood thanks to the knowledge in my brain. However, I genuinely grasped the importance. A seed from an Ancient Tree could lay a higher foundation for the resulting Life Tree, allowing it to reach the Ancient Tree stage, theoretically requiring immense time or material investment, more quickly. This, in turn, offered a greater chance of evolving into an Eternal Tree.
“Great Ancient Tree, this is an outsider willing to help. We will surely find your children soon. Please grant her a wisp of your magic as a trace for tracking,” the High Priest sang in ancient Elvish. simultaneously, she raised her hands, emitting fluctuations of magic. She was performing a ritual, a ritual to communicate with the Ancient Tree, which was why she was called High Priest, a leader holding a position of ritualistic importance.
The Ancient Tree did not speak. Instead, it waved a long arm, and its magic halo formed into a gracefully dancing butterfly that landed on my hand. Truly befitting an Ancient Tree, this immense magic could even cause magic to take on the characteristics of a living creature.
“This magic butterfly can last for at least a month. It will automatically fly towards a magic source similar to the Ancient Tree. Of course, it cannot be used here; it will only return to the Ancient Tree,” the High Priest explained.
“Alright, I understand. With this, tracking those thieves will be simple,” I said, putting away the butterfly. No wonder those thieves couldn’t escape the Elves’ pursuit, even if they fled to the Kingdom of Saxony.
“Then, I will take you to the pool of the Poison Spring Flower, and I will also tell you the location of the Swamp Mudman concurrently,” the High Priest said with satisfaction.
