Chapter 617 – The Mutated Tree of Life

The Red-Eyed Bird wings marinated in Ink-Leaf Tree sap were roasted to a crispy, tender perfection — no matter how many times you had them, they never got old.

“Now it’s so convenient. Whenever I want to eat them, I can just pull out a {Material Card – Red-Eyed Bird Wings} and {Material Card – Ink-Leaf Tree Sap} and make them from scratch. If there’s no time to marinate, there’s also {Material Card – Ink-Leaf Tree Sap Marinated Red-Eyed Bird Wings}. And if I don’t feel like cooking at all, I can just materialize a {Food Card – Roasted Red-Eyed Bird Wings} and eat it directly.”

Sylph said, “But I still prefer making them from scratch with Culinary Magic. It always seems to taste a little better that way.”

“Same here. I always feel like the process of waiting and cooking adds to the happiness that good food brings! And it’s a chance to practice Culinary Magic while I’m at it,” Mo Lan said.

“That’s so like you! You’ve nearly collected every gourmet card in all of Valen, and you still haven’t let up on practicing Culinary Magic!” Sylph exclaimed.

“It just goes to show — no Magic is ever useless,” Mo Lan said. “If it weren’t for Culinary Magic this time, I might not have been able to obtain the Dragon and Angel memories so smoothly!”

“That’s true,” Sylph said. “Nobody can do without a good meal!”

……

“Alright! Now that dinner’s done, shouldn’t you take me to see that mutated Tree of Life of yours?” Mo Lan hadn’t forgotten about this!

“Okay, okay!” Sylph glanced at the magical clock, then checked her magical watch to confirm she’d been sitting for over half an hour before getting up and pulling out her broom. “I planted it behind the house. It’s a bit far to walk, so let’s fly there on brooms!”

Mo Lan stood up too, swung onto her broom, and followed Sylph toward the back of the house.

Behind the house was a vast open space enclosed by a fence, and in the center of it stood a single tree.

Though its canopy was lush and the wood elemental force and power of life swirling around it were denser than any tree she had ever seen — making it look quite extraordinary — none of that could hide the fact that it was merely a tree seven or eight meters tall, thick enough for one person to wrap their arms around.

About the same as a roadside tree that had been growing on Earth for a few decades.

“This is the mutated Tree of Life? It doesn’t look very big! Is it really necessary to use this much space to grow it?” Mo Lan asked, puzzled.

When she had flown over earlier, she had thought this whole area was a deliberately planted lawn. It turned out the real thing being grown was this tree.

“Honestly, I was confused at first too!”

Sylph said, “After I brought it back, I left space based on the growth range of the Tree of Life in the Elven Woods. But after a week, it grew to this size and just stopped.

If it weren’t for the power of life and wood elemental force continuing to grow denser around it, and the emotions it conveyed to me being comfort and joy, I would have thought something had gone wrong with the cultivation again.

At that point I figured maybe this mutated Tree of Life didn’t actually need that much growing space, and just needed to be planted in real soil — that’s why it turned out this way. So I was planning to use the remaining empty ground for other spatial planting pots.

But the moment I started digging, I hit root systems that were even thicker than the trunk.

It turns out the reason it needs all this space isn’t for its canopy at all — it’s for spreading its roots.

I went Underground to look. The entire area beneath this open ground is completely filled with its roots, and there are even roots extending under the spatial planting pots around the edges.

This is completely different from the Tree of Life in the Elven Woods.

The Tree of Life in the Elven Woods has a root system proportional to its trunk and canopy.”

“That’s…” Mo Lan looked at this vast, open field. No wonder nothing but grass grew here — the underground was already completely occupied. But she found it even stranger. “What kind of inconceivable mutation did it undergo to need such a massive root system to sustain such a small tree? Where is all the nutrition the roots absorb from the soil going?”

Sylph said nothing. She steered her broom up to canopy level, leaned forward to part the leaves, then turned back and gestured to Mo Lan. “Come look!”

Mo Lan flew closer.

There, half-hidden among the branches and leaves, was a green, oval-shaped fruit with faint growth lines across its surface.

“Is that…”

“It’s a fruit the tree bore,” Sylph said. “Just this one. All the nutrition the roots absorb must be going to it. At first it was only the size of a fingernail, but now it’s as big as a small ball.”

“A fruit from the Tree of Life… if I remember correctly, that’s essentially an Elf egg, right? Elves are born from the Tree of Life,” Mo Lan said. “Don’t tell me yours is going to hatch an Elf!”

Sylph shook her head and pointed at the tree. “It told me that once the skin turns white, I should pick it and take it back to incubate. Then it will hatch into a child that belongs to me.”

“A child?” Mo Lan said in shock. “Are you sure? Not an Elf? You’re saying a little Witch could grow on a tree?”

“I’m not entirely sure either. This tree’s spiritual awareness isn’t as high as the Tree of Life in the Elven Woods, and what it conveys isn’t perfectly clear.”

Sylph said:

“I plan to do the same as when the Elves incubate baby Elves — once this fruit grows a bit larger and its color starts turning snow-white, I’ll pick it and keep it with me, nurturing it with my own Mana, and see what hatches.”

“You have to tell me when it happens!” Mo Lan was too curious.

Regardless of what hatched, a new life would undoubtedly be born from this fruit.

As expected of a mutated seed from the Tree of Life!

“It takes at least a hundred years for a Life Fruit on a Tree of Life to turn from green to white. But from what I can see, this fruit is growing much faster than a normal Life Fruit. At most a year, and it should turn snow-white and be ready to pick for incubation.”

Sylph said, “You’re planning to stay in Emerald Creek Plains for a while, aren’t you? If you’re still here when it’s ready, I’ll just call you over to see it.”

“Yes, yes, yes! This time I’m staying no matter what until Lady Carmela and the others return to the Wilds! I should make it in time!” Mo Lan whispered.

The thought that there was a new life inside this fruit made her a little afraid of disturbing its growth.

The two of them gently parted the leaves back into place, covering the fruit in the center, then rode their brooms back to the lawn in front of Sylph’s house. They lay on the warm grass blanket, gazing at the stars and chatting about their experiences over the past few years.

They hadn’t been talking long before a message came through on the Communication Card.

Vasida and Lilith had returned to the Wilds. They had been flying back when they saw the {Magic Card – Long-Range Teleportation} and {Magic Card – Mist Barrier Teleport} that Mo Lan had uploaded, so they bought the cards and teleported back instead.

Sylph sent them the coordinates of her plantation, and before long the two of them appeared in the sky above it.

After years apart, the Sorceresses were reunited once more, and they tumbled into a joyful heap on the grass.