Chapter 938 – The Giant Tree Dream

Over the next half day, with Grandma Matil’s help, Mo Lan happily began moving in and decorating her new home.

She didn’t actually have much luggage. The so-called “moving” mostly involved various daily necessities that Matil had prepared for her, along with housewarming gifts sent by other Elves in the tribe.

Soft, dry moss and fragrant dried grass were spread over the heartwood bed inside the tree hollow. A thin blanket woven from moonlight moth silk was neatly folded at the foot of the bed. Several storage cabinets were placed in the corner to hold her personal belongings, such as the scented bark paper that Polly had given her, and the half-finished water-washed ink that Celine had been making together with her.

On the terrace, a low table was set with fresh fruits gifted by the Elves and wooden cups filled with clear spring water.

When the lingering glow of sunset once again draped the forest in golden gauze, Mo Lan wrapped herself in a fuzzy animal-hide blanket, nestled into the hanging hammock eating fruit, and gazed out at the distant sea of trees.

Only when the sky had completely darkened and moonlight fell upon the treetops did Mo Lan reluctantly climb down from the hammock and crawl back into her tree hollow cottage.

Lying on the soft, warm heartwood bed, it felt as though countless tiny springs beneath her were continuously seeping out gentle, pure natural energy, nourishing her body and soothing the slight fatigue from the day’s excitement and busyness.

In this incredibly comfortable and safe sensation, drowsiness surged over her consciousness like a gentle tide.

……

After an indeterminate amount of time, Mo Lan found herself standing in a hazy space suffused with pale green mist.

Everything around her was blurred and indistinct. Only directly ahead stood a tree so enormous it defied imagination.

Its trunk was like a colossal pillar supporting heaven and earth, its canopy disappearing into the endless green mist above, as though connecting to another world.

Countless veins emitting a soft luminous halo flowed slowly across the surface of the tree, brimming with a vast aura of nature.

Mo Lan tilted her head back, staring blankly at this giant tree, feeling an inexplicable sense of profound closeness and peace in her heart.

Just then, a gentle voice, indistinguishable in gender, drifted down from the tree:

“…Finally, I’ve been waiting for you, little one. Getting you to fall asleep was quite difficult…”

“Mm, not bad at absorbing energy, strong body…”

“…Hmm, psychic power… why are your mental defenses so heavy? I can’t even see clearly what you’re thinking… Never mind, a pure soul is enough. It’s been many years since I’ve seen such good potential…”

“…Listen well, little one. The way of nature lies in ‘harmony’ and ‘guidance,’ not ‘conquest’ and ‘coercion’…”

“…Nature Elves are born with the Natural Affinity talent, but you need to learn how to use it. Try ‘breathing’ in sync with the forest, perceive nature’s veins during meditation, guide the forces of nature to temper your body, spirit, and will, establish a connection with the magic network, and choose the direction you wish to specialize in… Don’t underestimate those little zero-level tricks. Each one has withstood the test of long ages, and only because they proved useful enough have they been passed down to this day…”

“…Your psychic power is indeed strong. After all I’ve said, you’re still quite at ease. But the path beyond the ordinary mustn’t be rushed. Once you’ve comprehended everything I’ve taught you, I’ll teach you the rest!”

This giant tree was like an elder who had been alone for too long and had finally found someone to talk to, rambling on and on to Mo Lan about many things.

Everything else in the dream was blurred and indistinct. Only these words, as though carved by the sharpest chisel, were etched stroke by stroke deep into Mo Lan’s consciousness, carrying an indescribable majesty and tenderness. She could muster no resistance whatsoever, and could only passively receive them.

When the first rays of morning sunlight filtered through the gaps in the aerial root curtain and gently fell upon Mo Lan’s face, her long eyelashes trembled several times before she slowly opened her eyes.

The tree hollow was still peaceful. The heartwood bed beneath her continued to emanate its comforting aura. But Mo Lan immediately noticed something was different.

She felt her mind was exceptionally clear, her spirit remarkably full of vigor.

More importantly, she hadn’t needed sleep in many years, let alone dreamed.

Moreover, the giant tree’s words in the dream had been far too clear and logical—nothing like the chaos of an ordinary dream.

Thinking carefully, perceiving nature, tempering the spirit, connecting to the magic network, choosing a specialization, determining a profession, learning Magic—weren’t these precisely the foundational knowledge related to magical enlightenment in this world?

Mo Lan immediately sank her consciousness into her mental sea and discovered that a small portion of her previously sealed inheritance memories had actually opened up!

And the content of the newly unlocked inheritance memories was none other than everything the giant tree had rambled about in last night’s dream!

Compared to the inheritance memories, what the giant tree had said in the dream was more accessible and easier to understand.

It was as if someone had taken that entire dream conversation and organized it directly into text and intent, then stuffed it into her inheritance memories.

But she was certain that the inheritance memories had always been inside her mental sea. Recalling what the giant tree had said at the end of the dream, Mo Lan understood—this was very likely the “personal instruction from the Tree Spirit” that Grandma Matil had emphasized so many times.

Mo Lan sat up and hugged her knees. “Tree Spirit Mama…”

She was almost certain that the giant tree from last night’s dream was the spirit of the Tree of Life.

Remembering what Polly and Celine had said about the discomfort of digesting newly unlocked inheritance memories each time, the Tree Spirit’s instruction was clearly far more gentle than trying to digest the inheritance memories on her own.

Mo Lan quickly slid down the wooden slide along the edge of the platform to the base of the tree and went to find Grandma Matil for confirmation.

Chieftain Matil had just finished her morning meditation and was preparing to begin the day’s work when she heard Mo Lan’s eager and excited calls from outside.

She opened the door and saw Mo Lan standing at the entrance, her little face flushed from running, eyes sparkling with irrepressible joy and excitement.

“Chieftain Grandma! Chieftain Grandma!” Upon seeing her, Mo Lan reported her experience from last night at breakneck speed. “I had a dream last night! In the dream there was this really, really huge tree that told me so many things! When I woke up, I found that part of my inheritance memories had unlocked, and they matched exactly what the big tree told me in the dream. Did the Tree Spirit send me a dream? Can I start learning Magic now?!”

“It does sound like it, but you’re the first child in the tribe to receive the Tree Spirit’s guidance from the very beginning of your enlightenment. Let me check with the Tree Spirit for you!”

Matil communicated with the Tree Spirit using Wood Speech, and soon told Mo Lan, “That’s right! The Tree Spirit says that a little Elf’s spirit is fragile, and since you can’t use Wood Speech, dream guidance is a gentler method that’s easier for you to accept.”

“Thank you, Tree Spirit Mama!” Mo Lan said loudly. “Can I start learning Magic now?”

Matil nodded. “The Tree Spirit wants you to try following what it taught you in the dream. When you run into problems, just go to sleep, and it will answer your questions in your dreams.”

(End of Chapter)