Chapter 645 – The Witch’s Tree

Chapter 645 – The Witch’s Tree

“The little mud huts are perfectly fine,” Lilith said, a glint of mischief flashing in her eyes. “Only after living in shabby little mud huts will they learn to appreciate a beautiful grand courtyard—and work hard to earn money to build their own Witch’s home!”

The corners of her lips curled into a wicked grin. She clearly had another layer of meaning in mind—the hardships she’d endured, the future junior witches ought to get a taste of them too!

Vasida suddenly clapped her hands together and said excitedly, “In that case, Sylph, don’t you think you can be bolder now and tell the Witch Council about the mutated Tree of Life?”

She counted off on her fingers as she analyzed, “Over a hundred years—that’s definitely enough time to see the impact the mutated Tree of Life has had on the witch race.”

“If the mutated Tree of Life couldn’t serve as a replacement for traditional reproduction, there wouldn’t have been such massive expansions to the Dormitory area. Besides the mutated Tree of Life, nothing else could explain such a dramatic increase in witch numbers that had been stable for centuries.”

Sylph, who had witnessed Mo Lan’s prophetic vision with her own eyes, now felt considerably more confident about the mutated Tree of Life’s prospects. A resolute light shone in her eyes.

“I’ll contact the Witch Council right away! And apply to create {Seed Card – Mutated Tree of Life} and {Hybrid Magic – Mutated Tree of Life}. Moira, remember to approve them…”

“Wait!” Mo Lan suddenly reached out to stop her. “Let’s change the name first! ‘Mutated Tree of Life’…”

She emphasized those words heavily. “One look and anyone can tell it’s connected to the Tree of Life. We don’t want the Elves getting the wrong idea.”

“Right, right, right!”

Sylph snapped to attention, her expression turning serious. “If the Elves found out we’d created a mutated Tree of Life, they might really think we’d once stolen some material from the Tree of Life. After all, there’s only one Tree of Life in all of Valen, and the Elves brought it from their original world.”

“The Elves regard the Tree of Life as more important than their own lives. With their temperament, if they found out we’d ever harmed the Tree of Life, they’d seek revenge even if it meant being targeted by the Dawn Society!”

Though she had indeed secretly studied the Tree of Life, she had only observed and recorded its botanical characteristics—she had never harmed it in the slightest.

Those precious mutated Tree of Life seeds had been created entirely through the miraculous power of the Box of Ten Thousand Seeds.

“What should we call it then?” Sylph’s slender brows furrowed slightly.

Vasida had a flash of inspiration. “How about the Witch’s Tree! The book that carries the heritage of the witch race is called the Grimoire—your tree that can grow little witches, calling it the Witch’s Tree couldn’t be more fitting!”

Lilith, however, had some reservations. “This tree might not necessarily only produce witches, right?”

Her gaze drifted toward the two little ones playing in the crib. “When a witch plants it and uses a witch’s energy to incubate it, the result is a little witch. But if another magical race plants it and uses their own magical energy to incubate it, wouldn’t the result be an infant of their own race?”

“That’s actually quite possible!” Sylph’s eyes lit up. “The Elves incubate the Tree of Life’s fruit using the forces of nature. When I incubated Flora, I used Mana. Witches would certainly use magical power. As for other races—well, it’s hard to say.”

At this point, Sylph’s expression shifted. “But whether other races can grow their own kind from it doesn’t really matter.”

Her voice was clear and resolute, carrying a note of firm determination. “I don’t plan on giving the mutated Tree of Life seeds or the corresponding Hybrid Magic to any race other than witches. Once other races can also use this method of reproduction, the advantage it gives us witches disappears. Witch numbers have always been scarce—so let’s call it the Witch’s Tree!”

“The Witch’s Tree… a wonderful name!” Mo Lan nodded approvingly.

Though Sylph had already settled on the name, she was in no hurry to create the cards. She turned around, her eyes fixed intently on Mo Lan. “Moira, is there any way you could use divination to indirectly predict the future number of Sorceresses?”

Her voice brimmed with barely concealed anticipation.

Mo Lan smiled wryly and shook her head. The crystal ball glowed faintly in her palm. “I’ve actually tried divining exactly what you’re describing, and I do it again every few years—but it’s never once succeeded.”

She looked up at her companions. “There’s no way to verify it indirectly either. The moment Sorceresses are involved, the difficulty skyrockets.”

She paused for a moment, then offered her theory. “I suspect it’s because every Sorceress’s Manifested Gift carries the Power of Laws. The energy level of the Power of Laws is simply too high—it’s not something that can be easily divined.”

“I see…” Sylph lowered her eyes in mild disappointment. “When Lilith brought it up just now, I was thinking—if a Sorceress plants a Tree of Life and incubates the fruit with Mana, would the result be a Sorceress?”

Her gaze drifted unconsciously toward the two little ones playing in the crib.

Mo Lan followed Sylph’s line of sight, and suddenly her eyes lit up. “I know how to divine it!”

“How?” Sylph immediately looked up, the spark of hope reigniting in her eyes.

Mo Lan pointed toward the crib, a streak of silver light trailing from her fingertip. “We have ready-made subjects right here—little ones incubated by a Sorceress!”

A confident smile curved her lips. “I can simply divine Flora and Tiana’s aptitude test results at their enrollment ceremony fifteen years from now!”

“But what if they turn out to be Sorceresses?” Vasida interjected. “Didn’t you say that anything involving Sorceresses is nearly impossible to divine?”

Lilith, upon hearing Vasida’s words, suddenly realized something. “You’re planning to use the failure or success of the divination itself as verification, aren’t you?”

There was a note of certainty in her voice.

Mo Lan nodded approvingly. “Exactly!”

She raised the divination crystal ball. “If the divinations for both Flora and Tiana fail, then it’s confirmed beyond doubt that Sorceress-incubated children are also Sorceresses. If both succeed, it means Sorceress-incubated children are ordinary witches. After all, there’s no way I’d fail to divine the future of an ordinary little witch just thirteen years from now.”

This ingenious approach to divination sent a wave of excitement through every Sorceress present.

“Try it, quickly!” Sylph’s voice trembled slightly with anticipation, her gaze locked onto Mo Lan’s divination crystal ball.

“Fail! Fail! They both have to fail!” Vasida murmured in prayer.

Lilith was equally excited. “If every child incubated by a Sorceress turns out to be a Sorceress, then I’m willing to forgo finding a partner and grow a whole army of little Sorceresses in 《The Witch’s Wilds》! I’d like to see which race would dare cause trouble for us then!”

Mo Lan was uncharacteristically nervous. She took several deep breaths, steadied herself, and only then began channeling her Mana to perform the divination.