Territory Changes and the Appearance of Elves

Jie Ning opened his eyes and let out a helpless sigh.

'At this rate, the progress toward godhood through the Earth Element is going to be much slower than I originally anticipated.'

'After the soul split, although the Sanctuary Main Body can still sense the fluctuations of the Earth Element, the flow speed of my overall thinking when comprehending profound mysteries has dropped significantly compared to before.'

Jie Ning pondered how to resolve his current predicament.

'Even though my Life God Power now has a certain nourishing effect on the soul, the current growth rate is still far too slow. Even just recovering to my original strength will take no small amount of time.'

'I need to use the Life Rule more efficiently to strengthen my soul.'

'Or... should I try learning methods like those of the Death Rule?' He knew very well the source of 'supplements' like the Soul Golden Bead...

'No, I can't open that door.' Jie Ning understood human nature well—once they taste sweetness, their desires cascade down like a mountain stream.

He also didn't want to test his own limits. In his view, even having such a thought was itself an act of lowering his standards.

I won't do it, I'll just try, then sink into it... that itself is a process of compromise.

Desire grows step by step, until finally it becomes impossible to extricate oneself.

Since he knew this, he had to refuse at the source.

Jie Ning decisively abandoned that idea and turned back to fully immerse himself in comprehending the Life Rule.

He believed that the Life Rule was the origin of all life in the world, and that it must also contain methods to rapidly strengthen the soul.

Spring passed and autumn came; time flowed away like water, fleeting in an instant. In the blink of an eye, nearly a hundred years had passed.

For ordinary people, this was the span of a lifetime, but for the powerful, it was far from that.

Yet time had also shown its power—the world moved forward and changed.

Let us turn our gaze to the once-barren 'Death Desert,' now the Life Duke's Territory.

Compared to decades ago, when the land was vast and the people few, the Life Duke's Territory was now a place of renowned prosperity across the entire Bana Continent.

In the eyes of many who didn't know the truth, this was a land of miracles, a gift from the God of Life. Though it lay at the border of two great empires, it was unexpectedly peaceful.

Over these decades, people from all directions had gathered on this fertile land at every moment, gained enough wealth, and ultimately chosen to settle here.

The Gods' Festival, formerly the War God Festival, had been officially renamed by the empire after Jie Ning and Gru became gods.

Though the name of the festival had changed, what hadn't changed was that this day remained the most lively day in the Korur Empire.

Life Duke's Territory, City of Life.

Arannis and Jie Ning walked through the crowd, yet the people around them naturally parted to make way. But judging by their reactions, they clearly hadn't noticed Jie Ning and the others.

Arannis watched this miraculous scene and exclaimed in amazement, "Jie Ning, you're becoming more and more incredible. We're right in the middle of the crowd, yet everyone acts as if they can't see us."

Jie Ning smiled slightly and said, "This is just a small trick I stumbled upon while studying the soul over these years."

"Whether it's ordinary life, Sanctuary-level beings, or even God-level experts—"

"The means of acquiring information are nothing more than perception through the body and the soul."

"Vision, touch... these are the body's channels for gathering information."

"Spiritual power is the soul's channel."

"And I simply replace the information I want them to receive with what I want them to receive along these channels."

"That easily achieves the effect you see now."

At this moment, a fluctuation that ordinary people couldn't sense constantly surged around Jie Ning. Generally speaking, unless Jie Ning himself willed it, no one on this road could possibly see the two of them.

"Boss, give me two sticks of candied hawthorn..." As he spoke, Jie Ning suddenly took out some money and said to a passing vendor.

The vendor suddenly found a figure standing before him, but didn't think much of it—after all, there were plenty of strong people in the world.

Taking the money, the vendor quickly handed Jie Ning two sticks of candied hawthorn.

Just as he was about to give change, in the blink of an eye, the figure before him vanished again.

The vendor first shuddered, then suddenly felt that this was perfectly normal, and turned around to put the matter out of his mind.

Watching the vendor's expression shift from shock to calm, Jie Ning handed Arannis a stick of candied hawthorn and continued, "Even for ordinary people like this, their emotions and cognition come from the same source. Under my influence, as long as I want to, even the most outrageous behavior on my part can be accepted by them."

Arannis bit into a candied hawthorn and, hearing Jie Ning's description, couldn't help frowning. "That's too wicked."

As she spoke, she didn't forget to comment on the candied hawthorn in her hand. "And this candied hawthorn is far inferior to the ones at home."

Jie Ning looked at Arannis's reaction and couldn't help but smile. "Methods are dead things. Everything in this world operates under the rules, and as long as we comprehend the rules, many things can be done naturally."

"It is always people who are wicked, never the methods themselves."

Of course, Jie Ning wouldn't tell Arannis that while the rules did indeed have such capabilities, turning that part of the rules into concrete methods relied on individual operation and intent.

But he wasn't trying to do anything evil—he had just suddenly recalled some distant memories, studied a little, and thus came up with this method.

Then, Jie Ning quickly changed the subject. "The candied hawthorn we eat at home is far superior in material quality to what these vendors sell, so naturally there's no comparison." Occasionally, Jie Ning would miss some delicacies from his memories, and whenever he mentioned them, someone would always do their best to recreate them according to his description, even if the ingredients had changed drastically.

As for these people, Jie Ning was not stingy with rewards. Over time, he realized that most of the things he remembered had already appeared in a Bana Continent version.

And as time passed, many foods that were easy to make and spread gradually spread across the continent.

'It's a pity I still haven't dared to advertise—"Even the God of Life says it's good after eating"...' Jie Ning's thoughts began to wander.

"That's true, but the candied hawthorn from the City of Life is also the best I've ever eaten outside." After thinking for a moment, Arannis acknowledged.

Jie Ning smiled without speaking. The entire land of the Life Duke's Territory had been revitalized by the influence of his Life God Power, so naturally, the local crops grew better than in other regions.

Not just the food of the Hall of Life, but the food of the entire duchy was not only delicious but also had a certain nourishing effect on the body.

After a full day of strolling, when night fell, Jie Ning and the other returned to the long-missed Hall of Life.

"Master, Madam, welcome back." Suddenly, an elf dressed in servant attire appeared before the two, bowing and greeting Jie Ning and the other.

"Kaixi, long time no see." Arannis cheerfully greeted the suddenly appearing elf, clearly not surprised by this.

Jie Ning also nodded slightly in greeting. "We've been traveling these years; we appreciate you taking care of the household."

Kaixi looked at her two masters and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "This is all my duty."

But the slight upward curl of her lips also showed her good mood at the moment.

Kaixi was a native elf of the Bana Continent, and her appearance was roughly similar to the elves in Jie Ning's memory.

She had received help from Jie Ning and Arannis during one of their travels, and later, to repay them, she voluntarily followed them. Now she was the head steward of the entire Hall of Life, even though the Hall of Life didn't have many people.

Arannis let go of Jie Ning's hand, stepped forward to hug Kaixi's arm, and enthusiastically began sharing the experiences of their travels with her.

Watching the two chatting and laughing, Jie Ning felt as if he were seeing their first meeting thirty years ago.

Back then, Kaixi was not at all the gentle figure she was now.

Thirty years ago, one day, Jie Ning had hit a bottleneck in his comprehension of the Life Rule and had found no better way to nourish the soul.

At the same time, Arannis was also feeling a bit restless from staying still.

The two exchanged a glance and understood each other's thoughts. That very night, their figures vanished from the Hall of Life.

In the Dinar Empire, within a jungle in the southwest.

Kaixi carefully evaded pursuit.

Suddenly, two figures appeared not far from her hiding spot—a man and a woman wearing clothes she had never seen before, strolling leisurely through the forest.

But in her eyes, the material of their clothing was clearly valuable.

'These are two rich people.' Kaixi immediately labeled them.

Kaixi hesitated. If those people chasing her ran into these two, they might be in danger.

After all, this involved the inheritance of the Elf race...

Especially since these two were humans... I'd better leave quickly...

'Forget it,' Kaixi gritted her teeth. 'Those guys behind me only came here because they followed me...'

These two were none other than Jie Ning and Arannis, who had come here to travel.

Jie Ning and Arannis leisurely admired the scenery, as if they hadn't noticed the elf hiding nearby. In reality, their minds were buzzing with conversation—well, mostly Arannis talking.

'Jie Ning, this is really an elf! I've only seen them in storybooks before. I never thought I'd see a live one.'

'Do you think this elf will attack us?' Arannis was a bit excited. 'Maybe she'll try to kidnap me to threaten you, since I look so weak.'

'Should we pretend that I'm a noblewoman you've kidnapped, and you're a powerful bandit...'

Listening to Arannis's mental storm, Jie Ning quickly stopped his wife's increasingly wild ideas. "Lannie, this friend is not a bad person."

Jie Ning always felt that Arannis had spent too much time with the Dalut family, and her overall style was starting to go a bit off.

In truth, whether it was this elf or her pursuers, Jie Ning had already sensed their life aura. He just didn't care much and had no interest in getting involved in such matters.

But unexpectedly, the two groups kept getting closer to them, and later, the elf even directly hid on their path.

By the time the elf approached them, not only Jie Ning but even Arannis had already detected the elf's presence.

After all, no matter what, Arannis was now a Saint Domain Magician.

Jie Ning had originally planned that if the elf intended to harm them, he would simply erase her life from a distance to avoid disturbing their trip.

But to his surprise, the elf's first reaction upon seeing them was to worry for them. This gave Jie Ning a bit of goodwill toward her.

As a lower god of Life, Jie Ning couldn't directly see others' specific thoughts.

But sensing simple emotions was very easy.

After briefly explaining the situation to Arannis, she immediately sided with the elf and sent a telepathic message: 'Jie Ning, this elf is a good person. According to the storybooks, whoever is chasing her must be the big bad guys. Let's help her get rid of those bad guys.'

'Consider it a reward for a kind person...'

Jie Ning quickly stopped Lady Arannis's real-life storybook plan again. "Wait and see. This matter doesn't seem simple."

He had noticed something interesting, and Jie Ning was now intrigued by how things would develop.

Jie Ning had long noticed that the pursuers were tracking in a straight line toward this Elf's direction, clearly indicating they knew exactly where she was.

What surprised him, though, was that they stopped once they reached a certain point. Jie Ning immediately sensed there was more to the story.

'This natural aura is very similar to the Elf's. It seems her pursuers are her own kin.' Jie Ning cast a meaningful glance toward the Elf's hiding spot.

Kaixi caught that look and instinctively shuddered. 'What's going on? Have I been discovered?'

Jie Ning sensed the pursuers' emotions. From their auras, he picked up anxiety, worry, and all sorts of other feelings—but no killing intent, not even any deep malice.

'Interesting,' Jie Ning commented inwardly.

'Do we really have to send Kaixi? She...'

'If we fail, the clan will...'

'We only learned about the God of Life from those merchants' caravans. Will the deity be willing to see us...'

The smile at the corner of Jie Ning's mouth widened. So this has something to do with me too?

'Now I'm even more intrigued.'

Jie Ning briefly relayed to Arannis what he had 'heard.' '...So, I have an idea. Here's what we do...'

When Arannis heard Jie Ning's telepathic message, the light in her eyes grew brighter and brighter. She was very interested.

In the end, the two exchanged a look and broke into delighted smiles at the same time.

Kaixi, still hiding nearby, felt as if the weather had suddenly turned cold.

It's Thursday—the weekend countdown is on.

Hurry up and throw some tickets my way.