A Strong Sense of Déjà Vu: The Elf Race

Under everyone's gaze, Jie Ning waved his hand and summoned the Acorn 'Seed' into his grasp.

Anmu watched Jie Ning's movements, forcibly restraining his urge to stop him.

Jie Ning condensed a strand of Life God Power and infused it into the Acorn seed.

Seeing Jie Ning's action, Anmu was about to remind him that his clan had long tried injecting Battle Qi or magic power into the Sacred Tree's seeds, but to no avail...

Yet suddenly, the Acorn seed that had absorbed a strand of Jie Ning's divine power began to radiate vitality, and the entire somewhat shriveled seed shell trembled slightly.

Clearly, everyone, including Anmu, could plainly see the change in the Sacred Tree seed.

'That power just now...' In an instant, Anmu seemed to realize something.

"Greetings, Your Majesty the God of Life." Anmu immediately knelt on one knee before Jie Ning in salute, his forehead covered in sweat.

'Where is His Majesty the God of Life...' Kaixi, still kneeling, was momentarily confused when she heard Anmu's words, but once she saw that the one Anmu was addressing was Jie Ning, her beautiful eyes instantly flew wide open.

"Jie... Lord Jie Ning is the God of Life..." Kaixi found it hard to believe.

It wasn't just her; the other elves were also deeply shocked, but they trusted Anmu's judgment more and decisively followed him in saluting Jie Ning.

In an instant, a row of elves knelt neatly before Jie Ning.

After a hundred years, Jie Ning had grown numb to such formalities. He looked calmly at the group of elves and said, "All of you, rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Seeing that Jie Ning did not refute their address, Anmu's heart surged with even greater excitement.

The line of elves obediently stood up, and Anmu cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, can our Sacred Tree's seed still sprout?"

Jie Ning looked at the elves before him, having digested the information he had just gleaned from this 'seed,' and formed some plans in his mind, though his expression remained unchanged. "There's no rush on that. First, tell me exactly what's going on with this 'seed.'"

Faced with Jie Ning's inquiry, Anmu naturally dared not be negligent and could only reply carefully, "Your Majesty, this is a long story. I'm not sure where Your Majesty would like to begin."

Jie Ning pointed casually at the Acorn. "Then start with its origin."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Anmu replied respectfully.

"Does Your Majesty know about the descent of the Overgod over a hundred thousand years ago?" Anmu asked Jie Ning.

"I know a little." Jie Ning nodded. "Are you saying this seed is related to the Overgod?"

Jie Ning looked suspiciously at the old elf before him. Based on his judgment of the Acorn in his hand, this thing was nowhere near worthy of being associated with the Overgod.

Sensing Jie Ning's doubt, Anmu quickly explained nervously, "No, no, Your Majesty."

"It's just that over a hundred thousand years ago, our Progenitor lost his life precisely because he angered the Overgod, and our clan's Sacred Tree was the Progenitor's companion divine tree."

Jie Ning grew interested. "Tell me more."

"It is said that our Progenitor was a natural-born elf, conceived and born from the world itself." Anmu organized his words.

Jie Ning understood. 'The first elves were divine beasts, weren't they?'

"And the place where the Progenitor was born was atop our clan's Sacred Tree."

"The Progenitor was a natural deity. Upon reaching adulthood, he naturally became a God-level powerhouse."

"Later, because human appearance was most similar to the Progenitor, he chose some beautiful human women on the continent to reproduce with, and thus our Elf Race came to be. That is the origin of our Elf Race." Saying this, Anmu's tone grew tense, afraid of angering Jie Ning.

The elves behind Anmu, including Kaixi who had just been helped up by Arannis, were all utterly incredulous—did they actually have human blood in them?

Jie Ning was not surprised at all. After all, in the Panlong World, aside from some special lifeforms, there was no concept of reproductive isolation for powerful beings.

Seeing no change in Jie Ning's expression, Anmu felt a bit relieved and continued, "Under the Progenitor's protection, the elves of that era could be said to be one of the most powerful races on the Bana Continent."

"But later, the Progenitor angered the Overgod and perished, dealing a massive blow to the Elf Race. At the same time, some old enemies retaliated against the elves, causing the race to decline rapidly."

Anmu deliberately omitted the conflicts that arose from humanity's growth against the elves.

Listening to this story, Jie Ning felt a strong sense of déjà vu. 'What is this, a super low-budget version of the Four Divine Beasts' extinction event?'

But then, "And what about your Sacred Tree? From what you're saying, the Overgod didn't harm this tree of yours." Jie Ning pointed out the blind spot.

At Jie Ning's question, Anmu couldn't help but show a bitter smile on his face. "Although the Overgod didn't harm the Sacred Tree, the Progenitor and the Sacred Tree must have had a closer connection that we don't know about."

"The moment the Progenitor fell, the Sacred Tree seemed to suffer a tremendous blow as well."

"During the Progenitor's lifetime, the Sacred Tree itself could be said to be a powerful Saint Realm expert, but after that, not only could the Sacred Tree no longer communicate with us, its own condition deteriorated day by day."

"Then, one day after that, the Sacred Tree completely withered and turned to ash, leaving only a single seed in its place."

"Fortunately, that seed later successfully sprouted again, growing into our second-generation Sacred Tree." Anmu spoke without pausing.

"However, the second-generation Sacred Tree was far less powerful than the first, and after growing for several thousand years, it again turned to ash, leaving only a seed in its place."

"And so, our Elf Race's Sacred Tree has been passed down generation after generation. But starting several thousand years ago, the seeds left behind after that generation's Sacred Tree turned to ash could no longer sprout naturally."

"Our Elf Race paid a certain price to make the Sacred Tree sprout and grow again."

"Thus, it continued for a few more generations. Three hundred years ago, our Sacred Tree withered once more, and this time, our usual methods also failed."

After listening to Anmu's explanation, Jie Ning nodded slightly. "I roughly understand the situation. But I still have a few questions."

"Please ask, Your Majesty."

"First question: what use is your Sacred Tree to you?" Jie Ning didn't believe that if this Sacred Tree had no practical benefit to the elves, they would keep paying such a price to revive it.

Anmu gritted his teeth but still said, "It is said that the blood of the Progenitor flows within our Elf Race. No matter one's innate talent at birth, as long as the bloodline can be awakened, every elf can possess a decent Wind Attribute Talent."

"And our method of awakening requires receiving the blessing of the Sacred Tree."

Hearing this, Arannis found it hard to believe. Was Divine Blood truly so miraculous? Lost in thought, she eventually glanced secretly at Jie Ning's back.

Jie Ning could barely hold back. So-called Sacred Tree blessing was just a 'copy' of the Four Divine Beasts' Ancestral Hall Baptism.

And it was still an ultra-low-tier version.

Anmu, unaware of Jie Ning's reaction, continued, "According to records, the blessing ability of later Sacred Trees is far inferior to that of the First Generation Sacred Tree. Legend says the First Generation Sacred Tree's awakening could even grant elves some peculiar abilities."

'Isn't this just a degraded version of an Innate Divine Ability?' Jie Ning indicated he had already understood everything.

"Without the blessing, many elves born in these three hundred years can no longer grow strong. Our birth rate has always been far lower than other races on the continent. If our strength also falls short..."

"Add to that the fact that elven appearances have always been coveted by the outside world..." Anmu felt the future of the Elf Race without the Sacred Tree was utterly bleak.

Jie Ning nodded inwardly. "Then, the second question: what price did you pay in the past?"

Jie Ning had roughly guessed that the 'seed' before him was essentially the same Sacred Tree from over a hundred thousand years ago. It had simply suffered such severe trauma back then that it could only cling to life by continuously transforming into this 'seed.'

Preliminary judgment: Jie Ning guessed its trauma came from the Soul Aspect. He was genuinely curious about how the Elf Race had helped this Sacred Tree delay the decay of its soul.

If he could reference it, it might greatly aid his own research on the Soul Aspect.

Unfortunately, Anmu's answer was not what he wanted.

Hearing Jie Ning's question, Anmu had anticipated it. But clearly, this topic was still heavy for him. With a sorrowful expression, he said, "Perhaps the bond between our Elf Race and the Sacred Tree is far closer than we imagine."

"Just as the Sacred Tree can help us awaken our talents, our souls can also help the Sacred Tree grow."

As Anmu spoke, the other elves nearby were also filled with grief.

"In an accident several thousand years ago, we discovered that whenever an elf died near the Sacred Tree's seed, it provided some help for the seed's germination."

Since Anmu had said this much, Jie Ning naturally understood the Elf Race's method.

"...And the Sacred Tree's germination grew increasingly difficult. At first, we only needed to wait for elves whose natural lifespan had ended to die, and that was enough to help the Sacred Tree's seed sprout. Later, we had to rely on some of our kin's self-sacrifice. And now, over these past few hundred years, many elven lives have been lost before the Sacred Tree's seed..."

"We can only guess that intermittent 'supplementation' only meets the Sacred Tree's basic consumption. To make the seed sprout, its needs must be fulfilled all at once."

"We originally planned to hold a ceremony soon..." The purpose of the ceremony went without saying.

As he spoke, Anmu looked at Kaixi with affection. "This child somehow learned of your whereabouts, so she stole the Sacred Tree's seed, hoping to obtain your help."

Jie Ning listened to the elves' method and shook his head inwardly. It seemed this Sacred Tree had managed to endure only because of its own uniqueness.

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