Leaf of Life!

Outside the Gate of the Jungle.

A rare hint of tension showed on Lady Midnight's face. She focused intently on the changes inside.

Ildis looked a little crestfallen. He tried to ask Lady Midnight what was happening, but she seemed in no mood to talk. She merely murmured an acknowledgment. For some reason, Ildis felt he had missed something important, and the sharp sense of loss dragged his spirits down.

About half an hour later.

A strange energy began to emerge. As the goddess who commanded magic, Lady Midnight was extraordinarily sensitive to changes in energy. When she realized the ritual had begun successfully, her expression eased. Now they had to awaken the Divine Power Father of Oaks had left in this forest. If they succeeded, the ritual's cost would fall dramatically.

Meanwhile.

Soren had entered a strange state of his own.

Karena had wrapped her long, fair legs around his waist and was moving in rhythm with the dancing around them. They had joined together, but the process was not purely for pleasure. To Soren, the ritual resembled the yin-yang dual cultivation practiced by Daoists in his previous life, an extraordinary expression of nature. He represented the yang, while the Dryads represented the yin.

At that moment.

Soren's body and mind had divided their attention. One part maintained control of his body, trying to endure the sacred ritual as long as possible. The other had taken the form of a Spiritual Body above the altar. His deity-level perception let him clearly sense abundant life force pouring from him and Karena, passing through the altar into the surrounding forest.

Soren's Slaughter Experience was steadily dwindling.

Karena's strength was weakening too.

Both sides had to contribute considerable power to the ritual, but the Dryads' unusual nature allowed them to recover from