The Witch's Trap and the Threat of Death

"These three bottles of magical medicine required at least two hundred herbs to make. Even so, they are only semi-finished products."

The Old Witch's head said, "Synthesizing these semi-finished potions is an extremely complicated process."

"It requires experience and skill. Both demand that one spend enough time honing one's craft. As it happens, I spent thirty years learning how to make Magic Awakening Potions."

"Middle-aged people like me always have enough time to perfect themselves."

"What I need to do is synthesize these potions."

"But Your Grace, there is something you need to do as well. Do you see the Tree of Life Spiritual Energy emerging from the wooden floor in magical flames?"

Yveta lowered his head and indeed discovered the image of a tree.

The entire tree image was divided into three layers, each with differently branching limbs.

The branches at the bottom were labeled Health, but the leaves on those six branches were slightly curled and tinged with red.

It seemed to indicate that his health was currently damaged.

After all, he was still running a high fever.

The six branches in the middle were labeled Wealth and Good Luck. Unfortunately, all the leaves on three branches representing wealth had withered away, not a single one remaining.

Right.

When Yveta thought about how the Boar Knight Order had taken away the only estate he had at the start, and how his kingdom had been bought with money by the owner of a cotton mill, hadn't his wealth simply withered away?!

Yet the leaves on the three branches representing his Good Luck were lush and flourishing, showing that his luck was currently excellent.

The six branches at the very top remained half-illusory and half-solid, as though they had yet to be born.

At the top was a line of text—[Psionic Energy].

The Old Witch cast Yveta a crafty glance. This Magic Awakening Ritual was a test for Yveta, and the most important test lay right here.

She tried hard to restrain her emotions. "The Katara Tree of Life and Spiritual Energy represents Your Grace's luck, health, wealth, and magical power."

"This is a spell combining Divination Technique and alchemy. Ordinary witches do not know it."

"The current situation is this: if you carve the name of a god at the top of the Tree of Life Spiritual Energy, you can borrow the power of those beings and create magical power belonging to you at the top of the tree."

"Since this tree can reflect your magical power, altering its image can in turn grant you magical power."

"So use your finger to carve a god's name onto the tree."

Yveta had not expected that such a thing was possible.

It was equivalent to directly changing his own attributes, like opening a file on a computer and changing its properties.

The Hearthstone Witch wanted him to directly alter his own Life Psionic Tree, using this method to modify himself into someone who possessed magic.

The question was, whose name should he carve onto the tree?

There had to be some fixed god specifically responsible for this, right?

Yveta asked the Old Witch, "What god's name should I write on my Life Psionic Tree?"

The Old Witch's expression stiffened.

The next moment, her eyes widened like bronze bells, and she looked utterly vicious. "You don't know?"

"How could you not know?"

All this time, the Old Witch had acted like a servant before Yveta and had basically never dared to overstep herself.

This was the first time Yveta had seen the Old Witch speak to him in such a hysterical tone.

She looked as though she were about to pounce on him.

Yveta's heart jolted. He seemed to have revealed something that a [Demon God] should not have failed to know.

Was it because he had asked her what god he should carve?

As a [Demon God], was he supposed to know the gods' names?

At this critical moment, Yveta's mind raced. He even felt that, while feverish, he was thinking faster than usual.

But while Yveta was considering what to do, the Old Witch's expression suddenly changed again, as though she had never acted fiercely toward him at all.

In a gentle tone, she said, "Your Grace, let me offer you a god's name."

"How about using the God's Name of the Goddess of March? The Goddess of March governs the three moons—Blue Moon, Blood Moon, and White Moon. She is worshipped by Dark Creatures, witches, and even mortals. She is closely connected to magical power. Writing the goddess's name at the top of your Life Psionic Tree will make the magical power you gain even stronger."

Yveta was extremely surprised.

He did not know why, but the Hearthstone Witch's attitude toward him had changed again, becoming seemingly the same as before.

In a soft voice, the Old Witch said, "Your Grace, you should write Mitra, Goddess of March on the Life Psionic Tree."

Yveta turned around, walked to the top of the Life Psionic Tree, and crouched down. He prepared to write that name first.

No matter what, he could only take things one step at a time.

After all, with the Old Witch's suspicious and cowardly nature, she would not make a move against him without absolute certainty.

"Hurry up! Hurry up!"

The Old Witch urged him.

Yveta was about to use his finger to write the Goddess of March's name when his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Something was wrong.

The Old Witch was rushing him.

But earlier, this Hearthstone Witch had not dared to speak to him in such a tone.

Wait.

Yveta's mind suddenly cleared, and a chill ran down his back.

He abruptly realized why the Old Witch's tone toward him had changed again.

This time, the Old Witch held not the slightest respect for him.

Her tone was exactly the same as the one she had used toward the Original Owner and the Demon Hunter Black Wolf before he awoke.

This was the tone the Old Witch used toward her prey.

She was deceiving him!

She wanted him to write the name Mitra, the Goddess of March, on the Tree of Life Spiritual Energy.

Yveta glanced around and discovered that, at some point, an image of a black eye had appeared on the wooden floor behind him.

He had seen that image before.

Right, it was the image the Old Witch had drawn on his chest.

While fleeing, he had asked the Old Witch about it. It was supposed to represent The Fallen Eye of the Primordial Witch.

So this woman wanted to secretly cast magic on him.

Although he did not know what kind of magic it was, it definitely would not be anything good.

Yveta kept thinking about what he had said or done wrong just now to make the Old Witch suddenly change her attitude toward him.

He had asked her what god's name he should carve. She had indicated that he should know the gods' names, then offered him the God's Name of the Goddess of March.

So in the Old Witch's eyes, he should not have needed to ask her for a god's name.

Then he absolutely could not carve the name Mitra, Goddess of March, onto his Life Psionic Tree.

Yveta was at a loss. If he could not carve the God's Name provided by the Old Witch onto his Life Psionic Tree, then whose name should he carve instead?

He could not keep stalling forever, could he?

The Old Witch would discover that something was wrong sooner or later.

Yveta's heart was pounding. He felt as though he no longer had a fever; his mind was moving faster, and he might be smarter than usual right now.

His attention was utterly focused.

"Hurry up, Your Grace."

"What's wrong? Do you need me to teach you how to write it? Don't you know how to write Mithra's name?" Behind him, the Old Witch urged him again. Her eyes were incomparably venomous, and the floating magical artifact hand behind her head began to glow with the radiance that appeared only when magic was being used.

Yveta suddenly thought of something. He knew the names of other gods!

On Earth in his previous life, there had been many myths and legends: Zeus, king of the Greek Gods and God of Thunder; Ra, king of Ancient Egypt and Sun God; Odin, king of Norse Mythology and God of War; Supreme God Taiyi, whom the Son of Heaven in traditional Huaxia worshipped upon ascending the throne, the Heaven Attribute; Quetzalcoatl, king of Central American mythology and Rain God; and Shiva, king among gods who danced the Dance of Destruction, the God of Destruction.

He actually knew quite a few God's Names!