Lord of Natural Order

Lu Zhiyu walked through Sylph City, marveling at this beautiful city. Everywhere he looked were sculptures, and even the floorboards were etched with intricate patterns. Every house and wooden cabin was integrated seamlessly with nature; it was a city nestled between a sea of flowers and towering trees.

However, the most eye-catching sight was the colossal tree. Compared to when Lu Zhiyu had last seen it, its height had doubled, standing like a pillar supporting the heavens. The area around the Divine Tree of Life and the lake had been cordoned off; this was the holy land of the Elves, and the altar was placed here as well.

Lu Zhiyu stood by the lakeside, beneath the Tree of Life, and touched its bark. Indeed, it had already begun to wither and age. To Lu Zhiyu's surprise, he could sense a fluctuation of consciousness within the tree—a remarkably powerful one at that. As it turned out, this massive entity, existing somewhere between a plant and a living creature, had actually birthed a consciousness, though it had yet to develop wisdom.

It has no brain, yet it managed to birth a consciousness? Is it because of the power of prayer? Or is it because its massive size formed a collective consciousness for the forest!

Lu Zhiyu was certain that if he hadn't sealed the permissions of the Zero-Dimension Channel, forbidding all living beings within Maria World from drawing upon the Source Substance, this Tree of Life would have long since used its powerful consciousness to connect to the channel, embarking on an evolutionary journey just like the Insect Queen.

Unfortunately, it could not evolve mental power. Its consciousness was locked within the Tree of Life, and as the lifespan limit Lu Zhiyu had set when he created it approached, it would die along with it.

Lu Zhiyu felt a sudden surge of interest. A powerful consciousness, yet no awakened mental power and no wisdom—was this not a perfect, ready-made experimental subject? Ever since he had fully deified his brain cells, Lu Zhiyu had wanted to start creating other deified organisms to experiment with. This was one of the reasons for his entry into the Universe Scroll, though he wanted to observe the changes in Maria World first.

However, the threshold for becoming a deified organism was something the ordinary creatures of Maria World could not currently cross. Without a sufficiently powerful consciousness, one could not extract and fuse with the Source Substance. If the mental power scale did not reach the requirement for qualitative change, one could not leave a brand upon the cells. Furthermore, according to the Sub-Brain's calculations, forcing cellular deification would lead to unforeseen, disastrous consequences. Deified cells were not something an average person could handle!

"Sub-Brain, record the life template and all consciousness fluctuations of the Tree of Life. Calculate the manufacturing process for a deified life form, as well as the success rate!"

"Loading!"

"Occupying 50% of brain processing power. Estimated time: three days, five hours, and forty-three minutes!"

"Confirm?"

"Confirm!"

Lu Zhiyu had not expected that a simple inspection of the changes on the Yalan Continent would lead to such an unexpected discovery. He withdrew his hand from the Divine Tree of Life and was preparing to leave when he felt someone approaching from behind.

"Who are you?"

Lu Zhiyu turned around and saw a middle-aged Elf whose face was beginning to show signs of old age. Anyone who had reached the stage of senescence must have been among the first generation of Elves born. Lu Zhiyu also noticed he was wearing the robes of the Council of Elven Elders, with the three-leaf emblem of the Chairman on his chest!

Is it you? Lu Zhiyu recognized him immediately. This was the first Elf nurtured by the Tree of Life, the child he had personally held in his arms when he first plucked him from the tree. He had not expected that so much time would pass in the blink of an eye; he, too, had entered his twilight years, much like Akhenaten had all those years ago.

Meher, the Elven Chairman, looked at Lu Zhiyu with suspicion: "Approaching the Divine Tree without permission is forbidden. Do you not know this? Who are you..."

Meher stopped mid-sentence, having suddenly noticed Lu Zhiyu's ears: "You are not an Elf? Who are you? What kind of being are you?"

This was the first time the Elves had encountered another intelligent species. They had always believed themselves to be the only intelligent beings in the world. Seeing another creature for the first time, Meher appeared both excited and vigilant.

Lu Zhiyu looked at Meher and spoke in the Elven language: "What is your name?"

Meher felt a sense of familiarity with the person before him: "Meher, Grand Elder of the Council of Elven Elders!"

Lu Zhiyu nodded and looked toward the base of the Divine Tree of Life, then beneath the altar. His mental power detected the graves of the Ant-Men he had left behind long ago; after these Ant-Men died, they had been buried here.

"Do not go near the altar!"

Lu Zhiyu approached the altar and turned his head to look at Meher: "You buried them here?"

Meher looked horrified: "How could you know? That is impossible. Aside from the most senior elders of the Council, not even the early Elves would know that the Divine Messengers are buried here!"

Meher asked excitedly: "Who exactly are you?"

Lu Zhiyu chuckled softly without offering an explanation: "You are the first Elf born on this continent, the first life nurtured by the Tree of Life. Your bond with the tree is the deepest; you can even feel its consciousness and existence. Yet, this has also bound your world to this very spot."

Lu Zhiyu continued: "The world is so vast, why not go out and see it?"

Meher seemed to find the shadow of this man from his distant memories: "It is you, you have actually appeared again, the omnipotent Lord of Natural Order. Have you heard our prayers?"

Meher burst into tears, his entire body prostrating on the stone slabs, kneeling beneath the Tree of Life and before Lu Zhiyu: "Oh God, the Tree of Life is about to pass away. Our Elven race cannot lose it. Please, save its life!"

Lu Zhiyu asked with confusion: "Why? To you, the Tree of Life is not essential. Its mission was to create the Elven race, and now that it is nearing the completion of its mission, your race has gradually developed and grown strong. It is no longer necessary for you, and in fact, it has become a shackle binding you!"

Meher knelt on the ground, straightened his back, and looked at Lu Zhiyu: "No, it is our everything, our spiritual pillar. Without it, the Elven Kingdom will scatter, and all our prosperity will vanish!"

Lu Zhiyu shook his head: "Is that not merely the beginning of another form of prosperity? This is no reason for you to keep cowering here. The mission of the Tree of Life is complete; it can no longer nurture Elves."

"We beg you..." Meher tried to plead with Lu Zhiyu further, but Lu Zhiyu interrupted him.

"This is only your personal plea; you cannot represent all Elves. Can you not feel the desire of the other Elves to explore the vast world?"

Lu Zhiyu extended his hand, and immediately, the consciousness of the Tree of Life was extracted by his immense mental power, continuously gathering in his palm until it gradually formed a silhouette of light. Just as Lu Zhiyu had guessed, the Tree of Life was a naturally formed soul, existing on the same level as Lu Zhiyu in terms of soul essence. It lacked a brain and organs for thought or emotion; its soul was born from the tree, but the connection was very weak.

However, it possessed no wisdom and no mental power, only a very faint, instinctual consciousness. It was a truly miraculous innate soul. Lu Zhiyu walked up to him and handed three emerald-green seeds to Meher: "These are the seeds of the Tree of Life. Whenever you encounter a crisis or an irredeemable situation, you may use them. A new generation of the Tree of Life will grow once more upon this land, and it shall grant you rebirth!"

Meher was so excited he could barely stand, cradling the seeds Lu Zhiyu had gifted him as if they were the most precious treasures in the world: "Thank you for your grace, Your Excellency, Lord of Natural Order!"

Meher looked up, only to find that Lu Zhiyu's shadow was gone. Fallen leaves swirled around him. Meher looked up at the sky and saw the massive Tree of Life seemingly age in an instant. All its life force was drained away, its leaves turning withered and yellow before falling to the ground.

Leaves danced across the sky, beautiful as a dream, yet seemingly mourning the tragedy of death. The entire Elven race noticed the commotion from the Tree of Life and turned their gazes toward the scene.