"By the way, you said there was a shortcut to increasing my strength. What is it?" Romon asked after a moment's thought.
"Master, I'll take you there," Luoli said.
They strolled leisurely through the Shennong Horn Space. Beneath the golden radiance, a tributary flowed past ahead, spanned by a wooden bridge. Not far away, a small waterfall at the foot of a hill plunged a dozen meters, sending countless droplets splashing into the air.
Passing the wooden cottages and rounding a reed-lined stretch of river, he found a peaceful little village before him.
Over a hundred cottages stood scattered around, surrounded by green lawns. They were tiny, exquisite buildings with a fairy-tale charm. Their occupants clearly had ample leisure, for all sorts of patterns had been carved into the wooden doors and window frames.
Several delicate little windows in these cottages stood half open.
Was this the Tree Spirits' village?
Through the windows, Romon could even see piles of dried fruit on their shelves.
In their leisure hours and during winter, they would enjoy their own simple pleasures in these cottages.
The cottages themselves formed a boundary. Among them stood a grove of lush green trees. Romon recognized the species; their fruit was a particular favorite of Tree Spirits.
At this time of year, the plump fruit looked ready to burst, as though waiting to be picked.
All the cottages were very small. Even Luoli's was nothing special, only a little larger.
Truly, it was only a little larger. Flowers already grew all around it, and green vines climbed its walls, almost concealing the cottage entirely.
Only one wooden building in the middle was both long and broad, over thirty meters long and ten meters wide. Large timbers had been used to build it.
Tree Spirits cherished trees and ordinarily