Chapter 971: Ling Yi's Friend Never Existed...
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 971: Ling Yi's Friend Never Existed...
Driven by Ling Yi’s overwhelming anticipation, Sister Bai and I accompanied her to where her "friend" was located.
Because the formation I had set up to gather the aura of flora was relatively close to the Tree of Heya, Ling Yi had set everything up directly in front of it.
"It’s right here..." Ling Yi pushed aside the lush, overgrown plants to reveal a clump of plant essence within. It was clear that after moving to this new location and being left alone for a few days, the essence had grown even richer.
I gently probed the clump of plant essence with my senses. I could feel the faint prototype of an elven embryo forming inside. It was precisely this prototype that led the unknowing Ling Yi to believe her friend was still alive.
However, this was merely life force derived from pure plant-based aura. Among natural elves, the flora-type natural elves were the easiest to birth because the aura of plants was closest to the essence of life itself.
According to the historical interpretations of life that I knew of, the first interpretation was the concept of life energy.
Though that theory was eventually overturned, each subsequent interpretation of life absorbed and refined the theories that came before it.
Within this embryo, I also sensed the presence of Soul Essence—the product of the third interpretation of life.
As for the "Memory" of the second interpretation, this embryo did not yet possess it. While the second interpretation had played a major role in advancing the field at the time, its primary purpose had been to crack down on "evil" factions performing life-profaning rituals.
For me, the hardest part of "resurrecting" this friend for Ling Yi wasn't the shaping of the life form itself, but rather... the consciousness.
In my view, the concept of consciousness should be a derivative of life, stemming from Soul Essence or the soul.
The existence of Fool's Dream had made me realize that consciousness could exist independently of the soul's fundamental nature as a life form. However, this didn't prove that consciousness could be born independently without Soul Essence or a soul as a foundation.
After all, Fool's Dream belonged to the category of dream-state consciousness, which was what led me to the concepts of Dream State Soul Essence and even dream-state souls.
In the beginning, all dream creatures—including the original Fool's Dream—were essentially part of the Primitive Dream Realm. That was why their consciousness could exist independently.
In reality, I had never seen a consciousness exist independently of a soul or Soul Essence.
At most, there were cases where the foundation of the soul or Soul Essence remained while the consciousness was briefly separated—for instance, during a Dreamscape Calamity.
But that, again, involved the Primitive Dream Realm.
Currently, I possessed no technique capable of creating consciousness. Even my most complex methods and skills, such as Soul Depiction or Wisdom Granting, were limited.
Even Wisdom Granting, which involved consciousness, required a pre-existing consciousness to work with. I couldn't create one out of thin air.
At least... I didn't have that skill yet.
But it was undeniable that consciousness was inextricably linked to the essence of life.
I had been crouching there for quite a while, lost in these thoughts.
Ling Yi was the most anxious of us all.
Sister Bai waited silently by my side. When it came to research regarding life, she had full confidence in Xiao Han. She reached out and took Ling Yi into her hands, soothing the restless little creature.
After another moment, I pulled a Soul Crystal from my storage equipment. The Soul Crystals I had traded for a Heart of the Cold Wave back then were still piled up in my inventory.
My original plan to use them to forge a soul for Fool's Dream had been completely derailed by the discovery of Dream State Soul Essence.
Now, they could only be used to increase my own life level. With my current methods for elevating the soul's level, I was touching the boundaries of the Transcendent every single moment.
Compared to passive Witchification, this was countless times faster.
"What is this?" Ling Yi asked, looking at the object I had produced with confusion.
"This is a Soul Crystal—an unstable crystal formed from high-precision Soul Essence," I explained to her. "Isn't Ling Yi's friend still in the incubation stage? We'll use Soul Essence to supplement her innate life source...!"
"Ugh... I don't understand, but Sister Xiao Han definitely won't hurt her, right?"
"Right~ So you need to stay quiet and don't disturb me. Just watch me work." I looked up at Sister Bai and Ling Yi, though my words were mainly directed at the latter.
After all, those who understood nothing were the most likely to mess things up.
Once Ling Yi was calmed, I began the process. "Resurrecting" such a unique flora elf was actually quite difficult.
Technically, it had died before it even became a true life form. If you tried a standard Resurrection Spell, the spell itself would probably tell you: Just give up, it's hopeless.
The deeper one understood the composition of life, the more one realized how rudimentary Resurrection Spells were.
I needed to use the Incubation Rebirth Spell and Soul Depiction. If all went as expected, I might even need to perform some sequence derivations to make them applicable to this special case.
If I were more heartless, I could have used Wisdom Granting, combined another consciousness with fabricated memories, and shaped it into a Seed of Wisdom. Using the outdated logic I used when creating Fool's Dream, I could have "revived" the flora elf instantly.
In that scenario, the flora elf would have a soul, and while the consciousness would belong to another being, the memories would be those I shaped from the Ley Line Memories of Ling Yi caring for this clump of plant essence.
Ling Yi wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
And she would never have known the secret...
But I didn't do that.
That would be no different from... consciousness possession.
Even if this flora elf had never even birthed a true life, and thus couldn't technically be "possessed"...
Still, when doing things... I have my own principles.
Besides, simply replacing it with a pre-existing consciousness was too easy. I was more interested in... how a soul births a consciousness.
This seemed like an opportunity to master a brand-new skill: "Consciousness Creation" or "Consciousness Derivation."
If everything failed in the end, I would reconsider the other option.
After all... Ling Yi's friend had never existed from the very beginning. Or perhaps it did, but only in Ling Yi's heart.
I didn't think telling such a tragic truth to an innocent flora elf was a good idea.
Under the intervention of the Soul Crystal and Soul Depiction, the plant essence before me gradually began to show a trace of life.
Then, through Incubation Rebirth and life evolution, the essence was transformed into a foundation for life.
As I worked, I marveled at how calmly I could handle complex situations when I had such a vast array of methods at my disposal.
If I hadn't used life evolution to complement the Incubation Rebirth Spell—guiding the target to evolve into the bloodline information of a flora elf—and had relied solely on the spell as a bridge between body and soul, I would have needed a significant amount of specialized derivation to reach this stage.
Now, the emerald-green plant essence seemed different. It was more vibrant, and the body of the flora elf forming within was much more distinct.
But I knew very well that it wasn't over.
Its soul had just been formed, but there was no consciousness to take charge of the life force. Naturally, there was no possibility of it waking up yet.
I could only rely on the natural incubation process to accelerate the progress, letting the soul nurture a consciousness. A brand-new soul paired with a brand-new body—when the consciousness made its first reaction, life would begin to radiate its own brilliance.
But... no one knew how long that would take.
Finally, I placed it back into its original nesting place, the area Ling Yi had prepared for it.
"Um... Sister Xiao Han, is my friend going to wake up soon?" Seeing that I seemed to have finished, Ling Yi immediately rushed forward to ask.
I couldn't blame her for being so excited!
She could feel that her incubating friend felt more and more like she was about to wake up! Even her physical form had become clearer.
"I don't know exactly when she will wake up. I've cleared away some hidden dangers for her, but she's still unwilling to wake up."
"Eh? She's still unwilling? She... she's such a sleepyhead!"
"Being a sleepyhead... can be a blessing, I suppose? I've given her a great opportunity. If she wakes up, she'll have a talent far greater than ordinary flora elves."
"Really! Sister Xiao Han is so amazing!"
"Of course~ But for the next while, I'll have to trouble you to take care of her, Ling Yi. You can spend more time with her, talk to her, share your stories, and tell her about how you've been looking after her."
"Oh! I understand!" Ling Yi nodded dutifully.
With Ling Yi settled, the rest could be left to time.
And the remaining time belonged to me and Sister Bai.
The first wooden house we built on the island was in the center. As the Tree of Heya grew, the house was practically merging with the tree.
So, Sister Bai and I planned to build a lake-view house by the shore.
Ahem... it definitely wasn't to get away from Ling Yi, who lived on the Tree of Heya, just so we could do some very private things!
However, building a house was no small feat. Even if we didn't do it entirely by hand like the first time, it would still take a few days.
So, for the next two days, we planned to stay in the original wooden house.
We could just add some soundproofing and privacy-shielding spells~
Once Ling Yi was occupied elsewhere, Sister Bai carried me into the wooden house.
"Xiao Han, about Ling Yi's friend... do you really have a way?"
"Sigh~" I knew Sister Bai was also concerned about Ling Yi's situation, but the whole thing was based on a misunderstanding. "I suppose so. But one thing needs to be clear... Ling Yi's friend has only ever lived in her heart, not by her side."
"So... even if a new flora elf is eventually born, it won't be her friend?"
"How could that be? From the moment life is born, they are friends. How could she not be her friend? A friend... is someone to share with, to lean on, and to be happy with. It's not a concept to be over-analyzed or scrutinized with obsessive doubt. Once doubt arises, friendship shatters."
"Is that so?" Sister Bai pursed her lips and eventually let out a soft laugh. "Xiao Han, what you're describing... sounds like more than just friendship. Such an ideal friendship is very hard to find~"
"I know..." Now that we were inside, there was no need for me to hide my feelings. After responding, I threw myself into Sister Bai's arms again. "I'm obviously not just talking about friendship. But whether it's friendship or something else... it's all about providing mutual comfort... Sister Bai... I want you..."
"You..." As I pounced, Sister Bai already felt my mood. Then, she felt my restless hands behind her, tugging at her sash.
"Have you really developed a taste for this and can't stop?"
"Isn't this a normal frequency for a couple?"
...
Qunluosen Wasteland.
This was the temporary site for the unstable Secret Realm core. The core of the Glacial Throne Secret Realm had been placed here.
Because it involved something as significant as a Secret Realm, the Qunluosen Wasteland had been placed under martial law, and ordinary people were forbidden from entering.
Only those from the Transcendent Academies could remain here as guards—mostly members of the Witch Secret Realm clubs.
Today, the Qunluosen Wasteland welcomed several more teams.
As the holders of the Glacial Throne Secret Realm, the Witches naturally had to offer a warm welcome.
However, during the reception, they noticed that the people from the other Transcendent Academies didn't look like they were part of a joint counter-offensive squad.
Instead, they looked like they were here to exert pressure and demand accountability.
And in fact, they were.
In the beginning, they shared common family interests. Many families were willing to risk their lives for those Transcendent Academies—especially the Wizard Academies—to collect [Transcendent Knowledge] fragments for them.
But in the end, it had turned into this mess.
Now, the families on the Witches' side had even accepted the Witches' favor and gained the qualification for extraordinary power!
How could the other families sit still?
The reaction from the family members at the various academies had naturally led to this situation.
Jointly counter-attacking the Secret Realm?
Did they think not enough people had died in there already?
According to their statistics, they found that the Ancient Remnant Ice in that Secret Realm specifically targeted students from their academies, while very few from the Witch Academy had died.
This forced them to wonder: were the families on the Witches' side conspiring with the Witch Academy to target their families?
But they weren't here to argue logic! The facts were right in front of them. Regardless of whether the other party was innocent, people had died. If an explanation and a compensation package that everyone could accept weren't provided, this matter would not end peacefully.
So, they had come in force today to demand compensation—ideally, to take the Secret Realm core for themselves.
After all, that Ancient Remnant Ice inside had taken almost all the Transcendent fragments. Handing the core over would be a perfect way to settle the score with their superiors.
They didn't believe a Transcendent expert couldn't handle such a fellow!
"That’s impossible! We have no authority to transfer the Secret Realm core to you! Your appetite is a bit too large, don't you think?" The students from the Witch side refused immediately. It was out of the question!
The Secret Realm belonged to the Academy. They were merely representing a club. If they dared to hand it over, they would be finished!
"It’s just a Secret Realm with no resource or material production, not a World Fragment. The families on the Witch side are already targets of public criticism. Is asking for a Secret Realm really that much?"
"If you can't agree to these terms, then your families can wait to be sanctioned!"
"You! You really want to take it this far? If you all unite to sanction us... are you trying to start a Family War?"
"You're certainly acting tough... do you really think that mastering a bit of extraordinary power gives you the right to throw around the term 'Family War'?" At this moment, they stopped hiding their intentions and brought everything into the open.
Families were like dogs to the Transcendent Academies. A dog cannot possess the power that only the master is allowed to hold.
Now, a group of families they once looked down upon—beings who weren't even fit to be dogs—were on the verge of turning the tables and becoming masters themselves because of a single stroke of luck.
How could they not be desperate?