Two groups of people, each with their own motives, formed a joint investigation team and continued to advance toward the Heart of the Forest.
Passing through Lucien’s Temporary Camp, they drew closer and closer to the Heart of the Forest.
Some of the more sensitive young mages already had an unnatural, drunken flush on their cheeks.
The mages from the Magic Academy began to grow excited.
Especially Lily, a petite alchemist girl in the group wearing alchemy goggles and possessing a somewhat tech-geek aura; the needle on the precise and complex energy detector in her hand had already surpassed its maximum range, emitting a sharp and rapid buzzing sound.
“Oh my god! The concentration of life energy here can no longer be measured by conventional units! It’s several orders of magnitude higher than the Academy’s highest-grade ecological greenhouse…!” she shouted excitedly, her voice even cracking a bit.
Professor Elsa’s expression also grew solemn.
She reached out her fair fingers, and a cluster of orange-red fire elements gathered in her palm.
However, the flame that should have burned steadily was suppressed the moment it appeared by the life aura around them, which was so dense it was almost tangible. It flickered violently, like a candle in a gale, threatening to go out at any moment.
“The environment here… is rejecting elemental magic,” she said in a low voice, a hint of wariness flashing in her eyes.
Just then, Fan Zhuo, who had been leading the way, suddenly paused.
The [Holy Brand] within his body produced an unprecedentedly violent reaction.
No, not a reaction, but… a resonance.
He could feel that the Mother Tree ahead, serving as the Heart of the Forest, was transmitting a sense of… longing to him.
It was a complex emotion mixed with maidenly shyness and the joy of a long-awaited reunion…..as well as an undisguised possessiveness, a desire to completely devour and merge with him.
Like a wife keeping a lonely house, waiting for her husband to return, the moment she sensed his aura, she could no longer suppress her inner excitement and longing.
The more powerful a creature, the more it cannot hide its primal hunger.
“Child…. My child… You have finally returned…”
A thought, gentle yet carrying an irrepressible tremble, dissolved directly into his mind like honey.
The corner of Fan Zhuo’s eye twitched uncontrollably.
The lake of holy power within him rippled slightly, and the life energy belonging to the Mother Tree throbbed joyfully, conveying this deadly thought to him with absolute clarity.
Sensing this, Fan Zhuo couldn’t help but have a thought….
If he converted more monster girl energy in the future, wouldn’t he be able to start a chat group in his own lake of holy power?
And… this… isn’t this form of address a bit… distorted?
The worst part was that among the group behind him were monsters like Lucien and Professor Elsa, whose perceptions were freakishly sharp. Even Ye Ying wouldn’t dare send him a telepathic message in front of them under these circumstances…
This blatant emotional fluctuation from the Mother Tree was as conspicuous as a searchlight in the night to them!
Fan Zhuo: Well, thank you very much…
Sure enough.
“Eh? What strange energy fluctuations…” The alchemist girl Lily stopped in her tracks, looking at the crazily jumping line on her instrument with uncertainty.
“The massive life energy source ahead… its emotions seem to be very, very… excited?”
Professor Elsa’s brow furrowed even tighter.
She could clearly feel that the enormous life energy was active at an unprecedented frequency, and this activity seemed to be… directed at them?
No, more accurately, it was directed at the young priest walking at the very front.
“Priest Fan Zhuo,” Lucien’s cold voice came from behind, “is the Heart of the Forest just ahead?”
His words sounded like a question, but they were more of a warning.
But after all, he had repeatedly questioned the Mother Tree and the Terminal Maiden before, and they couldn’t find anything suspicious about Fan Zhuo.
Moreover… with the people from the Magic Academy present, suspecting Fan Zhuo—who had been right under his nose—would be like slapping his own face.
“Yes, Lord Lucien,” Fan Zhuo replied, bracing himself. At the same time, using all the acting skills and emotions of his life, he frantically sent a thought to the Mother Tree.
“Mother Tree! I beg of you! My dear sister! Calm down! A huge crowd is watching! Can you stop sending me messages… or we’re both going to be finished right here!”
“But I… have waited for you for so long…” The Mother Tree’s thought carried a deep sense of grievance.
“The scent on you makes me… makes me unable to resist…”
Fan Zhuo took a deep breath. He knew that reasoning was useless now; he had to fight fire with fire.
“Once I’ve dealt with these troublesome fellows, I will… come back for you,” he promised in an enticing, devil-like whisper.
“At that time… you can do… whatever you want.”
“…Really?” The Mother Tree’s thought hesitated for a moment, and that nearly overflowing excitement finally began to settle down.
“Really… Anything… I want?”
“Anything you want,” Fan Zhuo agreed without blinking.
Just as he managed to soothe this “empty-nest mother,” the group finally crossed the last stretch of woodland and arrived at the clearing of the Heart of the Forest.
When they saw the towering giant tree before them, everyone was shocked.
The tree was truly massive. Its colossal canopy almost covered half the sky, and countless thick vines hung down like green waterfalls. Every leaf radiated a soft halo of life, as if it contained a world within.
And in the center of that massive trunk, a plump, mature female body with staggering curves was quietly integrated with the ancient tree, as if deep in sleep.
Among the shocked crowd was Fan Zhuo.
The Mother Tree seemed much more “mature” than when Fan Zhuo last saw her.
Moreover, perhaps due to an excess of nutrients in the Elf Forest, she appeared overall… even… fuller.
The skin that was originally integrated with the trunk now looked like a ripe, top-tier peach, radiating an enticing luster and fragrance.
Set against the life halo, those breathtaking curves carried no hint of lewdness; instead, they were filled with a sacred, maternal radiance that nurtured all things.
However, the male mages present did not feel this way at all. In their eyes, beams of dazzling holy light automatically and tightly shielded those perfect contours, leaving only a blurry silhouette.
“This is… the Heart of the Forest?”
Exclamations rose one after another from the mages of the Magic Academy. Even the well-traveled reporter forgot to record, simply staring blankly at the wondrous sight before them.
A trace of fervor flickered in Professor Elsa’s eyes.
This had already exceeded her scope of knowledge regarding plant-type monsters. From the perspective of research value, this wasn’t a monster at all; it was practically a living goddess of nature!
Just then, the Mother Tree slowly opened her eyes.
A female face emerged on the trunk. Her gaze swept over the crowd and finally landed on Fan Zhuo.
Deep within those eyes hid a subtle trace of resentment and… expectation.
“Outsiders… you have intruded upon my sacred land. What do you seek?”
Her voice was ethereal and majestic, carrying an ancient and weathered charm, a world away from the coquettish tone she had used in Fan Zhuo’s mind earlier.
Fan Zhuo secretly cheered in his heart.
Not bad! With this acting, it’s truly a waste that she isn’t the lead actress at the Holy City Royal Theater!