# Chapter 19: Different Creations
In the endless dense forests of the Far South, there exists a place celebrated by countless people. It neighbors the towering Bandar Mountains, serving as the origin and terminus of a thousand rivers. Located in the heart of the continent, it is as vast as an ocean. Countless rare plants and animals, long extinct in the outside world, thrive here as they did in ancient times.
Its name is the Eternal Lake—a natural sanctuary, the homeland of the elves. Centered around it, hundreds of elven cities and villages spread like the roots of a giant tree along the lakeshore and rivers, stretching toward the distance.
The azure, jewel-like surface of the lake ripples as waves lap against the shore. As vast as an ocean, the lake's end cannot be seen at a glance. Even gazing toward the horizon's edge, its boundary remains uncertain. Yet in the center of this inland sea, nine colossal trees, supporting heaven and earth like mountains, connect the clouds and the ground. Their mountain-like branches and trunks obscure the sky, their leaves block the sunlight, and their roots form nine massive wooden islands, firmly anchored in the center of the Eternal Lake.
Golden sunlight pours through the gaps in the giant trees' leaves, casting intermittent beams of light onto the lake and the wooden islands. Vaguely visible around these nine great trees are many other trees and islands of varying sizes. Though not as grand as the giants, they are still several times taller than ordinary trees.
On the lake's surface, turbulent waves roll as elven boats travel back and forth between the shore and the islands. An elven woman strolls along the shore of the Eternal Lake, quietly observing the scene.
She is a beautiful and highly distinctive woman, clad in a form-fitting dark green robe. The hem of her dress drags across the sandy shore but remains untouched by any dust. Unlike ordinary elves, whose slender frames often lend them an air of delicacy, her every movement exudes a quality of embracing all things, of bearing and nurturing all creation.
As she walks, extraordinary changes occur along the shore of the Eternal Lake. Grass sprouts new shoots, the sandy ground turns into fragrant turf, and numerous animals and birds appear in the coastal forests. They instinctively want to approach her, yet for some reason, they dare not draw near, merely watching her in secret.
The Nature Mentor, Galannod, rarely walks the world in human form. She gazes at the center of the Eternal Lake, toward the direction of the nine majestic Mother Trees of Life. Her emerald eyes reveal no emotion, making it impossible to guess what she is thinking.
After a long while, she stops and gently shakes her head.
"World..."
This inexplicable sigh quickly fades into the wind along the lakeshore. Galannod does not speak a second sentence. However, shortly after, she furrows her brow slightly, raises her right hand, and presses her index finger to her temple. The Nature Mentor whispers, "Lex? What is it?"
"Mentor, Lord Count Radcliffe has just arrived at Redwood City. He knows you are strolling by the lake and said he doesn't intend to wait for your return, so he has gone to find you himself!"
In the psychic communication, a male voice speaks with a tone of helplessness and anxiety. "We couldn't stop him..."
"Of course you couldn't. It's fine. I already guessed he would do this."
The Nature Mentor nods slightly. Then, as if sensing something, she looks up and gazes at the sky not far away. Though it appears empty, she can see that the birds, drawn by the natural aura, are beginning to scatter. On the ground, the animals are also growing restless, panicking and trampling each other as if desperate to flee the area.
Seeing this, Galannod sighs and says softly, "And your warning came too late."
"He has already arrived."
With that, Galannod ends the psychic communication. A gentle, translucent halo emanates from her body, spreading in all directions. The birds and animals caught in panic and chaos immediately calm down upon contact with the halo, retreating in an orderly fashion or staying in place to recover from their fear-induced spasms, avoiding further chaos.
The next moment, a black figure appears out of thin air not far in front of her.
"A bit abrupt, Lady Galannod, but I really don't like waiting."
Joshua, who had been flying using electromagnetic levitation and tracking the concentration of abnormal natural energy in the sky, speaks as he approaches. He walks slowly toward Galannod and stops before her, nodding slightly in greeting. "Plus, your subordinates seemed to want to organize some kind of welcome ceremony. I don't like that sort of thing, so I came directly. Hope you don't mind."
"A welcome ceremony isn't necessary, but they just wanted to show their hospitality. I hope you can understand their good intentions."
Galannod replies, studying the warrior before her. She then sighs softly, "It's been a while since we last met. I didn't expect your strength to have reached this level. Such profound power is hard to believe belongs to someone who only advanced to Legendary a few years ago."
"Occasional fortunate encounters."
Briefly responding to the Nature Mentor's remark, Joshua is also studying her. With his vision capable of perceiving microscopic details, even a Legendary expert finds it hard to hide from his gaze.
But what Joshua sees makes him pause. Because aside from a large patch of fibers and leaves, he sees nothing else. This beautiful elven woman, from head to toe, even her dark green floor-length robe, is actually composed of plant fibers and specially structured leaves. Beneath her hem, instead of elven legs, there are countless tree roots writhing like tentacles, rooted deep into the earth, their origin impossible to trace.
It's as if she is a humanoid form deliberately condensed for communication.
"Lord Count Radcliffe."
As Joshua blinks, the Nature Mentor shakes her head and warns, "That gaze is very rude, especially toward a woman. Please be mindful."
"Apologies. I have a habit of searching for the main body..."
Instinctively trying to locate the enemy's main body to find a fatal strike opportunity, Joshua realizes his behavior is indeed somewhat rude. He clears his throat and takes a small step back. Then he continues, "To be honest, I don't like beating around the bush, so I'll be direct. You specifically condensed an incarnation to invite me here, which must mean there's something important to discuss. There's no one around now. Can we begin?"
"I wonder if you're trying to change the subject or if this is really just your personality."
The Nature Mentor chuckles softly, shaking her head at Joshua's direct approach. "This time, it's to repay you for allowing us to see His Majesty (the Father of Nature) again. Plus, your young friend recently got married, so I took the opportunity to invite you to the Eternal Lake... Based on recent information, this gift might be just right for you."
"It might be a bit abrupt, but you probably like this style."
Galannod speaks in a casual, conversational tone, but her next action changes everything. The Nature Mentor extends her right hand, and a pale green light begins to gather in her palm. At first, Joshua pays it little mind, as most gifts mean nothing to someone of his strength. But after a moment, sensing something unusual, he frowns and watches her every move intently.
"This is..." he murmurs to himself, a hint of surprise in his voice.
The Nature Mentor's actions are unaffected by the warrior's surprise. The pale green light gathers from the surrounding forests and the lake, like countless fireflies converging. Joshua stares at this unremarkable glow, sensing an extremely familiar power within it—the power of life force. Not only that, but this is the most primal, most essential life force.
The Nature Mentor smiles as she gazes at her right hand. Her dark green robe begins to bloom from bottom to top, pale yellow flowers blossoming among the green leaves, with visible streams of natural energy flowing within them.
The next moment, all this natural energy converges completely in the mentor's hand. A cyan-green light flashes, and in that instant, the warrior seems to see an ocean, where primordial life multiplies. Algae float in shallow seas, then the ocean turns to land, and land rises into mountains. Microscopic organisms evolve rapidly with the changing environment—arthropods crawl on the beaches, the ancestors of amphibians emerge from the water for the first time, and spores of primitive plants spread across the dramatically shifting land, multiplying. It witnesses mountains collapsing into rift valleys, plains rising into plateaus, and finally, it forms dense forests covering this ever-changing world.
All illusions fade. The light cluster in the Nature Mentor's hand has condensed to its peak. Now, as the light dissipates, what appears in Galannod's hand is an unremarkable four-leaf clover wrapped in a sphere of water.
"Creating life..."
Gazing at this seemingly ordinary, tender four-leaf clover, Joshua senses the immense life force within it—a vitality capable of taking root and growing into a towering tree anywhere. At this thought, the warrior suddenly looks up toward the nine mountain-like giant trees at the center of the Eternal Lake. He can't help but pause. "Is it a Mother Tree of Life?"
"You created a sapling of the Mother Tree of Life out of nothing?"
"Yes, consider it a gift. After all, you brought back the World Tree for us. To express our gratitude, the entire elven clan felt we had to give you something precious, or else our thanks wouldn't be sincere."
"We've wanted to give you this gift for a long time, but you're so elusive, never staying in Mycroft for long. Only today did we find the opportunity."
The Nature Mentor pushes her right hand forward, and the four-leaf clover wrapped in the water sphere floats toward Joshua. She says casually, "Though some initially disagreed, in the end, they agreed."
"Truly impressive. In this regard, you've gone further than I have."
Taking the sapling of the Mother Tree of Life, Joshua feels the immense life energy within it and can't help but praise, "I admit defeat. I'm no match for you."
"But I can't create a steel statue hundreds of meters tall. Everyone has their own area of expertise, don't they?"
Hearing a Legendary warrior's sincere praise, Galannod can't help but smile. Her emerald eyes flicker with traces of uncontrollable natural energy, showing that creating a sapling of the Mother Tree of Life from nothing is no easy feat even for her. After recovering slightly, the Nature Mentor says teasingly, "I heard you've been replicating creations from various factions recently. Eagle was suspecting you stole the treasures from his bedroom. I thought, why not just give you a Mother Tree sapling? If you want leaves from the Tree of Life in the future, you can grow your own."
"I already said that statue was an accident. I'm not narcissistic."
Joshua clicks his tongue. That statue of himself was accidentally made while creating statues for everyone in the Lord's Manor, but he has no time to explain such trivial matters. The warrior gazes at the four-leaf clover wrapped in the water sphere in his hand, showing great interest. "I won't refuse this gift... But are there any planting conditions?"
Historically, there have been those who tried to steal elven Mother Tree saplings. A few times, due to elven negligence—or perhaps deliberate intent—some people actually succeeded in stealing them. But every one of those who attempted to plant them failed without exception. The stolen saplings, though not dying, could never grow. Over a decade, they only grew from four-leaf clovers into bushes, still thousands of years away from becoming towering trees.
"It's simple. The Mother Tree of Life cannot be planted in soil. Before its root system fully matures, it must be directly soaked in water rich in life force."
Galannod tilts her head slightly, gazing at the shimmering Eternal Lake. She sighs softly, "The elves spent a thousand years cultivating the Eternal Lake to this state. Without the Eternal Lake, the Mother Tree of Life is just a decent-looking potted plant... Though the Mother Tree itself isn't particularly meaningful, I've condensed my experience in creating life within it. I think that will be more helpful to you than the tree itself."
"The gift is excellent. I like it very much. Thank you."
Joshua nods solemnly to the Nature Mentor, expressing his gratitude. Of course, he knows that the respect she shows him is also due to his strength. As for planting the Mother Tree of Life, he doesn't think it will be that troublesome.
Water rich in life force, huh. He happens to know just such a place—vast, full of water, and rich in energy. The only trouble is that it's not in the Mycroft World.
"It seems I'll need to return to the Bloodmoon Abyss when I have time."
Joshua thinks to himself. "I doubt the main body of Xiao Guang would mind having an extra tree for company."
The Bloodmoon Abyss is a world that has already been destroyed, but that doesn't mean there's no hope. All the energy and life force of the former Sleya World condensed into the Bloodmoon. If the Bloodmoon can be reborn as a sun, then the world's recovery would just be a long process.
If, during this long process, an elven Mother Tree of Life is added, and once the Mother Tree grows to a certain extent, its giant roots could fix the broken continents floating in midair. Wouldn't that speed up the world's rebirth considerably?
Arranging his upcoming itinerary in his mind, Joshua looks up again at the Nature Mentor, who is quietly watching him. He nods and says, "But, Nature Mentor, you didn't invite me here just to give me a tree."
"Now that the small talk is done, can we get to the main topic?"