Chapter 632: Cai’Er Awakens
Editor: Modlawls123
“Ling Tian, why are you here? What happened here?” Greenwood came over to Ling Chen as he hurriedly asked.
“I came here to see my little sister, but I didn’t do anything. Just as we were about to leave, this tree suddenly grew out, and I don’t know why either,” Ling Chen truthfully replied. Standing so close to Greenwood, he could clearly feel how intense Greenwood’s emotions were, and he asked, “What is this Fairy Tree?”
“The Fairy Tree is the tree of our Fairy Clan’s origins, and it is the tree of life!” An aged and emotional voice sounded out from behind him as Granny Witherwood slowly walked over, her teary eyes staring at the Fairy Tree, “I never thought that in my old age that I would not only be able to see my clan released, but also see the reborn Fairy Tree. I can truly die without regrets now.”
“The tree of the Fairy Clan’s origins? The tree of life?”
“That’s right.” Greenwood nodded as he raised his head, looking at the light on the Fairy Tree as he said in awe, “No one knows the Fairy Tree’s original name, but in the ancient times when there were still Gods and Demons, it was a godly tree filled with the power of Nature. It grew in this Fairy Fountain, and the Fairy Forest was born because of it. As it grew, its Nature energy became denser and denser, forming a spirit and giving birth to the first Nature Spirit... the being that our Fairy Clan worships, the Nature Goddess.”
Granny Witherwood continued, speaking in a voice that was hoarse but as heavy as a mountain, “She didn’t have any fighting power. Instead, her power was one of holiness, nature, purity, benevolence, and life. Although she was birthed by the Fairy Tree, in our hearts she’s a being of utmost holiness. This is because she, with the Fairy Tree’s power, created the first Fairy... which is how our Fairy Clan came to be. Without the Nature Goddess, none of the Fairies would exist. In essence, the Nature Goddess is a Fairy, but she is also a Nature Spirit. As such, she’s also called the Progenitor of our Fairy Clan.”
“So it’s like that...” Ling Chen lightly nodded. He had heard the Fairies mention the Nature Goddess before, and he could feel that their worship towards the Nature Goddess surpassed that of the Moon God Clan. However, he had not found any records of the ‘Nature Goddess’ in the Forgotten Continent Chronicles. It turned out that she was not a ‘God’, but she was instead a ‘Spirit’ like the Lucky Cat. It was just that one was a Nature Spirit, while the other was a Treasure Spirit. However, she was a true goddess in the hearts of the Fairies.
“Does that mean that the Fairy Tree disappeared afterwards?” Ling Chen asked.
“That’s right, it disappeared a long, long time ago... no, it entered into a deep sleep together with the Nature Goddess... until today.” Granny Witherwood’s eyes were filled with hot tears, and her stooped body seemed to try to straighten in devoutness as she looked at the Fairy Tree... she had been able to witness the scene that countless of her ancestors had desired to see.
“That was about 10,000 years ago. Back then, the Forgotten Continent had just gone through a calamity called the Shura’s Devastation. Although the disaster was over, the entire Forgotten Continent was almost paralysed, and even the strongest clans, the Moon God Clan and the Void Dragon Clan, were greatly injured. At that time, the dormant Demon Beast Clan suddenly appeared, bringing disaster to the Forgotten Continent that still had not recovered from the Shura’s Devastation. The Demon Emperor was incredibly powerful, and he was not any weaker than any of the 3 Moon Goddesses. The 3 Moon Goddesses had been greatly weakened from the battle with the Shura, countless Moon God Representatives had died, and the Void Dragon Clan had sealed themselves away after the battle with the Shura.
“As such, the Moon Goddesses sought the help of the holy beast Golden Crow, which had greatest destructive power that countered that of the Demon Beast Clan’s. They also found the Fairy Realm and asked the Nature Goddess to bring the Fairies to defend against this threat. The benevolent Nature Goddess naturally would not refuse, and she brought all of the Fairies to fight with the Moon God Clan and Golden Crow against the Demon Beast Clan. Back then, there were tens of millions of demon beasts, and they were incredibly powerful.
“After a horrific battle, the Demon Beast Clan was finally destroyed, and the Demon Emperor was killed by the Golden Crow’s Heavenly Wrath of the Nine Suns. However, the Golden Crow never appeared again, and it was unknown whether it was still alive. The Moon God Clan had many casualties, and my Fairy Clan’s casualties were even worse... but even though countless had died, we were not resentful at all because these lives had bought the peace and security of the Forgotten Continent. However, during that battle the Nature Goddess was assaulted by countless demonic auras, and a month after the battle, she was unable to maintain her ‘Spirit’ form anymore and returned to the Fairy Tree. A month later, the Fairy Tree started to wither until it died... leaving only a withered seed in the Fairy Fountain.”
This was a secret of the Fairy Clan, and yet they were telling Ling Chen unreservedly. This showed just how much they trusted him. Ling Chen silently listened, then slowly nodded, “So it’s like that... that means the seed has been in the Fairy Fountain this entire time, but it has never sprouted? And the Nature Goddess has never appeared?”
“That’s right,” Granny Witherwood sadly said, “Do you know why the Fairy Clan, which was flourishing, almost went extinct? It’s because the Fairy Clan has always had low reproduction, but when the Nature Goddess was alive, our reproduction levels were not any less than the human’s. Everything was because the Nature Goddess and Fairy Tree fell into a deep slumber. They are the origin of our Fairy Clan’s power and life, and without the Fairy Tree’s power, our Fairy Clan will become weaker and weaker with every generation, and it will become more and more difficult for each generation to give birth. Now, there are only a mere 2,000 Fairies left.”
“In that case, since the Fairy Tree has been reborn, does that mean Fairies will become stronger and will be able to give birth to the next generation more easily?” Ling Chen asked.
“That’s absolutely correct!” A joyous smile appeared on Greenwood’s face. He spread out his arms and faced the Fairy Tree, “This is the aura and power of the Fairy Tree as described in the records. I can feel all of the cells in my body jumping and rejoicing. My Fairy power is also trembling in excitement as if it’s a tender shoot about to grow in spring... this is great, my Fairy Clan is going to experience a revival!”
It was possible to increase the population by mating with humans by using their reproductivity to increase their numbers. However, Fairies born from unions with humans would no longer by pure-blooded Fairies. As such, the Fairy Clan would not make such a decision unless they had no other choice. Now, the Fairy Tree has miraculously reappeared, so the Fairies no longer had to go through with such a plan. The danger of becoming extinct was now gone.
“This is why we’ve been desperately protecting the Fairy Fountain to prevent it from being tainted by anything. This is because the Fairy Tree’s seed was within the Fairy Fountain, and every generation of our ancestors has been hoping for it to grow. The Fairy Fountain is the last remaining pure water in the world, so every generation of Fairies needs to protect it to the death and cannot let any outsiders to come into contact with it.”
“Ling Tian, did you really not do anything with Cai’Er here?” Greenwood asked seriously. The Fairy Fountain wouldn’t have appeared for no reason, and he knew that something must have happened.
Ling Chen thought about it, but he shook his head, “After arriving here with Cai’Er, I only looked down at Shui Ruo from above, and Cai’Er was by my side the entire time. We didn’t go anywhere else or touch anything, and we barely even spoke. Just as we were about to leave, a green light shot out from the water, and the Fairy Tree suddenly started to grow.”
Ling Chen thought about everything that had happened after he had come here. From when he had arrived to when he was leaving, his thoughts had been solely focused on Shui Ruo. He indeed had not done anything else, and he had barely talked. Oh... there was that when he looked away from Shui Ruo, a tear fell into the Fairy Fountain... but the Fairy Tree’s growth surely had nothing to do with his tear, right?
“... Then why would the Fairy Tree suddenly grow? Could it be that something happened here before all of us came?” Greenwood muttered to himself.
“Hurry and look at Cai’Er – there seems to be something odd about her,” Ling Chen said. From when the Fairy Tree had broken out of the water, Cai’Er’s body had started to flash with a pure, jade-green light. She seemed to be soulless as she stared at the Fairy Tree, her body hovering in the air but not moving at all.
Greenwood and Granny Witherwood saw just how strange Cai’Er looked, but they did not reveal expressions of shock. Granny Witherwood slowly spoke, “Don’t worry, the light on Cai’Er’s body is because she’s too close to the Fairy Tree and has been filled with Fairy power. In other words, her Fairy power is being awoken and evolved by the Fairy Tree, and she will become more powerful and pure. Any Fairy in front of the Fairy Tree will have this sort of reaction. Haha, it’s been 10,000 years, and the Fairy Tere has finally reappeared. Cai’Er is lucky enough to be the first Fairy to be bathed by the Fairy Tree’s power... hm?”
Before she had finished speaking, Granny Witherwood suddenly paused as a look of surprise appeared on her face, and the same was for Greenwood.
This was because the light around Cai’Er’s body became even larger and brighter, forming a green halo of light that was around 5 to 6 metres wide, and her Fairy power also became even more powerful. This incredibly dense feeling of Fairy power caused Greenwood and Granny Witherwood to feel a suffocating feeling.
“What’s going on?” The incredible power radiating from Cai’Er caused even the Mysterious God grade Greenwood to take a step back as he said in shock, “Even if her power should increase under the Fairy Tree, it shouldn’t be to such an extent... this power almost exceeds mine!”
Ling Chen was even closer to Cai’Er, and he was blown back 10 or so metres by the gust of Fairy power emanating out from her. Hearing Greenwood’s words, he felt utterly shocked: she was almost as powerful as Greenwood? Although Cai’Er wasn’t weak before, she was only a LV40 Celestial grade Fairy. Greenwood was a LV100 Mysterious God grade Chief!!