NOVPUBDue to the queen's forgetfulness, Ye Bai and Autofis were fortunate enough to eat a second Fruit of the World Tree.
Ye Bai's attributes received a massive boost—consuming two Fruits of the World Tree added a total of 8,000 HP and 4,000 Spirit Energy.
Before this, at level 63, the fish meat Ye Bai ate in the deep sea and the fruits consumed at the outskirts of the Emerald Forest had only amounted to around 7,000 HP and 3,000 Spirit Energy.
The two Mythic-grade fruits effectively doubled her health and mana bars. Even disregarding the additional attributes and mana, her HP alone now surpassed that of tank-class characters at the same level.
However, even the Fruit of the World Tree follows the rule of one-time consumables—it can’t be exploited indefinitely. Eating a third would start diminishing the buff effects.
Of course, when this item was initially added to the faction exchange, no one expected players to afford a second one… The fact that Ye Bai had "exploited" such a bug so effortlessly was something she’d never anticipated.
After finishing the fruit, Ye Bai glanced somewhat sheepishly at Eno Lucia and asked, "Could you tell me how much of your memory remains intact?"
"Of course. If you hadn’t pointed it out, I wouldn’t even have noticed," Eno Lucia mused. "I retain all memories from after the split. As for the earlier ones—the period of the Infernal Invasion and before—those likely reside with the other two versions of me above."
Ye Bai nodded, deep in thought.
This meant the events—the Divine King seeking out the Elven Queen, followed by her relocating the entire Emerald Forest into the Dream Realm—had all occurred after the Infernal Invasion.
Combined with what Ye Bai had witnessed in the Infernal Realm, the sequence became clear: the Infernal Realm had invaded the Emerald Forest, a great battle ensued, and the Infernal Demon Lord, severely wounded, retreated back to the Infernal Realm. The Divine King must have subsequently moved the Abyss into the Infernal interlayer.
After a pause, Ye Bai asked Eno Lucia another question: "Before the Infernal Invasion, did the Divine King not foresee this?"
The title of Divine King wasn’t merely an honorary label for the strongest entity in the realm—it signified true sovereignty, earned by uniting all top-tier factions under their rule.
The Infernal Invasion of the Emerald Forest was akin to a vassal state suddenly attacking another in a feudal system, with the sovereign only stepping in afterward to clean up the mess.
Regardless of the underlying reasons, one thing was clear: by that point, the Divine King’s authority and control over the factions had already weakened.
"The Divine King, He…" Eno Lucia began, her tone suggesting a lengthy explanation was forthcoming.
Ye Bai leaned in attentively.
Eno Lucia: "…"
Ye Bai looked up instinctively and, sure enough, saw the same look of bewilderment cross the Elven Queen’s ethereally beautiful face.
"Let me think…"
"Uh…"
In the end, Eno Lucia gave up, her ice-blue eyes meeting Ye Bai’s as she admitted honestly, "…I can’t remember."
"It’s fine!" Ye Bai quickly reassured her, fully understanding—after all, she’d prefer the queen not recall having treated her to two Fruits of the World Tree either.
She shifted the topic instead: "What else do you remember about the Divine King?"
"He helped me relocate the Emerald Forest into the Dream Realm and instructed me to safeguard the second key, to be handed to you when the time came—the end of the Great Annihilation," Eno Lucia recited, this part of her memory crystal clear.
Ye Bai pondered, then asked, "What was the Divine King like? Do you remember His name?"
"What was He like…"
Eno Lucia paused before offering an unexpected answer:
"He was lost."
Ye Bai blinked. Lost?
Eno Lucia nodded faintly, lost in recollection. "Not just Him. At that time, I too felt lost… or rather, adrift. Even if I no longer recall why, I remember the emotion."
"As for His name… I don’t remember now, but…" She frowned slightly, yet her voice held certainty. "I should have known it once."
……
Even as Eno Lucia escorted her to the middle layers of the World Tree, Ye Bai’s mind buzzed with questions.
If the Elven Queen’s confusion likely stemmed from concern for her people’s future, what had made the Divine King feel lost? Was it the never-explained Great Annihilation?
But the details of that catastrophe were too vague for Ye Bai to envision.
At the same time, she recalled the fleeting glimpse of the Infernal Demon Lord in the depths of the Infernal Realm.
What held Him immobilized, reduced to a "giant battery," wasn’t just the World Tree branch serving as a key—it was the powerful curse branded "Traitor."
Undoubtedly, the Infernal Demon Lord had rebelled against the Divine King, with the invasion of the Emerald Forest as the catalyst. The queen’s words further hinted that the Divine King had likely suppressed Him afterward.
Yet what nagged at Ye Bai was the Demon Lord’s mention of a "betrayer." Who had betrayed whom?
Kraken had been tasked by the Divine King to contain the Infernal core—so why the label of traitor? And what had the Demon Lord left unsaid?
Was the paper figure seeking the Divine King’s treasure once His enemy? A contingency plan? Or the elusive Divine King Himself?
And how did Autofis, the enigmatic companion at her side, fit into all this?
Her gaze drifted unconsciously to Autofis.
Sensing her stare, the creature turned, its donkey-like face quirking in question.
Ye Bai: "Are you the Divine King?"
Autofis: "?"
After an exasperated eye-roll from her mount, Ye Bai shelved the unanswerable questions for now.
Coincidentally, their next destination was the World Tree’s summit, where all three versions of the Elven Queen resided. This divine NPC was kind, approachable, and remarkably hospitable (emphasis intended). By questioning each about the past, Ye Bai could piece together a timeline.
For now, though, she and Autofis walked onward through the same familiar forest.
The current Emerald Forest is a unique dreamscape supported by the World Tree. The middle layer is not actually composed of branches and trunks but is instead an independent space. Ye Bai had been teleported here by the Queen of the lower layer, so there was no need to physically "climb the tree."
As Ye Bai shifted her attention to her surroundings, she suddenly noticed that the derivative plants growing on the ground in the middle layer were somewhat different from those in the lower layer.
"Danger! Stay away from that!"
Hearing Ye Bai's warning, Autofis halted its movement—it had been sniffing a massive "flytrap" plant large enough to swallow it whole.
"The plants here aren't edible," Ye Bai explained.
At this, Autofis reluctantly tore its gaze away from the glistening sap inside the mutated flytrap's leaves.
Perhaps due to the difference in space, the plants in this layer were nothing like those in the lower layer, which bore many fruits with beneficial effects. Instead, at a glance, the area was filled with thorny vines, oversized carnivorous plants, and vividly colored toxic flora—all of them aggressive and dangerous.
Nourished by the World Tree, these hostile plants, much like the exotic flowers and fruits of the lower layer, had undergone mutations and enhancements, doubling their lethality.
Even though Ye Bai now had over ten thousand health points, she had no desire to test her limits by stumbling into these "plant traps."
Fortunately, just as before in the lower layer, after traveling for some time, Ye Bai encountered the branches of the World Tree. The spirits, now transformed into points of light, quickly noticed her presence.
"I sense the power of the World Tree's branches... Honored guest, please enter."
The dancing lights carried the familiar, melodious voice of the Elven Queen Eno Lucia. Compared to the Queen of the lower layer, this version of Eno Lucia spoke with a more solemn tone—still gentle, yet carrying an added air of authority.
Having gone through this once before, Ye Bai followed the guiding spirits with Autofis in tow. The dangerous plants along the path automatically parted, sparing her the trouble of navigating around them.
Before long, Ye Bai and Autofis arrived at the heart of the middle layer, where the World Tree stood—just as they had in the previous layer.
There, a figure in a white dress stood waiting. With golden hair and azure eyes, her beauty was breathtaking. It was Eno Lucia, whom Ye Bai had bid farewell to not long ago.
Her gaze settled on Ye Bai, and this more serious version of the Elven Queen offered the same warm, friendly smile.
However, suddenly, the tips of Eno Lucia's ears twitched, and her faint smile froze.
Her eyes, fixed on Ye Bai, turned icy. The light blue in her irises darkened visibly, as if a storm were gathering within them. A terrifying aura radiated from her. 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝖕𝖚𝖇.𝖈𝔬𝔪
The spirits who had guided Ye Bai seemed to sense the summons and swiftly retreated to a distance, leaving her bewildered.
"The stench of the Abyss... Damned Abyssal rebels, daring to infiltrate the Emerald Forest!"
As she spoke, Eno Lucia's white dress transformed into an elegant set of elven battle armor.
The once-gentle, hospitable Elven Queen now revealed a health bar befitting a god-tier boss—a terrifying sight.
