Chapter 549: Golden Wilderness

Chapter 549: The Golden Prairie

Within the palace of the Elven King.

Li Wei stood alone before the sovereign of the elven race.

The Elven King, with golden hair and azure eyes, wore a crown upon his head and sat leisurely upon his throne.

He lowered his gaze slightly, watching silently as Li Wei entered.

His expression was one of complete control.

It must be said—the Elven King was perhaps the most beautiful elf among his people.

Neither man nor woman could rival his appearance.

He seemed to embody the most perfect form in all the world.

Having lived for over a thousand years, his visage remained youthful still.

Their eyes met across the chamber, their gazes seeming to spark in the air between them.

A small measure of surprise stirred within the Elven King’s heart.

Li Wei had reacted far too calmly upon seeing him.

There was no helping it—Li Wei had previously encountered the Beast King and experienced firsthand the domineering aura he exuded.

Thus, he had already developed considerable immunity toward what others might call "kingly presence."

Besides, the auras of kingship possessed by the Elven King and the Beast King were entirely different.

One was restrained; the other unrestrained and bold.

Nevertheless, Li Wei did not underestimate the Elven King because of this.

Both were formidable beings of equal standing.

Having witnessed the Beast King's might, Li Wei naturally formed an assessment of the Elven King’s strength.

Should they engage in direct combat, his chances of victory would be infinitesimally small—

So close to zero as made no difference.

Li Wei bowed and spoke: “I am Li Wei. I come before Your Majesty, the Elven King.”

The Elven King fixed him with a steady stare and replied evenly, “Did the Beast King give you the token?”

“And where is the heir of the Sacred Dragon Clan?”

Compared to Li Wei, the Elven King cared more about Saint Xi.

After all, she was the true descendant of the Sacred Dragons.

Li Wei paused briefly before answering, “Forgive me.”

Before the Elven King, he cast a spell.

Opening a spatial gate from which Saint Xi emerged.

The Elven King looked at her, sensing the aura of the Sacred Dragon Clan emanating from her body.

He shook his head and said, “You are too weak. Return.”

“I will not hand over the token to either of you.”

Without mincing words, the Elven King stated his refusal outright.

Li Wei looked directly at the Elven King and said, “As guardian of the token, should you not aid the heir of the Sacred Dragon Clan?”

The Elven King chuckled softly. “Indeed, according to ancient agreements, I ought to deliver the token to the Sacred Dragon Clan.”

“But… you are simply too weak. Delivering it to you would serve no purpose—it would only lead to your deaths.”

“We won’t know unless we try,” Li Wei replied.

The smile faded gradually from the Elven King’s face. “Human, do not push your luck.”

Saint Xi stepped forward, meeting the Elven King’s gaze directly. “Your Majesty, since time immemorial, the Dragon Clan and the Elven Clan have been bound by covenant. It is thanks to the efforts of the Dragon Clan that the Elven Forest has remained intact.”

The Elven King observed Saint Xi, his expression calm, revealing nothing of his thoughts.

“It seems some of your memories have awakened,” he remarked.

Perhaps out of pride,

he relented slightly and said, “Very well then—I shall grant you both a chance.”

“Whether or not you obtain the token depends entirely on your own abilities.”

Saint Xi responded, “Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness.”

“Heh, don’t celebrate too soon.”

The Elven King opened a passage leading to the Golden Prairie.

Leading the way inside, Li Wei and Saint Xi followed closely behind.

They entered the Golden Prairie—the former divine realm of the Elven God.

Upon beholding its sights, Li Wei showed clear signs of astonishment.

The Golden Prairie lay in utter ruin.

Surely, the divine domain of the Elven God should symbolize life and nature itself?

Yet now, the land cracked open, trees withered away, rivers dried up, and even the sky appeared shattered...

The entire world seemed to be dying.

At the edge of this dying realm stood an immense tree connecting earth and heavens.

That was the World Tree.

Now, barely any leaves remained upon its branches.

Countless interlaced limbs resembled heaps of bleached bones.

Such a sight evoked deep sorrow.

Both Li Wei and Saint Xi stood stunned by the desolation of the Golden Prairie.

But the Elven King had grown accustomed to it.

He said, “What you seek lies atop the World Tree.”

“A word of warning—though this world may be near death, the creatures dwelling here are not so easily dealt with.”

After a moment of silence, Li Wei turned to the Elven King and asked, “How did this place come to such a state?”

From traces left among the dead grass upon the ground,

one could tell that long ago, the Golden Prairie had once been vast grasslands and forests.

True to its name,

it should never have become this barren wasteland.

The Elven King spoke calmly, "After the God of Elves vanished, the divine realm lost its source of power and gradually withered away."

Upon hearing this, Li Wei was not surprised.

He had already guessed such an outcome.

The Elven King glanced toward the distance and said, "I give you one day. If you cannot obtain the relic, then leave."

Having spoken, he turned and departed from the Golden Prairie.

No sooner had the Elven King left than a tremendous rumbling echoed from afar.

Yellow sand rose like smoke, swiftly approaching their direction.

As they drew near, Li Wei could clearly see that the newcomers were a group of stone beings covered entirely in withered yellow vines.

These stone creatures were formidable opponents indeed.

Once guardians of the Golden Prairie, each possessed strength equivalent to the sixth tier.

Li Wei had no intention of entangling himself with these stone beings.

Time given by the Elven King was limited; he must secure the relic within a single day.

"Sacred Xi."

Li Wei called out once.

Sacred Xi immediately understood, transforming into a great dragon and carrying Li Wei as they sped toward the World Tree.

In the blink of an eye, the vine-covered stone beings were left far behind.

Along the way, Li Wei encountered many monsters native to the Golden Prairie.

Tree guardians once brimming with life now appeared as grotesque Withered Treants.

Their bodies reeked of decay, as though long dead.

Yet bizarrely, they still moved—still obeying deep-seated instincts to protect the Golden Prairie and prevent enemies from nearing the World Tree.

Whoosh!

Sacred Xi exhaled a stream of draconic flame.

The flames swept across the land, obliterating everything in their path, slaying countless Withered Treants.

Thwick-thwick-thwick!

Numerous sharp wooden spikes shot forth at Sacred Xi and Li Wei.

Li Wei raised a massive magical barrier to block the assault.

Clang-clang-clang!

Spikes as thick as arms struck the shield, shattering into splinters that scattered everywhere.

Looking down, Li Wei saw the ground teeming with monstrous figures.

The closer they came to the World Tree, the more numerous the monsters became.

At first, Li Wei and Sacred Xi managed to avoid them.

Now, however, they had no choice but to carve a path straight through.

On the ground swarmed stone beings, Withered Treants, and thorn-shooting cacti archers. In the sky hovered Wilted Flower Spirits.

It felt to Li Wei as if he were tackling some hellishly difficult dungeon instance.

Every minor monster inside boasted absurdly high levels.

Besides endless hordes of stone beings, Withered Treants, and Wilted Flower Spirits,

there were also considerable numbers of seventh-tier War Ancients, Twisted Dryads, Holy Rangers, and Sacred Archers...

Fortunately, all had lost reason, acting purely on instinct.

So long as Li Wei avoided drawing their attention, he wouldn't face overwhelming attacks from powerful foes en masse.

Sacred Xi hovered midair, gazing at the countless Wilted Flower Spirits blocking out the sky ahead.

"Li Wei, what do we do now?"

Li Wei looked up at the sky and replied, "Let me try casting Meteor Fireball."

Relying solely on himself against the remnants of a god's domain seemed unrealistic.

From this battle experience, Li Wei now understood just how terrifying a fully empowered deity truly was—not merely due to personal might,

but also because of accumulated believers, guardians, and sacred spirits amassed over eons within the divine realm.

That explained why wars between gods inevitably escalated into conflicts between entire divine realms.

Faithful followers built up over millennia represented the greatest resource—and hidden reserve energy—for any deity.

Li Wei began casting Meteor Fireball.

Before initiating the spell, he worried slightly—if this place truly was part of a divine realm, perhaps meteors couldn’t be summoned here.

However, halfway through the incantation,

his concerns faded.

He sensed that a meteor had already responded to his call.

Boom-boom-boom!

A deafening roar erupted from above.

Countless monsters below lifted their heads skyward.

An enormous meteor plummeted from the heavens, streaking across the firmament in brilliant flame.

Suddenly, Li Wei noticed something odd about this particular meteor—

completely unlike those he usually summoned.

While blazing magnificently during descent, it showed no signs of damage.

Moreover, his Elemental Fission supernatural trait exerted absolutely no effect upon it.

Bang! Kaboom!

The meteor, exceeding a hundred meters in diameter, crashed intact at the foot of the World Tree.

Its impact unleashed a colossal shockwave that upheaved the earth itself.

Waves of force surged across heaven and earth, obscuring Li Wei’s vision.

Countless Withered Treants and stone beings were flung aside.

Withered Flower Spirits burst into flames.

Even the mighty World Tree trembled momentarily.

Whoooosh!

Li Wei cast wind magic, dispersing the dust cloud overhead.

Beneath lay revealed a vast crater gouged by the fallen meteor.

At the center of the crater lay a massive stone engulfed in green flames.

Suddenly, the stone stirred.

Crack, crack, crack!

Before Li Wei’s astonished eyes, the meteorite transformed into a colossal stone giant over 150 meters tall.

Green flames blazed across its body, giving it an eerie and otherworldly appearance.

Sensing the aura radiating from the stone giant, Li Wei furrowed his brow.

This was... hellfire?

As that thought struck him, a roaring sound erupted overhead.

He looked up—the rumbling grew louder and louder until the entire sky thundered with noise.

Then, Li Wei saw more than a hundred green meteors streak across the heavens and plummet toward the ground.

His expression darkened slightly.

Li Wei realized he might have done something foolish.

Hellfire was a high-ranking unit of the Abyss.

They had appeared just outside the Golden Prairie.

That could only mean one thing: the Golden Prairie had likely been targeted by the Abyss long ago.

It was just that the Abyss had never been able to lock onto its location—until now.

Unintentionally, when Li Wei cast his Meteor Fireball Spell, he had mistaken the floating hellfire in the void for real meteors and summoned them straight into the Golden Prairie.

Once the hellfire crashed down,

the Abyss obtained the coordinates of the Golden Prairie.

And thus came the scene before him.

This was the Abyss's invasion of the Golden Prairie.

The 150-meter-tall hellfire stone giant strode toward the World Tree.

Its strength ranked at the early stage of the eighth tier.

Most of the guardians within the Golden Prairie couldn’t even approach it.

But soon enough, an eighth-tier sacred spirit emerged, powerful enough to stand against the hellfire.

Yet as more and more hellfire fell upon the Golden Prairie,

the defenders began to falter.

Seeing this, Li Wei had no time for regret.

He patted Sheng Xi on her back and said, “Go get the relic while you still can.”

Sheng Xi spread her wings and soared toward the top of the World Tree.

Below, the hellfire army from the Abyss clashed fiercely with the defenders of the Golden Prairie.

This was the vanguard force of the Abyss.

Li Wei knew full well there were far worse monsters lurking behind the hellfire.

Time was running out.

He had to retrieve the relic and return to the Elven Forest before the Abyss launched a full-scale invasion of the Golden Prairie.

Elven Forest.

The Elven King sat upon his throne, gazing at the light screen before him, his face shifting with emotion.

After a long silence, he let out a sigh.

A trace of regret crept into his heart—he shouldn’t have let Li Wei enter.

Though the Golden Prairie wouldn’t last much longer anyway,

without the Abyss’s intrusion, it could probably hold on for another few centuries.

Now, even if he went himself, it would be too late.

He had the power to eliminate the hellfire that had entered the Golden Prairie.

But since the Abyss already possessed its coordinates, killing them all would change nothing.

It was only a matter of time before the Abyss completely consumed the Golden Prairie.

Rushing in recklessly now might inadvertently guide the Abyss straight to the Elven Forest—that would be disastrous.

Thinking this through, the Elven King found peace with his decision.

Still, watching Li Wei on the screen, his gaze turned cold.

Accepting the premature fall of the Golden Prairie was one thing—

forgiving what Li Wei had done was quite another.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Fierce winds chased after Li Wei’s figure.

He clung tightly to Sheng Xi’s back, squinting ahead.

She darted swiftly between the branches of the World Tree.

Massive limbs blurred past him in a flash.

Ahead, the trunk of the World Tree loomed like a wall stretching to the heavens.

As they ascended, Li Wei mistook the enormous bark for solid earth.

Looking back, he saw yet another expanse beneath him.

One world, two lands.

Boom! Rumble!

Li Wei turned his head—a hellfire crashed onto a branch below.

The terrifying impact shook the entire section of foliage.

Yet it merely trembled—it did not break.

A meteor capable of carving craters into the earth couldn’t so much as scar a single branch of the World Tree.

Its durability defied imagination.

Li Wei couldn't help but consider taking some of its wood back with him.

Suddenly, Sheng Xi let out a low growl.

Her voice echoed directly in his mind:

“Li Wei, watch out!”

Thud!

A branch whipped him away, exploding midair into a burst of flame.

Moments later, the flames converged into shape.

He gazed ahead as several slender branches slowly retracted.

Slender only in comparison to the other branches and leaves.

In reality, these branches exceeded one meter in diameter.

Saint Xi transformed into human form and slipped out from among the branches that had trapped her.

She swiftly flew to Levi's side.

"How did these branches suddenly come alive?"

Saint Xi asked in confusion.

Levi swept his gaze in a circle around them, quickly locking onto a branch to his right.

He launched himself toward it, with Saint Xi hurriedly following in his footsteps.

The two flew to the branch and saw a humanoid figure upon it.

The figure's lower body grew directly from the World Tree's boughs.

Its upper body resembled an elf, with skin yellowed and mottled like ancient bark.

Levi stared at the being, recognizing this half-tree, half-human creature as undoubtedly the guardian of the World Tree.

Judging from the previous attack, this opponent possessed formidable strength.

If not for the Saint Flame Lord form's immunity to physical damage, even if his body were more resilient than a dragon's, it would have been torn apart.

(End of Chapter)