"You’re here."

A gentle and calm voice echoed by the ear.

The Elf Empress standing beneath the Ancient Elf Tree slowly turned around, her dignified and steady gaze fixed on Lin You.

The luxurious attire made of grass and wood paled under her cold and noble countenance, as if it did not belong to this world.

This was the first time Lin You had seen the true face of the Elf Empress.

She was indeed worthy of being the ruler of the Elf Race, surpassing the rumors in many ways.

She was so breathtakingly beautiful it was suffocating.

Moreover, her terrifying aura was even more formidable than the Saint Radiance Emperor when he first advanced.

Lin You dared not think much, stepped forward, and respectfully made a salute.

"Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress."

"Greetings, High Priest."

Respect must be shown to these powerhouses.

After all, the safety of the entire Primordial Continent depended on them, which equates to protecting their security.

"At ease."

The floating Elf Empress slowly descended as the Flower Spirits around her flew away and began to circle Lin You back and forth.

Just like last time, they were very affectionate towards him.

Seeing this, the Empress and the High Priest exchanged a silent glance before looking back at Lin You.

"You’ve come here for the Royal Family, right?"

The Empress’s voice was very melodious, like a gentle breeze.

Yet it made Lin You’s heart skip a beat. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

As expected, the Elf Empress had long anticipated that he would return here.

She even knew his exact purpose for coming.

He dared not conceal it, saying directly, "Yes, does Your Majesty have any way to help solve it?"

"Since I know you’re coming, naturally, I have a way. Moreover, in the Ten Thousand Realms, only our Elf Race can conceal the rule interface, but..."

"But what?" Lin You hurriedly asked.

"You need to agree to one condition of mine."

The Elf Empress gave Lin You a deep look.

With just a glance, Lin You felt like he was thoroughly seen through.

But for his own safety, he still nodded and said, "Alright, as long as it doesn’t take my life, I can agree to whatever I can accomplish."

"I’m not going to take your life." The Elf Empress smiled faintly, then her expression gradually turned serious, "I just want you to lend a hand whenever my Elf Race is in crisis in the future."

"This... want me to lend a hand?"

Lin You was taken aback.

He had considered the various requests she might make, but he had not expected this.

How could they expect an eighth-tier novice to lend a hand to the Elf Race?

Isn’t this just playing a joke on him?

Any Elf Elder here could easily overpower him, so what use could he be?

Moreover, with the Elf Race’s strength, he couldn’t imagine any crisis that could lead them to request external assistance.

The Elf Empress seemed to guess his thoughts and whispered, "You only need to say yes or no, without worrying about the details. I won’t let you throw your life away in vain."

Lin You pondered for a moment, looking at the Elf Empress and the High Priest once more.

Finally, he nodded heavily, "Alright! I agree!"

He would deal with future matters in the future.

There’s no use in worrying about too much now; resolving the current problem is more important.

"In that case, it’s settled. I hope you won’t forget your promise."

Hearing his affirmative response, a slight smile appeared on the dignified face of the Elf Empress.

Then, with a wave of her hand, a bright light suddenly illuminated the Ancient Elf Tree.

Several golden leaves condensed from Life Aura slowly floated down and fell into Lin You’s hand.

Upon counting, there were a total of 12 leaves.

Lin You was about to speak when his attention was caught by the information about these leaves.

[Artifact: Rule Leaf]

[Grade: Rare]

[Effect: Condensed from the Life Essence of the Ancient Elf Tree, it contains an exceedingly powerful rule aura. When used on any target, it can conceal the rule interface, preventing detection, effective only below Tier Twelve.]

Conceal the interface!

Prevent detection!

After reading the information, Lin You became excited.

This way, he wouldn’t have to worry about his royal species being detected by others.

As long as he didn’t randomly wander in front of a Tier Twelve, it shouldn’t be an issue.

But encountering a Tier Twelve wasn’t something that happened casually.

So he wasn’t very worried.

"Thank you very much!"

Lin You expressed his gratitude.

"There’s no need for thanks, just remember your earlier promise."

The Elf Empress waved her hand, appearing slightly drained.

It seemed to be because of the effort spent in condensing the Rule Leaves.

Lin You was secretly surprised, not expecting that this took such a toll, almost wearing out an Emperor-level powerhouse.

But thinking about it, it made sense.

After all, it’s different from Divine Fragment; it not only needs to mask the aura but also block the detection of other lords.

The detection abilities of Lords are manifested from the world rules, an innate talent.

Interference with it is equivalent to interfering with world rules, which obviously isn’t simple.

"Alright, I need to take a rest. High Priest, arrange someone to escort him out."

Without saying much more, the Elf Empress disappeared on the spot with a flicker.

"Farewell, Your Majesty!"

The High Priest called into the void before looking at Lin You.

"Let’s go, I’ll escort you outside."

"Then I’ll trouble the High Priest."

Lin You glanced in the direction where the Elf Empress disappeared, then followed the High Priest out toward the forest’s periphery.

After leaving the range of the Ancient Elf Tree, the surrounding elves began to increase, each curiously scrutinizing Lin You.

"By the way, High Priest."

Walking along the road, Lin You suddenly spoke.

"I heard the Elf Race has something called the Seed of Life, I wonder how I can obtain it?"

"You want the Seed of Life?" The High Priest glanced at him calmly.

"Yes." Lin You didn’t hide his intentions.

Seeing him nod, the High Priest pondered for a moment and said, "Normally, this thing isn’t given to outsiders, but since you are chosen by the Mother of Nature, I can decide to give you one."

"Really!?" Lin You’s face lit up with joy.

"Yes, but the Seed of Life is extremely precious, even if you are chosen by the Mother of Nature, you must pay a price."

"How much?"

"One hundred million."

"...Can it be a bit less?"

"No."

...

In the end.

Lin You still bought the Seed of Life from the High Priest for a price of one hundred million Magic Energy, a seed incredibly rich in Life Force.

Spending one hundred million Magic Energy on this rare artifact with formidable attributes wasn’t a loss.

After all, he already had a life-saving piece of equipment, and this seed was just an extra bonus.

The artifact, however, could provide substantial help during battles, so it was a must-have.

So, under the High Priest’s farewell.

Lin You soon left the depths of the forest, spending the night at a treehouse inn in the peripheral city area.

Only in the next morning did he use the Teleportation Array to return to the Holy Sanctuary.

While riding the Demon Emperor Dragon towards the Floating Islands, he sent a message to the Tier Nine Lord he had previously befriended.

To his surprise, the person was already setting up a stall on the Floating Island.

As soon as he received Lin You’s message, he quickly responded with a string of replies.

Between the lines, Lin You could sense a strong urgency.

"Luckily it hasn’t been sold yet."

Lin You murmured, urging the Demon King Dragon to increase its speed.

Over an hour later.

He finally returned to the Floating Islands.

Just as he landed, the Tier Nine Lord who had been waiting for him immediately approached.

"Brother, you—you actually got the Seed of Life?"

The man’s hands were trembling as he asked, his eyes full of anticipation and tension.

Compared to yesterday, his face clearly showed more vitality, and he looked much more spirited.

Lin You didn’t waste words with him, directly took out the emerald green seed, waved it in front of him, and quickly stored it in his personal space.

"The Seed of Life!"

The man’s eyes widened, almost unable to stop himself from shouting out loud.

Luckily he reacted quickly, stopping himself after the first syllable and cautiously looked around, fearing being discovered.

"Did you bring the items?" Lin You asked.

"I brought them, I did." The man nodded heavily, eagerly sending Lin You a trade request.

Lin You did not hesitate, immediately choosing to confirm.

To his surprise, besides the promised rare artifact, there was also a Faith Crystal, and it was a high-level one!

"What’s this?"

"Take it, it’s a token of my appreciation." The man said solemnly.

"Then I won’t be polite with you."

Clearly, the person he wanted to save was very important to him, since he could effortlessly give away a high-level Faith Treasure Pearl.

Knowing its worth exceeding millions and being near impossible to purchase.

Lin You accepted without reservation.

After placing the Seed of Life in the trade, he went ahead with the transaction.

Then, with a flash of light, the rare artifact and Faith Treasure Pearl appeared in his personal space, filling him with joy.

"Thank you, for this kindness, I, Shen Pei Nian, will never forget, and repay you in the future!"

The man said excitedly, clasping his hands, and then teleported off the platform.

His hurried manner suggesting he was eager to return to save someone.

As more and more eyes turned towards them, Lin You didn’t linger either, and teleported back to his territory.

Arriving under the World Tree, he used the Faith Treasure Pearl he had just obtained.

His Power of Faith instantly climbed to over 4000 points.

Already close to one-tenth of the maximum value.

With current faith accumulating at roughly 80 points daily, more than 10,000 in three months was certainly achievable.

Moreover, with the rapid expansion of Yellow Sand City’s population, the daily faith acquisition would continue to increase, potentially much more.

"Next..."

"It’s time to check out the Lower Realm Area."

The Elf Empire visit took much less time than expected.

Now, there are four days until the recruitment of new lords.

Perfect time to plan the future development of Yellow Sand City, opening all the trade routes farther away.

Also, collecting more Magic Powder and manufacturing materials to make ten Magic Energy Airships.

All in all, a lot needs to be done these days.

Thus, no time to explore the Main Demon Plane for now.

With this thought, Lin You summoned all his Royal Species around him, while taking out the newly acquired Rule Leaf.

[Do you wish to use "Rule Leaf" on Elf Sage Lingxi?]

"Use."

At the sound of the words, the golden leaf in his hand turned into a stream of light, integrating into Lingxi’s body.

Lin You quickly clicked on Lingxi’s attribute interface, noting that it indeed had the label "Hidden."

Indicating that the outside world can’t investigate, only he, as the Lord, can view its attributes.

This finally gave him some peace of mind.

The weight had finally lifted from his heart.