"That's true for elves, and of course you're different. The Tree of Life rightly says, "Generating the Fountain of Eternity still requires me to consume the life energy I have accumulated." Therefore, on the premise of maintaining the size of the elven tribe, I will try to produce as little eternal spring as possible, and let the elves rely on the laws of nature to reproduce the race. ”

"Then why do you treat me so favorably?" asked Richard lightly.

The Tree of Life replied, "Because I need to prove that I am worth more than just the heart of the tree." ”

Richard praised, "Very clever! Well, now for the second question, the world is very conducive to the growth of plant life." Is it possible for you to grow faster, and is it possible to advance to the World Tree?"

This time, there was a hint of tremor and excitement in the voice of the Tree of Life: "What do you mean?"

Richard said, "If possible, I'd like to see if I can help you grow into a World Tree." Of course, this is only if you are loyal enough and can prove that you are more useful than the World Tree Center. ”

The Tree of Life was silent for a moment this time, and then said slowly, "First of all, there can only be one World Tree in this forest area at present. Once the World Tree is formed, the entire forest area will be affected by it. On top of that, there are several powerful predators of the Living Tree that can be driven by the World Tree. Therefore, when a Living Tree grows close to the World Tree, the existing World Tree will drive various natural predators to kill the potential Living Tree. If the Living Tree is able to resist the attacks of predators and grows into a World Tree, then there will be an endless war between the two World Trees, fighting for domain power until one dies or migrates. ”

"You said that the Tree of Life itself is not capable of self-defense, and that you need to rely on the elves to provide you with protection?" Richard continued.

"Yes. On the one hand, the elves will help us drive out the predators, and on the other hand, they will need to rely on us to grow stronger. The size and strength of the elven tribe determines whether we can grow further. The tree of life can be divided into juvenile, growth, and maturity stages, and in addition to the juvenile stage, the growth and maturity stages are divided into three stages. I'm at the beginning of my formative years. The elven tribe that was originally attached to me was not strong, and I may have to wait another hundred years before I can move to the next stage. When the protector's strength is not strong enough, I don't dare to advance to the rank, because once the promotion is successful, there will be a new and powerful natural enemy attacking. ”

Richard thought for a moment and said, "If I say that I can provide you with strong enough protection, how long will it take you to be able to advance to the next stage?"

"I've been in the early stages of growth for nearly 100 years, and if I don't think about the external environment, I can get into the middle of growth in half a year. Then, if I can survive this stage of the predator attack safely, it will only take about ten years from the middle to the late stage. But I must warn you that my predators in the mid-term are woodpeckers, who may not be very powerful individually, but they are very numerous. There are often tens of thousands of them dispatched at the same time. ”

Richard was also surprised by the rapid growth of the Living Tree, and it seemed that the main means by which the Tree of Life could limit its growth was their natural predator. After listening to the tree of life's answer, Richard felt that his idea was very feasible.

"Where can I find the woodpecker?" Richard needed to learn more about this predator. The most detailed and realistic way is to catch the live ones and then analyze them using analytical skills.

"Elves know the characteristics of woodpeckers, and you can let them catch them. Trust them to be able to give you results soon. ”

Richard nodded, and finally asked, "What kind of changes will you have from the early stage to the middle stage?"

"More fountains of perpetuality, one fruit of the Tree of Life every eight years, five branches that can be used as a staff of nature, and finally a range of one hundred and fifty kilometers that can be used to repel the will of the forest. "The Tree of Life understood exactly what Richard wanted.

Richard nodded and stood up: "Okay, you should be ready to advance." ”

The will of the Tree of Life faded, and Jubu Spirit Wind fell helplessly to the ground, already unconscious. This time, Richard and the Tree of Life had been communicating for too long, and the young druid could no longer support it. Richard picked him up, laid him on the rattan bed, and went out of the treehouse, called the elven elven elder, and told him to try to catch some woodpeckers.

Moments later, a small group of elven hunters disappeared into the forest, returning late in the evening, bringing with them a dozen woodpeckers, half dead or alive.

It is a medium-sized bird, each nearly a meter long, and the most striking thing is not the black-gray feathers that are as hard as iron, but the pointed beak, which is a little too long for body proportions, resembling a small scythe, and occasionally flashes with a yellowish light.

An elven hunter demonstrated to Richard the power of the woodpecker, its pecking is as fast as lightning, ordinary people can't dodge it at all, and the pecking force is extremely strong, even if it is hard iron-scaled wood, its thirty-centimeter sharp mouth can be inserted into most of it at once, and then pull it out, and the edge of the jagged mouth will scrape a few grooves in the wood.

Most of the equipment of the soldiers under Richard's command, whether it is plate armor or tower shield, cannot withstand a peck from the woodpecker, and it is a small hole. Only sophisticated equipment with additional defense can block their pecks, but they will also be filled with pits in a short time under the dense pecking.

The tail feathers of the woodpecker are also extremely terrifying weapons, sharp as a knife when folded, and a flat blade when unfolded.

Richard's face was slightly gloomy, dozens of such things were enough, and although the target was small, it was not difficult to hit. But when the numbers reached thousands, it became terrifying, and he was almost able to simulate the swooping of large black and oppressive woodpeckers, no less powerful than the overwhelming axes of the Grenaders.

With his current strength in the Green Forest, if there are a thousand woodpeckers, he will be able to deal with the difficulties, and if there are another thousand, he will have to flee in the wilderness. However, according to the Tree of Life, the number of woodpeckers that come at the time of evolution will be in the tens of thousands.

It seems that special arrangements are needed in order for the Tree of Life to advance.

Richard pondered for a moment, and told the warriors to shut up all the woodpeckers they caught, as well as all the green forest elf captives, and prepare to take them to the base city together when they returned.

Richard seized the time to meditate in one of the tree houses that remained in the upper part of the Tree of Life.

It was only when his consciousness became silent that the vision formed by spirit and soul began to open.

However, as soon as his soul's vision opened, Richard was shocked! At this moment, he was in a completely unfamiliar meditation realm, surrounded by an endless pale blue breath of life, as if he was sitting in a warm pond of life. This world is so rich that it is almost pure, as if it were similar to what I touched during that meditation at the Akmund family cemetery.

His consciousness didn't need to be deliberately chased at all, and a large piece of life breath was grabbed at will, and with a little traction, it would enter his body, and as soon as he came into contact with the branches and roots that overflowed from the Phantom Star World Tree, he would be sucked into the Phantom Star World Tree.

The breath of life entered the Phantom Star World Tree in an endless stream, and it was no longer absorbed sporadically by a small piece in the past, but poured in directly! A moment later, the Phantom Star World Tree suddenly trembled, and countless starlight was sprinkled from the canopy! The starlight condensed by pure star power wandered and danced, some were absorbed by the Akmund bloodline, others were absorbed by the other four elven bloodlines, and the rest entered Richard's body and merged with the magic power!

Whether it is magic power or bloodline power, it is growing at a speed that can be seen and touched, and the feeling of this power expansion is really fascinating.

Richard was no exception, he almost greedily absorbed and devoured the breath of life around him, without interruption for a moment. Although more than half of the energy is lost during the transformation process, the successful transformation of the star is also much faster than the usual capture speed. Moreover, the transformation of life breath into star power is also very beneficial to the further growth of the Phantom Star World Tree. A considerable part of the energy that was lost on the surface was actually absorbed by the Phantasmal World Tree.

Although it was frantically absorbed by Richard, the breath of life around him was always the same rich, and it was almost never thin. He gradually forgot about time and was completely immersed in the world where power grew.

Not only is his magic power increasing rapidly, but several branch bloodlines are also ready to move, especially the Elemental World Tree, which has never had a chance to flourish, is constantly vibrating, vigorously capturing every star that floats by.

Perhaps because of being in the green forest plane, the Akmund bloodline seems calm, like a sleeping volcano, and all the elven bloodlines burst with vitality.

Time passed imperceptibly, and finally the Elemental World Tree absorbed enough starlight, and after a violent tremor, the trunk that was originally as vague as a phantom began to become clear. Out of nowhere, energy surged upwards from the roots and gradually materialized, shaping the backbone of the World Tree. The body of the Elemental World Tree was constantly changing colors, and at the very top of the main trunk, a bare branch grew and a fiery red leaf protruded from it.

It wasn't until the Elemental World Tree took shape that the tremors it emitted woke Richard and freed him from the thrill of boundless power growth.

The feeling of endless power almost made Richard reluctant to wake up, like a pair of invisible lingering arms trying to drag him to indulge in it again. Fortunately, his will was extremely strong, and once his consciousness returned to the real world, he quickly came to his senses.

"Oops, what time is it?" Richard shook his head vigorously, shaking off the last trace of confusion, realizing that he was ignoring the passage of time. But at this moment, the second consciousness gives the answer: five days.