Chapter 385: Enough to Last a Year

The people of Meishencheng went out the next day and found a forest outside the city—not the landscaped grove built by the elves before, but a dense, primeval forest.

This forest centered on a World Tree, with countless towering trees scattered throughout; almost no one had ever seen such giant trees—if the Arbiter God came, he would recognize it: the Divine Wood.

The Divine Woods planted in the Square of Gods had been cultivated by Ang and spread throughout the entire forest; growing alongside the Divine Woods were Elf Beans.

Thick Elf Bean vines entwined the towering Divine Woods, each vine heavy with dense clusters of Elf Beans, like a lush green coat woven entirely of beans, fluffy and voluminous.

Previously, Ang harvested Elf Beans by the individual grain, but now, a single Divine Wood bore several million Elf Beans; with the trees stretching beyond sight, the quantity could easily feed everyone in the entire plane for a year.

This was not a normal yield—without a Faith Storm, it was impossible for so many Elf Beans to sprout overnight.

But this was only the Elf Beans and Divine Woods; in the open spaces between the Divine Woods, all kinds of crops had grown: grains, fruit trees, flowers, herbs, magical plants, medicinal herbs, even "gods."

Several Godflower seeds bloomed at the foot of the World Tree, each nurturing a powerful Divine Core.

A golden book flew over, opened its pages, and snapped shut with a click, trapping the Divine Core inside; Nageleisi's voice emerged from the book: "You're lucky I'm here—if I weren't, you wouldn't know where to store these Divine Cores once they matured."

No one paid it any mind, because everyone was frantically harvesting Elf Beans; Da Mao had been called back and was the most enthusiastic, its plump figure darting wildly among the vines, its claws moving too fast to see.

But the Elf Beans were too numerous—Da Mao alone wasn't enough; everyone had to join in.

A Tree Shepherd, wrapped in a fur skirt, waddled over; where it passed, the dense crops parted lightly, revealing an unobstructed path.

The Tree Shepherd first ran to the roots of the Tree of Life, looked up at the colossal tree.

Nageleisi watched the path it had taken and asked curiously: "Why did you walk in from outside? Aren't you able to teleport between World Trees? Kuba Da, who tied that grass skirt on you?"

The Tree Shepherd replied: "A child holding a straw owl—pretty, right?" As it spoke, it swayed its waist.

Nageleisi covered its forehead; the God of Life didn't seem to care about this appearance—fine, if it didn't mind, then neither did Nageleisi.

The Tree Shepherd continued: "This one won't work—it belongs to it."

Nageleisi froze: "You mean you can't teleport to this World Tree because it's the sapling's?"

The Tree Shepherd nodded.

"But all the other World Trees are the sapling's too—what's different about this one?" Nageleisi asked, puzzled.

The Tree Shepherd shook its head: "They're all my children—this one is its true body."

"True body?" Nageleisi stared in shock at the towering tree, nearly as tall as the Tree of Life, then at the sapling on Ang's head with only a few pairs of true leaves—unable to connect the two.

The sapling waved its true leaves, sending out enthusiastic signals: Grow—harder—grow—harder—

The Elf Bean vines grew wildly.

Ang, exasperated, grabbed the flowerpot and twisted it backward; this stupid sapling was causing vines to grow while they were harvesting—nearly wrapped Ang's leg bones.

The sapling, flipped backward, blinked for a moment, then spotted the waddling Tree Shepherd; it happily waved its true leaves: Grow—harder—grow—harder—

The Tree Shepherd's face lit up with joy; instantly, a leaf sprouted from its head.

After amusing the sapling with the method used between World Trees, the Tree Shepherd turned to Ang: "Why not let it harvest?"

Ang paused, then said: "It's dumb—it only knows how to make things grow."

The Tree Shepherd shook its head—well, not a head, really, more like a crown—and emitted a soft rustling sound, like water sloshing in a brain: "I'll teach it."

Ang plucked the sapling from his head and stared at it; the sapling tilted its stem and sent out a confused signal.

"Harvest—the beans," Ang held it before the Elf Beans and pointed.

The sapling immediately waved its true leaves: Harvest—beans—harvest—beans—

A wind blew, stirring the colossal World Tree above, producing a soft rustling sound.

All the Elf Bean vines stirred, extending forward to the open ground; the beans automatically fell from the vines, and soon a small mountain of Elf Beans piled up.

Now no one needed to pick by hand—everyone just needed bags to collect them; speed increased dramatically, since magic could be used.

In no time, they harvested tens of thousands of tons of Elf Beans; at three beans per person per day, it was enough to feed every human, elf, and dwarf in the entire plane for four hundred days.

In other words, in one night, Ang had grown enough food to sustain every soul in the plane for a year.

Nageleisi couldn't help muttering: "This Faith Storm must've come just to deliver you gifts."

Da Mao leapt before Ang and slammed its tiny paw hard against the ground: "Aowu!"

The Elf Bean harvest was too fast—Da Mao was the most upset, because it couldn't earn any harvesting fees.

Ang tossed it a sack of Elf Beans, which temporarily calmed it down.

"So, now the Faith Storm has passed, right? Everyone's fine?" Nageleisi asked, glancing at the Goddess of Redemption.

The Goddess of Redemption understood, rolled up her sleeves to show her pale arms—during the Faith Storm's impact, her arms had turned gray, but now they were restored.

"Since everyone's fine, there's one final question: Will the Faith Storm return in a thousand years?"

Its question seemed to trigger Ang—he leapt suddenly, gathered all the Elf Beans, pulled out the Heavenly Scepter, and opened a portal.

"Hey hey hey, where are you going now?" Nageleisi hurried after him.

Du Luo, the Grand Sage, and Anthony exchanged glances and hurried after him too.

The Tree Shepherd stood still for a moment, then waddled away.

Left alone, the Goddess of Redemption, pretending to be well-behaved, sighed deeply, glanced around, then flew up and slashed with a hand strike, severing a branch of the Divine Wood.

"All my gear was taken—so I'll use you. Forge me a Divine Staff. So many Divine Woods sprouted overnight—absurd." The Goddess of Redemption beamed, ran her hand along the branch, and it glowed golden.

After forging the staff, the Goddess of Redemption, itching to test it, swung it hard; a soft hum echoed, and every plant before her shattered into fragments, spraying juice everywhere.

The wind blew gently; the World Tree above rustled softly.

Suddenly, the Goddess of Redemption felt her foot tighten—she lost balance and fell; something had wrapped around her foot and was dragging her rapidly away.

She frantically struck downward with her staff, hitting something hard—but couldn't break it.

She was dragged far, to the forest's edge, then flung violently outward.

With the trees and vines no longer blocking her view, she finally saw clearly: the thing that had dragged and thrown her was a thick vine.

Remembering the Tree Shepherd's words, she instantly realized whose vine this was—the one on Ang's head. Kuba Da, she didn't even dare curse, and scurried away with her head down.

On Ang's head, the sapling angrily waved its true leaves: Hmph—hmph—

Ang glanced at it and ignored it, flying straight upward, piercing through the Heavenly Fortress's barrier, entering the void beyond, then stepping across the void toward the distant, slender object.

"He's going to the Eternal Path? Following it to find the thing that shattered the Red Star?" Nageleisi exclaimed.

Du Luo and the others exchanged glances, each seeing hesitation in the others' eyes—what if that thing that shattered the Red Star truly was the Undying King?