Chapter 194: Elemental Spirit!

"My lord, is that the island? But it's so small—no trees at all, just rocks. Could there really be anything valuable here?"

After more than ten minutes of sailing, the crew on deck finally saw the small island the lookout had described.

After observing it through their telescopes, Migen and the others began to doubt whether the island held anything of value.

After all, the island was smaller than the castle's front courtyard, completely barren, with not a single plant in sight.

"Migen, are you doubting Zhuīyuè's abilities?" Gervas knew from his system intelligence what lay on this barren island—otherwise, he might have thought the same as Migen.

"Uh, my lord, I would never dare doubt Zhuīyuè's abilities—I just wonder if we've mistaken the island!"

Zhuīyuè had become a divine symbol in Stormhold.

Its reputation had been tested and proven—Migen would never question it.

"Whether we've made a mistake or not, we'll know once we set foot on the island!"

Soon, the ship finally drew close to the barren little island.

Around the island rose towering cliff-like reefs, like stone walls rising from the sea—no ordinary person could climb them.

So Gervas decided he and Lei Meng would land alone.

As their small boat approached within three meters of the shore, Gervas and Lei Meng both activated their battle qi, aimed at the rocky shore, and leapt forward with force.

The next instant, both landed firmly atop the rocks.

Without delay, they began climbing the more-than-ten-meter-high rocky sea cliff.

A few dozen seconds later, they reached the summit of the rocky sea cliff.

Immediately, they turned their gaze toward the center of the rocky island.

In an instant, Lei Meng's body jolted sharply, his eyes widening in shock.

"Lei Meng, Captain of the Knights, what is it? What did you see?"

Migen and the others immediately noticed Lei Meng's reaction.

In the past, many treasures had appeared—but none had ever caused Captain Lei Meng to react with such astonishment.

Everyone's hearts lurched—they realized the island truly held something extraordinary.

Jolted back to awareness by Migen's call, Lei Meng's face flushed with emotion: "It's an Elemental Spirit! A elemental being once possessed only by the Elven race! Worth at least a thousand gold coins to our human race! Congratulations, Lord Gervas!"

"Elemental Spirit? Good heavens! A thousand gold coins? We're rich now!"

Though Migen and the others didn't know what an Elemental Spirit was, they understood exactly what a thousand gold coins meant.

"Come on—the Elemental Spirit seems weak. Let's go take a look!"

Gervas feigned surprise, then swiftly led them toward the bottom of the volcanic crater.

The Elemental Spirit lay at the center of a deep pit within the crater.

After spending a moment climbing down to the bottom, they hurried forward to approach the Elemental Spirit.

As they drew closer, the Spirit's finer details became clear.

No face, no features—just a pure green energy core.

Its appearance resembled the little sprites from the single-player Warcraft games of his past life.

But now, the Elemental Spirit was nearly dead—its glow had faded to a faint flicker.

Sensing Gervas and the others approaching, the light cluster trembled slightly, brightened a little, then drifted backward by dozens of centimeters.

Clearly, the Elemental Spirit was utterly exhausted—too weak even to flee.

"Little one, don't be afraid. We're here to save you—to take you somewhere with trees!"

Gervas wasn't sure if the little thing could understand him, but if he could bring it back gently, that would be best.

Because this elemental being seemed unable to form a contract.

Thus, unless he intended to keep it imprisoned forever, he should avoid using force.

Perhaps it sensed Gervas's kindness, perhaps because it was near death, or perhaps it simply wanted to leave the island.

After a moment of hesitation, the Elemental Spirit slowly drifted toward Gervas.

Finally, the light cluster touched his palm.

Instantly, a strange psychic surge flooded into Gervas's mind.

"Hungry… hungry… hungry…"

Good heavens! Gervas exclaimed inwardly.

The Elemental Spirit could transmit thoughts just like a unicorn.

But its thoughts were far simpler—only one idea: hunger.

"Here you go, little one! You'll have something delicious soon!"

There was no problem lifting it.

The Elemental Spirit was, in a sense, a physical entity—just incredibly light.

His hand passed through the soft, fur-like strands of light surrounding it.

Cradling the basketball-sized light cluster in his arms, it felt like a balloon—light, soft, and fluffy.

…

"This… this is the Elemental Spirit? Good heavens, it's truly miraculous!"

"Yes, we've never seen such a strange creature before. How does it eat? It's completely transparent—there's nothing inside its body!"

Back on the ship, Migen and the others, upon seeing the Elemental Spirit, were utterly astonished.

Given its immense value, the Elemental Spirit was exceedingly rare—a being most would never see in a lifetime.

They returned to Stormhold at top speed, then galloped on horseback straight to the castle.

Since Gervas now possessed both, he intended to unite them.

"My lord! Is it… really an Elemental Spirit?"

As they thundered down the slope before the castle, Minister of Agriculture Miersen had already been waiting.

Seeing the green glow bound in cloth against Gervas's chest, the Druid Miersen trembled with excitement.

As a Druid, he understood better than anyone the rarity and power of the Elemental Spirit.

"Miersen, I told you—Zhuīyuè's intelligence never fails. But this Elemental Spirit has been starving for a long time. Has the War Tree been prepared?"

"My lord, the War Tree has already been transplanted into your backyard!"

Saying this, Miersen hurried ahead to lead the way.

Earlier, before Gervas's departure, he had ordered Miersen, the Minister of Agriculture, to dig up and transplant the War Tree to the castle.

Normally, this would be impossible—transplanting a War Tree before maturity would likely cause it to wither.

The younger the tree, the higher the chance of death.

Thus, before the Elemental Spirit appeared, Gervas had never considered transplanting it.

But now, with the Elemental Spirit, everything changed.

Because the Elemental Spirit could guarantee the War Tree's healthy growth with one hundred percent certainty—no more worries.

"Go on, little one!"

In the backyard, the War Tree—now over a meter tall—stood at the center of the garden.

Gervas released the little one.

Instantly, the Elemental Spirit sensed something—though several ornamental trees surrounded it, it joyfully locked onto the War Tree and darted toward it.

Arriving before the War Tree, the Elemental Spirit immediately began circling it.

As it spun, a dreamlike scene unfolded.

Streams of emerald elemental particles drifted into the air around them.

Even in daylight, the particles shimmered brilliantly.

It was as if Gervas's backyard now held a luminous mist fountain.

But the dreamlike effect was secondary—the greatest benefit of the Elemental Spirit was its elemental power.

"Such dense elemental power!" Captain Lei Meng's eyes lit up.

He sensed the elemental energy in the backyard had surged—more than doubled from before.

"Captain Lei Meng, the Elemental Spirit's function is to gather elemental power. From now on, within one li of the castle, elemental energy will be doubled at all times!"

"Thus, not only will your cultivation accelerate, but all plants and creatures here will grow far better!" Miersen added timely explanation.

Captain Lei Meng already understood some of this, but Migen and the others had never heard it before.

They gaped in astonishment: "Good heavens—does that mean we'll reach Bronze Knight status even faster?"