Chapter 197: The Youth-Preserving Ye Zi

Miss Louisa was dissatisfied with Xia De's question, so she retorted:

"Xia De, why should children be afraid? This fairy tale celebrates friendship and tells children that even if one encounters difficulties and setbacks, friendship will endure. The faint sense of melancholy contained within is simply exquisite; this is my favorite fairy tale. Although, like *The Little Match Girl*, it has a sad ending, the story of the Match Girl makes one feel regret, while the story of the *Tree's Kiss* makes one feel that such an ending is perfect even while feeling sad."

The long string of words tumbled out, her flushed face a sign of her excitement.

Xia De, holding the cat, pondered and tried to express his own view:

"Miss Louisa, look, if you understand this story in another way, that ancient tree is actually a relic or some kind of evil entity that can attract beautiful girls, nurture them, and then eat them, digesting their bodies to nourish itself..."

"Enough, Xia De, don't ruin my childhood memories."

Miss Louisa stopped Xia De's "reading comprehension" with some dissatisfaction. Xia De could only stop, but still asked:

"Thinking about it this way, isn't this a horror story?"

The blonde writer looked at him with even more dissatisfaction.

"Xia De, it seems it is truly necessary for me to be your teacher and guide you in understanding literature. Believe me, you still have a long way to go."

Thus, the topic finally returned to the right track: the usage of the two leaves in Xia De's hands.

"What I just said was only the gist of the story. The details show that when the princess placed the leaves that drifted down from the giant tree before her eyes, she could see the story the giant tree wanted her to know. This fairy tale has spread far and wide, and its origins can even be traced back to the Fourth Era or even further into the past. Therefore, in our culture, the action of placing a leaf before one's eyes usually refers to understanding the knowledge bestowed by the tree."

"This also has a corresponding meaning in mysticism. I think that apart from you, all Ringed Shushi should have known this the moment they received the leaves."

Miss Louisa said. Xia De suddenly realized; so that was why it had no effect when he stuck the leaf to his forehead yesterday or placed it under his pillow before sleeping:

"Then I will try it now."

"You can do it here. I am actually quite curious about what kind of gift the Old God will give you. Before this, I hadn't even heard of the term 'Old God'."

Miss Louisa picked up her teacup, while Xia De first summoned his Ring of Fate, then randomly picked one from the two leaves; after all, the leaves didn't have written on them what kind of knowledge they corresponded to.

He closed his left eye tightly and placed the leaf before his right eye. A wisp of icy cold airflow immediately drilled from his eye into his brain. But the feeling was not bad; he even found it somewhat enjoyable.

Afterward, the cold aura lasted for dozens of seconds before disappearing, and knowledge representing a Miracle automatically appeared in Xia De's mind.

He took the leaf away from in front of his eyes, breathing heavily, savoring that extra bit of knowledge. Miss Louisa, meanwhile, took the used leaf from Xia De's hand, placed it in front of her own eyes to test it, discovered it was of no use, and then held it to her nose to sniff it:

"Interesting. I thought this leaf would be destroyed after use. It is truly interesting; this leaf can actually still be used. I feel a surging vitality. This is... interesting, this leaf comes from an Old God, drifting out from the Corridor of Time you mentioned. Therefore, theoretically speaking, this leaf does not belong to this Era, but comes from the Fifth Era."

The blonde writer lowered her head to observe the veins of the leaf; she had likely made a very significant discovery.

"Yes."

Xia De agreed with this view.

"So, it is a Relic now. When I thought about what this was, the reminder of the Whispering Element naturally appeared in my ears."

She handed the leaf to Xia De, and the voice in Xia De's ears also reminded him in a timely manner that he had come into contact with a Whisper. As for why there was no prompt before handing it out, it was likely that the Old God's power remaining in the leaf was still suppressing the leaf's own elements at the time.

"Poet-level Relic 【Youth-Preserving Ye Zi】. Carrying it on one's person for a long time can drastically slow down the holder's physical aging speed. If obtained in one's twenties, then at fifty, one's appearance will not change much. But it is only the appearance; the age is actually still increasing."

"Held in the mouth, even a person with severe injuries can survive for a long time, though it is not as good as your 【False Immortality】."

"And if chewed and swallowed, as long as one still has a breath left, one can fully recover. Of course, using it this way is very wasteful."

"This is a Relic? Isn't the Father of the Infinite Tree too generous?"

Xia De held the leaf in surprise, the cat watching covetously from the side.

"【Youth-Preserving Ye Zi】 is a quite famous Relic, with obvious effects and extremely low side effects. The only negative characteristic is that holding it in the mouth for a long time has a probability of causing the user to take root and sprout—literally taking root and sprouting. The containment method is also very simple: just let it touch water at least once a month to ensure the leaf's vitality."

Miss Louisa introduced. Although Xia De still felt amazed, thinking about it carefully, it wasn't extremely surprising. Professor Garcia had said that the Old God 【Father of the Infinite Tree】 was the World Tree, and the leaves bestowed by the World Tree, even if not the leaves of the World Tree itself, would definitely not be mundane items.

"【Youth-Preserving Ye Zi】, like the 【Key of Time】, is a Relic that is not unique in quantity. Although it has no combat power and its danger level is low, its effect is not very great, but the price of such a Relic can even compare to a Sage-level Relic. I remember hearing the Professor say that the Thirteenth-Ring Shushi of Saint Byrons, the librarian 'Red Moon Mage', has one. I had never heard of the origin of this leaf; I didn't expect it to actually be related to that Old God."

Miss Louisa said, her eyes glancing at the leaf in Xia De's hand.

Xia De nodded and also introduced to Miss Louisa the new Miracle he had obtained. He didn't need to learn it; the Miracle had already been mastered.

Miracle - 【Blade of Chaotic Time】, corresponding to the 【Space-Time】 Spirit Rune. One could tell from the naming of the Miracle that its effect was extraordinary, and in reality, it was indeed so.

Using the Miracle requires a casting medium, which is any sharp blade with supernatural properties, including alchemical items, Relics, and even swords created by Miracles or Curses. Its effect only works on entities, whether physical or non-physical, that can be affected by time. When attacking with it, at any moment within three seconds after the attack, Xia De can cause the same attack as the one at the time of the strike to attack again in the same way, at the relative position of the target.

Chaotic time; what is chaotic is the time of the weapon itself.

That is to say, if Xia De holds a dinner knife treated with a ritual and stabs an apple fiercely, then at a time Xia De chooses within three seconds, the same dinner knife will stab fiercely at the same position again.

What is even better is that this Miracle does not require actual damage to be dealt to take effect. That is to say, even if Xia De's attack is blocked, this Miracle can still be triggered. The casting requirement for the Miracle is merely to make an attacking motion. ===== CHAPTER 198 =====