263: The Power of Faith

Arriving at the Tree of Life again, the Tree of Life at night appeared even more magnificent.

It gave off an even more dreamlike feeling.

It had to be said, being awestruck twice in one day was a visual feast.

Clarissa watched the Elf Queen walk to the Tree of Life, her hands clasped lightly under her chin, her eyes closed, praying sincerely.

Clarissa waited quietly by her side.

She could tell that the Elf Queen’s “sincerity” had not become a mere “formality” due to “routine” prayer.

Suddenly, Clarissa felt that the Tree of Life seemed to have a slight anomaly.

As the Elf Queen prayed, the Tree of Life seemed to receive a peculiar power, and a consciousness within the Tree of Life seemed to awaken, greedily consuming “that power.”

However, after a short while, the prayer ended, and after the brief “feeding,” the consciousness within the Tree of Life, filled with “pain,” “unwillingness,” “discomfort,” and “torment,” sank back into slumber.

Immediately after, Clarissa saw the Elf Queen, who had finished her prayer.

The entire prayer was not long, only about five minutes.

“It’s over…” The Elf Queen slowly opened her eyes, then turned to Clarissa with a smile: “Let’s go back… Hmm? What’s wrong? Honored One… did you discover something?”

“I did indeed discover a slight anomaly! Perhaps I have already found the reason for your Elf’s ‘stagnation,’” Clarissa said to the Elf Queen with a smile.

“What?! Really?!” The Elf Queen’s eyes lit up when she heard Clarissa’s words, and she took two steps towards Clarissa in surprise.

“Yes, while you were praying, I felt a consciousness ‘awaken’ within the Tree of Life, as if it had been hungry for a long time, consuming a power generated during your prayer,” Clarissa nodded and said.

This was extremely difficult to perceive; even with Clarissa’s strength, she only managed to detect a trace of anomaly with great difficulty.

“Ah?! Then this…” The Elf Queen was stunned for a moment.

“Hmm… I think it should be related to your Tree of Life, especially to your prayer. I’ve heard of a power called faith, and it should be your Elf Queen’s piety that gave birth to this power of faith. And that consciousness in the Tree of Life is specifically ‘eating’ this power to grow, but because your faith alone is too little, and the prayer time is too short.

This causes the consciousness of the Tree of Life to only be able to… how should I put it, it’s like someone who’s constantly starving, so hungry that they can only rely on sleep to reduce consumption… but each time your prayer is just a little water to moisten its throat, keeping it barely alive…” Clarissa used an analogy to explain to the Elf Queen.

“And, if I’m not mistaken, the Tree of Life should be about to give birth to its own consciousness… In other words, your Elf might be about to have its own god!” Clarissa thought for a moment and told the Elf Queen a piece of news that shocked her greatly.

“My… our Elf’s god?! The Tree of Life?!” The Elf Queen turned her head to look at the huge Tree of Life.

“Yes, if you trust my judgment, you can have the entire Elf, everyone, pray at a fixed time daily, preferably for at least half an hour. Remember, it must be sincere and devout,” Clarissa said to the Elf Queen.

“Good! Of course, I trust your judgment, Honored One!” The Elf Queen said excitedly. They were not afraid of doing things, only of having no direction or goal. Now they had one… And when it came to sincerity and devotion, all the Elf people were certainly sincere and devout towards the Tree of Life.

As Clarissa thought that the Elf’s predicament was about to be resolved, a smile appeared on her face. Although it was only a brief encounter, Clarissa found that the Elf was indeed as “rumored,” loving nature, neutral, and fond of peace…

Of course, there was also one most important thing: if the Elf’s predicament was truly resolved, it would mean the completion of the [World Quest] and 10 billion source points in hand!

Without further ado, the Elf Queen immediately used natural magic to summon all the Elf people.

The entire Elf Kingdom was very large, and the Elf Forest was also very large.

However, the total population of the Elf was not very large.

Elf “reproduction” was very difficult.

One reason was that the Elf was a long-lived species and was not enthusiastic about having children.

Another was that the Elf’s “population” was basically composed of the “Elf” born from the Tree of Life each year.

This was also why the Tree of Life was called the Mother Tree by the Elf.

The total population of the Elf so far was barely three hundred thousand.

Under the Elf Queen’s summons, countless Elf gathered.

The Elf Queen brought Clarissa to the “Royal Palace.”

Standing on the open-air high platform, below were countless Elf people, all looking up at the Elf Queen. Some elders and other high-ranking Elf people had serious expressions. The Elf Queen had summoned everyone, and they worried that something big had happened, especially given the current situation of the Elf, which already caused them concern.

Now, suddenly summoning all the Elf people, they couldn’t help but worry that something big had happened.

Well, theoretically speaking, something big had indeed happened.

“Fellow people! The Elf is now at a crossroads of change! We might give birth to a god belonging to our Elf! It will come from our Mother Tree of Life, the God of Nature and Life! But it requires the efforts and help of all of us!” The Elf Queen spoke from the high platform. Her voice seemed not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of every Elf person.

Under the Elf Queen’s narration, the Elf people went from confusion to shock, and then to ecstasy.

“From now on! The Tree of Life area is open to all Elf people! People, offer your faith! Let us welcome the birth of our God together!” The Elf Queen shouted loudly.

She did not force them to pray; prayer was something that required one’s own sincerity.

The Elf Queen also believed in the Elf people; such a thing did not need to be forced.

As expected, upon hearing the Elf Queen’s words, all the Elf people shouted excitedly.

Seeing everyone’s eagerness, the Elf Queen said no more: “Let’s go!”

Whoosh!

The Elf people collectively headed towards the Tree of Life.

Clarissa looked at this scene and had to admit that the Elf was indeed an extremely “united” race, with one heart and mind.

Outside the Tree of Life, circles upon circles of Elf people, regardless of gender, age, or status, knelt on the ground, devoutly praying to the Tree of Life.

Clarissa could clearly feel invisible streams of faith power, large and small, drifting from the Elf people and falling into a peculiar space.

The consciousness of the Tree of Life suddenly “awoke,” and then, seeing such a massive “food supply,” it had never “fought such a rich battle” before!

That consciousness devoured these powers of faith with immense greed.

Clarissa could clearly feel this consciousness continuously “growing.”