Chapter 006: I Need It

Only the most powerful elves are qualified to receive the greatest gift from the Goddess of Nature.
Feeling the power surging within him, Du Fan relaxed his entire body, striving to absorb the fierce energy surrounding him.
More and more elves stopped in their tracks, and the once vast tribe gradually thinned out.
Seeing the elves around him still moving forward, Du Fan felt secretly pleased. He hadn’t expected it to be so difficult to approach the Spring of Life. But that was fine—there was one thing certain: those who made it to the end must be extremely powerful.
If I could select all these elves, my journey to the Divine Ruins would be much easier.
Dut dut dut…
At that moment, Du Fan heard a faint sound in his ears, like bubbles constantly popping—soft and cheerful.
Was the Spring of Life near?
Du Fan glanced around and found that fewer than a hundred elves were still walking, with the rest having stopped.
Lan Ling and Nai Xiu were still there, but their expressions were very different.
Lan Ling was struggling to move forward, stopping for long periods after each step—clearly finding it extremely hard. But Nai Xiu was different; she kept her head down and moved forward without pause, now leading the group ahead of all the elves.
Nai Xiu’s strength… ranked among the top among the many elf tribes.
Lan Ling seemed to be barely holding on; it seemed she wouldn’t last much longer. Although she possessed the divine power granted by the Goddess of Nature, it had no effect here. What kept her moving was purely her own strength.
When there were less than a hundred elves left in the group, Lan Ling also stopped, closed her eyes slightly, and sat cross-legged on the ground.
At the beginning of the Thousand-Year Sacrifice was the time for the Goddess’s gifts. During this period, all elves could benefit from the transformation bestowed by the Spring of Life. Of course, whether one could approach the Spring depended entirely on their own cultivation level. Those with insufficient cultivation could only stay at a distance, receiving a much weaker transformation.
What would it be like to plunge into the Spring of Life and receive its blessing?
Along the way, the elves never stopped singing. Only those who stopped would cease singing, relaxing their bodies to accept the transformation granted by the Goddess.
The elves’ pace grew slower and slower, and their songs grew softer—clearly because their strength was continuously depleting, leaving them lacking in reserves.

Another fifty or so people stopped in their tracks. The advancing troops formed a loose, uneven line, as if anyone could fall behind at any moment.
Naixiu stubbornly continued at the forefront of the troops, head down and ignoring everything, far ahead of the other elves, the distance reaching over a hundred meters.
The remaining elves moved in good coordination, with one every five meters forming a sparse squad, slowly advancing, and Du Fan was at the center of this squad, walking forward with calm steps.
Although he felt the immense pressure from the Spring of Life, Du Fan still believed he could keep moving forward. His expression was relaxed and at ease, while the other elves fared much worse in comparison.
Du Fan found nothing strange about this, as he wasn’t an elf. Only elves could understand just how astonishing his performance was at that moment.
Among the elves who had managed to travel such a distance, even the weakest were at least level nine. Those below level nine had long stopped, unable to take another step forward.
An elf tribe could have anywhere from a few dozen to several thousand members. Not every tribe had warriors at level nine or above, nor were all elf tribes equally strong—strength was unevenly distributed.
Some elf tribes had dozens of powerful elves at level nine or above, while others didn’t have even one.
Of course, while strength was indeed an important factor for continuing to move forward, there was another crucial aspect that couldn’t be ignored: a “devout heart.”
Just like humans, there were various types of believers in the gods—some fanatical, some indifferent, some indifferent at best, and some willing to sacrifice everything.
The attitude of believers toward the gods determined the gods’ attitude toward them, and this was what a devout heart meant.
There were many types of strength, and a devout heart, in essence, was the power of faith. The deeper your faith, the more power you received from the gods, and vice versa.
The elf race numbered hundreds of thousands. It was easy to find a few thousand warriors at level nine among them, but now only fifty or so remained. Why? It was because some elves lacked sufficient faith.
Momoa and Frida, siblings from the Saint Lu tribe, stopped long ago when there were still thousands of elves advancing. With their strength, they shouldn’t have stopped like this. If there was an explanation, it could only be attributed to the power of faith.

Why were the elves surprised by Du Fan? It was because his pace was simply too steady… Many elves were even unwilling to believe it, as they couldn’t fathom that a human’s faith in the Goddess of Nature could surpass theirs. But whether they believed it or not, the truth was right before their eyes—the human they despised the most was now walking forward with a holy smile and utmost devotion, showing no sign of strain at all. Even Moses, who was by Du Fan’s side, couldn’t help but glance at him several times. After all, during the Millennium Festival a thousand years ago, only two out of hundreds of thousands of elves managed to see the Spring of Life. Let alone diving into it for purification—since thousands of years had passed in elf history with no elves doing so. The two elves who saw the Spring of Life a thousand years ago were Moses’s father, who had now become the leader of the Ancient Tree Elf Tribe, and another legendary elf hero who had remained active in the human world, becoming a true elf ranger. At that moment, Moses was struggling hard to keep going, for he couldn’t stop here. As the most outstanding young elf of the Ancient Tree Elf Tribe, he had to move forward, carrying his father’s expectations—and he absolutely couldn’t halt here. Yet the force exerted on his body was unbearable. Even if he tried his best, his steps grew heavier and heavier. He even felt as though closing his eyes would make him faint. He must not faint, must not close his eyes… Not even blink. I, Moses Kakarolin, descendant of a proud elf family, how could I stop here? At the very least, I must see the Spring of Life. Seeing Du Fan’s light steps, Moses gritted his teeth and quickened his pace. Every few steps, some elves stopped, and in no time, more than half of the fifty elves remained. At this point, the bubbling sound in Du Fan’s ears became even more pleasant—clearly, they were getting closer to the legendary Spring of Life. Moses’s long, pointed ears were bleeding. The power bestowed by the Spring of Life was indeed strong, but one had to be worthy to receive it. If absorbed forcefully, it might bring not blessings but pain instead. Suddenly, Moses let out a loud roar, sang loudly, and rushed forward. In the blink of an eye, he covered a hundred meters, almost catching up to Nayxiu, who was walking ahead.

Then, he stopped, knelt on the ground, and gasped for breath. His earlier actions had already pushed him to his limit; he no longer had the strength to move forward. Moses Kakarolin would have to stop here. “I can’t accept this! I haven’t even seen the Fountain of Life yet. How can I stop here?” Moses’ heart cried out, demanding that he stand up, but the immense pressure ahead made it impossible for him to even lift himself. With a thud, he fell to the ground, and this time, he couldn’t get up again. The elves behind him slowly approached him, paused for no moment, and continued on their way. Only one person—a man with a smile, his face filled with holy devotion—reached out to him. “As a reward for guiding me…” That man was Du Fan. After arriving at the Ancient Elf Tree, it had always been Moses who served as his guide, leading him here. Du Fan, who never wanted to owe anyone anything, found it understandable to do this, as it was merely a small favor for him. “Thank you… I, Moses Kakarolin, will definitely repay you…” “I need your repayment.” Before Moses could finish speaking, Du Fan grabbed his hand and pulled him up from the ground. There’s no such thing as a free lunch—helping you means you should repay me; it’s only natural. Moses was stunned and let Du Fan pull him along, as he had never met someone as “frank” as Du Fan before. In the blink of an eye, more than half of the elves lay down again. When Du Fan’s eyes saw a vast expanse of white ahead, only five elves remained standing in front of him, aside from Nayshu in the farthest distance and Moses beside him. Eight… Up to now, including Du Fan, only eight people were still going on, while the rest of the elves had stopped in their tracks. Seven elves with strength above level nine… Such combat power… It seemed quite impressive. Looking at the five elves walking ahead, a faint smile slowly appeared on Du Fan’s lips. Soon, Du Fan noticed another interesting thing: among these seven remaining elves, only Moses was male; the rest were all female. Could it be that because the Goddess of Nature was female, she favored female elves? Another strange thought arose in Du Fan’s mind.