Chapter 007: Arrival

It was a spring that one could never forget after just one glance. Everything around was covered in white, and at its center was a spring from which white bubbles kept emerging. The buzzing sound Du Fan had heard along the way came from here.

The spring water was clear and transparent, like crystal, forming a single entity, with the bubbles drifting slowly within it. Just this beautiful sight was already astonishing.

At this moment, Du Fan, holding Moses, stood less than a hundred meters away from the Spring of Life, gazing at it with a surge of emotion.

Behind them, five powerful elves also stopped in their tracks; they no longer had the strength to move forward. Only Nai Xiu, who was now less than ten meters from the spring, continued to move forward slowly, step by step.

It wasn’t that Du Fan refused to go any further—it was that Moses had reached his limit. His mouth, nose, ears, and skin were all bleeding, and Du Fan could no longer pull him along, as continuing like this might cost him his life.

Yet Moses was already very satisfied. With his own strength, not only could he not even see the Spring of Life, but he wouldn’t have been able to take another step either. It was Du Fan who dragged him a hundred steps away.

Moses looked at Du Fan gratefully, too exhausted to speak.

Du Fan glanced behind him and saw that none of the elves could go on anymore. After thinking for a moment, he released Moses’s hand and moved forward alone.

At this point, the immense power emanating from the Spring of Life filled Du Fan’s heart with fear. He didn’t realize it was the divine pressure left there by the Goddess of Nature herself.

Less than a hundred steps left. Could he not hold on either? Du Fan’s eyes were fixed on Nai Xiu, that fierce and powerful elf.

Invalid Domain, Eye of Truth… All the powers he could use, Du Fan had already employed them. Only then did he realize it was all in vain. Completely ineffective—his powers were utterly suppressed, leaving him unable to use anything.

Now, he could only rely on his willpower to push forward!

Du Fan snarled, gritted his teeth, and took big strides forward.

One step… two steps… four steps… six steps…

By now, Nai Xiu’s face was pale. Clenching her fists tightly, she moved forward with unfocused eyes, inching forward on the tips of her toes…

Less than five meters remained. Just five more steps, and she could jump into the spring and receive its blessing.

Diving into the Spring of Life for baptism was a great honor for elves. According to elf historical records, the last elf to do so was the last elf king of the elf world.
The elf king… a legend among the elves. It is said that the power of the elf king ranks second only to the gods, making him one of the most powerful beings in the world.
Naixiu had always wanted to become as powerful as the elf king, for only then could she better avenge herself on humans. Her tragic experiences in childhood had filled her with deep hatred toward humans. After returning to the Kai tribe, her strength grew by leaps and bounds—thanks not only to her natural talent but also to her hatred.
Hatred, an indelible hatred. The deep blood feud with her parents demanded repayment in blood. With this resolve, Naixiu trained tirelessly. In just thirty years, she became the youngest level-9 warrior in the Kai tribe. Less than a hundred years later, she became the tribe’s leader, again the youngest.
After becoming the leader, Naixiu infiltrated the human world multiple times, killing thousands of humans. Yet, while a hundred years might not be long for elves, it is a lifetime for humans.
A hundred years passed, and she no longer remembered even where her parents were imprisoned, as the cities of the human world had changed drastically since then. After such a long time, her parents must have been tortured to death by those detestable humans. Unable to find her enemies or learn of her parents’ fate, the sorrowful Naixiu could do nothing but kill wildly in the human world.
But humans were not an easy prey. On the contrary, they were the most powerful race in the world. Once, Naixiu was nearly captured by humans and barely escaped back to the Dusk Mountains, severely injured. It was then that she realized her strength was insufficient. She wasn’t afraid in one-on-one fights, but against multiple human warriors, the outcome was uncertain.
There was only one solution: to improve her strength exponentially, to reach an invincible level. Then, no matter how many enemies came, she wouldn’t fear them.
Naixiu thought this way and acted accordingly.
The Millennium Sacrifice occurred once every thousand years. Though elves had long lifespans, it still seemed too long for the vengeful Naixiu.

She couldn’t wait for the next Millennium Festival—after just over a hundred years, she had already lost track of her enemies. Whether their descendants would still exist in another thousand years was also a question.
By then, what good would even the strongest power be? That was the outcome she least wanted to see.
To become stronger, besides hard training, there was another best shortcut: to undergo the baptism of the Spring of Life!
Another small step—Naixiu’s body went weak, and she collapsed to the ground.
She had reached her limit. Even though her willpower was far beyond ordinary people’s and her strength was immense, she still couldn’t resist the pressure of the Spring of Life.
At this moment, she was less than three steps away from the Spring of Life. If she took three more steps, she could jump in and undergo the baptism right away.
“I don’t want to… It’s only three steps left. Do I have to give up? Naixiu! Stand up!”
Naixiu gritted her teeth and slowly stood up from the ground.
Thud!
Although the pressure emanating from the Spring of Life didn’t increase, her physical exhaustion kept rising—this was why the elves walking near it felt the pressure growing stronger.
It wasn’t the pressure that was getting stronger; it was her own strength that was fading.
Naixiu fell three times and could no longer stand. The power within her had been almost exhausted. Even though it was only those three small steps left, not to mention three steps—she didn’t even have the strength for one more step.
She tried to crawl forward, but aside from her fingers trembling slightly, her body couldn’t move at all.
Her strength had been completely drained. At this point, she had reached her limit.
Why was this happening? Why? Was it because I didn’t try hard enough? Why? Great Goddess of Nature, did I not do enough? I… just wanted power.
Although her vision was already blurring, Naixiu still refused to close her eyes. She propped her chin on the ground and tried to crawl forward.
Just as Naixiu refused to give up, Du Fan, covering his nose, struggled forward step by step.
Though he could still move forward, the immense pressure was real—his nose was bleeding, and his skin was burning painfully, indicating that it was starting to crack.
He too was nearing his limit.
Damn it! I never expected the Spring of Life to be so peculiar. Truly worthy of being one of the Three Sacred Relics—ordinary people’s strength is utterly useless in front of it.

Du Fan’s vision had already begun to blur. Even as he kept moving forward, his foot slipped, causing him to spin around. Unable to see where he was going for a moment, he took a few steps backward before realizing what had happened… Back and forth, Du Fan finally made it to Naixiu’s side. With each step he took, his legs trembled uncontrollably. The immense pressure reached its peak at this moment, and his skin began to bleed.

“I… can… still… hold on…” As he passed by Naixiu, Du Fan opened his mouth and forced a smile at her.

Although it was only three small steps, the pressure doubled with every inch he moved. Those few steps were almost as difficult as walking a hundred meters for him.

Naixiu’s lips moved slightly. When she saw it was Du Fan, she mustered some strength from nowhere, let out a sharp scream, got up from the ground, and rushed forward.

Two steps…

With that leap, Naixiu covered two steps. Now, if she reached out just a little further, she could touch the water of the Fountain of Life. But… this time, she really couldn’t do it.

Damn it… Why can that human do it while I can’t? Why? I refuse to give up!

Naixiu screamed, trying to get up again, but in the end, she didn’t even have the strength to scream anymore. That leap had exhausted all her energy.

Looking at Du Fan, blood seeped from his nostrils, yet he still smiled as he took small steps forward. Naixiu’s actions hadn’t affected him at all; he… was still moving forward.

“I’m… almost… there…”

Du Fan gave Naixiu a slight smile, blood dripping from the corners of his eyes. Under such immense pressure, it was already quite remarkable that he could speak a complete sentence.

Thud!

Du Fan exerted all his strength and leaped forward just like Naixiu had. While she failed to get in, he easily dived into the spring. Water splashed up, sparkling like crystal—a truly beautiful sight.

He had reached the Fountain of Life!