Chapter 417: Nini, the Moon Magic Fern
Anu followed Kurmis’s orders and set out for the City of Fire Protection to meet King Osis.
On his way, he made a slight detour, stopping first at Moonlight City.
Although their cloaks concealed their forms and faces, their posture and body shape gave them away. Passersby could immediately tell they were not Snake People. It was clear they were outsiders.
To stay out of trouble, Anu and his companions avoided crowded areas by sticking to rural paths and steering clear of towns.
Three cloaked Lizard People moved swiftly across the land. Their speed surpassed that of Snake People, and even without mounts or tools, they covered the distance to the Moonlight Territory in no time.
Anu led the way, observing the scenery around them as he spoke.
“Looks like we’ve made it to Moonlight Territory.”
Anu knew this place well because it was his homeland.
He had once been nothing more than a servant on the brink of starvation. Kurmis had taken him in, saving him and bringing him away from this place.
To Anu, Kurmis was not just his master and savior, but also his god.
Kurmis had a closer bond with Anu than with the other Lizard People. While some others had shared significant ties with Kurmis in the past, those connections were from long ago, so Kurmis placed greater trust in Anu.
Anu stepped onto the soil of his homeland.
When he had left, he was still a Snake Person. Now that he had returned, everything had changed completely.
As they arrived, one of the other Lizard People finally broke the silence. “So, why did we come all the way here?”
Anu glanced at them and replied, “There is something Lord Kurmis left behind here. We need to bring it back for him.”
As they continued forward, Anu’s group slowed their pace.
Returning to his homeland, Anu discovered that not only had Kurmis changed the Maya Territory, but even his own homeland had been planted full of Brown Ball Vines.
Although Curled Ball Ferns were still irreplaceable in certain ways, many people had already made planting Brown Ball Vines their first choice.
The group walked along the field ridges. Anu observed everything around him, his excitement evident.
However, he quickly regained his composure. Turning back to the other two Lizard People, his expression grew serious.
“Hey, look at that.”
“It looks like all our hard work is finally paying off.”
Anu gazed at these farmlands, thinking of his former self and his former family.
His family had starved to death, and to survive, he had been forced to sell himself to a leather workshop. His eventual fate would have been to work himself to death inside.
With the Brown Ball Vine, perhaps such things would no longer happen.
Anu spoke slowly. “Lord Kurmis has changed this world. He is destined to become a true god, for he has earned the title and is worthy of everyone’s worship.”
In the farmlands, several farmers hurried to plant Brown Ball Vines, hoping to harvest them by next spring. As they worked, they spoke quietly to themselves.
“Great King Osis.”
“Sacred Scarlet Goddess.”
“Thank you for granting me food. Please give our family a bountiful harvest so we will not suffer from hunger next year.”
As they passed by on the field ridge, Anu and his companions overheard the conversation.
Anu turned his head and, unable to resist, asked a question.
“Wasn’t it Kurmis who brought the Brown Ball Vine to the mortal world? Why are you not thanking him?”
The ridge was somewhat high. The farmer below looked up and could only see Anu’s upper body. It was then he discovered the three mysterious figures, tightly covered by cloaks.
The farmer asked, “Kurmis? Who is that?”
The farmer’s wife beside him actually remembered something. “Don’t you remember? When that strange green vine grew in the field before, it seems someone with that name helped us deal with it.”
The people of the Moonlight Territory still remembered Kurmis, but from the looks of it, they would not remember for much longer.
The farmer said, “The lord who solved the Green Ground Vine problem before? He brought the Brown Ball Vine? That does not sound right.”
“I have never heard of anything like that,” he added.
The farmer’s wife chimed in, “Exactly. Everyone says the king and the goddess brought the Brown Ball Vine. How could they all be mistaken?”
The farmer and his wife stood up from the field and finally noticed the unusual shapes of Anu’s group.
The farmer’s face turned pale with fear, his legs giving out as he dropped to the ground.
“What… what are you?”
“You’re… you’re monsters!”
The farmers quickly abandoned their tools and scattered, disappearing from sight.
It was only after Anu and the Lizard People had gone that they cautiously returned to their fields to investigate.
Even though the Lizard People were no longer there, the tension in the air lingered, and their anger had not subsided.
“How can they do this?”
“It was clearly Lord Kurmis who created the Brown Ball Vine. Why has it all become someone else’s achievement?”
“They enjoy Lord Kurmis’s grace, yet Lord Kurmis’s greatness is unknown to anyone.”
Anu felt a surge of anger rise within him.
For a moment, he considered turning back and abandoning the task altogether, deciding it was not worth the effort to warn King Osis about the potential crisis.
But after a brief pause to think it over, he managed to restrain himself and continued forward.
“Lord Kurmis is not doing this for recognition. He just wants to help people.”
“At least we understand his greatness and believe in him wholeheartedly.”
“Besides, don’t forget, Lord Kurmis once received the Scarlet Goddess’s blessing. Maybe he made a deal with her, trading the Brown Ball Vine for something else.”
As night descended, Anu ventured alone toward the outskirts of the Moonlight Jungle, heading to the secluded spot where Kurmis had once lived.
From afar, he could already see the mysterious jungle glowing with fluorescence at the edge of the sky. Thick silver giant vines extended toward the sky, bending down and hanging glowing fruits.
This scene was beautiful, yet no one dared to venture inside to explore it.
Anu approached slowly from a distance, captivated by the breathtaking scenery and wondering about the mysteries within the Moonlight Jungle.
What secrets could it hold?
Could there truly be a divine kingdom hidden inside, as the followers of the Moon God in Moonlight City believed?
“Is the Moon God real?”
“Could such a deity truly exist?”
Anu wondered if the god mentioned by those fervent believers was real. However, it felt like a mystery beyond his understanding, something he was not meant to uncover.
After some thought, he shifted his focus back to the task Kurmis had assigned him.
“It should be around here.”
Moving swiftly through the jungle and over the hillsides, Anu quickly oriented himself.
Kurmis’s former dwelling was deeply concealed near the Moonlight Jungle, a location so secluded that it would be nearly impossible for anyone to stumble upon it under ordinary circumstances.
As Anu approached this hidden place, he suddenly felt the ground begin to tremble.
“Hmm?”
Anu felt the tremor through his feet, the ground pulsing beneath him.
It was clear that something massive was drawing closer.
He quickly turned his head, scanning the horizon to locate the source of the disturbance.
“Something’s coming,” Anu muttered, his voice low and tense.
“It’s coming from the north.”
The trembling sensation alone told him a colossal creature was approaching.
At last, the source of the earth’s rumbling emerged quietly at the edge of the sky.
Anu gazed northward and suddenly widened his eyes. “What is that?”
In the distance, he saw several stone colossi, each over twenty meters tall, standing side by side. They were rapidly charging across the earth. Moments ago, they had been far away, but in the blink of an eye, they had already reached the edge of the Moonlight Jungle.
Those stone figures pulled something resembling a carriage forward. In the moonlight, the entire scene appeared to be wrapped in a veil of colorful mist.
Chains swayed in the air, producing rhythmic tones as they moved.
That enormous three-story carriage, as large as a house, seemed weightless as it glided over the earth and jungle.
It appeared light and floating, but it was remarkably stable.
Those things pulling the carriage resembled Stone Demons, but they were unlike the ones Anu remembered. Stone Demons typically consisted of two stone spheres, one large and one small, with the ability to extend arms.
However, these enormous “Stone Demons” before him were made up of three stone spheres. They appeared much taller and resembled stone giants.
Compared to the Moonlight plants, which often reached dozens or even over a hundred meters in height, they did not seem as exaggerated.
Anu simply watched as the beings, whether Stone Demons or not, pulled the strange object he hesitated to call a vehicle past the edge of the Moonlight Jungle.
As the group drew closer to the Moonlight Jungle, their once massive size seemed to shrink into something more “normal” when compared to the towering Moonlight plants in the background.
However, Anu suddenly sensed that something was off.
It became clear to him that the group was not merely passing through.
They were heading directly toward the heart of the Moonlight Jungle, diving straight into this Forbidden Zone of Death.
Anu quickly stood on his tiptoes and called out, his voice rising with nervousness.
“Hey!”
“That’s the Moonlight Jungle, the Forbidden Zone of…”
Even though the other party was too far away to hear him, he still found himself saying the words out loud.
Before he could finish, the strange carriage had already vanished into the Moonlight Jungle.
“…Death.”
It was only then that Anu finally managed to say the last word.
Anu could not figure out who those people were.
Even his master Kurmis, a powerful Apostle-rank Reincarnator, had never dared to step into that terrifying jungle.
What gave them the courage to do so?
Before Anu could find an answer to this question, the entire Moonlight Jungle suddenly came alive.
All the Moonlight plants lifted their lantern-like fruits high in perfect unison, creating a wide, clear path.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Countless Moonlight plants swayed in unison, scattering fluorescence that filled the sky and obscured the stars of the Milky Way. Their movements were accompanied by a dreamlike melody that seemed to echo through the night.
It sounded like countless spirits were singing. The melody felt ethereal and lonely, lacking the innocence usually found in spirits.
In the deeper parts of the Moonlight Jungle, in places Anu could not see, a terrifying phantom shadow emerged from the ground. It stretched toward the edge of the sky, piercing through the clouds and reaching beyond the heavens.
A circular eye, or perhaps a fruit, took the place of the moon in the sky.
Its light bathed the mortal world.
This was the power of the Moon Magic Fern reaching toward the heavens and lighting the way for the Supreme Divine Being.
Anu could not see that far, nor could he sense such immense power and presence.
The only thought that crossed his mind was how bright the moonlight seemed tonight.
Anu looked up at the sky and softly spoke, “Tonight’s moonlight… it’s so bright.”
Anu continued forward, but he soon found his path obstructed.
The Moonlight Jungle’s dense fluorescent points spread outward, extending the boundaries of the Forbidden Zone of Death. This expansion also encompassed Kurmis’s secluded dwelling within its reach.
This meant Anu could not enter for the time being. He had no choice but to wait until the Moonlight plants calmed down and the fluorescence faded away.
Anu scratched his head in confusion, trying to make sense of what had just happened. He assumed it must have been a chain reaction triggered by that strange carriage entering the Forbidden Zone of Death moments ago.
“Are the people in that carriage still alive?”
Anu found it hard to believe that anyone could survive amidst such terrifying scenes and overwhelming power.
“Probably not…”
Beneath the moonlight, the earth swelled and dipped, resembling waves stretching endlessly into the distance.
The Creator’s carriage moved through the dreamlike mist, like a fleeting dream drifting on the wind as it passed through the mortal world.
Shelly leaned out the window, her head sticking out as she looked below. Her feet dangled in the air, not even close to touching the ground.
She could see vast stretches of newly cultivated farmland along with numerous Snake People villages and houses.
The breeze brushed against her face and gently lifted her hair, leaving her with a sense of calm and comfort.
Gurgle gurgle!
She made the sound as she swung her legs back and forth.
After a while, the wind began to die down.
It was then that Shelly realized Vellen was steadily reducing their speed.
“Hey, why are we stopping?” Shelly asked, leaning out the window with a puzzled look.
Shelly looked out and noticed they had arrived at the Moonlight Jungle.
She called out excitedly, “Big Lantern!”
The Big Lantern, as the Mother of Life referred to it, was the Moon Magic Fern.
With a single command from its master, the Moon Magic Fern responded without hesitation.
It was the sight Anu had seen earlier.
The light of the Moon Magic Fern illuminated the jungle, casting its glow upon the Creator’s carriage.
Countless Moonlight plants parted, creating a path as the Creator’s carriage moved through the shimmering sea of fluorescence.
The dark shadow in the sky descended slightly, as if bowing in reverence to the Supreme Divine Being.
Hila stood behind Shelly, gazing at the phantom in the sky, and softly spoke the name of the “Big Lantern.”
“Nini.”
That was the name Yesael, the second-generation King of Wisdom, had given it millions of years ago.
Yesael had established the former Yesael City, now called the Abyss Royal City, and had also founded the God-Descended City.
However, very few people remember this today.
When the Dream Sovereign Hila spoke its name, the Moon Magic Fern appeared to react with excitement.
The “moonlight” in the sky grew brighter in an instant.
Though it had no memory of the past, it still recognized this name.
The Creator’s carriage came to a halt in a unique area deep within the Moonlight Jungle. This was the place where the nymph clan descended to the mortal world to create new Spirit Realms.
The ethereal gate of the Spirit Realm opened, and figures began to emerge from within.
Some walked out gracefully, while others took to the air and flew out.
“God Yinsai!” one of them exclaimed.
“Lord Hila,” another added with a respectful nod.
“Mother of Life,” a third whispered in a nervous tone.
The ones who emerged were the Wood Nymph clan. The nymphs, adorned with flower crowns, knelt together, a hint of nervousness in their movements.
Most nymphs resided on the Dream Continent, and they rarely had the opportunity to meet the Creator directly.
This encounter was something they had never anticipated.
They had never met the Creator in the Divine Kingdom of Creation before, yet now they encountered Him here.
Several spirits flew out from the Spirit Realm gate.
In contrast to the cautious and slightly anxious nymphs, the spirits who were visiting and playing around displayed much more boldness.
“Look, it’s Lady Hila! And God Yinsai is here too!” the spirits buzzed, darting around in the air with excitement.
“See? I told you Lady Hila would show up!” one spirit said, puffing up with pride.
However, as the Creator’s carriage came to a halt, their excitement quickly faded. A sudden realization seemed to strike them, and they hurriedly retreated back into the Spirit Realm.
“Oh no!”
“The Great Demon King is here too!”
“She’s here, she’s back!”
“It’s her! I can feel that creepy, dark presence.”
“Quick, hide the good stuff!”
“Don’t let her see it!”
Shelly followed behind Yin Shen as she stepped down from the Creator’s carriage, her face lit up with a wide smile that showed her teeth.
However, her smile quickly faded as she heard the words that followed.
She frowned and said, “If you keep speaking ill of me, I will plant every one of you troublemakers in flowerpots!”
Shelly rushed ahead without hesitation.
As she passed through the shimmering ripples of the Spirit Realm gate, she entered the enchanting, fairy tale-like kingdom.
The once serene and tranquil Moonlight Jungle and Spirit Realm quickly erupted into chaos.
Yin Shen stood on this land, gazing toward the far end of the Spirit Realm.
His focus shifted downward, toward the depths beneath the earth.
Below this Forbidden Zone of Death, underground rivers flowed, intertwining with a network of waterways.
Yin Shen spoke, “The Ice Temple.”
Hila walked behind Yin Shen and gave a thoughtful nod.
“It is the Ice Temple,” she said with a sense of recognition.
“God,” she continued, “Sandean came to the Divine Kingdom of Creation with your permission and gained the power of miracles.”
“He went on to construct many ritual temples. Some of them are still standing today.”
Yin Shen said, “Some have also completely disappeared.”
Hila also felt somewhat sentimental. “This is also inevitable.”
Deep within the Moonlight Jungle, in the Spirit Realm.
The Wood Nymphs gathered in a circle outside and gracefully began their daily tea party.
As they sipped their tea, they naturally discussed matters related to Spirit Realms.
“Have you thought about what kind of Spirit Realm you want to create?” an elder Wood Nymph asked.
“I want to create a Letter Spirit Realm,” a First-Rank Wood Nymph replied.
“I want to create a Storage Spirit Realm like Raphael’s,” someone added.
“It’s Saint Raphael. If she were here, she would definitely remind you of that.” The mention of this nymph brought smiles to the others.
At this moment, someone gave a completely different answer.
“I want to create a Door Spirit Realm.”
The nymphs immediately turned to her with wide eyes. “Really?”
“That is very difficult!” one of them exclaimed.
Door Spirit Realms were known to be the most challenging type of Spirit Realm to create. To succeed in making one, the creator would need to reach the rank of a Dream demigod.
Even the nymph clan, who lived in the Divine Kingdom of Creation, could not be certain they would become mythical beings.
This nymph nodded and said, “The Creator’s carriage has a teleportation gate. I saw it yesterday.”
“Mr. Vellen was very kind and even told me about the power of that door.”
The young woman wearing a flower crown fell into reverie, unable to help but smile.
“I want to establish a Spirit Realm that’s all doors, connecting every corner of the world. That way, would the world not become closer?”
Everyone encouraged her, which filled the young nymph with confidence.
Lifting her flower tea, someone brought up another topic.
“The Mountain of Life’s Origin once had the City of Life. Heaven’s Mirror held the Sky Temple and the God-Servant City. The Endless Desert was home to the Abyss Royal City. The Star Night Mountain Range contained the Pottery Temple. Thunder Marsh housed the God-Descended City.”
“If we count it this way, the Moonlight Jungle should have something as well.”
“Why have we never seen it?”
One of the Wood Nymphs continued the discussion. “That’s true. Logically, there should be something here as well.”
“Why have we not found it?”
“Could it be hidden somewhere?”
“I have explored every corner of the Moonlight Jungle, but I have not seen anything like that!”
One nymph suggested, “Maybe it’s underground?”
Another nymph chimed in, “There do seem to be a lot of empty spaces underground, along with numerous underground rivers.”
“I even saw fish surging out from the underground rivers once.”
The nymphs chatted among themselves, their voices blending with the gentle rustling of the leaves.
At last, a spirit appeared, unable to resist joining the tea party.
It floated gracefully through the air, weaving playful circles around the group.
“I know! I know!”
“Do you know where it is?” one of the nymphs asked.
The spirit puffed up with pride and said, “It’s hidden in the Moonlight Jungle, in Anho City, the old royal city of the Samo family.”
One of the nymphs spoke up. “The direct bloodline of the King of Wisdom.”
The spirit, unable to keep quiet, blurted out, “Oh, and the Samo family, the Royal Bloodline, used to have the Ruhe Seal of the Moon Magic Fern.”
“You could say they were the ones who controlled the Moon Magic Fern back then.”
One of the nymphs asked, “But is not the Moon Magic Fern’s master Lady Shelly, the Mother of Life?”
The spirit’s golden hem lifted as it shook sideways.
“Back then, the Great Demon King and the Ruhe Beasts weren’t exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. They pretty much just did whatever they were told.”
“They were like a construction crew, always building stuff when someone gave the word…”
But before it could finish its next sentence, it stopped abruptly.
Suddenly, a black shadow darted out and transformed into a large hand that grabbed the spirit, silencing its unguarded chatter. Its subsequent words became muffled and unclear.
The spirit was stuffed into a flowerpot, unable to fly anymore.
Even in this state, the little spirit refused to behave. It hopped around with the flowerpot, leaping onto the table and startling the nymphs, who quickly stood up in alarm.
The spirit let out a loud cry, “Help!”
“Murder!”
“Somebody save me!”
“Lady Hila, do something!”
Finally, the spirit wriggled and twisted, carrying the flowerpot along as it hopped and bounced away into a corner, vanishing from sight.
Deep within the Spirit Realm, in a treehouse filled with whimsical, fairy tale charm.
After Shelly finished causing a commotion with the spirits, she finally returned with the various treasures the spirits had handed over. Her pockets were overflowing, and she carried a large pile in her arms.
Shelly looked around. “Where’s God?”
Hila replied, “He probably went to Anho City and the Ice Temple underground!”
Some plants rested on the table. They were Brown Ball Vines brought back by the witch doctors from outside, along with their fruits.
Shelly set down the items in her hands and curiously took a bite of one. She immediately stuck out her tongue and shook her head in distaste.
“Yuck, that’s awful.”
She popped the dream candy made by the spirits into her mouth and smiled with satisfaction.
“Spirits always make the best stuff.”
“So sweet!”
In a corner, Hila was painting.
Shelly quickly walked over to see what she was working on.
The painting depicted a serene lake. A vine appeared to be growing in the water, and from it bloomed a stunningly large and beautiful flower.
Shelly tilted her head. “What’s this?”
Hila looked up and said, “I am working on creating two other types of nymphs.”
Shelly raised an eyebrow. “Wait, there are two more types?”
She leaned in closer. “Why have you not made them yet?”
Hila hesitated, looking a little embarrassed. “I for…”
She really wanted to say she had forgotten, but felt that saying it that way would be even more embarrassing.
“Um… because creation requires inspiration.”
This time, Hila’s inspiration came naturally.
After seeing the Brown Ball Vine and fruit brought back by the witch doctors, Hila suddenly had entirely new ideas.
She planned to combine the vine with the Sun Cup to create the body and prototype of a completely new type of nymph.
From this flower, a new Dream race of nymphs would be born, much like the Rainbow Tree and the Wood Nymphs in the past.
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