"Honored guests, this is where the Elven Tribe receives foreign visitors. How about staying here for now? Some humans and beastkin also live here — you may interact or even spar with them if you wish. I'll arrange for your meals to be delivered on a regular schedule," said a young elven girl as she led Xia Yi, Yuanen Yehui, and Ye Xinglan into a relatively spacious village with scattered houses.
Compared to the naturally-grown wooden homes common to the Elven Tribe, most of the houses here were clearly processed and built using a lot of timber panels — more similar to human architecture.
Now that the three races had united against the Demon Realm, this village, located at the heart of the Eternal Forest and at the Elven Tribe's core, housed a permanent delegation of human and beastkin envoys.
This village had been specially constructed because the elves were concerned that humans and beastkin might not be comfortable living in the tribe's naturally-formed dwellings.
Only a few of the houses here were like the Elven Tribe's usual residences — completely natural.
The young elf girl did not know Xia Yi and the others' true identities. She assumed they were humans from the Tianxuan Continent, assigned to her care by the Eternal Venerable.
"The food is free, right?" Xia Yi asked awkwardly. He didn't possess any currency from the Tianxuan Continent.
If he ate and couldn't pay, getting blocked at the door by a group of elves asking for money would be truly embarrassing.
"Uh…" The elf girl also looked awkward. Xia Yi was a distinguished guest personally entrusted to her by the Eternal Venerable.
Could someone of that status really be short on meal money?
Still, since Xia Yi asked, she had to answer honestly:"Ordinary food is free, but if the guests want some of our specially cultivated spiritual fruits or wines to boost cultivation, there would be a cost. After all, those are not easy for us to grow."
The Elven Tribe had lived in the Eternal Forest for generations. Many necessities had to be purchased from humans and beastkin. Those rare spiritual treasures were among their few economic resources.
Ordinary goods were one thing.
But for someone like Xia Yi, a guest of the Eternal Venerable, they couldn't offer anything subpar.
Top-tier spiritual fruits and the like, unless specifically authorized by the Eternal Venerable or the tribal elders, were absolutely off-limits. No way could she dare to give them out for free.
"What kind of spiritual fruits do you have?" Before Xia Yi could respond, Yuanen Yehui asked eagerly. Even Ye Xinglan's eyes lit up.
They had come all the way to visit the Elves — a rare journey that crossed continents. If they couldn't experience local customs and taste the tribe's unique delicacies, it would truly be a wasted trip.
"Spiritual fruits are just part of it. We also have specially cultivated grains, spiritual wines, even spiritual meats. These can only be produced in places rich in spiritual energy like the Eternal Forest, and they also require our nature magic to grow," the elf girl said proudly.
Nature magic — exclusive to the Elven Tribe. Humans and beastkin had tried countless ways to learn it, but all failed in the end.
Xia Yi looked at Ye Xinglan and shamelessly asked,"Hearing that makes me want to try it too. But forgive me for asking — can I wash dishes to pay for it?"
He wasn't just teasing the elf girl or Ye Xinglan — he truly wanted to experience the Elven lifestyle, just like they did.
Ye Xinglan's cheeks flushed as she glared at Xia Yi. She hadn't expected him to hold a grudge for so long.
All these years later, and he still brought that up to embarrass her.
Back in Tianhai City, they were still kids. She had even apologized to him afterward.
"You've got a lot of nerve — the fish you ate back then, I was the one who paid for it by washing dishes," she fumed silently. Very annoyed.Xia Yi had such status now — couldn't he let go of a petty thing like that? Wasn't he embarrassed to bring it up?
Facing Ye Xinglan's stare, Xia Yi gave an awkward smile.
He swore he wasn't trying to tease her.
He looked at her just now purely out of instinct.
If she overthought it — that was her problem, not his.
The elf girl was also stunned. Gritting her teeth, she said,"Honored guest, that won't do."
What a joke.
Did he think the Elven Tribe ran a little diner?
Even if Xia Yi washed dishes for a lifetime, he couldn't afford a single top-tier spiritual fruit.
Yuanen Yehui rubbed her forehead in exasperation, glancing helplessly at Xia Yi and Ye Xinglan. With a wave of her hand, she took out a few items from her storage soul device and said to the elf girl:
"Don't listen to his nonsense. I have some items here — take them to your elders. See what they're worth to you, and exchange them for some Elven specialty goods for us."
The elf girl looked in surprise at the items Yuanen Yehui had pulled out — all from the Douluo Continent, completely unrecognizable to her.
"What are these?" she couldn't help asking.
"That's a long story. Ask your elders. If needed, consult the Eternal Venerable. I believe these items should be of value to your tribe," Yuanen Yehui said. She had carefully chosen these items for their alignment with Elven attributes — rare treasures from nature.
Among them were a few soul-forged Life Crystals.
These were like lower-tier versions of the fabled Metal of Life — imbued with the life attribute, which made them especially valuable to elves.
And they were soul-forged Life Crystals.
"Alright." The elf girl agreed readily. Though she didn't recognize the crystals, she could sense the rich life aura within — very similar to their own Life Stones.
"Pick any vacant house you like. Don't worry about food — I'll personally bring it to you later." She took the items and left eagerly.
"We haven't even picked a place to stay yet — isn't she worried she won't find us?" Ye Xinglan mumbled.
"This is the Elven core territory. If they want to find us, it's easy," Yuanen Yehui smiled and walked into the village.
"I was just saying, you know," Ye Xinglan huffed and followed after her.
Xia Yi trailed behind. More people were moving about in the village now — including many beastkin and elves.
Noticing Xia Yi's group, many humans and beastkin looked over curiously. Anyone visiting the core of the Eternal Forest on behalf of their people must be of noble status.
But Xia Yi's group didn't wear the robes of any noble house from the Tianxuan Continent, nor did they carry family crests.
Xia Yi ignored them and picked a fully natural wooden house — grown entirely from a tree — to stay in.
"What a magical treehouse! How do you think these trees grow into houses?" Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan looked around in amazement.
A single tree had grown into a full living space.
Even Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion had to carve its rooms from ancient golden trees — it wasn't like this!
"It must be their nature magic," Xia Yi said curiously. If that were true, he'd love to learn it himself.
The treehouse had three small rooms. Ye Xinglan and Yuanen Yehui let Xia Yi have the largest one, taking the two smaller rooms for themselves.
After all, when Yali returned, she would be staying with Xia Yi.