Spirit Grand Library.

Once she had an idea, progress accelerated rapidly. Dream Sovereign Hila swiftly designed the first dream race.

She used colorful brushes to sketch lines on the canvas, the colors vibrant and vivid.

Beside it were two other canvases, still blank but with background environments already outlined.

They depicted a verdant forest, a tranquil clear lake, and a snowy ice world with drifting snowflakes.

The new era’s dream races could be considered one type, but because they grew in different environments, they could also be seen as three types.

On the first painting was the dream race in the forest, already depicted with detailed outlines.

It was a very beautiful tree, with a girl of divine form sitting on it.

The tree was in full bloom, flowers crowding every branch when they blossomed.

It looked like an enormous bouquet or flower ball.

Looking closely, one could see the flowers resembled Sun Cups somewhat, only in various colors.

The girl on the tree had an elegant and beautiful posture, wearing a wreath on her head.

Completely different from spirits, yet both like beings who stepped out of dreams.

One innocent and unrestrained, the other pure and ethereal.

The girl and this flowering tree were one, or rather the flowering tree was her true form.

Flower and tree and girl.

The background was an endless green sea of forest.

Even though it was just a painting, not yet truly born, simply looking at it made one’s heart yearn.

It was longing for beauty, and also pursuit of fantasy.

Dream Sovereign Hila was very satisfied with the being in the painting, nodding for the first time.

“This is it.”

“This is the dream race of this era that I imagined.”

Hila was very pleased: “I’m so amazing, I really am clever.”

“I am the great poet, great writer, great painter among spirits.”

“And a great inventor too.”

When alone, Hila would reveal her spirit side again, feeling smug.

But in front of others, especially before divine beings, she didn’t dare show it.

“However…”

Dream Sovereign Hila’s face showed a trace of difficulty again: “What kind of name should I give her?”

At this moment, there was noisy commotion from the lowest level of the library again.

A little spirit rushed in through the entrance, flying low and shouting.

“She’s here!”

“She’s here!”

“She’s here again!”

All the spirits big and small stared silently at the little spirit who burst in, the air freezing for a moment.

Suddenly, chaos erupted.

“We’re done for.”

“Why is she here again.”

“Quick, run!”

“She’s blocked the way outside.”

The spirits who had been playing and busy with their own things immediately became panicked, in utter chaos.

Unsurprisingly, this “she” was Shelly.

With slow, plodding footsteps, a figure appeared at the entrance of the Spirit Grand Library.

A girl wearing a dark formal dress and red ankle boots stood at the doorway.

Shelly’s petite figure standing at the entrance of the Spirit Grand Library had an aura no different from a world-ending demon king, utterly devastating to the spirits.

“Why are you running, why are you running.”

“If you keep running I’ll eat you all up.”

Shelly let out a “dragon’s roar,” which even the library’s sound-suppressing divine technique couldn’t block, directly forcing all the little spirits into a corner.

All the spirits trembled before Shelly’s tyranny, not daring to speak or resist.

Shelly had good reason to be angry this time, it wasn’t unreasonable bullying.

When she had just arrived, she saw a slide over ten kilometers long outside, stretching from the spirit realm all the way to the Sun Cup Flower Sea.

This was outrageous, this was her idea.

The little spirits not only stole her idea and created such a long slide, even longer than her previous one.

They didn’t even tell her.

She had never ridden such a long slide before.

Shelly was very angry. She came before the spirits, pointing her finger to scold them.

“You stole my idea and didn’t even tell me.”

“This is theft.”

“You’re thieves.”

The spirits huddled together, curled up in a corner.

One great spirit craned its neck, saying stubbornly.

“If you dare bully us, we’ll go tell God Yinsai.”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

“We’ll go tell God Yinsai that you’re being so mean.”

As soon as Shelly heard the spirits threatening to tattle on her, she immediately hesitated.

Her hesitation and retreat were instantly noticed by the spirits.

A few mischievous little spirits who were best at reading people’s expressions immediately jumped out and shouted.

“She’s scared, she’s scared.”

“She’s afraid the Creator will take away her little conch horn.”

“See that, see that.”

“We’ve found her weakness.”

There were even spirits so bold as to dare “provoke” her to her face: “What do you mean your idea.”

Another little spirit continued: “It’s ours now.”

These two were the ones who proposed building the slide, that over ten-kilometer slide was their masterpiece.

“Ah!” Shelly exclaimed. “You naughty things!”

Shelly was furious. She pounced over and grabbed these two spirits.

Without hesitation, she planted them in a flowerpot.

“She’s eating people!”

“She’s eating people!”

The little spirits immediately scattered in fear, turning into golden shadows flying all over.

But Shelly blocked the entrance, so where could they run?

Shelly hugged the flowerpot and told the little spirits.

“From now on I get to play on the slide every day too, and I need exclusive time.”

“This is called…”

Shelly thought for a long time, but couldn’t come up with a suitable word, so she finally created one herself.

“Idea fee.”

“That’s right, a fee for using my idea.”

“Did you hear that?”

The little spirits didn’t dare defy Shelly’s tyranny and could only agree pitifully, giving up some of their precious slide time to Shelly.

Shelly was finally satisfied, nodding and magnanimously forgiving the spirits who stole her idea.

With that, this farce finally came to an end.

Hila on the upper level of the Grand Library certainly couldn’t have missed such a commotion between Shelly and the spirits. Seeing Shelly and the spirits reach an agreement and “reconcile,” she spoke.

“Alright, Shelly.”

“You came to see me, right?”

Angered by the little spirits, Shelly had almost forgotten what she originally came to do.

At this moment Shelly remembered that she had come to ask Hila about the dream races.

Shelly immediately came before Hila, and then saw the newly completed painting.

As soon as Shelly saw that tree in full bloom, her mouth fell open.

“A tree that can bloom?”

Hila nodded: “That’s right, this is a tree that blooms.”

Shelly immediately jumped up happily: “Oh wonderful, wonderful!”

“I’ve never seen a tree that can bloom before, this is really such a great idea.”

Shelly leaned in close to the canvas, carefully examining the details.

The more she looked, the more she liked it.

“It’s really so beautiful!”

“Is this a tree to be planted on the Dream Continent?”

She had already thought about planting these flowering trees all over her Dream Continent.

In the previous era there was only one type of flower, the Sun Cup.

While this era had two more types.

The Cup of Desire and Blood Mist Cup that evolved from the Sun Cup.

And to be precise, whether the Sun Cup or the two types of cups that evolved later, none of them could really be considered true flowers.

They were a miraculous species between animals and plants.

Hila stood with Shelly in front of the canvas, explaining her ideas.

“The flower tree is the true form of this being, the source of their beginning and the vessel of their wisdom. It’s also their dream egg, allowing them to transition from illusion to reality.”

“I plan to plant these flower trees to form a forest, then bestow the power of dream ability upon this forest.”

“Finally, new life will be born from the abundant flowers of the trees, creating an entirely new dream race.”

Hila pointed at the canvas, to the girl wearing a flower wreath sitting in the tree.

This was the form she anticipated for the dream race once it was finally born.

As for the other two dream races born in lake and ice snow environments, although Hila already had some ideas, she knew things had to be done step by step.

So she didn’t mention them here.

Shelly was very excited. She looked up at Hila with wide eyes.

“Hila! You’re so clever! Where did you get such a wonderful idea?”

Hila felt a bit shy. She took out the Miracle Tool, the Spirit’s Magic Mirror.

“I saw it in the mortal world.”

“Although what I saw wasn’t exactly this form, the combination of tree and flower gave me a completely new idea.”

The mirror’s image blurred, revealing scenes from the human world.

Shelly looked at the mirror and suddenly thought of God Yinsai.

“You and God are always secretly watching the mortal world, secretly watching humans.”

Hila: “You’re watching too, aren’t you?”

Shelly: “I watch openly and honestly.”

Suinhor City-State.

In the royal palace of the City of Fire Protection, King Smerkel, who had gradually begun handing over power to the next generation, lay on a chair watching the setting sun.

The light of the setting sun was warm.

It lacked the lingering chill of early morning and the fierce intensity of the midday sun.

When it shone on the body, it felt just right.

Smerkel loved this temperature and the scenery of the setting sun, quiet and peaceful.

Snake People’s chairs were completely different from Trilobite Men’s chairs. Snake People’s chairs were very long, looking like a single bed with a backrest added.

Snake People could place their tails on it. Generally tucked under the desk, it allowed Snake People to comfortably work at the desk, or they could lean back and use it as a bed for a nap.

King Smerkel’s hair had turned completely silver, his beard entirely white, and his face covered in brown spots.

“It’s so beautiful!” he exclaimed.

A nearby attendant responded: “Your Majesty, it is indeed beautiful!”

“It’s just that I feel…” the attendant hesitated, then continued, “A day passes too quickly. In the blink of an eye, it’s…”

At this point, the attendant looked at King Smerkel’s face and suddenly realized something, not daring to continue.

Smerkel turned to the attendant: “You mean to say, the sun setting means the day is ending.”

“Just like me, my life is coming to an end.”

The attendant was so frightened he immediately prostrated himself on the ground, trembling as he spoke.

“Your Majesty! I wouldn’t dare think such thoughts. I just…”

Smerkel told him to get up: “Don’t be afraid, it’s simply the truth.”

Smerkel looked at the red setting sun, smiling as he spoke.

“If everyone could approach the end of their life as peacefully and serenely as the setting sun, able to calmly and gently walk into death’s embrace.”

“What a fortunate thing that would be.”

The attendant replied, “Your Majesty! Only a great ruler like you could utter such philosophical words.”

Someone rushed in from outside, their face beaming with excitement.

“It’s blooming! It’s blooming.”

He quickly slithered to Smerkel on his snake tail, prostrating himself as he spoke.

“Your Majesty! The divine flower you asked us to look after has finally bloomed.”

Smerkel was stunned. He was about to speak but paused for a moment.

His eyes became lost in memories.

Back when Smerkel encountered Iva, the God of Desire and Alchemy, in the jungle of the wilderness, the two sat around a campfire telling stories, journeyed together through the Dream Realm into the Creator’s Domain, and toured the dream star sea together.

When they parted, Iva, the God of Desire and Alchemy, had given Smerkel, then still a prince, a Sun Cup.

Iva told him that when someone made a wish to this flower with the purest heart, they might receive a response from the spirits.

However, Smerkel didn’t know how to cultivate the Sun Cup.

Even in the previous era, this was forbidden knowledge exclusive to the Royal Bloodline families, only gradually becoming known to some great families later on.

But in the previous era, there was no environment suitable for plant survival on the earth. Even Sun Cups could only be grown in indoor gardens.

So with the end of the Trilobite Men’s era, Sun Cups also became extinct on earth.

Seeing that this Sun Cup could move and possessed some rudimentary consciousness, Smerkel treated it as a living creature and tried to raise it.

He kept the Sun Cup in a tightly sealed room and even fed it meat.

In the end, this Sun Cup was nearly killed by his care.

This was a divine object, it couldn’t be allowed to perish like this.

Later, he gathered scholars and ability users to discuss how to keep this Sun Cup alive.

One ability user proposed a secret technique to graft the Sun Cup onto a large tree.

The idea was to let the Sun Cup slowly recover by drawing on the tree’s nutrients and strength.

This method indeed prevented the injured Sun Cup from dying immediately, but unfortunately, after struggling to survive for a while, that original Sun Cup still died in the end.

This had always been a regret for King Smerkel.

King Smerkel recalled this incident from long ago and asked the messenger.

“The Sun Cup has already died, completely perished.”

“How could it possibly bloom?”

The messenger, still prostrate on the ground, hurriedly said.

“Your Majesty! Do you remember that tree in the garden?”

King Smerkel certainly remembered: “The one from back then? It’s still there?”

Over a hundred years had passed, long enough for many trees to wither and die.

The messenger nodded repeatedly: “It’s that very tree from back then, the one where the divine object took root.”

“Just now, when we went to check, we found that tree covered in divine objects, blooming, Your Majesty. It’s really blooming.”

Now, King Smerkel was convinced that the person before him was telling the truth.

The aging ruler also became somewhat excited, an emotion that hadn’t appeared on his face for decades.

“Quickly! Take me there. Let’s go see.”

King Smerkel, accompanied by a group of people, came to the palace garden, arriving beneath that tall, lush tree.

Looking up, they saw several Sun Cups growing on the tree.

The golden flower cups swayed in the sunset, displaying the splendor of divine objects.

King Smerkel’s cloudy eyes suddenly gained a lively spark. His voice trembled slightly as he couldn’t help but exclaim.

“It really… has bloomed!”

This Sun Cup was a testament to his friendship with Iva, the most glorious and honorable memory of his life.

Just as he was about to set like the sun, this flower bloomed.

For King Smerkel, this held immense significance.

Although the Sun Cup had died back then, part of its body had merged with this great tree after its death.

The divided parts had become many young offshoots.

These offshoots took root in the tree, and after so many years of fusion, they finally became one with the tree completely.

They grew out from the tree trunk, resulting in today’s extraordinary sight.

King Smerkel stood under the tree and waved his hand at the people behind him.

“All of you, leave now!”

“I want to be alone here for a while, to admire this most beautiful flower, the divine flower from the legendary Creator’s garden.”

Smerkel stood quietly under the tree blooming with Sun Cups, gazing at the flower cups.

He recalled many things, remembering his childhood friend Luqi, the stories of his wandering from city to city playing the harp, and his encounter with the God of Desire who was like a blank slate.

At this moment, a stream of starlight coalesced, wandering through the palace garden.

Finally, the starlight settled beneath the flower tree, and a divine woman in a golden gown appeared before Smerkel.

The divine woman was very tall, even matching the height of the towering Smerkel.

But the moment Smerkel saw her, he couldn’t help but lower his head and hunch his shoulders, not daring to look at her directly.

“Who are you?”

Smerkel didn’t dare to look directly at her, and in the instant he lowered his head, he saw that she did not have a snake tail.

She possessed a divine form.

The golden-haired divine woman was surrounded by dazzling light, merging with the glow of the setting sun. The swaying Sun Cups seemed to bow their heads too, as if wanting to draw near to her.

She told King Smerkel.

“I am a spirit.”

“This Sun Cup of yours comes from the Sun Cup Flower Sea where I reside.”

“You’ve done me a great favor, so I can grant you one wish.”

Spirits are born from Sun Cups, so the appearance of such an extraordinary Sun Cup naturally attracted a spirit’s response.

King Smerkel had heard of spirits, but he never imagined he would see such a being, existing only in the Creator’s Domain, in his lifetime.

King Smerkel thought for a long while, then said with some resignation.

“I have no wishes, and my life is already nearing its end.”

He bowed to the spirit and asked in a puzzled voice.

“I’ve heard that only the purest heart and wish can make a spirit appear in this world. Why would you appear for me? I’m just an old man, one who has weathered many storms in life.”

Dream Sovereign Hila: “Everyone’s heart is constantly changing. Good and evil are separated by just a thought. At this moment, your heart is incomparably pure, as pure as a child’s.”

Smerkel couldn’t help but smile. Perhaps this was the meaning of becoming more childlike as one grows older.

The spirit made a proposal to King Smerkel: “Your life is indeed coming to an end, within this year. Perhaps I could let you live longer, stay in the mortal world for a while longer, since you are a good ruler.”

After saying this, the spirit added, “Don’t worry about your deity, she won’t blame you.”

King Smerkel had already lived long enough. He was over 140 years old, slightly older than his father Alpens.

Except for Grand Elder Xin Ji of the Land of Sunrise who possessed the Golden Lamp, he should be the first person to reach this age.

It was said that the Grand Elder of the Land of Sunrise had lived for nearly two hundred years, relying on the legendary lamp fire bestowed by the God of Desire and Alchemy.

But King Smerkel didn’t feel much envy.

He clearly knew his destination, understood his mission and responsibility.

Smerkel was indeed moved for a moment at first, but as his gaze flickered, he refused the spirit’s blessing.

“No, thank you! O messenger of the Creator’s Domain! I do not desire to live longer. Sometimes living longer is not a good thing for me, for my children, or for this country. I have already passed on my responsibilities, I have completed my mission. Let others take care of the rest. Let me quietly enter that good night, peacefully live out the rest of my life.”

King Smerkel looked at the sun calmly sinking below the horizon and said with a smile.

“No ups and downs, quiet and peaceful. Just like this sunset.”

The spirit looked at Smerkel with admiration: “I have seen many rulers, you may not be the most powerful or the wisest. But you are certainly the one who faces life most peacefully.”

King Smerkel: “This is the most honorable praise I have ever heard. To be compared with those ancient rulers is Smerkel’s honor.”

King Smerkel refused the spirit’s wish, and the spirit didn’t insist.

She waved her hand, completely removing a branch with a Sun Cup from the tree.

The branch and Sun Cup remained intact, and starlight repaired the tree’s wound.

“Mortal king. Thank you for your gift.”

Smerkel bowed gracefully: “It is my honor, noble divine messenger.”

The spirit waved her hand, and starlight swirled.

Countless flower petals fell as afterimages, covering this grove, and the beautiful, dreamlike figure disappeared among the starlight and flowers.

King Smerkel watched the flower shadows and starlight, suddenly smiling.

“What a beautiful life! Who would have thought that the spirits didn’t favor me as a child, but in my old age I would see the legendary divine messenger race.”

For the first time, he felt the beauty Iva had spoken of, that ultimate beauty even a deity like Iva described as the most beautiful.

It was a beauty originating from the heart, from the longing for the most wonderful things in one’s heart.

Little did he know, the one he met wasn’t just some divine messenger or an ordinary spirit. He had encountered a true deity, the sovereign of the Dream Ability—

Dream Continent.

Dream Sovereign Hila, borrowing the power of the Life Sovereign, finally created the flower tree she had imagined.

To be precise, it wasn’t creation, but more like an adjustment.

Because there was already a successful sample.

On the vast land, a beautiful flower tree grew in the center.

The tree was covered in colorful flowers, somewhat resembling Sun Cups, but also different.

The tree was full of blossoms, with no leaves visible.

Three figures stood beneath this flower tree.

Three eternal deities.

Yin Shen reached out his hand, touching the flower petals of the tree.

They were soft and fragrant.

Although there was only one tree now, one day it would become a forest, an entire sea of trees.

Every tree in this forest would be covered in flowers. When the wind blew, the colorful sea of flowers would sway, petals flying everywhere. It would surely be a sight to rival the Sun Cup Flower Sea, a completely different, captivating scene – a beautiful fairyland.

Standing under the tree, looking at this flower tree, Yin Shen suddenly said.

“A tree full of blossoms is the desire of my heart.”

What his heart desired wasn’t a person, nor was it an object, but that era. Yin Shen never expected to see such a flower tree in this era.

He suddenly felt as if everything was moving towards a familiar path, that he was gradually returning to that familiar world.

Was this world already heading in this direction, or did his appearance cause the world to take this path?

Hila, of course, didn’t know Yin Shen’s feelings when he said this, nor did she understand the meaning of these words. Nevertheless, she immediately took out a small notebook and copied down Yin Shen’s words.

Yin Shen turned his head to look at Hila.

Hila hurriedly put away her little notebook, flustered.

“Hila! Have you decided how to bestow mythical blood upon them?” Yin Shen asked.

Hila said somewhat shyly: “I haven’t even thought of a name for them yet.”

Yin Shen looked up at the flower tree, already imagining that dreamlike fairyland forest.

“Let’s call them Wood Nymphs!”