Legend of Mir 2: Seeking the Truth in Marfa

A towering tree a thousand yards high stood in the center of the forest, its crown like an umbrella covering half the sky; colorful glows emanated from the branches and leaves, like the thousands of lights in a human city; among the treetops, female hunters were jumping and walking nimbly, and a group of horned beasts flew by with their wings flapping.

At the foot of the giant tree, neat rows of moon wells were quietly embedded in a stone platform entwined with vines. Several purple-skinned, silver-haired elven priestesses were laughing and bending over to scoop water. Several elves floated lightly by, their fluorescent, translucent bodies circling and weaving through the dense shadows of the trees nearby. Dozens of sturdy ancient war trees turned slightly, with majestic faces emerging on their trunks, warily gazing at the undead and humans in front of them.

A group of women with human heads and deer bodies, holding spears, came jumping over and blocked the way.

"Captain Teemo, who are these people?" asked the leader of the 7th-level deer people.

"They are guests who have come from afar from the Kindred Sect and want to see Her Majesty the Emerald God for something." Teemo said.

"I understand. Let them go!" The deer people leader didn't ask any more questions. She felt relieved to have Timo leading the team.

Teemo led the group through the Dryads, the Ancient War Tree, and the Moon Well, heading towards the center of the forest. They soon arrived at the foot of the enormous Tree of Life, where circles of magical vines encircled the massive trunk, forming a natural staircase spiraling upward.

"Hi~Teemo! Where are you going?" A clear female voice like a silver bell came from above his head.

I saw a little girl wearing a tall wizard hat, an indigo ponytail, and blinking a pair of big, graceful eyes. She was sitting on the treetop, shaking her legs and looking at everyone curiously.

The fairy witch, Lulu.

"Hey~Lulu!" Teemo laughed.

“Are these your new friends?” Lulu asked.

"That's right! We're going to see Her Majesty the Emerald God. Do you want to come?"

"Okay~ I don't have anything to do anyway." Lulu said, and jumped down from the treetop.

Lulu is about the same height as Teemo and is likely a yordle. She holds a carrot-shaped wooden staff and is surrounded by a green butterfly-like sprite that resembles Brook's Moon Baby, though Brook isn't currently summoning one.

"Did you just get into a fight?" Lulu asked.

"how do you know?"

"Every time you get out of a fight, the glasses on your hat are crooked."

"Oh~" Teemo said, straightening his goggles. "I just had a fight with these friends. Afterwards, I realized it was all a misunderstanding. They were friends of Kindred's Mage."

"Evil little wizard! What a coincidence!" Lulu turned to look at Xiaobai and asked, "Hello, I heard that Xiaofa has become a demigod now. Is that true?"

"Yes, Lady Lulu. His Highness Xiaofa is the third in command in the sect after Master Kindred and His Highness Karthus. He now manages the entire Kindred sect. He's a good person, but a little busy." Xiaobai replied.

"I haven't seen him in a long time. I really miss him. By the way, why don't you have a name?"

"I plan to pass the Demon Sealing Tower, the Soul Tree's test, and become a hero before I take on a formal name."

"Mutated Skeleton, you are very ambitious!" Lulu praised.

"He is not only ambitious, but also very strong. He knows the Finger of Death!" said Teemo.

"Finger of Death? Archimonde's Finger of Death?" Lulu couldn't believe it.

"Yes!" Teemo confirmed.

"Wow~ Mutated Skeleton, you're so awesome!"

"Hehe, this is the only trick I'm good at. I don't know anything else." Xiaobai said modestly.

"That's enough. With this trick, you can definitely become a hero!"

A group of people walked and talked.

Teemo and Lulu walked in front. They did not go up the stairs of the Tree of Life, but went around it and finally stopped on the other side of the trunk.

Before my eyes were two mountain giants standing side by side, 10 yards tall, with skin as gray and white as rock.

"Get out of the way, we have something to see Her Majesty the Green God." Timo said.

"Yes, Captain Teemo, Lady Lulu." The mountain giant hummed, then split apart to reveal a passage leading underground.

"Follow me." Timo said, and led the way in.

It turns out there's a hidden world beneath the Tree of Life. After walking for over 10 minutes, winding through the quiet passage, we finally entered an underground cavern about two or three hundred yards in size.

There was a faint emerald green light in the cave. In the center was a large hole of more than 20 yards. Behind it was a high platform. On the platform sat a willow tree about 50 to 60 yards high. It had a kind smile on its face and was sleeping with its eyes closed.

This is the guardian demigod of the underground caves of the Gorja Forest: the Green God Ivern!

On the left and right sides of the platform, there are two other heroes: a thirty-yard-tall blue locust tree, the twisted tree spirit Maokai; and a purple spider hanging in the air, the Spider Queen Elise.

"Teemo, Lulu, why are you here? And you brought two undead with you." Spider Queen Elise asked.

"This 8th-transformed mutant skeleton was sent from the Kindred Sect and has something to ask Her Majesty the Emerald God." Teemo said.

"He has the finger of death," Lulu added.

"Really? But His Highness is resting..."

Before Iris finished speaking, the Green God Ivern on the platform slowly opened his eyes.

"Elise, it's okay, I'm awake." The Green God Ivern looked at Xiaobai, Brook, and Vichu with burning eyes.

"Greetings, Your Highness!" Xia Bai bowed.

"You're welcome. What do you want from me? Just tell me."

"Your Highness, I actually want to ask you something: Is there a Heaven and Earth Forge on Red Star?"

As soon as Xiaobai said this, the eyes of Spider Queen Elise and Twisted Tree Elf Maokai immediately narrowed. Even Teemo and Lulu turned their heads to look at Xiaobai, and their bodies moved aside involuntarily.

Xiaobai immediately knew that he had said something wrong, but he didn't know where he was wrong.

The Green God Ivern still kept smiling.

"Haha~ Maokai, Elise, Teemo, Lulu, relax, we're all friends. My mutant skeleton friend, may I know your name?"

"...Your Highness can call me Xiaobai. If I make it through the Demon Sealing Tower, my name will be Xiaobai. May I ask, Your Highness, did I say something wrong just now?"

"It's not wrong, it's just called differently. The Crucible of Heaven and Earth you just mentioned, on Red Star, we call it the Furnace Core; only humans in the Warcraft battlefield call it the Crucible of Heaven and Earth." The Green God Ion smiled.

“…” Xiaobai finally understood the problem.

Brook was ready to teleport away. It was obvious that they were basically exposed.

The Green God Ivern continued:

"Don't worry. My Gorgar Forest loves peace and dislikes fighting. Whether it's the Forge of Heaven and Earth or the Hearth, they're all the same. I'll answer your question now: there's only one Hearth on the Red Star, and it's in Hearthhome in the Freljord, guarded by His Majesty Ornn. However, only heroes can enter Hearthhome, and you're only at rank 8, so you can't enter."

Xiaobai bowed respectfully and said:

"Thank you, Your Highness. Is there any other solution? For example, asking a hero to take me in."

The Green God Ivern shook his head and said

"His Highness Ornn is obsessed with forging equipment and dislikes socializing. He has set a rule that anyone who becomes a hero can enter the Hearthheart House and have a piece of equipment tailored to them, but this is only possible once. Therefore, having other heroes lead the way is not feasible."

"However, there is still a way. Outside Hearthheart House, there live many followers of His Majesty Ornn. They love forging equipment and ask His Majesty Ornn to appreciate and evaluate their forged equipment every month. If the forged equipment can gain His Majesty's favor, you can get a reward from His Majesty Ornn." The Green God Ivern looked at Xiaobai meaningfully.

"I understand! Thank you, Your Highness~" Xiaobai instantly understood what Ivern meant.

The Green God Ivern said that Xiaobai could go to see Ornn as a follower. He could either forge a special piece of equipment himself or use gold to buy the craftsman's followers. In short, as long as he could gain Ornn's favor, he would have the opportunity to enter the Hearthheart Home.

"Is there anything else?" asked the Green God Ivern again.

"Um~ May I ask if Your Highness has any Eight-Turn Pills? I am willing to exchange them for other items or gold coins." Xiaobai said.

".......I can only give you three Eight-Transformation Pills. Please don't mind. There are many elves and monsters in my Gorga Forest, and they also need reincarnation pills." Ivern said.

"Okay! Can I exchange it with 300 reincarnation pills from 2nd to 7th turn? If it's not enough, I can add more gold coins." Xiaobai said.

"Haha~ Just give me 300 Reincarnation Pills. You can keep the gold coins, they may be useful in the future." For some reason, Ivern was particularly polite, and took out three Eighth Transformation Pills on the spot and asked Iris to send them over.

Iris obediently gave the reincarnation pill to Xiaobai, and Xiaobai also took out 300 low-level reincarnation pills and gave them to the other party.

"Anything else?" Ivern asked again.

"Actually, there's one more small thing. Before going to Freljord, I have to send my friend Vichu back to the Kindred Sect." Xiaobai said.

"Oh? This rank 3 Skeleton Mage Weiqiu, if I'm not mistaken, should be a citizen of the Desert Kingdom, right?"

"Yes. Weiqiu's parents are gone, and he no longer wants to stay in the Desert Kingdom. He wants to join me and my brother in the Kindred sect. So, Your Highness, may I borrow this cave that connects to the Void?"

"You want to use the underground passage in the Void to return to Kindred? Perhaps that's possible, but Vichu is only at level three, and it would be dangerous. How about this? I'll have Lulu give you a ride, using the teleportation array above ground, and send you back to Kindred. What do you think?"

"Of course it's best!"

"That's good. Is there anything else you need our help with?"

"No more, no more. Thank you, Your Highness Cuishen!" Xiaobai hurriedly thanked him. He didn't expect that His Highness Cuishen would be so easy to talk to.

"You're welcome. Teemo and Lulu will take you out. Lulu, go early and come back early, don't play outside for too long." The Green God Ivern ordered.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Xiaobai and the others saluted again, then followed Teemo and Lulu out of the cave.

※※※※※※※

After they walked away, the twisted tree spirit Maokai finally couldn't help but say:

"Your Highness, this mutant skeleton is very suspicious! Are you going to let him go like that?"

"Yes, Your Highness, why are you so polite to him?" Spider Queen Iris was also very puzzled.

"Didn't you hear what Lulu said? This mutated skeleton can use the Finger of Death. The Finger of Death is the treasure of the Undead and has been kept in the Misty Forest for hundreds of years. Just four months ago, the Undead and the Orcs fought in the Misty Forest. The Orcs were defeated and a total of five heroes died, including the demigod Volibear." said the Green God Ivern.

"Your Highness, are you saying that Volibear was killed by this mutant skeleton? How is that possible! He only has 200 million HP. Even if he has the Finger of Death, he can never be Volibear's opponent." Maokai said.

"It's not just Volibear. Also four months ago, Karthus of Kindred was teleported to the Warcraft Arena by the Mystic Eye. It's said that Karthus died that same day and has since been resurrected beneath the Soul Tree."

"...Are the humans in the Warcraft battlefield so powerful now? They can even defeat Karthus!" Elise exclaimed.

"Also. Just five hours ago, I sensed the aura of Nasus, the Desert Death God, activating his ultimate skill. Afterwards, the aura of Dragon King Thor emanated from the sky. I sensed that Nasus was dead."

"What?!" Maokai was shocked.

"The third-level skeleton mage named Viqiu beside him is from the Desert Kingdom." The Green God Ivern added.

"Your Highness suspects that all this is related to this mutant skeleton? He is an 8th-level mutant skeleton with 200 million health points, and he killed three demigods in succession?!" Iris found it unbelievable.

"He's not alone. Behind him, there's a True Soul Taoist humanoid baby. I sense a mysterious aura from him, and even a faint sense of pressure."

"......" Maokai and Elise looked at each other.

"In short, you must remember this mutant skeleton, remember his name, Xiaobai! And the True Soul Taoist behind him. No matter what, we in the Gorkha Forest should not be enemies with him." The Green God Ivern said finally.

"Okay, Your Highness, I'll remember that."

"I've remembered that, too. Actually, they're not bad. At least they gave us 300 low-level reincarnation pills, which are quite useful to us."