CHAPTER 322: CHAPTER322-DESERT RUINS

The desert ruins.

With the opening of a shimmering portal, the silhouettes of Daniel and Milla emerged upon the desolate, endless sands.

The moment Daniel stepped into this place, he immediately noticed something abnormal. His HP was steadily draining away at a fixed rate. Not only that, but every function of his body seemed to be deteriorating little by little, leaving him noticeably weaker with every passing second.

"Lord Daniel," Milla quickly spoke up, her tone unusually serious, "this is not a good place. I believe we should leave as soon as possible. You may not know this, but staying here accelerates the aging process—it multiplies it by a hundredfold. If we spend even ten years in this place, it will consume a thousand years of our lifespan. My current lifespan may still be more than thirty thousand years, but even I cannot withstand such torment."

Daniel froze for a moment, blinking in disbelief, and then a very strange expression appeared on his face.

Did she even realize what she was saying?

He thought silently to himself: You’re talking as if everyone has tens of thousands of years to spare. My lifespan is only around two hundred years. Should I even respond to that?

The truth was, for members of the human race who had awakened, only after successfully completing the Star Upgrade Quest and breaking through level 100 would their lifespan increase substantially. Until then, they remained bound to the fragile mortality of mankind. Daniel, stuck midway in the quest, naturally had not yet gained such an extension.

So for him, the concept of losing a thousand years of life was laughable. He didn’t even have that much to lose in the first place.

Daniel chose not to argue with Milla’s lament. Instead, he quietly activated the Eye of Insight, letting his perception expand outward to examine the surroundings of this desolate ruin.

What he saw made his eyes narrow in delight.

Among the barren remnants of stone and sand, he spotted something extraordinary—a material used in the synthesis of a God Rank Skill.

[Elder Tree Soaked in Time]

...

This was one of the crucial materials required to synthesize the God Rank Skill [Tree of Faith]. The other components he had already gathered earlier, back in the Mental Plane.

So long as he obtained this single missing ingredient, he would be able to complete the synthesis of the Tree of Faith immediately.

On the other side, Milla was also scanning the desolate ruins, her divine senses sweeping across the land. After a moment, she let out a sigh.

"I never expected this... In just two thousand years, this place has changed so drastically."

Suddenly, her eyes flickered with sharpness. She furrowed her brows, as if she had sensed something unusual. Without hesitation, she cast an identification spell toward a distant part of the ruins.

A few moments later, Milla’s expression darkened.

"This place has been destroyed. I can feel it—the lingering traces of powerful elemental energy remain here."

Daniel paused slightly, his expression tightening.

"Then... this ruin wasn’t originally like this?"

It all made sense now. Earlier, when he used the Eye of Insight, he had noticed that the environment here was saturated with elemental energy. He had thought it was a unique feature of the ruins themselves.

But it seemed that the truth was something else entirely.

Milla’s tone grew heavy as she voiced her judgment.

"This must be the work of the God of Elements’ devotee—Ilant."

The God of Elements?

Daniel’s brows drew together in a frown. By now he had already come into contact with more than a few gods. He had faced Aurelia, the Goddess of Gold & Silver, who stood as his adversary. He had encountered the Luck Goddess, with whom he maintained a cordial relationship, and the Moon Goddess Luna, who also treated him well. Deep down, Daniel even suspected that the Mist Goddess had been covertly aiding him all along.

But as for the God of Elements, he had never once interacted with that deity.

According to the ancient records, the world was said to be governed by thirteen gods. So far, Daniel had personally dealt with four of them. Now, with Milla’s words, he had learned of a fifth.

Whether this God of Elements was an enemy or an ally, however, was still a mystery.

One thing, however, gave Daniel pause for thought: Ilant, the God of Elements’ devotee, had been resisting Aurelia’s descent into the world. That at least meant the God of Elements was not aligned with her faction.

Considering this, Daniel asked directly,

"Is the God of Elements our friend or our enemy?"

Milla was taken aback by the blunt question. For a moment, she seemed unsure how to respond. After gathering her thoughts, she carefully replied,

"To be honest... such things are hard to define. Every god pursues different goals, and their interests vary accordingly. When their goals align with ours, they can be allies. But when those goals diverge, they may just as easily become our enemies. According to what Her Excellency the Goddess of Luck once said, the God of Elements has spent his existence in pursuit of a single goal—the unification of all elements. So, at the very least, I do not believe we are in direct conflict with him."

Daniel nodded thoughtfully, then asked with genuine puzzlement,

"But he’s already the God of Elements, isn’t he? Shouldn’t he be able to control all the elements freely? If that’s the case, then unifying them shouldn’t be so difficult for him."

Milla shot him a strange look, and then her expression twisted into one of helplessness.

"Lord Daniel... are you overthinking this? Why are you asking me? I don’t know the answer either. I’m just a demigod at best, not a god myself!"

Daniel coughed lightly, feeling slightly embarrassed. He realized he had gotten into the habit of tossing all his questions at Milla whenever he was uncertain. But of course, there were limits to what even she could explain.

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and changed the subject.

"So then, is there anything we need to be cautious about while we’re here? If the God of Elements isn’t hostile to us, then surely there’s nothing too dangerous?"

Milla considered this before nodding.

"Most likely not. After all, this incident took place long ago, and the ruins have already been almost completely destroyed. By now, there shouldn’t be anything of real danger left. By the way, Lord Daniel, is there anything here that you require?"

Daniel raised his hand and pointed toward the distant, withered figure of the Elder Tree.

"Yes. That tree."

Milla immediately nodded.

"Alright, alright. Then go ahead and take it. I’ll wait for you here."

Daniel gave her a quick nod, then flew directly toward the Elder Tree. In just a few seconds, he arrived before it.

[Elder Tree Soaked in Time]

[Description: For reasons unknown, this Elder Tree became immersed in the river of time, now infused with a unique temporal power.]

Daniel’s eyes lit up at once. This was a treasure beyond compare. Instinctively, he reached out, ready to collect it into his spatial backpack.

But to his surprise, no matter how he tried, the Elder Tree resisted being stored away. A specific restriction seemed to be in place—some kind of binding law preventing it from being removed from the ruins.

That meant if he wished to use it in the synthesis of the God Rank Skill, he would have to return here again.

Daniel clicked his tongue, then quickly shook his head.

"Forget it. Since I can’t take it with me, I’ll just perform the synthesis here on the spot."

Resolving himself, he drew out all the materials required for the Tree of Faith. Then he pressed one hand against the trunk of the Elder Tree, silently choosing to synthesize the God Rank Skill in his heart.

The next moment, a dazzling light erupted before his eyes. The glow was brilliant enough to pierce through the desolate darkness of the ruins. However, due to the surrounding mist that cloaked the area, Milla—waiting not too far away—did not notice the light at all.

[Tree of Faith]

[Effect 1: You may summon forth the Tree of Faith in a chosen area. Once summoned, the Tree of Faith will establish its own domain. Within this domain, you will hold the highest authority, and you may choose whether to conceal the domain’s existence or not.]

[Effect 2: You may place this domain in any location, even across planes. Regardless of its placement, your bond with the Tree of Faith will remain unbroken.]

[Effect 3: Absolute Faith. Within this domain, your mind power will suffer no limitations. You will be able to forcibly enter the minds of others.]