Once all the apprentices received their treatment, the Tree Spirit still hadn’t returned.
Angel thought for a moment and decided not to leave. Instead, he sat quietly by the Life Pool and meditated.
It’s rare to visit the Life Pool; how could he not stay a while longer? Additionally, using the Green Pattern extensively had made Angel slightly fatigued. Enjoying the nourishment of this extremely pure life essence would aid in faster recovery.
While Angel was quietly absorbing the life essence, Toby and Dangross were also busy. Toby directly flew above the Life Pool, transforming into a giant Gryphon, circling constantly. With each flap of his wings, a large amount of life essence surged into his body.
Dangross, not having Toby’s abilities, was just like Angel, quietly breathing in the life essence. Even so, Dangross felt a sense of fullness.
Although Angel was meditating, Toby and Dangross’s movements did not escape his perception. However, he didn’t stop them. Dangross had previously secretly absorbed life essence from him, and the Tree Spirit had definitely noticed it. Since the Tree Spirit hadn’t said anything, it represented tacit approval of such behavior.
As for Toby... although Angel felt Toby’s Gryphon transformation with such voracious consumption was a bit excessive, compared to the Wizards cocooned in wooden vines these past few days, it was actually still fine. Anyway, the Tree Spirit wasn’t here now. Before the Tree Spirit returned, Angel ordered Toby to quickly revert. Angel believed that even if the Tree Spirit noticed, he would likely turn a blind eye.
Thinking of this, Angel chose not to manage the two little fellows anymore and continued to meditate.
Time passed, and it was an entire hour later before the Tree Spirit slowly returned. Strangely, the Tree Spirit’s essence was sensed first, but the Tree Spirit himself didn’t immediately appear.
Clearly, the Tree Spirit was reminding Angel of his return, suggesting small actions should cease.
Angel sensibly ended his fruitful meditation while calling to Dangross to stop as well. However, he received no response from Dangross. Perplexed, Angel turned around, only to see that Dangross had somehow fallen from his shoulder to the wooden floor by the Life Pool, eyes tightly closed.
Angel’s heart skipped a beat; could it be that the life essence was actually harmful instead of beneficial to the Fire Element Elf?
After all, life essence correlated more with living organisms or Wood Element creatures. To a Fire Element Elf, could it be not a remedy but a poison?
Angel panicked, hurriedly picking up Dangross from the ground.
Upon careful inspection, Angel discovered Dangross was unscathed, merely fast asleep.
Moreover, Dangross’s palm skin glowed lustrously, the flames within cycled normally, even more lively than before, without a hint of anomaly.
Angel finally breathed a sigh of relief.
If anything happened to Dangross here, he wouldn’t know how to explain to The Sage Magu. Plus, he still had to deal with Dangross’s underling, Kelonkcro. Without Dangross’s assistance, how could he capture Kelonkcro?
Cautiously storing Dangross in the bracelet space, Angel then remembered Toby.
But before Angel could call out for Toby, he heard footsteps behind him.
The Tree Spirit had returned.
Angel was about to turn and greet the Tree Spirit when he suddenly heard the Tree Spirit wail. Then, with large strides, the Tree Spirit rushed to Angel’s side, kneeling by the Life Pool, muttering: "My Life Pool... my Life Pool... what happened... how could this happen?"
The Tree Spirit’s gaze hauntingly turned to Angel.
Angel looked at the Life Pool in front of them... At first glance, it seemed unchanged from before, but at the center of the Life Pool, inexplicably, bubbles were emerging.
Watching those bubbles, an ominous thought surged in Angel’s mind.
Toby, where is Toby?
Wasn’t Toby transformed into a Gryphon, spiraling above the Life Pool earlier? And now, where is Toby?
While calling out to Toby in his mind, perhaps through mutual understanding, Toby heard Angel’s call and slowly revealed himself.
However, this time, Toby’s appearance caused Angel’s eyes to widen immensely, startled.
For, a glowing, enormous snake head rose from the bubbling center of the Life Pool, slowly lifting its head.
"T-T-Toby." Angel felt himself stammering.
Toby tilted his snake head, puzzled, looking at Angel.
Angel: "Why have you transformed into the snake-bird form? Wasn’t the Gryphon form just fine earlier; why did you jump in to play with the water?"
"Play... Water?" A chilly voice emerged from the side.
Angel secretly glanced at the Tree Spirit, only to see the Tree Spirit glaring at him fiercely.
Angel shivered and quickly said, "Toby, you’re being naughty, how could you jump into the Life Pool without the Tree Spirit’s permission? Come up quickly, and apologize to the Tree Spirit."
After speaking, Angel took a small step back.
He planned that as soon as the Tree Spirit got angry, he would immediately open the Gate of Void, and with a twist of his bracelet to decrease his presence, he would make a quick escape.
As for Toby, good luck. The Tree Spirit shouldn’t kill Toby, at most just impose some punishment. Once the Tree Spirit’s anger subsides, I’ll come back to pick you up.
Toby didn’t know Angel’s thoughts, but it obediently flew into the air, giving a slight shake. The rich life aura spread out, with some droplets falling onto Angel, making him immediately sense a craving ripple in his body’s life aura.
From this, it was clear that the water from the Life Pool and the life aura emanating from it were of entirely different quality grades.
The more it was like this, the more complicated Angel’s mood became.
He initially thought that the Tree Spirit might at most punish Toby a little, but now, seeing the grade of the Life Pool’s water, he felt that even if Toby died, the Tree Spirit’s rage might not be quelled...
After Toby came out of the Life Pool, it didn’t revert to its seabird form but continued to hover above the Life Pool in its large snake-bird form, its streamlined curves showcasing grace.
Angel was still softly calling for Toby to come back quickly, but after closely observing Toby for a while, he suddenly froze.
"Is there nothing wrong with your snake-bird form now?" Angel asked in surprise.
Toby’s snake-bird form wasn’t naturally derived; it was a result of encountering the Abyss Serpent, combined with the aura of the Pilgrim of Misfortune, which eventually produced some kind of unknown chemical effect that spawned it.
Due to its unnatural birth, Toby’s snake-bird form, even after treatment, had many side effects. For instance, when Toby transformed into the snake-bird form, the overwhelmingly oppressive, dark, and negative emotions could transform into a shadow cloud that even affected Toby itself, rendering it almost unusable in actual combat. But now, although the snake-bird form still emitted a faint negative emotion, this was more inclined to the abilities of the snake-bird.
After all, Toby’s form was called—the Envious Snake Bird.
This form could turn Toby into a true master of emotional manipulation, especially in provoking jealousy in people’s hearts, which was the core ability of this form. So, the faint negative aura surrounding it was due to its own abilities.