Chapter 588: The Elven Empress

"Damn you, Ya Li!"

The more Xia Yi thought about it, the more wrong it felt. Could it be that he had fallen into Ya Li's trap?

That woman had deliberately brought Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan to the Tianxuan Continent, and had insisted he come along as well.

And now she had left him alone with Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan in the Elven Tribe. Wasn't that obviously creating an opportunity for them?

Without this setup, given Xia Yi's current status, it would've been impossible for Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan to be alone with him like this.

Ya Li must have long since seen through the girlish feelings that Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan harbored.

After all, Xia Yi was constantly surrounded by beautiful women — having Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan join the mix wouldn't make much of a difference.

So she had deliberately created this opportunity for them.

As for whether Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan could seize the chance — that would be up to their own fate.

However, Xia Yi's current status had already reached a level where Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan could only look up to him.

They didn't have the courage to confess their feelings to him directly. Even under the influence of alcohol, they only made veiled hints.

If they confessed outright and Xia Yi rejected or looked down on them, it would only make future encounters awkward.

No wonder Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan had been so insistent about having the Elven Tribe send them spirit wine, even at the cost of offering a 50,000-year-old spirit herb.

"I'm going to give Ya Li a piece of my mind when she gets back. Couldn't she have at least warned me in advance so I could mentally prepare?" Xia Yi muttered, clearly annoyed by Ya Li's unilateral decision-making.

Just then, as Xia Yi sat on the bed lost in thought, an elven girl came to find him again. "Honored guest, I wonder if you have time right now. One of our elders wishes to speak with you."

"Let your elder come find me here." Xia Yi shook his head, pushing aside his messy thoughts, and spoke to the elven girl.

With Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan this drunk, there was no way he could be so irresponsible as to leave them here alone while he went off to meet an elven elder.

This place had a mix of elves, humans, and beastfolk — who knew what might happen?

Before long, several senior elves arrived at Xia Yi's wooden cabin under the girl's guidance. Leading the group was a female elf, dressed in white as pure as snow, exuding an ethereal air. Her fair and delicate forearms were exposed from her sleeves, arousing the imagination. Her long green hair flowed over her shoulders, and contrasted with her white dress, giving her a unique charm.

"Honored guest, I am Lilith, Queen of the Elves. I hope your stay among us has been comfortable. We've received a decree from the Honored One Yong'en, who told us you carry a great mission — one that brings hope to our ancient Elven Tribe and will help us triumph over the demons." Queen Lilith's face bore a sincere and enthusiastic smile.

This display surprised the elven girl who had led the way. Their aloof and noble Elven Queen was showing such respect to a mere human? It was hard to believe.

Even when the Haotian Honored One or the Sea Dragon Honored One came, their queen never treated them like this.

Such courtesy was typically reserved for divine beings.

This pride was ingrained in the elves by nature. They had a deep sense of superiority.

On the Tianxuan Continent, the elves were truly nature's favored children. Every one of them was a born magician and marksman. Combined with their lifespans far surpassing those of humans and beastfolk, their achievements in cultivation were well beyond what ordinary people could reach. They had every reason to be proud.

Though their numbers were smaller than those of humans and beastfolk, if you excluded the war machines and schemes of the other races, the combined strength of humans and beastfolk still couldn't match the Eternal Forest.

And with their unparalleled beauty, elves tended to look down on the plainer looks of most humans — not to mention the often grotesque appearances of the beastfolk.

What the elven girl didn't know was that the reason their queen was so courteous was because she wanted to gain the upper hand with Xia Yi before Ya Li returned.

She wanted to probe Xia Yi about their background and origin while she still had the chance.

Right now, Xia Yi and the others had just tasted the elves' exclusive spirit wine — a perfect moment to showcase the elves' profound heritage.

With Ya Li, that formidable "Honored One," away, it would be much easier to deal with these three young people.

"Two of them got drunk — as expected of the young. I've lowered myself to visit personally. Surely they must be overwhelmed with gratitude," the Elf Queen thought with a faint, unreadable smile as she noted the steady breathing of Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan in the bedroom.

Getting blind drunk in unfamiliar territory? What else could they be but greenhorns?

"So the Queen herself graces me with her presence. May I ask what business Your Majesty has with me?" Xia Yi asked, feigning curiosity.

"It's nothing urgent. I just wanted to see whether our honored guests are eating and living well, and whether you're satisfied with our Elven Tribe's hospitality," Queen Lilith said with a smile.

"The Elven Tribe truly is nature's favored. This place is like a magical paradise. Who would've thought such a splendid sanctuary could be hidden in the heart of a vast forest? It speaks volumes about how extraordinary your people are — truly the beloved of the gods," Xia Yi replied glibly, already guessing her true purpose.

But he didn't mind. The queen's personal visit showed how seriously the Elves regarded them.

This gave him a chance to directly ask for nature magic.

"Our tribe still has many treasures and delicious foods that assist cultivation. If our guest wishes, you can take some with you when you leave," Queen Lilith said with a smile.

"And what will it cost us?" Xia Yi asked directly.

"Why, honored guest, how could you say such a thing? You've come to help us resist the Demon Plane — it's only food, after all. We'd be ashamed to ask you for payment. But… your method of refining life stones is quite excellent. Very useful for our cultivation. If you're willing, the Elven Tribe would be happy to exchange other treasures for it." Queen Lilith smiled radiantly, as though everything was already within her grasp.

"Oh? What exactly does Your Majesty propose in exchange?" Xia Yi asked, feigning interest. The life stones clearly referred to the Life Crystals Yuanen Yehui had provided.

"What does our honored guest think of our spirit wine?" the Elf Queen asked deliberately.

"Top-tier," Xia Yi replied sincerely.

"In that case, how about we trade our elven winemaking technique for your method of refining life stones?" she proposed.

Elven winemaking required grains cultivated with natural magic — only with those ingredients could top-quality spirit wine be brewed.

If Xia Yi agreed, he'd have to keep buying raw materials from the elves in the future.

In other words, he'd be forever reliant on the Elven Tribe.

Without hesitation, Xia Yi shook his head. "Your Majesty, that is indeed a fair offer. But I'm not interested in winemaking techniques. If possible, I'd like to learn your tribe's nature magic — and the method for cultivating those grains."

The Elf Queen froze for a moment before gently reminding him, "Honored guest, it's not that we're being stingy — it's just that nature magic can only be used by elves. Neither humans nor beastfolk can learn it."

"I'd like to try. How about this: you just focus on teaching. Whether I succeed or not, I'll still give you the refined life stone technique. In return, I'll also promise to teach you sincerely. Whether you can learn it or not — well, that's up to you. After all, Your Majesty knows our identities are a bit… unusual." The forging technique came from the Douluo Plane, and Xia Yi wasn't sure if it would even work on the Tianxuan Continent.

"Very well, I agree," Queen Lilith responded without hesitation.

She had absolute confidence in nature magic.

It was a power exclusive to the elven race.

No matter what, her tribe wouldn't lose.

"One more thing — I'd like to ask, how do we use the weapons you gave us earlier?" Queen Lilith asked again.

Yuanen Yehui had provided soul-guided cannons, but even the Honored One Yong'en had studied them to no avail.

They had no choice but to ask Xia Yi.

"They require an external power source. I'll make a few bottles and send them to you later," Xia Yi offered generously. Soul tools required soul power to activate their core formations.

The elves practiced magic — they couldn't activate the soul-guided cannons Yuanen Yehui gave them.

The only solution was to install a power bottle.

Nowadays, civilians used soul tools powered by such bottles.

"In that case, thank you very much." The Elf Queen hadn't expected Xia Yi to be so agreeable. After a moment's thought, she finally asked the question she cared about most: "Honored guest, may I ask where exactly you come from?"

"We're from the Douluo Plane. Once the Demon Plane is repelled, if you're willing, I can speak with Zhu'er and see if we can establish a spatial tunnel between the Douluo Plane and the Tianxuan Continent. We could then exchange resources," Xia Yi said.

"This…" Queen Lilith paused, then replied, "That's not something I can decide — or rather, not even the Elven Tribe alone can decide. We'd need the agreement of both the humans and the beastfolk."

Right now, only a few had come from the Douluo Plane, so the Elf Queen wasn't too worried.

But if a spatial tunnel was established, and the planes began to merge —

Who could guarantee it wouldn't be an invasion?

"I'm just speaking hypothetically. If it ever came to that, we'd definitely discuss it with you all first," Xia Yi reassured her, understanding her concerns.

As queen, if she couldn't even see this much, then she'd be utterly unqualified.

"We can talk about that later. For now — when can you give us the refined life stone technique?" Queen Lilith asked.

"In a while. Let's wait for our Honored One to return and then see," Xia Yi replied. He wasn't sure when he'd have time.

They'd need to wait for Ya Li's return to decide.

"Very well, we're in no rush," Queen Lilith said with a soft smile. She hadn't expected things to go this smoothly.

She hadn't even needed to use any tactics — and Xia Yi had already agreed to everything she wanted.