Trees can, of course, be burned.

But not now.

Even if you burn an ordinary tree-covered valley, you have to prepare a firebreak to prevent the fire from spreading and causing a large-scale wildfire, let alone these trees are not ordinary trees.

No one knows what extreme actions these Tree Demons might take when they're dying.

Full preparations must be made.

Under Roland's persuasion, Sif strangled the devil named Impulse in her sea of consciousness.

Returning to the Governor's Mansion, it was already late at night.

Sif was tired, and after taking a shower, she sank into a deep sleep.

Roland also entered dreamland in his own bedroom.

He wasn't sleeping; he was searching for the Third Era botanical expert.

In the Flower Sea, amidst the ancient trees, Elf Sylph sat quietly as if in a deep sleep.

Roland saw her in this pose nearly every time.

A wide, long dress hid her lower body, as if she feared someone seeing her beautiful legs and feet.

Though slightly regretful, Roland didn't dwell on it.

Though only consciousness remained, he still regarded her as an independent entity, both teacher and friend.

"Sif, I came across a Golden Ginkgo Tree Demon."

"Tree Demon?"

Elf Sylph stood up, carefully pressing down her skirt, and her previously dull eyes suddenly brightened.

"You mean the extinct Golden Ginkgo of the Third Era?"

"Yes."

Without waiting for Sif to ask questions, Roland recounted in detail the events encountered in the valley.

This included the previously discovered earless parsley and the bleeding vegetables.

Elf Sylph slightly bowed her head, remained silent for a long time, and then slowly said:

"Do you know how almost all ginkgo trees, including the Golden Ginkgo, went extinct?"

"I don't know, but I have plenty of time." Roland found a place to sit opposite Elf Sylph, his eyes full of anticipation.

It seemed Elf Sylph knew a lot.

After a moment of silence, Elf Sylph sighed softly, and with a gentle voice, said, "During the Third Era, the environment was suitable, and gymnosperms were very prosperous, growing hundreds of meters was commonplace."

"Aside from the common pine, cypress, and fir, ginkgo was also a major species at the time, and additionally, there were special large trees that could grow up to thousands of meters and even develop intelligence."

"These intelligent plants were known as Ancient Trees. The Elf Race and Ancient Trees were friends and interdependent. Our candidates for the deity-creating movement were two, namely Elf King Yaslan and World Tree Hill, indicating our interdependent relationship."

"Ancient Trees needed nutrients to grow and rare materials to evolve. Elves provided materials to the Ancient Trees, and Ancient Trees protected the Elves, fighting alongside us."

"Originally, we coexisted harmoniously, but later, some elves and intelligent Ancient Trees collaborated to breed offspring, giving birth to the Tree Elf branch. The Tree Elf physique was close to Ancient Trees and required no pregnancy; they only needed to place the fetus in an Ancient Tree to conceive."

Roland was a bit surprised; such a convenient breeding method should mean the Elf Race had a large population.

"However, the Tree Elf was ultimately a deviant path. Plants are plants, and animals are animals; even if plants have intelligence, they are completely different from flesh and blood life. The birth of Tree Elves blurred the boundaries."

Elf Sylph's eyes flashed with a trace of bitterness, and she sighed softly:

"No matter how many benefits it brings, blurring boundaries is never good. But Tree Elves are our kin, and Ancient Trees are our brothers and sisters. They exist; what else can we do?"

"The number of Tree Elves increased, and their evolution accelerated."

Roland grew more curious because the elf scriptures acquired from the Inheritor's profession never recorded the once-dominant Tree Elves, hinting at hidden secrets.

Fortunately, Elf Sylph was a witness; this part of history would not be sealed away.

"The Tree Elf population grew larger, and as their numbers increased, the Elf Race population also exceeded five hundred million, dominating in the struggle against Earth Spirits."

"Five hundred million?"

Roland showed an expression of amazement.

It was well-known that the Elf Race population was scarce, not exceeding one hundred million even at its peak.

Combining the term 'billion' with the Elf Race was somewhat dissonant.

Considering the convenient breeding method of Tree Elves, exceeding a hundred million wasn't surprising.

After all, the Elf Race had long lifespans and a low infant mortality rate; even a slight increase in fertility rates would be significant.

Roland didn't interrupt Elf Sylph, he just rested his chin on his hands in a listening pose akin to Sif's.

While doing so, he didn't realize this was Sif's usual pose, and he always liked crossing his legs while listening before.

Elf Sylph took a deep breath, her eyes growing pained, revealing that the memories ahead weren't pleasant.

She struggled to control her emotions and said wistfully, "The Tree Elves' formidable breeding ability turned them from a minority into an overwhelming majority."

"When there were only one million Tree Elves, they said we are all Elves and should coexist peacefully; as their number approached the Blood Elves', they began to vie for a voice, saying that Nature was the elves' true home; when the Tree Elf population exceeded one hundred million, they told us to shut up."

"They said red blood was despicable and wild, like those crude Barbarians. Green blood was the most noble. They even opposed the term blood, calling the damned green fluid Holy Liquid."

"When the Tree Elf population exceeded five hundred million, Blood Elves no longer had a voice."

Watching Elf Sylph's heaving chest from her intense emotions, Roland remained silently thoughtful.

There's nothing new under the sun; this kind of thing has happened countless times in history, making it hard for Roland's emotions to stir significantly.

Elf Sylph's emotions gradually calmed as well.

After all, she had experienced threefold death, she was neither alive nor undead, only consciousness remained.

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