Both Nahida and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata couldn't help but let out a gasp of astonishment.
Even Apep was shocked by the scene before it.
The golden desert beneath their feet was, visibly to the naked eye, turning into the deep brown of fertile soil.
Like umber-brown ink dripped into water, this color spread rapidly, dyeing its way toward the distant horizon.
Next, green sprouts pushed up through the earth, and tender grass draped the land in a veil of pale green.
After that came shrubs and flowers.
The rich Dendro Elemental Power kept spreading outward.
Seeing this scene, even Ye Xi couldn't help but marvel at the wondrous spectacle of nature—it was truly magical.
Peeking from within the Serenitea Pot, Xiangling and Keqing were utterly amazed.
"Heavens! The desert has actually turned into an oasis!"
"It's growing so fast! Incredible!"
"Did Ye Xi do all of this?!"
"Now the desert regions of Sumeru can support life too!"
At this moment, no one was more thrilled than the Dendro Dragonlord, Apep!
Once, it had watched with its own eyes as its territory was torn apart and reduced to a heap of yellow sand.
And now, with its own eyes, it watched its land return to its original form!
This feeling—it was like being born anew!
"Outsider, so long as you and your God no longer intrude upon my domain, I will support you in becoming the new order."
Ye Xi said with a smile, "You're in no position to bargain with me, Apep."
"Everything you have now was granted by me. You and your domain both belong to me."
"If I told you to come back with me to watch over my home, you would have no way to resist, would you?"
"This..."
Apep fell silent.
It could feel that its fate was already grasped in Ye Xi's hands.
Because of that contract, it would never be able to resist.
Ye Xi said in a low voice, "I can grant you freedom. Build your own domain right here."
"But don't forget—everything you have belongs to me."
"You may not invade Sumeru, or I will take back everything you have."
Apep nodded. "Yes."
....
On the ground.
Quite a few desert mercenaries and desert dwellers were still within the territory.
Several of them were still asleep.
But as they slept, they suddenly heard chirping and twittering by their ears.
Groggily, they opened their eyes.
And a sight they would never forget for the rest of their lives met their gaze.
They discovered that, somehow, lush trees now towered overhead.
Sunlight poured down, its rays filtering through the gaps in the leaves, leaving dappled specks of light.
"Huh——!? When did we end up in a rainforest?!"
The moment these words were spoken, everyone around abruptly sat upright as well.
"What's going on?! I clearly remember we were in the desert!"
"Could it be someone moved us?!"
"No, no—that's not it! This is the desert, our pack beasts are still here!"
"What on earth is happening?! How could a desert possibly turn into a rainforest?!"
This sudden upheaval left them looking around in every direction.
And not far from them, a green wave was surging off into the distance!
Wherever the wave passed, the land brimmed with life, trees rising up one after another.
Some of the trees grew with astonishing speed, visibly swelling and shooting upward before the naked eye!
Some even surged up to a hundred feet tall!
Vines coiled and twisted like crouching dragons, winding everywhere.
The green wave swept swiftly across Mt. Damavand.
The mountain range, once choked with windblown sand, was instantly transformed into clear blue skies and emerald waters, pristine and pure.
Trees climbed up to the summits, and grass blanketed the sand and rock.
At this moment.
Dehya and Candace were still gazing into the distance from Aaru Village.
Suddenly, a crowd of villagers came rushing in at the village entrance, shouting at the top of their lungs.
"A miracle has come! A miracle!"
"The rainforest is about to grow all the way to us!"
"Heavens! Long live the Dendro Archon!"
Bewildered, Candace and Dehya hurriedly rose and looked off into the distance.
And the scene they saw left them both utterly dumbfounded.
A green wave was rushing toward Aaru Village at a speed too swift for the ear to catch the thunder.
Before they could even react, the sand beneath their feet instantly turned into a verdant, lush lawn!
The parched ground now had babbling streams!
Trees and vines spread over, transforming Aaru Village—once set amid a sea of sand—into a village nestled in mountain woods!
The villagers were stunned speechless by this sight, frozen where they stood.
"I—I'm not dreaming, am I?!"
"What... what on earth just happened?!"
"It must have been Master Ye Xi and the Dendro Archon's doing!"
"Heavens! From now on we're not just children of the desert anymore—we're children of the rainforest too!"
"This is absolutely the most important moment in the entire history of the desert folk!"
"The desert is gone! Hahahaha! Sumeru has no more desert!"
"A miracle! This is a miracle!"
"..."
In an instant, the whole village erupted into cheers.
Both Dehya and Candace were astounded!
"This must have been Master Ye Xi's doing! This is wonderful, Candace!"
Hearing the excitement in Dehya's voice, Candace's heart could not settle for a long while either.
The desert had turned into an oasis!
From now on, the dangers of the desert would be far fewer!
Not only that—more and more people would come to the village in the future!
The climate here would become suitable for human life, and gradually more and more villages would spring up all around!
All this time, Aaru Village had been like a child abandoned by Sumeru, blocked off by thick Wall of Samiel—so much so that one couldn't even see Sumeru City.
Now, the Wall of Samiel had lost their purpose, and in the future ever more people would come here to live!
Just thinking about all this made Candace grow even more excited!
In her heart, at this moment, there was nothing but gratitude!
She wanted to repay this kindness!
She wanted to repay Ye Xi's grace!
"Dehya, I... I've made up my mind!"
"I agree to your suggestion!"
Dehya's eyes lit up. She patted her chest and said, "No problem—I'll help you settle it tonight!"
"Who'd have thought that scoundrel Ye Xi could move you so deeply that you'd want to offer yourself to him of your own accord."
Candace's face flushed red, and she explained, "I just feel that I absolutely must do something for Master Ye Xi!"
As a descendant of Al-Ahmar, how could she not repay such a kindness, with the desert having undergone so great a change!
And Ye Xi lacked for nothing—the only thing she could offer was her own body!
...
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Watching this miracle in the desert, even Nahida couldn't help but sigh, "Now we'll have our hands full again."
"The previous plans will have to be revised."
Ye Xi nodded.
They had originally intended to build elevated bridges across the desert, but now there was no need.
The ground was far firmer, no longer loose like yellow sand, and there was no longer any worry of the tracks being buried by sand.
This greatly reduced the difficulty of laying the Railway to Aaru Village.
However, although this section of the project required less work, the route planning would likely need a major overhaul.
After all, once the desert turned into rainforest, quite a few more villages might well appear within it.
By then, those villages would have to be factored in as well.
In any case, it was absolutely a good thing for Sumeru!
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata chimed in too, "The Wall of Samiel will have to be torn down as well."
"To think that the Wall of Samiel I built with my own hands all those years ago would one day see the day of their demolition."
Ye Xi said with a smile, "In that case, won't the desert regions also be needing Forest Rangers?"
"Of course they will!"
Nahida explained, "The desert regions now have dense rainforest—it's very easy to get lost, and in some places the trees grow far too tall."
"The Forest Rangers will need to patrol the woods regularly and get a clear understanding of this new rainforest as soon as possible."
"When necessary, they'll also have to harvest some trees to prevent miasma from building up."
Sometimes, in order to protect a forest, felling trees is quite necessary.
Hearing Nahida's answer, Ye Xi felt a little sympathy for Tighnari.
By the looks of it, before long he would have to come over here from the Avidya Forest.
It was just hard to say whether Collei would have to tag along too.
"Anyway, we'll discuss all these matters once we're back."
The girls all nodded.
Ye Xi looked back at the Dendro Dragonlord behind him and commanded, "Apep, you stay here."
"Yes."
With that, Ye Xi cleared out a patch of open ground and brought out a helicopter.
Boarding the helicopter, they flew off toward Aaru Village.
Apep watched Ye Xi's figure recede into the distance, then vanished into the depths of the jungle.
...
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