The Virtuous Dark Witch

Chapter 29

Is this the key to the West Sea Forest remaining undestroyed for ten thousand years? Looking around at everything around her, Elara Dessey felt a strong sense of pride in her heart. She finally understood her mother's resolve and her aunt's sorrow. The West Sea Forest was the home of the Dessey Witches, and even more so their faith—yes, faith.

Civilization has an origin, and the West Sea Forest is the birthplace of the Dessey Witches. For the West Sea Forest, the Dessey Witches can give everything, including their lives. And her aunt's choice to be transformed was equivalent to abandoning her faith.

Elara's heart ached unbearably. She turned back to look at the simple tombstones. Presumably, many years later, she would also be one of them. She wanted to kiss and kneel before each tombstone, thanking them for their constant protection.

The return of the black-winged elf wearing the Magic Snake Crown made all the elves in the Ancient Tomb very happy. They gathered around her, scrambling to talk about something.

The black-winged elf stopped on the silver stamen of a black mandala, hands on her hips, chest puffed out, looking extremely proud.

Kelly Dessey was used to this scene. She smiled, looked away, and took Elara's hand to walk towards the tombstones in the last row. "Currently, there are only 3,882 elves in the Ancient Tomb, and there will be more in the future," including the Holy Black Spirit Dagger, which will eventually return to the Ancient Tomb one day.

Elara remembered that when she was a child, her grandmother had said that the dark weapons stored in the castle's secret chamber were useless, and all the truly powerful ones were buried in the Ancient Tomb. She turned back to look at the elves again: "Grandma, they are… they are…"

"You want to ask how these cute little things came into being?" Kelly smiled softly when she saw her nod, her eyes becoming distant as if recalling the past. "According to my mother, almost every Dessey Witch who could enter the Ancient Tomb has asked this question."

Stopping in front of the second-to-last tombstone in the last row—that of Fanzerna Dessey—Kelly took out the Silver Frost Moon Staff and placed it on the tombstone as before. The Silver Frost Moon Staff quickly disappeared, but this time, no elf flew out of the tombstone.

Elara stared at the tombstone, listening to her grandmother's words.

"The Ancient Tomb can be said to be the heritage of a Witch Clan," Kelly's tone couldn't help but become quite proud when mentioning heritage. "Speaking of the existing Witch Clans on the Mal Continent, it's no exaggeration to say that our Dessey Witches are the one with the deepest heritage."

Elara believed this. One only needed to see that the West Sea Forest had stood firm for ten thousand years to know.

"But the Ancient Tomb is the Ancient Tomb," Kelly stared at her mother's tombstone, recalling the past. "Probably only our Dessey Clan can make the buried weapons generate consciousness and transform into elves."

Elara was shocked: "Why?"

Kelly smiled slightly: "It's all thanks to the daughter of the West Sea Witch Ancestor—Fiona Dessey, the second lord of our West Sea Forest."

Lord Fiona was also a great witch, but the light of the West Sea Witch Ancestor was too dazzling. So, except for her own family, most people outside only remembered her as the daughter of Selah Dessey.

"To increase their combat power, witches will refine or choose a staff to store their witch power after practicing to a certain level. Our Dessey Witches are no exception."

"However, because we are good at refining dark weapons, in addition to the staff, Dessey Witches will also add other handy weapons as they grow older and their cultivation improves. Both the staff and these weapons will be burial objects in the future."

Elara listened quietly. She knew why her grandmother was telling her this in such detail. Her mother's slumber had changed everything.

"After the West Sea Witch Ancestor died, Lord Fiona buried all the dark weapons she had refined during her lifetime with her as burial objects. She originally thought that the myth of Selah Dessey would end here. Unexpectedly, less than a hundred years after the West Sea Witch Ancestor was buried, two more elves appeared deep in the West Sea Forest.

"It took Lord Fiona a hundred years to find out that these two elves were transformed from the consciousness of the weapons. And during those hundred years, six more elves flew out of the West Sea Witch Ancestor's Ancient Tomb one after another."

Hearing this, Elara couldn't help but gently touch the ring on her left thumb. She seemed to understand a little: "The first to transform into elves were the Demon-hiding Snake Staff and the Holy Black Spirit Dagger that the West Sea Witch Ancestor used frequently."

"Yes," Kelly had been a little worried that little Elara wouldn't understand the connection, but now she didn't have to worry. "Because the weapons all belonged to the West Sea Witch Ancestor, the personalities of the elves generated are basically inherited from her."

"They regard the West Sea Forest as their home and their territory, and the Dessey Witches who inherit the blood of the West Sea Witch Ancestor are their family. When a hundred elves were generated in the Ancient Tomb, the first silver-stamen black mandala bloomed here."

"It is recorded in the clan records that shortly after that silver-stamen black mandala bloomed, several arrogant Andros broke into the West Sea Forest. But before the Dessey Witches could arrive, all of them had their hearts torn out."

"Lord Fiona wrote in her notebook that when she saw these cute elves turn the dead Andros into nutrients to nourish the West Sea Forest, she knew how to protect the territory of the Dessey Witches."

Elara didn't understand one thing: "Isn't it very difficult for weapons to generate consciousness?" The Silver Frost Moon Staff was her great-grandmother's staff, but no elf had flown out of the tombstone yet.

"It is indeed very difficult," Kelly put her arm around Elara's shoulders and glanced at the Ancient Tomb. "The grand scene of the Dessey Witches' Ancient Tomb today is all due to the Dessey Witches' love for this forest."

"Starting from Lord Fiona's generation, every Dessey Witch, when predicting the end of her life, will return to the West Sea Forest in advance as long as she is still alive," Kelly said, looking at the empty tomb next to her mother's tombstone. "In the year before their death, they will come to the Ancient Tomb with their burial objects."

"Make a pious wish to the black mandala," Elara understood, she understood everything. "Dedicate their souls and all their witch power to nourish their burial objects," so that the weapons can generate self-consciousness and replace them to continue guarding this forest.

Kelly nodded and smiled: "The West Sea Forest is the root of our Dessey Witches." Soon, she would also complete her final mission. "Elara, if one day Grandma is gone, don't be sad."

Elara had long seen the empty tomb next to her. She knew it was prepared by her grandmother for herself: "Grandma, I… I have a way to…"

"Shhh…" Kelly knew what her little granddaughter was going to say. Merlyn Dessey had written to her about Elara's situation. But when she predicted that the West Sea Forest would usher in a powerful lord, her meridians had already begun to wither slowly. She turned her head to look at the elves.

"When one day you find an elf flying out of Grandma's tomb, don't be confused—that will be me. Although this time may be very long, you must believe that Grandma has never left. Grandma will always guard the Dessey Witches and our home."

Elara buried her face in her grandmother's arms and hugged her tightly.

Kelly bent down and kissed the top of her hair: "Originally, there was no accident." After resolving the Moon Glow matter this time, Grandma would pass the Silver-stamen Black Mandala Crown to your mother. Unfortunately, she thought the crown was too heavy and ran away at the last minute. So you will have to work hard in the future."

She had only three years left. In these three years, she must teach little Elara well. In the future, the struggles between various clans on the Mal Continent will only become more intense. The West Sea Forest needed a powerful lord.

"Hmm," Elara nodded solemnly, tears soaking her grandmother's dress.

"Starting today, you will practice here in the Ancient Tomb," Kelly raised her right hand and flicked it gently towards one side. An exquisite tree house appeared on the tallest and sturdiest laurel tree in the Ancient Tomb. "Later, I will let the Black-winged Elf Queen send the West Sea Witch Ancestor's notebook to the tree house."

Elara did not refuse. She left her grandmother's arms, wiped her tears, and said: "Okay, I will not let you and the Dessey Witches of all generations down."

Her previous goal was to surpass Selah Dessey, but now and in the future, her goal was to lead the Dessey Witches to the top of the Mal Continent. The tragedy like her mother and aunt was enough to happen once; it did not need to be repeated.

From then on, Elara lived in the tree house. Every day during the day, she followed her grandmother to understand the notebook left by the West Sea Witch Ancestor. At sunset, she began her practice. Her meals were brought from the castle by Cinderaven.

Outside the West Sea Forest, after several days of fermentation, the matter that the Light Witches' Larissa Clan colluded with Rocky Anastas, the lord of Anastas City, in an attempt to control the Moon Glow finally came to light.

Under the intentional manipulation of Alexander and Thea Dessey, the news that Fisher, the Twin Witch Ancestor of the Larissa Clan, had woken up also spread. The fact that the Dessey Witches were secretly attacked by the Larissa Clan and Rocky Anastas while dealing with Fisher was even widely known.

And because Fisher slaughtered the Rozin People's village, the holy image of the Larissa Clan was completely shattered. This caused countless Rozin People's shops to move away from near the Alsace Mountains. The Charlotte Tribe and the Annel Clan also successively announced to the outside world that they would never rest until they defeated the Larissa Clan in the Alsace Mountains.

Of course, the other protagonist of this incident—the West Sea Forest—was not spared. The news that Merlyn Dessey, the next lord of the West Sea Forest, had sealed herself because her soul was occupied by Fisher, and that her sister Thea Dessey had been transformed, was personally confirmed by Viscount Ana Stirling.

The Dessey Witches had a small population, and they lost two powerful warriors in this incident. This made many forces eager to move. However, after several waves of Andros broke into the West Sea Forest and never came out, no force dared to enter again.

After helping Mama w**d, Polina stood on the path, frowned tightly, and looked at the vast and quiet forest.

"Where exactly did it go wrong?" The village where she and Mama once lived became a meal for vampires, just like in the book. For this, their mother and daughter were sad for a long time, and Mama still blamed herself until now.

But what surprised her was that the one who ate people and drank blood was not Austin Corell, the ancestor of the Andros written in the book, but a Twin Witch Ancestor attached to a transformed person. Moreover, the time of the incident was wrong—it was almost half a month earlier than in the book.

What made her even more unable to let go was that this matter even involved her idol's family, and it was not a good thing. If she had known this earlier, she would have risked her life to stop the old carriage of her idol's family that day, even if she had to make up a few absurd dreams.

Unfortunately, because "Love at Dusk and Dawn" was written from the perspective of the female protagonist Roxane Mullin, there were really very few descriptions of the West Sea Forest in the book.

She only knew that her idol inherited the West Sea Forest at the age of thirteen because of the death of her mother and aunt, making her the youngest lord of the West Sea Forest in history. And… no… death?

Death? Polina's eyes widened, and she muttered in a daze: "Dead?" Then this incident is a good thing for the West Sea Forest, at least the people are still alive. "But this is even more wrong."

She was just a small cannon fodder as tiny as dust. Except for taking her own mother out of the village to the West Sea Forest to farm well, she had done nothing. The butterfly wings of a cannon fodder couldn't stir up such a big plot change… could they?

Polina scratched her lips with her little hand, carefully recalling the plot in the book, sorting it out bit by bit: "'Surrender your body'… body? 'You shouldn't have lived'… hiss, what do these two sentences mean?"

Also, the ending of "Love at Dusk and Dawn"—after Elara Dessey saved Roxane Mullin, why did she ask for Anastas City and the twelve cities west of the West Sea Forest to the Alsace Mountains? From what she knew, the Alsace Mountains were the stronghold of the Light Witches' Larissa Clan.

Thinking of the recent rumors, Polina had reason to believe that there was an unsolvable grudge behind this, which was likely related to the deaths of Merlyn Dessey and Thea Dessey in the book.

Otherwise, why would a young, world-ignoring Dark Witch Ancestor be so aggressive as to include the doorsteps of the Larissa Clan into her private territory?

Polina looked at the West Sea Forest and sighed deeply: "It's so tiring to think. Anyway, now my idol's mother and aunt are still alive, which is already the greatest blessing. At least she shouldn't become as cold and ruthless as described in the book."

It's not that being cold and ruthless is bad, but she thinks that a cold and ruthless person must have a cold heart. She clicked her tongue and smiled: "If I am lucky enough to meet you in this life, I must give you a suggestion."

Earlier, she couldn't help sneaking to the edge of the West Sea Forest behind her mother's back and found something very interesting. The trees on the edge of the West Sea Forest were all towering into the clouds. What about the small trees?

Could there really be no saplings on the edge all these years? This can only mean one thing—there is a barrier blocking the edge of the West Sea Forest. But why block it? Without that barrier, the forest would continue to expand outward.

The West Sea Forest belongs to the Dessey family. If the forest becomes larger, the territory of the Dessey family will continue to expand. As for the rules, they are all made by the strong.

While there were constant disputes outside, the West Sea Forest was still quiet. Days passed day by day. That night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. Unexpectedly, after midnight, just as the moon's glow was at its peak, the bright full moon suddenly faded without being covered by dark clouds, and then the wind picked up.

When the wind came, the elves playing in the black mandala flowers immediately noticed something was wrong. They all flew to the row of flowers near the tree house, sat down one by one, stared curiously at the painful girl sitting at the door of the tree house, and chatted away, arguing about something.

At this moment, Elara was indeed in great pain. Compared with the division of the lower dantian, the middle dantian and upper dantian were located at the CV Meridian Point and Yintang Point respectively—both of which were death points, making their opening extremely difficult.

It had been three years. She had spent three years and finally reached the last step.

She controlled her witch power to gather at her right index finger. This was a crucial point. If the witch's power was accurately pointed to the right position, she would succeed; if not, even if she was prepared, she would lose half her life.

Raising her orchid finger, Elara no longer hesitated. The bright Moon Glow flowed at her fingertips. She locked the position and resolutely pointed at her Yintang Point.

The Yintang Point sank, and the Moon Glow spread evenly around from her fingertips, exploding with a bang and impacting her soul. Immediately, bright red blood flowed from Elara's seven orifices, but she still sat cross-legged motionless. When the Moon Glow spread to a certain range, she immediately circled it with her witch power. A circle the size of an adult's nail at her brow glowed with bright Moon Glow and began to rotate.

As the small Moon Glow circle at her brow rotated, the full moon hanging high became even dimmer, and the wind was no longer gentle. It blew violently, making the leaves of the trees in the West Sea Forest rustle.

The three dantians were successfully opened. Elara immediately released her five senses and fully absorbed the moonlight. In less than five minutes, the Moon Glow around Elara was so dense that it could almost condense into water.

The elves sitting in the black mandala flowers sensed the dense Moon Glow and also consciously began to absorb it quickly. At the same time, the silver-stamen black mandalas in the Ancient Tomb became more and more energetic.

The wind blew harder and harder, and the stars in the night sky became more and more dazzling. Elara was still absorbing.

After all three dantians were opened, the witch power flowed more smoothly in her meridians. She completed a Great Circulation, stopped practicing, opened her eyes, and looked up. She couldn't help but curve her lips: "Only two hours."

She took a long breath. She had finally succeeded.

Kelly, standing at the entrance of the Ancient Tomb, looked at her little granddaughter sitting at the door of the tree house, her eyes shining with tears, and her heart was filled with pride. When she predicted that the West Sea Forest would usher in a powerful lord, she was so excited that she didn't practice all night. She waited and waited, and finally, two years later, she waited for Merlyn to be pregnant again.

Three years. This young child had been in the Ancient Tomb for three years! The extremely dense Moon Glow just now could even be sensed by her, an old woman with withered meridians. It could be seen that the hardships of these three years were all worth it.

"Grandma," with a thought, all the dirt on Elara's body disappeared. She stood up and wanted to go forward, but her grandmother was already by her side. She took her hand and said, "Let's go inside to talk."

"Okay," the joy of successfully opening the three dantians disappeared instantly. Elara knew that the time was almost up.

After entering the room, Kelly let go of her, walked to the bed, and looked at Elara with a smile without saying a word.

Although Elara was very reluctant, this was her responsibility. Tears filled her eyes. She straightened her dress and knelt down: "Grandma, thank you for holding on until now for me, thank you for your careful teaching over the years, thank you for loving me." She had said she wouldn't cry, but when it really came to facing it, she couldn't control herself.

Kelly smiled contentedly. She raised her hands and solemnly took off the Silver-stamen Black Mandala Crown on her head: "Put your right thumb on the silver stamen of the black mandala, then chant the spell with Grandma."

After hesitating for a moment, Elara tremblingly raised her right hand and put her thumb on the silver stamen as she was told. She raised her head and stared at her grandmother without blinking, wanting to engrave her old figure in her mind. She followed and chanted: "Olila… Senena…"

At the moment the spell was finished, the Silver-stamen Black Mandala Crown turned into a streak of ink and shot towards Elara's brow. Then a black mandala sprouted and branched behind her head, spreading rapidly to both sides and reuniting to bloom above her brow. Perhaps because the owner was young, the faint light on the crown was brighter than before.

"Good… good," Kelly gently stroked Elara's black hair. "From today on, Elara Dessey is the lord of the West Sea Forest." She lowered her right hand and held her hand. "Promise Grandma that you will not leave the West Sea Forest until the color of your pupils reaches brown."

After that night, her pupils had faded a little silver and become slightly darker. Elara didn't know when she would reach her mother's realm, but she knew that her grandmother's request was also because she was worried about her. She leaned on her grandmother's lap: "I promise you."

"Also, David Dessey and Townsend Dessey are already adults. They cannot practice witchcraft, so they cannot stay in the West Sea Forest forever," Kelly sighed deeply. "After I leave, you will send them out of the West Sea Forest." As for your father, I have asked him, and he is unwilling to leave."

Although she was sad, Elara was also helpless. She had once thought about letting her brothers practice qigong, but after opening the three dantians, she knew this method wouldn't work. She had practiced witchcraft since she was a child, and coupled with the books she read in her previous life, she could be said to be very familiar with her own body. Even so, she almost lost her life when opening the middle and upper dantians, let alone ordinary people.

“I'll listen to you,” she still had Blood Rose Cards. At that time, she would give each of them one. Without the harassment of the Andros, and with some money in their hands, their lives should be okay.

“I have nothing else to tell you,” Kelly pulled Elara up, and she also stood up. The grandmother and granddaughter hugged tightly, no longer saying more.

Thea, far away in Micro*** City, had just fallen asleep when she was woken up from her dream. She sat up suddenly, gasping for breath, her right hand clenched into a fist and pressed hard against her chest. Her sky-blue eyes were full of panic, tears welled up quickly, and her lips trembled: “Mama…”

Alexander, lying beside her, looked at her stiff back, reached out and held her left hand which was tightly clutching her thigh: “What's wrong?”

Hearing the question, Thea got out of bed and walked to the window to look at the sky: “Let's go to the West Sea Forest.”

Without witch power, even though she had Dessey blood, she couldn't enter the forest without an invitation. But even with an invitation, she still didn't have the courage to face everything in the forest now.

“Okay,” Alexander got up, put on his clothes, and put on the Moon Glow Ring. “I'll fry you a piece of beef. After eating, we'll leave.” Although he didn't like Anastas City very much.

It had been three years. His father and mother were still fighting. Because of Rocky Anastas's death, Ana Stirling asked his father for the Maroni Central Three Cities. His mother was so angry about this that she almost killed Ana Stirling's mother. But it's no wonder his mother was angry. After all, the Maroni Central Three Cities were his territory. Ana Stirling was simply daydreaming.

Night came again. Elara did not practice sitting at the door of the tree house as usual. Instead, she went to the forest to pick a bunch of black mandalas and came to the last tombstone in the last row of tombstones. Looking at the newly added words on the tombstone, a tear fell. She bent down and placed the flowers on the tombstone.

"Grandma, please don't worry about me. I will be fine. Cinderaven said that Aunt has come back, right outside the West Sea Forest. Presumably, she also sensed it. I don't know if that method can make her reconnect with nature, but it's the only hope. I think she won't give up either."

She raised her hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks, pursed her lips, and suppressed the choking in her throat: "If one day you see her coming to pay homage to you, it means she has regained her faith."

She chatted for a few more words, then moved to the tombstone of her great-grandmother Fanzerna Dessey, invited out the Silver Frost Moon Staff, and returned to the tree house. She collected the insights she had recorded over the past three years, the human anatomy diagrams she had drawn, and the operation diagrams of the Great and Small Circulations, etc., and put them into the Nether Box together with the Silver Frost Moon Staff.

She called Cinderaven and ordered: "Take this to my aunt." After Rocky Anastas's death three years ago, Ana Stirling took back Anastas City. If her aunt and Alexander stayed outside the West Sea Forest for a long time, it would easily attract Ana Stirling's attention.

After going out once and returning to the West Sea Forest, Cinderaven never got sick again. After three years of rest, he had obviously become the leader of the crows in the West Sea Forest, busy flying back and forth between the Ancient Tomb and the castle every day.

Today, in addition to picking up meals, there was an extra task. Cinderaven did not dare to refuse. He dutifully picked up the hemp string net bag containing the Nether Box and flapped his wings to fly out.

Outside the West Sea Forest, Thea stood by the fence of a farmhouse, staring blankly at the West Sea Forest without blinking. Alexander was frying raw beef in the farmhouse yard, trying to ignore the mother and daughter who were almost scared to death, but he wasn't blind.

After frying the beef, he cleared his throat. To have a peaceful night, he had to reiterate: "I won't eat you, and I won't drink your blood." When my wife feels better, we will leave." After saying that, he carried the beef out of the kitchen, but suddenly stopped at the threshold and turned back to add: "I will also give you money."

It was the first time Polina had seen a real vampire. He was very handsome, and his eyes were beautiful, but looking at him made her neck hurt for no reason. She pulled her mother and slowly moved towards the main room, not even daring to breathe hard.

Smelling the smell of meat, a hint of red flashed in Thea's eyes. It had been three years. She had been suppressing her bloodthirsty nature. She had never drunk blood since she was transformed, but the meat she ate was getting raw and raw. She smiled bitterly. She didn't know how long she could hold on. She was about to turn around and go back to the room to eat when she caught sight of a black dot flying out of the West Sea Forest out of the corner of her eye and couldn't help but stop.

Soon, she saw what it was and immediately flashed forward to meet it. Elara knew she was back. Alexander in the room quickly followed.

When Cinderaven saw Thea, he couldn't wait to drop the thing in his mouth and flew away without looking back. Who knew if the one staying here would take out some return gift for him to carry back?

Thea, who flashed over, caught the thing, tore off the net bag vigorously, took out the Nether Box inside, and opened it quickly. When she saw the Silver Frost Moon Staff, she couldn't help but soften her legs and fall to the ground. A stack of animal skins scattered out. She picked them up and browsed quickly. The more she read, the wider her mouth opened, and her originally dull eyes were gradually lit up.