The Queen of Scrolls never admits defeat

Moran smiled as she took the heavy bamboo tube, which felt slightly cool to the touch.

Following her friends' example, she settled into a comfortable position on the large vine-covered chair, nestled next to Sylph, and faced the sunset over the forest and the glow of the sea, taking a sip of the Hundred Fruit Bamboo Wine.

The sweet and refreshing taste bursts on the taste buds instantly, with distinct layers of fruity aromas. The bamboo wine base brings a just-right tipsy feeling, followed by a gentle warmth that spreads throughout the body, making one feel completely comfortable.

The four of them nestled lazily in the huge vine chairs, sipping their fruit and bamboo wine, admiring the beautiful scenery before them, chatting about their experiences over the past few days, and sharing inspiration for new magic.

Sometimes we would burst into laughter over an interesting topic, and other times we would fall silent and immerse ourselves in the tranquility and beauty of the sunset.

The enormous, mutated hollow tree swayed gently in the evening breeze.

Only when night had completely fallen, and the last rays of dawn were replaced by the deep blue of the night sky and the first stars, did they reluctantly get up and enter the hollow tree through a small door at the edge of the treetop platform.

Descending the spiral staircase that hugs the inner wall and allows only one person to pass at a time, the surrounding space gradually opens up.

As Lilith led the way, she introduced the area with great familiarity: "The narrowest part is the section that came down from the top of the tree. It's only big enough to build a staircase, so it hasn't been used much."

Her voice echoed slightly inside the hollow tree trunk.

“A little further down, in this circular area,” she pointed to a slightly ajar door next to the stairs. “This is my blood sample bank; it contains some {blood cards}.”

Continuing down one floor, Lilith pointed to another door: "This is my laboratory. I conduct blood analysis and fusion experiments here. My study and magic training room are also here."

One floor down, there is a relatively spacious hall with many small wooden doors around it: "This floor is the collection room, where I keep interesting things that I've brought back from various worlds."

When they finally reached the bottom floor, the air around them became warm and comfortable, and the light softened considerably.

The staircase leads to a much more spacious circular duplex space.

The room features comfortable sofas, soft carpets, decorative paintings on the walls, and an open kitchen.

“This is the living area,” Lilith said, opening her arms. “It’s quite comfortable, isn’t it?”

Moran nodded. The living area alone was more spacious than a large villa of several hundred square meters.

Lilith led them to a corner of the living room, where there was a downward-facing archway naturally formed by intertwined aerial roots, through which a warm, emerald-green light shone.

“There’s a small basement level below, and the heart of the tree is right here.” Lilith pushed open the root door and stepped inside first, with Moran and the others following closely behind.

What appeared before them was an underground space filled with the power of nature.

In the very center of the space, on a base meticulously woven from the finest silver-white roots, floats an emerald-like tree heart, radiating gentle yet powerful energy fluctuations.

“It looks like it’s about to mature.” Sylph had successfully cultivated mature mutated hollow trees before and knew the best about the state of the tree’s core.

Lilith nodded, gently placing her palm on the warm, moist tree heartwood: "I should be able to infuse it with alien magic one more time."

A vibrant green, exotic magic flowed slowly from her palm into the heart of the tree.

Suddenly, the heartwood began to pulsate rhythmically, like a heart awakening. Emerald green light rippled outwards from it, spreading over every gnarled root and every branch and leaf.

With a deep hum, Moran could feel the ground beneath his feet trembling slightly, as the energy of the entire hollow tree was frantically converging towards its core.

"It's almost ripe!" Lilith held her breath. A dazzling green light suddenly burst forth, illuminating the entire basement as if it were daytime.

In this light, the surrounding tree root walls began to become transparent and blurred, as if they were about to merge into the light.

The vibrations grew stronger and stronger, but then stopped abruptly at a certain critical point.

The light faded, and the basement disappeared.

The tree heart floated in front of Lilith, but it was slightly larger, and inside was a smaller version of the hollow tree.

The original basement, the surrounding wooden walls, and the entire giant tree above have all disappeared.

The four of them appeared in the bare pit.

Lilith stepped forward, carefully cradling the tree heart in her hands. With a thought, the mutated hollow tree reappeared in its original spot, and they returned to the basement.

“Perfect!” Vasita exclaimed. “Now you can really carry this tree with you wherever you go.”

"Once I get my {Mirror Space Card}, I'm going to place it in the best scenic spot within the Mirror Space!"

Even though she was about to have her own mirror space, Lilith was not going to waste the mutated hollow tree that she had carefully arranged according to her own preferences.

Moran also planned to go back and find a place in her own mirror space to plant trees.

Sylph glanced at her pocket watch: "It's almost dawn, time to change and get ready for the gathering."

The four returned to their living quarters on the first floor and changed into the clothes they had carefully prepared for the gathering.

Moran chose a deep purple traditional witch's robe. The fabric of the robe seemed to be dyed the color of the night sky, and it was intricately embroidered with silver thread patterns of stars and the moon shining together. As she moved, the stars seemed to twinkle slightly.

She casually let her long hair fall behind her head, looking both languid and mysterious.

At her collar, she wore a small, delicate, shimmering card-shaped brooch, while her usual wand had transformed into a ring inlaid with a deep purple gemstone, which she wore on her finger.

Lilith, however, changed her usual style, donning an extremely form-fitting blood-red gown. The dress, made of smooth satin fabric, was sharply tailored, perfectly outlining her figure.

What's most striking is the black pattern, faintly visible on the blood-red dress, resembling flowing blood vessels, which adds a dangerous yet alluring aura to her.

Sylph's outfit, as always, exuded a natural feel.

She wore a fresh, grass-green robe, the fabric of which was as soft as newly sprouted leaves.

The hem and the bottom of her robe were embroidered with lifelike vines and various flowers in silk thread that was close to the natural color of the fabric. They swayed gently with her steps, as if a breeze was blowing across the grass.

Vasita's outfit was the most unique and unconventional. She wore a knee-length black tutu over a warm, wheat-gold short cloak embroidered with various adorable food patterns in bright colors, from grinning cakes to soup bowls waving spoons, which looked quite amusing.

When they finished dressing up and gathered again in the center of the living room, the hands of the magic clock on the wall were precisely aligned with the zero point, and the teleportation portal to the Witch Academy's demiplane appeared before them right on time.

The four exchanged smiles, and after confirming that their attire was acceptable, they stepped into the teleportation tunnel one after another. (End of Chapter)