Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 399 A Black Bird
Ephesus, the elven mage and leader of the Astral faction, like other elves, genuinely wanted to improve the lives of his people.

However, unlike those stubborn localists, Ephesus had his own understanding of what it meant to be better, especially after communicating with the Astral Plane and witnessing the vastness of the outside world—and it was precisely because he had witnessed the power displayed by so many Astral beings that he had come to a profound understanding that everything the Elves had was backward.

Their magic is outdated, their knowledge is outdated, their culture is outdated, and even their ancestral spirits are outdated.

"We absolutely cannot let this continue! We must also integrate with the Astral Plane!"

This is the motto passed down through generations of the Astral Faction, and also the eternal creed in the heart of the elven mage Ephesus.

In order to obtain information from the astral plane, Ephesus built numerous mage towers. In order to communicate with those beings in the void, more than thirty of his own apprentices had already died—but for Ephesus, it was all worth it.

Now is the time to reap the rewards.

"Great being! Please listen to me!"

Seeing that the unknown entity within the green light was willing to communicate with the elves, Ephesus immediately revealed everything about the Astral faction.

In essence, all of that content is just saying one thing.

The elves yearn for civilization from the astral plane; the elves yearn to become better.

They are willing to pay a price for guidance.

Regardless of the cost.

"This……"

In the vibrant green light, the voice clearly hesitated.

This made Ephesus's heart leap into his throat.

"Is it possible that what we've given isn't enough?"

Ephesus instinctively clenched his fist.

"Does this mean we are truly unworthy of genuine civilization?"

The green light was still flickering, as if it were contemplating something.

Meanwhile, in the distant alien city of Tahriris, the giant serpent coiled around the wooden man fell into deep thought.

"You mean... they want civilization?"

Du Yi glanced at the Seed of Creation, then thought about the skill level of the elves, and suddenly felt it was somewhat absurd.

It's perfectly normal for the backward to learn from the advanced, but for the advanced to learn from the backward is something he's never seen before. As for the Tahririans right now, their civilization is no match for these elves. Just the fact that the elves can perform interstellar teleportation alone puts them several levels above the Tahririans.

As for the Tahririans... they don't even need to make any progress anymore. The Seed of Creation, through its control over its various clones, has basically covered all aspects of the Tahririans' lives, including food, clothing, shelter, and transportation.

In a sense, the Tahrir people are completely dependent on their God Tree I. If the Seed of Creation were to disappear, the lives of the Tahrir people would immediately regress to the era of slash-and-burn agriculture.

It's unrealistic to expect them to have any kind of civilization.

So, what about the Tatunbuto people?
Clearly, the Tatunbutos remain a symbol of backwardness. They toiled tirelessly but failed to even leave their planet. As for civilization, they have virtually none; their worship of gods is all they have.

As for the Ignivas, who came even earlier, they were far from advanced. Du Yi remembered clearly that those Ignivas were still wearing animal skins until the very end. The level of civilization on this planet was definitely inferior to that of the long-eared elves, yet now, these long-eared elves were actually asking them for civilization.

What can they offer?
Du Yi was a little confused.

However, after the Seed of Creation's reminder, he realized that everything he said would be translated by the Seed of Creation—so it was definitely not an option to directly discuss things with the Seed of Creation, since with that big blockhead of a boy, it would probably translate his questions as well.

Therefore, Du Yi could only think for himself.

"Advanced and backward..."

Long Tail tapped his head, and Du Yi suddenly had an inspiration.

Yes, some things are only available in backward times, but not in advanced times.

That is, wildness.

Wildness, ferocity—whatever you call it, it's all about that vigorous, unrestrained life force that originates from life itself.

"But judging from the way those long-eared elves committed suicide, they don't seem to lack this... Could it be that they're starting to get war-weary?"

Based on the available information, Du Yi astutely judged that this seemed to be good news.

The long-eared elves have begun to instinctively feel war-weary, which means they are one step closer to peace. Du Yi genuinely believes that this war is completely unnecessary. Rather than fighting to the death before the two stars collide, it would be better for everyone to sit down and solve the problem of survival.

Having thought this through, Du Yi already knew roughly what to say.

"The Elf race has committed far too many atrocities. Everything they are facing now is a punishment from fate... If they want to break free from the shackles of fate, they must actively embrace peace and choose the path they have never chosen before."

After saying all that, he sounded like a charlatan, but at least Du Yi himself was quite satisfied, thinking that what he said was acceptable.

The Seed of Creation relayed these words to the elves on another planet.

"You must choose peace and choose another path."

The Seed of Creation translated its father's words into the language of the elves, and it felt that it had fully conveyed its father's meaning.

The elves looked at each other and then lowered their heads.

They all felt they had understood the will of that ancient being in the astral plane.

Yes, that's true. The elves must show a peaceful attitude in order to be of educational value to the beings in the astral plane. Otherwise, if they are always baring their teeth and claws, killing this and that, who would feel comfortable entrusting their civilization to them?
"Just like a grumpy chocobo, it will definitely be killed and eaten. Only the docile chocobos will be used as mounts and will survive, and may even be able to enter the city..."

Referring to the content of their own culture, the elves quickly understood everything that the great being wanted to say.

Yes, peace must come; this is a matter of life and death.

Anyone who does not want peace is an absolute enemy, just like those grumpy chocobos, who must be killed.

To prevent those ancient astral planes from existing, because these grumpy chocobos harbored ill will towards the elves.

The Astral Spirits decided to take matters into their own hands and eliminate the troublemakers themselves.

(End of this chapter)