Mystery: The Witch of Desire

After seeing Elaine off, Livre rubbed her head, feeling a bit of a headache, trying to calm herself down.

Then, she took Xiaobai out from under her skirt and placed it in her palm.

"Livia, that red-haired woman seems to be interested in you."

Little White curled up into a small ball, hissed, and revealed a human-like smile.

Liviel rolled her eyes at it and said irritably:

"Don't you dare speak up!"

Next, she laid out all the ingredients, picked up a small pot, boiled water, and added the ingredients to the pot one by one.

Little White stared at all this with its pair of tiny, bean-sized snake eyes, and asked with some surprise:

"Livia, is this a potion prepared for me?"

"Otherwise, do I have any other pets?"

As Livre spoke, she took out the piece of paper stained with menstrual blood.

"Uh...should we add this too? I'm not a pervert like that Bloodthirsty Gloves guy..."

Xiao Bai smelled the rich aroma and asked with some difficulty.

"You can choose not to drink it."

Liviel tossed the paper in without looking up and continued mixing the potion.

"I'll drink it, I'll drink it..." Xiaobai quickly changed his mind, gritting his teeth and saying, "Compared to those painful babblings, drinking some of your products is nothing."

"I got this from a church where I blasphemed a true god; who knows, I might get struck by lightning someday..."

Liviel poured the dark red liquid into a bottle, performed a divination to confirm the potion was genuine, and then handed it to Little White:

"Drink up. If you fail to get promoted, I'll have snake meat soup tonight."

"Don't be so heartless, Livre..."

Little White reluctantly accepted the potion, frowning as she looked at the reddish liquid.

Then, it took a breath, and just like when it enters a cave, it plunged its entire body inside and swallowed a large mouthful of the potion.

A strange thing happened: the potion seemed to flow into Xiaobai's small body like invisible air, and soon the potion was empty.

After drinking the potion, Xiao Bai's body changed drastically, sometimes growing longer and thicker, sometimes becoming thin and limp, and sometimes its scales peeled off, forming layers of withered, reddish snake skin.

After countless molts, Little White emerged as if reborn, its pure white body crawling out from the ashes of its snake skin, resembling a giant club standing tall against the sky.

"Ugh, I feel so dizzy... those delirious ramblings have started again... but I think I can try to control them now."

Xiao Bai showed a pained expression, but after closing her eyes and enduring it for a while, her expression softened.

"Although it can't be completely controlled, it's much better than when it was Sequence 8."

The little white snake, its face beaming with joy, excitedly jumped onto Livre.

"Oh? You've already successfully advanced? It's really easier for extraordinary beings to advance than for humans."

Liviel felt a pang of jealousy, but the thought that it was absurd to be jealous of a snake stopped her thoughts and she asked with a hint of anticipation:

"Tell me, what new abilities did you acquire after being promoted to 'Hermit'?"

Xiao Bai straightened up and said smugly:

"First of all, my body can now become as hard as steel, and I can also freely contract and adjust its shape."

As it spoke, its entire body stood up like a stick, shaking rapidly in Livr's palm, making her palm feel numb.

"This...this is the ability of a hermit?!"

Livre stared blankly for a few seconds before widening her eyes in disbelief.

"Uh...it doesn't seem so, but I don't know why, I do have this ability to harden and vibrate...Hey, let's talk this out, don't pinch me..."

Completely bewildered, Xiaobai could only beg for mercy and quickly began to explain his abilities:

"The ability to hide in the shadows allows one to conceal oneself within the shadows and use the power of the shadows to stealthily track enemies."

It can summon creatures from the shadow world to influence, restrict, or attack targets. However, this is a dangerous ability because the summoned creatures may be quite terrifying and out of control, or they may be monsters that feed only on the summoner.

One can also use the target's shadow to cast a curse on him, which either requires a ritual or the target's flesh or part of his shadow as a medium.

After hiding in the shadows, one can influence the target's shadow within the shadow world, and even attempt to capture it, controlling the target by manipulating the shadow.

The ability to shape shadows: You can directly use the power of shadows to shape them into weapons or animals. These items will inflict damage that makes the target feel cold and corrupted.

......"

Xiao Bai described in detail the various abilities he had acquired, and then came to a conclusion with some pride:

"Overall, the hermit's abilities are based on shadows. I usually hide under your skirt, which is equivalent to hiding in the shadows. It's quite a good match."

"Not bad, not bad."

Liviel nodded in satisfaction. The upgrade from Sequence 8 to Sequence 7 in the Secret Prayer Path could be considered a qualitative change, adding many new abilities. Although with her current strength, she didn't really need Xiaobai to fight head-on, it would be good for him to play a supporting role.

Having experienced this countless times before, Xiaobai understood the meaning behind Liviel's gaze perfectly, and couldn't help but shudder:

"Livia, are we... are we going to test our abilities now?"

"As your master, I need to test your newly acquired abilities."

Liviel's smile grew even brighter as she had Xiaobai demonstrate her newly acquired shadow abilities.

……

……

Several days later, the Treasure Ship reached the edge of the Raging Sea.

Amidst towering waves, a small island came into view, its form faintly visible.

It was the island that Liver and Edwina had visited once: Shorttail Island.

It didn't even have a formal name on the nautical charts, and if it weren't for the coordinates provided by Edwina, Livre wouldn't have been able to find the island at all.

Before setting off, Livre performed several divinations to confirm the safety of the mission, and then took out the Mirror of Arodes:

"Your Excellency Arodes, my question is, what preparations do I need to make before I set out to acquire those abilities?"

A thin mist rose from Arodes's surface, and then several lines of pink text adorned with hearts appeared:

You need a partner.

Livre paused for a moment, then said in a declarative sentence:

Please explain why this is.

Arodes continued typing at a leisurely pace:

"The authority of that being is related to lust. If one does not release these desires in time after receiving His gifts, death will follow."

“Beautiful lady, neither your strange pets and magical items, nor I, can help you with this. Because we can only make you passively accept, not actively give. You must be aggressive enough to become the active party in order to balance the surging feminine forces within you.”

Is it really that complicated...? Where am I supposed to find a partner at a time like this...?

As Liviel was inwardly grumbling, she suddenly thought of someone: Elaine.

At least, she is a woman.

After a moment's thought, Livre said to Arrodes:

"I'll answer your question when I get back."

A smile appeared on Arodes's face:

"That's what I think too. I have a feeling that once you successfully advance, your aura will become even more delicious!"

Arrogant mirror, one day I'll turn you into a cloying little toy...

Livre gave a perfunctory smile, left the captain's cabin, and went to Elaine's room.

"Madam, would you like to come with me somewhere?"

Elaine, who was lying on the bed reading a book, turned around, looking slightly surprised.

"Ok."

She didn't ask where they were going. She simply sat in front of the vanity mirror, tidied herself up, and then put on a red long dress over her undergarments.

Watching Elaine get ready, Livre had a strange feeling, as if she were examining a dish or a tool...

A few minutes later, Elaine finished getting ready, and the two boarded a small boat together, heading towards Shorttail Island not far away.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side of Shorttail Island.

A pirate ship, entirely black and flying a skull and crossbones flag, sailed through the raging waves, slowly approaching the shore.

"Lower anchor."

Captain Tracy of the Black Death, afflicted with illness, ordered the ship to dock.

She stepped out of the captain's cabin and observed the densely wooded island ahead in the howling sea wind, carefully checking the coordinates her mother had given her earlier.

"This is it, that's right."

"But would that woman really come to this deserted island..."

Tracy's expression was uncertain. After a while, she took several capable lieutenants and boarded a small boat to head towards Shorttail Island.

Chapter 204 The Gift of the Mother Tree of Desire

On Short-tailed Island.

Following the path she had taken with Edwina, Livre quickly led Elaine to the edge of a giant forest.

Livre cautiously observed her surroundings, remembering that Edwina had mentioned that demigod-level monsters roamed this area.

"Miss Marilyn Monroe, where are you taking me...?"

Feeling the deathly silence all around, Elaine felt a little nervous; her hunter's instincts told her that this forest was dangerous.

"An ancient altar."

Livre spoke briefly, lighting a lantern to illuminate the overgrown, tangled natural path ahead, marked with a jumble of footprints.

Elaine was taken aback by these words, then a look of fear appeared on her face:

"An altar? What, what are you going to do to me..."

Livre controlled her expression, trying her best to make her smile look like a kind person:

"Don't be afraid, I promise I won't endanger your life, at most... you'll just be a little tired."

"A little tired?"

Elaine asked in surprise.

"Yes, I'm a little tired."

Panting heavily, with legs feeling weak.

Livre nodded, silently adding to herself.

Although Elaine looked somewhat doubtful, she hesitated for a few seconds before following behind Livre.

She chose to trust Livre, after all, the other was much stronger than her, and if she really wanted to do something detrimental to her, she would be powerless to stop her.

Since we can't stop it, we might as well just enjoy it quietly.

The two continued walking, entering the depths of the Black Forest. Livre couldn't help but recall the scene from her previous visit with Edwina.

It was nighttime, and many extraordinary species hid away, leaving the entire Black Forest deathly silent.

But this time it was midday, and the Black Forest was as quiet as night, with no signs of any biological activity.

This doesn't match Edwina's description...

Livre was a little uneasy, and carefully followed the path she had taken last time.

The surrounding thick, tall trees still stand tall, their branches and leaves dense, their bark distinctly scaly, pieced together in dense clusters, as if they might wriggle their surfaces at any moment, stretching out tentacles to devour the creatures around them.

Elaine was terrified by the terrifying trees and unconsciously clung tightly to Livre, wishing she could stick close to her.

Livre gently patted her body, comforting her: