A wrinkled, unbelievably old face, with skin like dried wood, suddenly appeared before him.
Lu Li admitted he was indeed startled.
Slightly panicked, he took two steps back, his first reaction being to grab someone's leg for support.
When something like this pops up, shouldn't it require at least a Champion-level trainer to handle it?
But something even more terrifying happened.
Looking around, Lu Li realized that Qu Suxin was nowhere to be found.
Not only Qu Suxin, but even Gardevoir had disappeared.
"Shit!"
"It's a disaster!!"
The first thought that popped into Lu Li's mind was that he was in trouble.
Where had Gardevoir brought him?
This was a very strange world. Although the sun was bright, Lu Li didn't feel a single breeze.
All he could sense was the fragrance of soil and grass, and a blue sky that looked fake at first glance.
"Chosen One, I've finally waited for you."
The old man shouted excitedly in his hoarse voice.
Looking at the excited old man, Lu Li was genuinely afraid the old guy wouldn't be able to catch his breath and would just kick the bucket right then and there.
He was too old.
The old man before him was really too old. It wasn't that Lu Li hadn't seen centenarians, but he could say with certainty that even they weren't as old as the person before him.
Lu Li forced himself to remain calm and asked, "Um... Old sir, do you know where this is?"
After his excitement subsided, the old man explained enthusiastically, "This is the Divine Realm."
Lu Li didn't reply, but instead carefully sensed the changes in this world.
First and foremost, the energy was abundant.
The elemental energy here was too rich, especially Fairy-type energy.
If the Fairy-type energy in that super-large secret realm was 100, then here it could even be as high as 10,000!
There's a term called oxygen intoxication. If a Fairy-type Pokémon came here, Lu Li suspected they might get drunk on Fairy-type energy.
Not only Fairy-type energy, but the life energy in this place was also terrifyingly high, even to an outrageous extent.
Perhaps because the life energy was too abundant, the plants and trees here were exceptionally tall, and even the flowers were incredibly vibrant.
"Hmm?"
Lu Li suddenly stared intently at the weeds at the old man's feet.
When did Revival Herbs become as worthless as weeds?
Although the Revival Herbs at the old man's feet weren't in a single patch, there were still dozens of them at a glance.
The most ridiculous thing was that there was more than just that one pile of Revival Herbs.
What kind of dream world was this?
Wait.
Lu Li shifted his gaze to the forest behind the old man.
"Shit!"
Lu Li roared inwardly again.
They were Berry Trees, and a whole forest of rare Berry Trees at that.
Stunned beyond belief, even numb, Lu Li turned his gaze back to the old man.
"Old sir, what did you say this place was?" Lu Li asked humbly.
Lu Li had already made a decision in his heart. If the old guy in front of him had any malicious intent, he would just pounce on the old guy's feet, grab a handful of grass, and then use a Teleportation Charm to leave this great natural treasure trove.
Revival Herbs!
Revival Herbs, whose price outside was even more precious than Pokémon treasures!
The old man emphasized again, "This is the Divine Realm, the Divine Realm of the great Life God, Fairy King Xerneas."
Fairy King Xerneas...
Lu Li, keenly grasping the key information, quickly probed, "So this is another world?"
The old man explained with a kind smile, "You can think of it that way. To be precise, this should be a special secret realm, a secret realm within a secret realm."
Whether it was just his imagination or not, Lu Li noticed that the old man was exuding a kind of goodwill towards him, even respect.
"Are the people in this place so polite?" Lu Li was a little surprised.
Recalling that the old man had called him the Chosen One at the beginning, Lu Li instantly had a guess in his mind.
Could it be that I'm the dark horse?
No, this isn't Black Myth: Wukong.
Chosen One...
This title is too much.
"What do you mean by Chosen One?" Lu Li quickly asked.
"Heh heh."
The old man first smiled meaningfully, then turned around and said to himself, "Follow me and you'll find out."
After saying this to himself, the old man walked directly towards the depths of the forest.
Seeing this, Lu Li quickly followed. As he passed those few Revival Herbs, he conveniently used his psychic powers to dig up several of them and put them into his space ring.
It's not that I haven't seen the world, it's just that Revival Herbs are too tempting.
Perhaps because of his old age, the old man leading the way didn't notice Lu Li's little actions behind him.
After entering the forest, Lu Li had a new understanding of this magical world.
The entire orchard was very clean. Lu Li didn't even see any Bug-type Pokémon. Normally, there should be many Caterpie or Weedle in a forest like this.
But along the way, Lu Li only occasionally saw a few Cutiefly and Ribombee.
Cutiefly were fine, their strength was relatively weak, but Ribombee were ridiculous.
The weakest Ribombee he saw here had Gym Leader-level strength, and Lu Li even found a Champion-level Ribombee.
"Ridiculous."
Lu Li complained inwardly.
The old man walked very slowly. The two of them walked for two full hours before arriving at the center of the forest.
When he arrived at the center of the forest, Lu Li was once again shocked by this magical world.
This was simply a paradise for Fairy-type Pokémon, especially the center of this forest.
The center of the vast forest was actually empty, but many Fairy-type Pokémon lived here.
Just then, a huge, but not Gigantamaxed, Hatterene blocked Lu Li's path.
Lu Li swallowed and took a step back, cold sweat dripping from his forehead. Then, he asked as politely as possible, "Lady Hatterene, is there something you need from me?"
"Chosen One, hello. I sense the aura of my kin on you," Hatterene said softly.
Hatterene is a humanoid Pokémon in appearance, with a pink and white body. She looks like a noblewoman wearing a hat and a dress, with claw-like shapes extending from her hat.
The reason Lu Li called Hatterene "Lady" was because this type of Pokémon was known as the Forest Witch, and also because Hatterene only exists as females.
The corresponding Pokémon is Grimmsnarl, which is similar to Miltank and Tauros. They are both internally combined.
The reason Lu Li was so nervous was simple: the Hatterene in front of him was too terrifying.
Lu Li could even vaguely sense that the other party possessed strength beyond the realm of gods.
The official explanation from the League is that the Hatterene in front of him is still above Master-level, which is the strength of a Secondary God.
Without hesitation, Lu Li quickly took out the incubator from his space ring.
Space rings cannot hold Pokémon eggs, but if the Pokémon egg is placed inside an incubator, it can be put into a space ring.
However, this kind of incubator, which is used only to preserve Pokémon eggs and doesn't talk, generally takes up more space.
For example, the incubator that Lu Li took out was two meters high and half a meter in diameter.
Hatterene looked at the Pokémon egg in the incubator and exclaimed sincerely, "I never thought that your human technology would advance so quickly, able to perfectly store Pokémon eggs without letting them hatch. Chosen One, can you tell me what you want to do?"
When Hatterene said this, her tone already carried a hint of anger.
Lu Li didn't make any excuses and simply admitted, "Because I already have six partners. I want it to become my partner as well, but I don't have enough resources right now, so I can only let this little guy come into the world later."
Hatterene nodded.
She accepted the reason Lu Li gave.
Perhaps because of their kinship, Hatterene said, "Take this little one out. I'll give it some benefits."
Hearing this, Lu Li's eyes lit up, and he quickly took out the Pokémon egg from the incubator.
You have to know that the Hatterene in front of him could almost be called a miracle.
Ascending to the position of a Secondary God with a normal Pokémon body is definitely a miracle.
Lu Li respectfully handed the Pokémon egg to Hatterene.
Hatterene said, "Put this little one here with me first. After you complete your mission and return, I'll give it back to you."
Lu Li nodded without even asking more questions.
If Hatterene really coveted his Pokémon egg, then directly taking it by force would obviously be more efficient than deceiving him.
The old man in front nodded when he heard this, and then led Lu Li to continue forward.
After passing through an energy barrier emitting seven-colored light, Lu Li was once again shocked by the scene before him.
It was a towering giant tree.
Looking from afar, this towering giant tree was in the shape of an X. In this world, it seemed to be a pillar connecting heaven and earth.
Seeing this scene, Lu Li thought of an idiom: standing upright between heaven and earth!
Just like in mythology, Pangu supported heaven and earth with his body after creating the world.
The towering tree before him was the same; its overall color was pure white, like flawless white marble.
And on its trunk, beneath the canopy, was an X symbol.
Seeing this, Lu Li was almost certain what the towering tree before him was.
Besides Xerneas, Lu Li couldn't think of anything else that would match.
… … … …
Qu Suxin got lost in this legendary domain.
After walking for nearly two hours, Qu Suxin was still in the cave.
"Gardevoir, are you sure your psychic powers are useless here?" Qu Suxin asked, puzzled.
Gardevoir nodded: "We are in a special legendary aura. Any non-Fairy-type energy seems to be unusable, including the mental power associated with psychic abilities."
Qu Suxin shouted in frustration: "When will we find the end?"
"Possibly never," Gardevoir replied very seriously.
Hearing this, Qu Suxin stopped and looked at Gardevoir curiously.
Gardevoir calmly analyzed: "This is more like a special space corridor. Theoretically, we are in an infinitely looping corridor. If we just walk, it's impossible to reach the end."
"Then destruction?"
Qu Suxin asked.
Gardevoir rolled her eyes at her trainer and retorted: "We are in the domain of a legendary Pokémon. This might be Xerneas's home. Are you sure you want to tear down someone's house?"
Qu Suxin: "… …"
Although Xerneas is neutral and kind, it's not without a temper.
She wasn't thick-headed enough to do something so stupid.
"Then what do we do? The opportunity is right in front of us," Qu Suxin said, looking at the black hole-like cave ahead with a face full of unwillingness.
"Let's go back. It's so close, but we can't see it. That can only prove one thing," Gardevoir sighed.
Hearing this, Qu Suxin nodded with a bitter face.
It was so close, but they could never see it.
There was only one explanation: it didn't want to see them, or they weren't qualified.
But whether it was the former or the latter, it meant they had no connection with Xerneas.
"We don't have the right to choose, only the fate to be chosen. Let's go back," Gardevoir gave up.
Qu Suxin didn't insist either. After looking at the passage ahead with a face full of unwillingness, she chose to turn around resolutely.
Seeing her trainer's low mood, Gardevoir thoughtfully comforted her: "Don't be too disappointed. Maybe we still have hope?"
Hearing this, Qu Suxin's eyes lit up.
She knew what Gardevoir meant by hope.
Qu Suxin said with certainty: "I also believe he can create miracles."
Gardevoir also smiled, once again choosing to believe in that boy.
… … … …
Seeing Lu Li shocked by the Sacred Tree, the old man explained from the side: "This is Xerneas's avatar. Like the great God of Death, the God of Life also has the habit of slumbering."
"This isn't a hobby, but to better balance the world. This world can hardly bear them, so they can only choose to sleep."
Lu Li nodded.
Whether it was Xerneas or Yveltal, they themselves were the embodiment of the laws of this world. This world was too weak to bear a conscious Yveltal and Xerneas.
So these two Pokémon had the habit of slumbering. In fact, most mythical beasts have this habit.
It wasn't their flaw, but the flaw of this world.
"Then why did you bring me here?" Lu Li asked curiously.
"Follow me."
The old man still wanted to be a riddle-solver and continued to lead the way.
As he got closer and closer to the towering tree, Lu Li also found that this place was getting more and more bizarre.
Because there were some things here that shouldn't be here?
The surroundings of the God of Life were filled with coffins?
What kind of distorted development was this? Are you sure you worship the God of Life? Instead of Yveltal? How is this any different from a face-to-face NTR?
Lu Li looked at the old man leading the way in a daze.
The most outrageous thing was that there were people of all ages lying in those transparent coffins.
This scene, the more he looked at it, the more it looked like a cult altar.
