Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 876 - 869: Xiapei Kam

Chapter 876: Chapter 869: Xiapei Kam

"If that’s really the case, then we do indeed need to find a way to sever the connection between Luo’er and Tana. Although I’m not certain if this approach will work, we really only have Eve’s elder to pin our hopes on at this point," Cheng Ziang said, glancing toward Eve.

"She should have a method," Eve uttered and then abruptly closed her mouth, as if she still had something left unsaid.

After the night’s incident, Luo’er was put under special protection, everyone being fearful that he might once again attempt to take his own life owing to Tana’s influence. They also wondered why Tana would want Luo’er’s life.

If Tana was a deity worshipped by the Elf Race, she should be protecting Luo’er. Even if she didn’t wish to protect him, Luo’er was essentially a Half-elf, and according to the Wood Elves, he was a denied existence.

Cheng Ziang felt that no mission ever went smoothly, and there were always all sorts of troubles on the road. If the elder Eve mentioned couldn’t resolve Luo’er’s issue, then they would have no choice but to seek help in Ilanadale.

After all, Luo’er’s mother, Princess Nina, had already returned to Ilanadale, and Cheng Ziang believed she wouldn’t turn a blind eye and allow her own son to be harmed.

Was it coincidence or not, on the third day after Luo’er’s dangerous encounter, a violent blizzard blew up in the North Lead Corridor. On the fourth day, the blizzard finally ceased, and the weather began to clear up.

Now the North Lead Corridor, even still under the impact of the northwest wind brushing against one’s face, had seen its intensity generally decrease to around a level four, and the snowfall had also stopped.

This seemed to be a good omen, so Luo’er called everyone to leave the city walls and set out, seizing the chance to enter the Snow Domain, hoping to get through the unfortunate corridor before the next blizzard arrived.

Due to the obstructions of the Northern Domain Mountain Range and the Winter Mountains, the winds in the corridor wedged between them were always at their strongest. Once they could get through the corridor and into the territory of the Snow Domain, the situation for everyone would be much better, regardless of whether the ice and snow melted or not.

Thus, the Advance Team set off once again, following the frozen river surface to continue their northwestward journey. After about a week of arduous travel like this, they finally made it through the corridor to the territory of the Snow Domain.

Then, following Eve’s guidance, they began heading toward the residence of the elder of the Snow Elves, hoping to quickly resolve Luo’er’s predicament.

Now that Luo’er had established a connection with Tana, she was very likely to target him again. For Luo’er, Tana was like the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head, at any moment liable to fall and take his life.

Inside the carriage, Cheng Ziang and Baiyue were still pondering the matter of the Elf Race’s beliefs, which shattered the worldview that everyone had struggled so hard to establish.

Previously, everyone had assumed that the chief deity worship of Otherworld was feudal superstition, not worthy of discussion, but after experiencing various events, they began to question the existence of a god in Otherworld.

If one were to define the concept of god in a broad sense, then they had, in fact, already seen a god, which was the spiritual entity, Fulajie’er.

However, from a narrow perspective, they still firmly believed that there was no such thing as a god in Otherworld. Essentially, Otherworld was still a material world, and apart from magical power, matter would not transform with consciousness.

And it was based on this conviction that they preferred to explain the happenings of Otherworld with the laws of Earth, rather than believe in the so-called existence of gods.

Tana’s appearance, although somewhat unexpected, was within reason, because essentially these matters could still be explained by combining the laws of Otherworld with those of Earth, albeit with some stretching. Regardless, this is preferable compared to the abstract theories about gods and spirits.

Based on the experience of the Advance Team, many things in Otherworld simply could not be explained at the moment. For example, they could not explain the soul’s existence as it pertained to Fulajie’er’s spiritual state.

Compared to Fulajie’er, Tana’s concept was even more abstract, and she seemed more formidable. Though they were still faced with the inexplicable issue of the soul concept, it could be considered to objectively exist.

"Speaking of which, we’ve discussed Tana for quite a while, and if I remember correctly, the Elf Race seems to have two opposing deities, right?" Tangmo, who was sitting next to Luo’er with his arm around him, thought for a long time and couldn’t help but suddenly ask.

"Eh!" Unexpectedly, Eve seemed to have a very intense reaction to this question, trembling all over and staring at Tangmo with wide eyes as soon as she heard it.

"What’s the matter?" Tangmo asked curiously.

"Nothing, nothing at all." Eve shook her head guiltily, then lowered it.

"Well, it seems that the god worshiped by the Night Elves on Xia Yue Island and the gods worshiped by the Wood Elves and Snow Elves are completely different," Baiyue nodded in response.

Xia Yue Island is located to the southwest of the continent, with an area two-thirds that of Odelanqi’s territory and even larger than the mainland of the Ancient States to the east.

It is said that Xia Yue Island is the birthplace of the Elf Race, and all Elves on the continent originated from there. Today, Xia Yue Island has become the territory of the Night Elves, and with the division of faiths, relations between the Night Elves and Wood Elves are quite tense, often erupting in small-scale conflicts.

As previously mentioned, compared to other Elf tribes, the Night Elves are more willing to accept outsiders. Therefore, compared to Wood Elves and Snow Elves, Night Elves and their mixed-blood have generally higher status among other groups.

The reason it has become like this today is said to be because the deity worshiped by the Night Elves and the deities worshiped by the Wood Elves and Snow Elves espouse completely different philosophies.

The god worshiped by the Night Elves is called Xiapei Kam, a name that is lengthy and hard to pronounce and does not conform to the Elves’ naming standards.

Previously mentioned, Elf names mostly consist of two syllables, occasionally three, but four or more are very rare.

This naming standard almost permeates the entire Elf Race, whether it be Wood Elves, Snow Elves, or the opposing Night Elves, nearly all adopting this style of short-syllable naming.

To give a few simple examples, Luo’er’s mother is named Nina, which has two syllables. The Snow Elf hybrid Eve also has two syllables. And Luo’er’s grandmother, the Queen of Ilanadale, is named Lillith, with three syllables.

Even Luo’er, whose name inherits the naming tradition of Earth, has two syllables. Both he and his sister Luoya have two syllables, and both of these names were personally given by their mother, Nina.

Based on the standards mentioned above, the Wood Elves publicly claim that Tana is the legitimate god of the Elf Race. As for Xiapei Kam, with such a tongue-twister of a name and its length, it has become a primary reason for the Wood Elves to criticize the faith of the Night Elves.

According to limited information, the guidance Xiapei Kam provides to the Night Elves is entirely different from that of Tana—inclusive and open-minded, actively encouraging Night Elves to interact with other races and blessing these inter-racial families, in stark contrast to Tana’s closed and conservative approach.

It is for this reason that Night Elves have become the most successful Elf tribe on the continent, bar none. Although they still face discrimination, their status is significantly higher compared to the other two groups.

Even among the upper-class nobility, there is a substantial number of Night Elf hybrids. Why is that?

As mentioned before, magical aptitude is not inherited through bloodlines, meaning that the offspring of two magical prodigies can’t be guaranteed to inherit their parents’ exceptional gifts and might even be unremarkable.

However, what’s strange is that this issue with magical aptitude can actually be improved through crossbreeding. Of all the races, Elves are considered to possess the highest average magical aptitude. Offspring from marriages with Elves usually reach the average level of Elf magical aptitude.

Don’t underestimate being at the average level for Elves—that’s already a very high standard for other races. It is for this reason that Human Race nobility has always maintained the tradition of seeking Elf partners to preserve the magical aptitude of their descendants.