Safely escorted to the dwelling place of the elves, Ye Wen paid no mind to the arrows constantly trained on him, for he knew they posed no threat.

Though the situation was mildly irritating, it was inconsequential; he needed these elves to lead him to the supposed Moon Goddess.

"Human! I do not comprehend your insistence on meeting Her Highness the Moon Goddess, but I strongly wish you to refrain from any disrespectful actions!"

The apparent leader, a female elf, bore both a bow and a short blade, yet all her weapons remained securely fastened to her person. Perhaps she trusted in the watchful eyes of her kin, or perhaps she possessed an unshakeable confidence in her own strength?

"I merely seek an audience with the Moon Goddess to ask a favor!" In truth, Ye Wen only wished to confirm whether this so-called Moon Goddess was the one he sought. If not, he would have to continue his search, though that would mean the only lead he currently possessed would vanish. He could only hope his quest ended here.

As for Artemis's true body, Athena had assured him that finding the Moon Goddess's reincarnation would lead him there.

"Let us hope so."

The female elf glanced at Yekaterina, whom Ye Wen carried on his back, and it was precisely because she perceived Yekaterina’s severe injury and paralysis that she hadn't immediately ordered an attack. Furthermore, the elf Ye Wen had kicked away was merely stunned, not killed, which was another contributing factor.

With her keen sight, she could discern that Ye Wen had held back. Otherwise, that comrade would not merely be unconscious; knocking out a Moon Elf Hunter with a single kick was no ordinary feat.

Based on this assessment, she maintained a cautious stance toward Ye Wen, and the surrounding elves remained vigilant, their arrows all aimed squarely at him, sparing Yekaterina on his back.

"What is your designation?" "Anita!" The leading female elf offered her name. "And yours, Human?" "Ye Wen." "Ye Wen?" Anita repeated the name twice before voicing her impression: "A strange name!"

Ye Wen merely shrugged, unconcerned.

The conversation stalled there. Anita had no interest in further discourse with a human, and Ye Wen had no desire to exchange pleasantries with a group exhibiting such intense "racial prejudice."

Thus, when Ye Wen was escorted into the Moonlight Elves' village, his exchange with Anita was limited to the brief passage above.

The moment he stepped into the village, Ye Wen felt a resonance in his heart. He looked up, fixing his gaze on a distant point—a location seemingly on the far side of the settlement, deeper within the forest judging by the terrain. Though the distance was significant, Ye Wen could clearly sense...

"Human, you can feel it?" Anita had been watching him constantly, so when Ye Wen reacted, she noticed immediately. "It seems you are indeed no ordinary human." Despite knowing his name, Anita found calling him "Human" far more convenient than reciting that cumbersome name.

"The divine power of the Moon Goddess envelops our entire Moonlight Elven village. It is under Her Highness’s divine mantle that we can live peacefully in this forest... This is the honor and... good fortune of every Moonlight Elf!" Ye Wen tilted his head. "And how long has your Moonlight Elven clan enjoyed this honor?" Anita paused, then looked at Ye Wen with guarded suspicion, seemingly perplexed as to why he would ask such a question. Instinct told her this was not a topic for lighthearted discussion.

Ye Wen held no specific intention; it was merely an offhand query. He recalled that the Moon Goddess's reincarnation should not have been in this world for very long, implying the history of this Moonlight Elven clan should be rather brief...

Noticing Anita's fluctuating expression, Ye Wen turned away, moving directly toward the sensed location with Yekaterina still on his back. He could feel Artemis's divine power. Compared to the fraction of the Huntress Goddess's power contained within Yekaterina’s body, this Moon Goddess's power was almost entirely restrained. This lunar divine energy was clearly Artemis's, albeit significantly weaker than that of Artemis herself, yet it lacked any attempt at concealment.

"Good, I haven't come the wrong way." By this reckoning, Athena had placed him close enough to Artemis; she hadn't misled him.

Seeing Ye Wen stride forward directly, Anita’s expression immediately shifted. Assuming he was about to commit some transgression, she drew the longsword hanging at her waist. The scabbard actually held two longswords, neither blade notably wide, but rather exceedingly slender.

"Halt, human, do not act rashly!"

Unfortunately, Ye Wen paid her no mind. If not for the severe suppression he felt on his strength, rendering even his Qinggong difficult to employ, he would have vanished in a few swift bounds. For now, he could only march forward steadily, deliberately restraining his pace to account for Yekaterina’s injuries.

As a result, Ye Wen’s advance drew the elves' attack. A torrent of arrows descended upon him like a crushing wave, yet such an assault was utterly meaningless to Ye Wen; he possessed at least ten ways to counter such a situation.

The thought formed, and the Purple Star River Force erupted from him at will. Without even waving a hand, relying solely on this qi, he summoned a Star River vortex that swept up the air around him. This purple torrent, dotted with faint gleams of light, immediately enveloped the incoming arrows, veering them entirely off course, directing them elsewhere through the swirling airflow.

Had Ye Wen not wished to avoid needless slaughter, this single maneuver could have eliminated half the archers. This move, however, struck Anita with profound shock. "Magic cast without incantations? Is that some artifact?" Though Ye Wen hurried forward anxiously, he clearly heard Anita's question. He inwardly scoffed, "Ignorant, what magic? This is my kicking-you-to-death technique!" The multitude of elves hesitated, unnerved by the purple aura swirling around Ye Wen. Only Anita, gripping her two slender swords, charged forward. The elves' slender frames might prevent them from possessing brute strength, but they granted them unparalleled speed and agility. Anita lunged, executing several quick leaps to evade the arrows deflected by Ye Wen's energy, managing to reach him first. She then spun, thrusting a sword directly at Ye Wen’s throat.

For a strike aimed at his vital point, Ye Wen was no longer willing to be so casual. While the force of the blow was vastly inferior to his own, Ye Wen preferred not to test the resilience of his body, tempered by repeated refinement, in this utterly unfamiliar world.

As Anita closed the distance and lunged, Ye Wen countered. His left hand shot out, reaching forward in a grasping motion, then sharply pulling back. Anita’s slender longsword seemed to seize onto something invisible; it violently leaped from her grip and, with a flick of Ye Wen’s left wrist, shot far away with a swish, embedding itself into a distant large tree with a thud.

Anita hadn't the faintest idea what had happened; she only felt an immense, insurmountable force snatch her weapon away. Had she lacked rich combat experience, this moment might have stunned her into immobility, leaving her open to attack.

However, even without freezing, her off-hand sword immediately launched a defensive strike, though it ultimately failed to avert her defeat.

As she moved, she realized Ye Wen had already closed in. His right hand formed a tight fist, delivering a perfectly standard uppercut directly into her abdomen.

In that instant, Anita suspected her lower abdomen had been pulverized into fragments. The agonizing pain made her wish for immediate death. Yet, her steadfast resolve and single-minded devotion to protecting the Moon Goddess allowed her to suppress the urge to faint. She stabilized her posture mid-air and landed somewhat awkwardly on both feet.

"Huh?" Ye Wen was genuinely surprised. Despite deliberately holding back his strength, he hadn't expected this elf to remain conscious, managing to correct her posture in mid-air and land upright.

Frowning thoughtfully, Ye Wen finally laughed. "I see now. The suppression of power in this world is this severe. Looks like Apollo is in for trouble!" He had completely dismissed Anita now. Although she hadn't fainted, she was completely neutralized, reduced to kneeling on the ground, clutching her stomach, staring at him—this exertion likely consumed nearly all her remaining strength; she could do nothing else.

Just as Ye Wen prepared to step past Anita and proceed, he suddenly stopped, turning his gaze toward a group of elves emerging from the village behind her.

Simultaneously, the elves blocking his path parted, clearing a way. A tall female elf emerged, possessing long, golden hair that shimmered with a pale moonlight glow. "Please stop... Divine being, whence you came!" Her words caused a stir among the elves. Their gaze shifted from initial anger, disgust, discontent, and murderous intent toward Ye Wen, transforming into astonishment, disbelief, and awe! Fear mixed in with those looks.

"A god?" "This man... is a god?" "What god? Why has he come to the Moonwood?" Anita, who had been kneeling, tried to speak but froze upon hearing the question, staring at Ye Wen with utter confusion.

Ye Wen paid no attention to their gazes. His focus was entirely on this female elf who appeared to be of the same race but radiated waves of lunar divine power.

"You... are the Moon Goddess?" "If you refer to the title they use for me, then yes." The female elf, or rather, the Moon Goddess, did not seem to view her title as something to boast about; her tone was flat, as if discussing a stranger. "Are you looking for me?" "Yes!" Having found the right person, Ye Wen finally felt a measure of relief. One-third of his mission was accomplished. "I came to this world specifically to find you."

"This... world?" The Moon Goddess tilted her head, her pointed ears twitching slightly. She seemed genuinely confused by Ye Wen's words, displaying an innocence akin to that of a small child.

Seeing her apparent lack of understanding, Ye Wen casually flipped his hand, which had been empty moments before. A ball of pale moonlight, resembling the moon itself, materialized, its power instantly causing the expressions of all the elves to change: this sphere radiated a sacred aura identical to that of the Moon Goddess, yet, impossibly, its divine power felt greater and more awe-inspiring than what the Moon Goddess currently possessed!

"You are not a complete entity. I have come here to help you restore your original form!" Ye Wen’s features were almost entirely obscured by the luminous sphere radiating immense divine power and majesty. Even his voice sounded distant and ethereal, as if traveling from afar. This effect vanished only after Ye Wen recalled the orb.

The multitude of elves, struggling for breath under the pressure, could only stare mutely at the two conversing figures... or perhaps two gods. They realized this was entirely beyond their power to intervene in.

Only one elf remained skeptical of Ye Wen: Anita, still unable to stand from Ye Wen's blow. She had recovered slightly and managed to rise, stepping forward to shield the Moon Goddess. "Be careful, Your Highness, this may be a trap!"

She refused to believe Ye Wen’s words, nor could she accept that he was a deity. How else could one explain the heavily injured girl he carried?

Unfortunately, her revered Goddess seemed unconcerned. The Moon Goddess stepped forward a few paces and looked at Ye Wen with firm conviction. "I believe you!"

"Ah?"

Anita was stunned. Even Ye Wen was surprised at how smoothly things were proceeding.

The Moon Goddess then offered her reasoning: "I never knew who I was, and I always felt something missing from my being. It wasn't until a few years ago that I found this place... vaguely sensing this was my destined home, but never knowing what I ought to do... until your arrival!"

"When you displayed that sphere just now, I felt it—that sphere and I should be one entity... even the girl behind you, too," Ye Wen hadn't anticipated this turn. This reincarnation of the Moon Goddess was remarkably decisive! Or perhaps her entire purpose was to await the arrival of the other fragments before reintegrating into the whole? If so, Athena's planning was truly meticulous.

He also noted the Moon Goddess's comment: a few years ago I found this place, thinking it my home. This suggested Artemis's true body was located nearby, drawing the Moon Goddess here.

This confirmed his earlier intuition. The moment he entered, he had sensed Artemis's aura, initially mistaking it for the Moon Goddess's emission. Upon meeting the Moon Goddess, he realized that wasn't the case.

Following the Moon Goddess, Ye Wen soon located the source of Artemis's aura: a small lake. Set against the backdrop of the pitch-black night, this modest lake shone like the moon in the sky, continuously emitting a soft, sacred radiance.

"I suspect the entity you call my true body lies within this water..." The Moon Goddess raised both hands, releasing waves of tranquil divine power. The previously calm lake surface rippled, and a shadow gradually rose from the water, finally breaking the surface and appearing before Ye Wen’s eyes: it was the sleeping form of Artemis.

Upon her emergence, Artemis floated toward Ye Wen as if summoned. The light sphere Ye Wen held in his ring automatically flew out and plunged directly into the center of the Moon Goddess's brow.

Before Ye Wen could speak, the Moon Goddess suddenly exclaimed with dawning realization, "So... that is how it is. I was never meant to exist!" With those words, she dissolved into a pillar of light, much like the orb Ye Wen had held, yet larger and infinitely more potent.

"Wretched creature! What have you done to Her Highness the Goddess?" Anita, who had been ordered to stay back, suddenly lunged forward. Her suspicion of Ye Wen had clearly not subsided. Seeing her revered Goddess transform into a ball of light, she erupted in anger: "You despicable wretch, I will kill you!" But she lamented to find she couldn't even approach. The terrifying might emanating from the light sphere forced her to her knees. When she screamed her threat, the sphere seemed to flare in anger; an unbearable pressure crushed Anita down, preventing her from rising.

"Dammit!" Ye Wen had no time to address the elf. He noticed the now vastly strengthened light sphere was flying toward him, its clear target being Yekaterina on his back.

Ye Wen could anticipate what was coming. He immediately set Yekaterina down, extending his hand to intercept the light sphere, preventing its further advance.

"Lina..."

Seeing Ye Wen standing before her, Yekaterina understood what was about to occur. "I know what is happening!" She spread her arms in an embrace, her eyes, glistening with unshed tears, fixed on Ye Wen. "I won't disappear, will I?" "No!" Ye Wen bent down, using his free hand to hold her close. "You will not disappear!"

A flash of brilliant light erupted. The girl in his embrace slowly turned into motes of light, finally merging into the sphere, which then darted into the body of the sleeping Artemis.

The instant the light sphere entered Artemis’s form, a surge of powerful divine energy exploded outward. Her tightly shut eyes opened. Artemis slowly rose, her gaze slightly unfocused as she surveyed her surroundings before resting on Ye Wen. Then... she spread her arms in an embrace.