203-211

Chapter 203 - A Way To The Top

The humanoid ant gave the group one last glanced before it left with the receding army of ants. The group fell on their bottoms after the humanoid ant disappeared from their field of vision.

"That was too scary. This pressure was so much more overbearing and menacing than her Majesty. I feel like I was staring into death itself."

"Right? I felt the same way. With such a powerful presence down here, it's no wonder that the spider queen and her underlings only stay on the first floor instead of making this place their nest."

"Did anyone notice the two figures behind that humanoid ant? It wasn't as menacing, but I felt like it was still more powerful than her Majesty."

"Oi, oi, even if you are joking, that isn't something you say. How can you talk down on our own ruler? Are you forgetting his highness is still with us?"

"Ah, right, right. I'm very sorry, your Highness. I hope you are not offended." The palace guard apologized.

Leon waved it off as he paid no heed to the drivels of the palace guards. It was expected for everyone to be on edge after encountering such a horrifying existence. Not only was its aura extremely powerful, but its killing intent was even more so.

God knows how much lives must have been taken to emit such a strong killing intent. The underground was much more complicated than he had anticipated.

"Does no one have anything to say about that 'humanoid' ant's appearance? How is that still an ant? It was standing on two legs for god's sake!" A palace guard calmed his nerves, before voicing his doubts.

"That's also true. I only saw four limbs. Everyone had at least studied [The Encyclopedia of Insects], right? Even among variations of ants, they have always had 6 legs."

"Oh please, why bother bringing up [The Encyclopedia of Insects]? It is only meant to be used for reference. Have you forgotten what the spider queen that terrorized our Capital look like? Was something like that also recorded in the book?" Another palace guard rolled his eyes.

The previous palace guard felt awkward and scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Enough!" Zorbek silenced the group after noticing the prince's long frown. "Is there a problem, your Highness?"

"Problem? Big problem. We are in deep shit! That thing already marked us. Forget about returning to the surface, I'm afraid it'll be difficult to keep our lives once we leave the protection of the elder tree." Leon said grimly.

"T-That is a pretty serious problem… What should we do now?" Zorbek stammered and asked. As the most educated person in the group, perhaps the prince will have a good idea of how to get them out of this predicament.

However, his hopes were dashed when Leon shook his head and said, "For now, stay within the vicinity and explore the elder tree first. See if we can find anything useful. Also, stay away from that power source. Remember, I can't save you if you anger the elder tree. It treats that power source as its lifeline."

"I see… I guess we can only do that… It's a pity that we didn't bring our stuff with us, otherwise, we could set up our camp here." Zorbek said disappointedly, before glancing at the tree spirit hovering behind Leon. "By the way, your Highness, what is… that thing? I might have heard wrong, but you were communicating to it in the ancient language, weren't you?"

"En, this is the tree spirit of the elder tree. Alright, go search the vicinity now. Make sure to search in groups of at least four." Leon commanded.

"Ah… yes, right away, your Highness."

Zorbek obliged incredulously with his doubts unanswered. Why do they have to search in groups of four or more?

With the last of the ants gone, the elder tree was able to focus on his own self-recovery. Although it was nothing compared to ingesting dozens of tier-1 healing pills, it was still quicker than a human's natural self-recovery rate.

Leon did not require to explain himself and return his attention to the tree spirit, whilst lost in thought.

He came all this way in search of the power source because spirit energy was needed to replicate a working levitation stone, but also, he could use that energy to replenish his divine treasure. But now he found out that energy wasn't quite what he was looking for, and it was also being monopolized by the elder tree.

If he wanted the elder tree to give up on the power source than they would have to replace it would something else. Water and sunlight, it can only be one of these two. Water… the amount of ice he could conjure was limited and would be far from enough to satisfy the elder tree. After all, it relied on the power source for survival since he couldn't get any water or sunlight in this godforsaken place.

"Looks like we can only work towards the sunlight… towards the sunlight…" Leon mumbled before his eyes lit up.

It was too dangerous to go back the way they came, but what about upwards? Not only would they be able to stay within the tree's protection range, but they also have 22 people who could manipulate the earth and open a hole to the surface.

If they make that hole large enough, they could bring down a lot of sunlight for the elder tree to bathe in. The only prerequisite was they had to be able to climb to the top of the elder tree.

He could simply fly up there, but what about the others?

Logically, if earth-users can lift the earth with their wills, then there shouldn't be any reason why they couldn't simply propel themselves into the skies by standing on the piece of earth they manipulate like how his mother manipulate metal to induce flight.

Perhaps, its because the soil from the surface wasn't hard enough to be used a platform and could easily shatter under the earth-users own weight? Is that why none of the earth-users uses this method?

Leon felt that this seemed to be the case. It was impractical without precise control like his fire flight ability. If they weren't careful, they might shatter their own platform due to poor control.

He also could imagine that even if someone succeeded, their platforms could still be shattered and plunge to their deaths if it gets targeted by their enemies.

However, they wouldn't have to worry about that here. The ground down here was so dense in earth elements, it was even harder than normal rocks from the surface. It wouldn't break so easily unless it has been stripped of all its earth elements.

Leon decided that once the palace guards return from their exploration, they will begin flight practice at once. The ground was filled with cracks. It wouldn't take long to tear apart a chunk of earth to be used as their platform.

"What do you plan to do now?" Leon suddenly asked Lilith.

"What do you mean?" Lilith replied with a confused look.

"You followed me into the underground because you were also looking for that power source, or rather the energy from that power source, right? However, it's clear that the tree spirit won't give up the power source so easily, so we must give up on it." Leon continued with a knowing look, thinking it might have something to do with her cultivation.

Seeing that her intentions were seen through, Lilith shrugged her shoulders and confessed.

"You're right, I thought the energy from the power source would be useful for my cultivation, but it seems slightly different from what I had imagined. We seemed to have landed ourselves in a dangerous situation. I can only continue following you for a chance of survival."

As she said this, Lilith rolled her eyes. Was this fella planning to leave her here if she wasn't planning to continue following them?

Leon was surprised when he guessed correctly. He was about to continue asking when he and Lilith were forced to freeze.

The tree spirit didn't understand the human language they two were conversing, but it vaguely understood they were talking about the power source and began to point at them with the tips of its tree roots warily.

They might have been nice people, but if they were also after its power source then they were still enemies.

"Woah! Relax, we don't want your power source!" Leon explained with hands raised in surrender. Lilith mimicked him and did the same.

"Rao?" The tree spirit looked at him suspiciously.

"Really!"

Leon tried to convince it while a drop of sweat dripped from his temples. Those roots were very dangerous! He didn't want to be a bag of bones.

"Quick, give it some more of those healing pills." Lilith urged him.

The tree spirit didn't point away its root tips until Leon tossed over another healing pill for it to eat. However, it did so reluctantly.

It had the thought of threatening him for more, but it knew it was wrong to do so. What if the human decides not to give it anymore after that?

Leon and Lilith both sighed with great relief as they felt like they had just survived a great disaster. The tree spirit had a young mentality, but it was after all an existence that even Transcendents would have a hard time dealing against.

"Your Highness!"

Leon shifted his gaze as he heard the palace guard captain calling him. He looked at Zorbek with bafflement and asked, "You're back already? What's the matter?"

"We've found a vinery staircase on the other side of the elder tree that leads all the way to the top. I made the decision to report to you first before heading up to investigate."

"Oh?" Leon was intrigued by this news, before nodding, "You made the right choice. Gather everyone at the foot of the staircase. We will head up together."

"Yes, Your Highness," Zorbek answered and left.

Leon glanced up with a thoughtful look.

There wouldn't by any remnants of the ancient civilization living up there or something like that, right?

Chapter 204 - Dropped From Above

At the foot of the staircase fully composed of intricately weaved vines, Leon arrived with the Lilith, while the tree spirit tagged along curiously. While waiting for the others to gather, Leon took the time to inspect the staircase.

At first glance, it was clear that the intricately weaved staircase of vines was not naturally formed, which answered Leon's previous doubts about the tree spirit. The tree spirit had in fact interacted with people before. Although Leon had yet to confirm if these people were humans, it was clear that they were intelligent beings.

"These vines don't seem to be a part of the elder tree. It seems unnatural and mismatched. There aren't any other vines seen elsewhere around the tree." Lilith remarked.

"Considering the number of vines needed to weave out this intricate but firm staircase, it could just mean that all the vines had been collected and concentrated here, but no, you're right. It wasn't a part of the elder tree."

"Wasn't?"

Lilith picked up the past tense in his words and asked.

"En, these vines came from other plants, but now it has been integrated and become a part of the elder tree through grafting," Leon explained.

"Oh… Of course, I-I can tell that much." Lilith said defiantly, showing she already knew what he said. However, it was blown by her following question. "I-It means that someone made it, right?"

Leon looked at her speechlessly, before answering with a flat "Yeah" and shifted his focus upwards, no longer paying attention to her antics. The cluster of swaying crimson leaves made it impossible to see anything within and even makes one nauseous if they stare at it for too long.

Leon shook his head to get rid of the feeling. Lilith blindly looked up for a while and suffered the same nauseous feeling. "Ah, why do I feel so dizzy from just looking at the leaves swaying?"

"If you noticed, the staircase blends well with the stump of the elder tree and there's also supposed to be an opening entrance created for the staircase, but it seems like the staircase just simply disappears into the sea of crimson leaves. This means it's being concealed, possibly with an illusion formation."

"Eh? That's true, no wonder we didn't notice the staircase from the side we came from, despite the staircase spiraling around the tree and only found out after finding the foot of the staircase." Lilith said in realization, before she asked confusedly, "But what's an illusion formation?"

"An illusion formation is… a formation that creates an illusion…" Leon said expressionlessly. He didn't know much about formations; thus, it was the best easy-to-understand explanation he could come up with.

But simply put, Illusion formations were the usage of runic knowledge and a medium to induce a specific visual change in its surroundings.

"Forget that I asked…" Lilith was speechless and rolled her eyes. What kind of explanation was that? It was the same as not explaining anything.

Although the base of the elder tree was very wide, it didn't take long for Zorbek to round up all the palace guards and had everyone assembled before the foot of the staircase.

"Your Highness, everyone is here." Zorbek greeted.

Leon returned his greeting with a nod of acknowledgment and carefully instructed, "We will now be heading up to check out the treetop. Chances are there may be a group of intelligent beings up there. They may be hostile to us, or they may not be. However, you are not to attack them unless they attack first. Is that understood!?"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

The group answered firmly. They heard him loud and clear.

"Alright, Let's head—"

At the forefront of the group, Leon was about to finish his words to head up, when he heard a sudden plop sound beside them. The palace guards also followed his gaze to see a splattered mixture of white and green gooey substance that had not been there a moment ago.

While the group scrutinized their eyes to understand what it was, one of the palace guards felt like his helmet was struck by something as he staggered.

"Ugh, what the hell is this?" Scott said with bewilderment as he rubbed the spot he was struck and found it to be of similar substance to the one found on the ground.

"What is it, Scott?" Zorbek questioned.

"I'm not sure, Captain." The bewildered Scott brought the gooey substance closer for a whiff, before he said, "It doesn't have any distinctive smell that I know of, but it's not unpleasant."

"Pft."

Lilith tittered and shuffled a few steps back, drawing her distance from Scott, but at the same time, drew the attention of others. They looked at her suspiciously while she was trying to keep a straight face.

"You seem to know what that is?" Leon asked.

"Well… I'm not exactly certain, but it does resemble the poop of bird species… Hahaha." Lilith could no longer hold it and giggled after her explanation.

Scott's face immediately turned green when he heard this. And to think he said it wasn't unpleasant…

"Bleurgh…"

Scott began retching.

"Holy Shit! Thank god, I wasn't the unlucky one. Hahaha…" Willy laughed as he took pleasure in Scott's misfortune.

"Holy shit? It dropped from above and it's also pretty white. Holy shit seems like quite the appropriate description… Hahaha…"

"How did you even come up with that? I can't… I just can't… Hahaha…"

"Hahahaha."

The others joined him and also laughed, while Scott began to look at the prince with a pitiful expression.

"Your Highness, Can you—"

"Stop! You better keep your distance from me." Leon cut him off immediately while backing off, afraid that the palace guard might smudge him with the bird poo-like substance.

He understood what the palace guard wanted and conjured a block of ice for the palace guard to clean himself after melting the ice and poured it into the helm the palace guard took off to be used as the bucket.

There was once a popular saying back in the old days before the Cataclysm, that one should not stand under a tree. Scott finally understood why after experiencing it firsthand.

…

After the group reorganized themselves into position, they were ready to head up the staircase.

The staircase was wide enough to allow three people walking side by side comfortably, but there was no railing to protect them from the fall in the case of a misstep. Considering the height of the tree, it was enough for them to plunge to their deaths.

For safety's sake, Zorbek suggested for the group to head up in single files.

"Watch your steps." Leon reminded as they set off.

Without suspense, the group made it up to the halfway point of 750fts, before the staircase disappears into the sea of crimson leaves. At this height, even if their bodies been strengthened by their cultivation base, it was enough for them to plunge to their deaths if they were not careful.

A heavy mood surrounded the group as they made it up to this point. Everyone had an instinctive fear. Some learn to overcome it, some don't.

None of the palace guards were considered cowards, considering they made it this far in the underground. However, even then, they could still feel the pressure brought by the occasional chilly breeze that was like a sharp knife chiseling down their willpower and tingling their senses.

They were under the illusion that if a stronger breeze comes, they would be swept off their feet and plunge to their deaths. Such thought made their feet feel increasingly heavier, the further they progressed up the staircase path.

Perhaps, because of his own confidence in his flight ability, he wasn't feeling the same pressure as the group, but even so, he was able to notice something wrong from Lilith's nervous and strained expression behind him.

"Of all the people here, I was expecting you to be the least afraid of height." Leon chuckled as he watched her shake in fear from the height.

"That was when I could still fly. Do I look like I can still fly?" Lilith rolled her eyes angrily and tried to stomp his foot, but she ended up tripping due to her nervousness. "Ah!"

"Careful!"

Leon grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to safety just as she was about to fall off. Lilith felt like she just took a dip in hell and came back, and she broke into cold sweats.

"This was all your fault! I was doing fine until now!" Lilith pouted angrily.

"Sorry!" Leon apologized wryly before his face turned stern and warned everyone with assuring tone, "Everyone, calm down! I suspected that there is bewildering formation messing with our senses to amplify our instinctive fear of heights! Don't be fooled by it! If you cling to the tree and steer clear from the edges, you will be fine!"

"Y-Yes, Your Highness!"

Leon hadn't expected there to be another formation. However, considering he was already aware of the illusory formation concealing the top, he should have realized the possibility of other existing formations in place. An illusory formation tricks one's vision but not their mind. It wouldn't make them dizzy unless there was another formation. That was his mistake!

Who knew that the tree was riddled with formations and it would become so difficult to climb?

Fortunately, they had only encountered so far were only support-type formations and not an attack-type formation.

At the same time, Leon's curiosity grew as he doubted that these were all naturally formed formations. It was most likely set up by intelligent beings.

Considering the formations required a deep understanding of runic knowledge, could the intelligent beings be survivors from the ancient civilization?

However, Leon was baffled when he arrived at that thought because if they were, their poop shouldn't be greenish-white, should it?

Chapter 205 - Don't Attack!

Looking at the mental state of his men, Leon shook his head with a sense of helplessness. Although he had given his explanation, it did not help resolve the current situation. Knowing the problem and solving it were two different matters entirely.

Even if the group knew the hidden formation was causing them problems, if they cannot identify the source and defend against it, then it did not make much difference from not knowing.

"We will take a break here. Sit down, steady your minds and do your best to resist being influenced by fear." Leon told the group as he scrunched his brows together and worked his brain to think of a solution.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Everyone took their seat on the staircase of vines and leaned against the stump of the elder tree.

While he could keep going without the group, he did not know what dangers lie at the top and may not be able to face it alone. Considering their predicament, he might have to reconsider their current course of action.

It was clear that these formations exist to stop others from reaching the top, but by forcing their way forward, they are intruding upon the intelligent beings' territory and may not be welcomed kindly.

However, they didn't have any other choice but to brave the unknown. They were already marked by that powerful creature, who had command over the ants. It was impossible to go back the way they came.

Since they have no choice but to press onwards, Leon began pondering the bewildering formation. He guessed it was a bewildering formation because it was affecting the minds of the group.

Leon also faintly guessed that he wasn't affected because the level of the formation was too low to invade his mind and had nothing to do with his mental fortitude. His abundant mental energy acted as a natural barrier that guarded his mind for the bewildering effects.

If he wasn't a Divine state practitioner in his past life and didn't strengthen his soul with a Soul Enhancing Pill, he would've most likely succumbed to the same fate as the others.

Leon's brows creased together tightly as he pondered harder. The bewildering formation affected their minds, but how was it doing so?

Formations required a medium to form the runes that would invoke the desired effect. Typically, Formation Masters would carve it on formations plates as they were portable and easy to use. The only limitation of formation plates is its scale.

Although it was possible for formation plates to generate a large-scale effect, it had a very high demand for energy and grade of material used in the construction of the formation plate. Considering the scale of the bewilder formation's effect, Leon directly ruled out the possibility of a formation plate being hidden somewhere. Only a wastrel would use high-grade formation plates to invoke a low-level formation.

Since it wasn't a formation plate, it can only be a natural formation.

Natural formations are when the environment becomes the medium for the formation itself. It can either be formed by nature itself or under the specific arrangements of a Formation Master.

But generally, chances of finding a formation naturally formed by nature is much harder than finding a needle in a haystack blindfolded. Also, one would have to be careful not to be pricked by it after finding it.

Leon extended his senses to the atmospheric surroundings. Nothing out of the ordinary could be spotted except the ant holes, crevices, and passageways in the distant edges. Closing his eyes, he could only hear the haggard breathing of the group, the swaying crimson leaves of the elder trees and the occasional rustles of the wind from the four directions.

Leon's eyes suddenly snapped open and narrowed in on the ant holes and crevices that produces the rustling wind. Most likely, some of these entrances were part of the large-scale formation, or they formed sets of smaller formations that link or resonate together to create a large one.

Leon did not know much about formations. What he knew was only general knowledge. It was impossible for him to find out which ones were part of the formation and destroy it, but nor does he need to.

Destroying these openings only would anger the person who set it up, but also it required them to leave the protection range of the elder tree. It was both unwise and dangerous. No one knows if the ants were lurking in the darkness of these openings waiting to assault them.

He only needs to understand how the formation was affecting the group's mind and provide a preventative solution to it.

"I see."

Leon's eyes soon flashed with enlightenment as he figured out the source of the problem, sound. The problem lies within the rhythmic sound created by the rustling wind traveling towards the elder tree in the center through these open entrances.

"Everyone, block your ears."

Among the five senses, the only sound could penetrate a person's mind easily and resonate with a person's soul when left unguarded. It was subtle, but there was a certain low frequency within the rustling of wind that possibly induced their anxiety, fear, and dread.

The group immediately complied and blocked their ears with both hands, before steadying their breathing.

Ba-dump, Ba-dump… Ba-dump…

Their quickened heartbeat began to reduce its tempo, which confirmed the effectiveness of the method as everyone was able to regain their calmness after a short period.

Seeing everyone had finished regaining their composure, Leon said, "Let us continue then." But after taking a few steps, he did not hear any following footsteps behind him.

Turning around, everyone had blocked their ears so tightly, they simply didn't hear him. Leon waved his hand in front of Lilith's face to catch her attention and gave her the wide-eyed look.

'What are you doing? Daydreaming? Let's go!' was what Lilith seemed to have derived from his look and became upset.

"What? I can't hear you!" Unblocking her ears, Lilith pouted and gave him a nasty look.

"I said, let's… go…" Leon became speechless. Lilith had quickly blocked her ears again and overtook his lead before he could even finish speaking. He could only shake his head wryly and turn to the rest.

He signaled the group to keep going and received quick responses in return from Zorbek and a few others who could see him in their field of vision.

"At least I have the others' attention." Leon murmured while following behind Lilith.

If Lilith heard him, she would have rolled her eyes and snorted. "Who'd want the attention of a few smelly men?"

The group was silent throughout the remaining flight of stairs on their way to the top. Without any further difficulties or any unsuspected surprises, they soon arrived at the end of the staircase.

Lilith stopped in her tracks as the end of the staircase was walled off by a layer of dense crimson leaves and branches.

"Why did you stop?" Leon nudged her.

"Can't you see that it's a dead-end?" Lilith said with slight annoyance. What does he want her to do? Walk into it? If she had actually voiced these thoughts, Leon would have responded with one word, "Precisely."

"Did I say it might be an illusion formation?"

"Might? You want me to walk forward on a might?" Lilith frowned with doubt and glanced at the dead end. "It looks pretty real to me."

"Looks real, but does it feel real?" Leon chuckled and continued with a smile, "Haven't you noticed that these crimson leaves to sway like the rest? In fact, it's as still as a rock."

Lilith gave Leon a long stare filled with suspicion and doubt. The longer she stared, the more pressured Leon actually felt as his smile becomes increasingly forced. Although he was confident in his inference, nothing was correct until it was proven true.

"Aha! I knew something was up! You are trying to embarrass me, aren't you?" Lilith said confidently with narrowed eyes when she noticed his forced smile.

Leon froze for a moment before he erupted in laughter. He found her especially cute and funny with the alternation of blocking and uncovering her ears like a careful mouse while they were exchanged words. "Hahaha! You are thinking too much."

With those words said, he strolled past her and disappeared into the wall of crimson leaves, much to everyone's surprises.

On the other side, Leon heaved a big sigh of relief, before quickly inspecting the surrounding. It would have embarrassing if he was incorrect about the illusion formation and made a fool of himself.

The others made it through the illusion one after the other and became awed by what they saw.

"This is amazing! Who knew that inside the treetop of the elder tree would be such a beautifully large village?" Lilith exclaimed with wide eyes as she took the beauty of the village into her sight.

"Is this the fabled elven village in the stories?"

The others similarly tried to engrave the image into their memory as they had never seen a more beautiful village. It was a complete contrast to the grim and eerie atmosphere outside. The inside was well lit with a shade of green luminescent light.

Caw…

The group turned the heads towards the source of the sound, which was made distinctly close to their sides and found a group of grotesque bird-like creatures nestled on branches in half squatting positions staring straight back at them curiously.

"What the hell is that…"

Willy commented.

Although they were described to be bird-like creatures, other than its form, nothing else about it was bird-like. Its entire body was composed of a barky wood-like substance with green moss overlaying.

Occasionally, white-greenish substances dropped from their rears. Looking down, the group was surprised to have a clear view of the ground, unobstructed by the illusion. Even more surprisingly, the gooey substance dropped to the foot of the staircase, where they had been!

A few dumbfounded stares were directed at Scott, while his face turned green and subconsciously rubbed his helmet to see if it was still stained.

"Damn birds, how dare you shit on me!" Scott stared daggers at the bird-like creatures grudgingly.

Caw! Caw! Caw!

Startled, the bird-like creatures began flapping its wings and crying. Whether they were capable of the flight was a question for another time.

Their cries were alarming, and many shuffled noises could soon be heard coming from the village, before the group evidently found themselves surrounded, not by the beautiful elven race disappointingly but by small trees with human-like mobility.

In responses to the wooden spears pointed at them, the palace guards all drew their swords and watched them vigilant poses. What are these creatures? Mini treants?

"Don't attack!"

Leon halted the group with one hand while gripping his black spear with the other. He watched the treants carefully for any sudden movements. He had strictly told the group beforehand that they should not attack unless attacked first.

Both sides were suddenly caught in a delicate faceoff that could potentially erupt into an all-out conflict at any time with a single misstep. Such a situation was unfavorable for them as they were greatly outnumbered in the hundreds.

Leon was about to test his luck by attempting communication with the other party in the ancient language when someone from their own group fired an earthen spike and pierced one of the treant's head.

Both sides froze and stared blankly as the impaled treant slowly dropped to the floor, lifeless and deader than dead. Leon's expression turned ghastly at this moment.

"Fuck."

Chapter 206 - End The Battle

"Who shot that earth spike!?" Zorbek roared in anger, but he had no time to look back. They had a bigger problem ahead of them now.

The palace guards were equally as shocked as they watched the treants nervously. Scott, who stood at the very back, had a dumbfounded expression. Having a clear view of everyone's actions, he should have seen who fired the earth spike, but he didn't.

He wasn't the one who fired it, but he couldn't tell who did either. Everyone was an earth-user, but someone who could skillfully sneak such a sizable earth spike with them unnoticed by the entire group had to be in a league of their own.

If no one couldn't find the culprit, then the blame could easily fall on him. Wait, there was no time to be worrying about that. Scott shook his head of distracting thoughts. In order to worry about it, they must first get out of their present situation alive first.

Leon had a very terrible look. He didn't doubt that that the one who struck just now had been the mole within their group. One would naturally assume the mole came for the secrets of the underground. From that, Leon could guess that removing a few watchful eyes would make it easier for them to maneuver secretly within the group.

However, he had gravely miscalculated by assuming that they wouldn't risk jeopardizing the entire team's safety at the most crucial point! Like, why would they? Not only was it difficult to explore the underground alone and return back to the surface after, but they themselves also weren't free from the danger when they put the entire team in danger.

Unless they didn't care about their own lives because there was something more important than their primary objective and it required killing everyone or more specifically, him? That does to be the case.

Leon didn't know when he had unwittingly become an element that must be eliminated at all cost in the spy's eyes, however, his eyes flashed with a chilling light at the thought. He sent out his divine sense and covered the entire group and scrutinized them for the slightest trace of suspicious behavior. At the same time, his back remained facing them. No one knew that they were all under Leon's concentrated observation.

However, no matter which person he observed, he couldn't find the culprit and had no further time to deliberate. Battle was imminent. Although it seemed like Leon had taken some time for his thoughts and observation, everything had flashed in an instance like time had been slowed.

Afterward, taking advantage of the remaining time before the treants reacted, Leon took the last chance to communicate to them in the ancient language. However, his last hope was dashed as the treants remained unmoved as if his words fell on deaf ears.

"Everyone, prepare for battle!"

Leon roared and took his stance, while the palace guards covered him and took a defensive stance. In the direst of situations, they still had to protect the prince! They couldn't allow the prince to bear the brunt of treant's charge!

Being in the perimeter, Lilith was also protected at the center with Leon by the palace guards.

The treants roared with great fury and charged at them from all directions. In a short instance, the two sides clashed, and the palace guards all grunted from the strong impact. Their steel armor was greatly dented in a single clash, while the treants didn't seem to suffer any damage at all as they retreated for a second charge.

The palace guards widened their eyes with grim surprise and drew in cold breaths. If not for the protection of their armor, their bones would have likely shattered! These bodies of trees weren't simple beings to be trifled with!

Despite possessing the body of trees, these treants weren't brittle and weak like ordinary wood. In fact, they were incredibly tough and resilient like they had been born from the elder tree.

Were these treants considered the elder tree's offspring!? Leon quickly glanced the tree spirit hovering in the air. He sighed with relief seeing that the tree spirit didn't express any sort of stance and continue to watch on curiously like the fight had nothing to do with it.

"Your Highness! These treants are incredibly tough! We won't be able to last long at this rate!" Zorbek made a hacking slash at one of the treants, but his sword failed to slice apart the treant before him and only left behind a shallow cut.

Dammit, if they were still on the ground level, they could at least borrow the strength of the earth to help them defend rather than using their own bodies.

Leon frowned. Their bodies were incredibly tough, but the first one fell so easily when it was struck on the head. Looking carefully, each treant had a green oval-shaped jewel embedded in its crown. These were most likely the crystallization of the treant's spirit and source of its sentient existence.

"Aim for green jewel on its head!" Leon quickly instructed.

The palace guards had already noticed the green jewels at first glance and even suspected it to be the treant's weakness when the first one was killed. The prince's instruction only served to strengthen this belief. Their swords were ready for the kill when the treants charged in for a second clash, but it was only easier said than done.

As the most important part of the treant's beings, it goes without saying that it would be protected. They wouldn't be caught off guard a second time now that they viewed all the humans as enemies.

Similar to the first charge, the treants had covered its crown with both arms in a cross and causing the palace guards to fail and bear the brunt of the second charge. Unlike the first charge, the group didn't just suffer a mere grunt this time as their faces paled and forced back several steps.

The second charge caused them much more substantial damage as their armor became even more dented out of shape and they all felt a tightness on their chests like it was being pressed down by a mountain. Some of the weaker palace guards even coughed up blood as their organs churned.

The group began to despair. They already feel weak after the two clashes. Even if they come up with a solution soon, they may not have the strength to carry it out as they pushed back and forced to cluster together with limited space to fight freely.

"Your Highness, we are going to get crushed at this rate. Please use your fire ability!" Damir requested.

Leon frowned and glanced at the tree spirit. The fire would most likely alarm the tree spirit. If it took it the wrong way, then using fire would be the nail in their coffin. However, if he didn't then they would still get wiped out eventually. There was no other choice.

Leon communicated his intention to the tree spirit and hoped for its understanding. He also didn't hesitate to toss a tier-2 pill to it, before he raised his hand and conjured a fiery blaze above. Afterward, he clenched his fist and the fiery blaze exploded into scattered fiery arrows that shot at all the treants in their immediate surrounding.

The treants tried to defend themselves, but the moment the fire arrows contacted their dry bodies, their bodies immediately lit on fire like being fueled oil into the flame, very flammable.

The palace guards stared on in amazement at how effective fire was against these creatures as they broke their formation as they ran chaotically without a fixed direction while trying to put out the fire. The ones that didn't get hit by fire arrows still ended up catching on fire when they tried to put out the fire on their brethren.

Dammit, if the prince had done this at the start, would they have been forced to suffer?

"Take this chance to finish them! Don't let the fire spread to the elder tree!"

Leon's stern command was like a splash of cold water as the palace guards became shocked and they no longer blamed the prince. That's right! If the elder tree catches on fire then even if the treants don't kill them, the elder tree definitely will!

The palace guards all roared and charged into the fray of chaotic burning treants with their swords. The treants couldn't keep lucid thoughts while they were burning and became easy pickings for the palace guards.

Leon had quickly returned his attention to the tree spirit after voicing his command and although the tree spirit had a slight crease in its brows, it didn't take any attention. Leon was relieved, but then he soon frowned at the chaotic mess the palace guards became.

It was like they had been fed stimulants and chased after the treants until it was dead. If they keep pushing treants into a corner, things could go south very quickly considering everyone was all spread and alone. The spy could also take advantage of this chaos to slip away.

As if confirming Leon's thought, the emerald eyes of the treants began to shine with a tinge of redness as they saw their fallen brethren. A lone palace guard found himself surrounded by burning treants as they pounced him and burnt him alive.

"Ah! Help me! It burns!"

The palace guard cried in pain as he failed to shake off the treants that stuck to him like glue. The two closest palace guards rushed over to help but they could do nothing but watch as the person gets burnt underneath.

Leon had also rushed over to put out the fire with a block of water, but it was too late. When the two palace guards removed the blackened treant bodies away, the palace guard had already drawn his last breath, marking the first death within their group since the start of their journey.

"Shit!"

A palace guard punched the ground in anger at his own uselessness. At the same time, the tree spirit glanced over with a raised eyebrow. "Rao?"

Leon exchanged look with it before saying to the palace guard, "Even if you are angry, don't take it out on the elder tree. Look, it's staring at you."

…

Leon returned his attention to the rest of the situation, before using [Lion's Roar] to get his message across. "Everyone, stop fighting and regroup!"

A large body of water was also summoned and sent it over to the burning treants, which they dived into without hesitation. Leon didn't intend to wipe out the treants. They were the aggressors and were at fault for bringing a spy to cause this tragedy. But more than that, Leon had noticed a group of smaller treants back at the village looking over nervously. He didn't want to deprive them of their parents.

After the fire was put out, these little treants had run out of their homes towards the larger treants. The larger treants shielded them nervously while looking in his direction. Leon wanted to force a smile, but he couldn't. He didn't wish for this either and both sides have suffered.. Hopefully, with this, the treants would listen to him so they can put an end to the battle.

Chapter 207 - Elder Evergreen

"Your Highness! Look at this!"

One of the other two palace guards with him called out. Leon's gaze was directed and settled onto one of the burnt bodies of the treants, or rather a specific section on their burnt body that had snapped off like weak bark from a tree when they were trying to free the palace guard underneath. However, what lied underneath was not the hard-fibrous substance of plants, but something else entirely.

"This is… flesh?"

Leon was startled by the discovery. No wonder, these treants were so small compared to the ones he knew of in his memory. They were not real treants. That is why the tree spirit didn't care about their life and death. But if they weren't real treants then what are they?

"Your Highness, why did we stop? We should just kill them all. They may not be grateful for the mercy you showed them and may even attack us when they regain their strength and courage." Zorbek said the moment he arrived with the rest of the palace guards in tow.

Leon shook his head and said, "Take a look at their bodies. These treants may be related to the ancient civilization and might be able to help us understand history better."

Zorbek followed the direction of Leon's gaze and landed on the dead body with exposed flesh. However, Leon didn't intend to wait for Zorbek's remark before he continued, "Anyway, we have a bigger problem on our hand that requires immediate attention. Check who is missing."

Hearing this, Zorbek nodded and put on a stern look, albeit with slight traces of surprise remaining in his eyes. He swept his gaze through the group of palace guards and did a quick count. There were two by Leon's side, 16 newly arrived, and one dead for a total of 19 palace guards. One was missing from the original 20.

Zorbek removed the helmet from the dead palace guard, but he was unable to confirm the identity of the deceased. The prince's flame was too strong and didn't leave them much room to identify the dead palace guard by. Everyone pretty much wore the same items.

"Lutheran and Damir are missing from the group, Your Highness. Pardon my incompetence for being unable to confirm the identity of the deceased." Zorbek said subserviently.

"Never mind that." Leon waved his hand and told the group in a cold tone, "Take a look at your fallen brother. This fight was something that could have been avoided. If you find the missing person, treat them as the enemy and apprehend them at once. If they resist, kill them!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Everyone answered with firm determination. The prince didn't explicitly mention it, but it wasn't hard to guess that the first attack wasn't a mistake but a deliberate attack. To think there was a spy among them all this time…

Inwardly, Leon was surprised to hear there two names come up. They were the least suspicious in the group, but upon further thought, being the least suspicious was also the most suspicious in and of itself.

Lilith nudged him and nonchalantly said, "Those tree-people are still looking over here nervously. Perhaps, you should say something to them."

Leon studied Lilith's calm complexion before he nodded. However, he didn't make his way over immediately. The palace guards had trouble breathing with their indented armor. As the only metal-user in the group, he should at least fix their armor.

Leon executed a high level of control with his metal manipulation to return their steel armor to their original shape. It looked almost as good as new, albeit with some white dashes marking the outline of the previous dent.

Leon had realized that regardless of which element he uses, he would be able to execute a high level of control like his fire manipulation. The cumulative strength of his elements relied on comprehension and cultivation, but the control of his elements relied on the coordination and mental strength of his mind.

"All paths lead to the same source huh…" Leon murmured.

When the treants saw Leon making his way over to them, they retreated several steps in fear. Leon smiled guiltily when he saw this and thought these reactions were to be expected. He had literally changed the tide of battle with a single fire attack. Although many survived due to his timely conjuration of water, dozens had still been burnt to a crisp after getting hit by too many fire arrows. Wood simply held zero advantage over fire and only served to fuel it.

The treants hadn't suffered such a devastating fire attack before, but it only took one for them to develop an instinctive fear of it. Leon had traumatized them badly, especially the ones that took a direct hit and suffered the burning agony.

Leon paused his steps some distance away from them and looked at their fearful expressions. If not for the occasional flickering signs of intelligence in their eyes, Leon would have doubted that they could understand him. It's not that they didn't understand his previous words before the fight, it's just that they had simply chosen to ignore it.

However, after getting burned miserably, Leon didn't doubt that they would at least lend an ear to him now.

"This fight was not one that we wished for, but one started by a spy that was hidden amongst us. But for the damage and grief, I have inflicted upon your village, I offer my sincerest condolences for your losses." Leon apologized. To show his sincerity, he performed a 90-degree bow. He was truly regretful for what had transpired. If he had smoked out the rat early, they could have avoided this. Also, his karmic virtue value might have even reduced because of this event.

The treants exchanged glances and began murmuring among themselves. They were slightly at a loss, and unsure how to react to his apology. Thanks to Leon's excellent hearing, he was able to pick up what they were whispering.

"It speaks our language. What should we do? Where do these outsiders come from?" A treant woman questioned.

"They share the spitting appearance of our ancestors. Perhaps, there are still humans dwelling on the surface?" A younger treant expressed her doubt.

"Surface dwellers? Have you forgotten the teachings passed down by our ancestors? The surface was a land of death. No humans can survive there without turning into grotesque monsters. I'm more inclined to believe these fiends had crawled out from the depths of hell. They trespassed into our home and kill our people without warning." A half-burnt male treant harrumphed angrily.

"En, we can't listen to their lies, especially that person. He is a wicked being who wields the flames of the devil. Not only are they evil, but they are also cunning! We should fight to our last breath!" A hotblooded treant expressed his agreement,

"That's not right. That person can also conjure the water of life. How can he be evil? The guardian spirit would not have allowed them to venture so far if they were truly evil." An elderly treant frowned. What the elderly treant didn't know was that their so-called guardian spirit had pretty much been bribed by Leon with his healing pills.

Leon was bewildered by what he heard. Flames of the devil? Water of life? Isn't that too much of exaggeration? He was only using regular one-star flame and water! But no, to these treants that never seen the light of day, it was no exaggeration. Fire gave them hell, and water gave them life.

The burnt blacken parts of the treants could be seen receding at a noticeable speed simply by dipping in the pool of water made by Leon. His water seemed to work wonders like a miracle healing drug on these treants. 'Is it because they never received sunlight and water before?' Leon doubted.

The treants continued to discuss among themselves and Leon soon find his patience waning. With a forced smile and asked, "Is a representative among you to whom I can speak with?"

"What do we do? That fiend looks like it is losing its patience."

"Is it going to attack again?"

The treants looked at each other with worry and continued their whisper. But at some point, all them went silent then moment they heard a walking cane tapping the ground.

"Village chief."

They greeted and parted ways for the appearance of a new treant that looked much more imposing and ancient than the rest of them. Leon's heart shook with each step the treant took towards him as he realized the ancient treant before him, was a Transcendent-level being.

Sweat oozed from his pores as he felt the pressure of the ancient treant's gaze that was filled with age and wisdom.

"Answer me this, human. Did you come from the surface?" The ancient treant sounded like a wizened old man nearing the end of its lifespan.

"Yes," Leon answered honestly. This was a being they could not afford to offend.

The ancient treant wanted to refute the human's answer, but there was no reason to lie in front of its presence. After a short lapse of silence, it asked, "Why have you come?"

"Originally, to understand the history of a bygone era and use its knowledge to improve humanity. Now, we are trying to find a way back to the surface." Leon answered, before coming up with a question of his own. "I wonder if Elder can answer my doubts. Are you all survivors from the Nova Empire? And are you a treant or a human?"

"Neither. We are something that exists in between, born out of necessity for survival due to the harsh living conditions of the underground. To be exact, we are not survivors of the Nova Empire, but their descendants. You may refer to me as Elder Evergreen. I am the eldest of this small village." The ancient treant said.

Leon looked at the ancient treant with doubt, suspecting that it might have missed an 'N' in front of its name. There was nothing green about it and was assuming a withering yellow appearance instead. Knowing it was extremely rude to think as such, Leon quickly banished the thought. He was thankful that the ancient treant seems very accommodating and didn't question him about the 'spy' because even he doesn't know what the spy ran off to.

"Elder Evergreen, dating back, it must have been at least 10,000 years since the fall of the Nova Empire. I'm not sure what the surface was like back then, but it is definitely not a land of death anymore." Leon said, but then thought about the Wildlands and added, "At least not the same as before. Have you never thought about returning to the surface?"

Elder Evergreen looked at Leon deeply, before explaining, "It's not that we have never thought about it, but we can't even if we wanted to. I don't know how you made it here, child, but I commend you for it. We are surrounded by powerful predators as you should know. Even contact between villages is impossible."

'There were multiple villages?' Leon's eyes flickered.

However, Leon was confused by the elder's words. Even without confronting the ants, they should be able to return to the surface by burrowing through the earth above. After all, the earth above the elder tree shouldn't be as hard as the earth at the bottom.

He was going to continue his questioning, but he noticed that the people on both sides had been feeling very jittery like they were waiting for a verdict that decides their life and death. "Elder Evergreen, I would like to continue our talk, but we should probably give our people a peace of mind first, right?"

Elder Evergreen nodded.

"Mm, indeed, we should figure out how we should resolve the conflict between our two sides first. It is rare for us to have intelligent visitors who can speak our language. For that, I would like to welcome you all to stay and talk more. However, that's not possible until you provide an answer that can satisfy me or prove your claim on the spy to my fellow villagers. After all, they don't believe you and their anger is not easily abated by words alone. So, do you have an answer that can abate their anger?"

"I don't know whether I can abate their anger, but I can quench their thirst. As for the spy... I have an idea."

Leon rubbed his chin while glancing at the tree spirit.

Chapter 208 - An Unpaid Blood Debt

As if sensing Leon's gaze, the tree spirit glanced over after it finished savoring the last trace of the tier-2 healing pill like a child would with its candy. "Rao?"

"I have a favor to ask," Leon said directly.

"Rao!" The tree spirit uttered without waiting for Leon to say what the favor was. The tree spirit struck an upright and poised standing while facing in a different direction before it reluctantly reached out an open palm in demand while giving Leon a sneaky sideways one-eye glance.

It did not take long for Leon to guess what it was implying. It was a great elder tree. It will not lower itself to do menial tasks for lesser beings, let alone favors without offerings. There was no free lunch in the world. However, it will reluctantly agree if Leon offered it more healing pills.

Leon smiled wryly, before asking helplessly, "Oi, oi. I am telling you right now, I don't have that many pills left, alright? How much do you want in order to help me find the runaway spy?"

The reason Leon thought the tree spirit would be able to find the spy easily was simple. The whole elder tree belonged to itself, it can understand everything that happens within a certain radius of itself like a large-scale divine sense.

Leon wouldn't be fooled by the appearance of the small tree spirit. It was after all the tree spirit of an elder tree at the peak of its growth. The tree spirit only manifested itself to such a small size for easier communication. If it wanted to, its manifested spirit would be no smaller than the elder tree itself. Looking for someone on its own body wouldn't even break a sweat, but even so, it was still demanded something for its 'efforts'.

Leon's face twitched when the tree spirit raised up five fingers.

"You want another 50 tier-1 healing pills?" Leon said in a low tone. However, the tree spirit shook its head. It just tasted a tier-2 healing pill, why would it settle for anything lesser?

"Rao!"

The tree spirit made several gestures urgently in order to get its message across. Leon sucked in a deep breath and said darkly, "You want 50 tier-2 healing pills for such a small favor? Why don't you go rob a bank instead!? 5 tier-2 healing pills! Any more than that then you can forget about the deal."

"Rao!" The tree spirit remained unflinching in the face of his threat to cancel the deal and even looked at him with antagonizing smugness like it was daring him to find the spy on his own. However, it cannot guarantee that it would not play some tricks and make it difficult for him, even if he scours through the entire place to search for the spy. Also, it was confused about what a bank was, but why would it need to rob a bank when it can rob him instead?

Leon seemed to have understood its underlying meaning and almost lost his shit on the spot. This tree spirit was even more black-hearted than he was. It had always been him and his mother exploiting others. How can he allow others to exploit him instead? And by a tree, no less.

Just as Leon was about to explode and call off the deal, the tree spirit quickly made a concession and pointed at the little pool of water that reduced by a large portion after the treants all took a dip in it. Even the supposedly treants that were burnt to death got revived after being tossed into the pool of water. The only ones that didn't revive were the ones that had their emerald jewel destroyed.

"You want water like that instead of my healing pills?" Leon calmed himself down and asked.

The tree spirit answered with a vigorous nod.

Leon looked tree spirit suspiciously and said in doubt, "From the beginning, the water is what you really wanted, right?"

"Rao."

The tree spirit easily admitted abashedly once the question was raised. Leon raised an eyebrow and began looking at the tree spirit differently. The tree spirit might have the mentality of a child, but it was after all a 10,000-year-old tree. One should not look down on it, lest they are in for a reckoning.

"Fair enough."

Leon only contemplated for a moment, before he agreed. Although the water was also important for hydrating the team and he couldn't recharge his ice elements quickly in the underground, it could still be done nevertheless due to the presence of elements in the air that could be used in the creation of water, albeit at a slow rate. At least compared to 50 tier-2 healing pills, his heart would not bleed.

Leon conjured another body of water of similar size and sent it over to the tree spirit. However, the tree spirit was just a manifested projection of its own spirit and couldn't absorb the water immediately.

Some rumbling was heard before a few roots appeared from below and sucked the body of water dry in an instance with its tips. The treants weren't surprised by the tree roots appearance, but everyone from Leon's group was very surprised.

'The length of the roots is greater than its height huh.' Leon mused.

"It's time for you to honor your side of the deal. Even better if you can bring the spy to me."

The tree spirit nodded happily. Although the small pool of water was far from quenching its thirst, it was still very satisfying to be able to drink water for the first time. The spy's location was instantly found and one of the tree spirit's roots went straight for him.

Surprisingly, yet at the same time not surprisingly, the direction came from the village! In a short moment, the horrified scream of a man was heard.

"Arghh!! What the hell is this!? Why is it catching me again!?! Fuck! Let me go! I didn't do anything!"

The culprit was bound tightly and brought before Leon's cold eyes. There was no mercy for traitors. If not for the culprit still having some use, Leon would have cut off his head immediately. At the same time, Lilith, Zorbek and the palace guards all made their way over as they stared at the identity of the culprit.

"You didn't do anything? Then where did you run off to when everyone was fighting? Why did you attack when I said not to?" Leon questioned coldly. His divine sense had long failed to pick up any trace of disguise from his men. That is to say that the mole in front of him had not been using a disguise, but his true look all this while.

For the elite team to have a mole, the person had either defected to the enemy's side, or the enemy had managed to plant their spies into their midst from a very early period and garnered everyone's trust over the long years. Leon suspected that it must have happened shortly after the tragedy that occurred 17 years ago.

"Since you already believe I am a spy, I have nothing to say. Just give me a quick death." Damir admitted fearlessly since there was no point in continuing the act. The victors were kings, while the losers were bandits.

Leon looked at him coldly before turning to Elder Evergreen. "The rat has been caught. How do you want to deal with this person?"

"You heard this child. How do you all want to deal with this person?" Elder Evergreen did not answer his question but directed it to the other treants. The treants didn't mince their words and directly gave Damir the death sentence.

"Kill him!"

"Kill!"

"Make him suffer!"

"Since you brought him here, you should be the one to finish him off." Elder Evergreen stated. However, there seems to be an underlying meaning behind his words. 'Kill him and you will earn our trust.'

Leon scrunched his brows as it couldn't be that simple. Killing the person outright wouldn't quell the treant's anger easily and they might even suspect that he was just using Damir as a scapegoat to buy their way into the village. In order to get the treants to be completely satisfied and accept them, he had couldn't give Damir an easy death.

"What are you waiting for? End me!" Damir urged like he was actually in a hurry to die.

"Why are you in a hurry to die? Death won't be that easy for traitors. I'll have you spill everything you know." Leon said emotionless.

"Ptui! Forget it. You won't be getting anything from my mouth except my saliva!" Damir spat.

Leon dodged the spit and summoned his set of silver needles with a cold smile. "We'll see if you can still remain tight lip after eating my needles."

Leon first sealed Damir's movements then robbed his freedom of speech and erased all possibility of suicide by shooting off his needles into various acupoints on his limbs, chest, and throat. Afterward, he shot several more needles in both his life and death acupoints on the head, heart and major meridians that stimulates pain to the greatest degree.

Soon, he gave each needle a flick once and the vibrational force generated a shockwave of nerve-wracking pain that wreaked havoc in Damir's body like a thousand insects eating him inside out.

'Ahhhh!!!'

Damir wanted to scream. But without his voice, he had no outlet to the excruciating pain, making the experience much more torturous. Within seconds, his eyes began to roll back with a pained look. When he is about to pass out, Leon would stimulate his nerves and send another wave of excruciating pain through his body to rouse him awake again.

'Kill me!' Damir seemed to beg with his eyes, but Leon paid no heed to it and continued his torturous act. Only by break the person's mind would they stop resisting and answer his questions. The scene sent shivers down the treant's spine as they even began to feel bad for the person.

It took some time before Damir's eyes dimmed like a soulless puppet that Leon finally stopped and retracted his needles. "Answer my questions. What are your sect and objective? Why did you try to kill me?"

"A debt of blood must be repaid with blood. The sins of the Crawford family may be erased but not forgotten. The Illusory Butterfly Sect collectively seeks the rich inheritance of old underneath while the master seeks the end of the Crawford bloodline…" Damir said lifelessly.

Leon frowned at Damir's vague words. Damir did not seem to have had his mind fully broken as a trace of clarity miraculously returned to his eyes. He looked Leon coldly and viciously said, "I was not the one who fired that earth spike."

"Fuck." Leon's expression changed at once, but it was too late.

With a cold smirk, Damir made his energy run amok and self-destructed, exploding into a thousand scattering fleshly pieces. Leon only had time to summon a firewall to shield himself from the flying piece of flesh, but a few pieces landed on Elder Evergreen and the others in the surrounding.

Without being displeased by the sudden filth on his face, Elder Evergreen put on a warm smile and said, "There's much we can learn from each other.. As the village chief, I welcome you all to our humble village."

Chapter 209 - Arden's Puzzle

Back at the Inner Palace, a round of knocking was heard outside the king's study room.

Knock! Knock!

Heinrich placed down his cup of tea and said, "Come in."

"I heard you wanted to see me." The person strolled inside and casually pulled a seat over to seat himself opposite the king blatantly without care of offending the party.

Heinrich did not seem to mind and nodded. "En, I wanted to reform the education system to match the current times. Learning is the foundation of a school, but cultivation shouldn't be neglected. The details can be found in this paper. Have a read and let me hear your thoughts."

Having said that, Heinrich pushed a sheet of paper towards the person. Wilfred gave the paper a quick read, before placing it back down and sighed. His sigh seems to contain the vicissitudes of life. "After all this time, are you finally planning to open up your coffer and share your rich collections of techniques with the world?"

"Not the world. Just my kingdom." Heinrich corrected coolly.

"Fair enough. However, I shouldn't be the person you should find for this sort of stuff, right?" Wilfred asked slyly. In short, Heinrich wanted to implement a compulsory subject to teach students how to cultivate and train their bodies. The compulsory subject would be put under physical education and wasn't reserved for just the Crawford Royal University, but all schools within the kingdom.

"My minister of education is dead, so it makes sense to find someone else authoritative in the education department, right? How about it? Want to be my new minister of education?" Heinrich said wryly.

"Haiz, you won't even let an old man off. I'm already old with not much time left. Just let me relax in peace, will you? I can recommend someone in my stead. However, even if the plans on this sheet of paper is carried out, there wouldn't be any students to teach within the next year or two." Wilfred nonchalantly shrugged.

"What do you mean by that?" Heinrich raised an eyebrow in question.

"You don't know? All the students have long been conscripted into military service and sent to the training camp. Only a few managed to stay due to their good background, but it's not like they still attend school with so little people. Schools had long been suspended until further notice."

"I really have heard about this." Heinrich gawked awkwardly. It was probably one of the minor problems he had skipped over. However, the ongoing reports of the berserk beast sightings he had been receiving from the western frontier, does cause a need for concern. "You probably haven't seen such a shut-in king like me."

"I haven't seen such a useless king like you!" Wilfred admonished.

Heinrich laughed awkwardly without being offended like a child still getting lectured. Wilfred was one of the few people in the kingdom who could talk to him like this. The dean was his old teacher back in his years of study.

…

"You seem bothered by something, child." Elder Evergreen asked casually.

"It's nothing."

Leon waved it off, but he was affected by the spy's previous words. Although he would like to dismiss it as the last-ditch effort of the spy sowing discord in the group, he couldn't ignore it once the seed of doubt was planted. As a person who had once died from betrayal once, he was wary of the possibility. There could be more than one spy.

"Ahem, make yourself at home. We don't usually receive guests from outside the village." Elder Evergreen said as they enter his home, which was just a hollow section of the elder tree.

The elder tree is able to manipulate its body at will to shape the treant's homes and accommodate them. This wasn't something that should be possible, at least according to Leon's knowledge from the Divine Realm. It was only possible here in Gaia.

Leon nodded as he stared blankly at the interior of the elder's home. After settling the accommodation for Lilith and his men, he had followed the elder back to his home to continue their talk.

The village exterior was filled with exquisite wonders and beauty, but the inside of their homes was as plain as a blank canvas. It lacked the most basic essential tools and appliances for a home. Apart from a few stone seats, tables, and a bed, there was nothing else. Needless to say, Leon's expectation had taken a steep plunge at the sight.

Leon casually took a seat at one of the stone chairs, while the elder brought over a handful of plucked crimson leaves. "Ahem, we don't have much to offer our guest as snack except our most staple food, Crimsonleaf." Elder Evergreen explained.

Leon did not reach for the crimson leaves, but queried, "How exactly did you become like this that is neither human nor tree?"

"You're looking exactly at the source." Elder Evergreen said bluntly, causing Leon's expression to change abruptly. However, he comforted, "Don't worry. The transformation isn't immediate but a gradual process that happens over a long period of ingestion. Eating it once or twice shouldn't affect you."

'Shouldn't…'

Leon noticed with peculiar emphasis and twitched his lips. He rather not take any chances. Instead, he began pulling out a few tools from his Worldspace under the guise of his bag and began brewing his own herbal tea, before pouring a cup for each of them.

"Please." Leon gestured.

"Look's like you came prepared. Very good." Elder Evergreen smiled unsuspectingly without being embarrassed by the fact that the guest had to provide for the host. Being well over 2000 years old, if there was one thing that grew with his old age, it was a thick face.

"This is good tea." Elder Evergreen complimented as his eyes sparkled at the taste. Living underground all his life, he had never had something like this. The herbal tea was hot, but it was soothing and relaxing once it entered his body, making him feel good. "Alright, child. You seem like you have lots of questions. Ask away. I will answer them all the best I can."

Leon smiled at the fact that a simple tea had won over the elder's favor.

The two began chatting away for a full 6 hours. All the doubts that Leon had were answered one after the other. The reason the treants couldn't return to the surface had to do with the treant's constitution.

While the tree-like body grants high defenses and a long lifespan, it also took away their freedom. They were in a sense, a part of the elder tree. The elder tree provides them with all the nutrients needed to survive, thus they were no longer required to eat crimson leaves other than as a hobby.

Because of that, they are also unable to leave the elder tree. Once they leave the elder tree, their bodies would start wilting and dies.

Leon also learned that the treants had been eating the leaves just fine for thousands of years. The change only occurred in the last 500-odd years. Everyone in the village was over 500 years old, including the 'children'.

'Becoming a treant doesn't increase their lifespan but stretch it from incredibly slow aging. It seems that underground was also affected by the Cataclysm 512 years ago.' Leon concluded.

At least from what he had learned, the insects in the underground only grew bigger in the last 500-odd years. The treants only retreated to the elder tree and became what they are today after that event happened.

But what changed exactly? What exactly was the Cataclysm?

The information Leon had on history was very vague. It was said that one day, the color of the skies changed, and the world was swept in a violent storm. After that, the animals all started to mutate. Although it never stated how quickly the mutation was, Leon believed it was a gradual process.

If the process had been immediate, humanity would have never had the time to rally together and retreat to the Human Domain of today. They would have been wiped out there and then.

As for the Cataclysm, Leon had a faint guess it was just another solar storm like the one that ended the Nova Empire. But how could a solar storm cause such drastic changes to both life and the environment? Something else must be missing from the equation.

The deeper Leon pondered, the crazier his thoughts became. He recalled Arden's diary mentioned that in order to revitalize the dying planet in the past, artificial spirit energy conversion plants were built all over the world, harnessing the power of the sun to produce limitless artificial spirit energy.

What if some of these conversion plants survived the disaster that befell the Nova Empire?

No matter how hard he pondered, everything was just mere speculation. Leon shook his head and asked, "You mentioned that one of your ancestors built a study room that contained all his knowledge and his life's research from the old world?"

"That is correct." Elder Evergreen nodded. While Leon had asked him many questions, he had also gotten a clearer picture of the situation on the surface. A rare emotion to see the lands above at least once flickered in his eyes.

"Can I see it?" Leon hurriedly requested with a glint of excitement, unaware of the elder's emotion.

Elder Evergreen ruminated for a bit, before giving Leon an inexplicable smile and said, "Sure, I can bring you there, but whether you can get inside is up to you."

Leon was confused by the elder's words, but he still followed the elder.

As Elder Evergreen led the way, he didn't forget to grab the teapot and cups with him under Leon's dumbfounded look. Flashing Leon a nonchalant look, he asks, "Is there a problem?"

Leon glanced at the teapot then back at the elder, before he smiled.

"No problem."

The two shortly made a steep turn around the back of the village where a lone building stood proudly in the open. The building was constructed simply in a box-like shape, but the building itself was far from being just simple.

It was made from the same materials as the remnant building ruins Leon had seen and it was also filled with runes. The front entrance was nowhere to be seen.

Upon further investigation, the entrance was located on the top of the building and was sealed tightly. Apparently, the study room was inside, but it seemed impossible to get in at first glance.

Leon also noticed the entrance was designed strangely. However, he soon realized it wasn't that the entrance was designed on top, but the building had been flipped on its sides!

"…"

"I heard from my elders in the past that if you want to get inside, you have to solve the puzzle set by the great ancestor first." Elder Evergreen explained.

Leon nodded and continued to study the entrance. Next to the entrance, he found an ancient stone tablet embedded into the building. On it were some texts.

'Beyond these doors, lies the legacy of I, Arden Gilardi. Solve the puzzle and thee shall inherit everything!'

Chapter 210 - The Puzzle And The Missing Piece

'Arden Gilardi?!' Leon was completely surprised by the name left on the stone tablet.

'How was that possible? Is this the same Arden from the diary, the one who couldn't cultivate due to his special constitution? How on earth did he survive the fall?'

Leon was filled with doubts regarding Arden's survival. Furthermore, his inheritance was found in such a shabby location. But upon further thought, it made some sense for the inheritance to be found in such an odd location.

Even if Arden did manage to survive the fall, unless he managed to find a way to cultivate and cultivate great success at that, he would still not live much longer after. The tree wouldn't have been as big as it was now as it was at the time the inheritance was built. The tree's growth must have been what caused the inheritance building to flip. Still, who would even build their inheritance in a tree?

Through the texts on the ancient stone tablet, Leon could guess that Arden had been a proud person. Perhaps, he was unwilling to let his lifelong accumulation of knowledge to die along with him, thus built the inheritance building in a place easy to find. But not just anyone can inherit his knowledge, thus the need for a test.

However, if Arden's inheritance truly lied on the other side of this sealed entrance, Leon had to get his hands on it at all costs. He couldn't imagine just how far the runic knowledge contained within would aid the advancement of the kingdom.

"What do you think, child? Think you can solve the puzzle the great ancestor left behind?" Elder Evergreen asked casually, seeing Leon lost in thought while staring down at the ancient stone tablet.

Leon did not reply immediately, but the elder was very patient. Elder Evergreen poured himself a cup of tea with the teapot he brought along and quietly observed Leon.

Although he doesn't believe Leon could solve the puzzle, he had a slight expectation that the boy could discover something that they haven't already discovered.

This expectation stems from the fact the elder saw the boy as someone extraordinary. Even among awakeners of their time, it was rare for a dual-element user to appear. This wasn't because it was difficult to become a dual-element user. It was simply because it was easier to master one element than to be a jack of all trades and a master of none.

Every person who had ever decided to cultivate dual elements usually fall into two categories. They were either an ambitious genius or a great fool. From their short exchange, the boy didn't give him the impression of a fool. Although the boy's cultivation was a little low, he was quite promising.

However, if Elder Evergreen was to learn that Leon wasn't just a dual-element user but a penta-element user, he would be utterly appalled.

"Where's the puzzle?" Leon finally said.

Elder Evergreen smiled and shook his head. "That's the problem. No one really knows. Many have come to test their luck over the years, but no one had ever figured what the puzzle is. Everyone had assumed the seal entrance is the puzzle itself."

Looking at the seal entrance, it does stand out differently from the rest of the building with its special engraving and runic lines congregating towards a single point. It was thick and stacked upon layers of other engravings and runes, making it appear like a super lock. However, Leon didn't follow the same assumption and thought differently.

Having read Arden's diary of a lifetime, he could roughly guess the mentality of Arden Gilardi. The genius artificer of an era wouldn't make the puzzle painfully obvious yet set such a high bar for runic understanding that no one would be able to understand it. At least, it shouldn't be that simple.

When it comes to a master selecting their disciples, they don't look at their current achievements, but their character and talents. If the disciple's current achievement was already equal to or greater than the master, even if the master had the audacity, the disciple wouldn't be willing to acknowledge such a master with inferior skills.

Through the same thought process, Leon believes the hidden puzzle in the inheritance building is Arden's way of selecting his successor.

Leon sent out his divine sense and attempted to peer through the walls of the inheritance building. However, the moment his divine sense came in contact with the walls, it was bounced back.

'This inheritance is foolproof and had no loopholes. It's not going to be that easy to claim, huh.' Leon smiled wryly as he thought. Since his divine sense couldn't enter the inheritance building, he wrapped it around the building instead to study the exterior.

The runes on the seal entrances were too clustered and overly complicated for Leon to comprehend with his rudimentary level of understanding. However, the runes on each side of the building were much simpler. He was able to understand a few runes.

The walls were filled with an array of messy connector rune plates and chaotic rune plates that linked together like a single entity but also seemed out of place.

The connector runes allowed the free flow of energy, while the chaotic runes cause two opposing flow of energies to clash with each other. This reaction would then trigger the runic plates to shift like gears.

Leon had a feeling he had to turn all the correct connector plates to get the runic lines to align and complete the circuit before something fascinating starts happening. However, when he tried to twist or turn one of the connector plates, it didn't budge a single bit. It appeared he was still missing something.

Looking around further, Leon noticed a specific section seemed to be missing from the bottom part of the building with his divine sense. More specifically, it seems to be an empty pendant-like socket that served as a keyhole of sorts. Leon's eyes flicker as he stared at the socket with his divine sense.

'Seems like I need to move the build for a better look.' Leon thought. 'However… the inheritance building is incredibly heavy without a doubt. If I want to move it, I will need to seek help from the tree spirit again.'

Leon lamented at the fact that the tree spirit will tree to bleed him if he makes another request to it again.

Some time passed before Leon calmed his emotions and no longer paid attention to the runic walls of the inheritance building for the moment. He returned his attention to the Elder Evergreen and said with a smile, "There won't be a problem if I manage to solve the puzzle and take all the inheritance, right?"

"Hahaha, the inheritance was left by the great ancestor for the one who manages to solve his puzzle. We, as his descendants naturally must respect the great ancestor's wishes. It will just collect dust here if no one ever solves it." Elder Evergreen stated, before saying, "However, I'm quite curious. Did you manage to figure out which section is the puzzle?"

"Yes. I'm prepared to spend some time here in order to solve it." Leon smiled.

"Oh?" Elder Evergreen was immediately intrigued and brought his ears closer. "Which section is it, if I may ask?"

"It's not a section. The whole building is the puzzle itself."

"Surely you jest, right?" Elder Evergreen said in denial and surprise.

After seeing that Leon was joking, the elder soon erupted into self-ridiculing laughter as he had once spent hundreds of years studying the inheritance in his younger days, yet never saw it from this perspective nor even realize the possibility. After calming himself down, the elder shook his head and sighed. "Haiz, the inheritance only belongs to the fated one."

"Elder, I wonder if you will be interested in an alliance?" Leon suddenly changed the topic.

"Hm? An alliance between our village and your human kingdom? Not a bad idea, but what purpose would it serve?" Elder Evergreen said but did not understand Leon's intentions.

"As you know, the present situation on the surface doesn't bode well for the Human Domain. I wonder if you can lend us strength in weathering the storm?"

"You seem to have forgotten that we cannot leave the elder tree and forever doomed to live and die with the tree here. Also, this body seals away my Transcendent power." Elder Evergreen reminded with slight anger, secretly blaming Leon for even giving him the slight of vain hope of ever returning to the surface.

"I noticed that when I mentioned the surface before, Elder had a longing look. What if there's a way to revert you all back to your former self? What if I can poke a hole through the sky and let the elder tree continue to grow to the surface?" Leon said with absurdity, but his eyes flickered with confidence.

This confidence didn't stem from his own abilities, but the greatest treasure in his possession. The [Divine Book of Life] contains great understandings of all plants, herbs, and the way of medicine. There was surely a resolution in its limitless records.

The elder's body trembled as he was shaken by his words.

Elder Evergreen stared at Leon deeply for a long time, before he said in a deep voice, "Bold claims! However, if you can really make these claims of yours come true, you will be an eternal friend of I, Evergreen! No, I am willing to pledge my allegiance to you!"

"There's no need to go that far." Leon gaped waved his hands.

However, it goes to show just how much it meant for Elder Evergreen to be human again and even see the sunlight. Most likely, the other treants also share the same thoughts. If he realizes their wish, their addition will be a strong help to his cause.

At the same time, he thought; getting a Transcendent as a subordinate and leveling up the tree spirit to a world-class tree, who could possibly threaten him within the Human Domain?

Chapter 211 - Azure Verdant Plains

Along the eastern borders of the kingdom of Crawford, there was a notable region called Azure Verdant Plains. Azure Verdant Plains was the only region where the three kingdoms; Crawford, Durham, and Valaran intersects. The Azurely River that runs through Azure Verdant Plains serves as a natural borderline that separates the lands of the three kingdoms.

The region was cold all year round and filled with verdant green grass tinged with varying degree blue, silver and purple colors based on its proximity to the Azurely River, a great river that flows through Extreme Misty Forest from the Boundless Sea and splits at the intersection of Azure Verdant Plains with one run all the way to the southern wall and the other towards the kingdom of Geyser in the far east.

The cold waters of the Azurely River were what caused the region to be cold all year round. Sometimes, the water of the Azurely River reaches a frightening degree of coldness, but it will never freeze. This coldness seemed to have stemmed from Extreme Misty Forest.

Crossing kingdoms from the Azure Verdant Plains requires crossing the tri-bridge in the center, followed by entry through the border checkpoint at each end of the tri-bridge that connected the three kingdoms.

In the past, security was very lax, and passing crossing kingdoms didn't require any extraneous procedures at the border checkpoint as the neighboring kingdoms were very harmonious and subservient to the Kingdom of Crawford's reign.

In recent days, however, the borders have been closed. Even if one wishes to enter the Crawford Kingdom now, they would be barred from entry. The only way they could enter now is illegally by crossing the river, whether by flight or by swimming.

If the latter was chosen, the person would either be considered tired of living or a madman. After all, the reason the Azure Verdant Plains was popular had to with the sea monsters inside the Azurely River. It was a popular fishing spot. As such, there was a populated fishing city located next to the border checkpoint of each kingdom in addition to several small fishing villages along the banks of the river.

In recent days, these fishing cities had been receiving an influx of soldiers passing through towards the border checkpoint. A military zone created, and the ever-growing camp could be seen very clearly from the city walls, making the liveliness of these fishing cities dampen as the tension grows.

Even if the people were idiots, they would still be aware that something was not right. The premonition of war filled them with dread and their instincts told them to escape the city.

The rich had this choice, but the poor did not. Other than their homes, they do not have many assets to bring with them. If they leave, they will be left with nothing. Because of this, they are unwilling to leave and rather die with their homes should the situation escalate to such a point. However, they still held onto faint hopes that whatever happens at the border wouldn't reach their city.

At a certain location further east along the eastern Azurely River, there was another bridge that connected the Durham Kingdom and the Valaran Kingdom.

At this moment there were two groups of people meeting at this specific spot with an elderly man at the hem of both groups. The two groups wore two sets of uniforms that distinguish their groups apart from each other. One wore full white attires with butterfly patterns, while the other wore full black with a red lining and a fiendish mark.

"Look who is finally here, if it isn't our 'good friends' from the Illusory Butterfly Sect. Never thought there would be a time when our two sects would have to team up." The elder in black and red said in a snickering manner, revealing a set of disgusting black teeth that made him look especially vicious and frightening.

His eyes were cold and callous, and his wrinkly body exuded a malignant and terrific aura that could easily inspire fear and trepidation in the hearts of ordinary men, and the crushing pressure made it difficult even for the younger men behind the elder in white opposite him. It was clear that his welcoming words held zero sincerity and full of sarcasm.

"Hmph! If it weren't for our temporary alliance, I would have already cut off your head where you stand! Enough bullshit. How are the preparations on your end?" The elder in white darkened immediately. With a wave of his hand, he exuded his own towering pressure and aura, dispelling the other party's imposing aura on his sect members.

"Quite impatient, are we? It seems our 'friends' here are quite anxious and shaken by the two transcendent phenomena." The elder in black chuckled mockingly and sounded especially grating to the ears. He was unaffected by the naked threat. It was questionable whose head would fall if they fought. They were both inner sect elders of their respective sects.

"Don't forget it was your side that came begging us for this truce and temporary alliance after losing a few members in the Crawford Kingdom." Hasan, the elder in white ridiculed.

As one would expect of two rival sects that had always conflicts both in the dark and open, they did not get along well the moment they met. In the words of the Inner Sect Elder of the Illusory Butterfly Sect, a proposal of mutual interest from the Bloodfiend Sect had turned into pathetic begging.

The Inner Sect Elder of the Bloodfiend Sect, Griego was enraged. However, he did not erupt. Instead, his eyes flashed with a chilling light. He was not stupid. Right now, even if he hates their guts, they were allies. Fighting their allies wouldn't solve anything and would even help their enemy.

If it weren't for the intervention of a greater power that forced their heads to bow in servitude, the Crawford Kingdom would have already become history 17 years ago. Although they were forced to submit in the presence of absolute strength, they were unwilling to leave their business unfinished and continue to scheme in the dark to this day.

However, now that the Crawford Kingdom, who was without a single Transcendent, suddenly gained two Transcendent-realm experts, they began to panic and no longer cared about the warnings of the greater power.

The Crawford Kingdom was on the rise again and if left be, it would grow to the point where they would face sect extinction. They were like arrows shot from the bowstring. there's no turning back. They had to snap the problem in its bud and worry about the wrath of the greater power later.

"The plan to sow chaos in the kingdom with our spies and divert their attention from the borders no longer matters. It had backfired instead. The royal family already caught wind of our intention and strengthened their borders before we could launch our full force to destroy them in one fell swoop. We can only fight head-on now." Griego said seriously without understanding how the Crawford Kingdom found out so quickly.

Hasan nodded with equal sternness. The other party did not fall for his provocation and able to remain calm. He secretly admires the Griego's mentality, but all the more fears him as a terrifying opponent. "How much of your sect's forces did you bring?"

"Half."

"Half?" Hasan frowned. "We are now facing an impending battle that could decide the future survival of our sects and your side only brought half your forces?"

"You think our sect doesn't want to send more? We even have our great elder accompanying us on this trip! Unlike your sect, you don't have to worry about the Grand Ocean Palace making a move as they have always been neutral and never encroach on our territories." Griego said menacingly, before continuing.

"But what about us? Even if we don't have to worry about the Grand Ocean Palace either, we still have the Burning Heaven Sect behind our back. They have been silent in recent years, too silent in fact. Who knows if they would suddenly stab us in the back while we are fighting the Crawford kingdom all our forces?"

"Hmmm, your side should send in the cannon fodders to test the waters. Our side will do the same on our end. We can keep waiting. They will only grow stronger with time." Hasan hummed and said, making no comment on the previous matter.

In fact, they had also brought half their forces. Since the Bloodfiend Sect still has half their forces in reserve, they would do the same to guard against them. After all, the people in the Bloodfiend Sect were all unbridled, vicious and didn't adhere to any codes of morality. These were the type of people who would smile at you in one moment and stab you when you turn your back.

If they knew the Illusory Butterfly Sect sent all their forces and their territory was empty, it was quite possibly for their hands to get itchy and attack.

…

Meanwhile, back in the underground where the elder tree was located, Leon had just finished a round of negotiation with the tree spirit and gotten it to flip the cube-like inheritance building back into position.

His heart ached at the tree spirits greed, but he had no choice but to give in to its demand for its service. He could still remember the tree spirit's satisfied grin as it gobbled all 30 tier-2 healing pills gluttonously and flipping the inheritance building back effortlessly, before flashing him a grin that seems to imply "Glad doing business with ya."

Leon shook his head as he believes he would be reward handsomely for the price he paid as he stared at the empty pendant-shaped socket on the new uncovered side.

'The union of dragon and phoenix will change the fate of the human race?' Leon shook his head with a chuckled as he recalled the vague prophecy the Duchess recounted to him. He felt like the mysterious old man was a real prankster.

The union of dragon and phoenix was simply putting the two jades back together again. It couldn't be simpler, yet the mysterious old man-made others misinterpret it as the marriage between the two offspring of the Crawford royal family and Lancaster family.

Suddenly, he recalled that the mysterious old man disappeared into the sky and the mysterious diviner that also disappeared. Were they the same person? Why did the mysterious old man have the Dragon and Phoenix Jade? Where did it come from? Was he a descendent of the Nova Empire or a survivor of its time?

All he knew was the jade was filled with unfathomable secrets. This was especially so during the time the pale purple light was produced when the two jades became one again. After all, the pale purple light came from an energy even he could not distinguish.

With these thoughts circulating in his mind, Leon took off the Dragon and Phoenix Jade around his neck and slotted it in the empty socket perfectly with a click.

The jade soon began to shine brightly and instill life in the inheritance building as all the runic lines in the perimeter of the jade lit up with purple light. Leon clicked his tongue as he realized the building was missing a power source.

Perhaps, once he turns all the runic plates correctly to complete the runic line circuit and makes the entire inheritance building light up, it would be considered solving the puzzle. Life was full of unexpected twists and turns.

Who could have guessed the jade pendant he had worn since childhood was actually the power stone for the inheritance building?