Chapter 2286 Treasure Chest <TOC> Chapter 2288 A Strand of Consciousness
Translator: SumTLMan
In the World Within the Painting, Angel, feeling somewhat uncomfortable due to the weightlessness, slowly opened his eyes.
After being dazed for a few seconds, Angel quickly sat up from the parched ground. He first checked his body to ensure nothing was missing, then moved his magic source around to make sure his energy was untroubled, before he finally took a breath of relief and looked around at his surroundings.
In the pitch-black world, almost nothing could be seen with the naked eye, except for a vague sense of spaciousness around.
Looking up at the sky, a solitary crescent moon hung in the deep black sky.
Struggling to his feet, Angel looked around in the soft moonlight.
——A vast wilderness, a pitch-black night without end.
“This wilderness… looks somewhat familiar,” Angel thought of the painting —Starry Sky and Tree—, and after a brief comparison, he sighed deeply.
Apart from the absence of a star-filled sky above, the surroundings were almost identical to the painting inside the treasure chest.
Even the lone, solitary tree in the vast wilderness corresponded exactly with the painting.
“It seems I have truly entered the painting,” Angel murmured softly to himself.
He stood still for a moment, trying to sense a way out of the painted world, but unfortunately, at least for now, he couldn’t find any flaws.
However, Angel wasn’t too worried. The ability to link the flat world of the painting with the three-dimensional reality, as far as he knew, was something only Feng could achieve.
Since it was a painting by Feng, and he was actively pulled into it, there must be some significance. It’s unlikely that after all the trouble of finding him, it was just to imprison him in the painting.
Therefore, by understanding the reason Feng pulled him into the painting and clarifying his thoughts, Angel believed there was a chance to leave this place. Even if he couldn’t find a way out after doing everything, Angel wasn’t worried because he still had Woof Woof…
Woof Woof’s ability to traverse the void should be able to take him away.
With his mind somewhat at ease, Angel decided to explore this painted world first to see what Feng really wanted to do.
Angel didn’t specifically discern the other environments around him; his gaze was directly fixed on the distant tree.
Since the main subject of the painting was that tree, and the entire boundless wilderness had only this one tree, no matter how you looked at it, it was strange. Angel believed that if there was a place in this painted world that truly held special significance, it must also be hidden near the big tree.
Therefore, Angel didn’t think about exploring other places for the time being and walked directly towards the tree.
As he walked, Angel also sensed the environment around him.
In his perception, there was still no trace of any living creatures, not even signs of life, which seemed like a world of absolute silence.
The air did contain primordial magical power, although the concentration was medium to low, which wouldn’t have much effect if a battle really broke out. It’s just that meditation might take a bit longer than usual.
It’s worth mentioning that there was no feeling of oppression here, the sliver of the World Will from the Tidal Realm outside could not penetrate into the world within the painting. So, here Angel felt a rare sense of relaxation.
Angel was not far from the great tree, and soon, he arrived near it.
Previously, when he was on the stone platform outside, Angel had seen through the perspective shift in the oil painting that there was a figure leaning against this great tree. Therefore, when he approached, he became a bit more cautious.
Angel did not immediately approach the great tree but instead took a wide circle around it from a distance.
He had thought there might be “someone” here, but after circling around, he found no one.
This meant that two discrepancies with the painting itself had now been discovered.
The brilliant starry sky in the painting had disappeared, replaced by a starless night. The figure under the tree in the painting had also vanished, leaving only this lonely tree.
Since there was no figure, Angel no longer continued to circle the outskirts but approached the great tree.
Upon closer inspection, Angel realized his judgment had been slightly erroneous.
He had always thought that the only sign of life in the entire painted world would be on this solitary great tree. However, this was not the case; from afar, the tree seemed lush and full of leaves, but as Angel approached, he still did not feel any sign of life.
Just like the grass on the ground, it seemed to be just a prop in the painting, devoid of any life aura.
After carefully observing the great tree for a moment, Angel found nothing wrong; it seemed to truly be just a scenic prop within the painting.
Angel pondered for a moment. According to his judgment, this was clearly not right.
The great tree, as the main subject of the painting, could not possibly be without significance.
After thinking for a while, Angel tried to use his mental power to probe the essence of the great tree. He first examined the exterior, including the bark, branches, and the soulless leaves, and even the roots beneath the ground, but found nothing unusual.
Then, Angel decided to delve into the interior of the tree to see its inner parts.
As Angel’s mental power penetrated the interior of the trunk, his expression suddenly became somewhat strange.
The interior of the great tree seemed to have some sort of encryption that prevented direct probing with mental power; however, when his mental power penetrated the interior of the great tree, Angel saw a complex and intricate pattern.
“This is… the mother rune of the Ouija Multi-Pattern Cipher!” Angel couldn’t help but exclaim.
He had been searching for the lock corresponding to the key of the Ouija Multi-Pattern Cipher, which is its mother rune, but had not found it until now. Angel had even cursed Feng’s unscrupulousness in his heart.
Unexpectedly, after all the searching, the answer turned out to be this tree!
This tree was the ultimate solution to the Ouija Multi-Pattern Cipher Key!
To confirm his judgment was correct, Angel once again used his mental power to observe that complex pattern.
The so-called Ouija Multi-Pattern Cipher is a type of encryption tool used by wizards, understood as a type of programmable pattern lock system. The item that is locked has the “mother rune” on it. To unlock it, you must have the corresponding “child rune.” Both the master and child runes can be set by the user, as long as the core is the Ouija Multi-Pattern Cipher, which effectively prevents duplication.
Thus, each Ouija Multi-Pattern Cipher is unique, with one mother rune corresponding to one child rune.
In Angel’s hands, the Ouija Multi-Pattern Cipher Key, a child rune, allowed him to deduce the pattern of the mother rune through the lines of the child rune.
Soon, Angel deduced the answer.
The mother Ouija Multi-Pattern Cipher within the tree indeed matched the Ouija Multi-Pattern Cipher Key he held. His judgment was correct; the treasure left by Feng was likely inside this great tree.
Since the treasure was here, Angel believed that the means to leave the painted world were probably hidden within the tree as well.
After pondering for a moment, Angel set up a defensive spell around himself and had Eremy on alert before taking out the real Ouija Multi-Pattern Cipher Key from his bracelet space.
As the key was held in hand, the previously dull key began to emit a faint red light.
The glowing was from the child rune.
And the mother rune, which was the great tree, also awakened from its deathly stillness at this moment, beginning to flicker with a light corresponding to the child rune, as if calling for the return of the child rune.
Without hesitation, Angel placed the long key against the trunk of the great tree.
In an instant, the red light flourished.
Under the flickering red light, the tree seemed to be split from the top down by an axe, opening right down the middle. As the crack appeared, a more intense light surged from within.
This light seemed to carry a certain regularity that Angel couldn’t see through, and the more he observed, the more his eyes tired. He could only slightly turn his head to avoid looking directly at the light.
Because Angel turned his head, he witnessed an incredible scene.
The red light emerging from the interior of the tree shot straight into the sky. In the previously lonely moonlit night sky, a miraculous change occurred, with stars shifting from dim to bright. In an instant, they filled the sky.
It was as if an invisible brush dipped in starlight had been swept across, and in a moment, the night canvas was sprinkled with a glittering galaxy.
Such a starry sky… was exactly the same as the one Angel saw on the stone platform in the painting.
Seeing the stars fill the sky, Angel suddenly thought of something else: “Now that the starry sky has appeared, could the figure in the painting appear as well?”
The moment Angel entertained this thought, he suddenly felt as if a gaze had landed on him.
Having been continuously spied upon by the Void Traveler, Angel was very sensitive to gazes. The moment the gaze landed on him, black and red light flickered under his feet, and he instantly retreated several tens of meters. The light of the defensive spell flickered around him, and from the shadows under his feet, Eremy slowly poked out its head.
Angel’s gaze was firmly fixed in the direction of the great tree.
There, the red light still flickers, obscuring the specific situation, but Angel was certain that the gaze that had been on him was within the red light, and… that gaze had not yet withdrawn.
The red light lasted for about ten seconds.
As the red light gradually sank, Angel finally saw the scene within the red light.
Previously, the tree that had split in the middle had now completely healed, becoming whole once again. There was no “treasure” on the ground as Angel had imagined. The only difference was that there was now a person standing in front of the tree.
It was a tall man draped in a cloak of stars. Although the cloak covered the upper half of his face, from the lower half alone, one could tell that he was young. At least, he had the appearance of a young person.
“Who are you?” Angel stared intently at the man.
The cloaked man’s lips curled into a smile, not immediately answering Angel’s question but instead saying, “So, you are the one who has been following his footsteps? I didn’t expect you to be so young… Indeed, even somewhat youthful. I suddenly have some doubts about the judgment of the Book of Kael.”
Angel: “The ‘he’ you’re talking about, is it Mirafael Von?”
The cloaked man still didn’t answer, instead shifting his gaze to Eremy: “Oh, an Awakened Demon from the Panic World? Awakened Demons are famously brutal and bloodthirsty, never retreating even when facing stronger opponents. Such war machines absolutely cannot be commanded by humans.”
“How did you manage to make him obey your commands? Is it that thing on his chest? Let me see what it is?” After saying this, the cloaked man’s gaze moved to Eremy’s chest, and after a moment, he said, “Tsk, tsk, how marvelous, there’s a power inside that makes me feel fear, even a desire to submit. What is that? Can you tell me?”
The cloaked man looked at Angel, because he could see that this Awakened Demon was protecting Angel, so Angel, who controlled the Awakened Demon, should know what that strange tentacle was.
Angel was silent for a moment, then slowly said, “The Twisted Seed, Boil Gentleman’s proud creation. I don’t know what’s inside it; I just received it as a friendly gift from that gentleman.”
The cloaked man didn’t mind whether Angel was hiding something or not, nodding and saying, “I see. If my old buddy Renekton knew about such a thing, he would probably go mad… You know, he once spent decades getting to the Panic World just to study Awakened Demons, but unfortunately, he only stayed in the Panic World for less than two years before running away, driven out.”
Angel was unaware of who the cloaked man referred to as Renekton, merely listening in silence without uttering a word.
“Even if it’s not Renekton, my true self would probably be interested in this object, as it contains auras that even I find terrifying,” the cloaked man sighed softly. “Unfortunately, my true self is not here, and I cannot share this information with him, alas…”
“My true self?” Angel looked at the cloaked man with suspicion. “Who are you, exactly?”
This time, the cloaked man did not dodge the question but responded with a somewhat frivolous tone: “Do the young people of today no longer understand manners? When asking for someone’s name, don’t they know they should introduce themselves first?”
Without waiting for Angel to respond, the cloaked man changed the subject: “However, since you have followed his footsteps to this place, you deserve my respect. So, this time, allow me to introduce myself first.”
As he spoke, the cloaked man extended his pale and slender fingers to remove the hood of his cloak, revealing his true face.
Beneath the short, dark curls was a pale and handsome face, the type that high-born ladies would fancy: slender, young, and very handsome.
Moreover, against the backdrop of the stars twinkling in the reverse light, he also possessed a mysterious aura.
Those lust-filled high-born ladies would probably go mad for him.
As Angel silently criticized him, the cloaked man performed a one-handed chest salute and elegantly said, “Although it is our first meeting, I am honored to see you here. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is… Mirafael Von.
Chapter 2286 Treasure Chest <TOC> Chapter 2288 A Strand of Consciousness