Chapter 2633 The Vine Wall <TOC> Chapter 2635 Void Staircase
Next page password is bold portion: pachLcR?Su6L
Translator: SumTLMan
Angel ultimately still couldn’t understand what the fluctuations of the vines meant.
The only thing he knew was that the vines showed friendly emotions toward him as “Tree Spirit.” However, they clearly exhibited rejection toward the people behind Angel.
If Angel, as “Tree Spirit,” hadn’t been standing at the forefront, perhaps the vines would have already started attacking them.
Angel tried to express friendly intentions and continuously manipulated the power of nature to make separating gestures, indicating their desire to pass through.
The emotions the vines returned were complex; they seemed puzzled as to why Angel would consort with humans.
Understanding this emotion, Angel couldn’t help but show confusion. If it could be visualized, he would definitely have a row of question marks above his head.
The reason Angel felt puzzled was that the vines seemed to think that “Spirits” shouldn’t be with humans?
Spirits are extremely complex creatures; their emergence involves serendipity and the right time and place. But there is an indisputable core point: the birth of Spirits is closely related to humans… or rather, intelligent life.
In the Southern Region’s Wizarding World, most Spirits born are related to humans.
Because of this, the Spirits here mostly have a natural affinity with humans.
But the vines didn’t seem to know this; they believed that Tree Spirit shouldn’t stay with filthy humans.
By the way, how did this notion get implanted into the shallow minds of the vines?
Could it be because of the Wood Spirit they were searching for?
In Angel’s mind, he couldn’t help but start imagining a story——
That Wood Spirit, according to Day’s description, was a very timid oddball. From the moment it was born, it was alone, facing numerous ferocious and terrifying Wizard Eye Ghosts. So it kept playing dead, pretending for who knows how many years, and finally found an opportunity to escape to the Hanging Prison Stairs.
Day only used one sentence to lightly describe the Wood Spirit’s situation and whereabouts.
However, there should be more to this story.
For example, how did the Wood Spirit come to the Hanging Prison Stairs?
It’s somewhat understandable that the Wood Spirit would run toward the direction of this repugnant sewer. Because in that area full of Wizard Eye Ghosts, there are only two passages: one is the entrance they came from, and the other leads to the repugnant sewer.
So it’s basically a choice between two options.
As for whether the Wood Spirit couldn’t smell the stench and shouldn’t have gone to the other exit, Angel couldn’t explain that. But he guessed that the Wood Spirit might have been closer to the repugnant sewer at that time. A timid creature finding a chance to escape would definitely go toward the nearest place. Whether it smelled or not was not too important; after pretending to be dead for so many years, it was probably already infused with the stench.
Falling into the repugnant sewer is understandable. But how did the Wood Spirit find the Hanging Prison Stairs?
Previously, Angel hadn’t thought about this answer, but now, seeing the vines expressing friendliness toward him, Angel had a guess.
The Wood Spirit had always been facing terrifying monsters. After finally escaping, it encountered a kindred spirit that felt friendly——the magic vines.
So did the Wood Spirit strike up a conversation with the vines?
As for how they chatted, Angel didn’t know. Anyway, this is just speculation, first rationalizing the unknowns before considering whether it’s correct.
The mental power of the vines is very strong, benefiting from the collective spirit of countless vines overlapping here. But their thinking is shallow, and they don’t know much. On the other hand, the Wood Spirit is also an entity lacking basic education.
So, after they chatted, the vines were influenced by the Wood Spirit, which led to the notion that pure Spirits shouldn’t stay with filthy creatures.
And the Wood Spirit, under the guidance of the vines, escaped to a place without Wizard Eye Ghosts——the Hanging Prison Stairs.
The above is Angel’s speculative reasoning based on existing information; whether it’s true or not remains to be seen.
However, what is known now is that the vines have most likely come into contact with the Wood Spirit; otherwise: “Tree Spirit’s” aura on Angel wouldn’t have made them express friendliness.
Wood Spirits and wood elemental magic plants have a certain connection, but mostly as subordinate relationships. Only when the Wood Spirit first releases goodwill does the vines actively be friendly toward it. Other Wood Spirits rarely release friendliness toward wood elemental magic plants, but an ignorant and timid Wood Spirit is hard to say.
Because of the timid Wood Spirit’s precedent, the vines treated the subsequent “Tree Spirit” Angel differently.
Angel speculated a lot; whether correct or not doesn’t matter for now. What he needs to do now is to find a way to make the vines let them enter the passage.
Angel expressed the desire to enter, and the vines did not oppose, but they still showed resistance toward the people in the illusion realm.
That is to say, if they really want to enter, only Angel, as “Tree Spirit,” can go in.
Angel really wanted to use his “silver tongue” to persuade the vines, but unlike Day, the vines’ intelligence was still at the lowest level; many words they couldn’t understand, so saying them would be useless.
Angel thought for a while and decided to retreat for now.
Saying retreat, Angel actually just took everyone back to a place beyond the vines’ perception.
“…The situation is basically like this.” After returning to the illusion realm, Angel told everyone about his communication with the vines, as well as his speculation about the Wood Spirit and the vines.
After listening to Angel’s narration, Daus, who has a big imagination and is also a speculative fanatic, immediately started to speculate along.
“Your guess might be right. However, if the vines is indeed the guardian like Day, then they should fulfill their duties and prevent any creatures from entering, which would definitely include the Wood Spirit. But they let the Wood Spirit in; there might be a story here.”
“As for now, it can actively decide to let you, the fake Tree Spirit, in. I estimate that its thought imprint has been modified. Day said that the Sovereign of Wisdom often enters the Hanging Prison Stairs to take the Wood Spirit away. Perhaps that Sovereign of Wisdom modified the thought imprint of the vines, allowing the Wood Spirit to come and go, hoping that one day, the Wood Spirit would willingly come out.”
“But the Wood Spirit hiding in the Hanging Prison Stairs is very timid and hasn’t come out yet. Instead, it benefits you, the fake Tree Spirit.”
Daus followed Angel’s line of thought and added. Angel actually agreed, but why did he always feel a sour tone in Daus’ words?
Angel said: “Regardless of whether our speculation is correct, our most urgent goal now is to find a way to enter.”
After Angel finished speaking, his eyes slowly roamed and finally fixed on the Black Count.
The Black Count was silent for a few seconds before slowly saying: “I understand what you mean. It’s acceptable.”
After the Black Count agreed, Angel looked at Daus again. Daus quickly nodded: “No problem. We are good friends. I Trust that you won’t trick your close friend.”
In the first sentence, it was “good friends,” and in the next, it became “close friend.” Angel was too lazy to correct Daus. This guy’s best skill is climbing up the pole; the more you pay attention to him, the more confident he becomes; if you ignore him, he might reflect on himself.
So, Angel didn’t bother with Daus at all and directly turned to Vai and Kael.
“I believe you’ve already heard the Black Count and Red Sword’s responses,” Angel said: “The method to enter is actually not difficult; either we fight our way in, or I bring you in.”
“The latter is obviously more suitable. If we cut down all the vines, it would only benefit those who come after us, and might even offend the Wood Spirit and that Sovereign of Wisdom.”
“Do you understand?”
Vai had the Black Count’s explanation, so he didn’t say anything. But Kael was somewhat puzzled: “I understand your meaning, lord, but how will you take us in? By putting us into… you space item?”
Kael’s gaze fell on the bracelet on Angel’s arm.
The space in Angel’s bracelet has a large amount of cultivated Void Floating Algae, which produces oxygen and stabilizes the space, and can indeed hold living things.
However, his bracelet hides many secrets, some of which, if exposed, would absolutely shock the entire Wizarding World. Moreover, it would directly offend the currently recognized strongest in the Southern Region——Mengke.
Angel didn’t dare to casually use the bracelet to store other people.
“My bracelet was made when I was a second level apprentice; the space is not very large, and its main purpose is to reduce presence. It’s okay to store some small living creatures, but for you, it’s a bit insufficient.”
“So, I plan to put you into… my Exile Space.”
The Black Count and Daus immediately guessed Angel’s intention, because as long as they entered Angel’s Exile Space, the vines would absolutely not detect them. And Angel could enter the path obscured by the vines, and then release them from the Exile Space.
However, there is a premise.
Angel must be trustworthy.
The Exile Space is a skill that every formal wizard must master. By utilizing an inherent spell model, one can temporarily maintain an alternate dimension.
In the early days, the Exile Space had a singular purpose: to dump residual waste from extraordinary experiments. Many of these wastes carried the risk of contamination, and indiscriminate disposal was dangerous. Thus, the Exile Space came into being, serving as a wizard-exclusive garbage dump.
Later, through the relentless efforts and innovations of countless wizards, the Exile Space’s function expanded beyond waste disposal. It could also be used to store items temporarily, but it required a continuous expenditure of vast amounts of magic power to maintain its existence. Due to the massive consumption, unless a formal wizard constantly cultivated to replenish energy, they could at most sustain it for a day or two. Therefore, compared to space equipment, it offered no significant advantage.
However, the sole benefit of the Exile Space is that it can store living beings. As long as your magic power is sufficient, you can store as many living creatures as you desire.
After all, the Exile Space is an alternate dimension constructed on demand; its size is entirely determined by the constructor.
But the larger the space and the more living beings it contains, the exponentially greater the magic power consumption required to sustain their survival. Therefore, this function is generally not utilized.
Only those wizards returning from plane expeditions might secretly smuggle items from other worlds.
As for storing people.
The Exile Space can certainly accommodate that, but it relies entirely on the caster. If the caster harbors evil intentions and detonates the alternate space, the people inside can be easily annihilated.
Even if they miraculously survive, they wouldn’t know where they are in the alternate dimension. Without an anchor, attempting to return is a daunting task.
Therefore, using the Exile Space to store people requires mutual trust between both parties.
Especially trust in the controller of the Exile Space.
The Black Count pondered for a long time before agreeing, weighing whether he could trust Angel.
He ultimately chose to trust.
Of course, this trust stemmed from the Black Count’s own confidence. If Angel truly turned hostile, the Black Count believed his nose wouldn’t perish from the detonation of the alternate dimension space. It would only be a matter of time before he returned to the Southern Region by locating his other body parts.
And when his nose returned to the Southern Region, what awaited Angel would inevitably be the relentless pursuit of the entire Noah family.
So, unless Angel was a fool, he wouldn’t do something so senseless.
As for Daus, as a bloodline wizard who dared to speak harshly even to the Black Count’s nose, it’s unlikely that the alternate dimension space could easily destroy him. As long as he doesn’t die, there’s always the possibility of revenge.
Moreover, upon careful consideration, there was no apparent benefit for Angel to “deal with” them at this time.
Therefore, after weighing multiple factors, the Black Count and Daus agreed to Angel’s proposal. Vai and Kael didn’t think as much as the others; being able to safely enter the path behind the vines, they naturally had no objections.
“Since everyone agrees, then… please enter.”
After Angel finished speaking, he gently waved his hand, and an ancient door appeared beside him.
Behind the door was pitch-black; nothing could be seen. This was also a characteristic of the Exile Space: no sky above, no ground below—just a space floating silently in the void.
The Black Count gave Angel a deep look, said nothing, and manipulated the stone slab to fly to Vai’s side, then had Vai take him and step into the door first.
Kael followed closely.
Daus was the last to enter. Unlike the others, he kept chattering incessantly.
He complained that there’s nothing in the Exile Space and that staying inside is particularly boring: “Don’t you alchemists have alchemy workshops? Why not let us go to an alchemy workshop or something…”
Alchemy workshops are also a special kind of alternate dimension. However, compared to the Exile Space, they are more stable. Through alchemical means, they can exist for a long time with minimal consumption, serving as an alchemist’s portable laboratory.
Although Daus said this, he was merely itching to talk. If you really let him enter an alchemy workshop, he would probably become apprehensive.
An alchemist’s workshop often contains secrets. For example, ‘Black Sugar Servant’ Blufin of the Frost Moon Alliance secretly researched evil gods in his alchemy workshop… Ultimately, it almost destroyed the Sky Island above the Inverted Waterfall. If not for Lord Mengke urgently rallying all the wizards to deal with it, the Sky Island——the Southern Region’s base for conquering the Abyss, might have been obliterated.
Even without such catastrophic secrets, a workshop contains the alchemist’s creations, semi-finished products, and defective items. The latter two may seem useless, but the blueprints of alchemical creations are confidential.
Therefore, unless the alchemist actively invites you, it’s best not to enter the alchemy workshop.
Daus just had a loose tongue and a carefree attitude, which is why he kept chattering.
But he didn’t know that Angel actually hadn’t constructed an alchemy workshop yet. Although he had plans to create one, other higher-priority matters took precedence.
For example, self-reflection and absorbing knowledge related to formal wizards—this was a higher priority than establishing an alchemy workshop.
As for alchemy… Well, you can craft things anywhere. Having a workshop can save some trouble, but it’s mainly for convenience and secrecy. Compared to personal cultivation, it’s somewhat less important.
After the chatterbox entered the Exile Space, Angel also placed Dangros and Speedling into it.
This was actually a move to reassure them.
Dangros and Speedling were both invaluable assistants to Angel; even placing them into the Exile Space made it even less likely for Angel to arbitrarily detonate the alternate dimension space.
And this action indeed slightly eased the concerns of Daus and the Black Count.
Whether Angel was trustworthy was another matter, but at least he was someone with his own ideas and keen observation. Deliberate or not, it reflected a wizard’s cultivation.
At least, as far as the Black Count knew, Angel’s mentor was not so considerate.
Therefore, Angel truly didn’t seem to be following the same path as Sanders.
While the Black Count was pondering, the door to the Exile Space closed, and the surroundings instantly became pitch-black.
It was only at this moment that Kael and Vai seemed to realize that their lives were now in Angel’s hands. Although it was the same in the outside world, the external environment didn’t have the impact of this dark void.
Just as everyone fell silent, a sudden bright light appeared in the silent darkness.
It was Dangros, releasing light and heat to illuminate everyone.
With the light, both Kael and Vai inexplicably felt more at ease. They also felt more goodwill toward Angel. Even though Angel was outside, he still cared about them…
However, they didn’t know that Angel hadn’t paid any attention to the Exile Space. Dangros’ sudden emission of light and heat was entirely spontaneous. The reason was simple: after being knocked out by the stench and finally waking up, Dangros’ first thought was: “I’m dirty.”
Dirty? Then burn it!
Burn away the stench and filth that had seeped into its body.
Thus, there was the blazing flame and the scorching light…
It was all just a misunderstanding.
…
Angel, once again in the guise of Tree Spirit, returned to the front of the vines and expressed his desire to enter the cave behind them. This time, the vines did not stop him.
Only the rustling sound was heard as a multitude of vines parted like serpents, revealing a hidden passage in the vine-covered wall.
Previously, Angel had guessed that this path might also be a dog hole. After all, what was exposed was only the size of a dog hole.
Only now did Angel confirm that this was not a dog hole but a normal-sized door, merely mostly covered by vines.
As for why they didn’t cover it completely and left a dog hole-sized opening, Angel asked the vines about this.
The feedback from the vines still left Angel guessing with great effort. In the end, he only roughly inferred that this was not the vines’ autonomous behavior but was deliberately arranged.
As for who arranged it, the vines expressed themselves even less clearly.
Angel could only give up asking. As long as he could enter, that was sufficient. There’s no need to delve too deeply into everything.
After expressing his gratitude to the vines, Angel stepped through the door.
But after walking only a few meters, he retreated. It wasn’t because he encountered danger but because he had forgotten something.
Since the vines might have seen the Wood Spirit, did they know the specific location of the Wood Spirit at this time?
Chapter 2633 The Vine Wall <TOC> Chapter 2635 Void Staircase