Chapter 2687 Setting the Surroundings <TOC> Chapter 2689 Performance
Translator: SumTLMan
As for how to delineate this range, the answer is actually very simple.
In the very beginning, the coordinate resonating with the staff was at the end of the left path. Yet, when they arrived at the fork, the resonance at the end of the left path suddenly vanished, and instead it shifted to the right path.
At that time, Angel found it very strange: why did the location of the resonance suddenly change, and why was the new coordinate point completely at odds with the original’s beginning spot?
One could say, they were two diametrically opposite positions.
After harboring doubts for a brief moment, Angel decided to first check out the coordinate of the left-path resonance. When he reached the end of the left path, he discovered that the resonant coordinate was actually not “on” the path itself, but rather floating in the dark void.
What astonished him was that, along the way to the void, Angel sensed a spatial rift. Spatial rifts are an extremely destructive yet very covert catastrophe, once you collide with one, the consequences are boundless and dire.
If it had been a single spatial rift, one could brush it aside, but afterward, when Angel and Kael explored the void together, they discovered that it was a perilous route filled with spatial rifts at every turn.
The deeper they ventured, the greater the danger. Finding no other way, Angel could only cut his losses in time and head back.
Until the end, Angel never managed to find the actual resonant coordinate point.
At this juncture, Angel’s suspicions began to grow: Was the resonant coordinate a trap, or was it an invitation?
The coordinate in the left path was clearly not somewhere ordinary people could enter. Even a formal wizard, if careless, could perish here. It felt nothing like an invitation, far more like a “please step into my snare” kind of trap.
Following this line of reasoning, if indeed the resonance of the coordinate had been transmitted by the Wood Spirit, perhaps it was not trying to meet Angel at all, but was instead preparing to eliminate him.
If one thinks of it in that way, then the logic lines up nicely.
By nature, the Wood Spirit was timid. It would never place itself in an area rife with spatial rifts. So it must have deliberately lured Angel into that treacherous area.
However, there were still parts that Angel could not figure out.
For instance, if the Wood Spirit really intended to get rid of him, why did it fail to follow through resolutely? Why, at the fork in the road, did it actually change the resonant coordinate from the left path to the right?
And also, how exactly did the Wood Spirit establish a resonance point at the end of the left-path void?
Without the necessary pieces of the puzzle, Angel could not make sense of these two questions while on the left path. It was not until he went to the right path that he found all the missing puzzle pieces.
When he reached the coordinate point on the right path, Angel first confirmed one crucial matter: what precisely was resonating with the staff?
In the end, he confirmed that what was resonating with the staff was… a vine sculpture.
And the material used for that vine sculpture was derived from the Wood Spirit’s avatar. This alone proved that the Wood Spirit could sense its avatar within a certain range and could make its avatar resonate with other avatars to transmit “information.”
This led Angel to speculate that, in the left-path void, the Wood Spirit might have thrown its avatar into that space. Only in this way could it resonate with Angel’s staff from a distance.
This speculation, strictly speaking, was not watertight, because traveling through the left path’s void required passing numerous spatial rifts, making it very difficult for the Wood Spirit’s avatar to avoid them unscathed.
But Angel did not think too deeply about the exact specifics; the priority of that question was low for the time being, so he temporarily set it aside.
Returning to the right-path coordinate point:
Once Angel had proved that the Wood Spirit could sense its own avatar, he immediately realized something.
Right after Angel obtained the log (an avatar of the Wood Spirit), the Wood Spirit must already have felt that its avatar had been “shifted” out of the oil painting. The log-avatar was brimming with energy, and it was clear that the Wood Spirit would pay close attention to such a valuable piece. However, previously it had been sealed inside the painting that contained the “blonde woman,” so it dared not act rashly.
Now that Angel had taken out the log, the Wood Spirit obviously sensed it straightaway. In the beginning, it probably had no idea what was happening and remained silent.
Only later, once it confirmed that the person who took the log was not that blonde woman, did it start harboring its own cautious designs.
And thus came the initial resonance on the left path.
At that point, the Wood Spirit evidently had the intention of removing Angel. Yet at some later moment, it suddenly changed its mind.
The moment it changed its mind was when Angel arrived at the fork.
Why did the Wood Spirit call it off at that time and alter the resonant coordinate, switching from the left path to the right path? Angel had not been able to work that out initially, but after visiting the right-path coordinate, he now had a fair idea.
Because the resonant point on the right path was safe.
The left-path resonant point was extremely hazardous, whereas the right path held no danger. The only reason Angel could deduce was that the Wood Spirit had decided to abandon its plan to kill him.
Why give up?
By analyzing the Wood Spirit’s character, Angel surmised there were only two possibilities: one, the Wood Spirit was frightened by Angel’s show of strength. Perhaps it realized it could not bury him there, and might even incur his wrath, so it discarded its original “lure him into the trap” plan.
The second possibility was that it had seen Angel’s staff.
It was practically certain that the Wood Spirit’s original form was this staff. Regardless of how it viewed the staff that Angel had crafted for himself, without question, the Wood Spirit paid utmost attention to the staff’s ornamentation at the head.
From Cecia’s account, we know that the Wood Spirit would rather remain forever on that platform with Cecia than hand over the single ornament on its true body. Plainly, it set great store by these ornaments that looked mundane but carried profound meaning for it.
Both possibilities might have led the Wood Spirit to abandon its plan to kill him.
However, which possibility it was, exactly, Angel was not sure at the time. Back then, he had no definitive evidence to lean on.
But regardless of the reason, both possibilities share a single common point: the Wood Spirit had seen him.
If it was because of the intimidating power he displayed, that meant the Wood Spirit must have seen Angel, realized how formidable he was, and so gave up its plan. If it was because of the staff, that all the more indicates the Wood Spirit had to have seen Angel up close. Otherwise, how could it notice the staff’s head ornament at a single glance?
Hence, the question arose: Where did the Wood Spirit actually see Angel?
To Angel’s mind, there was only one possible answer, and that was right there at the fork in the road.
Because it was there that the Wood Spirit made its decision to change course.
Of course, one might argue that the Wood Spirit was cunning enough to anticipate Angel’s possible moves in advance and laid out a false pretense at the fork. But in truth, if the Wood Spirit were so astute and devious, would it still have hidden for centuries in the Hanging Prison Stairs?
So, more than likely, the Wood Spirit personally laid eyes on Angel at the fork, prompting it to change its plan on the spot.
This allowed Angel to narrow down the range in which the Wood Spirit might currently be located.
All of the above were things Angel had deduced back when he was still at the resonant point on the right path. Hence, when Angel left the room at the end of the right path, he wasted no time turning around and leaving, all because he already knew precisely where the Wood Spirit was. He intended to head to the fork as a way of proving his supposition.
Unexpectedly, however, Angel had not yet reached the fork when the Wood Spirit reached out to him first.
Earlier, when Angel behaved oddly on the way and kept saying “little fellow lurking in the shadows,” he was not trying to fool anyone, he was being literal. The Wood Spirit truly was peeping in secret, and it had even initiated contact with him.
Still, the Wood Spirit did not reveal its identity. Instead, it put on an air of haughty superiority, indicating to Angel that he should discard the wooden staff in his hand, and it would then point out the most valuable treasure in this place.
At that moment, Angel finally confirmed that the Wood Spirit had not backed away out of fear of his strength. The real reason was connected to the staff.
So as to make its performance appear genuine, the Wood Spirit even imitated the Sovereign of Wisdom’s voice. What it likely never anticipated was that the real Sovereign of Wisdom was, by means of a “live broadcast illusion,” following Angel all along, only the Wood Spirit could not see it.
To avoid wasting time, Angel directly exposed the Wood Spirit’s identity. And in order to convince it further, he also mentioned Sanders’ name.
Angel was uncertain whether Sanders’ name could sway the Wood Spirit’s decision, but at least he had to try. If that failed, he would consider some alternative.
The Wood Spirit’s reaction was intriguing. It seemed somewhat tempted, yet still hesitant. Judging by that, it appeared the Wood Spirit truly remembered Sanders?
Without delay, Angel tried to persuade it. Possibly the Wood Spirit had never faced such a circumstance before, or perhaps Angel’s eagerness caused it to shrink back.
Hence, it stopped contacting Angel altogether.
But Angel was not someone who gave up so easily. Although he acted in front of everyone like he no longer wanted to look for it and planned to leave, that was nothing more than… performance.
After all, it was a live broadcast. Without ups and downs, dramatic twists and turns, how would you keep the viewers hooked?
So Angel gave his utmost in putting on a show.
Whether it was really “acting” or simply “playfulness,” as Daus claimed, is up for debate.
Because Angel refused to give up, there was only one option left: If the mountain would not come to him, then he would go to the mountain.
The Wood Spirit did not wish to face him, nor utter a word. Very well, then he would flush it out and question it face-to-face.
And how to find it? As he had already deduced the Wood Spirit’s location, and since the Wood Spirit had revealed itself by directly contacting him and had clearly spotted the staff up close, Angel no longer needed to guess anything. It surely was at the fork. Consequently, he headed straight there to sense where the Wood Spirit might be hiding.
That was Angel’s real intention. As for the Sovereign of Wisdom’s guess that Angel came for the Goddess, that was purely the Sovereign of Wisdom’s own assumption. Yet it was not the Sovereign of Wisdom’s fault, for there was a gap in information.
The Sovereign of Wisdom believed he held comprehensive intel on the entire underground sewer, yet he did not know that, while Angel’s knowledge might be narrower in scope, on certain points it delved deeper than the Sovereign of Wisdom’s.
Furthermore, the fact that the Wood Spirit was actually Sanders’ staff, this was a “wild card” that had never entered the Sovereign of Wisdom’s calculations. That is precisely why the Sovereign of Wisdom’s speculation took a wrong turn.
…
Angel believed that once he pinpointed the Wood Spirit’s location and arrived at the fork, finding it would be a straightforward matter.
But he was too optimistic.
Even the Black Count, with his terrifying sense of smell, could not detect any trace of it, so how could Angel succeed in locating the Wood Spirit without difficulty?
Angel stood at the fork, scanning the vicinity over and over, but still found no sign of the Wood Spirit.
He even began to doubt whether he had taken a misstep somewhere, was the Wood Spirit’s true body really not here?
When his thorough sweep yielded no results, Angel heard Kael’s voice at his side.
“My lord, is the Wood Spirit truly in this area? Could it possibly be in the void?” Kael, too, had combed the surroundings and come up empty-handed. Seeing Angel stir slightly, he immediately came over to ask.
Angel could not be certain whether the Wood Spirit was hidden in the void. Since he could find no sign of it on the solid ground, searching the void would be even more difficult, with nothing above or below to anchor one’s bearings.
Hence, Angel had no definite answer. But to heighten the “live broadcast effect,” Angel imitated the Wood Spirit’s earlier theatrics, speaking in a measured tone: “I am certain it’s here somewhere. But exactly where…”
Angel paused a moment, stringing them along, then said: “That doesn’t really matter.”
“That doesn’t matter?” Kael asked in befuddlement.
“Of course it doesn’t matter,” Angel said.
Kael pressed on: “Then what does matter?”
Still affecting a mysterious air, Angel answered: “We’ve already found it. Whether it’s willing to come with us, that’s what matters most.”
Hearing Angel’s reply, Kael felt more confused than ever.
Moreover, Kael was not alone, everyone else wore the same bewildered look.
What did Angel just say? That he had already found the Wood Spirit? Where? They saw nothing whatsoever in the area.
Could it be that Angel really had found the Wood Spirit but was withholding the visual update in their shared illusion?
Daus and the others could only look toward the Sovereign of Wisdom. If the reason was indeed that Angel had not updated the illusion for the broadcast, then the only ones who might know the inside story were Kael and the Sovereign of Wisdom, both of whom were physically present.
Kael seemed just as puzzled as they were, so all eyes turned to the Sovereign of Wisdom.
This time, the Sovereign of Wisdom finally spoke, but instead of addressing their confusion, he turned to Angel: “How did you discover this place?”
The Sovereign of Wisdom’s question was not “How did you discover the Wood Spirit?” but rather “How did you discover this place?” In other words, he cared more about the peculiarity of this fork than about the Wood Spirit itself.
Yet Angel misunderstood his intent, assuming he was asking how Angel had uncovered the Wood Spirit’s presence.
To maximize the “broadcast effect,” Angel gave a cryptic little smile and softly uttered a word that made Daus feel quite familiar:
“Inspiration.”
Inspiration? Judging by the subtle details, it did not seem like a pure lie. Yet the answer obviously felt both vague and elusive.
The Sovereign of Wisdom frowned deeply. This deliberate posturing on Angel’s part had made the Wise One’s profile of him ever more contradictory and mysterious.
He increasingly sensed that Angel was a “wild card.”
But whether this wild card would tip his scales for good or bad still required further observation.
Burdened by these thoughts, the Sovereign of Wisdom fell silent.
As the others grew disappointed, Kael once again broke the quiet: “Lord, how do we convince it to come with us?”
What Kael truly wanted to ask was “Where is the Wood Spirit? Have we really found it?” But Angel had spoken so confidently that he had no choice but to go along with it and continue the conversation.
Angel replied: “That depends on its own will.”
Speaking thus, Angel took out his staff and let it stand by his side, placing it there with a gentle touch.
Chapter 2687 Setting the Surroundings <TOC> Chapter 2689 Performance