When Angel removed the round wood and the painting turned to ashes, deep within the Underground Labyrinth, in a hidden dark space, a pair of emerald green eyes suddenly opened.
With her awakening, a faint glow immediately filled the surroundings.
The scope of the glow was small, but it was enough to reveal her outline.
She lay among a cluster of red flowers, a woman of extreme beauty, with golden hair cascading down her temples, and prism earrings gently swaying as she sat up.
If Angel and the others saw her at this moment, they would realize that the woman’s appearance was identical to the blonde farmer in the previous painting "Pastoral Leisure".
However, the woman’s eyes in the painting were full of spring, while her gaze was like an endless forest, deep and aloof.
After she sat up, she fell into contemplation.
Why did she awaken? Right, it seemed like the watch point of the Hanging Jail Stairway was sabotaged?
Who sabotaged the watch point? The Wise Sovereign? No, he still has requests of me, and he needs my help to repair the Magical Energy Array, so he has no reason to sabotage that watch point. Moreover, with Naraku not returned, the Hanging Jail Stairway holds no other value for the Wise Sovereign.
Besides the Wise Sovereign, who else could it be?
The slumbering Obsessors? No, none of the implanted watch points show signs of Obsessor awakening. Moreover, if they did awaken, You Nu would notify me first thing.
Not the Obsessors, nor the Wise Sovereign, then only two options remain:
First, the Magic Monsters in the Void. Second, the Wood Spirit.
Is the former possible? Unlikely, unless they fell into the Void, the Magic Monsters would not attack a life form on the Hanging Jail Stairway.
As for the Wood Spirit... I observed that Wood Spirit a hundred years ago, timid as a mouse, a slight rustle in the wind would scare it into playing dead. The watch point at the Hanging Jail Stairway was made from the derivative of that Wood Spirit’s true form. Given the Wood Spirit’s nature, it would realize danger had occurred there and wouldn’t return.
Moreover, I vaguely detect an anomaly in energy flow in the Magical Energy Array within the Hanging Jail Stairway. That Wood Spirit should be there and wouldn’t run to the Ruins.
If it’s neither the Magic Monster nor the Wood Spirit, there are no options left.
While the golden-haired woman mused, she suddenly raised her head to look into the depths of the darkness.
After silently staring for a few seconds, a male voice sounding like a Circus Joker emerged from the darkness.
"Oh my, I’ve been discovered again? I’m so envious, even though Adanis sleeps every day, how is she stronger than the unfortunate Olao?"
With the voice, a tall and slender silhouette vaguely appeared in the darkness.
"Because I’m cultivating, while you, who seem diligent, are just muddling through." The woman called Adanis said calmly.
"There you go again, every time I say you’re sleeping, you claim you’re cultivating. Do you take me for a fool? I once fought alongside our master, so I clearly know what sleeping looks like!"
Adanis replied softly, "It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe... Also, why have you come to me?"
"Your side lit up, it was hard not to notice. However, you haven’t slept long this time; it used to be months or years, but this time you’ve awakened so many times within a day. What, had a nightmare?"
Adanis pondered for a moment, looking at the unclear silhouette in the darkness: "What do you mean by I’ve awakened many times? I’ve only woken up once."
"Once? I remember it being twice, did I remember incorrectly?" The mocking tone made it unclear whether it was intentional or not.
Adanis quietly said, "You remembered wrong."
"Alright, let’s say I saw wrong then." He appeared to concede, but his tone carried a hint of teasing.
Additionally, Adanis noticed Olao’s wording; initially he muttered to himself ’Did I remember wrong’, and now his response was ’let’s say I saw wrong’.
One is a memory error, the other a vision error. The differences between the two are quite significant.
Adanis lowered her brow: "You didn’t come just to tease me, did you?"
"Am I teasing?" His sarcastic tone made it obvious to anyone who wasn’t a fool that he was speaking in jest.
"If you won’t state your purpose, I’m returning to sleep." Adanis said while gently touching the blood-red flowers on the ground.
"Don’t be fooled, the Wise do not act foolishly." Although the tone remained somewhat exaggerated, it was noticeably more sincere than before.
Adanis snorted lightly but did not reply.
"Furthermore, obstruction isn’t a solution. They might not be the ones we’re waiting for, but they are descendants of Noah. If you don’t even give them a chance, what do you think our master would think upon his return?"
Adanis: "The master you speak of will not return."
Olao: "I know you have grievances with the master, it doesn’t matter. But, Adanis, you must remember, we were born in darkness, grew up in darkness, but it doesn’t mean we belong to darkness."
After Olao finished this statement, his silhouette gradually faded into the darkness, leaving behind only a sentence: "I will not alter any decision you make, the same goes this time. But you may not truly be able to stop their progress, for as the Wise do not act foolishly, while you are using him, he is also probing you..."
"...Dwelling in darkness isn’t our destiny... We will eventually leave here one day..."
The voice slowly dissipated, and Olao’s silhouette completely vanished.
Gazing into this boundless darkness, after a long time, Adanis whispered softly: "We are not the same."
After speaking this, Adanis fell silent for a while, refocusing her thoughts onto the sabotage of the Hanging Jail Stairway’s watch point.
Although Olao’s sudden appearance interrupted her thoughts, their dialogue sparked new ideas in her mind.
Because there are rarely outsiders in the Underground Aqueduct, especially reaching the Hanging Jail Stairway. She only considered the native life forms of the Underground Aqueduct earlier and overlooked this group of people.
"If they are Noah’s descendants, that might be possible." Adanis frowned, confusion marked her expression.
She wasn’t puzzled over their reason for destroying the watch point, for the ignorant are prone to committing ignorant acts; besides, a destroyed watch point can be rebuilt.
What intrigued and puzzled her more was: "How did they destroy the watch point?"
The watch point she left at the Hanging Jail Stairway, though its overall Energy Level was not high, was intricately crafted with a mix of Magic Pattern, Mirror, and Space, making it highly deceptive.