After finishing the discussion about Greya, Angel asked about the situation over at the Tidal World.
Sanders’ expression was slightly peculiar: "Not bad, just saw a lot of old folks who say one thing and mean another."
"Old folks who say one thing and mean another?"
Under Angel’s curious prompting, Sanders hesitated for a moment before explaining.
They had now arrived at the Wild Stone Wilderness, but they did not follow Angel’s route, detouring through several Elemental Territories along the way.
At each location, Rhein would engage in friendly, sincere, and "honest" exchanges with the local Lords and Sages.
Under the deterrence of the "Witch’s Confession," the Lords and Sages everywhere would reveal their true selves. Many who outwardly seemed aloof were internally quite different—this was what it meant by saying one thing and meaning another.
In Jon’s words, it’s like claiming to dislike something while actually being sincere.
Take, for example, the Lord of the Baya Desert—Sandstorm Sundstorm, rumored to have a capricious, domineering personality, setting strict rules for the Baya Desert and punishing any violations by imprisonment in sand cells, akin to a dictatorial tyrant.
In reality, Sandstorm Sundstorm suffers from extreme paranoia.
Under the Witch’s Confession, whenever Sandstorm Sundstorm spoke, it took a quirky turn, for instance:
"We hope to reach a consensus with Sandstorm, what are his intentions?" Rhein asked earnestly.
Sandstorm Sundstorm, raising an infinite sandstorm, hesitated: "I can consider it. —Consider what? This old guy is a strong human, how can a strong person possibly care about others’ opinions? He’s here to harm me! He wants to invade the desert, throw me in the ocean, and turn me into a puddle of mud! Bitter Platinum, say something, quickly chase him away, I’m scared..."
Angel was also stunned by this.
Although he didn’t meet Sandstorm Sundstorm last time in the Baya Desert, he’d already surmised from various signs that this was a Lord with obsessive-compulsive disorder and paranoia.
But he didn’t expect that inside Sandstorm Sundstorm resided a little princess who depended on a Sage.
How to describe this? A "mommy’s boy"?
Angel: "At that time, what was Lord Reine’s reaction?"
Sanders shrugged: "No reaction at all, but the other attendees had quite a big reaction, especially Frost Iser, and Soft Wind Ulanos... as a result, Sandstorm Sundstorm left immediately."
"Luckily, with Nami Midori holding things together, combined with Bitter Platinum’s earnest persuasion, and Reine revealing the weakness of the Witch’s Confession, Sandstorm Sundstorm was eventually coaxed back."
At this point, Sanders couldn’t help but sigh.
Angel, though he wasn’t there, couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed for Sandstorm Sundstorm reflecting on the scene.
This isn’t just about keeping up appearances; as a local Lord, there’s a risk of losing authority and dignity.
Of course, to outsiders, this might seem kind of adorable, but those at the center of the whirlwind would probably rather not have witnessed it. Especially the elemental creatures of the Baya Desert, who would surely worry about repercussions in the future.
Besides Sandstorm Sundstorm, several other Lords were also cases of saying one thing and meaning another, like the current location of Sanders and Angel, the Lord of the Wild Stone Wilderness: Slipsoil Charnel.
Lord Slipsoil is a steady person, but he loves to use big words, which often end up being off the mark. Angel had experienced this himself.
However, at the time, Angel didn’t know what Slipsoil Charnel was thinking internally when he said those awkward words; Sanders has now uncovered the mystery for him.
"The future you depict is shrouded in fog; in a hurry, I still find it hard to accept. I cannot imagine how such a giant epic can overcome the vulgarity of the past. —Finally used it, Posia said earlier that the gem in her hand became foggy again; now I’m applying it live, she’ll surely praise me, right? Foggy means advanced haziness, showing my erudition. And that last sentence is from Kalomchis, quoted to reveal my depth once again. These foolish humans must have been taken in by my famous quotes. Hahaha!"
How to evaluate this? Angel thinks Slipsoil Charnel’s situation is slightly better than Sandstorm Sundstorm’s; it’s not unusual to have someone steady on the outside but flamboyant inside, like a certain someone.
But considering Slipsoil Charnel’s enormous size with such an internally flamboyant demeanor still makes Angel feel a bit of cognitive dissonance.
However, comparing these later examples, Angel realizes that his own answer of liking milk back then doesn’t seem so hard to accept anymore. After all, drinking milk is nothing to be ashamed of.
"That’s roughly the situation, though some turned hostile because they say one thing and mean another. With Nami Midori present, they still gave face." Sanders commented.
The current progress is decent; most have agreed. Occasionally, a few Lords are overly cautious, not expressing their opinions directly, but they’ve all agreed to proceed to the Fire Elemental Territory for further discussions. As long as they’re willing to talk, there’s a window for further dialogue, so overall it’s moving in a positive direction.
Of course, there are some Element Lords who are clearly against humans, but they are few. Even if they oppose, in the overwhelming tide, they will still have to bow.
"Since you and Lord Rhein have reached the Wild Stone Wilderness, will you head directly to the Fire Elemental Territory next?" Angel asked, planning to return to the Tidal World if they went directly.
Sanders nodded: "Indeed, we plan to meet the Sage Magu in the Fire Elemental Territory. But you don’t need to rush back, after all, we still have to wait for the Lords from various places to arrive; I’ll notify you when they’re almost there."
Angel nodded in agreement.
In the following time, Angel and Sanders discussed the state of the relics, the clues found, and tasks assigned by Nis.
Regarding Angel pursuing the truth of the relics, Sanders wasn’t overly concerned, only sighing in regret when he learned that the Night Butterfly Witch might have already died.
Compared to the relics, Sanders was more interested in Angel’s progress in cultivating mirror space.
In response, Angel naturally didn’t hold back.
He shared the entire progress of analyzing mirror space and also mentioned his current troubles.
"Spatial measurement and the layout of Illusion Nodes." Sanders muttered softly, then said to Angel, "I can’t offer much advice on this; you still need to study it yourself. However, the spell technique I created, ’Nightmare Substitute,’ involves some spatial applications and the use of nightmare illusions. When you arrive in the Tidal World, I’ll give you some data records on the Nightmare Substitute, which might inspire you."
The Nightmare Substitute is Sanders’ signature spell technique, capable of creating a Nightmare that breaks through space and even performing a seamless switch with the Nightmare to escape desperate situations.
This spell technique indeed contains spatial abilities, but it doesn’t mean Sanders masters the Space Series with ease.
The reason Sanders could create this spell technique and push the spatial applications of the Nightmare Substitute to the extreme is due to the Bloodline he integrated from the Nightmare Realm: the Dark Gold Nightmare Bloodline. The Dark Gold Nightmare Bloodline naturally grants him a portion of spatial mastery, originating from the bloodline rather than an understanding of the essence of space.
Although over the years, Sanders, with the help of the Dark Gold Nightmare Bloodline, has researched some spatial abilities, these still rely on the bloodline itself and offer Angel little enlightenment.
Everything still depends on Angel’s own research.
"I understand, thank you, Mentor." Angel solemnly bowed. Although Sanders was only providing data on the Nightmare Substitute, it was already quite remarkable. Because if Angel had any ulterior motives, he could completely find the flaws of the Nightmare Substitute from that data. Sanders’ willingness to share the data with Angel represented a high level of trust. For this reason alone, Angel’s grand gesture was justified.
Sanders accepted the courtesy and said indifferently, "This is also for myself. I hope to see more research that combines space and illusion techniques."