Quickly, Angel realized he overthought.
Because the path wasn’t inside the painting but behind it.
The Wise Sovereign pushed the oil painting from the side like a sliding door, revealing a previously nonexistent passage before them.
"Come on, inside is where you won’t be disturbed," the Wise Sovereign said, leading the way inside.
For the others, the continuous actions of the Wise Sovereign did not elicit any unusual expressions. In the Wizards’ Realm, various encryption methods abound, which is why when exploring a relic, some people find nothing, while others can gain treasures by solving a certain puzzle. The fact is, there are just too many encryption methods, some of which are incomprehensible, while others happen to align with you.
——Speaking of which, Kaier obtained the Alchemy Blueprint from the legacy site after solving a certain puzzle.
Therefore, witnessing the Wise Sovereign’s concealed passage method, most people were unconcerned.
The only one who cared was Angel. The reason was quite simple, because——
There was an identical bookshelf in Naraku City!
When Angel visited the underground aqueducts of Naraku City, passing through the Hall of Wisdom, it was already in ruins. Only the alchemy boilers and some bookshelves were intact, and there were still some books on the shelves.
Angel even recorded the contents of those books at the time, but they were all ordinary and held no value.
However, if the projection in the Nightmare Realm truly corresponds entirely to reality. Does that mean there is actually a hidden path behind the bookshelves in Naraku City?
Angel pondered this question seriously.
If there really was a path, could it also hide some secrets?
Following this concealed path, the group reached a stone door. The Wise Sovereign stopped and opened the stone door, revealing what was inside.
Behind the stone door was a place like a ’study’, but this ’study’ specifically referred to a ’room for reading’. Because the four walls of the room were completely lined with wooden bookshelves, packed densely all the way to the ceiling.
At the center of the room, however, was a carpet and luxurious soft sofa, along with unknown delicacies on a fine table.
The standard study desk was missing here. This place purely looked like a space for reading and relaxation. Especially evident from the food was how ’unconventional’ the owner of this place was.
At least, with Angel’s past upbringing, he couldn’t bring himself to eat in a reading space.
Whether it was fruit or any other food, if it stained the books, it was disrespectful to the books and knowledge. This was the education Angel received from a young age.
But now... Angel didn’t care much anymore, as any food residues could be easily cleaned with the simplest tricks.
Nevertheless, he now rarely relied on food to replenish energy. When he did eat, it was usually formally, such as the gourmet dishes prepared by Greya. At such times, if Angel ate while doing other things, Greya would definitely feel insulted. So Angel could only say that he may have the opportunity to try, but most times, he hasn’t had the chance.
"Come in, this is where I spend my idle time reading," the Wise Sovereign entered the room first, gesturing for the others to follow.
The others entered, but Angel did not move.
He stood outside the stone door, looking deeper down the corridor: "The space inside seems larger?"
Angel didn’t use spiritual power to explore; doing such a thing in front of the Wise Sovereign would be rude. He drew this conclusion based on the wind dynamics sensed by Speedy.
According to Speedy, the deeper space inside might not be smaller than the Hall of Wisdom outside.
This was probably another surprise for Angel, who was paying attention to the secret passage. He ultimately had to visit the Nightmare Abyss City, and if there were more hidden places to explore, the harvest would surely be greater than last time.
The Wise Sovereign said: "Inside there, it’s where I sleep."
"Sleeping in human form is not comfortable."
This implied that the Wise Sovereign’s so-called bedroom was where his true body—the Triclops Blue Demon—slept.
No wonder it was much larger than this space, considering the Triclops Blue Demon’s massive size.
"What’s this, are you interested in my bedroom? Do you want to take a tour?" The Wise Sovereign wasn’t being sarcastic, and if Angel nodded, he wouldn’t mind letting Angel visit the bedroom.
It wasn’t just a bedroom but also what he considered the—Land of Oblivion.
He thought it interesting to show outsiders his future tomb while alive, sharing thoughts about constructing the tomb.
As for whether he’d be disturbed after death? That didn’t matter; once dead, everything vanishes, with no concern for affairs behind.
Moreover, just because the Wise Sovereign considered it a tomb doesn’t mean it would inevitably be used. It was merely urging him to change, to alter the present, the future, and fate... to prevent the Land of Oblivion from becoming such, to keep Naraku City from falling completely.
To the Wise Sovereign, the bedroom inside was both a mourning bell and a warning bell.
"No, thanks." Angel wasn’t aware of the Wise Sovereign’s inner thoughts, and logically, one shouldn’t visit someone else’s bedroom, so he directly refused.
The Wise Sovereign shrugged and nodded indifferently.
Eventually, Angel entered through the stone door.
The stone door closed, and the Wise Sovereign let out a long sigh, then stretched lazily, lying halfway on the soft sofa right in front of everyone.
Everyone watched this scene, exchanging bewildered glances.
Sensing the silence in the air, the Wise Sovereign glanced up: "Pay no mind, I feel relaxed here and in my bedroom."
Those were his words... but the contrast was stark.
Previously, the Wise Sovereign’s demeanor was so aggressive, and now, he seemed completely different.
However, everyone is multifaceted. Though surprised, the group quickly accepted it.
At the Wise Sovereign’s gesture, everyone sat down.
"Would you like to try some food?" The Wise Sovereign pointed to the table.
But no one spoke.
The Wise Sovereign muttered: "Not eating, then let’s get down to business."
"Since you’ve overcome You Nu’s blockade and came to me, that’s great; the test I set for you is basically complete, with only one item left, which is really something you would do anyway. That is——"
"Successfully reach the legacy site and leave from it smoothly."
Black Earl: "What significance do these tests have?"
The Wise Sovereign: "Not much, just some whimsical thoughts of mine."
Everyone frowned, feeling somewhat tricked.
The Wise Sovereign continued: "I know you have many questions, don’t worry, now I can answer them all for you. About the legacy site and the questions you asked me privately before."
"But before that, there’s one more thing to attend to——"
The Wise Sovereign didn’t continue, instead, he gently raised his hand, countless light patterns emerged, converging in his palm...