There was one more thing that puzzled the Sage the most: Wood Spirit! You are my student! You’re not his accessory!
— If everyone looked down at this moment, they would discover that the Wood Spirit had already transformed from a tall, upright bamboo-like figure into a slim, dragon-like vine.
Turning into a vine is one thing, but why do you have to coil around Angel’s staff like a snake, so tightly?!
Previously, Angel’s staff looked quite simple from afar, just a long, slender black stick. Even the somewhat ornate head was intricately carved, hard to see from a distance, and further obscured by a sleeve.
But now, the vine-like dragon form of the Wood Spirit wound tightly around the black staff, with luminous tendrils faintly glowing, complementing the dark ochre shaft, making it look like a staff carved with a coiled dragon, the glowing green tendrils as exquisite as gemstones.
From an unremarkable black staff, it had quickly transformed into a magnificent gemstone staff.
To the Wise Sovereign’s eyes, this all appeared as the Wood Spirit willingly degrading itself, turning from a noble spirit into merely an accessory!
The Wise Sovereign restrained his emotions, forcing himself not to open his third eye, but his gaze couldn’t help drifting towards the Wood Spirit.
Under the stare of the Wise Sovereign, the Wood Spirit couldn’t help but shrink back, tightening its coils around the staff.
The Wise Sovereign took a deep breath and diverted his gaze from the Wood Spirit to look at the innocent-faced Angel: "Since you already know it’s the pusher behind the scenes, are you sure you still want to talk here?"
Angel did not immediately turn around; he glanced at the Black Earl. The Black Earl gently said through the Mind Ribbon: "You decide."
After pondering for a moment, Angel said, "Let’s talk here then."
Since entering the Underground Aqueduct, Angel’s strategy had been to avoid interaction with the Merchant Organization as much as possible. Because the mindset of local tyrants often carries certain obsessions. They explore on their own, and leave once they’re finished.
Even when the Merchant Organization tracked them, Angel left a message by the Magical Energy Array he cracked, warning them of the danger; although Dox referred to this as a psychological tactic, betting on whether they dared to come in, Angel personally felt that the Merchant Organization seemed pretty decent overall. Some individuals were flawed, but in general, they ensured a decent life for mortal adventure groups, neither enslaving, nor killing wantonly, nor restricting their freedom, simply managing—which already made Angel hold them in high regard. Therefore, his message was genuinely out of consideration for those who came after them.
If they really wanted to deal with the Merchant Organization’s people, they would have acted already. Since they hadn’t, there were natural reasons for it.
But now, there’s no other way. No matter what, they will eventually confront the people from the Merchant Organization. Since battle is unavoidable, then let it come.
They did not choose to go to the Hall of Wisdom to let the Wise Sovereign exercise his rights as the master to expel the people from the Merchant Organization. Angel considered the mirror person behind the Merchant Organization.
The current identity of the mirror person is unknown. If the Wise Sovereign expelled the people from the Merchant Organization, it would be like directly slapping the mirror person in the face.
While that might feel satisfying, it would be Angel and his party who would have to pay the price.
After all, the Merchant Organization targets them, not the Wise Sovereign. If the Wise Sovereign helped them resolve the issue, they would instantly owe two favors: one for the eviction, and another for the potential consequences of the Wise Sovereign defying the mirror person, which would also fall upon them.
They didn’t even know what the Wise Sovereign wanted them to do yet, but they’d be indebted to him, which would make them guilty when refusing, possibly even directly losing the right to refuse.
So, taking everything into consideration, Angel leaned towards having the discussion here. If they met people from the Merchant Organization, they’d resolve it here.
Since the Wise Sovereign stated clearly that the mirror person couldn’t offer much help to the Merchant Organization, dealing with the tracked party with their group shouldn’t be too challenging.
The Wise Sovereign didn’t disagree with Angel’s choice; he understood that this discussion here was only superficial. For a deeper conversation, they’d likely resolve the "minor interlude" first and have a more in-depth discussion once they reached his dwelling.
But even for a shallow discussion, the Wise Sovereign had many questions: "You want to talk now?"
Angel looked around at the desolate surroundings, realizing it was hard to find a place suitable for a conversation, let alone a flat surface. Angel thought for a moment and asked, "Wise Sovereign, do you mind entering my illusionary realm?"
The Wise Sovereign: "I don’t mind."
He had already entered previous illusionary realms, so why be afraid of others?
Since the Wise Sovereign agreed, Angel immediately opened the luxury and magnificent Nightmare Realm. Moreover, this Nightmare Realm enclosed the surrounding Earth Ring Wall as well.
This allowed others inside the Earth Ring Wall to see and hear their conversation.
The thoroughness of Angel’s attention was evident.
As soon as the Luxury Nightmare Realm emerged, the Wise Sovereign’s brows furrowed deeply. He had vaguely sensed before that Angel’s illusionary realm was quite ordinary, but now, this realm was even more peculiar.
It resembled the grand hall of a traditional noble’s castle but was even more exquisite and magnificent.
The chandelier was made of various bright gemstones, shining brilliantly everywhere. The piano played on its own, and the beautiful melodies flowed like water through the hall.
Like firefly lights flitting around, it added a dreamy beauty to the scene.
Everything seemed lavishly beautiful, but the Wise Sovereign sensed a deep-seated crisis beneath this magnificence. Especially the firefly lights floating around, which he couldn’t see through, and the more he observed, the more alarmed he felt.
The whole illusionary realm... no, it couldn’t just be called an illusionary realm; it was almost like a real noble hall.
It even exuded a strange, mysterious aura.
This was the first time the Wise Sovereign had encountered such an illusionary realm. Was it created by the illusionist wizards of this era? Or was it unique to Angel himself?