Chapter 2612: Chapter 2613: Wood Spirit
"This kind of question doesnât seem like one youâd ask." After listening to Angelâs question, Zhou glanced lightly at the only two apprentices present: "I guess itâs these two kids asking, right?"
Angel: "Thatâs not important. Besides, I am capable of asking such questions too."
Zhou snorted, "Being protected by demons, followed by strong winds, and surrounded by an illusionary realm, if you still dare to ask such a question, then youâre quite cowardly."
Angel: "Facing an unknown path, being a little cowardly is not a bad thing."
As Zhou and Angel exchanged words, the questioning Vay had long since lowered his head in embarrassment. If he had known it would make the adults be mocked by that demon, heâhe shouldnât have asked this question.
However, it feels pretty good to be defended by the adults...
While Vayâs thoughts were a mess, on the other side, after a bit of sarcasm, Zhou eventually answered the question.
"For you, thereâs nothing ahead worth mentioning as dangerous. Itâs just a bunch of Ghosteye Witches who go crazy at the sight of blood. If you canât even deal with the Ghosteye Witches, then you neednât confront that existence."
Setting aside the emotional language, Zhouâs answer was more or less as Angel had guessed.
Indeed, where there are Ghosteye Witches, the Hanging Jail Stairway is not far.
However, Angel was still a bit puzzled, "As guards, donât you stop those Ghosteye Witches?"
"Thereâs no need to stop them. They have existed for a long time." After hesitating for a moment, Zhou said, "They are raised by that existence, supposedly to study some traits of the Ghosteye Witches."
After Zhou finished speaking, he paused for a while, seemingly sensing the feedback from a contract. After confirming there were no violations, he sighed in relief, "Years ago, the Ghosteye Witches often hovered around the Hanging Jail Stairway. Since they canât enter the real prison, just treat them as guard dogs. However, as time goes by, the number of these guard dogs has grown."
As Zhou finished speaking, Angel heard Doxâs voice in the Mind Ribbon: "Raised for experiments but still allowed to roam freely... That existence is really carefree. And the most important thing is, others see it and donât care, directly treating Ghosteye Witches as âguard dogsâ? I can imagine how crazy the Hanging Jail Stairway was once."
Angel agreed with Doxâs words, but these were thoughts heâd keep to himself, maintaining a calm expression when facing Zhou.
"And then, are there any other dangers besides Ghosteye Witches? Arenât any Magical Creatures imprisoned in the Hanging Jail Stairway?" Angel asked.
"As long as you donât enter the Hanging Jail Stairway, the only danger youâll face is the Ghosteye Witches. As for entering the Hanging Jail Stairway..."
Zhou paused for a moment, "I canât say more."
Everyone: "..."
Zhou: "However, I can tell you, the Hanging Jail Stairway has already broken, and you canât get to the upper floors. As for the lower floors, even back then, there was nothing too dangerous."
Doxâs voice came through the Mind Ribbon again: "What do you mean canât get to the upper floors? As long as itâs in the relic, I donât believe we canât reach it!"
Angel silently replied, "You donât need to comment on every word Zhou says. As for the Hanging Jail Stairway, it might not be in the relic."
Dox paused for a moment, "What do you mean?"
Angel: "Different Space."
Once a ladder in a Different Space is broken between the upper and lower layers, no one knows where the broken piece will drift in the plane corridors. So, what Zhou said wasnât actually wrong.
On the other side, after mentioning the broken ladder, Zhou remained silent for a while, "Iâve said all I can about your question. If you have any more questions, ask them quickly. If not, thatâs fine; if you have them, donât be as boring as this question."
Following Zhouâs words, Angel immediately raised a question that wasnât so boring and childish.
It was Kaierâs question.
What ill intent could Kaier have? He just wanted to know the history of Naraku City, even if itâs merely the corners.
However, after listening to Angelâs question, Zhou pondered for a long time before managing to utter, "This question definitely wasnât from you."
Angel responded with a faint smile, admitting, "Among my companions, thereâs one whoâs very interested in archaeology."
Zhou: "I canât answer that question. Also, I take back what I said earlier; I allow you to ask boring and non-nutritious questions."
Angel had guessed that Zhou couldnât answer Kaierâs question. But seeing Zhou awkwardly swallow back his own words with a frustrated and intriguing expression made Angel feel like the question was worth it.
"Then Iâll ask another question, also posed by my companion." This time, Angel didnât hide the identity of the questioner and directly brought Dox into the conversation.
"This companion of mine has a hobby of recovering bodies of pioneers and loves collecting valuable items. Zhou, do you have any advice for him?"
Zhou looked at the bewildered Dox who was dragged into the spotlight by Angel and let out a cold chuckle, "You said it best earlier, what pioneers? Theyâre all robbers."
With that, Zhou didnât continue to mock Dox, thinking to himself, is there anyone here not out for profit? Zhou didnât believe it.
So, although he mocked Dox a bit, he felt that Dox might be the most genuine among this group of people.
"Pursuing profit is not shameful, but unfortunately, there are very few benefits you can gain upfront. If youâre interested in the bodies of Ghosteye Witches, you can kill some of them. If I remember correctly, there are two Wizard-Level Ghosteye Witches there, and even at prices from ten thousand years ago, those two Ghosteye Witches are quite valuable."
Dox silently added in his mind: Now, even more valuable!
Wizard-level Magic Creatures are becoming increasingly rare in the Southern Domain, and to obtain them, you have to go to other worlds. For a Wandering Wizard like Dox, it doesnât matter much which world he goes to. But the methods to go to other worlds, aside from knowing the location yourself and traveling through the Void, are mostly controlled by large organizations and Extreme Sects, making it hard for Dox to obtain the usage rights.
Even if the rights were granted, upon returning, if an Extreme Sect wants to inspect Otherworldly items, without a background, you could only accept it.
This leads to Wizard-level Magic Creature bodies being extremely frightening in value now. Furthermore, Ghosteye Witches, which are very difficult to grow to Wizard-Level from a Low-level Demon, would at least be among the final highlights at an auction.
Considering this, Dox was already drafting a plan in his mind... thinking about how to convince Angel to go and kill those two Ghosteye Witches.
In case it really doesnât work out, heâd have to weigh the pros and cons of leaving the group versus staying with the group before making a decision.
However, before Dox could persuade Angel, or even start weighing the pros and cons, Zhou added another crucial point, "By the way, those two Wizard-Level Ghosteye Witches were originally raised by that existence and are the only two still alive. Although that existence hasnât paid much attention to them over the years, if you kill them, you might offend that existence."
Dox: "...What if we kill them and leave?"
This time, Zhou wasnât bothered by Doxâs interruption: "If that existence truly cares about the lives of those two Ghosteye Witches, even using a Plane Corridor, you wonât be able to escape. If not, you can kill them and continue wandering here, itâs no problem."
In other words, itâs a gamble of a choice.
Killing them could mean death, or living.
Faced with such a choice, Dox had no doubt and chose... not to kill.
Even if there was only a ten percent chance of death, if it hit, it would be certain death. For long-living wizards, gambling with their lives is something theyâd only do as a last resort.
The Southern Domain is so vast and there are so many worlds. If they canât harvest here, they can go elsewhere. Thereâs no need to gamble everything here.
"Other than the Ghosteye Witch, what about the remains of the pioneers? Are there other good things in the Hanging Jail Stairway?"
Day: "The remains of those who entered first were torn and devoured by the Ghosteye Witch long ago. As for what they left behind, perhaps itâs in the stomach of some Ghosteye Witch? Or maybe in some corner inside. Spend some time searching carefully, and you might find something."
"As for the Hanging Jail Stairway..."
At this point, Day paused for a long time, muttering words under their breath. From the occasional whispers that slipped out, it was clear Day was testing the limits of a contract.
After a while, Day looked up: "There are indeed some useful things in the Hanging Jail Stairway, but without the help of an Official Wizard from the Space Series, you basically canât get them. And I also canât say where exactly they are."
There was indeed someone with Space abilities present, but Kaier was still an apprentice, clearly not meeting Dayâs specified conditions.
"However, there is one thing that you are eligible to take. If you can get it, it would be tremendously beneficial to you." As Day said this last part, their gaze settled on Angel. "You" turned into a singular "you."
"What does that mean?" Angel asked.
"Donât you want to find that existence? Thereâs something in the Hanging Jail Stairway that it really likes. If you get that item and bring it before it, it might fulfill your wish."
After listening to Dayâs words, Angel showed no emotional fluctuation because Dayâs response was indeed full of temptation.
It seemed eager to urge Angel to do this.
Encountering this kind of situation usually isnât a good thing. â Said Angel, who was often tempted by Jon in a similar manner as a child.
Day also noticed Angelâs wary gaze and, after a quick thought, roughly understood why Angel suddenly became cautious.
Day chuckled lightly: "Do you think Iâm tricking you?"
Angel didnât speak, but Dox chimed in: "This is obviously a trap. Something that the one you mentioned couldnât even get, why should we?"
Day: "You donât understand the situation."
In the following minutes, Day briefly explained the ins and outs of the matter.
In the lower levels of the Hanging Jail Stairway, there is a "Spirit," not a soul, but a spirit born of all things, like the Mirror Lady and the Tree Spirit.
This spirit hasnât been born for long, just a few hundred years.
Itâs a Wood Spirit.
Maybe because it hasnât been in contact with the outside world and wasnât well-guided after being discovered, this Wood Spirit has a peculiar personality.
Itâs very... cowardly.
Its birthplace was outside the Hanging Jail Stairway. At that time, there were a lot of Ghosteye Witches outside, and upon seeing so many cruel and ugly monsters, it directly... fainted from fright.
When it woke up, it played dead for more than half a year, fearing it would be torn apart by the Ghosteye Witch. During this time, Day and the other guards didnât find it, indicating its strong concealment ability, probably honed during that period.
Once its spirit became more robust, it rushed into the Hanging Jail Stairway at the first opportunity.
It was only then that the guards discovered its existence. However, due to their limited action range, they canât leave here and canât observe the specific situation inside the Hanging Jail Stairway.
A hundred years ago, an existence with the title of The Sage was wandering in the Underground Labyrinth and wandered near Day.
Day then told it about the situation. At that time, Day didnât think much of it, but later, Day found that The Sage became very curious about that spirit.
It made many trips to the Hanging Jail Stairway, but unfortunately, it returned empty-handed every time.
Initially, Day thought it hadnât found the Wood Spirit, but upon inquiry later, it turned out... The Sage discovered the Wood Spirit on the first visit.
The Wood Spirit had disguised itself as the bars of the jail, and without attention, it was indeed hard to find. But The Sageâs rank far exceeded the Wood Spirit, and it easily discovered it.
After multiple exchanges, The Sage found that this Wood Spirit was truly very "cowardly." It was so cowardly that it initially dared not answer The Sageâs words.
Even after many years, despite The Sage teaching the Wood Spirit many things, the Wood Spirit still didnât trust and was very wary of The Sage because its appearance... was scarier than the Ghosteye Witch.
"That existence likes the Wood Spirit very much and even regards it as a successor. However, the Wood Spirit just doesnât trust it. That existence is also very courteous and wouldnât take the Wood Spirit out without its approval. So, that Wood Spirit is still in the Hanging Jail Stairway." Day paused: "If you gain its approval and bring it out, I believe that existence will be lenient with you."
After listening to Dayâs entire narration, Angel roughly understood the situation.
If itâs true, perhaps it could be worth a try. Wood Spirit, Wood Spirit... He had seen the Tree Spirit and been in contact with it for a long time, even carrying its leaves, which might help the Wood Spirit trust him.
Seeing Angel showing some interest, Day added another sentence: "However, if you canât get its approval and forcefully try to take it away... that existence will surely appear."
Dox: "So, that existence you mentioned, is it always watching the Wood Spirit? If we go, wonât it also discover us?"
Day: "I previously stated that it considers the Wood Spirit as a successor and will naturally bestow it with appropriate protective objects. As for monitoring the Wood Spirit, thatâs impossible."
Day did not explain why monitoring the Wood Spirit was impossible. However, Angel explained it to Dox through the Mind Ribbon.
And the explanation was quite straightforward: "Different Space."
Angel had previously mentioned that the Hanging Jail Stairway was a Different Space, which Dox clearly hadnât taken to heart.
"Can you tell me more about that Wood Spirit?"
Angel was already interested and decided to go and meet this special Wood Spirit. If he could get through the hall of that existence via the Wood Spirit, that would naturally be best.
If that was not feasible, then once they were out, they would have to try another entrance and test their luck.
Of course, Angel also had a final plan, the "Summoning Ritual." However, if he summoned the Ironclad Granny, itâs likely the Black Earl would also be alerted, and the outcome of this relic could become unpredictable.
Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, Angel wouldnât resort to this tactic.
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