Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2687: Chapter 2688: Journey of the Heart

As for how to define this range, the answer is actually quite simple.

Initially, the coordinates resonating with the staff were at the end of the left path. But when they arrived at the crossroads, the resonance at the end of the left path suddenly disappeared and shifted to the right path.

At that time, Angel felt very strange. Why did the resonance position suddenly change, and after the change, the coordinate point completely contradicted the original?

It could be said that they were two extremely opposite positions.

After pondering for a moment, Angel decided to first go to the left path’s resonant coordinates to see what was happening. When he reached the end of the left path, he found that the resonant coordinates were not "on the road", but in the dark void.

To his surprise, on the way to the void, Angel perceived space fissures! Space fissures are a type of disaster that is extremely destructive yet very hidden; once you collide with it, the consequences are endless.

If it were just one space fissure, that would be the end of it, but later, after Angel and Kaier explored the void together, they found that this was actually a deathly path filled with space fissures.

The deeper they went, the greater the danger. Angel had no choice but to retreat in time to minimize losses.

Until the end, Angel never found the resonant coordinate point.

At this time, suspicion had already begun to arise in Angel’s heart: Is the resonant coordinate point a trap or an invitation?

The resonant position on the left path is not one that ordinary people can enter; even an official wizard might easily suffer a setback here if not careful. It doesn’t seem like an invitation but rather a trap designed to ensnare.

According to this speculation, if the coordinate resonance is indeed information sent by the Wood Spirit, then perhaps it doesn’t want to meet Angel but is preparing to eliminate him.

Thinking this way, the logic becomes clear.

The Wood Spirit is inherently timid; it couldn’t possibly want to place itself in a space filled with rifts. It specifically lured Angel to that dangerous area.

However, there were still things Angel couldn’t understand.

For example, if the Wood Spirit really wanted to get rid of him, why didn’t it firmly execute the plan, but instead changed the location of the resonant coordinates at the crossroads?

And how did the Wood Spirit create the resonant point at the end of the left path’s void?

The answers to these two questions couldn’t be worked out on the left path because of missing necessary pieces of the puzzle. It wasn’t until Angel went to the right path that these pieces were found one by one.

At the right path’s resonant point, Angel first confirmed one thing: what was resonating with the staff?

Ultimately confirmed, it was... a vine sculpture resonating with the staff.

And the material of the vine sculpture came from the Wood Spirit’s derivative objects, which actually proves one thing: the Wood Spirit can perceive its derived objects within a certain range and can make them resonate to transmit "information."

This led Angel to speculate whether the resonant point on the left path was because the Wood Spirit threw its derived object into the void, allowing it to resonate with the staff?

This speculation is actually not rigorous because the left path’s resonant point would pass by a large number of space rifts, which makes it difficult for the Wood Spirit’s derived objects to precisely avoid the rifts.

Angel did not think deeply about the specifics because the answer to this issue wasn’t of high priority at the moment and could be temporarily set aside.

Back to the right path’s coordinate point.

After proving that the Wood Spirit could perceive its derivative objects, Angel immediately grasped one thing.

The Wood Spirit had actually already sensed that its derived object had been "moved" out of the oil painting after Angel acquired the Round Wood.

The energy within the Round Wood derivative was extremely abundant, unmistakably attracting the Wood Spirit’s attention. However, previously, it had been sealed in the painting, and inside that painting was the "blonde woman," making the Wood Spirit cautious.

Now that Angel had taken out the Round Wood, the Wood Spirit naturally noticed it immediately. Initially, the Wood Spirit probably didn’t understand what had happened and dared not make any moves.

Until later, perhaps the Wood Spirit confirmed that the one who took the Round Wood was not that blonde woman, it began to have some subtle ideas.

Hence, there was the initial resonance on the left path.

At that time, it was clear that the Wood Spirit had intentions to eliminate Angel. But later, it suddenly retreated.

This retreat happened when Angel reached the crossroads.

Why did the Wood Spirit retreat and change the resonant point from the left path to the right path? Angel didn’t understand at that time, but visiting the right path’s resonant point made it clearer.

Because the right path’s resonant point was safe.

The left path’s resonant point was extremely dangerous, but the right path’s resonant point was void of danger. The only possibility Angel could think of was that the Wood Spirit gave up its plan to kill him.

Why choose to give up?

By analyzing the Wood Spirit’s character, there are only two possibilities. The first is intimidation by power. It might have realized that Angel was too powerful and possibly couldn’t be easily killed, thereby risking hatred, causing it to abandon the initial trap plan.

The second, it saw Angel’s staff.

It can basically be confirmed that the Wood Spirit’s main body is the staff. Regardless of the Wood Spirit’s thoughts about Angel’s self-created staff, there is no doubt that the Wood Spirit cares deeply about the staff’s head ornament.

From Cicia’s narrative, it’s known that the Wood Spirit would rather stay forever on Cicia’s platform than surrender the only ornament on its main body, indicating how much it values these seemingly ordinary but actually significant ornaments.

Both scenarios could make the Wood Spirit abandon its plan to kill him.

However, Angel did not make a judgment at the time because there was no clear evidence to rely on.

Regardless of the possibility, they both share a common point: The Wood Spirit saw him.

Due to being intimidated by power, the Wood Spirit backed off. This means the Wood Spirit saw Angel, found him to be powerful, and thus abandoned its initial plan.

If it’s because of the staff, then the Wood Spirit saw Angel up close, or else it would be hard to notice the staff’s head ornament at a glance.

Which leads to the question: Where did the Wood Spirit see Angel?

In Angel’s mind, there is only one answer, which is the crossroads.

Because it was there that the Wood Spirit changed its decision.

Of course, it might be that the Wood Spirit was calculatingly clever, anticipating Angel’s judgment and deliberately setting a decoy at the crossroads. But after thinking carefully, if the Wood Spirit had such cunning and depth, would it have been hiding in the Hanging Jail Stairway for hundreds of years?

So, the only possibility is that the Wood Spirit saw Angel firsthand at the crossroads and made the change immediately.

This also allowed Angel to determine the current range of the Wood Spirit’s whereabouts.

The above deductions were made when Angel was still at the right path’s resonant point. Thus, when Angel emerged from the room at the end of the right path, he left promptly because he was already sure of the Wood Spirit’s range and prepared to confirm this at the crossroads.

But to his surprise, before Angel reached the crossroads, the Wood Spirit contacted him first.

Earlier, on the road, Angel’s sudden unusual behavior, coupled with frequently calling out "little fellow watching in secret," was not a jest at the group, but rather the Wood Spirit was indeed watching in secret, and had even proactively contacted Angel.

However, the Wood Spirit did not reveal its identity but instead adopted a pretentious tone, indicating to Angel to drop the wooden staff, and it would point out the most valuable treasure here to Angel.

At this moment, Angel finally confirmed that the Wood Spirit did not give up killing him due to being intimidated by power. It was because of the staff.

To make its act more convincing, the Wood Spirit even imitated the voice of the Wise Sovereign. However, what it probably didn’t realize was that the Wise Sovereign was actually following Angel through a live broadcast illusionary realm, but the Wood Spirit couldn’t see it.

Angel, in order not to waste time, directly exposed its identity and even revealed Sanders’ identity to make the Wood Spirit believe him.

Angel didn’t know if Sanders could influence the Wood Spirit’s decision, but he figured he might as well mention it, and if it didn’t work, he’d figure something else out.

The feedback from the Wood Spirit was interesting, showing some willingness yet some hesitation. From this feedback, it seemed like it actually remembered Sanders?

Angel immediately began to persuade, but perhaps the Wood Spirit had never encountered such a situation, or perhaps Angel’s enthusiasm made it a bit hesitant.

Then it stopped contacting Angel altogether.

However, Angel wasn’t someone who would give up so easily. Although in front of everyone, he acted as if he was ready to leave and not search anymore; in reality, that was just... for show.

In a live broadcast, without ups and downs, twists and turns, thrilling settings, how can there be audience retention?

That’s why Angel put so much effort into his performance.

— But whether it was a performance or, as Dox said, "a mischievous nature," it was a matter of perspective.

Since Angel wouldn’t give up, he had only one option: If the mountain won’t come to me, then I shall go to the mountain.

The Wood Spirit wasn’t willing to face him, wasn’t willing to speak, so he would find the Wood Spirit and ask it directly face to face.

And how to find it? They had already deduced the Wood Spirit’s location, and since the Wood Spirit had actively contacted him, it had already exposed itself by seeing the staff up close, so there was no need to think further. It must be at the crossroads. Therefore, Angel went straight there to sense the Wood Spirit’s presence.

This was Angel’s true intention. The Wise Sovereign speculated Angel was there for the Goddess, purely from his own imagination. But this wasn’t the Wise Sovereign’s problem; it was mainly due to the difference in information.

The Wise Sovereign thought he had all the information about the Underground Aqueducts, but he didn’t know that while the breadth of Angel’s knowledge might not surpass his, Angel’s depth in certain areas even exceeded that of the Wise Sovereign.

Plus, the Wood Spirit was a transformation of Sanders’ staff, something the Wise Sovereign didn’t anticipate as a "wildcard." This led to the Wise Sovereign taking a wrong turn in his assumptions.

...

Angel thought he had confirmed the Wood Spirit’s location, and by coming to the crossroads, he would naturally find the Wood Spirit.

But he was still too naive.

Even the frightening olfactory capabilities of the Black Earl hadn’t discovered any trace, so how could Angel find the Wood Spirit so smoothly?

Standing at the crossroads, Angel continuously tried to sense the surroundings, yet found nothing.

He even began to doubt if he got something wrong somewhere, and the Wood Spirit’s true form wasn’t really here?

After searching in vain, the voice of Kaier reached Angel’s ears.

"Sir, is the Wood Spirit really nearby? Could it be in the Void?"

Kaier had also conducted a thorough search of the surroundings, but found nothing. Seeing Angel showing signs of contemplation, he immediately stepped forward to inquire.

Angel wasn’t sure if the Wood Spirit was in the Void, but he couldn’t find any trace of it on solid ground, let alone in the boundless Void, making the search even more challenging.

Therefore, Angel couldn’t give a definitive reply. But to make the live broadcast more engaging, Angel imitated the Wood Spirit’s pretentious tone, calmly saying, "I can confirm it’s nearby. But where exactly..."

After pondering for a moment, leaving everyone in suspense, Angel said, "That’s not important."

"It’s not important?" Kaier looked utterly confused.

Angel: "Of course it’s not important."

Kaier hurriedly asked, "Then what is important?"

Angel continued with a mysterious air: "We’ve already found it, but whether it agrees to come with us, that’s the most important thing."

Upon hearing Angel’s response, Kaier became even more perplexed.

Furthermore, not only Kaier, but everyone wore a face full of questions.

What did Angel just say? They had found the Wood Spirit? Where? Wasn’t there nothing around?

Or, did Angel indeed find the Wood Spirit but didn’t update the live illusion in the Illusionary Realm?

Dox and the others could only look toward The Sage, because if it was really because Angel hadn’t updated the Illusionary Realm, then only Kaier and the Wise Sovereign, who knew the internal situation of the Hanging Jail Stairway, would have answers.

Kaier, now just as baffled as them, could only seek help from The Sage.

The Sage finally spoke up, but instead of answering everyone’s doubts, he looked at Angel and asked: "How did you discover this place?"

The Sage wasn’t asking, "How did you discover the Wood Spirit," but "How did you discover this place?" This actually indicated that compared to the Wood Spirit, he was more interested in this location.

This crossroads had anomalies. He wanted to know how Angel found it.

But Angel misunderstood The Sage’s intention, thinking he was being asked how he discovered the Wood Spirit.

To maximize the "live effect," Angel displayed a mysterious smile and then lightly uttered a word that Dox found rather familiar:

"Inspiration."

Inspiration? Viewed from details, it seemed truthful, but the answer was obviously perfunctory and false.

The Sage furrowed his brows, as Angel’s mysterious behavior made The Sage’s analysis of Angel increasingly contradictory and full of mystery.

The Sage increasingly felt that this was a "wildcard."

But whether this wildcard was favorable or detrimental on his scale, further observation was needed.

The Sage, preoccupied with his thoughts, didn’t speak again.

When everyone was feeling dejected, Kaier spoke once more: "Then, then Sir, how do we make it willing to come with us?"

Kaier wanted to ask more, about where the Wood Spirit was. Did they really find the Wood Spirit? But Angel’s words seemed so assured that he had no choice but to follow Angel’s lead and ask further.

Angel: "That will depend on its own willingness."

As he spoke, Angel took out the staff, gently placing it beside him.