Pathway

Chapter 84: The Forsaken Palace [6]

Ju Feng took a couple of steps towards the tree before mindfully checking the surroundings. He had to be sure he wasn't walking into any trap of illusion or the ever deadly trap of dreams.

"Don't stress yourself, young one. If I want you dead, you'll be dead by now."

He continued to observe the grey tree with extreme caution as he contemplated maybe it was time for him to use the safe word and bade farewell to the place instead of facing another revenant-like situation.

"Are you just going to stand there while my poor soul wallows in sadness? A lonely tree like myself can do with a little company. It's been a long time since I last saw a living soul, though, never seen one pitiable like yourself."

Ju Feng closed his eyes and continued to ruminate on the situation. It would be reasonable and just for him to call it a day and to return to safe archway. But from the little he had seen of the small grey tree, he could truly have been dead already. The aura of the tree convinced him of its power. What's the point of standing where he was if it didn't make any difference? Hence, he decided to move closer to the tree and to find out more about the place.

"What is this place? Is it even real?"

"Is this place real? Do you want to find out by me killing?"

"Uh?"

"Hehehe. Relax your mind, young man. That's only for a good laugh." 

"Now, tell me who you are."

"I'm Ju Feng."

"Okay, Ju Feng. You should be able to know the difference between an illusion and reality by now. Maybe you are too young to know, which is fair to you. But you are definitely too weak, which could've also affected you."

The tree changed its voice to a more serene one before continuing.

"Can you see me?"

"Mhm."

"Can you hear me?"

"I can."

He replied with a thoughtful nod.

"And you can also feel the snow. That's real enough for you, young Jufeng. Now that we have settled that. Welcome to Aculum Divinis. The unending frosty space between illusion and reality."

"This place has no end?"

"It's the effect of this place that affects the space and time creating traps of illusion and dreams. You could be lost in illusion or dreams of this place forever if you are not strong enough. The time in here is very much different from that of the outside space. This I have come to know. Do you understand what that means?"

"Yes."

"I don't care how you got here or why. But, ignorance could easily get an entity killed. Maybe you wouldn't have come if you had known what this place is. But, here you are and I don't mind a little company either. And if I were you, I would try to make the best use of my time here. Although, this place is filled with illusion and dreams, many are the great things hidden in here. Great things like treasures, if you know where to look."

"I guess you know where to look."

"How did a tree like me knew where to look? For millions of years I've been existing here. At first, I wasn't the only one here. There were others but they gained transformation before me and they went after most of the treasures. Some were fortunate enough while others were not so fortunate, but most left with one item or the other. Then, I came to be, at this side of the Divinis, all by myself. One thing is that, It takes a very long time for divinis daimon trees like myself to gain awareness talkless of any form of transformation."

After a brief pause, the tree continued. 

"During all this time, I've been gathering more information about some valuable things,  especially treasures. Treasures you wouldn't even imagine could exist here. It may look like saddened life, but solitary life has its advantages too. I guess you also want to know where to look, don't you?"

"Well, if it's not too dangerous. It's worth a try."

"That's the spirit of an adventurer. We all know that every adventure carries an amount of danger. It is left for you to use your own initiative to survive them. I will give you the location of the treasures you need to know and are much more safer for you, their specific directions and steps. The rest is left to you. Is that alright by you? "

"It's alright."

"But first, you have to bargain for the information you are going to get." 

"Bargain? What bargain?"

Ju Feng stared at the tree in disbelief. 

"Yes. Life of a daimon is about give and take, young one. So, what do you have?"

Ju Feng started to think about the situation. How could he tell whether the grey tree was telling the truth about the treasures? And if it was telling truth, where could treasures be in a place like this? What was the assurance that he wouldn't die trying to get the 'so-called' treasures? Moreover, he had nothing he could even use to make a bargain for the information?

"I have nothing to make a bargain with."

"How can you be here with nothing?"

Ju Feng contemplated harder. Apart from the recently acquired heavenly solitude fruit, he had only the Eddaros crystal. But he knew there was no way the tree would accept the Crystal. And he wasn't prepared to part with the heavenly solitude fruit, although he never like the type of fruit he got in the gardens of the palace.

"Nothing."

There was a long silence from the tree which was beginning to make Ju Feng nervous. It was after a long while that the tree finally spoke. 

"Alright then. You'll have to agree to bring me certain items under oaths. After I tell you about the treasures, but not the locations."

"I don't know if that's fair enough, but I accept."

He replied with a nod. What if the tree decided not to tell him the locations of the treasures. He would still be under oaths to bring it the treasures it required. He really wanted to say no, but it was as if he was under compulsion to accept the oaths according to the words of the tree.

"Wise decision, nonetheless. You have the adventurous spirit in you for accepting, dedpite not know what you're getting in return. But I can assure you, you'll find them worthy."

The grey tree made a rustle with the branches as it was adjusting his position to be more comfortable.

"There are five treasures I'll tell you about. It's left for you to choose the three you want and after that I'll tell you the specifications, directions and steps. Alright?"

Jufeng nodded in acknowledgement.

"Perfect. First, there's the Soul Banishing Seal. From what I managed to gather, this is a low-grade heavenly treasure. However, it could send the soul of any being into the samsara cycle on the mortal plane. Even the hegemons couldn't escape its power if it was used by another powerful nascent soul. Although, it had no use of sort on the heavenly plane, it's still a powerful mortal item. And by the way, it should be one of the forbidden seals on the mortal plane."

"The second one is the bracelet of destruction. It's a magical treasure that belonged to a fallen primordial necronom celestial during the primordial wars. The ring could raise a powerful army of daemon kings from the netherplane. The ring is so powerful that it could conjur the gods and also open a portal for them to pass through. This is a truly terrifying item to possess."

"The third one is a spatial sac. It's no longer in good shape, so if you are fortunate enough, you may find it whole. What it contains? I have no idea. But since it's a spatial sac, it means it didn't belong to any god since the gods use spatial dimension."

"The fourth one is the Mystic Order. A small crystal spark which I figured should be either a heavenly or luminous treasure. Though, it might also be a powerful magical item."

"And lastly, a soul ring. I don't know if you know about it, but it's a valuable orb. Although it has no greater use, it could still help anyone below the nascent soul to form a soul space in advance. So, these are the five treasures, and I know you are not disappointed by them, are you?"

"No."

Ju Feng replied still in disbelief of what he had just heard. All the items were immense in significance to him. He was finding it difficult to believe he could have any of those.

"You can have them. All you need to bring back to me, are the Scripts of Sentience. They're even the easiest to find. So, what do you say, young one?"

Jufeng stared at the grey tree lost in thoughts before asking.

"What if I couldn't find the scripts?"

"Since there are three scripts, you'll have to leave the three items you bring back with you. But, I don't really want to take from your treasures. So, it's better to just try and bring back the scripts."

"Fine. I accept."

"You do? Excellent. I truly admire your will-spirit, little one. I really do. Now, let's take the oaths that you are agreeing willingly. After that, I'll give you the directions, and the steps you need to take."