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38.04% The Cosmic Myth Hunters / Chapter 35: 35. A Magical Garden Beneath the Mound

Chapitre 35: 35. A Magical Garden Beneath the Mound

The young man instinctively spun around and watched as Prince Arkana moved his hand, controlling the movement of the fir tree roots with his Timber Defense technique. The roots quickly intertwined and knotted together, forming a sturdy barrier.

Outside, the hanging roots of the soul-draining banyan tree slammed repeatedly into the wall, unable to break through.

While Kairav was still mesmerized by the roots, an irritating voice suddenly broke his focus, making him scowl immediately. "Failed Product, do you still want these infrared goggles?"

"Why don't you just swallow them?" Kairav snapped when he saw Casildo holding his infrared goggles with a mocking grin.

"Relax, man. It's not like you lost anything. These things were useless anyway, especially in that magic fog," the burly youth said, tossing the goggles back to Kairav.

Kairav caught them, looking puzzled. "Magic fog?"

Arkana, who had finished his task, approached and joined the conversation. "The fog we saw earlier was a magical mist that created an illusionary barrier around us, distorting our senses. It tricked our eyes and ears, making it seem like we couldn't find each other, even though we were probably right next to each other," he explained.

Kairav furrowed his brow in confusion. "But why did the fog suddenly disappear?"

"It didn't disappear. You just broke free from its influence," Baron chimed in, leaning against the wall. "Check the red substance on the back of your hand."

Kairav immediately looked at his hand and was surprised to find a sticky red substance clinging to his skin. "What is this?" he asked, rubbing at it in an attempt to clean it off.

"Don't wipe it off," Gavin warned, lightly smacking Kairav's hand. "The nameless young man put that sap on you to protect you from the fog. He also saved me and the others the same way."

Kairav quickly glanced at the nameless young man, who had been silently watching from the corner of the room. He turned back to Gavin. "What kind of sap is this?"

"Sap from the soul-draining banyan tree," Gavin replied, making Kairav frown again.

Arkana patted Kairav's shoulder. "Did you notice the hanging roots chasing you earlier?" he asked. "Those were the roots of the banyan tree, which feeds on the souls of people lost in the mist."

Kairav suddenly remembered something horrifying he had almost forgotten. "Wait, I saw Trisha standing there like a lifeless corpse. Does that mean her soul was taken too?"

Casildo grinned wickedly. "What? Do you still care about that woman?" he teased. "Failed Product, don't tell me you've fallen in love with that bandit."

"Shut up!" Kairav growled. "I'm just curious—"

"The roots take a whole night to consume a soul. They release the empty bodies at dawn when the mist fades," the nameless young man said from where he stood.

His voice cut through the room, silencing everyone as they listened intently.

"After that, their fate is left to chance. If they're lucky, someone else might find them and help them return home, even though they'll be in an undead-like state. But if they're not so lucky..." He paused. "They'll wander around the mountain until they either die from exhaustion or starvation."

Kairav thought for a moment. His brow furrowed deeply. "If there are survivors, is there any way to restore their souls?" he asked.

"Maybe if the Banyan tree is destroyed, their souls could be freed," the nameless man replied, his face blank. "But that's easier said than done. Even my techniques only left minor damage, and that was only because I used my Phoenix spirit's power."

"What kind of creature do you think is hiding inside that tree?" Arkana mused, deep in thought.

"Could it be a Dwarapala?" Kairav suggested suddenly.

Gavin looked confused. "A Dwarapala?"

Kairav nodded. "Yeah. Remember the inscription at the blood pool? It mentioned a giant guardian, the Dwarapala, laughing because it had found new victims."

The room went silent as everyone pondered Kairav's words. But soon, Casildo spoke up with a serious expression. "It's possible, but... I think it's more likely that a Danyang lives in the tree."

"Danyang? You mean a tree spirit?" Kairav asked, frowning.

Casildo nodded. "Yeah."

He turned to Arkana and the nameless man for their opinions. "You two agree with me, right?" he asked, pointing at them in turn.

The nameless young man and Arkana both nodded in agreement.

Kairav protested. "But according to legend, Danyangs are benevolent spirits. They inhabit ancient trees and protect the environment around them."

"Follow me," the nameless young man said abruptly.

He slung his backpack over his shoulder and began walking deeper into the room, leading the others further inside.

As they ventured on, the room beneath the mound turned out to be much larger and more spacious than they had expected. It felt less like a room and more like a hidden cave beneath the Lushterra.

The air grew thicker, and the darkness deepened.

As they walked further, the sound of bat wings flapping erratically overhead disturbed their hearing. Their noses were assaulted by the smell of bat droppings and rotting fruit scattered along the path.

Kairav, preoccupied with shining his flashlight in random directions and observing his surroundings, suddenly realized that one by one, his companions had entered a narrow crevice in the wall. The gap was so tight that they had to squeeze through it one at a time.

As Kairav waited his turn, he clicked his tongue in irritation when he saw a ridiculous thing was happening in front of him.

"I'm stuck!" Casildo shouted, struggling to move his tall, muscular body through the gap.

"Move, idiot!" Kairav growled, finally releasing his pent-up frustration on the burly youth by delivering a hard kick to Casildo's rear, pushing him through.

"You bastard! Failed Product!" Casildo cursed.

"And you're a brainless moron!" Kairav shot back. "You could've destroyed the gap and made a bigger entrance! But instead, you let your useless bulk get stuck!"

"You're both useless!" Baron snapped, suddenly appearing and slapping both of them on the back of their heads.

"Why the hell are you slapping us?!" Kairav grumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Will you two stop arguing and look at what's ahead?" Baron said in frustration.

Still frowning, Kairav reluctantly turned his head in the direction Baron pointed, and in that moment, he fell silent, utterly mesmerized.

Before his eyes was a vast, breathtaking chamber filled with vibrant plants and flowers of all colors, like a beautiful garden hidden beneath the Lushterra.

"How is there a place like this underground?" Kairav whispered in awe, watching a swarm of colorful butterflies dancing through the air.

Without realizing it, Casildo had stepped up beside him and delivered another snide remark. "Aren't you a cryptozoologist? Shouldn't you believe in things beyond logic?" He mocked, quoting Kairav's own words as he walked ahead.

"Tsk!" Kairav scowled, but his attention was drawn to a massive forest pine tree in the center of the garden.

The tree seemed to possess a magnetic pull, and without realizing it, Kairav found himself walking toward it, as if hypnotized.

"Don't get too close. Stay back!" the nameless young man commanded sharply.


Chapitre 36: 36. Speaking With the Tree Spirit

The curly-haired young man immediately stopped in his tracks. He froze and glanced toward the nameless young man, who had turned and was now walking toward Arkana.

Driven by curiosity, Kairav strained to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"I found this tree yesterday while exploring this place. It seems to have a pull of magical energy. Can you sense the presence of the tree spirit hiding inside it?" asked the nameless young man in a flat tone, his dark eyes fixed on the towering mountain pine.

The young prince also couldn't resist the allure of the tree's magical energy. His feet began to move toward it, his gaze locked onto the lush branches and needles of the pine.

Slowly, the prince closed his eyes and gently placed his palm on the tree's trunk.

A sudden cool breeze appeared, and every needle on the tree began to sway as though they were the ones blowing the wind.

"There's definitely a Danyang spirit guarding this place, but she's trapped, imprisoned by black magic," Arkana said, his eyes still closed.

"Black magic…" echoed the nameless young man, his expression unreadable. "Only people from the Midnight Melody Tribe could do something like this."

"We'll know for sure once we ask her ourselves."

As soon as Prince Arkana said this, a faint green light mixed with black mist emanated from the mountain pine. Kairav and his two friends, watching from a distance, were immediately taken aback by the sight.

"Hey, Bro, what's he doing?" Gavin whispered to Kairav. The young man in question could only shake his head, his eyes never leaving the scene.

"Can you free her?" Casildo asked Arkana.

The young prince nodded. "I'll try," he said, stepping back from the tree.

The prince closed his eyes again and began to invoke the radiant energy of his green peacock spirit using the Radiant Soulforge Awakening technique.

From the darkened sky, bathed in waves of colorful light, green energy from the Cosmic Resonance Radiation shot down to the ground, piercing deep into the Lushterra and then slipping into the prince's skin, infusing his body with power.

The light, visible only to the three in the room, slowly evaporated into the green mist that enveloped Prince Arkana.

The green peacock totem on his back began to unfurl its beautiful tail, and in the blink of an eye, a majestic green peacock spirit emerged from his body, soaring into the air with a resonating cry.

Squawks!

Casildo suddenly walked over to Kairav, flashing his signature cocky grin. "Bro, can you see that peacock spirit?"

The curly-haired young man looked around frantically. "Where?"

Casildo's eyes went wide. "Are you blind again?! Nameless young man! The Failed Product's eyes are messed up again!" The burly young man groaned.

But the nameless young man, hearing Casildo's complaint, only glanced briefly at them before turning away, showing no interest in what he heard.

"Don't mess with me! There's no peacock spirit. Even my two friends here don't see it," Kairav snapped, irritated.

"It's natural for them not to see it. Only astral conjurers can see each other's animal spirits!" Casildo explained, pointing at Baron and Gavin, who were staring at each other in confusion.

"But you!" Casildo continued, poking Kairav in the forehead. "You're baffling! How come you can sometimes see them and sometimes not? Are you nightblind or something?"

Kairav angrily swatted Casildo's hand away. "Your eyes are the ones that are messed up! Because you're an ancient fossil—fifty years old!"

Casildo nodded his head sarcastically, holding back his annoyance. "Okay, if I'm a living fossil, then he's an unidentified prehistoric relic!" he quipped, pointing at the nameless young man, who was watching their childish bickering with a blank expression.

Kairav slid closer to Casildo. "How old is he anyway?" he whispered, his curiosity piqued.

Casildo grinned mischievously, shrugged, and started walking away. "Why don't you ask him yourself if you've got the guts?" he teased.

"You bastard!" Kairav muttered.

"Can you act a little more mature?" the nameless young man scolded Casildo as he approached.

"Why? I'm just trying to entertain myself by messing with him," Casildo responded dismissively.

The nameless young man turned his gaze toward Arkana, who seemed visibly frustrated by the interruption. "Just keep going. Ignore this useless fool."

Casildo was about to defend himself, but Prince Arkana cut him off first.

"If this idiot opens his useless mouth again, we'll just offer him as a sacrifice to the mountain!" the prince snapped, conjuring a glowing green orb above his right palm.

[Ethereal Sylvan Burst]

As the glowing orb appeared, the peacock spirit slowly fanned out its tail like a blooming flower. Bright green beams of light began to shine from every feather of its intricate pattern. One after another, bursts of green light exploded from the roots of the plants covering the area.

The light flowed like water, spreading toward the final plant—the mountain pine—slowly infusing it with the green energy. From the very tips of its roots, the light wrapped around the tree until it completely enveloped it, and then, as if from within, the light exploded.

Boom!

But the tree remained intact, not a single needle fell from its branches. The green glow gradually faded, revealing a bright white crack in the tree's trunk, from which a figure began to emerge.

The three young men, who had been unable to see the earlier events, could only gape in amazement as a female figure suddenly appeared from within the mountain pine.

"From her appearance, she must be a Danyang spirit, one of the legendary tree spirits of Sovereign's Mainland," Gavin whispered to his friends.

Kairav nodded, focusing on the female figure adorned with a crown of leaves, her entire body made of wood.

The Danyang walked toward Prince Arkana and, upon reaching him, kneeled in deep respect. "Thank you for freeing me from this black magic prison," she said in a soft, melodic voice.

"Stand, there is something I wish to ask you," Prince Arkana said.

The tree spirit nodded and rose to her feet.

"Who imprisoned you with this black magic?" he asked.

"About ten years ago, two people came to this forest. One was a man, the other a woman. I don't know exactly who they were, but I did see the spirit of a black dragon serpent and a cuckoo bird during our fight."

Casildo sneered. "As expected, those bastards were from the Midnight Melody Tribe and the Darkconian Empire."

The prince continued his questioning. "What did they do here?"

"They wanted to make me and the spirit of the banyan tree their slaves. We refused, and as a result, we were forced into a fierce battle. In the end, we both lost." The tree spirit's face grew somber.

"I was imprisoned in this tree, and the banyan tree spirit was corrupted into an evil creature by their black magic. They did the same thing hundreds of years ago to Dwarapala, the guardian of the stepped pyramid buried within this mountain."

"So, the ruins we found earlier really are a stepped pyramid?" Kairav asked, his brow furrowed.

The spirit nodded. "Yes, hundreds of years ago, someone built a stepped pyramid on this mountain, with the first and second terraces buried inside and the third terrace above ground."

"Since then, after the pyramid was completed, Dwarapala began capturing hunters or climbers on this mountain under the influence of black magic."

"He took them into the pyramid, but I'm not sure for what purpose," she continued. "But he suddenly stopped when the person who turned him into an evil creature stopped coming to the mountain. And that was hundreds of years ago."

"Do you know who that person was?" Arkana asked.

The Danyang fell silent for a moment, hesitating. "I'm not sure. It was so long ago. But the man resembled the one who imprisoned me ten years ago—they both were around fifty years old and could control a dragon serpent spirit."

"Did he carry a large black sword?" the nameless young man interjected.

The tree spirit nodded confidently. "Yes."

Prince Arkana turned to the nameless young man. "Do you know him?"

"Ardika Amartya," he replied calmly, though his eyes betrayed a deep, burning anger.


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