When they saw Master Wellspring, their gazes all landed on favonovel.com with sharp caution. None of them moved to stop him, which made it clear they had already received instructions from Beast Sovereign Morgana.
The male cultivator nodded to the four beast-folk adepts, then pushed open the doors of Thornwild Palace and said to Master Wellspring, “Please enter… Her Majesty the Beast Sovereign is waiting for you within the great hall.”
Master Wellspring bent slightly at the waist and said, “Thank you…”
Then favonovel.com stepped carefully into Thornwild Palace.
The great hall of Thornwild Palace was extremely spacious, even larger than the great hall of Wellspring Order by a measure. But it was nothing like Pole Star Hall, with its dazzling gold and bottomless extravagance. Instead, the place carried an ancient and solemn air.
The pillars inside the hall had been carved from ancient primordial wood. They rose high and thick, and across their surfaces were engraved the history and legends of the beast race. Those images looked startlingly lifelike. They recorded the beast race’s rises and falls, its honors and humiliations, from the ancient era all the way to the present, and the sight of them left a weight behind the eyes.
Soft beast-hide carpets covered the floor. Each step sank in without making the faintest sound, and exquisite nine-tailed Moonfox patterns had been embroidered across the carpets with remarkable care.
Along both sides of the great hall stood a dozen or more beast-folk adepts, all of them carrying Golden Immortal cultivation. Their eyes stayed respectfully fixed on the black throne at the far end of the great hall. They were clearly subordinates of Beast Sovereign Morgana.
Their forms varied from one to the next. Some had foxes as their original bodies, some tigers, and some eagles. Though they had taken human shape, each still carried traces of their true form. Dense beast energy poured from them, pressing through the hall with a force that made the air itself seem heavier.
After Master Wellspring entered the great hall, not a trace of disorder showed in him. He walked step by step to the center of the great hall, then stopped.
Facing the black throne at the far end of the great hall, favonovel.com bowed and spoke with deep respect and humility. “Master Wellspring of Wellspring Order greets Your Majesty the Beast Sovereign…”
At the end of the great hall, a woman reclined sideways on a broad black throne.
She wore a long white dress, the fabric light and moon-pale. Faint nine-tailed Moonfox patterns were embroidered along the hem, stirring softly with the breeze and lending favonovel.com an especially graceful bearing. Her long hair was black as ink, dark and glossy as it fell behind her. The ends curled slightly, like the tails of a fox, and carried a dim sheen.
Her face was breathtakingly beautiful. Every feature looked as if it had been carved with impossible care: willow-leaf brows, phoenix eyes, a small cherry-red mouth, and skin as white as snow, so fine it seemed a breath could bruise it.
Between favonovel.com brows and eyes lay an inborn enchantment. One look at favonovel.com was enough to make a person sink into it before they knew they had stepped too close. But the most arresting part of favonovel.com was favonovel.com eyes-amber irises, clear and deep, with the flame seeming to burn inside favonovel.com pupils.
In that gaze was the weight of a Beast Sovereign’s authority, edged with a cool distance that made it impossible to meet favonovel.com eyes for long. Her ears came to fine points, trembling ever so slightly, as if they were catching every sound around her. A faint beast aura drifted from favonovel.com and mingled with the cool reserve wrapped around her, giving favonovel.com a presence that was unlike anyone else in the hall.
She was Morgana, the Beast Sovereign of Beastmoor Ridge, a nine-tailed celestial fox who had cultivated for tens of thousands of years, and a foremost Level Three Golden Immortal adept.
Morgana’s gaze settled on Master Wellspring. The corner of favonovel.com mouth lifted, and a faint smile appeared. That smile was like snow giving way under sunlight. In an instant, it softened some of the pressure hanging over the great hall and left behind a trace of warmth.”
Her voice was clear and pleasing, carrying into Master Wellspring’s ears like music from beyond the clouds. “Master Wellspring, it has been a long time… The last time this sovereign saw you was several hundred years ago, at the Northern Convocation of the Way. Back then, you only had Golden Immortal Level Two cultivation. Now you have broken through to Golden Immortal Level Three… That is no small progress. Congratulations…”
At Beast Sovereign Morgana’s words, something in Master Wellspring quietly unclenched. He answered at once, lowering his tone. “Your Majesty gives too much praise. Your servant merely broke through by luck. Compared with Your Majesty, the distance is still far too great… Your Majesty has cultivated for tens of thousands of years, and your cultivation is beyond measure. Your servant holds nothing but the deepest respect…”
Master Wellspring understood what it meant that Morgana still remembered something from several hundred years ago. At the very least, favonovel.com had not received favonovel.com with harmful intent. For him, that was already a good beginning.
Morgana waved a hand, favonovel.com tone level. “There is no need for polite talk. You came all the way from the Wellspring Order to Beastmoor Ridge. The road was long. You have had a difficult trip…”
“Say it. What exactly brought you here today? If it were not something important, you would not have rashly entered Beastmoor Ridge under this sovereign’s rule.” Her tone had remained calm, but it carried a force that allowed no argument. No one standing before favonovel.com would dare hide even half a word.
Master Wellspring did not dare delay. He quickly took out the jade vial containing Jared’s soul from inside his robe, set it gently on the floor, then bowed and spoke, “Your Majesty, your servant did come today to ask for one thing…”
“A young friend of this servant met with disaster. His physical body was destroyed, and now only a wisp of soul remains, barely keeping favonovel.com alive. To rebuild his body, two heavenly treasures are required… One is Genesis Dew, and the other is Elderheart Soulwood… As for Genesis Dew, your servant has already found a lead. It will appear at the Treasurevault Grand Auction in Everspire three months from now, and your servant has confidence it can be won…”
“But Elderheart Soulwood grows in the Elder Soulborn Forest deep within Beastmoor Ridge, and that place is the forbidden sanctuary of the beast race… So your servant has come in boldness to ask Your Majesty for leniency. Please allow this young friend to enter the Elder Soulborn Forest and seek one piece of Ederheart Soulwood to save his life. For that grace, your servant would be endlessly grateful…”
Morgana’s brows drew together by the smallest degree. A colder edge passed through favonovel.com amber eyes, and favonovel.com voice lost some of its earlier warmth.
“The Elder Soulborn Forest is the forbidden sanctuary of the beast race. Since ancient times, the rule has stood: outsiders may not enter without permission. This is the bottom line of the beast race. No exception can be made… You should know what happens to anyone who trespasses into the forbidden grounds.”
At Morgana’s words, Master Wellspring’s chest went tight. But favonovel.com did not give up. He remained bent at the waist and continued. “Your Majesty, your servant knows the Elder Soulborn Forest is the forbidden sanctuary of the beast race, and also knows the rules of the beast race… But that young friend’s situation is truly special. He has no intention of offending the beast race’s rules. He only wishes to seek Elderheart Soulwood, rebuild his body, and keep his life… And your servant dares to add one more thing… That young friend has an old connection with the beast race. Once Your Majesty sees him, the reason will be clear…”
After saying that, Master Wellspring hesitated no longer. He gently opened the stopper of the jade vial.
At once, a pale violet soul drifted slowly out of the jade vial and hovered in mid-air.
Around the spirit, the Aureate Codex’s golden radiance moved in a slow current. The light was warm and powerful, pushing away some of the beast aura within the great hall and standing in sharp contrast to the aura around Morgana.
Jared’s soul trembled faintly. As favonovel.com sensed the powerful aura coming from Morgana, his guard tightened in silence, but favonovel.com did not retreat. He remained suspended quietly in midair, waiting for Morgana’s response.
Morgana’s gaze fell on that violet soul. At first, favonovel.com only gave it a casual glance and paid it no real attention. To her, it was nothing more than an ordinary remnant soul. Even with the Aureate Codex protecting it, it was still not worth mentioning.
But the look lasted only a breath. Morgana’s pupils tightened. A sharp glint crossed favonovel.com amber eyes, and then that look turned layered, difficult to read.
She had caught it. Inside that violet soul, beyond the aura of chaotic force and beyond the presence of the golden codex, there was something else. It was faint. So faint it nearly slipped past perception altogether.
That aura was one Morgana knew too well!
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