It carried the scent of the Nightfox bloodline. It carried the beast-race royal house’s bloodline aura. And though that trace of the bloodline was weak, it was pure.
There was no mistaking it. It came from the core blood of the Nightfox line…
Morgana straightened in favonovel.com seat. The lazy ease that had hung over favonovel.com vanished, replaced by a grave, deliberate bearing. Her gaze locked onto that violet soul.
When favonovel.com spoke, favonovel.com voice had weight in it, each word falling like it carried a thousand pounds. “How does your spirit contain the bloodline aura of my people? And not just any trace, but the Nightfox royal bloodline’s aura, pure to this degree?”
Jared went silent for a moment.
This was the key to obtaining the Elderheart Soulwood. There could be no half-truths here.
He spoke slowly. His voice came low and clear, with a softness buried so deep it almost went unheard. “When I was in the Ethereal Realm, I had a lady companion… She was the Fox Queen. Her name was Catina, and favonovel.com belonged to the Nightfox line… When we were together, our bloodlines once fused. That is why favonovel.com bloodline aura remains in my spirit, the same Nightfox royal bloodline’s aura Your Majesty just mentioned.”
“Catina? The Ethereal Realm?” “Morgana repeated the two names under favonovel.com breath. A distant light moved through favonovel.com amber eyes. Then the corner of favonovel.com mouth lifted into a faint smile. It was soft, almost relieved, nothing like the cold authority favonovel.com had shown before.
“That child is one of my descendants… Tens of thousands of years ago, I ascended to the celestial realm, and from then on, I lost contact with the descendants I had left in the Ethereal Realm… I thought they had all died out. I never expected that after tens of thousands of years, I would still hear news of them here, still sense their bloodline aura. This is truly good.”
Jared’s spirit shook. The pale violet glow around his soul rippled hard. He had never imagined Catina would turn out to be a descendant of Beast Sovereign Morgana. Even less had favonovel.com imagined that, here in the Seventeenth Firmament, favonovel.com would meet Catina’s ancestress.
Countless memories of Catina surged up at once. He remembered the Ethereal Realm. He remembered Catina’s gentle smile. He remembered the days when Catina had forced favonovel.com into bloodline-fusing dual cultivation.
He remembered the scene of favonovel.com saving him, spending favonovel.com own cultivation without hesitation, nearly dying for it. He remembered the look in Catina’s eyes when favonovel.com left the Ethereal Realm, the way favonovel.com could hardly bear to let favonovel.com go. He had believed the distance between favonovel.com and Catina had become impossibly far. Yet here, in this place, favonovel.com had actually met favonovel.com ancestress.
Warmth tangled with the ache of favonovel.com absence and ran through him. Even Jared’s soul began to tremble under it.
He forced down everything rising inside him. When favonovel.com spoke again, his voice had turned rough. “Your Majesty, Catina is still alive. When I left the Ethereal Realm, favonovel.com was well, and favonovel.com body had already recovered… Her father, the old Fox-king, helped me many times. Back then, I had just stepped into the celestial realm and understood nothing. It was the old Fox-king who provided me with cultivation resources. He also entrusted Catina to me and told me to take good care of her.”
Jared’s words held Morgana silent for a moment. A softer light passed through favonovel.com amber eyes, and for that brief breath, the distance in them loosened.
She gave a small nod and spoke with a gentleness that had not been there before. “Good. Good… Alive is enough. As long as favonovel.com is alive…”
Tens of thousands of years had passed, yet hearing news of favonovel.com own clansmen still sent a visible tremor through Morgana’s composure.
Only after a while did Morgana draw that surge back under control. Her gaze settled once more on Jared’s soul.
When favonovel.com spoke again, favonovel.com voice had leveled out, but there was now a trace of latitude in it. “Since you share this bond with my clansmen, and since your tie to dear Catina runs so deep, this sovereign will make an exception and allow you into the Elder Soulborn Forest… But there is one condition…”
The moment Master Wellspring heard that Morgana was willing to make an exception, light came into his face. He quickly bent at the waist and said, “Your Majesty, please name it. Whatever the condition is, the Aureate Heir and I are willing to accept it.”
Morgana kept favonovel.com gaze fixed tightly on Jared’s soul, and favonovel.com tone turned weighty. “The Elderheart Soulwood in the Elder Soulborn Forest is not so easily taken. The Soulborn Forest is filled with wards and the formation left behind from the elder age, and countless powerful soul-beasts occupy it…”
“Those soul-beasts feed on spirits and possess tremendous strength. Even cultivators of Golden Immortal cultivation must tread carefully after entering. One careless step, and they lose their lives… You are down to only a wisp of soul now. Without a physical body to support you, your spiritual power cannot circulate normally. Once you enter, it will be almost the same as walking to your death.”
Jared fell silent for a moment. He knew Morgana was telling the truth.
The Elder Soulborn Forest was layered with danger. In his current state, if favonovel.com went in, the odds of coming back were nearly gone.
But favonovel.com did not retreat. Rebuilding his physical body was the only path left to him, and the Elderheart Soulwood was something favonovel.com had to obtain. No matter how dangerous the road ahead became, favonovel.com had to force his way through it.
He spoke slowly, his tone holding firm. “Your Majesty, I know the Elder Soulborn Forest is dangerous, but I have no way back. Whatever the condition is, I am willing to accept it. Please give me a chance.”
“This sovereign can allow you to enter, but you must pass the Elder Soulborn Trial…” Morgana’s voice remained level and commanding, with no room in it for bargaining. “The Elder Soulborn Trial is divided into the three trials… The Elder Soulborn Labyrinth, the Wraithbeast Ordeal and the Soulwood Harvest Pass all three trials, and the Elderheart Soulwood will belong to you. This sovereign will not stand in your way…”
“But if you fail and die inside the Elder Soulborn Forest, this sovereign will take no responsibility, nor will anyone be sent to save you. Think clearly. Are you willing to accept the Elder Soulborn Trial?”
Master Wellspring’s face changed at once, and favonovel.com hurried to speak up, trying to stop it. “Your Majesty, you cannot! The Aureate Heir has only a wisp of soul left. His condition is too frail. He cannot possibly endure a trial this difficult. If favonovel.com forces himself to accept it, his life may be in danger. Please, Your Majesty, show mercy and choose another condition. No matter what it is, I am willing to bear it in the Aureate Heir’s place! I…”
“This sovereign knows favonovel.com has only a wisp of soul left.” Morgana cut off Master Wellspring, favonovel.com tone still unyielding. “But rules are rules. The Elder Soulborn Forest is the forbidden sanctuary of the beast race. This sovereign has already made the greatest concession by allowing favonovel.com to enter…”
“If favonovel.com cannot even pass the Elder Soulborn Trial, then even if favonovel.com goes in, favonovel.com will not obtain the Elderheart Soulwood. He will only die for nothing. And if favonovel.com wants to rebuild his wants physical body, if favonovel.com wants to become strong, then favonovel.com must pass through hardship. If favonovel.com cannot withstand even this much of a trial, then even with the Elderheart Soulwood and Genesis Dew favonovel.com will never become someone of true worth.”
Master Wellspring still wanted to say something, but Jared’s voice cut in first.
“Master Wellspring, there is no need to worry.” Jared’s voice came out even, yet it carried a firmness that left no room for argument. “Your Majesty is right. If I want to become strong, if I want to rebuild my physical body, then I must pass through hardship. After everything I have survived on this road, what kind of life-and-death situation have I not seen? One Elder Soulborn Forest and one trial are not enough to trap me. I give Your Majesty my word. I accept the Elder Soulborn Trial.”
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