The next day, Nebai sent numerous books and Jade Slips to the whale. Alm and Bruno focused on reading everything, and each day, it seemed the amount of information multiplied. There were far more stories about the legendary Nine-Star Tree than they had imagined.
Alm and Bruno read nonstop, but their minds were clearly troubled. Fortunately, they took breaks to calm themselves, watching Ruri silently with her new niece in her arms. They felt her joy, now fully recovered and once again focused on her duties.
It took a month for them to read everything possible, and then they requested information about the Nine-Star Tree Sect itself. After reflecting, some things started to make more sense.
’In many stories, this tree is described as an ancestral entity... even when born from a seed, technically young, it still carried that stigma. Moreover, in almost every story, this tree had a disciple; usually, the disciple was the protagonist, and the tree was just a mentor,’ Bruno pondered.
Alm snorted. ’And the mentor always dies so the protagonist can move forward; it’s one of the core elements of Earth’s "hero’s journey." Even when the story seems to be written for natural races, the tree is never the protagonist. This repetitive pattern is a strong clue.’
The two had a fairly clear theory. This tree, which actually existed, could be a single entity with many disciples. Perhaps it reincarnated, retaining its memories... or it could awaken at some point.
After reading about the sect itself, a peculiar recent piece of news caught their attention.
’In the Nine-Star Tree Sect, there was a recent incident involving a hero, shortly before his departure. It was a demonic beast called... Norgar... where have we heard that name before?’ Bruno murmured, thoughtful.
Alm had the same impression, so both began to sift through their memories, trying to remember where they had heard that name. It took several hours until a violent noise in the sky outside the building caught their attention.
Curious, they focused on sensing what was happening. They saw Rivine in the air, cursing Maelik, who seemed injured.
"You dare call yourself his disciple like this?! You won’t be fighting demons all the time, and if you’re so reckless, you’ll be a burden."
Rehvka, on the ground, snorted lightly. "The power of your demonic bloodline is too weak... My Yin techniques are useless for you to practice. If it weren’t for master’s power in you, you wouldn’t even be able to use Yin. You’d better focus entirely on fighting with your bestial side."
"But... my attacks are ranged," he retorted.
"Yes, indeed. But master said you have something special and unique that you haven’t learned to use yet: an innate variant root. You’re wasting your potential..." Rehvka spoke slowly, seeing Maelik’s gaze grow distant. Then, he looked at Rivine and had an idea.
"Hmm... let’s do this: if you manage to awaken some of that power, Rivine will take a day to go with you to recruit new disciples. What do you think?"
Uncharacteristically, Maelik’s eyes sparkled. Rivine, on the other hand, scoffed dryly, clearly preferring not to do it. However, she didn’t refuse, knowing it was important for everyone that he succeeded.
Rehvka chuckled lightly; Maelik, from the first time he met Rivine, had been acting strangely around her. He tried to talk to her and ask for her help whenever he could... but she was a bit wild and hard to please.
He still had a long way to go. Fortunately, his connection to the whale made Rivine want to help him, even amid complaints and curses.
Inside the building, Bruno wondered what Maelik saw in that fierce and intimidating harpy. Meanwhile, Alm quickly exclaimed: "Norgar! Yes, he’s the hero who stole Maelik’s variant root!"
Bruno heard this, and his memories started to surface. Maelik wasn’t killed because he had that unique root. The heroes who invaded his universe mentioned that name before taking him to Devil’s Mountain. That hero, of much higher rank, was responsible for stealing Maelik’s root. (Chapter 601)
’The incident in that sect... We revived Maelik’s variant root; it grew again, but that would be cloning, and it would be against the laws to have both existing at the same time. The one the hero took was certainly destroyed by the laws. So, the incident was a celestial punishment,’ Bruno stated.
Alm nodded. ’We can’t use the tree’s leaves anymore, so this must be our way in. We just need to figure out what really happened.’
With these clues, the whale went to Nebai and told her about Maelik and his root. Now, Nebai had a starting point for her investigation.
That hero was a demonic beast, and that sect only allowed natural races, like plants or elves, due to their strong connection with nature. The Fey, in the distant past, were also part of that sect but eventually preferred to live on the planet Gloom, as it was a safe place where their entire race lived together.
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In other words, for the incident to happen in that sect, and knowing about the spiritual root that was stolen, a connection could be found. Variant roots are random and have all kinds of peculiarities. It was just a matter of searching for something strange that had happened recently... it didn’t take even half a day for the news to arrive.
"Sir, a High Elf Elder from that sect was part of that hero’s harem a few centuries ago. But in recent years, her power soared to the heavens. She quickly became a High Elder, even threatening the current leader of the sect, the Starry Sky Tree," Nebai reported quickly.
"But suddenly, she was gravely injured and is now debilitated, in a coma, in the sect. Even the hero himself said she would hardly wake up, abandoning her to die. However, the sect leader refused to let her go, keeping her alive."
"Let me guess," the whale said calmly. "Her mind and soul were almost completely destroyed?"
Nebai nodded. Alm and Bruno understood. It was the same type of tribulation Mistie suffered, with the difference that this time, it was a celestial punishment, an even wilder and more destructive event.
The hero didn’t use the variant root for himself; he gave it to his woman for some unknown reason. Afterward, the hero couldn’t do much, and the root was destroyed by the laws, almost killing her.
Nebai continued: "The Starry Sky Tree also sought high-level recovery pills in the Golden Crow Sect and searched the Larimar market for any useful items. He was the one who bought most of the leaves you provided. He seems very determined to save her."
Bruno sighed. ’We’ve found our way in and a favor. That leader clearly had a bond with that elf, but the hero intervened. Even after being rejected, he felt no hatred for her, saving her and caring for her.’
’It’s hard to even say if the elf really rejected him. The hero may have simply taken an interest in her and dominated her mind by force,’ Alm added dryly. ’In any case, this is our opportunity. We can negotiate directly with that leader; he seems honest and, clearly, desperate. Restoring the mind and soul, without resorting to frightening methods, is something impossible for ordinary cultivators. But not for us.’
Bruno nodded in agreement and then turned to Nebai. "Discreetly spread the rumor that you obtained a pill capable of fully restoring the mind, soul, and body. However, there was no need to auction it off, as the Yinblood Sect bought it in exchange for some mysterious favors."