The Attawa holy mountain stretched tens of thousands of kilometers, spanning over three rundays across the entire land. The ten-thousand-meter peak jutted into the skies with its upper half hidden behind the clouds.
The inner world’s boundaries were limited by the sea of clouds above, making it almost impossible to venture beyond it. That was why the Attawa’s holy land wasn’t on the peak itself, nor had anyone gone up there before. Even the giant wargods wouldn’t last long if they were to go that high up. Qianye wouldn't be able to move about at will, either.
The Attawa holy land was located on a smaller adjacent mountain. It stood just a couple hundred meters below the sea of clouds.
The Attawa who lived on the holy mountain numbered around two thousand. Their tall houses were cut from giant stones, with doors that stood over ten meters high.
Qianye felt as though he had entered a giant’s nation. Some of the buildings were three stories high and fairly grand.
The Attawa had built these tall buildings not because they loved spacious lodgings, but rather in preparation for their giant wargods.
The Attawa possessed long arms and legs, with the stronger giant wargods standing seven to eight meters in height. They could touch the ceiling of these massive buildings just by raising their arms. In that context, the size of the structures wasn’t ridiculous.
In this inner world, the Attawa tribes were at the top of the food chain. Apart from some rare beasts, no other creature was their rival. Their long lifespans and peaceful living environments allowed for masonry to flourish.
Hence, the buildings were covered in stone carvings, and as if that wasn’t enough, there were hundreds of stone pillars showcasing the residents’ craftsmanship.
Qianye followed the guide to the highest point in the holy land, where there was a giant stone hall that stood hundreds of meters tall. There were thirteen pillars in the plaza, each depicting the emblem of a different tribe.
The rear side of the Attawa race’s holy temple was connected to the holy mountain.
The first thing to greet Qianye’s eyes upon entering was an incomparably large hall with a holy altar at the far end. This altar was similar to the one Qianye had seen at the Sperger tribe’s place, just ten times bigger.
A row of aged Attawas stood before this altar, elders of the Monroe tribe judging from their clothing. On one side of the temple stood a dozen or so giant wargods. Taking into account the ones that had fallen, the Monroe tribe apparently had over twenty giant wargods and were much stronger than the Sperger clan. They certainly did not fail to live up to their name.
On the other side were warriors and people of status from the tribe. Su Shi was also among them, just a bit further at the back. If Su Wen hadn’t died, she would have had an important place here as well.
When Qianye arrived at the center of the hall, the elders walked forward to greet him. Observing the guest carefully, one of the elders scattered a cloud of mist with a wave of his hand. The mist gradually turned dark red after coming into contact with Qianye.
The old man’s expression shifted drastically as he fell to his knees and called out, “There’s no mistaking it, you are the Messiah the holy spirit spoke of. Our guardian tribe and the entire Attawa race have waited one thousand two hundred years for your arrival!”
Time wasn’t the key here. Qianye said in a deep voice, “The holy spirit has sent me a revelation and instructed me to visit the holy mountain. The secret to resisting the black demons is here.”
Qianye had to play along, seeing as how everyone was so solemn.
The elder said, “As expected, you have heard the holy spirit’s guidance. No one but the elder guardians know of the secrets the holy spirit had left behind.”
Qianye was speechless. The Attawa called this place the holy mountain and built a city here. Anyone could tell that the most likely place to find any secrets would be here.
The elder stood up and led Qianye to one of the side windows. The giant hundred-meter window opened up toward the distant main peak of the holy mountain.
“The holy spirit’s inheritance is at the peak of the holy mountain. No Attawa can reach the peak, so you’ll have to go there on your own and search for the secrets.”
Qianye felt a bit anxious as he gazed at the distant mountain. Where was he going to search for a secret in such a large place?
The holy summit was a sacred place for the Attawa, so they simply wouldn’t step into the place. How would they know where Rex’s secret was?
Qianye felt helpless because there was no other choice. He would have to go up to the peak in search of the secret.
All the Attawas were alarmed and angry.
A giant wargod unleashed a loud warcry while beating his c.h.e.s.t. A loud commotion broke out as Attawas of all ages rushed out from every corner of the holy land to assemble in the plaza. There were even youngsters.
Only the elders were calm. “Follow us to the mother tree forest and see which of the black demons have arrived.”
This invitation was exactly what Qianye wanted; he also wanted to see what the mother tree looked like. This tree could detect his movements and lock onto him across great distances; it was surely not a simple tree at all.
After leaving the great hall, the elder brought Qianye to a forest halfway down the mountain. The woods here were lush and verdant, no different from any other forest, except perhaps for the especially large trees scattered around the place.
Qianye’s attention was immediately drawn to those trees, as well as the strong entrenchment of Attawa soldiers around the forest.
The elder said, “The mother tree serves as the eyes of our Attawa race. She watches the entire land for signs of those destroyers and demons. That’s why we have always sent our strongest warriors to guard the mother tree.”
The guards bowed respectfully upon seeing the elder and opened up a path.
There was a small trail in the forest snaking toward the giant mother trees. A small house could be seen under each of them where the keepers lived.
Only a handful of elders possessed this ability. The keeper’s position was fairly important since they served as the tribe’s scouts.
Qianye and the elder arrived under one of the mother trees, the one that had found traces of the black demons in its area.
The elder talked to the keeper briefly before placing a hand on the mother tree and closing his eyes.
He opened his eyes a while later, saying, “I’ve found the demons’ whereabouts, and the mother tree’s attention has been focused on that region. You can give it a try.”
Qianye imitated the old man by placing a hand on the tree. Although Rex had claimed to have bestowed upon him the power to communicate with the mother tree, a confirmation was still in order.
The moment Qianye touched the mother tree, he felt as though his entire being was soaked in warm water. A warm sensation washed over his senses; even his consciousness turned hazy. It was just like when he had drunk the sacrificial wine back at the Sperger tribe’s altar, only stronger.
He was accepted soon after his consciousness was suffused with warmth. Qianye came to understand that this warmth was likely the consciousness of the mother tree. It was just as Rex had said—he had been accepted.
Qianye relaxed, allowing his spirit to leave his body and merge into the mother tree. The scenery before him transformed immediately afterward—the mountains and rivers flashed past his eyes and came to a stop in a certain part of the forest.
The image was made up of countless scenes stitched together and overlapped. After adapting to the vision, Qianye realized that each individual scene originated from a single tree. The mother tree would simply bring all of them together and convert them into a single large image.
Qianye could see hundreds of Evernight soldiers cutting down trees and clearing land. Some other experts were helping to process the lumber into wooden boards, which they would use to build wooden buildings.
Most of them were arachne, but quite surprisingly, there were some vampires as well!
Although Medanzo had sided with the council after the war on Twilight Continent, few vampire experts had ever appeared among the council’s ranks. It could be that there were very few vampires following Medanzo, or maybe the council simply did not trust them enough.
It was the same when the Evernight forces marched on the inner world; Qianye did not see any vampires in the Eternal Flame’s army. So, it was quite surprising that they had appeared here in this forest.
A vampire walked out from behind the trees and entered Qianye’s vision. The mother tree’s projection of the man’s image was actually a bit distorted.
“Hmm?” The vampire glanced toward Qianye.
Qianye’s expression shifted, and his gaze immediately turned cold. This person was actually the Lightless Monarch Medanzo!
It could be said that the Azure King’s demise was Medanzo’s doing. The Demon King could not have destroyed half of the vampire race if it wasn’t for his betrayal.
Medanzo had played the most crucial role in the war as he was the one who had sealed off all channels of communication with the Queen.
