Chapter 210 - The Puzzle And The Missing Piece
'Arden Gilardi?!' Leon was completely surprised by the name left on the stone tablet.
'How was that possible? Is this the same Arden from the diary, the one who couldn't cultivate due to his special constitution? How on earth did he survive the fall?'
Leon was filled with doubts regarding Arden's survival. Furthermore, his inheritance was found in such a shabby location. But upon further thought, it made some sense for the inheritance to be found in such an odd location.
Even if Arden did manage to survive the fall, unless he managed to find a way to cultivate and cultivate great success at that, he would still not live much longer after. The tree wouldn't have been as big as it was now as it was at the time the inheritance was built. The tree's growth must have been what caused the inheritance building to flip. Still, who would even build their inheritance in a tree?
Through the texts on the ancient stone tablet, Leon could guess that Arden had been a proud person. Perhaps, he was unwilling to let his lifelong accumulation of knowledge to die along with him, thus built the inheritance building in a place easy to find. But not just anyone can inherit his knowledge, thus the need for a test.
However, if Arden's inheritance truly lied on the other side of this sealed entrance, Leon had to get his hands on it at all costs. He couldn't imagine just how far the runic knowledge contained within would aid the advancement of the kingdom.
"What do you think, child? Think you can solve the puzzle the great ancestor left behind?" Elder Evergreen asked casually, seeing Leon lost in thought while staring down at the ancient stone tablet.
Leon did not reply immediately, but the elder was very patient. Elder Evergreen poured himself a cup of tea with the teapot he brought along and quietly observed Leon.
Although he doesn't believe Leon could solve the puzzle, he had a slight expectation that the boy could discover something that they haven't already discovered.
This expectation stems from the fact the elder saw the boy as someone extraordinary. Even among awakeners of their time, it was rare for a dual-element user to appear. This wasn't because it was difficult to become a dual-element user. It was simply because it was easier to master one element than to be a jack of all trades and a master of none.
Every person who had ever decided to cultivate dual elements usually fall into two categories. They were either an ambitious genius or a great fool. From their short exchange, the boy didn't give him the impression of a fool. Although the boy's cultivation was a little low, he was quite promising.
However, if Elder Evergreen was to learn that Leon wasn't just a dual-element user but a penta-element user, he would be utterly appalled.
"Where's the puzzle?" Leon finally said.
Elder Evergreen smiled and shook his head. "That's the problem. No one really knows. Many have come to test their luck over the years, but no one had ever figured what the puzzle is. Everyone had assumed the seal entrance is the puzzle itself."
Looking at the seal entrance, it does stand out differently from the rest of the building with its special engraving and runic lines congregating towards a single point. It was thick and stacked upon layers of other engravings and runes, making it appear like a super lock. However, Leon didn't follow the same assumption and thought differently.
Having read Arden's diary of a lifetime, he could roughly guess the mentality of Arden Gilardi. The genius artificer of an era wouldn't make the puzzle painfully obvious yet set such a high bar for runic understanding that no one would be able to understand it. At least, it shouldn't be that simple.
When it comes to a master selecting their disciples, they don't look at their current achievements, but their character and talents. If the disciple's current achievement was already equal to or greater than the master, even if the master had the audacity, the disciple wouldn't be willing to acknowledge such a master with inferior skills.
Through the same thought process, Leon believes the hidden puzzle in the inheritance building is Arden's way of selecting his successor.
Leon sent out his divine sense and attempted to peer through the walls of the inheritance building. However, the moment his divine sense came in contact with the walls, it was bounced back.
'This inheritance is foolproof and had no loopholes. It's not going to be that easy to claim, huh.' Leon smiled wryly as he thought. Since his divine sense couldn't enter the inheritance building, he wrapped it around the building instead to study the exterior.
The runes on the seal entrances were too clustered and overly complicated for Leon to comprehend with his rudimentary level of understanding. However, the runes on each side of the building were much simpler. He was able to understand a few runes.
The walls were filled with an array of messy connector rune plates and chaotic rune plates that linked together like a single entity but also seemed out of place.
The connector runes allowed the free flow of energy, while the chaotic runes cause two opposing flow of energies to clash with each other. This reaction would then trigger the runic plates to shift like gears.
Leon had a feeling he had to turn all the correct connector plates to get the runic lines to align and complete the circuit before something fascinating starts happening. However, when he tried to twist or turn one of the connector plates, it didn't budge a single bit. It appeared he was still missing something.
Looking around further, Leon noticed a specific section seemed to be missing from the bottom part of the building with his divine sense. More specifically, it seems to be an empty pendant-like socket that served as a keyhole of sorts. Leon's eyes flicker as he stared at the socket with his divine sense.
'Seems like I need to move the build for a better look.' Leon thought. 'However… the inheritance building is incredibly heavy without a doubt. If I want to move it, I will need to seek help from the tree spirit again.'
Leon lamented at the fact that the tree spirit will tree to bleed him if he makes another request to it again.
Some time passed before Leon calmed his emotions and no longer paid attention to the runic walls of the inheritance building for the moment. He returned his attention to the Elder Evergreen and said with a smile, "There won't be a problem if I manage to solve the puzzle and take all the inheritance, right?"
"Hahaha, the inheritance was left by the great ancestor for the one who manages to solve his puzzle. We, as his descendants naturally must respect the great ancestor's wishes. It will just collect dust here if no one ever solves it." Elder Evergreen stated, before saying, "However, I'm quite curious. Did you manage to figure out which section is the puzzle?"
"Yes. I'm prepared to spend some time here in order to solve it." Leon smiled.
"Oh?" Elder Evergreen was immediately intrigued and brought his ears closer. "Which section is it, if I may ask?"
"It's not a section. The whole building is the puzzle itself."
"Surely you jest, right?" Elder Evergreen said in denial and surprise.
After seeing that Leon was joking, the elder soon erupted into self-ridiculing laughter as he had once spent hundreds of years studying the inheritance in his younger days, yet never saw it from this perspective nor even realize the possibility. After calming himself down, the elder shook his head and sighed. "Haiz, the inheritance only belongs to the fated one."
"Elder, I wonder if you will be interested in an alliance?" Leon suddenly changed the topic.
"Hm? An alliance between our village and your human kingdom? Not a bad idea, but what purpose would it serve?" Elder Evergreen said but did not understand Leon's intentions.
"As you know, the present situation on the surface doesn't bode well for the Human Domain. I wonder if you can lend us strength in weathering the storm?"
"You seem to have forgotten that we cannot leave the elder tree and forever doomed to live and die with the tree here. Also, this body seals away my Transcendent power." Elder Evergreen reminded with slight anger, secretly blaming Leon for even giving him the slight of vain hope of ever returning to the surface.
"I noticed that when I mentioned the surface before, Elder had a longing look. What if there's a way to revert you all back to your former self? What if I can poke a hole through the sky and let the elder tree continue to grow to the surface?" Leon said with absurdity, but his eyes flickered with confidence.
This confidence didn't stem from his own abilities, but the greatest treasure in his possession. The [Divine Book of Life] contains great understandings of all plants, herbs, and the way of medicine. There was surely a resolution in its limitless records.
The elder's body trembled as he was shaken by his words.
Elder Evergreen stared at Leon deeply for a long time, before he said in a deep voice, "Bold claims! However, if you can really make these claims of yours come true, you will be an eternal friend of I, Evergreen! No, I am willing to pledge my allegiance to you!"
"There's no need to go that far." Leon gaped waved his hands.
However, it goes to show just how much it meant for Elder Evergreen to be human again and even see the sunlight. Most likely, the other treants also share the same thoughts. If he realizes their wish, their addition will be a strong help to his cause.
At the same time, he thought; getting a Transcendent as a subordinate and leveling up the tree spirit to a world-class tree, who could possibly threaten him within the Human Domain?