Is That A Wisp?

Although neither of them would be able to fight or flee from her, it didn't seem she had malicious intentions. As soon as they got close to her, the Godly Energy holding Krune and Iem disappeared.

Krune then bowed before asking.

"Senior, what exactly is happening here?"

She smiled at Krune.

"First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Iridia Suien. I'm the last survivor from the time our city wasn't locked down. As you probably already noticed, no one can enter the Mortal Rejection Realm, so an unlimited lifespan is impossible for the rest. But do you know why that is?"

Krune nodded.

"The city is hidden from the heavens."

Iridia was surprised to hear that.

"That's impressive. I thought I would need to tell you myself. But you are right. The city has been hidden from the heavens since 50 thousand years ago. Because of that, demon beasts can't attain sentience, and cultivators can't enter the Mortal Rejection Realm."

Iridia then took a deep breath before continuing.

"However, don't you think it's weird that such a large city doesn't have a single Mortal Rejection Realm or higher cultivator? Even if this city was locked later, sure there should be more of them, right?"

Iem and Iem nodded.

"We did think about it before. But we already thought about this. Considering the environment and that 'No Return Maze,' this place was probably a trial grounds for a sect or something like that. Obviously, the ones who participated in the trials were young, which means they were people under the Mortal Rejection Realm. Most likely, there were sentient demon beasts too, but they had long since died of old age."

Iridia was happy to hear that.

"Seems like I don't need to explain this part then. You are right again. This was the trial of the Umekran Sect. The cultivators and demon beasts had to find their way through the maze to enter the underground city. Here, they would need to make their way to the last floor of the tower and then make their way back to the surface through the maze once more. As you can imagine, calamity struck us during one of those trials. I was the elder in charge during that time too."

"During the last trial, thousands of youngsters made their way here, trying to complete the task to enter our Sect. However, who could have thought that that thing would lose control?"

Krune and Iem got puzzled.

"What thing?"

"Do you know about th Heavenly Fragments and Cores from the Lower Realms?"

Krune and Iem nodded. They are prime examples of those things.

"That makes things easier to explain then. Heavenly Fragments and Cores are one of the best items to make treasures in the Higher Realms. Not too surprisingly, people and beasts who have them would be hunted down for those. Because of their connection with the Heavens, these treasures become extremely powerful. So much that they can only be used by Nascent God Realm cultivators and demon beasts. Others can barely get close to it."

Krune and Iem felt a chill on their backs. Good thing that they never revealed that they are such owners back on the surface. However, there was one thing that they were confused. What cultivation stage is the Nascent God Realm? Obviously, they could only ask it to Luvile and Harold.

"Basically, it goes like this:

Transformation Realm;

Godly Fusion Realm;

God Foundation Realm;

God Core Realm;

and finally, Nascent God Realm.

Nascent God is obviously the strongest existence in the Godly Path Realm."

Luvile and Harold used their connection with Krune and Iem's Souls to tell that information, so it only took a second before they got the answer. 

Krune then nodded at Iridia.

"I see... Then what we have in the floors above is a treasure made with one of those fragments or cores, correct?"

Iridia nodded.

"Correct. That is what is holding the entire cave. It's a treasure that one of our ancestors got a long time ago, he then used it in this tower to test the juniors. However, no one could have predicted that the Heavenly Fragment that was used to make the treasure would gain sentience. The elders of the Sect obviously noticed that and tried to intervene."

"Unfortunately, the treasure didn't merely gain sentience and rebelled. Instead, it stayed quiet, waiting to learn more about its own situation. It only made a move at the worst moment possible, which was during the trials."

"Several influent clans, prosperous organizations, etc., liked to send their offsprings to the Umekran Sect. The elders had to be careful when dealing with those descendants. So they couldn't be harsh. The treasure took this opportunity to strike, trap all the test takers. The Sect Elders' hesitation gave the sentience in the treasure enough time to lock down this place altogether."

"As it has a piece of the Heavens inside itself, a Heavenly Fragment, it understood more about it than anyone else. To prevent any mishaps from happening, it also hid the underground city from the heavens itself. All connections with the outside were lost, and the place was separated from the dimension it was before. Simply put, no one could find this place anymore."

Krune couldn't help but ask.

"Does it mean that we are not on our planet anymore?"

Iridia shook her head.

"Not exactly. In a certain way, we are still there. However, there is no way out or in for those who live here."

Iridia continued.

"However, as long as we can re-establish the connection, the maze will be reopened, and the heavens will see us again. From there on, we can go to the surface through the Teleport Formation available in the tower."

Iem pondered a bit before asking.

"Why did the treasure keep hidden here all this time? Wouldn't have it be better if it had left to live its own life?"

Iridia sighed before answering.

"You are underestimating the value of a Heavenly Fragment or Core Treasure. If one of those appears outside without an owner, the entire Godly Path Realm will come after it. Without a doubt, it would be captured sooner or later. At least here, it doesn't need to care about such risk."

Krune and Iem nodded.

"In that case, why us?"

Iridia laughed after hearing that question.

"Because you are the only ones who can get close to it other than Nascent God Realm cultivators and demon beasts. Even I, the most I can do is stay on this 13th floor. I can resist the 14th floor for some time, but I definitely can't resist the pressure on the 15th. Let alone do something against the treasure over there."

"Other than the Nascent God Realm, only a Heavenly Fragment Owner or Core owner will be able to get close to another Heavenly Fragment or Core treasure and subdue it."

Krune and Iem narrowed their eyes. However, they couldn't deny her words since the simple fact that they are here proves that they have a Heavenly Fragment or Core. After all, there should be no way for two Divine View Realm cultivators to appear in this place.

"I won't deny that we have them. But if we really subdue that thing, what guarantee we have that you won't attack us as soon as we succeed? You said it yourself, the entire Godly Path Realm would go crazy over us and the treasure we got."

Iridia smiled before saying.

"I'm willing to offer a sliver of my soul as a guarantee."

This time, Krune and Iem were really shocked. After all, with that sliver of her soul, they could totally transform her into a slave. No one would do something like that unless they were in a desperate situation.

"I don't understand. Why don't you use your own strength to threaten us first? We are absolutely not your match!"

Iridia didn't mind explaining.

"Even though I just don't want to do it, you probably wouldn't believe me. So there is another reason why I won't use my superior cultivation to force you. Simply put, I don't have the power to do so. Back then, I tried to get out of the underground city by brute force. I thought that since the treasure sealed such an enormous space, the dimensional barrier would be quite sloppy. As long as I put enough effort, I would be able to leave on my own. Unfortunately, I couldn't be wronger. I suffered a backlash that severely damaged my foundation. I can still do simple tricks like the one I used on you or resist the pressure. But I can't force myself, or I would risk shattering my foundation completely. You can check my foundation with your Divine Senses if you want. I won't use mine to block yours."

Krune and Iem did exactly that. Sure enough, she wasn't lying. Iridia's foundation was holding by a thread. Both of them could tell that it would crumble if too much strength was used.

"Why would you believe us?"

This time, Iridia laughed out loud.

"Do I have any other choice? How long do you think my foundation will last in this condition? If I'm not wrong, it won't last more than twenty thousand years. It already took 50 for you to appear, so how long will it take for the next ones? I would rather take the risk."

In the end, Krune and Iem accepted the idea. Still, the two had one more doubt.

"Since this place is totally sealed, how exactly did we end down here?"