The Plant Master Becomes A Mute Sub-Beast: Farming And Laying Eggs

"The forbidden area of the Black Bear tribe." Magnus spoke, his voice dropping low, "Only the Chief and the elders are allowed to enter here."

He placed his hand on the stone door, transmitting a stream of Martial power into it. The door slowly opened, revealing a pitch-black tunnel leading deep into the heart of the mountain. Magnus grabbed a torch on the wall, lit it, then signaled for the two of them to follow.

The tunnel was not long, only about a hundred paces. When they stepped out of the tunnel, a vast cave was before their eyes, its ceiling so high that the torchlight could not reach it. The cave floor was a giant flat stone slab, on which a massive array was deeply carved into the rock surface.

The lines of the array undulated complexly, radiating from a central circle like giant spokes. Along those lines were ancient symbols that Kaelen was extremely familiar with. He could recognize a few symbols - they belonged to the language system of the Beastman clan in the Ancient times. Some others were completely unfamiliar.

But the thing that caught Kaelen’s attention was not the beauty or the complexity of the array. It was its condition.

The carved lines on the stone surface had worn away a lot. There were sections that were almost completely leveled, leaving only faint streaks like scars on skin. A few symbols were cracked and broken, perhaps due to earthquakes from ancient times. Moss and dirt fully covered the carved grooves, making them even harder to read.

"About five hundred years ago, a massive earthquake collapsed a part of the cave." Magnus spoke, his voice full of regret, "The array was heavily damaged. Since then, no one has been able to repair it."

Kaelen stepped closer, knelt on one knee, reaching out his hand to lightly touch one of the worn carved lines. He closed his eyes, transmitting a bit of divine consciousness in, trying to sense the energy flow within the array.

But there was nothing. The array was completely dead. Not a single trace of spiritual energy remained.

He opened his eyes, shaking his head, "It cannot be fixed."

Magnus sighed. Even though he had anticipated the answer, hearing it from Kaelen’s own mouth, he still could not help but feel disappointed.

"These symbols are not only physically worn." Kaelen stood up, dusting off his knees, "Even if every single line could be perfectly restored, the spiritual energy in the array has completely dried up. It is like a body that has been dead for a long time; no matter how much flesh and skin you add, it cannot come back to life."

"So... is there no other way?" Magnus asked, his voice heavy.

Kaelen shook his head.

Magnus sighed full of regret, feeling extremely guilty. Even though Sane had said he considered the Black Bear clan as friends, willing to cure their madness for free without asking for anything in return, in the end, Magnus still could not be as carefree in his heart as if nothing happened.

Magnus suddenly remembered something, hurriedly saying, "The tribes all have spatial arrays; the closest to our tribe is the Golden Bull tribe. The Golden Bull tribe is famous for being friendly and principled; if we sincerely ask for help, they might not necessarily disagree. Waiting until the matters at the Black Bear tribe are done, I will personally lead you over there."

Kaelen and Sane looked at each other, saying, "Dean must have told you, right? We received an invitation from the Martial God Shrine..."

Magnus widened his eyes, "Do you want to go rely on the Martial God Shrine?"

"We just had that thought. We intend to bring the Rabbit clan along; anyway, the Red Snake clan has already targeted them, leaving them behind makes us not very reassured. We assume the Martial God Shrine definitely has a solution."

Magnus exhaled a breath, "It is indeed so, but if you can avoid begging them, it is best not to beg. The internal affairs of the Martial God Shrine are no longer as peaceful as they appear on the surface right now."

Sane narrowed his eyes asking, "Do you know some information?"

Magnus nodded. He found a clean stone slab to sit down on, waving his hand signaling for Sane’s couple to sit together. His expression looked quite serious.

"The Temple Master has been in secluded cultivation to advance to Martial God for a long time, not caring about the internal affairs of the Martial God Shrine. Currently, the Martial God Shrine’s internal structure has begun to divide into three factions, forming a tripartite balance of power."

Magnus lowered his voice, slowly continuing:

"The first faction is the Temple Master’s faction. The Temple Master has been in seclusion for many years to break through to Martial God, ignoring worldly affairs. This faction is held by veteran elders, advocating the maintenance of the old order, not interfering in disputes between tribes." He paused for a moment, looking at Sane and Kaelen, "Alaric – the Inspector Envoy who stepped forward to bail you out at the Narrow Pass – belongs to this faction. They are the people who value the rules and the Eastern Continent Charter the most."

Sane nodded slightly. The impression of Alaric during their previous encounter was still very clear – a steady person, speaking clearly, not beating around the bush, and most importantly, not relying on power to oppress people. If the entire Temple Master’s faction was like Alaric, then this was perhaps the safest faction for Crimson to approach.

"The second faction," Magnus continued, his voice a bit deeper, "is the Holy Son’s faction."

Kaelen stirred slightly. Holy Son. This title reminded him of the Former Holy Son – the person who was imprisoned beneath the Temple in the Northern continent, the person Edward had risked his life to rescue along with Wofu. Did the current Holy Son of the Martial God Shrine have anything to do with what happened across the ocean?

Magnus did not notice Kaelen’s contemplation, continuing to speak, "The Holy Son is the person with authority second only to the Temple Master, considered the inheritor of the Beast God’s essence, holding the Divine Tree – the sacred ancient tree in the Martial God Shrine. The Holy Son’s faction advocates expanding the Martial God Shrine’s influence across the continent, actively interfering in the politics between tribes. They have close relationships with many large tribes."

"Including the Red Snake." Sane stated, not a question.

Magnus nodded, "Including the Red Snake. That is the reason why Relius dared to blatantly ambush your caravan right in the Black Bear territory. They have backing. If Alaric had not appeared in time, I fear the matter would have gone much further."

Kaelen did not show surprise. He had guessed this early on from the moment Relius dared to lead troops to ambush such a large caravan. The Red Snake clan alone, no matter how strong, would not dare to act wildly on the territory of a large tribe like the Black Bear. But if they had the Holy Son backing them from behind, then everything was different.

"The third faction..." Magnus said, and his voice suddenly became difficult to read, "is the Head Divine Attendant’s faction – the leader of the Divine Attendants, those who are believed to be able to communicate directly with the Beast God."

He stroked his bushy beard, his gaze looking at the burning torch on the cave wall, "They are very secretive, rarely appearing before the public. But recently they have started operating more, especially in the northern region. They are constantly searching for people with Divine Energy."

Kaelen and Sane simultaneously looked at each other. People with Divine Energy. In the Eastern continent, Divine Energy was something only Crimson possessed. If the Head Divine Attendant’s faction was searching for people with Divine Energy, then what was their goal? Did they have any connection to what happened in the Northern continent, where the Temple Master imprisoned people with Divine Energy to perform the resurrection ritual of the God of Decay?

"Magnus." Kaelen spoke up, his voice calm but his eyes sharpening, "Do you know anything about the connection between the Martial God Shrine and the Temples on other continents? Specifically the Northern continent."

Magnus shook his head, "I only know that all the Temples across the continents worship the Beast God, but whether they have a connection with each other or not, I am not sure. The Eastern continent has been isolated from the remaining three continents for a very long time. What I know about the Northern continent is only fragmented pieces of legends."

He paused for a moment, weighing his words, then added, "But if you want to find out, perhaps Alaric would be the person who can answer. He is an Inspector Envoy, having the right to access documents that ordinary people cannot reach."

Sane nodded, committing this information to memory.

Magnus stood up, dusted the dirt off his animal skin shirt, then looked directly at Sane and Kaelen:

"If you decide to go to the Martial God Shrine, I have a piece of advice: seek out the Temple Master’s faction. Alaric is a person who values the rules, but is also a fair person. If you can prove your worth, he will help."

"What if we fall into the hands of the Holy Son’s faction?" Sane asked.

"I fear you will be used. The Holy Son is a person with massive ambition. He will not pass up the opportunity to exploit Crimson’s power for his own purposes."

"And the Head Divine Attendant’s faction?"

Magnus remained silent for a moment, "I truly do not know what they want. That is exactly the most terrifying thing."

He pointed at the token in Kaelen’s hand, "The Guest Elder token Alaric gave you has a silver trim. That is a token issued by the Temple Master himself, not everyone has it. It will protect you from those who want to cause you harm, at least in name. But you should also not rely on it too much. At the Martial God Shrine, the rules are one thing, reality is another."

Kaelen looked down at the token in his hand. The silver trim sparkled under the torchlight. He lightly squeezed it tightly.

"Thank you, Magnus."

Magnus waved his hand, "Do not stand on ceremony. You have considered the Black Bear clan as friends, so this is what should be done."

The three of them left the cave.

When the stone door slowly closed behind them, obscuring the dead array inside, the morning sunlight had begun to filter through the leaves on the cliff.

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