Everyone looked at Latalia with a surprised expression. However, Roan immediately asked.
"Why would you tell us that? As far as I can see, it was supposed to be some kind of great secret, no? What made you change your mind all of a sudden?"
Latalia shrugged her shoulders before saying.
"Look around. Do you think we would be able to hide it for long? Even you noticed that something wasn't right with Juan's request, trying to look for me, let alone the leaders of sects and other powers. Sooner or later, they will knock on my idiot nephew's door. Once that happens, that coward will spill all the beans."
Rovan still found it strange.
"But you could have kept it a secret until there was no other choice but to tell us, no?"
Latalia shook her head.
"That would be impossible. The reason is simple. The city entrance needs two things to open. The first, I believe you already know what it is."
Roan nodded as he pulled out one of the small 'tokens' from his robe.
"So this is some kind of key, uh?"
Latalia nodded.
"Yes. There will be a need for several of these things. You could also say that the reason the maze began to pull the cultivators inside was so that it could convene the keys to the latecomers. I might be wrong, but I believe that being able to acquire the tokens is also some kind of trial."
Everyone nodded. After being inside this place for so many hours, they would be lying if they didn't at least think about that possibility before.
"Alright, but this reason doesn't explain why you went ahead and told us about your descendency. What is this second condition then?"
Latalia then pointed at herself before saying.
"My blood. Without the bloodline of one of the residents of that city, you won't be able to open the entrance. Right in front of the door, there is a small pillar used to control the door. I need to drop my blood inside it for that to work. However, it will only work once enough tokens are gathered. Once I drop my blood to control it, everyone there will obviously notice that I have some relation to this place."
Roan understood what Latalia wanted.
"I see. You could have simply waited at that door until the cultivators eventually gathered there. However, you would be without a token yourself. Last but not least, you would be on your own. That being said, you had no other choice other than to go out and look for help. First, you got help from Ervan's group since you wanted to get a token that would be only yours."
"After that, you intended to find a relatively stronger group to ally with. When you heard from Ervan about our existence and our average cultivation level, you thought it was a perfect choice. After all, you would still be the cultivator with the highest cultivation in our midst. You could talk about this city or whatever while still being certain about your own safety."
Latalia's expression didn't even change after hearing all of that.
"So what? Are you telling me that I was wrong? You also stand to gain in this trade since you will be able to enter as well. It's a win-win situation. Are you not satisfied?"
Roan shook his head.
"Not at all. I prefer to make it clear about both sides' stakes. We have something you need, and you have something we do. That's the best way to keep both interests intact."
Well, the truth was that Latalia still felt Rean's group to be slightly weaker than she wanted. Nevertheless, her female side wanted to befriend Rean for future 'uses.' The ultimate women's trap was just that powerful!
Roan then decided to enter the main topic.
"Alright. What about this city thing? What are we expecting here? From what I know, there wasn't supposed to be a city in this place, no?"
Latalia nodded.
"During the time Zef Jialin founded this country, the city was already non-existent. This is a story from way before the Sasamil Empire arrived in this region as well. The city's name was Laan, a relatively small city if you take the country's capital as an example. Still, the people who governed this place all had heaven-defying cultivations. Some say that they even had a few ascenders."
Everyone looked at Latalia with a slightly puzzled expression.
"Ascender? What is that?"
Unfortunately, Latalia just shook her head.
"I also know nothing about it. The only thing I heard is that once your cultivation surpasses a certain level, you will ascend. However, no one knows what this 'ascendance' means. Cultivators can fly. Does it mean they leave our world? Or perhaps they are sent into another place through some kind of teleportation? Maybe they receive the right to do so and then decide whether to go or not. Perhaps they are forced to leave or pulled away? In any case, I have never seen one. You will be luckier if you ask your sect elders about it."
Latalia then continued.
"All you need to know is that this was a city where no one dared to mess with. Sasamil Empire was already strong at that time. Perhaps they didn't dare to let anyone take this area since they didn't want to mess with Laan City. Of course, this is just speculation."
Rean then asked.
"So, what happened to the city? How come Zef Jialin came to this place and took over? Also, didn't the Sasamil Empire try to stop him? Or perhaps they sent Zef here instead?"
Latalia shook her head once more.
"I don't know. According to the records of my clan, Laan City suddenly disappeared one day. No one knew why, but the city simply vanished into thin air. In its place, only barren land remained. Thousands of years later, when Zef Jialin arrived, the land had already been taken by the demon beast forest that surrounded the city before. No one knew what happened to the citizens of this place."
Roan felt that something was strange.
"Then how come you're a descendant? Did someone flee from the city before it disappeared?"
Latalia then scratched her back head with a helpless expression.
"To be honest, it seems like our ancestor was exiled. There are no records of what happened. It's just that he did something that had him almost killed and thrown outside."
Latalia then shrugged her shoulders.
"Well, to be honest, I'm delighted that he did. After all, I wouldn't be here today if he didn't create his own family later on outside. Anyway, it was also thanks to that that we know something about what happened. The city didn't really disappear, but it was moved. It's just that it was impossible to track it down. All that we know was that it was still inside Jiran Forest, that's all."
"The problem was that we had no idea about its location anymore. My ancestor looked for it until the end of his life came. The next generations did the same, but none of them were lucky. Jiran Forest seemed to be the same as always, and it continued to be so for many, many generations. Until a few years ago, sudden disappearances began to happen."
"At first, no one paid much attention. After all, the Jiran Forest's Core Region had many Stage Four Demon Beasts, maybe even a Stage Five somewhere. Every now and then, some would die inside, never to be seen again. Probably ending up in some Demon Beasts' belly."
"However, the situation worsened as time passed. Core and Soul Fusion Realm cultivators had also turned into casualties. It was a rare thing. Even in a desperate situation, as long as they decide to pay the price, they would still be able to escape. Let alone that Stage Four demon beasts don't have intelligence and sentience. A good example was that Umbral Sect guy who ran away. Even in that situation, he still found a silver lining that allowed him to keep his life."
Roan wanted to say that Latalia didn't use the right movements to delay his movements, but he decided not to do so. After all, Roan also thought that he wasn't as perfect as he was when he used the Flags.
"Once we noticed that a lot of cultivators were disappearing without leaving any clue behind, we immediately started to make an investigation of our own. Of course, their disappearances could have been for any other reason. Still, it was not like we had any further clue. To my surprise, I was also captured by the maze. It was then that I saw the patterns on the walls and confirmed that this was really related to Laan City!"
Rean then asked something else.
"Then why does it look like your nephew wants to stop you?"
Latalia laughed before saying.
"Isn't that obvious? That nephew of mine is a coward. He wanted to give up any more research about Laan City. Even it existed, what good would it bring to our Amakal Family? He wanted to bring me back and force me to forget about our ancestor's wishes. Well, to be honest, I couldn't care less about that. I'm here for the same reason as the rest. I want to get the treasures left behind as well. As a real descendant, I believe that I will have access to many things that others won't. Why should I give up?"
Roan snorted in response.
"That is considering that your banished ancestor's bloodline is still accepted, right?"
Latalia didn't deny that.
"Do you have a better idea?"
Roan was tongue-tied. In the end, he could only answer.
"No."
