After fusing with his children's roots, Ashlock could peer into many buildings by sneaking a root through a window or a doorway. With so many demonic trees throughout the city, people didn't really pay much attention to them anymore and wouldn't find it suspicious seeing roots growing into places they shouldn't.
Besides a few rooms in the academy, including Elaine's study, Ashlock also had roots sneaking into the airship station. With the tournament only a few days away from starting, he had long anticipated a rush of new people and potential problems arising in the vicinity of the airship station, so he had made sure that all the demonic trees nearby had roots in and around the station.
Due to this foresight, Ashlock could watch Dante Voidmind's arrival.
"So scions are treated like celebrities in this world?" Ashlock pondered as he saw Dante Voidmind saunter toward Elaine while flanked by two escorts.
His first impressions of the Voidmind scion were mixed. Despite what he claimed, it was clear Dante had a sizable ego that he felt needed to be protected. But at the same time, unlike the rogue cultivator, Dante had this air of calmness around him, even when he obliterated someone into nothing but dust. It was all so effortless that it made it impossible to determine his mood.
Which made Ashlock fearful for Elaine. Her appearance had caused a small crack in Dante's facade, and Ashlock saw a look of genuine confusion on his face for the first time since he arrived.
"Sister, is that really you?" He asked Elaine, who opened her mouth but could not form words.
Dante frowned, and Ashlock felt his mind tense up. He was mentally prepared to open a portal at any moment to save her. Losing Elaine would be a massive loss for the Ashfallen sect, and he had no interest in entertaining this Dante fellow.
"You haven't seen me in so many years, and you have nothing to say to your brother?" Dante's voice took on that chill again, "Come with me. We need to have a talk away from prying ears."
Ashlock did not like the sound of that one bit. Luckily he had made Elaine swear an oath of loyalty and secrecy, so the chance of her managing to find a way to reveal the Ashfallen Sect's existence to the Voidmind family was unlikely.
Elaine didn't even get a chance to react as the two escorts urged her toward the station's exit, and she reluctantly followed her brother's back while fidgeting with her dress and biting her lower lip.
"Lead me to the house," Dante instructed one of the escorts, and the man gave his lord a bow before taking the lead.
"What house?" Ashlock wondered as he followed them from above with {Eye of the Tree God}.
Even though his roots had slithered their way into many places, the further they walked from him, the less coverage of the city he had, so hearing of a house put him further on edge.
"Should I send Larry or Diana to follow them?" Ashlock estimated Dante Voidmind to be around the same stage as him in the Star Core Realm.
Meanwhile, Larry was near the peak of the Star Core Realm, but he wasn't that adept at espionage with his enormous size and lack of stealth capabilities. On the flip side, Diana was simply far too weak to not be detected by Dante's spiritual sense.
While Ashlock was lamenting his lacking abilities in intel gathering, the Voidmind group arrived at a house in the noble district. Rich mortals wandered the paved streets with their hired rogue cultivators in tow. They all sent one look at the group and smartly steered clear.
The house they stood before was a manor of decent size. Strangely, its windows were bricked up so no light could get in, and Ashlock noticed faint silver lines indicating the entire building was acting as a formation for something.
Obsidian-colored doors swung open, and a few maids and a butler walked down the steps onto the manicured front lawn that flanked a gravel pathway.
"My Lord," The butler bowed, "Preparations for your stay have been concluded. Please come inside and make yourself at home."
The butler then glanced at Elaine and skillfully hid his surprise behind an awkward cough, "Lady Elaine, it's a pleasure to see you again as well. You should visit more often. Taking care of an empty house brings rust to my knives."
"Sorry... I have been rather busy recently." Elaine spoke for the first time since Dante's arrival.
"So Elaine knew about this house?" Ashlock mused. Now that he thought about it since Slymere was the closest city and multiple Voidmind family members were staying here in Darklight City, it only made sense that they had purchased a residence. It wasn't weird for nobles or affluent families back on earth to have homes in multiple countries to make traveling more comfortable.
"Enough with the pleasantries, Clive." Dante hurried the conversation along, "Prepare the chamber. I have some discussions to conduct with my sister here."
"As you command, My Lord." Clive bowed and clicked his fingers at one of the maids. She didn't even need to be told what to do as she vanished into the house.
"Right this way," Clive led the group down the gravel path and into the house. With a resounding thud that showed the thickness of the doors, Ashlock was left helpless. All nearby demonic trees had been removed, and guards patrolled the manor's grounds.
He wouldn't even know how to get a root into the building so he could eavesdrop, as it was more a fortress than a manor with bricked-up windows and tightly sealed doors.
"I will wait for a while, but if I don't see Elaine emerge by sundown, I will send the Redclaws to go and investigate," Ashlock vowed as he maintained his surveillance on the building, ensuring to not miss a thing.
***
Unlike Clive, the maids of the Voidmind residence openly gawked at Elaine as she timidly followed her brother through the corridors. She hated how awkward she felt, but how could she not? Dante hadn't made a big fuss of it yet, but she had made the very occasional visit back here over the years to make use of the void chamber. So the staff was used to her old appearance.
The doors up ahead at the end of the corridor opened with a resounding click, and Elaine felt the coldness of the void wash over her as the corridor was bathed in darkness. It was as if the doorway led to an endless abyss. She always felt nervous walking in as there was no visible floor in the void chamber, and she felt like she would fall into the realm of hell below.
Dante strolled in without worry, and Elaine saw him stand impatiently in the abyss as if floating. "Come in."
Elaine glanced around one last time before gathering the courage and stepping in. She didn't bother looking down as her brain would fail to comprehend how she was walking on nothingness, and would cause motion sickness.
Oh, the joys of being a weak cultivator.
While Elaine lamented her fate, Dante snapped his fingers and summoned two chairs of liquid void. He gingerly sat and crossed his legs as he gestured for her to follow his action.
Elaine perched herself on the seat, and the two silently looked at each other.
Dante sighed, "Sister, you already know the question on my mind."
Elaine felt her stomach twist into a knot as she tried to replay the carefully crafted lie in her mind. What if she slipped up? Would she bring the Ashfallen Sect to its demise?
No, don't be stupid. They defeated Uncle like it was nothing. What would my Father or brother be to them? Nothing but a nuisance.
Elaine sighed and regained some semblance of confidence, "No need to hold back, brother. What's on your mind?"
"Being coy are we now, dear sister?"
Elaine returned a blank expression.
"Some changes appeared to have occurred while I was sealed away in cultivation." Dante smiled ever so slightly as if amused, "Since when did my dear sister begin to care for herself?"
Elaine blinked. That had not been the exact phrasing she had been expecting. Also, why was his tone so different from when they spoke through the talisman?
"Whatever do you mean, brother?" Elaine replied while trying to keep the nerve out of her voice.
"You look gorgeous now, just like our mother. Dare I say you are an improvement! Which would only make sense, as you are the product of the two greatest cultivators to bless our Voidmind family."
Elaine almost rolled her eyes. Her mother was indeed beautiful, but that was only due to her high cultivation. Compared to the girls on Red Vine Peak, she was nothing special.
Her thoughts then paused on one of the words Dante had mentioned. "What do you mean product?" She asked, "I am a child of our parents, just like you."
"I will be frank, Elaine, when I saw you last, you reminded me of a failed product. I mean, just look at myself. Tall, handsome, talented, and with the etiquette of a distinguished gentleman. Meanwhile, you were anything but that."
Dante then scowled at her, "Whenever myself and Father had the displeasure of having to gaze upon you, all we could see was an imperfect reflection of ourselves."
Elaine wanted to vomit. This was the brother she knew—a narcissist that saw people as nothing more than products of the Voidmind family—not the weirdly kind one from moments ago. He hadn't been this vile years ago, but it seemed years apart had completely changed both her and him.
The way he spoke of her was truly sickening. As if her mere presence had brought about a great inconvenience for him.
Holding back her rage, she tried deciphering the truth from her brother's insane delusions. She would never understand whatever image of himself and their family he had crafted in his twisted mind. In her opinion, other than their affinity, there was nothing special about any of them, especially her brother.
With her saying nothing, he continued speaking, and Elaine started to wonder if he just liked the sound of his own voice.
"Once we discovered your lack of talent for cultivation, we decided to send you away. Out of sight, out of mind." Dante grinned, "And it seems we made the right choice! Do tell me my dear Elaine, how did this transformation come about?"
Did he just take... credit? Does he truly believe that his conspiring with my Father and sending me here to live with my Uncle somehow resulted in my transformation? Although I wouldn't have joined the Ashfallen Sect without being here, the fact he is patting himself on the back for my years of neglect is disgusting.
Dante then reached over and grabbed her wrist with his spindly fingers, causing her to jolt. A pulse of void Qi then traveled throughout her body.
"And your Qi has become as pure as mine." He muttered as he withdrew his hand and leaned back in his void chair. "You have truly bloomed into the purity of our bloodline. How marvelous."
His cold gaze drilled into her soul as he commanded once more, "Now tell me. How did this happen?"
"I... I was cursed." Elaine choked out the words. All she wanted to do was strangle this deluded bastard to death. But lacked the power to do so. He was king in this void chamber, and she had no option but to obey.
"Cursed?" Dante leaned forward, "Tell me more."
Elaine nodded, trying her best to sell the lie, "Yes... well, Uncle recently discovered a rift that led to a secret realm. He was gone for a few days before returning and giving me various items."
Her spatial ring flashed with power, and the items the Patriarch had provided her appeared floating between them. Dante reached for the bamboo sword first and then discarded it. He then meticulously checked each item, turning them in his hand and running his fingers across their surface.
When he reached the pebble, he finally looked up and met her eyes.
"What do these items have to do with your transformation?" He said while frowning, "Other than this pill bottle, none of these could lift a curse. Unless you are trying to suggest that you utilized this meditation mat?"
Elaine shook her head, "Most of the items Uncle discovered were useless like these, but don't you notice an unusual perfectness to them all?"
Dante turned his attention back to the pebble in his hand and hummed to himself as he traced its flawless surface. "I see what you mean."
Elaine suddenly saw a chance to add on top of the lie, "Flawless like our Voidmind blood." She winced slightly as Dante looked up again with a cold stare.
Just before she blurted something out to try and claim it was some type of joke as she couldn't take any more of his stare. Dante's gaze softened slightly, and smiled, "Yes, exactly. All descendants of our great family are flawless, like this rock here and now you."
Sighing with relief, Elaine then realized she needed to continue the lie. Her eyes darted across the items before landing on the pebble in his hand. "When Uncle originally gave me that pebble, it was coated in void Qi."
"Void Qi, you say?" Dante held the pebble a little higher and inspected it further, "Where is the Qi now?"
"The void Qi on the pebble helped eat away the curse festering inside me. Without this curse, I would not have sullied the Voidmind bloodline and brought shame to you and Father." Elaine really wanted to strangle herself rather than play to his twisted ego, but what choice did she have?
"Interesting, how very interesting. So you are claiming a mere pebble was capable of such a feat?" Dante continued humming as he leaned back and rubbed the pebble with his thumb, clearly suspicious. "And where is Uncle now? I wish to ask him about this secret realm."
Elaine tensed up slightly. "Uncle went back into the secret realm moments after returning. He found a lot of fascinating things there he wished to study. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't come out for months or even years."
"Do you know the whereabouts of this secret realm?"
Elaine shook her head, "Sadly, I do not, as he used void step to reach it. Uncle couldn't trust me with the knowledge of its location."
"Why not?" Dante raised a brow, "Merchants discover secret realms all the time."
"Dante, there was a pebble in that secret realm coated in void Qi that could free me of a curse that nobody even knew I had. That is no normal secret realm, but rather one that may hold an inheritance for our family." Seeing Dante's shock, she felt the need to calm him down, "Or at least that is my guess. Be patient; Uncle is strong and will be back in due time."
"I see," Dante nodded slowly, "That would explain why we couldn't reach Uncle despite calling multiple times. In truth, one of the reasons I came here to attend this amateur alchemy tournament was to inquire more directly about Uncle's whereabouts."
"Oh? And what were the other reasons." Elaine asked.
Dante leaned a bit too close for her comfort. His ghoulish face was mere inches away, "You see, sister, I'm glad you asked..." He whispered, "I came to conquer."
"Conquer? What do you plan to conquer here, brother." Elaine asked while clenching the seams of her dress.
"Everything. First, I will start with the alchemy tournament to spread our family's good name, and then I will rid Darklight City of the Redclaws." A look of pure disgust accompanied his outrageous claims, "You want to be rid of that vile filth that prances around claiming to be cultivators like us. Don't you?"
Elaine was about to reply with 'Yes' to maintain the lie but felt the cold chains of her oath tighten around her soul at the thought.
So a lie that could cause harm to the Ashfallen Sect will be denied by the oath. What should I say?! Why is this bastard such a creep? Can't he stay over there in his chair and keep his weird fantasies to himself? Why does he feel the need to lean over and whisper in my ear?
"How will you deal with them, brother?" Elaine decided to deflect the question while showing agreement in a roundabout way.
A burst of haunted laughter escaped his lips, "By slitting their throats, of course, like the pigs they are!"
Honestly, Elaine was struggling to take this lunatic seriously. Even for a scion, he was utterly insane.
"Father has tasked me with overtaking Darklight City now that the Ravenborne Grand Elder is gone and has given me full control over the family's forces." Dante leaned back and drummed his fingers on the liquid-void armrest, lost in thought.
Elaine bit her lower lip as she tried to find a way to reason him out of it. She disliked her brother and Father, but her mother and some of her cousins, like Jasper, were nice, so she would rather not watch her family be humiliated and wiped out.
"What about the Patriarch?" Elaine reminded Dante, "Won't he be furious with you for killing another family?"
Dante snorted, "The Redclaws? Didn't you hear the Winterwrath, Ravenborne, and Evergreen families were killed off recently?"
"Yeah?"
"All of that death, yet there was no word from the Nightrose family. That's because they are all replaceable." Dante smirked, "The Patriarch could grab two random rogue fire cultivators off the street and have them start a new Redclaw family if he so pleased. Fire cultivators are abundant and serve little purpose other than war and alchemy."
Elaine hated to admit it, but Dante had a point. If the Blood Lotus Patriarch had to choose between punishing the Voidmind family, which held a rare affinity and a solid political standing, or the Redclaws, which helped fight in wars many decades ago but have fallen into mediocrity in recent years... the choice was obvious. He would pick the Voidmind family every darn time.
The problem lay in the fact that the Redclaws were no longer mediocre due to the Ashfallen Sect. In fact, Elaine would go so far as to claim the Ashfallen Sect was superior to the entire Blood Lotus Sect.
"Now let us cultivate the whispers of the void," Dante said as he ended the conversation and entered deep meditation.
***
While Elaine was busy cultivating the void Qi around her and lost in thought about how Dante was leading her entire family to its demise, there was a resounding knock throughout the void.
Dante snapped his fingers, and the doorway to the void chamber behind Elaine opened—revealing a distressed Clive.
"My Lord." The aged butler bowed. His forehead was sweating profusely, and he seemed to be panicking.
"Spit it out, Clive," Dante replied with a chill, "You are disturbing my conversation with my dear sister here."
"Right, my lord, I will be brief then," Clive straightened up and coughed, "The Redclaws... they are outside."
Clive then turned to look at Elaine, "And they demand Elaine's presence."
