Wizard: Starting from Escape from the Thorn Garden

Chapter 148 Echo Valley

Amber pointed to the outline of a valley shrouded in eerie shadows in the distance: "Look, that's Whispering Valley—the place where the gloom first appeared. We're almost there, but to get back to the settlement, we must cross Echo Valley ahead."

She paused, a deep sense of apprehension appearing on her face: "Echo Valley is a natural barrier for the forest, and also a place of trial."

The laws of sound there are extremely strange, amplifying and distorting the emotions and memories of intruders, creating an incredibly realistic illusion.

Kate, you must stay focused. No matter what you hear or see, don't believe it. Follow the light dust I left behind!

Kate nodded solemnly, her Heart of Reincarnation swirling slightly, keeping her soul sea clear: "Understood. Lead the way, Amber."

They walked toward the narrow entrance between two huge mushroom-shaped rocks.

As soon as we stepped into the valley, the surrounding sounds instantly became strange.

The sounds of the wind, the rustling of leaves, and even their own footsteps were stretched, distorted, and repeated, creating a disturbing and eerie harmony.

Soon, the illusion arrived as expected.

For Amber, the cries and accusations of her people echoed in her ears, and the image of her homeland being completely swallowed by darkness flashed before her eyes.

The horrific sight of the tribesmen turning into a black, viscous substance, and the elders' disappointed and painful sighs.

Her face was deathly pale, and her body trembled slightly, but her eyes shone with a determined light. She kept chanting the ancient calming songs of the light fairies, and her body emitted an even richer glow as she struggled to resist the encroachment of the illusions, leaving behind specks of guiding light dust in front of her.

Kate's situation, however, was far more complex and dangerous.

He felt as if he had instantly returned to the brutal battlefield of the Eternal Night Canyon.

The undead surged in like a tide, and Evan and Elena fought valiantly around him, only to be suddenly torn apart by the terrifying avatar of the undead lord, letting out a piercing scream.

Commander Elmer roared at his incompetence, blaming his flawed plans for the collapse of the defenses, where countless wizards of the Hand of Life turned to skeletal remains before his very eyes.

"It was your arrogance that killed them!" Elmer accused in the hallucination, his face contorted with rage.

Kate's heart clenched, but his inner sanity surged, the rules of life and death swirling within him, and he instantly saw through the illusion: "An illusion is just an illusion. Their sacrifice was for victory, and I have fulfilled my duty!"

His will was as firm as iron, and he shattered the illusion with a fierce blow.

The second illusion followed immediately.

He found himself back at Evergreen Stronghold, where Mentor Glenn coldly announced that the Hand of Life had decided to strip him of his medals and banish him from the Stronghold for abusing necromancy and associating with darkness.

Ashe was forcibly ripped from his soul, emitting a painful wail. The Bloodvine and Golden Thorn Armor turned against their master, attacking him frantically.

"Your path is a wrong one! Neither alive nor dead, you are not tolerated by heaven and earth!" the mentor in the illusion declared sternly.

Kate felt a tearing pain in his soul, but he gritted his teeth and sneered, "My path is mine to define! The Heart of Reincarnation is not a wrong path! Break free!"

The realm of reincarnation expanded rapidly, and the forces of life and death intertwined in balance, instantly crushing this illusion that denied his foundation.

The third illusion is the most bizarre.

There were no terrifying sights, only endless whispers that resonated deep within his soul.

The whisper revealed his deepest fear, a fear he himself was not even fully aware of: the fear of failing to merge, of losing control completely, and becoming a monster that was neither alive nor dead.

The fear of not being able to find the "Core of Dreams" and the impending doom, the fear of carrying too many expectations only to disappoint everyone in the end—the whispers, like the most cunning serpent, amplified every tiny unease and doubt in his mind, trying to undermine his will from within.

Just as his mind wavered slightly, the amber "forest token" vine thread on his wrist suddenly emitted a gentle warmth, and a pure natural will surged into his heart, carrying encouragement and recognition.

At the same time, the Heart of Life medal on his chest was slightly warm.

Kate snapped out of her daze, a fierce glint in her eyes: "My heart is as firm as a rock, my will is eternal! Disperse!"

He activated the Heart of Reincarnation with all his might, completely expelling the malicious whispers from his spiritual sea.

As the illusion shattered layer by layer, he saw a path of light and dust left behind by amber, stubbornly flickering amidst distorted sound waves.

He strode after him, his figure resolute, no longer confused.

Amber glanced back at him in surprise; she hadn't expected Kate to break through the illusion of Echo Valley so quickly and seemingly effortlessly.

After passing through the long echo valley, the view suddenly opened up before us.

They arrived at a huge, bowl-shaped valley.

In the center of the valley grows a towering tree whose magnificence and beauty cannot be described in words. That is the sacred land and home of the Light Fairies, the "Eternal Song Tree".

The trunk of the giant tree is like a crystal-clear piece of jade or glass, with liquid light seemingly flowing slowly inside.

The branches and leaves are woven from the purest amber and gold foil, radiating a warm and eternal halo that illuminates the entire valley in a dreamlike way.

Countless light fairies, like flowing specks of light, danced and darted among the branches and leaves, chanting ethereal songs.

Even though it's been shrouded in "gloom," it's still breathtakingly beautiful.

As Amber and Kate approached the natural archway formed by the roots of the giant tree, a squad of light elf guards clad in armor made of darker leaves and vines with thorn patterns immediately blocked their way.

The leading male light fairy, with a handsome face but a cold and scrutinizing expression, first sternly swept his gaze over Amber.

"Amber! How dare you leave the sacred ground without permission and bring back an outsider!"

His voice was sharp, carrying an unquestionable authority.

"Bracken Guardian, I—" Amber tried to explain.

But the chief guard interrupted her abruptly, turning his gaze to Kate with wariness and even hostility: "Human wizard, outsiders are not welcome here. We will handle the troubles in the Tranquil Forest ourselves. Please leave immediately!"

Kate could sense that the captain of the guards was quite strong, close to the peak of a first-ring wizard, and the guards behind him were all sharp and capable, clearly elites.

Just then, a gentle yet undeniably powerful voice rang out: "Aaron, step back."

An elderly light fairy, dressed in a simple white robe, holding a staff made of tender green branches, and with a beard that almost dragged on the ground, emerged from the depths of the giant tree, surrounded by a group of equally serene light fairies dressed in elder's robes.

He looked extremely old, but his amber eyes were as deep as the sea, full of wisdom and experience.

He exuded powerful natural energy fluctuations, clearly a being comparable to a third-ring wizard.

"Elder!" Amber exclaimed in surprise and ran over quickly.

Although the captain of Aaron's guards looked unwilling, he still respectfully bowed and stepped aside.

The elder patted Amber's head affectionately, then his gaze fell on Kate, scrutinizing him closely, especially the faintly glowing Heart of Life medal on his chest and the Forest Token on his wrist.

"Welcome, hand of life from afar, Kate." The Elder's voice was gentle yet powerful. "I am Qingye, the Elder of the Tranquil Forest. The amber token and your medal have already told me your purpose and identity. Thank you for responding to our call for help in our time of crisis."

Kate bowed respectfully, saying, "Elder Qingye, greetings. I have come to offer my humble assistance at the request of Amber."

"Hmph, Elder! Why be so polite to an outsider!"

A sharp voice suddenly rang out.

Then, another old man standing among the elders, dressed in a dark brown robe with black trim and holding a charred wooden staff, coldly opened his mouth.

His eyes were sharp and sinister, and his aura was not as vibrant as that of Elder Qingye; instead, it carried a sense of oppression and decay.

He is the high priest of the Light Elf tribe, Kumu.

"Kate is a guest whom Amber invited after going through many hardships, and also a friend recognized by the Heart of Nature."

Elder Qingye responded calmly, but his tone carried a hint of seriousness that was difficult to detect.

"Friends? The Heart of Nature?" The High Priest of the Deadwood scoffed, his voice suddenly rising and echoing throughout the surroundings, attracting more and more gathered light fairies. "It is precisely because of our actions in recent years that have violated tradition, such as making unauthorized contact with the outside world and exploring unknown territories, that we have incurred the wrath of the Spirit of Nature, and unleashed this 'Dark' divine punishment!"

He suddenly pointed at Kate: "And this human is irrefutable proof! He is pollution brought in from the outside world!"

His arrival will only intensify the divine punishment!

Only by completely isolating ourselves from the outside world and offering the most sincere atonement sacrifices to the God of Elves—for example, those sinners who left the sacred ground without permission and brought disaster upon themselves!

As he spoke, he gave Amber a meaningful, sharp glare.

A group of priests and some people behind him immediately echoed his sentiments, their faces filled with fear and blind obedience to "tradition".

"Absurd!" exclaimed another, younger elder beside Elder Qingye, a female light fairy named Chenlu. "The darkness is corruption, not divine punishment! Amber's search for hope was approved by the elders' council! What we should be doing is finding the root cause and fighting the corruption, not killing each other and isolating ourselves!"

"Find the root cause? Rely on this human?" The High Priest of the Deadwood pointed disdainfully at Kate. "What abilities does he have? Elder Morning Dew, you and Elder Green Leaf acted recklessly, leading the younger generation on adventures and explorations, which caused the balance of the forest to be broken. You are the sinners!"

The two sides immediately began arguing fiercely, and the light fairies of the settlement were clearly divided into two factions.

One faction, led by Elder Qingye, Elder Chenlu, and most of the young elves, advocated a proactive approach, seeking external assistance and solutions.

The other faction, centered around the high priest of the deadwood and some older, conservative elves, firmly believed it was "divine punishment," demanding a return to closed traditions and the sacrifice of "sinners" to appease the wrath of the gods.

Kate, observing coldly, instantly realized that the internal crisis of the Tranquil Forest was far more complex than the external erosion.

This division undoubtedly greatly weakened their ability to fight against the "darkness".

Elder Qingye looked at the divided clan, a flicker of pain in his eyes. He took a deep breath, channeling his natural magic, and his voice, gentle yet clear, drowned out the commotion: "Silence!"

Everyone fell silent and looked at him.

"Arguing won't solve anything," Elder Qingye said slowly. "Kumu, you say this is divine punishment. Then, according to the most ancient ritual, if a sacrifice is to be made, it must be done at the Moon Shadow Altar, where the moonlight itself will judge the sins, not by you and me arbitrarily."

The High Priest of the Deadwood's eyes flickered, and he snorted coldly without refuting, seemingly wary of the "Moon Shadow Altar".

Elder Qingye continued, "Whether this Lord Kate is a hope is not for you and me to judge. Since he has come here, why not let him give it a try?"

If he cannot resolve the darkness, it proves his incompetence, and then we can discuss other matters. If he succeeds, it proves that our path is correct, and that the spirits of nature have not been angered.

These words temporarily stabilized the situation. Although the High Priest of the Deadwood was dissatisfied, he could not find a better reason to immediately refute. He just gave Kate a cold look and said, "Then let him try! Let's see what tricks he can play! But if the darkness is exacerbated because of him, he and Amber will have to bear the consequences!" After saying that, he left angrily with his followers.

Elder Qingye sighed and gave Kate a wry smile that was tinged with sympathy: "I'm sorry you had to see this, Your Excellency Kate."

Internal disagreements complicated the situation.

Kate shook her head: "It's alright. Elder, time is of the essence. I need to know the details of the Darkness and the flow of ley lines in the forest immediately."

"Of course, please follow me." Elder Qingye nodded, signaling Elder Chenlu to appease the crowd, and then personally led Kate and Amber to a lookout platform high on the Eternal Song Tree.

From the platform, one can clearly see the area known as "Whispering Valley," which is currently filled with a rich,...

A pervasive, creeping grayness enveloped everything, like a huge, festering wound. The edges of the grayness were still expanding outwards at an extremely slow pace.

Kate could sense that the rules of death and decay were unusually active there, even suppressing the rules of life.

“We’ve tried many methods,” Elder Qingye said somberly, “pure life energy irradiation, moonlight rituals, even the primal power of the sacred tree—but all with little effect, and as Amber said, sometimes even exacerbating it. It seems to be—learning and adapting.”

Kate activated her Reincarnation Heart Perception and the Seed of Origin Scan, her brow furrowed.

[Analysis Target: Unknown Dark Erosion]

[Ingredients: Highly condensed rules of death (mutation), rules of decay, unknown mental pollution traits, faint void reaction—]

[Characteristics: Rule-level erosion, energy consumption, adaptive evolution, mental interference, suspected rudimentary cluster consciousness]

Threat Level: Extremely High (Potential for dimensional contamination)

[Speculated origin: Possibly related to dimensional rifts, ancient remains of the dead, or the existence of high-ranking undead/void.]

"I need to get closer, and ideally, take some samples for analysis," Kate said in a deep voice.

"That's too dangerous!" Amber exclaimed.

Elder Qingye pondered for a moment and said, "Approaching is possible, but sampling is extremely difficult. The Darkness will actively attack and devour any energy or matter that gets close."