Capítulo 758: 138. The Truth of the Banquet

The morning after the Holy Marriage, Fisher and Valentina returned to the hall where they had met Dalilulu, but this time the loquacious female troll was not there, only her husband Cocolia was present to entertain them.

“Please wait here for a moment and have something to eat, the elder and the other tribesmembers have gone to arrange the teleportation ceremony you will use later. You should be able to leave by the afternoon…”

Cocolia placed some food in the hall. Fisher set Valentina down against the recliner she had used before, for she had not eaten much since the previous evening and was likely hungry now. However, the food the Troll Species ate was quite greasy meat, which they occasionally hunted outside the Phoenix Bridge, and also raised some animals in their own tribal lands, hence humans had sometimes witnessed trolls.

Valentina could not eat much of the overly greasy food. After Fisher fed her a few bites, she just wanted to drink water. Cocolia, sitting opposite at the table, watched the two of them and suddenly sighed,

“Although I do not know why the Moon Princess left this legacy, if it were just for this moment, it probably would make your journey to the Wutong Tree smoother, I guess… But let’s not talk about that now. This is the Seal entrusted to me by the elder to hand over to you. You have fulfilled the will of the Moon Princess, and so have we. We have been waiting here for more than five thousand years, just to give the returning Phoenix Bloodline the key to their home.”

Cocolia took a small box from under the table and pushed it in front of Fisher. Inside the box, a small Seal identical to those of the other Five Clans lay quietly. In the center of the Seal, a Troll Species in heavy armor knelt on one knee, facing the Wutong Tree symbol above the Seal.

And this meant that Fisher and Valentina had now collected all of the Six Snow Mountain Tribes’ Marks and had the right to enter the Wutong Tree.

As Fisher and Valentina were examining the Seal in the box, Cocolia in front of them suddenly smiled and raised a small question,

“Aren’t you curious, why for beings like the Phoenix, the key to entering Wutong’s Gate would be a gift they present to their Favoured?”

“Why?”

Fisher looked up at Cocolia, who just stared at the Seal in the box,

“…I am six hundred years older than Dalilulu. Although I’m her husband whom she married, strictly speaking, I belong to her mother’s generation. So, I have personally seen the elders now unseen by you, and I know more about the Hidden past. Do you think that a Phoenix needs a key to return to their ancestral home? Do you think that these spatial distortions, which seem like chasms to us, could ever be obstacles to a Phoenix?”

“In fact, if the Phoenixes want to return to the Wutong Tree, they do not need these six Marks and can enter the Wutong on their own… The entrance to the Wutong that the Six Clans’ Marks open was not designed for the Phoenix from the beginning; it was created for the living creatures at the foot of the mountain.”

Fisher raised an eyebrow and pondered the words that Cocolia had said,

“For the living creatures at the foot of the mountain… you mean, the passage that the Six Clans open to the Wutong Gate is designed to ensure that the races below the mountain can always keep in touch with the Phoenix.”

“Hmm… All you know is that the Moon Princess married a member of a non-Phoenix race and gave birth to offspring, and you are moved by her kindness. In reality, not only her but also the Phoenix King, both Princes, and most of the Phoenixes were friendly towards the races below, considering them as kin. In the war against the Star, the Phoenixes led us to victory, and we remember them; conversely, the bloodshed, dedication, and sacrifices of the other races were also remembered by them. Therefore, from that time on, the entire Northern Realm, though not unified in name, was somehow linked together due to the belief in the Phoenix.”

Cocolia pointed to the Seal in the box and continued,

“Even the Phoenixes who could foresee the future to a certain extent had their oversights. Thus, if there were any difficulties among the races at the foot of the mountain, they could open the entrance to the Wutong and seek help from the Phoenix. This is why the Phoenixes gave the Six Clans’ Mark…”

Listening to Cocolia’s mention of the friendly relationship between the Phoenixes and the races of the Northern Realm, Valentina, who had been listening all along, suddenly had a doubt,

“Wait, if that is the case, then humans should also have been one of the races sheltered under the Phoenix Wings, and the Phoenixes should have treated them kindly as well… But at that time, when the Demon came to the victory feast, the Phoenixes casually used humans as a bargaining chip to give to the Demon, which seems to contradict your words.”

Cocolia shook his head, about to explain, when Fisher seemed to already have the answer, and turned to Valentina, explaining,

“I understand, Valentina. The Phoenixes did not disregard humans as fellow creatures of the Northern Realm, nor did they despise them for their weakness during the war. The Phoenixes recorded all the deceased races on the scroll, and from here, they certainly would not overlook humans, no matter how weak they were… The real reason is that the Phoenixes had to hand over those ten humans because the arriving Demon was not an ordinary Demon; she was Paimon.”