Path to Transcendence

Chapter 726: Take Me There

Lily POV

Goldmere was a surprisingly wonderful city. She had never visited before, but she could see why it was considered one of the top cities in terms of trade and commerce. The city itself was quite large, but every square inch was carefully planned and purposeful. The streets were clean, the people were respectful, and the food was unexpectedly delicious.

The number of people flying on swords was something she had to get used to, though. There weren’t as many flying restrictions compared to the Empire, and that meant there were plenty of people in the sky. She wondered how often injuries or accidents occurred because of this.

She pulled out of her thoughts when Marcus gave her a mental nudge, letting her know that they were there, before knocking on the door, which was surrounded by several very powerful enchantments.

It didn’t take long for Arthur to open the door and beckon them inside.

“Lady Lily, Marcus, please come in,” he said with a polite nod.

Marcus inspected the door for a brief second and seemed satisfied that it was safe before entering the premises. After she followed, Arthur closed the door behind them, and she was greeted by a magnificent sight. A gorgeous tree full of lovely pink blooming flowers was in the middle of the atrium. The house hadn’t looked like much on the outside, especially compared to the affluent area they were in. But the inside was definitely what she expected from a respected elder of the Verdant Willow Sect.

“So what’s the real reason why you’re here, Marcus?”

Whatever pretense Arthur had been displaying beforehand was replaced with one of caution and skepticism now that they were in private.

Marcus didn’t seem to mind the tone and walked up to the pink tree curiously. “Visiting an old friend isn’t reason enough?” he asked after a brief moment.

“Not when you bring House Violet’s prized gem with you,” Arthur said with a glance at Lily.

“She needs the experience.”

“Bullshit, if you wanted to give her experience, there are countless other ways to do so. You essentially announced your arrival in Goldmere and let every power in the city prepare for you. Not everyone in Goldmere is going to be glad that House Violet is here. And by giving them a warning, they have time to prepare to disrupt everything you do. If you wanted to give her business experience, you would have been a lot quieter.”

“Who’s to say that we haven’t already laid the groundwork?” This time it was Lily who spoke. She was looking up the stairs at where she sensed another person eavesdropping on the conversation. It felt like Selene, though.

Arthur quieted down when he heard this, and so she turned to look at him passively. “You’re right, I didn’t come to Goldmere for a simple business venture. If I’m being frank, we’ve already finished all of our preparations, and our announcement at that party last night was just a courtesy.”

“So then why are you here? And why single me out?”

Lily nodded, so that’s why he was worried. He thought Lily was singling him out and painting a target on his back for the other clans and sects.

“Because I truly wish to discuss something with you since you have the authority to negotiate on behalf of your sect. But I also came here today because I needed to talk to your niece.”

“Selene? Why would you need to talk to her?” he asked with a confused frown, clearly not expecting that response.

“I can explain when she comes down here,” she said and looked up at the banister. “You can come down now.”

Lily heard a small curse from the young woman, and with as much dignity as she could manage, she revealed herself and came down the stairs. Selene bowed deeply the second she got close enough.

Arthur seemed more amused and exasperated than angry that she was eavesdropping.

“How may I help you, Lady Lily?”

“I have a few questions I would like to ask, if that’s alright with you.”

Selene looked over at her uncle, and he shrugged, as if saying the decision was up to her.

“Sure, I will do my best to answer your questions as best as I can,” she said, but clearly still hesitant, likely knowing of Lily’s psychic abilities.

“What is your relationship with Clan Yoshu and Celestine Cromweld?” Lily asked.

Selene hid her mind decently well for a girl her age, but her body betrayed her. The slight flinch told Lily more than any of her mental skills would have.

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Lily nodded. “Yes, I heard about the incident between you and Celestine Cromweld. I don’t really care much about her, but I do care about the Heartburst Seed that she apparently placed inside you.”

“How do you know about that?” Selene asked nervously.

“House Violet has its way,” Lily answered evasively. Truth be told, her family was already aware of Celestine Cromweld and her dealings with various underhanded organizations. Hearing about Selene’s situation was more luck than anything, but it added to the information she already had, and she was able to get a clearer picture of her involvement.

“What do you want to know?”

“How did you get the seed removed?” Lily asked, extending a small wisp of psychic energy towards her.

Selene scrunched her brows and stayed silent.

Lily looked fondly at the tree, which was suddenly sparkling in the light coming through the skylight. “I understand that you are quite an accomplished healer, but your self-healing abilities are not as impressive. Your uncle also wasn’t here. So how did you manage to remove the seed? I know how insidious those things are.”

Selene continued to remain silent. Lily could feel her mental defenses being piled up, understanding that Lily was likely already inside.

“Okay, let’s move on to another question. How do you know Julius?”

This time, there was a bigger spike in her mind. Lily actually managed to see an image of Julius in Selene’s mind. Of course, it didn’t look like him, but Lily knew that Julius had an artifact that helped change his appearance. That was why she asked about the seed. If there was one thing Julius couldn’t hide, it was his abilities.

“What’s going on?” Arthur interrupted, realizing that something else was going on.

Lily gave Marcus a look, and the man laid a hand on Arthur’s shoulder, warning him to stay out of it. He didn’t like it, but if he were Marcus’s friend, then he understood that a fight against Marcus wouldn’t be a good idea. Regardless of whether he was inside his own home.

“What happened to him?” Lily pressed, taking that wisp and weaving through Selene’s mind and the defenses with ease.

Lily saw several images. One was of ‘Julius’ caged in a room, with Selene leaning over him. This immediately angered Lily, and she turned up her abilities. Pushing deeper and harder than planned.

Selene’s eye twitched, no doubt sensing that Lily had already gotten inside. But Lily didn’t really care; she sent an order to Marcus, letting him know to stop Arthur if he decided to interfere.

Now that she wasn’t holding back, she started to see more things. Things like how she helped Julius escape and how he was inside this very same home. And just as Lily suspected, it was Julius who managed to help remove the seed from Selene.

But during her search, she got more information. She saw Selene and Julius hanging out, eating food together. She also managed to feel Selene’s emotions when she thought about Julius, and that was when she finally pulled back. She had basically confirmed that Julius had indeed been involved with Selene at some point.

Selene let out a gasp and staggered, holding her face. Arthur wrangled free of Marcus and shot a dark look at him before going beside her. Only when he determined that she was safe did he glare at the two of them.

“I think itʼs time for you to leave,” he said with restrained anger.

Lily stared dispassionately at him. “I wasn’t going to go that far, but then I looked into her mind and saw that she betrayed Julius for Celestine. So I delved deeper.”

This seemed to surprise him, and he looked over at Selene, who was calming down. Lily had left a small bundle of psychic that would help the girl relax quickly. It was something she learned not long ago and worked well when paired with her mental invasion abilities.

“Where did he go?”

Selene looked up at her, fear and uncertainty lingering in her eyes. “I don’t know.”

Lily frowned when she sensed the truthfulness of her words. “What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“He went to the Obsidian Vault and never returned,” she said quickly.

“How long ago was this?”

“At least three months ago, almost four.”

Lily cursed internally. That was a long time, and he should have exited the vault by now if that was the case. She started to think of the worst. She knew how strong he was, but nobody was unkillable, not even Julius. Not to mention that, from what she heard, the Obsidian Vault had been closed for around that same amount of time. Did Julius have something to do with it?

“What is going on?” Arthur finally interrupted with a confused scowl.

Lily glanced over at him and sighed. “I’m looking for my friend. Your niece was the last person who reported with him, which is why I’m here.”

“And you had to rely on such drastic measures?”

“Apologies, but I saw in her mind that she had at one time betrayed Julius and was the reason for him being captured and chained. So I decided to push further.”

Arthur didn’t know how to respond, but after a few moments, he said, “And risk damaging her mind?”

Marcus chuckled, as if he found that accusation amusing. Lily shot him a dark look. “I wasn’t going to injure her,” she assured the man.

“Mind magic is dangerous.”

“I’m very good at it.”

He was about to say something else, but Selene beat him to it.

“It’s okay, I was more surprised than anything. She didn’t hurt me. That being said, are you really his friend?”

The way she asked it was odd, but Lily nodded firmly. “Yes, he’s a really good friend, which is why I came all the way out here.”

“I can help you.”

Lily frowned. “Why the sudden change?”

“Because I’m worried about him, too. He helped save me from that Heartburst Seed, but when he didn’t return from the inheritance trial, I didn’t do much to help or look for him. Not as much as I could be. So if you need anything from me, just ask for it.”

“Do you know where this Obsidian Vault was located?”

She nodded. “Yes, I can take you there.”

Lily immediately headed for the door and looked over her shoulder. “Well then, let’s get going.”