[But if Miss Bai is also interested in the hidden treasure, please do not go near it before the Geranium Kingdom's Hundred Nations Banquet ends. Not even approach it in advance.]
[Because before the Geranium Kingdom decided to present this treasure as the reward for the champion, all major powers had already reached a mutual restriction agreement. No one is allowed to enter early before the banquet ends. Around the hidden area, experts sent by each major power are stationed to strictly guard it, preventing any faction from sneaking in.]
[Inside the hidden realm, there are also various mechanisms inscribed with divine language. Even the Heavenly Palace Pavilion finds them extremely difficult to decode. One careless step could lead to death. The Geranium Kingdom and its supporting forces have tried many times but never made it into the treasure. That's the reason why.]
[Our Tiangong Pavilion is here mainly because of these difficult mechanisms.]
Elara had already guessed as much. Otherwise, the hidden treasure would've been dug up long ago. Why would the Geranium Kingdom still be holding the Hundred Nations Banquet?
Now it seems this national battle is really just a chance for third-tier kingdoms.
Only those who receive the champion reward, or those third-tier powers favored by second-tier or higher backers, have a chance to enter together.
After Lucian told Elara the location, he also explained all the related details thoroughly.
[According to the most common speculation, the hidden treasure contains at least seven divine vein blessings, including both awakened and unawakened ones. However, blessings of mid-tier level or above are at most two, and top-tier ones are nearly nonexistent. So this time, the Hundred Nations Banquet mostly attracted second-tier powers.]
[First-tier powers only come when there are top-tier blessings involved. Still, many of these second-tier factions represent their first-tier backers.]
[For example, behind the Bloodcloak Tower is the first-tier power Nether Hall. Behind the Great Sun Temple and Tianshui Kingdom is the great northern empire Petunia Kingdom. Behind Xikang Kingdom, Depei Kingdom, and the Luohe Alliance is the central empire Celosia Kingdom. The Silken Thread Sect and the Nixia Kingdom represent the matriarchal empire Freesia Kingdom, and so on.]
[However, because of the exposure of those three top-secret notices, half of Bloodcloak Tower's mission has already been ruined. Those three factions have begun to target them. Bloodcloak Tower is now too occupied to focus on the hidden treasure, so Nether Hall will likely send one of its other forces instead.]
So the force behind Bloodcloak Tower really was Nether Hall.
Elara raised her brow slightly and took note of all the information Lucian mentioned in the letter.
After telling her everything he knew, Lucian finally asked gently if Elara also intended to go down into the treasure, would she like to go with him? He could invite her and her faction to join as guest members of Tiangong Pavilion. That way, it would be much safer and more convenient in many ways.
Elara naturally refused.
Her relationship with Lucian, if exposed publicly right now, would cause a lot of unnecessary trouble.
Besides, she had come here together with Prince Yu and Prince Leland. These three countries had already formed an alliance. This news was initially revealed by Prince Leland, and he had planned to use his status as the second-ranked prince of a secondary nation to take her and Prince Yu down, so Elara couldn't just leave them behind and go into hiding alone.
After obtaining more detailed information from Lucian, Elara sent the Puppet Soldiers to immediately sneak into the hidden location for investigation. At the same time, she continued her daily routine of writing letters, watching the national competition, cultivating, and negotiating the details of various attack strategies.
A few days passed like that.
As the intense national duels at the Banquet of Nations entered a white-hot stage, one day, on the way back to the inn after watching the competition, a noisy crowd suddenly appeared at a street corner on the main road.
Surrounded by onlookers from various countries, some were mocking and laughing, some sneering angrily, and others sighing softly.
This scene looked very similar to what Elara and the others had seen when they had first arrived in the capital of Geranium Kingdom.
Elara stood at the entrance of the street and looked through the gaps in the crowd.
At the very center of the crowd was a young man dressed in slave clothing, kneeling upright.
Beside the young man were a few rolls of old bamboo slips that had been barely repaired, and in front of him was a slave contract.
It was a contract used by a masterless slave to seek a new owner.
Amid the ridicule and commentary of guests from various countries, Elara's gaze moved from the contract to the young man's face.
The young man had upright features and a cold expression. No matter how the people around him insulted and mocked him, his face remained calm and unmoved.
That familiar, dignified appearance and unshakable demeanor was the same young man Elara had seen in front of "Gathering Talent Pavilion" when she first arrived at the Banquet of Nations, the one who had tried to recommend himself but had been driven away as bad luck because he was a slave.