Second Option

Arash nodded calmly and asked back, "What did Tok think I can do to work around this problem?"

"Atta boy! Great attitude!" Tok Silihan laughed loudly while he patted Arash's shoulder. His turbid gaze shone with appreciation for a second before it became serious.

"Two ways."

"The first one, prostrate before the Deity of the Land and show your piety by leaving your worldly desires for forty-four days. All new Spiritual Healers will undergo this ritual to strengthen their Spiritual Root upon inception."

Arash, "..." =____=||

"After that, drink my blood. It will be a precursor to open your pores while meditating within a spiritual node for another six-month." Tok Silihan harumphhed deeply.

Arash was so speechless. =________=|||||||| He fought hard not to show any negative reactions to Tok Silihan's explanation after looking at his expression. It was an expression of sacrificing oneself for the greater good. One that he could clearly distinguish from how his parents would react and show when they felt they had done something big for him.

...

The action of donating precious spiritual energy-infused legacy blood was a noble sacrifice Tok Silihan was willing to make to correct his wrongs. He had been meditating for so long to pursue the pinnacle and break through his bottleneck. This action will make him face a setback for another fifty years. Truthfully, he wasn't optimistic that he would make it that long.

Another crucial reason was due to his unfounded fondness for Arash in some inexplicable way. His favorable impression of Arash was so deep that it was akin to preserving his last descendant. He hasn't noticed this anomaly yet, as he felt it was his own decision and inner desires.

Who could influence the decision of an Expert such as Tok Silihan?

The answer was no one.

However, he forgot that Arash's wife was not just a nobody.

Although he knew that Arash's wife had turned into something extraordinary, her lack of presence (which was as wide as one big dimensional gap) made him forgo his cautiousness. Oblivious to Tok Silihan's sensitive gaze, which could see through strands of spiritual energy, Hana's personal multicolored Soul energy clung to Arash's body like a thin fog on the surface of a mountain. The fog was getting thicker by day, bit by bit.

...

Ignoring Arash's cramping expression, Tok Silihan continued earnestly, "You will have a small chance to cultivate a Spiritual Root, though an inferior one with lower capabilities. This is the key. It is enough for a start. As long as you don't give up."

Tok Silihan didn't explained fully to Arash. The 'meditation session' spoken by him was a highly sought-after sacred ritual for new prodigal spiritual healers to deepen their bond with their Land Deity. As a result, the inborn Spiritual Root of the young future Healers will achieve a new qualitative improvement of more than two to three levels!

Heck, the seven to eight months of meditation effect was akin to thirty to a hundred years of grueling effort and diligent cultivation, depending on personal talent!

Through this secret technique, the longer the line of Spiritual Healers, the stronger the future generation will become. The prerequisite was the presence of a strong Spiritual Root at the very beginning. Without one, theoretically, the ceremony could act as a catalyst to forcefully forge an artificial one. However, it might be inferior in some way. Since the cost and the sacrifice were too high, no sane Expert would be willing to perform it on untalented ones.

The ritual hadn't been performed for at least a hundred years since Tok Silihan found that his kinsmen were not good enough for him to sacrifice his legacy blood to empower the ceremony. He was still desperately waiting for new young talent to be born as he encouraged population growth within his tribe to no avail. He suspected that his idiot descendant's bloodline would've harbored one or two talented ones with excellent Spiritual Roots. Still, he has no way to reach the young ones since they have exited the forest.

The Sacred Binding Ritual had been reduced to whispers of forgotten legends by the Bateqs' younger generation. Only the old ones truly remembered such tales told with reverence by the previous generation's leaders as part of preserving precious legacies and the history of the tribe.

...

"So, what do you think?" Tok Silihan asked serenely after exhaling a deep breath.

"Errr.. Tok, let's listen to the second option first, Tok. This one seems like a big deal, even for you."

He wasn't blind to see the significance of the ritual mentioned. It was complex, elaborate, and required an elder's sacrifice. However, he refrained from commenting on other people's religion and beliefs as it would be impolite, especially towards a kind Elder who went above and beyond to help him out in times of need such as this.

Nonetheless, once Arash heard about the ritual, he immediately axed the first option from his heart outright.

He had his reasons.

He wasn't someone who was ungrateful or afraid of a little hardship. However, this time, it was akin to blemishing his Faith. He couldn't do it. His Faith was the only thing that he upheld no matter what; the one thing that kept him sane for years, especially now when it was the hardest. Losing his Faith means losing himself.

Additionally, it took too long! Even if he could withstand the seven-month plus 'intensive prostration and meditation' while maintaining his Faith, his kids at home certainly couldn't wait that long!

"The second method only needed one night."

Arash's eyes brightened up immediately.

"Don't be happy too soon, Boy. The catch is, this old one need to bury you in the soil within a spiritual energy enriched node. You cannot panic and must find the link with the spiritual energy yourself. After one night, I will evaluate the existence of your Spiritual Root. As long as even a speck of Root appears, you will be able to activate the talisman I made."

"This extreme method had made quite a number of people mad, even amongst the Bateqs. However, the advantage is that this method is repeatable as long as one's mind is resilient enough to withstand the mental torture of being buried alive."

Tok Silihan took out something that looked like a large fang of an animal. It was five-inch long and was inscribed with abstract patterns in black ink, giving it a refined luster. The exquisite fang was a memento of his first kill from the first hunt he participated in when he was a hot-blooded young pathfinder. He had poured tens of years of hard work to refine the fang into the strongest talisman in his possession. Even his Mentor had blessed it with multiple enchantments. Having this talisman upon him had helped him in many ways.

Tok Silihan rubbed it fondly with his dried-up gnarly fingers and sighed. After taking a deep breath to solidify his determination, he looped it with a string from random vegetation. He tied it directly around Arash's neck like a necklace.

"Once activated by the user, it will trigger the writing on top to glow and emit some heat." Tok Silihan explained. Arash just realized that the 'designs' were actually words!

"With this talisman, you will be able to notice once you step on the Deity's sacred grounds. The intensity determines how high the concentration of spiritual energy is in a location. A spiritual node will make the talisman as hot as the MILO you made with freshly brewed water. It means there is a high chance a Hell's Gate or a remnant of a Hell's Gate is nearby. You must remember this."

Tok Silihan squeezed Arash's shoulder in encouragement after explaining the most basic function of the talisman. After all, more power was needed to use other functions, and only a powerful, fully bloomed Spiritual Root can provide such power. With this, this boy's chances of going through the Reawakening Ceremony increased from less than three percent to a solid ten. At least he won't go crazy immediately.

"So, did you dare try the second option?"

Arash closed his eyes for a moment in contemplation.

As he slowly opened them back, determination coursed through them.

"I will."

"Excellent. Follow me. Let's hike to a Spiritual Node right now. With your speed, it is only half a day away from our current location."

Arash nearly fell down as the edge of his lips twitched.

Another round of trekking?!

...

"Miles, could you contact Arash and ask when we will return to the city?"

It was late morning, and the morning star's gentle light had pierced through the foliage around the clearing. Alan closed his self-empowerment book and placed it on the portable dining table. He did some light reading as per his routine before breakfast. He felt slightly bothered thinking about his willful subordinate, Arash, who hadn't dropped by the whole day yesterday.

Alan didn't mind staying a little longer in the forest, but he did remember that the man had daughters, and he had promised he won't be away for too long to the sweet little girl with the sad eyes. Although he had secretly sent in words to gift the girls with unicorn plushies at their nursery, the effect won't last if the father broke his promise.

It has been three days.

As he remembered through the duo's banter, it seemed that Arash and his kids were seldom apart from each other. Three days was considered the limit for the girls, especially the little one.

"Apologies, Young Master. Mr. Arash isn't in the Aborigine Village. He went trekking very early in the morning today with the Village Head. You weren't aware because you were still resting."

Miles bowed courteously with a slight apologetic tone.

Alan was silent for a moment. He was awake at 5 a.m. How early could they start? The whole trekking session seemed suspicious. He stood up and walked towards his butler as he whispered lightly, "...Is he alright?"

The butler, who was expertly buttering a thin slice of ham over a hot stone, answered, "Forgive me; I am not too sure."

"You do know that this candidate is essential in our plans?"

"..." Miles couldn't answer. He knew it was the truth. However, he could feel the Expert in the aborigine community did not have a good impression of them and mildly saw them as a nuisance. If he went as far as forcefully intercepting them to question their intention, he could enrage the Expert. Going forward, the relationship he built with the candidate at the beginning of the trekking session will extinguish immediately. Through his observation of the Young Master's candidate, he speculated that Mr. Arash has already built a solid bond with the eccentric Expert. He will trust the Expert over them when push comes to shove.

Hence, he concluded that it was akin to breaking their budding ties if they overtly interfered with Mr. Arash's personal matters. They will lose this candidate altogether.

"If I may be so bold as to give a suggestion, Young Master..."

Alan nodded, "Proceed."

"Mr. Arash's relationship with the Village Head is excellent. I can't imagine that an Expert will do anything at all towards Mr. Arash, who is just a civilian."

"Is he? Have you double-checked?"

"Trice."

"I see. A pity. But, his skillset is still very useful. It could be an inborn natural talent."

"True. I have experienced it along the way. It is strange and deeply profound. I haven't felt that I am being manipulated by anything at all. The mana readings were also steady, indicating no technique was launched. He is a natural. All in all, we could benefit greatly from his skill."

Miles looked deep into Young Master Alan's eyes. "We need to trust Mr. Arash. He will appear when he is ready to return home. After all, he dotes over his daughters." Miles expertly made a sandwich with the lightly grilled ham over fresh green corals, thinly sliced tomatoes, and a slice of sharp cheddar while talking. The sandwich was then cut into tiny triangles, pinned with a fancy toothpick, and placed over a silverware layered with a doily. Hung over the fireplace was a hot pot of freshly brewed coffee. Miles held the stainless steel pot with bare hands and languidly poured a cup of coffee for Young Master Alan.

Alan was so used to this sight since childhood that he didn't bat an eyelid. He absolutely felt that nothing was out of the norm. Instead, he changed the topic and complained a little, "You do know that breakfast isn't necessary for me? I did bring along my protein sets."

"Young Master, when I am around, you are required to eat well. No buts." Miles answered sternly, unlike his usual servile attitude towards the Young Master.

Young Master Alan didn't say anything and started munching over the delicate-looking sandwiches. However, a barely noticeable light was reflected in his gaze before it went to its usual expressionlessness.

As usual, he looked as beautiful as a painting, even when eating.

...