A reason Kai had let Claire come with them to the Earth Plane was precisely because he wanted to use the storm sovereign’s help here.

Elder Caelith and his spirit were there as well, but even if Caelith’s spirit was old and experienced, the storm sovereign was different. It was a Grade 3 spirit by birth, something with the potential to grow far beyond most others.

When Kai brought it up, Caelith himself nodded.

“The sovereign might be able to help,” he said. “Unlike mine, it’s still connected to its kind. Sovereigns exist across all realms. There should be an earth sovereign somewhere in this plane.”

Kai gave a small nod. “Yes,” he said. “If the storm sovereign can communicate with it, we might be able to find the location of the Elder Tree seed.”

Claire hesitated slightly after hearing that. “I can call him,” she said, “but Aeralion doesn’t like taking requests.”

Killian frowned a little. “Not even from you?” he asked, reading everyone else’s mind.

Claire shook her head lightly. “It listens to me,” she said, “but it doesn’t like other spirits. At least, that’s what it says. So I don’t know how well this will go.”

Kai smiled faintly at that.

He knew exactly how difficult the storm sovereign could be. In fact, he was still a little surprised Claire had managed to keep it with her for this long. A part of him had expected the spirit to leave on its own at some point.

Still, no matter how troublesome it was, it was their best option.

“Call it out,” Kai said. “I’ll talk and see what we can get from it.”

“Alright then,” Claire nodded hesitantly. Then she glanced at Veridia and added, “Don’t be surprised. It looks a bit scary.”

At that, Veridia chuckled lightly. “You don’t have to worry about me, kid,” she said. “I’ve seen scarier things than a spirit in my life.”

Claire gave another small nod and closed her eyes for a minute before the air around her shifted.

The change was immediate.

Killian instinctively took a step back as large amounts of mana gathered above Claire, thick and heavy, pressing down on the surroundings. The ground itself seemed to react to it, and then a sharp cracking sound echoed through the clearing.

The mana twisted and condensed, and then began to take shape.

A massive silhouette formed first, followed by details, until the storm sovereign fully emerged. Stormy clouds coiled around its body. And immediately, it’s sharp eyes locked with Kai.

He had only seen it a few times before, mostly when Claire had first bonded with it, but now, it had grown.

Its body was larger, more defined, and its horns had become more curved, with distinct streaks of lightning running along them. The mana it radiated was heavy enough that even Veridia shifted her gaze toward it, her expression showing clear interest.

Kai didn’t know whether it was natural growth or something Claire had done. But it was stronger.

That much was certain. Despite that, one thing hadn’t changed.

The way it looked at them.

Moving from Kai, its gaze swept across everyone present, carrying the same overbearing presence as if everything beneath it was mere dust.

It finally spoke after a while, its voice carrying a low, rumbling tone. “Why do you want to talk to me, human?” it said. “Claire told me it was something important.”

Kai nodded. “It is,” he said. “Should I call you Aeralion… or storm sovereign?”

The spirit gave a sharp huff, its nostrils flaring. “Only Claire calls me Aeralion,” it said. “To you, I am the great sovereign.”

Kai ignored that completely, not wanting to call it as such and spoke calmly, “We need your help. We’re trying to find and speak to a spirit who can guide us to the Elder Tree seed. I’m sure you already know why we’re in the Earth Plane, and we’re hoping you can help by talking to one of your kins.”

The storm sovereign gave a slow nod. “Claire told me,” it said. “But even if there are other sovereigns here, this is my first time in the Earth Plane. I don’t know where any of them might be. If we were in my plane, that would be different. Nothing there would be beyond me.”

Kai ignored the boasting.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “Even a small hint would help. Anything you can share would make things easier for us.”

At that, Claire looked up at the sovereign and nodded.

“Yes, Aeralion,” she said. “The sooner we find the Elder Tree seed, the sooner we can leave this place and save the Elder Tree. I told you to help.”

The storm sovereign let out a low grunt at her words but didn’t argue back. Instead, it seemed to fall into thought, its eyes dimming slightly as the clouds around its body shifted.

After a moment, it spoke again.

“If you manage to find an earth sovereign, I can speak to it,” it said. “If nothing else, I can convince it to help you. But I don’t know where to find one myself.”

Killian frowned. “You have no idea?” he asked. “Sovereigns should share some similarities. Their habitats, at least.”

The storm sovereign snorted. “We are not that simple,” it said. Then it paused, as if considering something, before continuing. “But… sovereigns do live at the heart of what they represent. I dwell within storms. That is my nature. So if you seek another sovereign, you should look for a place that reflects its domain.”

It looked at them once more.

“That is all I can offer. This plane is as unfamiliar to me as it is to you.”

With that, its form began to break apart.

The storm clouds unraveled, lightning fading as its body dissolved into pure mana. The energy drifted back toward Claire, merging with her as the presence of the sovereign disappeared completely.

Kai stayed silent, thinking over the storm sovereign’s words.

If it lived among storms… then did that mean the earth sovereign lived within earth itself?

That didn’t help.

The entire plane was nothing but forest and land stretching endlessly. By that logic, the sovereign could be anywhere. He slowly looked around and saw that the others seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Elias was the first to break the silence. “So what’s the plan, kid?” he asked. “Where do you think we’ll find this earth sovereign?”

Kai didn’t answer immediately. Before he could, Veridia spoke instead. “Should we split up and search?” she suggested.

“No. That would take more than a month,” Elias replied. “Have you seen how big this place is?”

Veridia crossed her arms slightly. “And you have a better idea?” she replied. “Even tracking spells won’t work here. There are too many spirits. The mana interference alone would make it useless with such tall trees and so many mana condensed plants growing on them.”

As soon as she said that, Elder Caelith, who had been quiet until now, looked at both of them. Something flashed between his eyes before he smiled.

“I think I might know the answer to where to find the earth sovereign,” he said.

Everyone turned to him at once.

Kai stepped forward slightly. “You know a way?” he asked.

Caelith nodded. “I think so,” he said. “The storm sovereign doesn’t just live among storms—it lives within the strongest ones. If we follow that same logic, then the earth sovereign should be found where its element is most dominant.” He paused, then added, “Around the largest trees.”

Claire looked upward at his words straight at the trees. “Every tree here is huge,” she said. “It won’t be easy to find the largest one.”

Just as she said that, something clicked in Kai’s mind, and immediately he followed Claire’s gaze upward.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “Leave it to me. I’ll find the biggest one here.”

“How—” Veridia spoke but Kai was already pushing wind mana into his legs, the energy gathering instantly as he prepared to move.

Large amounts of wind mana gathered around his legs, far more than he normally used, and in the very next second, he jumped.

The force pushed him upward instantly as the [Flight] spell kicked in, lifting him into the air. He didn’t stop there. Kai modified it on the fly, weaving fire-aspected mana into the spell and burning it to push himself even faster. The added burst of speed carried him upward in a sharp arc, cutting through the dense layers of branches.

Without that, it would have taken far too long with the trees being massive.

As he moved through them, he noticed more than a few spirits watching him. Some clung to branches, others perched quietly, their forms ranging from monkey-like creatures to small squirrel-shaped spirits. They didn’t move to attack.

They simply watched. He knew they were too weak to do anything. So he didn’t spare them a second glance.

He kept moving higher and faster.

The branches began to thin as he approached the top, and just as he was about to break through, his senses flared.

He reacted instantly, diving to the side. A streak of heat passed by him, and a nearby branch caught fire, flames spreading quickly along its surface.

Kai slowed and turned to look at where the attack came from.

His eyes narrowed at a small red bird that sat on a branch, its body glowing faintly. Its eyes were fixed on him as it opened its beak again.

But before it could attack again, Kai surged upward, pushing past the last layer of trees. He had no intention of wasting time on something like that.

Fortunately, the bird didn’t follow. And a moment later, he was above the canopy.

Kai came to a stop, hovering in place as the full view of the Earth Plane spread out before him. His lips parted in shock despite already expecting it.

Endless stretches of jungle extended in every direction. In the distance, a wide river cut through the land, splitting it into two vast sections. Far beyond that, he could see shapes moving in the sky—large flying creatures—but they were too far away to matter.

He took it all in, then focused on his goal. And as he scanned the landscape, two things immediately caught his attention.

The first thing was a massive grove of trees unlike anything else in the Earth Plane. They towered over the rest, at least twice the size of the surrounding forest, their trunks thick and ancient, their canopies tangled together as if they had grown into one another over centuries. Even from a distance, he could feel the concentration of mana around them.

If the earth sovereign was anywhere—It would be there.

But that wasn’t what held his gaze the longest. Behind the grove, partially hidden by the towering trees, something else rose into view.

A mountain, except it wasn’t just that.

The entire structure had been carved, shaped, and molded into something far more than just a mountain. It had been smoothed into walls, terraces, and towering spires, forming a massive castle that blended seamlessly with the land itself.

Even from this distance, it dwarfed anything Kai had ever seen. It was easily ten times larger than his own estate, its presence alone enough to command the entire region around it. If not for the trees hiding it, there was no way he wouldn’t have seen it till now.

And Kai knew exactly what it was. The castle of the spirit king. The one who ruled over this plane.

Even Elder Caelith had little information about the king, only that it took a humanoid form and was known to be ruthless.

Kai watched the castle for a few more moments, letting the image settle in his mind before making his decision.

Then he turned and dove down.

Wind and fire carried him quickly back through the layers of trees. As he descended, the same fiery bird appeared again, perched along his path. It opened its beak, gathering flames to strike once more.

Kai didn’t slow this time.

He simply sent out a sharp gust of wind, knocking the bird off balance and into another branch before continuing downward.

It wasn’t worth the effort to kill it after all. It was a young spirit at best and not a threat.

It took him around ten minutes to return to the ground, weaving through branches until he finally landed back in the clearing.

The moment he did, he felt the eyes on him. Everyone watched him with Elias being the first to speak.

“So?” he asked. “Did you find something?”

“Yes,” Kai said. “There’s a massive grove of trees on the other side of the plane. It’s probably where we need to go.” He paused briefly before adding, “But it’ll take hours to reach. Maybe even over a day.”

Veridia rolled her eyes as if he had said the most obvious thing. “Going anywhere in this place will take hours,” she said. “We should start moving at once.”

“Yes, but there’s something else you all need to know. The tallest trees… they’re close to what I believe is the castle of the spirit king.”

At that, Elder Caelith’s eyes widened.

“If the spirit king even senses outsiders in his plane,” he said quickly, “he’s going to act.”

Kai couldn’t help but give a wry smile. He had a point, but that changed nothing for them. “I don’t think we have another option,” he said, being truthful. “There’s some distance between the grove and the castle,” he added. “We might be able to find the earth sovereign and leave before anything notices us. And even if spirits come after us… we can run.”

He paused again, letting his gaze move over all of them.

“Either way, we don’t have a better choice.”

One by one, they nodded. Elias stepped forward, rubbing his chin. “I just hope we don’t end up as food for the spirit king,” he muttered.

Elder Caelith shook his head. “He’s not a cannibal.”

Elias scrunched his nose up in disgust. “If he kills us and leaves our bodies lying around, that’s even worse.”

As he spoke, a spell structure formed in his palm. The ground beneath them began to shift, cracking and rising as earth molded itself into a wide platform. Elias stepped onto it first, followed by the others.

The moment everyone was on, the platform began to move, gliding forward through the forest.

As it did, Kai felt a gaze on him, and turned. Veridia was looking at him. “After getting healed,” she said after a few seconds, “I really don’t want to die so soon.” Her eyes stayed on his. “So I really hope we can get out of this place without dealing with the spirit king.”

***

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep