The blue bird immediately responded.
Without the slightest hesitation—
it spread its wings.
**Whoosh!**
Its body shot into the sky.
Higher.
Higher still.
Within only a few breaths, it had climbed several hundred meters above the forest.
Then—
it stopped.
Hovering silently in the air.
Lizarius' gaze never left it.
Another command quietly formed within his mind.
*Dive.*
The blue bird instantly folded its wings.
**BOOM!**
Its body plunged toward the earth like a falling spear.
The surrounding air screamed around it.
Tree branches shattered apart as it tore through the forest canopy.
Leaves exploded in every direction.
Its speed continued increasing.
There wasn't the slightest attempt to slow down.
The ground rapidly approached.
Only moments remained before impact.
Then—
just before its body would have smashed into the earth—
its wings suddenly spread.
**WHOOOM!**
A violent gust erupted beneath it.
The enormous momentum vanished almost instantly.
The bird halted only a few feet above the forest floor.
Not a single feather touched the ground.
Silence.
Lizarius quietly observed the entire sequence.
His thoughts rapidly analyzed the result.
*...Complete obedience.*
The bird had never questioned the command.
Nor had it attempted to preserve its own life.
Had he delayed the final command by even a fraction—
it would have crashed into the ground without resistance.
Another conclusion quietly settled within his mind.
*...As long as my mental strength exceeds the target's...*
*The commands don't need to benefit them.*
*Even orders that would certainly lead to death can be carried out.*
His gaze remained calm.
*...An interesting ability.*
Without another thought—
he withdrew the hypnotic influence.
The invisible connection quietly disappeared.
The blue bird suddenly blinked.
Its vacant eyes regained their clarity.
It looked around in confusion.
Its head tilted from side to side.
The surrounding broken branches.
The disturbed forest.
Its own position near the ground.
None of it made sense.
It let out a puzzled cry.
**Chirp...?**
For several moments—
it simply stood there.
Unable to understand why it had left its nest.
Or how it had arrived here.
Lizarius paid it no further attention.
His tiny body quietly rose into the air.
Invisible once more—
he glided soundlessly through the forest.
Within moments—
he had completely disappeared.
Leaving behind only a bewildered blue bird...
And a forest that slowly returned to silence.
---
Long after leaving the forest—
Lizarius silently crossed mountain ranges.
Rivers.
Open plains.
Eventually—
a small village appeared below.
Thin trails of smoke rose from clay chimneys.
Children chased one another through narrow dirt roads.
Farmers worked quietly in the surrounding fields.
It was peaceful.
A place untouched by the struggles of cultivators.
The tiny white lizard remained invisible.
He passed silently overhead.
Never slowing.
Until—
his gaze shifted toward the edge of the village.
A quiet grove stood there.
Several trees stretched toward the sky.
One of them...
Was different.
His golden eyes lingered upon it.
*...Spiritual qi.*
Not much.
Only a faint fluctuation.
Yet it was undeniably present.
He slowly descended.
Without producing the slightest sound—
he entered the grove.
The surrounding trees swayed gently in the wind.
Birdsong echoed overhead.
The largest tree stood at the very center.
Its trunk was several meters wide.
Its roots spread deeply through the earth.
Lizarius quietly observed it.
*...First Stage Spirit Refining.*
It wasn't an awakened spirit tree.
Only an ordinary tree that had slowly absorbed the spiritual qi leaking into its surroundings over time.
His gaze lowered.
Beneath the thick roots—
a nearly invisible opening was hidden beneath tangled grass and packed earth.
Ordinary eyes would never notice it.
Without hesitation—
he dove into the ground.
The earth offered no resistance.
He moved effortlessly through layers of soil.
Past countless roots.
Past buried stones.
Deeper.
Deeper still.
After several moments—
he stopped.
Silence surrounded him.
Before him—
rested an enormous clam.
Its shell was tightly shut.
Time had dulled its once-brilliant surface.
Countless roots had wrapped themselves around it over the years.
Some had even grown into tiny cracks along the shell—
slowly siphoning away the spiritual qi still lingering within.
Lizarius quietly examined it.
*...It hasn't absorbed everything.*
A portion of the clam's remaining essence had already seeped into the surrounding earth.
The great tree above had benefited the most.
Only a small portion still remained sealed within the shell.
His gaze remained calm.
*...Enough.*
He raised a claw.
The surrounding earth shifted.
Without disturbing the surface above—
the countless roots gently separated.
One after another.
Like living serpents retreating from their prey.
Soon—
the clam lay completely exposed.
Lizarius placed a claw upon its weathered shell.
Gravity and earth answered his will.
The soil beneath them flowed aside.
The massive clam began moving.
Not dragged.
Not lifted.
It simply drifted through the earth alongside him.
As though both had become part of the ground itself.
Without resistance.
Without leaving the slightest trace behind.
Far above—
the tree continued swaying peacefully in the wind.
The villagers carried on with their ordinary lives, completely unaware.
Farmers still worked the nearby fields.
Children still played beneath the shade of the trees.
Then—
the earth quietly bulged.
Several feet away from one of the village houses—
a massive black object slowly emerged from beneath the ground.
It rose steadily.
Without sound.
Without warning.
Slowly—
it emerged.
Dark.
Ancient.
Covered in layers of dried earth.
It continued rising.
Higher.
Higher still.
Until—
it finally rested completely upon the surface.
A gigantic clam.
Its shell alone stood taller than the nearby houses.
Silence.
"...What...?"
One villager stared blankly.
"...Where did that come from?"
Another instinctively stepped backward.
"It came out of the ground...?"
Children hid behind nearby adults.
More villagers gradually gathered.
None dared approach.
None had ever seen such a creature.
A few moments later—
the air distorted.
A tiny white lizard slowly appeared before the enormous shell.
His concealment quietly dispersed.
His golden eyes calmly rested upon the enormous shell.
Without moving—
the surrounding wind quietly gathered.
It compressed into an impossibly thin edge.
Then—
it passed.
**SHHHHK—**
The shell separated cleanly down the center.
No explosion.
No violent impact.
The two massive halves slowly slid apart.
**Rumble...**
They crashed onto opposite sides.
Dust drifted into the air.
Silence.
Then—
a familiar voice echoed from within.
"...Master."
There was a pause.
"...You actually came."
A faint chuckle followed.
"...For a moment..."
"...I thought you'd forgotten me."
Inside the opened shell—
a young man slowly stood.
Long yellow hair had grown well past his shoulders.
His complexion remained fair.
His robes were worn and slightly faded from the long period of seclusion.
Resting upon his arm—
several brilliant blue pearls rested quietly against his body.
Each one glowed with astonishing purity.
Lian casually picked up another.
The new pearl joined the others.
Eight in total.
He leaped out of the opened shell.
His feet touched the ground with surprising gentleness.
He stretched his stiff shoulders.
"...Though..."
His eyes drifted toward the split shell behind him.
A helpless smile appeared.
"...You could've opened it a little more gently."
"I was wondering why it suddenly started moving."
"I thought perhaps..."
"...you'd decided to let me out early."
"...You did say I wouldn't be coming out until I'd finished every single one."
His smile widened slightly.
"...Although..."
"...I suppose seven more pearls would've taken quite a while."
He looked directly at the tiny white lizard.
There wasn't the slightest uncertainty in his gaze.
Only familiarity.
Only respect.
"...So..."
He inclined his head slightly.
"...What do you need from me, Master?"
Silence settled between them.
Behind Lian—
the villagers remained frozen in place.
None of them understood what they were witnessing.
Nor did they dare interrupt.