The Rich Cultivator-Chapter 320. Vale needs White Stuff

The village itself had transformed into a giant face, they seemed to be getting closer to some hidden truth—only for Vale to lose its memory.

Tyler crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes at the colossal face before him.

"You can call me Vale..." the massive entity said in a deep, echoing voice.

"Nope," Tyler cut him off. "We had this conversation before."

Vale seemed to pause, as if processing Tyler’s words. "Oh..." The massive face furrowed—if that was even possible—before appearing to enter deep thought. Then, just as it was about to nod, Tyler quickly raised a hand.

"Don’t nod or shake your head! We don’t want to experience another earthquake," he warned.

Vale let out a long sigh, the ground beneath them trembling slightly. "Hmmm... So my memories have been wiped out again," it muttered.

Tyler exchanged glances with his companions before explaining what had just happened.

When Tyler finished, the massive entity let out another deep sigh. "Oh... That probably means I was about to reveal something important," Vale admitted, "and ’that thing’ must have wiped my memories."

Tyler immediately latched onto the word. "That thing?" he asked, his grip tightening around his trident.

Vale remained silent for a moment before responding carefully, "Hmmm... Well, let’s not talk about it. Otherwise, my memories might get erased again."

Whoever—or whatever—was erasing Vale’s memory was powerful enough to manipulate reality itself. Even the entity like Vale is afraid of ’that thing’ which controlled the very foundation of this place.

"How about trying these Silver Honey Hard Candies?" Mathilda suddenly suggested, holding out a handful of glimmering, silver-coated sweets. "They can bring back lost memories."

Vale let out a rumbling chuckle, the sound vibrating through the ground. "Oh... Haha... How the hell can I even eat that?" its booming voice echoed.

Tyler and the others braced themselves as the laughter shook the earth beneath them.

"Well..." Vale continued, sounding somewhat amused, "I suppose it might work if you filled the entire village with those candies." There was a brief pause before it added, more seriously, "But where are you going to get that many? You could... if you came back in a million years."

"A million years?" Tyler echoed incredulously.

Vale nodded—or at least, the entire village shifted slightly, mimicking the motion. "Yes. You wouldn’t age in this village, so you could try to collect as much as possible. It would take patience... but it might work."

Mana scoffed. "A million years trapped in this village? Mana would rather die."

Mathilda gave her an amused glance. "You’re already dead, though."

Mana shot her a glare. "That’s not the point."

Misra, who had remained silent up to this point, spoke in a grave tone. "If you die here, the village will absorb your soul little by little."

"I see..." Vale said. "So that’s the cycle. People arrive, they lose their memories, and eventually, they become one with this place. Looks like I even forgot about that."

Vale’s massive, hollow eyes seemed to darken at his own realisation. The air around them grew unnaturally still, as if the village itself was holding its breath.

"This place... it’s like a living prison," Misra said quietly. "Or a feeding ground."

"No... Not a prison," Vale corrected. "Not a feeding ground." His voice carried an eerie certainty. "It doesn’t just trap people—it..." The colossal face trembled, as if something unseen was pressing against it. "I can’t say anything further... It’s trying to stop me."

Tyler and the others exchanged wary glances. Whatever was controlling this place had the power to suppress even Vale’s thoughts.

For a long moment, silence stretched between them.

Then Vale finally spoke again, his voice almost mournful. "I do not remember everything. Only fragments. But... if you wish to escape, I can help you. You just have to make sure my memories don’t get wiped again."

Tyler met Vale’s hollow gaze. "And how do we do that?"

Vale’s enormous features twisted, as if struggling to hold onto something slipping through its grasp. "Just as I said before. Gather all types of Consciousness-Enhancing Ingredients and pour them inside me. Go and come back a million years after collecting it." His face contorted. "If you see souls inside, try to—"

His voice cut off abruptly.

A tense silence followed.

Vale let out a low, resigned sigh. "It seems I can’t say that either..."

Then, just as suddenly as it had transformed, the village shifted back to normal. The buildings, the streets, and the very ground beneath them rearranged themselves as if nothing had ever happened.

Tyler and the others stood motionless, processing what had just transpired.

Misra shook her head. "Sorry, but it looks like this is impossible."

Before Tyler could respond, a series of wild roars echoed through the distance. His instincts sharpened as he turned toward the source of the sound. Large, lion-like creatures with jet-black fur and glowing golden eyes prowled at the edge of the village, their muscular bodies radiating a dark aura.

They weren’t alone.

More creatures lurked in the shadows beyond, their glowing eyes peering at the group like hungry predators assessing their prey.

But Tyler wasn’t fazed. Instead, he smirked.

"Actually, we do have a plan..." he said, ignoring the beasts entirely.

"What plan?" one of the grandmasters asked, keeping an eye on the approaching creatures.

"To make the village say everything before its memories get wiped out," Tyler explained. "But it’ll take some time."

"And what do we have to do?" another grandmaster asked, shifting into a battle stance just in case the creatures got too close.

Tyler glanced at the horizon, where even more strange beasts seemed to be gathering. "Dark Horizon isn’t as safe as it seems. There are too many creatures lurking around. Either we’ve been lucky so far, or the village’s presence has kept them from attacking." He turned to the group. "Misra, Mathilda, Astrid, and the grandmasters—you’ll be on guard duty. If any of these creatures try to attack, you deal with them."

Misra cracked her knuckles. "Sounds easy enough."

Tyler continued, "Meanwhile, Mana and I will implement the plan."

The group understood that Tyler was about to use some secret technique or artifact he didn’t want to share. No one questioned it. Mathilda and Astrid, however, already knew what he was planning. They shared a knowing glance but pretended to be clueless.

With their roles decided, they left the village entrance and walked a long distance away.

Then Tyler stopped.

He turned back toward the village and took a deep breath.

"Vale," he called out.

The air trembled. The ground rumbled.

Then, just as before, the village began to shift. The cobblestone streets twisted and lifted, the buildings warped and melted together, and the entire landscape transformed into the enormous face of Vale.

The hollow eyes opened.

"I brought the candies," Tyler announced.

He reached out and took some candies from Mana, and placed them into his copper pot. He then lifted the pot, showing it to Vale.

The massive face studied the offering.

"Huh?" Vale muttered, confused. "It’s been a million years already?"

Tyler’s mouth twitched. He resisted the urge to correct him.

To Vale, ’time’ might be just another word.

"Doesn’t matter," Tyler said, . "The thing is, You asked us to gather these, remember?"

Vale blinked. "...You got enough to fill the whole village?"

Tyler nodded. "Yeah."

Vale hummed, deep in thought. "Hmmm... I see. Then... COME INSIDE ME... POUR THOSE WHITE STUFFS INSIDE ME ... FILL ME ... DYE ME WITH YOUR WHITE STUFFS..... "