Su Yi was quite surprised to hear Vulcan's words.
He had not expected Vulcan to see through Ilis's true nature at a glance.
By all rights, the current Ilis was no more than a tiny fragment of the tree she had once been.
She did not give off particularly powerful energy fluctuations.
If Ilis had not told him herself, Su Yi would not have sensed the aura of the Primordial Fire within her, even after acquiring the fifth Ancient Bronze Gate.
Ilis looked calmly at Vulcan, rose, and bowed slightly. "Greetings, Vulcan."
"We thought these negotiations might take some time. Since you can see straight through to my true nature, you should already understand why I've come."
Vulcan's aged face filled with emotion and reminiscence. "I know. Of course I know."
Ilis's appearance seemed to have stirred many precious memories from his distant past.
His aged eyes held nostalgia and admiration.
Su Yi asked curiously, "Did someone tell you about this before?"
Rather than answer directly, Vulcan turned to the other two Venerables. "Go out and oversee things for now. See to our other honored guests while you're at it."
"I didn't expect today's guests to be so special. I'll need some time with them."
Su Yi turned to Alton and the others, giving them a slight nod to follow the two Venerables out.
Once the two groups had separated, Vulcan looked at Su Yi and Ilis. "Since His Excellency the Warmaster has already done us a great kindness..."
"And you've made your firm stance clear in advance, that saves me a great deal of trouble."
"Come with me!"
Vulcan went around the reception hall into the rear chamber, then lightly tapped his staff against the floor.
As countless stone tiles shifted across the floor, an entrance leading underground appeared.