Kṣaya kept on searching for the girl, but there was no clue.
Time felt like sand falling through the gaps of his fingers, and the more it passed, the more anxious he became. His anger was rising, and the terror in the palace was growing every day. Finally, one day, he reached his limit. He was so angry that he almost killed the Second Elder.
"Are you wasting my time?" Kṣaya roared, his voice shaking the glass walls of the hall.
As he spoke, he summoned huge plants from the ground. These were not the beautiful flowers usually found in the Pavilion; they were Level 3 Blade-Climbers.
A faint green light shone as thick, heavy vines grew around the Elder in a circle. These climbers had multiple sharp blades along their entire structure. Each blade was more than three to four inches long and looked like a serrated knife. This plant was designed to trap a predator by wrapping around them roughly. Once the vines entwined the body, the blades would pierce deep into the flesh of the person trapped inside.
The vines slowly lifted the Elder into the air. Many thick, green veins began to cover him, holding him high above the ground like a fly caught in a spider's web. As the climbers tightened, the blades pierced deep into his body.
Blood started to ooze from many wounds, staining his white robes a dark, rusty red. It became harder and harder for the Elder to breathe. The cold metal of the blades was nothing compared to the crushing weight of the vines as they squeezed the air out of his lungs.
"You think I don't understand what is happening?" Kṣaya hissed, looking up at the trapped man who was dangling in the air. "Do you take me for a fool? Do you think I have ruled for hundred of years without knowing when someone is lying to my face?"
"No... no, King... this is... no, King... how... how can I fool... can I fool you?" the Elder stammered. He was gasping for air as the blades bit into his skin.
"I am... am trying my best to help... help you."
"Help? Are you helping me, huh?"
In his anger, Kṣaya tightened his fist. The plant understood his command and squeezed the Elder even more strongly.
"Just because I am patient does not mean you can do whatever you want. It looks like I have given you too much freedom and you are misusing it. Great, very great. You think your silence is a shield, but it is actually a death sentence."
"Ki... no, Ki... n... g... nooo..." The Elder was breathless. His face was turning white and pale as the vines crushed his chest. "No... no, I will he... help youuuu... u."
"How? How will you help?" Kṣaya stepped closer, his eyes cold and sharp. "Do you think you are worthy of my time? I should kill you right now. I know you have a way to help me, but it looks like you are in no mood to share it with me. Am I right? You are hiding a secret of the Celestial Sect, aren't you?"
"No, King... no ill intentions... oo... oat... oath to heaven..."
Kṣaya stopped. A devil-like smile spread across his face. So, the Elder did have a secret way out, he thought.
"Oath? What oath? Look, I don't care about your promises to the sky," Kṣaya roared.
"Tell me the way out! Tell me how to find the girl!"
"No... no... heaven... ly... heavenly oath," the Elder managed to say.
The more the vines tightened, the harder it was for him to speak. He was struggling to even open his eyes as the pain flared through his body. The "Heavenly Oath" was a sacred promise of the Celestial Sect. It was a promise made to the stars that could not be broken without destroying a person's very soul.
"Since you people of the Celestial Sect care so much about your oaths, I shall just end your whole sect at once, alright?" Kṣaya said calmly. His voice was now as cold as ice.
"If you won't talk to save your own soul, maybe you will talk to save your brothers. I will send my army to your hidden sect and burn every temple to the ground."
"No... no, King, no..." The Elder's hands shook in the air. The fear for his sect was greater than the pain of the blades. He knew Kṣaya was capable of destroying the hidden peaks in a single afternoon. He tried to move his hands to show that he would give up.
"I will... will..."
"What did you say?" Kṣaya smiled. He looked evil and satisfied. He had finally gotten what he wanted. He had found the one thing the Elder loved more than his own life.
Kṣaya loosened his hand, and the plant suddenly let go. The Elder fell to the ground with a heavy thud. He lay there, coughing hard and breathing harshly, his body half-pressed into the dirt. His robes were soaked with blood where the blades had pierced him. He looked small and broken on the floor.
"I will help you, King... I will help," the Elder whispered, gasping for every breath.
"Good," Kṣaya said. His voice was dominating, and his eyes shone with pure evil. He looked down at the broken man. He knew that the secret of the Celestial Sect was finally his. He did not care about the Elder's pain or the broken promise to heaven. He only cared about the hunt.