Chapter 807 - The Eager Dark Wyrms
Although True Dragon Blood is precious to the dark wyrms, offering a small portion in return for gaining an even more significant portion of it makes the price insignificant in comparison.
"You're right; this is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we simply cannot refuse," the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm admitted.
"But how do you plan on strengthening our thin True Dragon Blood?" it asked shortly after.
Suddenly, all fifty Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms focused their sole attention on Leon, awaiting his answer with intense curiosity.
"I have a special blood-refining method that can bring out the special traits hidden in one's blood; once it's awakened, replication of the True Dragon Blood will naturally become simple," Leon explained.
All beasts with thin ancestral bloodlines face the same inability to locate their ancestral blood and stimulate its awakening.
However, once they are successful, their ancestral blood will reproduce itself.
This is why the Divine Beasts' direct descendants will always be stronger at birth in comparison to its later generations.
Nevertheless, Leon wasn't dealing with the distant descendants of a Divine Beast, but a God Beast; thus, its blood's effect will be even more potent.
"I will need some of your blood essences to begin," Leon stated.
Although multiple dark wyrms immediately frowned after hearing his requirement, the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm agreed.
"Fine."
Not long after, it decisively bit its tongue and spat out a glob of blood essence before the other dark wyrms could persuade it otherwise.
The glob of blood essence quickly froze in mid-air before Leon dragged it over with his Divine Will and commenced the Everlasting Blood Mantra's blood refining process.
The Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms watched the glob of dark-red blood essence revolve at high speed.
Numerous tiny blood arrows separated from the blood glob before splashing back into it like a sea of snakes trying to devour each other.
As that happened, the blood glob's core began to glow in a bright crimson color.
'A sun?' the dark wyrms thought.
The glowing blood glob gave the dark wyrms such an impression.
Seeing how the glowing blood glob shrunk over time, the dark wyrms almost thought Leon was secretly filtering the blood essence out for himself with an unknown method.
However, the increasing vitality they sensed in the reduced glob of glowing blood essence told them otherwise.
A short while later, Leon finished refining several True Dragon Origin Blood out of the blood essence given to him.
The blood quantity had significantly reduced, but the quality was vastly different.
"It's done; these are the True Dragon Origin Blood I refined," Leon stated.
The fifty Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms had their eyes fixed on the several True Dragon Origin Blood floating above Leon's hand with an intense look like they were gazing at some peerless treasures.
"Lord Shadowtail, I am among the weakest of our kind. The effects of these True Dragon Origin Blood are unclear. How about I test whether they are harmful or not?" A Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm shamelessly suggested.
However, the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm, Shadowtail, was not going to buy into its bullsh*t.
"F*ck off!" Shadowtail roared.
"These True Dragon Origin Blood were refined from my blood essences! If you want some True Dragon Origin Blood, then offer up your own blood essences for the noble demon to refine!"
That being said, many dark wyrms couldn't take their eyes off the True Dragon Origin Blood; some of their heads even inched closer to it.
"Back off, all of you! Are you trying to rebel?!" Shadowtail said snappishly.
The Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm was afraid that if it took its eyes off the other dark wyrms for a single moment, they would immediately gobble up its True Dragon Origin Blood.
Leon smiled while pushing the seven drops of True Dragon Origin Blood towards the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm before Shadowtail glanced back at him with a confused look.
"You're going to give them all to me? Are you not going to take a portion for yourself?" Shadowtail asked.
"Considering it a gift to celebrate our friendship and future cooperation," Leon said generously.
It was not too late to take his share after the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm awakens its bloodline and produces even more True Dragon Blood.
"Thank you, sir. I am more than happy to be friends with an honorable person such as yourself," Shadowtail stated.
Evidently, Leon had earned the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm's genuine respect.
Shortly after that, the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm gobbled up the seven drops of True Dragon Origin Blood and absorbed them into its bloodstream.
Once the seven drops of True Dragon Origin Blood flowed into Shadowtail's bloodstream, they immediately affected the other blood essences around them, altering their properties to become closer to the True Dragon Origin Blood.
Shadowtail's eyes beamed in the next moment.
Although it didn't awaken its bloodline, it felt the True Dragon Bloodline in its large body become stronger and richer, which also raised its stagnant strength by a small margin.
(It's effective! Too effective!)
After the other dark wyrms sensed the changes, their eyes also beamed with excitement.
"Pah! You're too strict, Lord Shadowtail!" a Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm spat before directly its beaming eyes at Leon.
"Sir Noble Demon, are you looking for servants or pets? I wish to follow you and experience the vast outside world you spoke of!"
Once the Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm expressed its strong interest to follow Leon with an ingratiating attitude, several other Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms' minds also lit up with similar ideas.
"Sir Noble Demon, please accept us! We also wish to follow you and see the vast outside world!"
"How ridiculous!" a different Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm roared angrily.
"What the hell are you all doing! Where is your shame? Have you no pride as descendants of True Dragons left?!" it rebuked the Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms.
However, its words didn't sway the Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms; their minds were set.
"Pah! You can ridicule us now, but when we become Divine Beasts, we'll be the one looking down on you, Lord Nightingale!"
Chapter 808 - Dark Wyrm Clan Recruited
"Insolence!"
Another Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm quickly snapped at the Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm's rude remark, disregarding the hierarchy.
"How dare you talk like that! Apologize to Lord Nightingale Immediately—!" the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm thundered.
However, Nightingale stopped the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm with a shake of her head.
"No, no, he has a point," she said.
"But…"
"A cooperative relationship is good, but if we want more gain, we have to give up something else," Nightingale said.
"That's right," Shadowtail nodded before adding, "Sometimes, we have to put aside our pride to see the bigger picture."
"Even you agree, Lord Shadowtail?" the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm gazed at Shadowtail with surprise.
"There's nothing to be ashamed of," Shadowtail stated.
"We might be descendants of a God Beast, but without Sir Noble Demon's help, we would never dream of becoming Divine Beasts, let alone God Beasts like our primal ancestor."
"Furthermore, Sir Noble Demon's heritage is not the least bit inferior to ours, so there's nothing humiliating about serving him as our lord; it'll just be like the Eternal Night Demon Empress leading the various clans in the past."
Once that was said, the dark wyrm reminisced on the good ol' days, when the Eternal Night Demon Empress's Faction was at its peak glory.
Not long after, the voices of disagreement among the upper ranks of the Dark Wyrm Clan died down before they all entertained the thought of serving Leon as their new lord.
Leon did not even need to utter a single word before they all made their own choices.
"Sir Noble Demon, the Dark Wyrm Clan wishes to serve you as our lord," Shadowtail stated.
"If that is all your wishes, then I will naturally accept," Leon told them before asking, "But I doubt this is all of you. Are you sure you can speak for the others?"
Even if they couldn't, he could still suppress the other dark wyrms below the Arch Demon-level with his dark power and gain their submission through force.
Nevertheless, he shortly found out it was not necessary.
"Of course, Sir Noble Demon," Shadowtail affirmed.
"While this is not our whole clan, given our strength, we all have a great say in the clan; the younger ones wandering the desert outside will have no choice but to listen to our words."
"Great! That's just what I wanted to hear," Leon clapped his hands together with approval.
Life is easier when everything progresses smoothly.
"Then… Hehehe, do we also get a free bloodline-strengthening session from you, Sir Noble Demon?" a Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm asked humbly with signs of eagerness and impatience.
"Of course," Leon nodded before declaring generously, "Everyone's first session is free."
"Hurray! Long live Sir Noble Demon!" the Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms all cheered.
"Nonsense!"
A Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm suddenly barked, causing the rest of the dark wyrms to pause and glance over with confusion.
"How can we still address our new lord as Sir Noble Demon? Are we worthy of being our lord's servants if we don't even know the name of the lord in which we serve?" the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm chided.
However, the dark wyrms all showed relief after hearing it.
"And here I thought that you have some other problem, Lord Nightshade," Shadowtail said wryly before adding with a nod, "But Lord Nightshade has a point."
"May I ask how we should address our lord?" Shadowtail turned to Leon for his opinion.
"The name is Leon, but feel free to address me in whatever way you wish."
"So it is Lord Leon..."
After Leon answered, Shadowtail and the other dark wyrms all engraved his name in their hearts.
"Well, that's that," Leon ended the formalities there before asking, "So, who's next?"
His question immediately ignited the dark wyrms' emotion, making them all excited.
"Me, me, me! I want to be next!"
A Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm quickly jumped the queue and pranced in front of Leon excitedly before it earned looks of displeasure from the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms.
"Nonsense! Get back in line! We should get our turns before any of you!" one of them barked.
The group of Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms quickly entered a scruffle, debating over who should get the next turn.
"How unsightly…" Shadowtail frowned while witnessing the scene.
"All of you, stop!" he barked before requesting his lord to intervene, "My Lord, it's a rather embarrassing manner, but please help my kin organize themselves; they are a little too excited over the prospect of improvement."
"So it seems…" Leon uttered wryly.
Weren't the Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms supposed to have lived thousands of years? Even if it was understandable, did they need to behave like dogs after a bone was tossed?
"Everyone, line up!" Leon ordered.
"I will refine your blood essence one by one! Everyone will get a turn, so there's no need to fight over who gets to go first! I will do the picking!"
Once that was said, the dark wyrms finally calmed down and behaved themselves.
Not long after, Leon selected his next victim—ahem, target, a Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm, to refine their blood essence into True Dragon Origin Blood.
…
Meanwhile, Aria and Darlene watched Leon interact with the dark wyrms from the safety of the cave before the trial ground with the other dark faes.
Seeing how the Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms behaved like dogs wagging their tails, they had nothing to worry about.
Nevertheless, Saresha and her clan members could not help but feel astonished.
"They're supposed to be Arch Demon-level demonic beasts, right? What did the lord do to make them behave like this?"
"I don't know, but it seems like the lord successfully tamed them all…"
Despite their doubts, their hands could not help but tremble while their eyes glowed brightly, unable to contain their excitement.
"Our Lord is so capable! I can't help but look forward to the future he brings us!" one of the newer dark fae members uttered.
Chapter 809 - Grand Desolation Black Dragon
While Leon was refining the dark wyrms' blood essences, some of the sneakier dark wyrms began slicing bigger wounds on their bodies and giving him galloons of their blood essence to refine.
His lips could not help but twitch.
Despite the increased workload, Leon did not utter a word of complaint and simply refined all the blood essence given to him; he had already given them his word.
As he worked through the dark wyrms one by one, they noticed the dark wyrms with more drops of True Dragon Origin Blood to absorb experienced more significant improvements.
A Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm advanced to the Mid Arch Demon level while another Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm reached the High Arch Demon level, becoming the current strongest in the clan.
Seeing that, Leon's seventh target, another Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm, opened a gaping wound on its body and attempted to offer Leon all its blood essence despite feeling lethargic in the process.
However, Leon quickly stopped it before it went too far; it would die of blood loss if the situation persisted.
"Are you trying to bleed yourself to death?" Leon rebuked it.
One less Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm would have meant one less blood bank of True Dragon Origin Blood for him; it was a loss for the both of them.
"You're too greedy, Shadowfang. What's the use of maximizing your gain in the first session if you're not alive to enjoy it? Are you trying to awaken your True Dragon Bloodline in one go and not have to pay the lord for his additional services?"
Nightingale admonished the foolish dark wyrm.
Shadowfang scratched his head with the end of his tail while chuckling with a bitter yet embarrassed smile.
"My apologies, Lord Nightingale," Shadowfang apologized before admitting, "I was indeed hoping to awaken my True Dragon Bloodline in one go."
"However, I wasn't trying to cheat the lord; you're wrongly accusing me, Lord Nightingale. I would have plenty more True Dragon Blood to offer the lord if I had succeeded. You have to believe me, my Lord."
"I see…" Leon uttered.
"Even so, you are too na?ve; it's not that easy to awaken your True Dragon Blood. Even if you have more True Dragon Origin Blood, how would they replenish themselves without other blood essences around?"
"You need to understand that haste makes waste," he lectured.
At the same time, he smiled wryly in his heart; he didn't think he would need to educate thousand-year-old beings on such basic principles.
Nevertheless, Shadowfang took all his words to heart.
"I understand, my Lord. I was too impatient."
"Since you understand, then take your True Dragon Origin Blood and go recuperate yourself."
Leon finished refining the 300-odd drops of True Dragon Origin Blood before returning it to the Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm.
After that event, the dark wyrm toned down on their greed and only offered a moderate amount of blood essence for Leon to refine.
Nevertheless, it took him a whole hour to finish a round of blood-refinement for all the dark wyrms.
"It's finally done," Leon uttered with a sigh of relief after finishing the job.
It was more tedious than he presumed. But then again, he should have expected it, given the dark wyrm's enormous builds.
The dark wyrms began to feel guilty for receiving all the benefits despite swearing their loyalty to their new lord.
Creak…!
Suddenly, everyone heard the sound of heavy stone grinding before they turned their gazes towards the direction of the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's resting ground.
A Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm was voluntarily opening the huge stone gate.
"Lord Shadowtail, you… Have you gone mad?"
Nightingale uttered with a look of shock and bewilderment—much like the rest of the dark wyrms were showing.
The stone gate should never be open was pushed open by one of their own.
"The Shadow Tempest Demon Lord will understand what I am doing," Shadowtail stated.
"If our lord wishes to extract the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's True Dragon Blood and obtain the inheritances, we will allow it, my Lord. However, all that we ask of you is to treat the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's body with respect, my Lord."
"I will," Leon solemnly asserted.
Shortly after, he entered the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord without any dark wyrm barring his entry.
Although Shadowtail was no longer the strongest, he was still the Dark Wyrm Clan's current leader; the other dark wyrms still respected his decision.
Even so, after Leon left the training ground, they immediately rained questions on him.
"What do you mean the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord would understand, Lord Shadowtail? Explain clearly!"
"How can the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord be happy with someone disturbing his resting ground?"
Nightingale and Nightshade spoke.
Despite being surrounded by his kin with looks of criticism, Shadowtail faced them calmly before saying, "Remember what the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's ultimate goal was."
"The Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's ultimate goal?"
The dark wyrms furrowed their brows in thought, but Shadowtail did not intend to wait for their answers.
"The Shadow Tempest Demon Lord led the Dark Wyrm Clan and joined under the Eternal Night Demon Empress's banner because he believed she, as a true descendant of a True Divinity, could restore the glorious age of gods and devils."
"The Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's ultimate goal was for the Dark Wyrm Clan to become God Beasts like our Primal Ancestor, the Grand Desolation Black Dragon. Although he failed, we are still alive—we still have a chance to fulfill the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's dream."
"If the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's True Dragon Blood can assist us in reaching that goal, the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord would have gladly given it up if he was still alive," Shadowtail stated.
Although it was the first time they heard of it, Nightingale and the other dark wyrm didn't feel like Lord Shadowtail was lying to them.
"Haiz… If that is the case, I have nothing else to say," Nightingale decided to leave it at that and dropped the matter.
Even if the information ended up being false, the Dark Wyrm Clan was still bound to rise under their new lord's leadership.
They should accommodate their new lord where possible.
Chapter 810 - Shadow Tempest's Secret Bloodline
Inside the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's resting ground, Leon noticed the space was not as massive as the training ground, but it was spacious nonetheless.
At the center of the black cave, the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's enormous body, which made Leon feel minuscule, rested in the open space as if it was simply taking a nap and would wake up at any time.
Nevertheless, its lack of body heat and breath told him that the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord had passed away long ago.
However, it wasn't a natural death at the end of one's lifespan but because of a severe injury sustained in the battle between the Eternal Night Demon Empress's Faction and Celestial Alliance.
The large and radiant glowing-white spear impaled in the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's back with large cracks spread along its body was clear evidence of its mortal wound.
Even so, the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's appearance was different from his imagination.
"Surprisingly, the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord wasn't a wyrm-type dragon like the other Dark Wyrms—No, it still has some wyrm features…"
Apart from the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's jet-black body mainly being a dark wyrm, it had an additional pair of legs and wings, making it more like a wyvern.
Yet, at the same time, it looked neither like a wyrm nor a wyvern but a crossbreed of the two.
'Is one of the Dark Wyrm Clan's God Beast Ancestors a wyvern-type dragon, Tak-si? Do you know?' Leon inquired.
'I'm not too sure, Master," Tak-si responded.
'However, I overheard the dark wyrms mentioning the Grand Desolation Black Dragon as their Primal Ancestor, and the Grand Desolation Black Dragon was a True Dragon on par with Heavenly Gods in the primordial age, Master.'
'A Heavenly God-level True Dragon, huh?' Leon thought.
The Shadow Tempest Demon Lord showed little resemblance to a True Dragon—this shows how diluted the Grand Desolation Black Dragon's Bloodline has spread after so many years.
It wasn't rare for the dragons to crossbreed either.
'But for the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord to show closer resemblance to a wyvern than a True Dragon…'
Leon casually strolled around the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's enormous body and studied it while paying no attention to glittering and shiny treasures that lay scattered around the place.
'Did it stumble upon the inheritance of a powerful wyvern-type Divine Beast or God Beast and change its bloodline to become a Divine Beast?' Leon speculated with a thoughtful look.
Nevertheless, he will know once he extracts its blood essence and refines it.
'As expected of a Demon Lord-level—or rather, a Divine Beast's body; it's well preserved and didn't decay with time. The blood in its body has lost its warmth, but it didn't dry and is still brimming with vitality.'
Leon swiped a trace of blood from inside the dragon's open wound and studied it.
Despite the vital energy contained with the dragon blood, it was strange for a dark dragon to not have any built-up deathly energy in its body to corrupt the dragon blood after it had died for so long.
"Is this due to the radiant spear impaled deeply into its back?" Leon muttered.
He shifted his attention back on the radiant spear and inspected it.
The spearhead had pierced all the way to the dragon's heart, but only the very tip of it had penetrated the heart's outer wall.
The radiant spear had mostly like cleansed all the deathly energy in the dragon's body.
At the same time, Leon quickly understood why the radiant spear wasn't removed from the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's body.
"The radiant spear had already pierced the heart… Even if it is just the tip, the radiant power in the spear had been injected in the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's body, destroying its power of darkness…"
"Leaving the radiant spear would give the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord a slow death while removing the radiant spear would speed up its death…" Leon concluded.
Nevertheless, he did not expect to find another Tier-7 Divine Spear in the Demon Lord-level Tomb, but it doesn't have more powerful spears in his arsenal.
"This radiant spear is rather big, though… I doubt the Celestials were such giants to require a weapon of this size… Does it have an adjustable size function to it?"? he speculated.
His eyes flickered in the next moment.
A Tier-7 Divine Spear that can shrink and enlargen itself was priceless; such artifact function was not common, even in the Divine Realm, where Divine Artifacts were plenty.
"I'll study it later. But, for now, I'll extract some dragon blood to refine first," he decided.
There's no point extracting all of the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's dragon blood if he cannot use all of them right away, not to mention he had to create countless barrels to contain them.
It was too troublesome.
'If I bind the Radiant Heaven Realmship, I can always visit the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's tomb whenever I need some of its blood,' was what he thought.
After extracting several dozen drops of dragon blood essence, Leon sat a short distance away from the dragon's body and commenced his blood refinement.
A few tens of breaths later, he produced twelve drops of origin blood.
Three types of origin blood existed among the twelve drops of origin blood: four drops of Dark Wyrm Origin Blood, two drops of True Dragon Origin Blood, and seven drops of Abyssal Wyvern Origin Blood.
"As expected, the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord changed its bloodline in order to become a Divine Beast," he uttered.
The dominant amount of Abyssal Wyvern Origin Blood found was conclusive evidence of it.
Nevertheless, Leon absorbed a single drop of origin blood of each type, increasing his cumulation of unique origin blood to 602 types.
Then, he stored the remaining three drops of Dark Wyvern Origin Blood and six drops of Abyssal Wyvern Origin Blood into two separate bottles and placed them in his Worldspace.
As for the remaining drop of True Dragon Origin Blood, he held onto it and used the Nihility Law to reduce some of the stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling into True Grandmist Energy.
Shortly after, he practiced the Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method and refined his viscera with the drop of True Dragon Origin Blood and True Grandmist Energy.
Chapter 811 - Leaving The Buried Tomb
The result led to an immediate increase of 50-thousand jin in his physical strength, among multiple other benefits provided by the strengthened viscera.
Leon's eyes beamed with an intense light of excitement and pleasant surprise.
'Fifty-thousand jin increase!' he exclaimed in his mind.
'Strength is not the core of consolidating viscera, yet my strength increased so much as a result of a single drop of True Dragon Origin Blood!'
The surprising result made Leon greedy for more True Dragon Origin Blood.
While physical improvement was surprising, the improvement of his five viscera was even more significant and surprising.
The powerful thumping of his heartbeat and the vigorous blood coursing through his body was like a sonar scan, allowing him to sense the condition of his five viscera perfectly.
His body was already beyond the epitome of what a healthy human body was supposed to be.
His powerful blood-pumping heart quickly supplies energy to his four limbs, allowing him to break his previous speed limit and achieve a new height.
His strengthened liver processes his blood, breaking down, balancing, and creating nutrients and usable forms of energy for the rest of the body.
His strengthened spleen stores his blood, destroys all germs, and produces antibodies, allowing him to become even more resistant to diseases and poison.
His strengthened kidney filters waste materials from food, medication, and toxic substances, boosts blood production and promotes bone health.
His strengthened lungs allowed greater energy intake, storage capacity, and faster exchange of energy between his bloodstream and body, enhancing his cultivation speed in general—which could also be seen as improving his cultivation talent.
Overall, his improvement was primarily due to True Grandmist Energy; the single drop of True Dragon Origin Blood was used on his heart.
Nevertheless, it would be strange if such a healthy body didn't extend his lifespan.
"True Dragon Origin Blood sure makes a world of difference…" Leon uttered emotionally.
Unfortunately, the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord had changed its bloodline to that of an abyssal wyvern.
That made the quantity of True Dragon Origin Blood in its deceased body even less desirable than the still-living-and-breathing Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms.
"If the Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms knew that their venerated ancestor's ancestral bloodline was no better than theirs and was changed to make the evolution to Divine Beast Realm possible,? I wonder how they would feel?" Leon mused.
They would probably have less respect for the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord, who had abandoned his roots for an inferior bloodline—and inferior bloodline that was still superior to the Dark Wyrm Bloodline, nonetheless.
"The Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's body in and of itself is a treasure, but I doubt the dark wyrms will be happy with me dismantling it for forging materials, not to mention I have already given my word to respect it…"
"Well, it doesn't really matter… The artifacts I can forge with my present skill level would still be inferior to the treasures lying around and collecting dust in this large cave anyway..."
Leon shifted his attention to the numerous Tier-5 and Tier-6 Artifacts scattered across the ground.
"The Tier-7 Radiant Spear impaled in the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's back is still the most valuable out of all these treasures…" he shortly concluded after a quick inspection.
Of course, he pocketed everything into his Worldspace, nonetheless.
'I'll search from the interspatial artifacts later; it's time to leave,' he decided.
Leon did not touch the Tier-7 Radiant Spear and let it remain impaled in the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's back to continue cleansing its body of deathly energy.
…
Shortly after leaving the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's resting ground, Leon quickly caught all of the dark wyrms' attention.
"Have you finished your business in there, my Lord?" Shadowtail asked.
"For now, yeah." Leon nodded before stretching his limbs and saying, "Since I am feeling refreshed, I perform a second round of bloodline strengthening."
"Who wants to be first?" he asked.
The eyes of all the Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms immediately lit up after hearing his question.
Nevertheless, they quickly suppressed their excitement and lined themselves up obediently instead of fighting over it.
After Leon spent another two hours refining their blood essence and strengthing their True Dragon Bloodline, Shadowtail and Nightingale also joined the ranks of High Arch Demon-level beings.
"Welp, it's time for me to leave," Leon stated while stretching his tired limbs.
"Are you going to continue to hole up in this confined space or leave with me to explore the world outside and beyond?"
"We'll follow you, my Lord," Shadowtail said decisively.
After breaking his bottleneck and joining the ranks of High Arch Demon-level beings, he was filled with hopes and ambition.
The Divine Beast Realm was not far away.
"We have been holed up in this confined space for too long; it's time for us to leave and unite our scattered kin across the Blacksand Desert," Nightingale spoke.
"We also want to see how the world outside has changed after all these years," Nightshade added.
"Very well," Leon nodded with acknowledgment before saying, "Let me notify the others, and we can leave together."
"Understood, my Lord," the dark wyrms obeyed.
…
"Is it done?" Aria greeted Leon with a question after he returned from the trial ground.
"Un, it's done," Leon calmly nodded before saying, "Thank you for waiting; our business is done here. It's time to leave—but with a few more companions, of course."
"You mean those giant dark wyrms, my Lord?" Saresha glanced at the Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms in the distance before her lips twitched.
They were definitely a 'few,' but they were all so big that they were comparable to an entire army of dark faes in terms of the space they cover.
"Naturally," Leon affirmed.
After getting the two groups to meet up, the dark faes glanced up at the dark wyrms' behemoth-like bodies with trepidation and fear, feeling intimated by their enormous presence.
"After we leave, there will be no one to guard our ancestor's tomb; allow me to open the way out and bury this place while I am at it, my Lord," Shadowtail requested.
However, Leon shook his head.
"No need. I will do it."
Shortly after, he raised his hand and demolished the crystallized ceiling with the power of Nihility, reducing everything into True Grandmist Energy before absorbing them into his Black Vortex Space.
Then, they blasted their way out as black sand quickly poured inside, filling up all the empty space.
Chapter 812 - Summoning The Scattered Clansmen
'Tak-si, completely seal this land so that no one will stumble upon the tomb by chance after we are gone.'
'Understood, Master.'
Shortly after the tomb was buried entirely in black sand, the quicksand whirlpool disappeared and left behind a cone-shaped landscape.
Such conspicuous spots in the Blacksand Desert are easily assumed to be tomb locations.
As such, after Leon gave the order, the realm spirit smoothed out the land and removed its conspicuousness.
"Where to now, my Lord?" Shadowtail asked with the intention.
"We'll head north to the Bone Sea and gather the other members of the Dark Fae Clan before making our way to the western region," Leon stated.
Shortly after, he paused and threw a casual glance back at the High Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm.
"Aren't you going to unite the scattered members of your Dark Wyrm Clan?" he asked.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, my Lord," Shadowtail stated before turning to Nightingale, "You call them, Nightingale."
"Alright."
Shortly after Nightingale agreed, she immediately issued a mighty dragon roar towards the Blacksand Desert's inner regions.
The powerful sound wave kicked up a sandstorm in its wake while vibrations rippled across the surface of the land.
At the same time, the abrupt dragon roar caught many dark faes off guard; they fell onto their butts with stunned expressions, unable to move.
Although Nightingale didn't direct her dragon roar at them, they were still caught under its innate ability to shake the soul and inflict fear.
Even Aria and Darlene felt affected by it.
However, their symptoms were only mild compared to the dark faes, who were creatures of darkness like the dark wyrms, but much weaker.
Nevertheless, they quickly recovered after a few breaths.
At the same time, the sound wave of Nightingale's dragon roar gradually disappeared into the distance, returning silence to the land.
Only the rustling of the wind and the movements of the black sand could be heard from time to time.
"…"
Just as some dark faes were about to say something, the Blacksand Desert became disturbed once more.
However, it wasn't just one but dozens of distant dragon roars.
As if the dark wyrms were relaying messages, they issued their dragon roars after hearing others of their kind issued theirs, setting a chain reaction throughout the Blacksand Desert.
Not long after, the desert rumbled with vibrations of movements.
Countless trails of sandstorms across the vast plains of the desert rushed towards them from every direction; the were tens—no, hundreds of such trails.
"With this, all members of our Dark Wyrm Clan will eventually receive my message and make their way towards us. Thus, we don't need to wait for them; they will eventually come to us, my Lord," Nightingale informed.
"I see…" Leon rubbed his chin with an intrigued look.
"How convenient; the desert sand carries your message and easily covers large stretches of land to reach all your clansmen…"
As Leon praised Nightingale's means, he suddenly paused; an idea had lit up in his mind.
"Shall we get going?" Aria suggested.
However, Leon shook his head and said, "Not yet; hold on for a minute. I got something to talk to the Tak-si about."
Since the realm spirit paid particular attention to Leon's businesses, it immediately heard Leon mentioning its name, prompting it to appear right away.
'You need something from me, Master?' Tak-si asked.
'I do,' Leon admitted before saying, 'I have an errand for you; are you interested? You can earn some True Grandmist Energy from me if you complete it.'
'What do you want me to, Master? Just say it,' Tak-si declared its willingness for the job.
An opportunity to obtain more True Grandmist Energy was not something it could refuse.
'Good!' Leon nodded with approval.
'Seeing how eager you are, I'll tell you what you need to do; it's definitely something you can do, so don't worry about it. You just need to convince all the scattered members of the Dark Fae Clan in the Bone Sea's southern region to head to shore.'
'Of course, you have to guarantee their safety from the threat of other demons for abandoning their posts,' he added.
'Then, you have to convince the dark faes from the other Bone Sea Regions as well; have them all head to the western shores to meet up with us there.'
'T-this… this sounds like a lot of work…' Tak-si hesitated.
'A lot of work, but definitely doable for a realm spirit like you who is basically omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent in this space, no?' Leon persuaded.
The realm spirit could suppress any living being with just its mental pressure alone—but of course, such methods don't work on him when he has his Nihility Barrier protecting him.
'Master is not wrong about my omnipresence and omniscience, but I am definitely not omnipotent; using my spiritual strength too much will exhaust me and force me to hibernate,' Tak-si said wryly.
'Of course, I am prepared to reward you fairly for your service. I will give you a wisp of True Grandmist Energy for every dark fae successfully grouped,' Leon promised generously.
He will gain the True Grandmist Energy from tearing down the excess land in the secret realm, and the Radiant Heaven Realmship's core needs the True Grandmist Energy for repair.
Everything aligned with his goal, so there was no problem with his generosity; it was a win-win situation for him.
Nevertheless, Tak-si couldn't believe what he heard.
'Can you say that again, Master?'
'You heard me; I will give you a wisp of True Grandmist Energy for every dark fae successfully added into the group,' Leon repeated.
'Great! I will get the job done perfectly, Master! I assure you!' Tak-si promised excitedly.
Not long after, it immediately disappeared to reach out to every dark fae in the secret realm with its spirit.
"Alright, everything's sorted. Let us wait here for Dark Wyrm Clan; the Dark Fae Clan's members will also come to us," Leon said leisurely with a confident smile
While Aria and Darlene were taken aback by his words, he constructed a few seats of ice for them before taking his own seat.
Chapter 813 - Dark Fae Clan's Leader
Somewhere in the south outer rim of the Bone Sea, members of the Dark Fae Clan and Lesser Demons from other low-ranking demon clans rummaged through the sea of bones for treasures.
While most of the sea surface is littered with bones, some parts are dense in bones, and other parts are not.
The demons mostly gathered around the denser bone areas, but some also tried their luck in the less dense areas.
Even so, the most attractive locations in the Bone Sea were undoubtedly the cluster of densely packed bones that become small bone islands.
They have the highest chance of containing treasures due to the number of bones in the area.
"I haven't heard much about the past secret realm openings, but all these remains couldn't possibly be from the demons that came before us, right?" a Lesser Demon-level Dark Fae uttered with a gulp.
She paused her work to glance at the countless floating bones in the Bone Sea.
"How is that possible?" another dark fae responded.
"Just look at the sheer number of bones in this region; there's got to be at least several tens of millions of bones floating around."
"Exactly," the dark fae clan leader joined their conversation.
"Although the Starfall Dominion has monopolized the Eternal Night Secret Realm during each of its openings, our land isn't as populated as the other dominions; losing a few tens of millions will reduce the Starfall Dominion's population into nothing."
"Just looking at the shape of these bones, you can tell that some of them also belong to humans, beasts, and sea monsters," the dark fae clan leader added.
"Still, isn't this number of bones too alarming?"
"Not really. The Black Swamp Region also had just as many bones here, if not more. The location of an ancient battlefield is bound to be a lot of bones lying around, but enough of that; get back to work before we get in—"
"What are you insects chit-chatting about here?! Hurry up and get back to work!" a Peak Lesser Demon barked as he whipped a few dark faes' backs from a distance.
Just as the dark fae clan leader feared, they were caught by the supervising demon.
"We apologize, Lord Razlar. We'll get back to work right away!"
"Hmph! If I see you all slacking again, I will give you all a harsher punishment!" the Peak Lesser Demon snorted before finally leaving, but not without throwing out a condescending remark.
"This is why the Dark Fae Clan has fallen to rock bottom and unable to rise again; you all don't work hard enough!" said the supervising demon, a member of the Evil Eye Clan.
When the dark fae clan leader heard that, she clenched her fists with anger and helplessness; she was an incompetent clan leader.
Even if it wasn't true, she had no way to refute it; strength speaks the loudest.
"We're sorry, Lord Nyfarella," the dark fae apologized to their clan leader with their heads lowered, "If we didn't decide to talk, we wouldn't have gotten you into trouble with us..."
"That's enough; I joined the conversation of my own volition. Just get back to work," Nyfarella sighed.
'I thought that if I lead my clan into the secret realm, I could find an opportunity for our clan to rise again. But, alas, reality hits differently; here we are, forced to scavenge for treasures for other demon clans…'
The dark fae clan leader sighed again at the Dark Fae Clan's lamentable fate.
'Do you want to change your clan's fate? If you head south to shore, a great opportunity awaits you,' a voice suddenly spoke in her head.
"Who?!"
Numerous dark faes suddenly uttered the same word simultaneously before glancing at each other with surprised and startled looks.
Evidently, they had all heard the same message in their heads.
"You also heard the strange voice in our heads?" a dark fae asked another dark fae to confirm her doubts, nonetheless.
The dark fae nodded.
'Who are you? What do you mean by opportunity, and why should we trust you?'
Fearing her vocal words would attract the supervising demon over again, Nyfarella tried to commute with the unknown voice using her thoughts.
'I am the realm spirit of this entire space you demons and humans call the Eternal Night Secret Realm. Nevertheless, that's not important; what's important is that your desired opportunity lies to the south,' Tak-si stated.
However, Nyfarella and the other dark faes were not easily convinced by the realm spirit; they were full of doubts instead.
'Why are you trying to help us? What's in it for you?' Nyfarella questioned the realm spirit.
'I am following the wish of a noble being, who has already gathered much of your Dark Fae Clan's members. There's naturally a reward waiting for me upon completing the noble being's task.'
'You want me to submit to another person? Who is this noble being?'
'The noble being is a human, but the other dark faes following him have referred to him as a Noble Demon. If you don't wish to live another person's rule, then I have no way to convince you,' Tak-si stated.
'However, the other dark faes following the noble being has already grown much stronger than you, the supposed clan leader of the Dark Fae Clan. Within three days, several of them even become Greater Demons.'
Hearing that, Nyfarella was startled.
It's been a long time since the Dark Fae Clan had any Greater Demons in their ranks, yet several of her clan members were about to become Greater Demons?
It was hard to believe!
'I still don't understand why I should believe anything you say.'
'Look here; if I want to want to harm you, do you think I need to use such a roundabout method to do so when I can just snuff out your insignificant existence right here and now?' Tak-si stated impatiently.
At the same time, a powerful spiritual pressure weighed down on Nyfarella, making her feel like the realm spirit could crush her soul by simply exerting a bit more power.
Tak-si might be servile in front of Leon, but it was still the great realm spirit of the Radiant Heaven Realmship!
'I-I'm sorry for my doubts, Lord Realm Spirit! Please have mercy!' Nyfarella pleaded.
Chapter 814 - The Dark Faes' Escape
'Please, Lord Realm Spirit! You have to understand that as the leader of a declined demon clan, each and every one of my choices will decide whether my clan continues to exist or fade from history, Lord Realm Spirit!'
'Because of my heavy responsibilities, I have to be prudent in order to make the right choices for my clan's survival!' Nyfarella explained.
'But even if I want to lead my clan members to the south shore, we can't leave without the Nine Great Clan's permission; the supervising demon will definitely stop us and heavily punish us for trying to leave, Lord Realm Spirit.'
She implored for the realm spirit's understanding.
Nevertheless, Tak-si was only trying to pressure the Dark Fae Clan's leader into heading south and had no intentions of claiming her life.
One less dark fae means one less wisp of True Grandmist Energy.
'You don't need to worry about this. So long as you gather your clan members to leave, I will open the way for you; no demon will be able to stop you from leaving,' Tak-si assured after retracting his spiritual pressure.
'Also, you don't need to explain anything to them; I already have the same conversation with each and every one of them. They are more or less convinced with a few words while you were the last to be.'
'I understand, Lord Realm Spirit. I will gather them now,' Nyfarella said while hiding the shock and surprise in her heart.
She didn't expect the realm spirit to be capable of conversing many dark faes simultaneously; it truly seemed omniscient and omnipresent.
The realization gave her the confidence needed to put some trust in its words.
"Did Lord Realm Spirit everything about our opportunity in the south?" Nyfarella questioned the closest clan member.
"Yes, Lord Nyfarella," the dark fae affirmed before asking, "What are your orders, Clan Leader?"
After getting the last bit of confirmation she needed, Nyfarella took in a deep breath before her eyes glinted with determination.
"All members of my Dark Fae Clan, gather to me! We are leaving this sh*thole and heading south!" she roared at the top of her lungs.
"Yes, Lord Nyfarella!" the dark faes answered excitedly.
They were just waiting for those exact words!
As the sixty-one dark faes quickly gathered towards Nyfarella, the supervising evil eye demon, Lord Razlar, was attracted by the commotion.
"Chief Nyfarella! What are you planning to do?! Have your members return to their posts to work! Have I been too lenient, so you think you can defy my will now?!" Razlar thundered.
However, his intimidating words have little effect on Nyfarella.
"F*ck your will! My Dark Fae Clan will no longer listen to your orders, you sh*tty three-eye freak! You can take your will and shove it up your ass for all I care!"
Nyfarella gave him the middle finger while releasing all her pent-up grievance and frustration in an emotional outburst.
"Dark Fae Clan, follow me!"
"Yes, my Lord Nyfarella!"
After the dark faes answered, Nyfarella quickly led them away towards the south shore, under the supervising demons' dumbfounded and stiffened expression.
The Dark Fae Clan had already reached the point of no return.
Whether they make or break, live or die, they don't need to keep cowering in front of the supervising demon.
After being stunned by Nyfarella's defiant and disrespectful attitude for a moment, Lord Razlar exploded furiously.
"All demons, listen up! I want the Dark Fae Clan captured, dead or alive!" Lord Razlar roared.
He did not care if they had to wipe out the entire Dark Fae Clan; there was use keeping the dark faes alive if they could not follow orders obediently.
They would be more useful as cultivation resources after their deaths!
"To think that such a low-ranking clan would show such defiance in my jurisdiction! How can I tolerate such humiliation and embarrassment?! I have to skin them and torture their souls!"
Hundreds of demons immediately chased after Nyfarella and her clan members after hearing the supervisor's furious order, loudly and clearly.
The Dark Fae Clan's position was far from the outer perimeters and was quickly encircled by hundreds of demons from various low-ranking demon clans.
"We've been surrounded, Lord Nyfarella!" a dark fae shouted while flying beside her clan leader.
"No, we're not! Most demons can't fly like we do! Increase your altitude; we'll fly higher!" Nyfarella orders her clan members.
"But…!" the dark faes hesitated, but they still followed their clan leader.
"I understand your concerns! I am well aware that flying high will make us open targets for the demons' projectiles! However, Lord Realm Spirit promised to cover us!"
As Nyfarella spoke, the demons in the Bone Sea were already taking aims with spears, lances, and arrows.
The dark faes could all feel the threat from below.
Despite having the advantage of high altitude, they were still among the weakest of all the demon clans; it would be difficult for them to evade the demons' heavy fire.
Just as the dark faes' danger senses hit their peaks, making them think they were goners, a wave of spiritual pressure descended on the numerous Lesser Demons below and froze all their movements.
The Lesser Demons had no defense or resistance against such uncommon and abrupt spiritual attacks.
They could only helplessly watch the dark faes fly away.
"What the hell are you all doing, you useless insects?! Hurry up and shoot them down! Kill those defiant rebels!" Lord Razlar thundered.
However, the demons could not respond.
The realm spirit's spiritual pressure had paralyzed even their thoughts, putting their entire being into stasis.
In fact, they do not even know they were attacked by the spiritual pressure; it was as if time had stopped for them.
However, the realm spirit couldn't keep such a large scale for long before it was forced to withdraw its spiritual pressure.
Even so, it bought just enough time for the dark faes to escape the Lesser Demons' firing range.
"T-the demons didn't fire at us, Lord Nyfarella!" a dark fae exclaimed with joy and pleasant surprise, having escaped the jaws of death.
"Mm, it must be Lord Realm Spirit's doing," Nyfarella replied with bright eyes.
Chapter 815 - Predetermined Meeting
"Lord Nyfarella, I see the shoreline! We're almost reached land, but I don't see where our supposed opportunity is!" a dark fae alerted the clan leader and raised her doubt.
Looking at the empty shore in the distance, Nyfarella furrowed her brows.
"Perhaps, we have to head deeper inland and enter the Blacksand Desert Region," she speculated.
Meanwhile, Lord Razlar smacked a frozen double-horn demon on the back of the head and roared, "Are you deaf?! Have you all decided to rebel together?!"
Seeing the unresponsive demons not obeying his commands, the Peak Evil Eye Lesser Demon was furious beyond belief.
Nevertheless, the various demons in the Bone Sea started to regain their senses.
"L-lord Razlar?? Did I do something wrong? Why are you hitting?"
The double-horn demon wondered while feeling deeply confused and afraid of the Evil Eye Lesser Demon's wrath.
"Did you do something wrong? Are you seriously f*cking asking that after ignoring my orders?! Why aren't you chasing after the dark faes?!" Lord Razlar roared.
He felt even more furious at the double-horn demon's dumb look.
"Are you mistak—When did the dark faes get so far away?!" The double-horn demon did not dare to finish its question before suddenly changing the topic with a shocked look.
"I'll chase after them now, Lord Razlar!" the double-horn demon quickly left.
"We'll also leave now, Lord Razlar!"
At the same time, the demons from the other low-ranking clans also quickly left the sea region in a hurry to pursue the dark faes while getting away from the supervisor.
They did not want to be the object of Lord Razlar's anger release.
"Then, hurry the f*ck up and catch them!" Razlar urged with a frown.
He felt something was wrong with the Lesser Demons' behaviors, but he couldn't tell what the problem was; he just wanted to rip the dark faes to shreds.
As he mobilized the entire demon force on the surface of the sea region to hunt down the fleeing dark faes, he also left his post and followed behind the army of Lesser Demons.
…
Nyfarella led her clan members to shore and rushed into the Blacksand Desert without delay.
They didn't dare to, not with the other demons hot on their tails.
"Lord Nyfarella! Our pursuers are catching up! Where is our opportunity? Where do we go from here?!" a dark fae asked with desperation while they were on the run.
However, it didn't take long before they noticed a mountain in the distance.
"There's a mountain range up ahead! Perhaps, that's where we have to go, Lord Nyfarella!"
"Hold on. Since when did such a large mountain range exist in the Blacksand Desert Region?"
The other dark faes wondered.
Nyfarella did not have time to think before another dark fae alerted, "The pursuers are gain speed on us after reaching land, my Lord!"
"No other choice; let's head straight for that mountain range!" Nyfarella stated.
"Yes, Lord Nyfarella!"
As the dark faes drew closer to the mountain range, they noticed the 'mountain range' was not quite a 'mountain range' as they initially thought and assumed.
"A-are those mountains all dark wyrms?!" a dark fae shrieked at the discovery before another dark fae noticed Saresha's group among them.
"I see members of Dark Fae Clan among those dark wyrms!" the dark fae exclaimed before quickly adding, "This must be it! We're saved!"
While some dark faes celebrated, others also frowned with concerns and misgivings in regards to the dark wyrms.
Nevertheless, Nyfarella bit her lips before spitting, "Don't slow down; our pursuers are not far behind us! We'll meet up with the dark wyrms!"
…
"My Lord, the dark faes have arrived," Shadowtai kindly informed while Leon was sitting in his ice chair refining some origin blood for the newer members of the Dark Wyrm Clan.
"Un," Leon acknowledged that he had heard, but he did not pause his blood refinement.
At that moment, the Dark Wyrm Clan's numbers had already exceeded 500, and more were still on the way.
"Lord Nyfarella! You're here!"
Saresha exclaimed with a pleasant surprise upon discovering her clan leader among the group of arriving dark faes.
The two groups of dark faes quickly grouped up with joyous expressions as they discovered familiar faces within each others' groups.
"You're Saresha, right? I heard you all submitted to a human. Is that true—?" Nyfarella inquired before suddenly shaking her head.
"No, wait! That's not important! Hundreds of Lesser Demons are coming for our lives! We need to quickly—!"
"We need to quickly what, run? Is that what you want to suggest, Lord Nyfarella?" Saresha questioned her clan leader with an unhurried look.
If it were before meeting the Dark Wyrm Clan, she would have readily agreed after seeing hundreds of demons coming for their lives.
However, the present situation is that the fifty Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms and hundreds more of Greater Demon-level Dark Wyrms behind her had all joined under Lord Leon's banner.
There was no greater security than this.
"Only hundreds of Lesser Demons? Such an insignificant force; it won't even be able enough to stretch my muscles," Nightingale lazily said.
It was then that Nyfarella paid specific attention to the dark wyrms and realized their terrifying strengths.
"H-high Arch Demon-level being!" she exclaimed with shock.
On top of being an Arch Demon-level existence, there were even many more of them as well!
Just who is so capable of commanding so many Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms at once?! Even the heads of the Nine Great Clans aren't this capable!
"Oh? At least you are not blind," Nightingale gave Nyfarella some credit for gauging her strength accurately before saying, "However if you want our protection, you have to swear your allegiance to our lord."
"I'll do it! Where is your noble lord?" Nyfarella agreed without hesitation.
Under Lord Realm Spirit's guidance, they had come all this way for exactly that; to join their fellow clan members and serve the supposed Noble Demon.
Before the dark wyrms could move aside and reveal Leon's location, Lord Razlar and the other demons finally caught up to the dark faes.
"Prepare to die with all your clan members, Nyfarella—!"
"…"
Lord Razlar quickly roared with a vicious glint before his expression suddenly stiffened under the dark wyrms' intimidating gazes.
This situation… doesn't look good.
Chapter 816 - Nyfarella's Choice
"Are you lost, little pup?" Nightingale grinned with amusement and ridicule.
"A-arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms from the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's tomb?! W-what are you all doing out here?!" Razlar shrieked.
His facial expression quickly from surprise to sheer horror.
"Oh? You know where we came from, little guy?" Nightshade asked with his interest piqued.
However, Razlar didn't answer immediately but quickly thought of escaping instead.
How can he not know where they came from?
In the entire Blacksand Desert, Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms could only be found in one location—the location of the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's tomb.
The Nine Great Clans had discovered the location in the past few openings, but they had long deemed it impossible to conquer and given up on it.
Only ignorant fools and hopeful idiots from the lower-ranking demon clans would still try their luck in that den of Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms.
Without another second of hesitation, Lord Razlar immediately turned his backs on the other demons and fled alone, stunning them all.
"L-lord Razlar?" a Lesser Demon cried with confusion.
Why did the Evil Eye Demon run? What were they supposed to do against the enormous dark wyrms in front of them by themselves?
"Sh*t, what are we supposed to do?"
"What else? Lord Razlar already fled. Do you want to stay?"
"Run!"
Not long after, the army of Lesser Demons that came with high momentum and morale quickly fled after Lord Razlar.
"My Lord, the demons that pursued the dark faes are fleeing. What should we do about them? Do we just let them go?" Shadowtail inquired.
At that moment, Leon had finished his blood refinement for a Mid Greater Demon-level Dark Wyrm.
Shortly after casting a glance at the fleeing demons in the distance and pondering for a bit, he declared, "The demons can leave, but that evil eye demon should stay."
"Understood, my Lord," Shadowtail voluntarily took charge of the matter and chased after the Evil Eye Lesser Demon.
With a High Arch Demon Lord-level Dark Wyrm on Lord Razlar's tail, any chance he had at successfully escaping had effectively become zero.
"Why are you sparing the other demons and only singling out the leader, Leon?" Aria asked.
His decision piqued her curiosity.
"If I plan to reshuffle the powers of the demon territory, I should start by removing the nine great demon clans from power and replacing them with new demon clans," Leon explained.
"Hmm… I see," Aria hummed with a thoughtful look while gazing at the dark faes. "I suppose you are planning for the Dark Fae Clan to occupy one of the nine positions?"
"For the time being, yes," Leon nodded.
Nevertheless, his mind can change if he discovers other demon clans more suitable than the Dark Fae Clan after they swear allegiance to him.
As he moved to see the newcomers who had yet to swear their loyalty to him, the dark wyrms made way for him.
The large movements of sand caused Nyfarella of the Dark Fae Clan to notice quickly, turning her head to look.
Although she understood the male human had a different presence compared to the others, she wasn't too sure and shortly turned back to Saresha for help.
Nevertheless, Saresha also took the initiative to introduce her.
"Lord Nyfarella, allow me to introduce you to my lord to whom I and the others have sworn our allegiance, Lord Leon," Saresha said.
Once Nyfarella received the last bit of confirmation she needed, she immediately dropped to one knee in front of Leon resolutely.
At the same time, the dark faes that arrived with her also dropped to one knee alongside her with solemn expressions.
"Under the guidance and promise of a better future from Lord Realm Spirit, I, Nyfarella, leader of Dark Fae Clan, along with my clan members, have arrived to swear our allegiance to you, my Lord," Nyfarella spoke solemnly with conviction.
"Whether you use us as your swords and shields against your enemies or as women to warm your bed, we will serve you to the best of our abilities. All that I ask is you will lead our clan to greatness."
When Leon heard the second part of the Nyfarella's determined words, he quickly felt a pair of sharp eyes piercing into his back like daggers.
His lips immediately twitched in response.
"I accept your allegiance," Leon acknowledged their oath.
Shortly after sensing the glare behind his back intensified, he quickly added, "However, there is no need for bed-warming. So long as the Dark Fae Clan remains faithful and loyal, you will see the day it rises above the nine great demon clans."
Afterward, the sharp gaze finally vanished before Leon felt a bit of relief in his heart.
"Looks like the formalities are out of the way. What shall we do with this Lesser Demon, my Lord?" Shadowtail's voice suddenly drifted over from a short distance away.
The battered-looking Evil Eye Lesser Demon was hurled onto the ground of sand after.
"Since you were the one pursued by this demon, I'll let you decide his fate," Leon said to Nyfarella, who has now become one of his people.
"Thank you, my Lord!" Nyfarella expressed her gratitude before turning to Razlar with a fierce look. "I will give you a chance. Fight me! If you win, you can leave!"
"Lord Nyfarella, you mustn't! It's too dangerous!"
"Even if Lord Razlar is seriously injured, he is still a High-rank Lesser Demon!"
The dark faes immediately voiced their objections, but Nyfarella was firm in her decision.
She wanted to end things with her own hands, but she also knew that a simple, quick, and easy execution would not be able to satisfy her.
"Since she had made her choice, clear the area and give them space," Leon declared.
"Yes, my Lord!" the dark wyrms complied.
Shortly after, the dark wyrms and dark faes retreated, leaving a spacious circle of land for Nyfarella's duel.
Razlar glanced around with bloodshot eyes and knew it was impossible for him to live even if he won the duel.
But at the very least, he could take down his hated foe with him.
"Hmph! You're too foolish if you think you can beat me because of my current state," Lord Razlar snorted.
Chapter 817 - Never Take Back What Has Been Given
"We'll see," Nyfarella replied coolly.
In her mind, she was already simulating how their fight would play out and what she would need to do to kill the Evil Eye Lesser Demon with the highest level of satisfaction for the days of oppression suffered under the demon's supervision.
Nevertheless, before neither side could initiate the fight, Leon's voice trickled into her ears.
"Nyfarella, was it? What kind of weapon do you use?" he asked.
"Um?" Nyfarella was taken aback by the abrupt question, but she quickly recovered and answered, "I use a sword, my Lord."
"A sword, huh? Fortunately, it's quite the common weapon," Leon nodded with acknowledgment before pulling out a Tier-6 Blue Sword and tossing it over. "Take it; it's yours."
Nyfarella caught the Tier-6 Blue Sword clumsily in a panic before her expression turned into a pleasant surprise.
Only Greater Demons had the chance to wield Tier-6 artifacts; she didn't think she would receive one without some contributions.
"Thank you, my Lord!" Nyfarella said excitedly.
She took a few practice swings before growing more fond and attached to the Tier-6 Blue Sword by the moment.
"Where's my weapon?" Razlar asked with a frown.
However, Leon casually glanced with indifference at the Evil Eye Lesser Demon, who had the nerve to ask such a question.
"What makes you think you deserve to receive one from me?" he replied coolly.
"This isn't fair!" Lord Razlar immediately barked furiously at the unfair treatment, "This is not a fair duel!"
"Once again, why do you think this is supposed to be a fair duel? It's not; it's a slow execution," Leon stated coolly.
The Evil Eye Lesser Demon's eyes immediately glinted with madness and desperation.
It thought it had come to terms with its own death, but it refused to go down like this; it was unacceptable.
The fight wasn't honorable; it was humiliating.
"I will kill you!" Razlar roared at Nyfarella.
At the same time, Nyfarella saw Razlar's mental state before she snickered with ridicule.
"I suppose members of the Nine Great Clans have no problem abusing their privileges and depriving others of their rights, but when you are finally on the receiving end of it, you suddenly find it unacceptable? How ludicrous," she said.
"Die!"
Razlar immediately charged at Nyfarella unarmed with sparks of madness in his eyes, officially starting the battle to the death between them.
Meanwhile, Leon silently observed how Nyfarella would fare in the battle against the injured Lesser Demon, whose strength was above her.
However, he suddenly felt a pinch in the ribs before Aria's jealous voice trickled into his ears.
"You're paying an awful lot of attention to your new follower, huh? Even casually gifting her a Tier-6 weapon. Don't tell you're attracted to her charms? Though, I must admit she's the prettiest dark fae of the bunch I've seen so far."
Leon glanced at Aria's pout before he pinched her soft cheeks with a wry smile and said, "Aren't you overthinking things? I just don't want to lose a potential general."
"I can have the entire Dark Fae Clan's allegiance, but it's too troublesome to manage them all without a capable leader taking charge of things," he explained.
Shortly after, he said with a cheeky smile while continuing to pinch her cheeks, "But isn't someone getting more jealous these days? Assuming your role as the head of the harem already? Should I show you more affection?"
"N-nonsense!" Aria softly slapped Leon's hand away with embarrassment before saying, "M-mother-in-law instructed me to stop you from bringing more daughters-in-law home…"
"Aiya, how can my mother instruct you on something like this? Am I that out-of-control?" Leon replied with an exaggerated expression of being wronged. "Where is the trust between us?"
"Seems like someone needs to be punished, if you know what I mean," he winked suggestively.
"I-I… Y-you… I can't be bothered talking to you," Aria fled with a flushed face.
She couldn't put up with his lack of modesty and fragrant behavior in front of so many watchful eyes.
She likes his playful side, but she couldn't play along with so many people around; it was too embarrassing and shameful.
Leon simply smiled at her fleeing back before pulling Darlene into his arms and showering her with a bit of his affection, showing her that he had not forgotten her.
Although Leon didn't say a word, Darlene could not help but feel happy and blessed by his consideration.
Love didn't have to be fair, but it should be harmonious—at least, that was how she felt about sharing her man with others.
While Leon's little antics were going on, Nyfarella ended her fight with a slice of her sword, hacking off Razlar's head.
The Evil Eye Lesser Demon's enraged state of mind made his movements predictable and easy to counter.
Only after the fight ended did Nyfarella notice it was the Lord's purpose to provoke the Evil Eye Lesser Demon before the fight started.
A lord who can look after his people like this was worth serving.
"Thank you for granting me the opportunity to vent my grievance, my Lord!" Nyfarella expressed her gratitude with genuine respect for Leon.
It was not like she had never considered the prospect of serving under someone before. In fact, she had considered it multiple times in the past.
After all, the Dark Fae Clan had higher chances of survival by seeking refuge under a stronger clan.
Unfortunately, the higher-ranking demon clans looked down on her Dark Fae Clan too much, only seeing them as deadweights and extra mouths to feed.
Thus, she was always rejected.
"Here is your sword, my Lord," Nyfarella offered the Tier-6 Blue Sword back to her lord with both hands despite feeling a bit of reluctance to part with it.
However, Leon shook his head.
"Keep it; I already said that it is yours," he stated before adding further, "I don't have the tendency of taking back things after giving them away."
After hearing that, Nyfarella's emotion was indescribable. She didn't expect to serve such a generous lord.
Little did she know, this was only possible because Leon was filthy rich; his Worldspace was stocked, full of artifacts.
He could be equally stingy and miserly when he is poor.
Chapter 818 - Saresha's Suggestion
"Thank you, my Lord. I'll forever engrave this favor in my heart," Nyfarella solemnly declared.
However, Leon waved his hand with a noncommittal attitude and said, "No need, it's just a Tier-6 weapon; I have plenty of these to give away."
"Saresha, this is for you," he then said to his first dark fae follower while pulling out another Tier-6 weapon and tossing it over casually.
Saresha caught the Tier-6 White Sword with surprise before sweating at the next moment, thinking she could have lost her fingers to the sharp blade if she was careless.
"T-thank you, my Lord! I'll treasure this gift with my life," she stated.
"Suit yourself," Leon nodded.
After handing out his carrots, he turned to the rest of the dark faes and said, "The rest of you also have your chances of receiving a high-tier artifact from me, so continue to work hard for me."
"Yes, my Lord!" the dark faes answered with determined looks.
"My Lord, what about us?" A Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm suddenly asked after seeing the Lord casually hand out treasures to the dark faes.
"You?" Leon glanced at the dark wyrm and asked, "Can you use a sword?"
"No, my Lord."
"Can you use a spear?"
"No, my Lord."
"Then what weapon can you use among all weapons made to be wielded by hands?"
"This… I'm not sure…" the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm used its tail to scratch its head with an embarrassed smile.
"Then what do you need a weapon for me?" Leon furrowed his brows and asked, "Bloodline-strengthening isn't enough for you?"
"This… It is enough, my Lord… I just thought I should try asking, haha…" the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm said, feeling ashamed while being subjected to the dark wyrms' glares and scrutiny.
Leon shook his head amusedly before turning to Shadowtail.
"How many more members of your clan are we still waiting on?" he asked.
"Our clan numbered in the 2000s back in the days, but now, I am not exactly sure, my Lord; it could have risen or dropped over the years," Shadowtail answered truthfully.
'Tak-si," Leon immediately called.
The realm spirit knew what he wanted to ask and quickly answered, 'Another 1728 dark wyrms are still on their way, Master.'
'Got it, thanks.'
Shortly after, Leon said to Shadowtail, "Seems like your numbers have slightly grown; there's still another 1728 dark wyrms on their way. So stay, and gather them; I'll be leaving first. We'll meet in the western region when you've gathered your clan."
"But…" Shadowtail hesitated before ultimately agreeing with a nod, "As you wish, my Lord. Please be careful on your way."
"Naturally."
…
Leon left with Aria, Darlene, and the 126 dark faes shortly after.
They returned to the south floating landmass in the sky before jumping to the last floating landmass in the west.
Like the north and south floating islands, the west floating island was also treasureless after a thorough search.
As such, the group did not linger for long before descending to the shores of the western region to gather the other dark fae groups.
However, no dark fae was spotted.
"Seems like the dark faes from the west and north region have yet to arrive… Are you taking care of them, Tak-si?" Leon inquired.
'Yes, Master," Tak-si answered.
'But as you know, the Bone Sea is not exactly small; the dark faes cannot traverse such get distances within a short time like Master. As such, it will take more time for them to arrive.'
'They're not getting chased by other demons for abandoning their posts and duties, are they?' Leon inquired further.
'I managed to convince the dark fae group from the north to slip away during the chaos of battle between the demons and humans over here, so no one is pursuing them. But the west group is, however,' Tak-si informed him.
'Nevertheless, Master does not need to worry about the demons' strengths; the strongest pursuer among them is only at the Mid Lesser Demon level.'
'I see,' Leon acknowledged.
After the last two groups of dark faes arrive and assimilate into the group, he will have roughly 250 members of the Dark Fae Clan, which was fifty less than their initial number.
Evidently, quite a few dark faes had died since they entered the secret realm, and he even played a small part in it.
'How far am I away from the core?' he asked shortly after.
'Currently, Master is eight miles from the perimeters of the underground ruins in the west while the core is located six miles further than that. Of course, Master still has to dig through 20-thousand feet of land,' Tak-si answered.
'I see.' Leon acknowledged.
"We will camp here for the time being; more dark faes will be arriving soon," Leon declared to the group.
Then, he intended to leave and use his Nihility Law on the excess land and stock up on True Grandmist Energy for his cultivation and the Radiant Heaven Realmship's repair.
But before he could, Saresha approached him.
"My Lord," she called.
"Hm?" Leon casually glanced at her and asked, "What is it? Speak freely."
"Yes, my Lord," Saresha complied before mentioning, "Back in the Blacksand Desert, Saresha witnessed my Lord performing blood refinement to improve the Dark Wyrm Clan's True Dragon Bloodline."
"What about it?" Leon asked with a raised brow.
"Saresha wonders if my Lord can also try performing the blood refinement on our Dark Fae Clan's bloodline," she suggested.
"Oh? Interested," Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Although the Dark Fae Clan's ancient bloodline might not be of any use for his Body Cultivation, it piqued his interest, nonetheless.
If the Dark Fae Clan also had a deep heritage, they could also become powerful after awakening their bloodline—just like how he helped the Desolate Crow Clan.
'I wonder how they are going…' Leon recalled the people he left behind in the Desolate Crow Clan.
'Well, no use thinking about it now. I can only return after finishing my business here in this secret realm.'
"Let's give it a go then," Leon agreed with Saresha's request.
Chapter 819 - Farming Grandmist
After getting Leon's agreement, Saresha's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Yes, my Lord!" she answered.
Shortly after, she offered one of her arms out before Leon sliced open a wound on her wrist and extracted several dozen drops of her blood essence.
"Considering how weak the Dark Fae Clan is, it's likely that whatever ancestral bloodline flowing in your veins have been thinned to the point of near-nonexistence. As such, I need to extract more blood from you to increase our chances of finding anything special in your bloodline."
"You don't have a problem with right?" Leon asked shortly after his explanation.
"No problem, my Lord! You can take as much as you need to!" Saresha declared resolutely.
"That's the spirit!" Leon nodded before saying, "Well then, I'll be taking more of your blood essence."
After extracting nearly a thousand drops of Saresha's blood, she began to feel a hint of weakness, but still far from anything life-threatening.
She would have to lose 20% of her blood, which was roughly 24-thousand drops of blood, to even go into shock.
"We'll start with a thousand drops," Leon calmly stated before passing a bottle of Tier-3 Golden Ointment to Saresha. "Rub this over your wound to stop the bleeding and heal."
"Thank you, my Lord," Saresha accepted gratefully.
Shortly after, Leon commenced his blood refinement of the thousand drops of dark fae blood essences.
Even if they find nothing special in the blood, the Saresha would still benefit from absorbing her refined Dark Fae Origin Blood.
The dark faes must have some special heritage, even if they don't belong to the same family tree as the Eternal Night Demon Empress, a true descendant of some True Divinity.
After all, the Demon Empress from the Divine Realm was also a dark fae, and the Dark Fae Clan even practiced an inferior version of a cultivation technique called the Dark Fae God Canon.
Leon was hopeful that Saresha might have something like the Dark Fae God Bloodline.
As time went on, a thousand drops of dark fae blood essences gradually reduced to a mere hundred drops of Dark Fae Origin Blood.
While the Dark Fae Origin Blood seemed potent, neither Leon nor Saresha could sense anything divine about it.
There was no bloodline of any primordial god or devil contained within it.
"I was hopeful, but I guess I should have also expected this," Leon muttered with a hint of disappointment.
The greater the expectations, the bigger the disappointments.
The Dark Fae Clan was not like the Desolate Crow Clan, a mixed-race between human and beast, nor were they like the Dark Wyrm Clan, an actual beast race.
There was little chance of awakening the ancestral bloodline if one is not a beast; bloodline awakening was the beasts' distinctive trait and advantage.
Otherwise, he could have also refined his blood and hoped for a bloodline awakening.
"Well, you don't have to be too disappointed; absorbing this Dark Fae Origin Blood should boost your vitality back up and improve your regenerative abilities," Leon consoled.
"Beasts have their unique way of improvement, and so do humans and other races. They awaken their blood while we awaken our souls."
After handing the Dark Fae Origin Blood over, Leon left Saresha on her own accord and constructed another medicine bath for the dark faes to cultivate their bodies.
"I don't want to see any idlers while I am gone; teach your new clan members how to cultivate the body forging method and go take a dip in the medicinal bath and train," Leon stated to the dark faes.
Hundreds of demon cores were then emptied out of his Worldspace for the dark faes to use for their body cultivation.
"Can you look after them while I'm gone, Darlene?" Leon entrusted the task to her, surprising both Aria and her.
However, he shortly said to Aria, "Darlene already had a significant breakthrough recently, but you have yet to improve; take this chance to comprehend your Sword Intent."
"Mm, alright."
Aria prepared to argue, but she ultimately agreed with Leon's arrangement.
Thinking about the Dark Wyrm Clan made her restless.
If Leon had not won the hearts and loyalty of the Dark Wyrm Clan, just a single Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm was enough to wipe them all out.
The difference between a Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm and a Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm was not something that could be easily compensated with divine treasures and powerful battle skills.
The gap was simply too huge.
The weakest Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm easily possessed tenfold Leon's current physical strength, while the strongest Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm possessed twentyfold his strength.
Paragon-level existences are not to be underestimated.
Sometime later, Leon moved to a hidden location in a small forest roughly 600-yards away from the group before summoning the power of Nihility.
Everything around him began to break down and transform into wisps of True Grandmist Energy.
The realm spirit quickly manifested and revealed a strong interest in the wisps of True Grandmist Energy as its eyes glowed brightly.
However, Leon absorbed all the wisps of True Grandmist Energy for himself and stored them in the Black Vortex Space.
Tens became hundreds, and hundreds became thousands; the amount of True Grandmist Energy produced as the terrain deformed was staggering.
"This is a lot more wisps of True Grandmist Energy than what I expect from the black soil… Is it because it came from the Eternal Night Demon Empress's inner world and doused in energy all year round?" Leon speculated.
Nevertheless, he did not slow down his bottomless appetite for True Grandmist Energy while disintegrating the surrounding land.
Even if he wasn't currently digging towards the core hidden deep underground, he needed to start stocking up on his reserve of True Grandmist Energy.
Just as the realm spirit was starting to feel disappointed, Leon flicked over sixty-two wisp of True Grandmist Energy.
"Did you think I forgot to reward your efforts? Sixty-two wisps of True Grandmist Energy for sixty-two dark fae arrivals, as promised."
"Thank you, Master!" Tak-si was exhilarated.
Sixty-two wisps of True Grandmist Energy were far more than Leon had previously given.
Chapter 820 - Neutral Faction
Blacksand Desert
Some time ago, when Leon's group just left, leaving Shadowtail and the other dark wyrms behind to gather their entire Dark Wyrm Clan, a young girl's spiritual form materialized in front of them shortly after.
"Greetings, Your Imperial Highness!"
Shadowtail and the other Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms lowered their heads to the ground in front of the young girl's spiritual form, displaying their subservience.
The Greater Demon-level Dark Wyrms and below knew nothing, but seeing all the Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms lowered their heads, they also followed suit and lowered their heads in submission.
"At ease," the young girl spoke.
She was none other than the other half of the realm spirit, the Eternal Night Demon Empress's daughter, now called Luna.
As such, it came as no surprise to Shadowtail and the other Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms when Leon mentioned the exact number of their clan.
They were well aware of the realm spirits' capability.
"Yes, Your Imperial Highness!" Shadowtail and the other dark wyrms raised their heads obediently after Luna permitted them.
"What do you think of that person?" Luna asked while gazing in the direction Leon's group left. "Do you still have any doubts?"
"Just as you mentioned, Your Imperial Highness, Lord Leon may be our Eternal Night Demon Empress Faction's chance to break away from this barren planet," Shadowtail replied.
"The lord was more exemplary than we could have hoped for," he added a glint of awe and reverence.
"I agree," Luna nodded, still feeling incredulous from her discovery.
"Who would have known that the only person with the hope of repairing the Radiant Realm Ship in a thousand years also knew some incredulous blood-refining technique for improving bloodlines…"
"Although I don't know much about the current world's situation outside, I doubt there is another capable of creating such a profound technique in this age. It's most likely a primordial technique, Your Imperial Highness," Nightingale inserted her opinion.
"Not most likely; it definitely is a primordial technique," Luna confidently asserted.
"However, to comprehend the primordial technique to such a degree, the person has to either have a deep background, a master from the primordial times, be a God Incarnate, or be a never-before-seen unrivaled genius."
"Given this world's state, it's unlikely for any power with deep heritage to exist," Shadowtail assumed.
"And the primordial age of gods and devils had long ended, so it is also unlikely for anyone from that age to have survived to the present age; thus, we can rule out the first two possibilities," Luna stated.
"Nevertheless, the last possibility is just as unlikely; it's no different from wishing for a miracle. But regardless of the possibilities, we can be assured that Leon is on our side."
"Continue to serve him with all your beings," Luna instructed.
"Yes, Your Imperial Highness!" Shadowtail and the other dark wyrms complied with a hint of relief in their eyes.
They wouldn't want to become enemies with the only person who could realize their dreams.
Nevertheless, a few dark wyrms had some doubts.
"If I may be impudent as to ask, how can you be so sure that Lord Leon is on our side? Shouldn't it be said that we are on his side, Your Imperial Highness?" A Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm asked.
"Grandpa Black Turtle said that any person who can sympathize with demons and not blindly separate black from white can be seen as a friend and not an enemy," Luna replied.
"An extremist of the Light Faction would not spare any demons, but this person is raising demons of his own and doesn't hesitate to kill his own kind and other demons as long as they are hostile to him; this is the kind of people we need on our side."
"You need to understand that we are no longer a pure Dark Faction; we can be considered grey, or a neutral faction, in other words," she said.
"Does that mean we cannot take revenge for what the Celestial Alliance did to us, Your Imperial Highness?"
When another Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm raised this question, Luna's eyes flickered with intense killing intent.
"I never said that," she said in a low tone.
"To be neutral is to reject the views of the Light and Dark Faction and the eternal war between gods and devils that will not stop until one side is eliminated; it doesn't mean we cannot exact our vengeance on our enemies."
"A blood debt must be repaid in blood, whether they are humans or demons," she stated.
"But what if Lord Leon disagrees with our goal to wipe out the Celestial Alliance for what they had done to us?" Nightshade asked.
"This…" Luna paused with a frown.
Just as she prepared to say something, she suddenly sensed Grandpa Spirit getting called from the other side.
"Sigh, we'll continue this talk another time. The other side is calling for Grandpa Spirit."
Shortly after saying that, Luna's spiritual form dematerialized and faded into the background, and left the dark wyrms alone in the desert.
"What shall we do now, Lord Shadowtail?" asked Nightingale after turning to him.
"What else? We will wait here and gather our entire Dark Wyrm Clan before heading west and rejoin with our lord," Shadowtail declared.
"Although we have a separate goal that our lord may or may not agree with, it doesn't change the fact that we have sworn allegiance to our new lord and benefactor."
After Shadowtail said that, Nightingale nodded without further questions.
…
…
…
Time passed as the waves of the Bone Sea bashed against the dark shores of the western region.
Half an incense's worth of time had gone by since Aria and the dark faes resumed their cultivation while Darlene watched over them.
Suddenly, Darlene narrowed her eyes after spotting the group of dark faes in the distance.
"Tak-si." she tried calling the realm spirit.
'You've called for me, young lady?'
Darlene attempted to call the realm spirit before Tak-si responded to her calling, just as she had hoped.
"What's the strength of the demons pursuing the dark faes?" she asked.
'546 demons, all below the High-rank Lesser Demon level.'
"Then there's no need to let Leon know about this. I will take care of them myself," Darlene declared while gripping her Tier-6 Poison Dagger with a determined look.
It was time to test her strength.