Chapter 821 - Darlene's Battle
Since Darlene reached the Late-stage Preliminary Accession Transcendent, she had yet to test her strength in battle properly.
The army of Lesser Demons will do just fine as her practice targets.
'Very well. As you wish, young lady,' Tak-si agreed to her request.
Shortly after, Darlene dashed forward toward the Bone Sea and raised her feet slightly higher just as it was about to step into the Bone Sea without losing momentum.
In that instance, the space suddenly warped underneath her feet, forming a solid ball of compressed air before she stomped on it.
Boom…
The sphere of compressed air exploded with a rebound force against the weight of Darlene's step, immediately propelling her higher into the sky like a spring.
Spatial Step!
Boom… Boom… Boom…
With each Spatial Step successfully performed, she sprung forward with increasing momentum and alarmed the dark faes fleeing in her direction.
"Someone is rushing towards us!" a dark fae cried.
However, the dark faes' alerted states abruptly ended when Darlene simply shot past them from below, gliding over the sea surface.
Puchi!
Darlene stabbed her Tier-6 Poison Dagger into a Low-rank Lesser Demon's forehead before the Low-rank Lesser Demon could react.
She came flying in like a meteor, causing a big splash in the water as she leaped off the Low-rank Lesser Demon's head before performing another two Spatial Steps in the air.
Boom… Boom…
The balls of air exploded, shooting her over to her next target as her previous target resurfaced from the sea with its red-skinned body turning green from the spread of poison.
Puchi! Puchi!
Darlene ended the life of each demon with a single stab while darting around nimbly over the water surface.
"Kill her!" a Mid-rank Lesser Demon roared.
The demon army quickly abandoned their pursuit of the dark faes and focused their sole attention on Darlene.
However, Darlene's slippery maneuver made it difficult for the demons to catch her.
They tried to surround her and overwhelm her with numbers, but she simply spatial stepped away and attacked their weak spots in their army.
Just like that, she easily took down two dozen Lesser Demons in a short time.
But while it seemed like she was dominating the battlefield with her skillful use of Spatial Step, Darlene's frown deepened as the battle dragged on.
'My body can't keep up with my rapid movements! It's putting too much strain on my legs!' she concluded.
She quickly chose to retreat to shore.
Since she couldn't keep up with the strain of using Spatial Step, she had to change her battle tactics to ease the burden on her legs.
However, it wasn't just her legs; even her arms were feeling the strain of each stab.
If not for her Tier-6 Poison Dagger, her physical strength alone would not be enough to penetrate the demons' tough bodily defense.
'There's nothing wrong with my battle tactics; it's my body that failed to keep up with it,' she took note of her deficiency.
Since her body was lacking, she just had to train it.
After awakening her spatial ability, she could control her energy flow and stop her Void Soul from absorbing everything.
Body Cultivation, which had been impossible, is now possible for her.
"After her!"
The demons chased after Darlene as she fled back to shore with Spatial Steps, getting further and further away.
The demons' swimming speed could not compare to her air-leaping maneuvers.
Even so, breaking away from the demons' ranks made her an open target for the demons' projectile weapons.
"Shoot her down!" roared the Evil Eye Lesser Demon leading the army.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
Dozens of demons immediately hurled their spears while several other demons fired arrows from their bows.
Darlene's expression changed due to the incoming danger before she quickly twisted her body around and made a downward slash with her dagger hand, followed by an upward slash.
Second-level Spatial Fracture, Dark Passage!
Shing!
Two wide spatial tears in the dimension opened before dozens of spears and arrows flew through one of them and exited out the other.
Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!
The second spatial tear had opened in the demons' flanks, allowing Darlene to return the demons' projectile attacks back at them!
"Our rear is under attack!" cried a Low-rank Lesser Demon in the rear.
"What!" the Evil Eye Lesser Demon quickly shot his gaze to their flanks before barking, "How can we be attacked from behind?!"
However, it only took a moment before the Evil Eye Lesser Demon fixed his gaze on the spatial tear in the sky.
"What kind of ability is this?!" it exclaimed with shock.
Nevertheless, Darlene didn't keep the Dark Passage open for long as her body moved too far from the initial spatial tear and broke her connection to it.
However, her attack didn't stop there.
She halted her retreat with another Spatial Step and launched herself higher into the air before letting herself free-fall back to the sea surface.
Second-level Spatial Fracture!
After dropping more than halfway, she sliced open a long vertical spatial tear that extended all the way into the water.
Splash!
Darlene's body splashed into the water, soaking her entire body, but not for long before she shot back out of the water with another Spatial Step in the water.
The compression and rapid release of water generated a similar propelling explosion.
At the same time, the big spatial tear she created immediately swallowed large volumes of seawater into its endless and unknown space, creating a vacuum that pulled the Lesser Demons in the water towards it.
"Noooo!"
The Lesser Demons at the front all cried in fear as they twisted their bodies around and fought the water current dragging them towards the big spatial tear
The dark space within the spatial tear filled them with dread; they had the feeling that entering the spatial tear was a one-way trip.
And they were absolutely right on that feeling!
After the spatial tear swallowed several dozen Lesser Demons and countless gallons of black seawater, it closed and sealed them inside forever.
The rest of the lucky demons witnessed such a scene and froze with horrified looks, too terrified to continue their pursuit.
Chapter 822 - Injury, Understanding, And Supply
Ironically, even the demons, creatures of darkness, also fear the darkness—or rather, they fear the unknown that lurks within the darkness.
Nevertheless, the demons' hesitation allowed Darlene to retreat to shore without a problem—or so it should have been.
However, her expression revealed pain, and one of her feet dangled like jelly, which was a clear sign of being broken.
The recoil of performing Spatial Step was so much greater in water than it was in the air due to their density difference.
At the same time, the dark faes' arrival alerted Aria and the rest of the Dark Fae Clan in the medicine bath, disturbing all their cultivation.
Even though Aria had her cultivation interrupted before she could comprehend her Sword Intent again, it did not concern her as much as Darlene's injury.
"You're hurt," Aria stated with knitted brows.
Before Darlene could reply, Aria quickly took out a plain white cloth from her interspatial ring and broke two straight twigs from a nearby shrub.
Then, she used the items to apply first-aid on Darlene's ankle, wrapping them up with the two twigs as support.
Once that was done, she took out a Tier-3 All-Purpose Healing Pill and gave it to Darlene.
"It's not much, but this will have to do until Leon checks on you and see if there are further issues," Aria stated before asking with a frown, "Why didn't you call us? Why did you try to fight alone?"
"I wanted to gain battle experience and adapt to my new strength quickly. At the same time, I thought I could handle them, which I kind of did—See? The demons are frozen in fear."
After Darlene accepted the pill and ingested it, she pointed into the distance with a wry yet grateful smile.
"Thank you, Sister Aria… This injury was a result of my miscalculation in performing my spatial abilities… Though I did gain some valuable information out of it," she added.
"Still, it's no reason to get yourself like this. If something serious happens to you, we'll be sad," Aria stated.
Darlene was surprised by her words.
It was one thing if her injury saddened Leon, but she didn't think that Aria would feel the same as well.
As if Aria understood what she was thinking by reading her expression, she said, "We're a family, so we naturally have to care and look after each other."
"And although I hate to admit it, I, alone, am not enough to support Leon. The future he holds is filled with trials and tribulations. Thus, I hope you will also be one of his strengths when the time comes."
Having Aria White's memories, she understood that Leon's revenge could not be stopped and only delayed.
The inevitable will not change; a bloodsoaked Divine Realm.
Nevertheless, Darlene was surprised by Aria's deep feelings for Leon and could not help but feel curious about their history together.
What did it take to develop such feelings?
"I can tell Sister Aria has deep feelings for Leon, but how did it come to be. What did he do to earn such love from you, Sister Aria?" she asked.
"These days, I wonder myself. But if I have to say something, then I guess I am just a simple woman. Sometimes, it just takes a single act of kindness to earn a lifetime of devotion," Aria replied with a distant look.
She could no longer differentiate her feelings from Aria White; their memories mingled, and so did their lives.
It was as if Aria White was still alive within her, silently watching over them.
Sometimes, it baffles her that two pairs of identical people from different worlds and different lives would come together.
Was it the strings of fate? Or was it the machination of destiny?
Alas, she tries not to think too deeply into it; she wants to believe that the feelings she holds are of her own choice and not due to something vague like fate and destiny.
Meanwhile, Darlene refrained from prying further even though she wasn't satisfied with Aria's answer.
Even so, she could tell that her feelings were not on Aria's level, which made her feel a hint of envy.
Swoosh—!
Leon rushed over after receiving words of Darlene's injury from the realm spirit.
His powerful divine sense quickly swept over her limp feet wrapped in cloth before noticing it was already healed.
However, the twigs and cloth told him all he needed to know about her once-broken ankle.
"Thank goodness; you're alright," Leon said to Darlene after completing his check-up before kindly reminding her, "Remember to be more careful next time."
"You're not going to reprimand me for getting myself hurt?" Darlene asked with surprise.
"Injuries are bound to happen when you fight. As long as it's not too serious, why would I reprimand you? Should I let my overprotective side get the better of me and hold you back from your improvements? The same goes for you too, Aria."
Leon replied with a wry smile.
He threw himself into danger head-first and nearly died a few times.
Furthermore, each time he nearly died, he also experienced a significant breakthrough or improvement out of it.
What right did he have to lecture his women on safety and stop them from improving themselves?
That was too selfish of him.
Nevertheless, Aria and Darlene were touched after listening to his words; he was very understanding.
After being embraced by the two ladies for a short while, Leon pulled himself away from them before taking out the Tier-7 Golden Grail and began filling bottles up with tier-3 healing water.
"Take these bottles of healing water," said Leon while handing the bottles of tier-3 healing water over to Aria and Darlene.
Three bottles were given to each lady, to be exact.
"Although getting injured isn't good, I hope these bottles of tier-3 healing water will prove to be of use when I am not around," he said to them.
It was unfortunate that he had to reset the timer on the Tier-7 Golden Grail's healing water when he was trying to see if the quality of healing water could improve over time.
However, it was important to supply his people with all the healing medicine they may need in the case of emergencies.
Chapter 823 - You'll Use Something Better
After handing out the bottles of healing water to Aria and Darlene, Leon continued to refill the Tier-7 Golden Grail with water.
Then, when they transformed into tier-3 healing water, he emptied it into more empty pill bottles to stock up to hand them out to the dark faes later.
He repeated the process until he felt like he stocked up on enough tier-3 healing water before filling the Tier-7 Golden Grail and placing it back in his Worldspace.
"How should we deal with the dem—Oh, they're gone," Aria was about to ask when she suddenly noticed the demon army in the Bone Sea had long fled.
"Seems like Darlene terrorized them a fair deal," Leon commented with a smile before asking with growing curiosity, "What did you do to them?"
"I opened a spatial tear in the Bone Sea and sealed several dozens of them in the dark dimension… They seemed to have stopped pursuing me after that," Darlene recounted.
Leon was intrigued to hear more about the dark dimension she opened with Spatial Fractures.
However, Tak-si suddenly materialized his spiritual form in front of him before rubbing his hands together with an expectant look while chuckling foolishly.
"Hehe, Master… You see, another batch of dark faes has already arrived for some time now, and they are all ready to swear their allegiance to you… So…"
The realm spirit mentioned the matter with anticipation for what comes after it.
Leon glanced over to the dark faes' side and quickly confirmed that the Dark Fae Clan's numbers had indeed increased—increased to a total of 196 members, to be exact.
He summoned 70 wisps of True Grandmist Energy to reward the realm spirit before flicking them over with a helpless and wry smile.
"Take it."
"Thank you, Master!"
Tak-si excitedly gobbled up the wisps of True Grandmist Energy before disappearing with his spiritual form to transfer the energy to his core.
Shortly after, Leon approached the dark faes.
At the same time, they immediately took notice of his approach before the new group of dark faes immediately dropped to their knees and swore their allegiance to him.
"For the prosperity of our clan, and for the grand aspirations that you may have, we wish to serve you wholeheartedly, my Lord! Please accept us!" they said.
Their level of preparedness almost made it seem as if they had practiced beforehand after reuniting with their clan leader and other clan members.
"I accept," Leon acknowledged them pledges before permitting them to stand back up, "You may rise."
"Thank you, my Lord!" the dark faes answered in unison.
Shortly after, Leon turned to Nyfarella and said, "Teach them the Godfiend Body Forging Method like how the others taught you and continue to cultivate medicine—"
He abruptly paused after realizing the medicine bath would be too small to fit all 196 members of the Dark Fae Clan.
Furthermore, the medicinal properties would not properly spread throughout such a big pool, which may result in some dark faes not receiving enough healing when they cultivate.
As such, he had the dark faes all exit the medicine bath.
"Everyone, get out," he ordered.
Shortly after the dark faes exited the medicinal bath, he expanded the overall size of the big pool before dividing them into four smaller medicine baths and refueling their concentration of healing properties.
Once that was done, he returned to Nyfarella and handed her twenty bottles of tier-3 healing water.
"When the healing properties of the medicine baths reduce, pour a bottle of these tier-3 healing water into the medicine bath and refuel its effectiveness yourself," he instructed.
"Understood, my Lord!" Nyfarella accepted.
"Alright, carry on with your task."
"Yes!"
After settling the dark faes, Leon returned to Aria's side and held her hands with a bit of guilt written on his face.
At the same time, he briefly noticed Darlene stealing a few glances at the dark faes getting into the medicine bath.
"Although I told you to cultivate and comprehend the Sword Intent, I couldn't provide you with a suitable environment and allowed others to interrupt your cultivation again," he said apologetically to Aria.
However, Aria shook her head and replied reasonably, "This isn't your fault. We can't expect to find a peaceful spot while trying to accomplish many other things at once."
"Nevertheless, allow me to make amends," Leon declared.
Shortly after, he controlled the earth and made a bunker that would be soundproof after she entered it.
"It's done; hopefully, with this, you won't be disturbed again after I insulate the sound."
"But…" Aria furrowed her brows.
By the looks of it, it seemed like Leon was going to put aside his own matters to watch over her and everyone else.
"Just go," Leon smiled gently, but his decision was firm.
Seeing that she wouldn't be able to change his mind, Aria nodded and accepted his good intentions as she entered the earthen bunker with resolution.
Shortly after, Leon sealed the entrance.
…
After seeing Aria settled inside the bunker, Darlene made a request, "Leon, I have something to ask of you."
"You want to practice Body Cultivation like the Dark Fae Clan, right?" Leon casually presumed, surprising her.
She stared at him with wide eyes, and the following words she prepared to utter stuck in her throat.
"How did you know?" she asked.
"Did you think I didn't notice you catching glances at the dark faes training?" Leon replied with a smile before adding, "Considering your leg injury, it makes sense if you want to strengthen your physique."
"Oh… Is that a no?" Darlene asked with uncertainty.
Seeing how she behaved like a child seeking permission from her parents, Leon was amused by it.
Nevertheless, he chose not to tease her and said, "I have no reason to stop you. However, you can't train exactly the same way they do; the dark energy is not compatible with most humans."
"If I can't use dark energy, then what would I use to train?" Darlene asked with doubts.
She was not privy to the details of the Godfiend Body Forging Method and didn't know the dark energy used by the dark faes was just an inferior substitute for something else.
"Of course, you'll use something much, much better," Leon stated firmly.
Chapter 824 - Guiding Darlene
Since he could produce as much True Grandmist Energy as he wanted, the best energy should naturally be given to his women for their body cultivation.
At that moment, he still has over 500 wisps of True Grandmist Energy after deducting the rewards given to the realm spirit.
"I planned to wait until I find suitable body forging methods for you and the others, but I guess it shouldn't be a problem to practice Godfiend Body Forging Method first and switch it out later," Leon assumed.
Darlene could not help but feel touched by his consideration.
She thought Leon never introduced her body cultivation was because he didn't want her to practice it and turn out like the other female warriors in the Infertile Plains.
However, it turns out that he had been looking for better body cultivation methods for her to practice.
"Hm? What's the matter?" Leon asked with a warm smile after Darlene suddenly decided to burrow her head in his chest and embrace him tightly.
"You take care of me so well," she softly spoke.
"Of course I do," Leon stated before adding with a gentle expression, "If I can't even take care of my women, wouldn't that make me incompetent?"
Nevertheless, Darlene's impression of Leon was not entirely wrong; he truly doesn't want his women to become bulky machos.
Not only does he find such massive builds with excessive masses unsightly and lacking in grace and beauty, but he would also feel conflicted if his women looked more masculine than he did.
After embracing each other for some time, Leon uttered, "Alright, I'll instruct on the steps of practicing the Godfiend Body Forging Method first."
"I want to stay like this for a bit longer," Darlene requested before adding, "Can I?"
Leon found it hard to refuse her when she was like that; she was too cute.
Alas, the longer they held each other and sensed each other's warmth and scent, he felt his libido rising alongside their quickening heartbeats.
Nevertheless, he was well aware that the present situation was not appropriate for any deeper acts of intimacy.
'They say beautys' temptations are the fall of heroes,' Leon wryly thought.
He cannot let his carnal desires blind him from doing what needs to be done in order to reach his goals.
After the moment for a bit longer, Leon resisted his primal urges and separated himself from Darlene.
"Alright, that should be enough. Right now, we have more urgent tasks that require attention."
"Mm," Darlene nodded.
Although she wasn't quite satisfied, she could only be content with what she got for the time being.
"Where should we start?" she asked shortly after.
"It'll be easier if I transmit the technique to you directly; you'll comprehend it quicker this way," he said.
Shortly after, Leon transmitted the Godfiend Body Forging Method with a soft poke on her forehead before he gave her time to digest the information injected into her mind.
A few dozen breathes later, Darlene's eyes snapped open with a bright glow.
The profoundness and depth of the technique left her in awe.
If she hadn't learned the Godfiend Body Forging Method, she would have never known that humans could train the body to such godly heights.
Leon didn't transfer the first part of the Godfiend Body Forging Method to Darlene, but the entirety of what he had on it.
It was the standard body forging method from primordial times and recorded the Eight Hidden Gates and Nine Star Palaces after Body Transformation.
He figured it was for the best if Darlene became aware of these realms and mentally prepared herself for the torturous practice she would have to endure on this path.
"True Grandmist Energy…" Darlene softly muttered.
The more she learned about it, the more startled she became.
Considering the Seven Tribes Alliance hoarded numerous heritages from the primordial age, she has learned a bit about the primordial energy that existed at the beginning of time.
It was said that such godly energy was mostly gone from the world, and any trace of it could only be found in the center of supermassive black holes in the vast depth of space.
Recalling the grey energy that Leon used to reward the realm spirit, she became even more startled.
True Grandmist Energy was said to share such an appearance.
Darlene stared at Leon with wide eyes, her mind filled with questions and doubts regarding True Grandmist Energy in his possession.
However, Leon placed a finger on his lips and said in a hushed voice, "Shh, it's a secret."
"Mm!" Darlene repeatedly nodded like a pecking bird.
She didn't expect Leon to be so daring and courageous to show such priceless energy around in the open.
Countless powerhouses would kill to obtain it.
But then again, even she, who had some knowledge about True Grandmist Energy, failed to recognize it until she learned the Godfiend Body Forging Method in detail.
While giving Darlene more time to familiarize herself with the Godfiend Body Forging Method, Leon constructed a private cultivation chamber out of the earth for her.
"Have you understood how to temper your body with the Godfiend Body Forging Method?" he checked on her.
"Mm," Darlene nodded.
However, shortly after, she said with a hesitant look, "But this is the first time I'll be manipulating another form of energy; I'm not sure if I can control it well."
"The breathing technique included the Godfiend Body Forging Method can be regarded top-grade, even among other breathing techniques for energy cultivation," Leon mentioned.
"But if you are unconfident, you can use your spatial ability to guide other forms of energies in your body; this method should reinforce your control. Try simulating it first. There's no need to rush; haste only makes waste."
Leon patiently guided Darlene with a calm and soothing voice that washed away her concerns and put her heart at ease.
"We can start official practice after you gain your confidence," he stated while summoning a wisp of True Grandmist Energy for her practice.
"Mm, I'll give it a go," Darlene complied.
Shortly after, she swallowed the wisp of True Grandmist Energy into her body without absorbing it and focused solely on controlling its flow and movements through her body.
Chapter 825 - Tenacious Spirits
At first, Darlene relied solely on her spatial energy to drive the flow of the True Grandmist Energy wisp through her energy channels.
After completing ten complete cycles, she built up her confidence and used the breathing technique to continue her practice.
She immediately noticed the difference; her control had noticeably weakened without the support of her spatial ability.
Nevertheless, after completing another fifty cycles, she adapted to the breathing technique.
"I think I'm ready now," Darlene said.
The highest degree of control she can achieve is when she can use the breathing technique and spatial ability in unison.
After Leon acknowledged with a nod, he summoned a dozen wisp of True Grandmist Energy for her to cultivate the first step.
"Don't think about anything beyond the second level of the Body Tempering Realm; right now, you are not even at the first level of the Body Tempering Realm," Leon instructed.
"We'll take things one step at a time, so free your mind of any distracting thoughts, alright?"
"Mm, I'll listen to you," Darlene earnestly listened to Leon's instruction.
After accepting the dozen wisps of True Grandmist Energy from Leon, she began running the Godfiend Body Forging Method to temper her flesh with the thirteen wisps of True Grandmist Energy in her possession.
"Ughk—!"
A sharp pain quickly drilled into her skin and rushed straight to her head, causing Darlene to grunt in pain before the needle-like wisps of True Grandmist Energy quickly repaired her damaged cells and strengthened them.
She was expecting the process to be painful, but it still caught her off guard; it was more painful than what she prepared for.
'Nothing great comes easy!' Darlene gritted her teeth and endured the painful process.
For years, she had suffered the label of no-talent and was treated like she was less than human by the other warriors in the tribes…
Their gazes of cold indifference and disdain repeatedly crushed her innocent hopes and dreams while she had no other choice than to endure it all, helplessly and powerlessly, in silence…
Now that power to change all of that was in hand, how can she not grasp it tightly?!
'Compared to those days, this little bit of physical pain is nothing to me!' Darlene roared firmly in her heart.
While watching over Darlene, Leon quickly noticed the speed of the needle-like wisps of True Grandmist Energy stabbing into Darlene's flesh increased without signs of slowing down from the infliction of pain.
Her fleshly strength improved at an alarming as the wisps of True Grandmist Energy became one with her flesh.
Before long, Darlene had already completed the first shedding and achieved the fleshly strength of Rank 1 Body Tempering.
As he witnessed that, Leon was astonished by Darlene's willpower.
He told her to take things one step at a time because he thought the pain would be too great for her to bear if she attempted to go all out in tempering her flesh without mental preparation.
However, now, he knows that he had indeed underestimated her.
'Does everyone who suffers the label of trash and no-talent have this kind of willpower? It seems protagonists usually have such settings in stories…' Leon silently mused.
Nevertheless, seeing Darlene working so hard on cultivation, it would not do if he let her True Grandmist Energy run out and forcefully end her cultivation.
She is doing so well.
How can he let that happen?
"What a tenacious girl… Her willpower might even be greater than mine…" Leon thought wryly, but he was happy to see her rate of improvement without a hint of envy.
The only real criteria for body cultivation talent are willpower and diligence. And from what he could see, Darlene was not lacking in either of them.
Nevertheless, there was no reason for him to be envious; a man who is envious of his own woman's capability is no man.
He summoned several more dozen wisps of True Grandmist Energy and slowly fed it to her, allowing Darlene to continue tempering her fleshly body without worry.
A short while later, Darlene advanced again and achieved Rank 2 Body Tempering.
Even so, she showed no sign of stopping despite the beads of sweat formed on her skin and soaking her clothes in it.
At the same time, black blood and impurities were also expelled from her skin.
'I should also cultivate,' Leon decided.
He was strangely motivated after watching Darlene cultivate.
Shortly after feeding Darlene another hundred wisps of True Grandmist Energy, he used the remaining 300 wisps of True Grandmist Energy to cultivate his Black Turtle Heavenly Guard and spare none for the Radiant Heaven Realmship repair.
He could always transform more land into True Grandmist Energy when more is needed.
'I didn't have this many wisps of True Grandmist Energy when I tempered my flesh the previous times; I wonder much improvement it'll be this time around,' he mused.
Not long after, he joined Darlene in tempering their fleshly body.
Wisps after wisps of True Grandmist Energy twisted and spun, turning into needle-shaped drills before digging into his skin and tempering his flesh.
The waves of pain immediately assaulted him, but it was not something he hadn't experienced before.
As such, he endured it with a tenacious spirit like Darlene.
At the same time, he used his divided consciousness to spread out his divine sense and keep watch over the situation in the area.
Pip! Pip! Pip!
As time quickly passed, Darlene broke through the ranks of Body Tempering consecutively reached Rank 6 Body Tempering in no time, easily surpassing the dark faes' rate of progress without surprise
Even as a substitute energy, dark energy could barely replicate a fraction of True Grandmist Energy's effect.
Pip! Pip!
Time further passed, and Darlene advanced Rank 8 Body Tempering Realm.
It is just a matter of time before she reaches Rank 10 Body Tempering.
Nevertheless, she was not the only one with big improvements; Leon's improvement was even greater than hers.
His talent was never lacking; time was his greatest limitation.
After his body completely absorbed the 300 wisps of True Grandmist Energy through tempering his flesh, his flesh defense improved by 3-mil jin, reaching a staggering total of 4-mil jin strength.
He had entered the Mid-stage of Rank 1 Body Transformation.
Chapter 826 - Learning Duna's Whereabouts
'All 300 wisps of True Grandmist Energy for only 3-mil jin fleshly improvement, huh?' Leon thought wryly.
The increase was quick and effective, but the consumption of True Grandmist Energy was equally demanding.
'Given the Body Transformation Realm already requires this much True Grandmist Energy to train without special bloodlines, I will have to collapse a few celestial bodies and stars when I need to open my eight hidden gates,' he mused.
As for the Nine Star Palaces, he didn't dare to think that far.
Pip!
Darlene advanced again, reaching Rank 10 Body Tempering and attained 100-thousand jin of fleshly strength, the entry-level strength of Transcendents.
At the same time, she still had over a hundred wisps of True Grandmist Energy.
Such staggering accomplishment within a short time was naturally worthy of celebration, but Leon could not help but frown instead.
'Such a terrible conversion rate,' he thought.
In total, he had fed her roughly 200 wisps of True Grandmist Energy, yet a whole whopping 100 wisps of True Grandmist was required to reach Rank 10 Body Tempering Realm.
That was roughly the same amount he had taken to reach Rank 1 Body Transformation.
'There at least a tenfold difference in the improvement we could gain per wisp of True Grandmist Energy expended for our Body Cultivation…'
Leon was puzzled over this discovery.
'Why is there such a huge difference between us?' he wondered.
If all his women required the same amount of True Grandmist Energy to train, a few star realms might not even be enough for them to train to the peak of Eight Hidden Gates.
While Darlene continued to temper her fleshly body, Leon pondered over the issue in silence.
'The greatest difference between us lies in our physiques…!' his eyes flickered in conclusion.
The [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] technique remolded his physique into the Five Element Body and then further evolved it into the True Grandmist Body or True Grandmist Physique.
'My physique was attuned to True Grandmist Energy, so its improvements far outstrips any other physiques when tempered by True Grandmist Energy… This is most likely the case.'
Leon was convinced of his speculation, and he could not help but smile helplessly at it.
The consumption of True Grandmist Energy is too great.
'If I don't find a suitable body forging method with an available bloodline, everyone's going to suffer from bottlenecks when they train these primordial techniques,' he noted.
After stretching his limbs and cleansing himself, Leon left Darlene to train on her own and walked towards the seashore before scooping a handful of the black seawater.
"As expected, the Bone Sea's water has a rich concentration of dark energy," he mused after inspecting the black seawater.
A large portion of the Eternal Night Demon Empress's dark energy from her inner world had been condensed into a liquid state.
'Alas, the liquified dark energy has also been diluted in a volume of seawater from the Boundless Sea… The Boundless Sea that covers most of Gaia's surface… No one will notice if a portion of that water reduces, right?' he mused.
In the next moment, the handful of black seawater dispersed into wisps of Dark Energy and True Grandmist Energy.
Leon absorbed all of it into his body.
Shortly after, he crouched over by the seashore and placed his hand in the seawater before exerting more power of Nihility.
Shhh…!
The black seawater dispersed like steam from boiling water, yet ghostly and subtle without bubbling noises.
At the same time, tendrils of True Grandmist Energy and Dark Energy flowed through his palm and into his body before separating into two different pathways; one flowed into his Black Vortex Space while the other assimilated with his dark energy core.
Like that, Leon increased his empty reserve of True Grandmist Energy while improving his divine—or rather, his demon cultivation.
Nevertheless, he had only just reached the Mid-stage Heaven Ascension Realm not long ago and required an even larger quantity of dark energy to saturate his dark energy core to the next level.
The Radiant Heaven Realmship provided all the energy he needed in the years to come, but time was never his friend.
'Tak-si,' Leon suddenly called.
'Yes, Master?' the male realm spirit answered, 'How may I help you?'
'The Radiant Heaven Realmship opens its subspace periodically every hundred to a couple of hundreds of years, but what happens when it closes? How long do why have until it happens?' he inquired.
'This… The time isn't fixed, Master,' Tak-si replied.
'It depends on whoever operates the Teleportation Array; it could be a few days, weeks, or even years—until someone decides to operate the Teleportation Array, logically speaking, the secret realm could remain open indefinitely.'
'I suppose the one currently managing the Teleportation Array would be the so-called Shaman King's Successor then,' Leon guessed.
In order words, the Teleportation Array will remain open until the demons are done with their business.
'Hm?' Leon suddenly recalled something.
'Hm… From what I've been told, the Shaman King's Successor usually dies from the mental depletion of opening the secret realm… so the Shaman King's Successor might already be dead at this point…'
'That means the one who closes the secret realm can be anyone else…'
Leon rubbed his chin in thought before asking, 'Where is the main component of the Teleportation Array located?'
'It is in the center of the Bone Sea, Master,' Tak-si answered truthfully.
'The center of the Bone Sea? That makes a lot of sense… Humans were standing on the outermost part of the spatial transference, so they were all taken to the outer regions…' Leon realized.
Nevertheless, he should quickly bind the Radiant Heaven Realmship's heart and secure his control over the Radiant Heaven Realmship before someone decides to tamper with the Teleportation Array.
Leon's eyes flickered.
'By the way, I'm looking for Duna; she's an evolved spirit with a corporal body. Do you know where she is, Tak-si?' Leon inquired about Duna.
Tak-si took a few moments to locate the being fitting Leon's description before he answered with surprise, 'The being you are looking for seems to be at the bottom of the Bone Sea, Master.'
'At the bottom of the Bone Sea, you say?' Leon also replied with surprise.
Chapter 827 - Purple Coatl Dragon Clan
At first, Leon was startled by Duna's whereabouts.
But when he gave it some thought, it somehow made sense to him that she could reach the bottom of the Bone Sea.
An ordinary human body would be crushed by the water pressure down there.
However, Duna's body wasn't like any ordinary human body.
It might share the appearance, but it is a Devil Spirit Body that she constructed with the help of his True Grandmist energy.
Coupled with Duna's soul attacks, it wasn't a problem for her to ward away other creatures and demons.
'How is she doing?' Leon asked.
'She…. She seems to be doing well at the bottom of the Bone Sea. However, she does look a bit frustrated at being unable to find whatever it is that she is looking for down there.'
Tak-si conveyed what it saw to him before asking, 'Should I ask her directly, Master?'
'No, it's fine,' Leon shook his head and said, 'As long as she's doing fine. I'm just checking on her. There's no need to bother her.'
They'll meet soon enough; it wouldn't be too late to ask her then.
'Understood, Master—Ah, the last group of dark faes will be arriving soon, Master. They've just attracted the attention of the previous group of Lesser Demons,' Tak-si suddenly informed him.
Leon's lips couldn't help but twitch.
He just started collecting more wisps of True Grandmist Energy and barely accumulated seventy wisps of it, yet he's about to give it all away again.
'Understood,' he nodded with a sigh.
He has become filthy rich, but no matter how rich he becomes, he will always be lacking something even if he can create more of it; True Grandmist Energy.
"I guess I should stretch my muscles on these demons and adapt to my new strength," Leon said to himself while cracking his stiff neck.
Shortly after, he took a light step forward before launching into the sky.
…
…
…
Meanwhile, the northern dark fae group tried to avoid the west region's demon patrols in the Bone Sea while making their way westward, but they were still spotted in the end.
"Run, everyone! We've been discovered!" a dark fae alerted the group.
"Dammit!" another dark fae cussed before shouting with frustration, "This is why we should have flown higher!"
"Any higher, and we would get lost in the dark clouds!" the dark fae stated.
Nevertheless, they had the great realm spirit to guide them; it would never allow them to get lost before claiming its reward from Leon.
"Less complaining and flee faster instead!" another dark fae shouted objectively.
At the same time, a Low-rank Lesser Demon quickly alerted the demon supervisor, "Lord Helshan, it's another group of dark faes! Should we pursue them?"
The Evil Eye Lesser Demon glanced in the direction pointed by the Low-rank Lesser Demon before it furrowed its brows.
"They're heading west as well? The Dark Fae Clan dare to refuse orders from higher-rank clans… Just what the hell are they plotting?" the Evil Eye Lesser Demon wondered.
Nevertheless, he did not forget to issue orders.
"Quickly capture them and bring them back to me for interrogation! We must get to the bottom of this and figure out what gave them the courage to rebel!" the Evil Eye Lesser Demon barked.
"Don't let them get away! We've already suffered disastrously at the west shores; we mustn't fail again! Is that understood?!"
"Yes, Lord Helshan!" the Lesser Demons obeyed.
In the next instance, the entire army of Lesser Demons on the sea surface mobilized in pursuit of the fleeing dark faes.
Those who could fly, flew quickly, and those who could not, swam even harder.
Suddenly, the sea surface in the area bubbled before numerous demons popped their heads out of the water and gasped for air.
They were all Greater Demons.
"M-my Lords, you're all back!" Lord Helshan exclaimed—not with joy but panic instead.
"Of course, we're back!" A Mid-rank Greater Demon strongly responded with displeasure.
"Hmph! We've been underwater for hours!" another Mid-rank Greater Demon snorted before asking with narrowed eyes, "Did you think we can stay underwater forever? Or did you want us to stay underwater forever?"
Lord Helshan's heart immediately shook from the Greater Demon's pressure and intimidation.
To admit that he hoped all of them stayed underwater forever was no different from cursing all the Greater Demons to die!
Unless he was tired of living, there was no way he could admit to that!
"I… I don't, my Lord!" Lord Helshan denied.
"Hm? Where's all the other Lesser Demons?" another Greater Demon noticed their absence before shortly spotting them some distance away. "Oh? What's going on over there?"
"T-that is…" Lord Helshan stuttered.
When it came to this point, he had no other choice than to explain the whole situation truthfully; it was better than being found out after lying.
"The situation is like…"
The Evil Eye Lesser Demon quickly recounted the events that transpired in the western region during the Greater Demons' absence.
After the Greater Demons heard everything, a Mid-rank Evil Eye Greater Demon snapped at the Evil Eye Lesser Demon.
"How incompetent! You have one job, and you can't even do it right!" the Mid-rank Evil Eye Greater Demon scolded. "How hard can it be to make the Dark Fae Clan listen to you?"
"Nevertheless, it doesn't change the fact that the Dark Fae Clan's behavior is strange. They're foolish, but they shouldn't be this foolish… It seems like someone may have incited them," a Red-Horn Orc Greater Demon stated with a frown.
Shortly after, the Red-Horn Orc Greater Demon turned to a Purple Coatl Dragon and said, "Lord Nidra, we'll have to trouble your clan to catch the dark faes and bring them back for questioning."
"Hmph! Fine!" High Great Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon reluctantly agreed with a snort.
"All members of my Purple Coatl Dragon Clan, follow me!"
Shortly after, all the Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragons flapped their powerful feathered wings, splashing the waters off their wings as they took off into the skies.
"Oh, no! The Lord Greater Demons have returned!" a dark fae despaired at the discovery.
"Forget about that!" another dark fae quickly shouted in panic, alerting them of something else up ahead, "Someone is coming at us, and fast!"
Chapter 828 - Powerful Defense
Before the dark fae group could decide what to do next, Leon swiftly flew past them with incredible speed and came to an abrupt stop between them and the Purple Coatl Dragons pursuing them.
Swoosh!
"He's not after us?" a dark fae uttered while glancing back in surprise.
"Why would a human be chasing after us?" another dark fae asked with a confused look.
"Did you just ask something obvious?" the dark faes glanced at the confused dark fae speechlessly before one of them said, "We are demons…"
"Oh… That somehow makes a lot of sense," the confused dark fae scratched her head awkwardly.
Just because other demons were hunting them, it doesn't automatically make humans their allies.
Alas, if they end up getting hunted by both demons and humans, it would be quite the sad fate for their Dark Fae Clan.
"Hurry up and get out of here!"
"Y-yes! Thank you!"
After Leon urged the dark faes to leave with a frown, they quickly complied without further hesitation and fled from the area.
The person's sudden presence may have stopped the Purple Coatl Dragons from pursuing them temporarily, but there was no telling what may happen next.
'Thank you for buying us time, good human. We will remember your sacrifice,' the dark faes silently etched in their hearts, completely ignorant of the person's capabilities.
After letting the dark faes leave, Leon glanced back at the Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragons before him with interest and surprise.
"Why did you stop chasing them?" he asked.
"I know a strong opponent when I see one, and you, Sir, are a strong opponent," said a Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon.
Although Leon had yet to reveal his aura, his seemingly ordinary flesh gave the Purple Coatl Dragons a sense of inferiority.
Dragons were known for their superior defense and strength, yet a human made them feel inferior.
Evidently, this human was not as simple as he seemed, or his cultivation level was simply far above them.
"Interesting," Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Although he has the Dark Wyrm Clan's allegiance, the appearance of another sub-dragon race made him greedy for more dragon blood supply, no matter whether they were of inferior or superior quality.
"If you and the rest of your clan submit to me, I will spare you," he stated.
Naturally, such a statement made the Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragons' expression turn gloomy at once.
"You want us to serve you? What a joke! You might be strong, but that doesn't mean you can insult us as you please!" Lord Nidra roared furiously.
The Purple Coatl Dragon Clan is one of the Nine Great Clans in the Starfall Dominion!
"So you have chosen death," Leon calmly stated, then casually shook his head and added, "No matter. I'll just extract the dragon blood from your dead bodies and experiment with them for myself."
Lord Nidra's gaze turned cold and piercing.
"Kill him!" the High Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon barked, "Don't leave him an intact body! I want him reduced to ashes!"
Swoosh—!
In a short instance, a group of two dozen Purple Coatl Dragons surrounded Leon from all directions before the tip of their throats inflated like frogs.
Dragon Breath!
Two dozen breaths of dark-purple flames blasted at Leon.
However, he neither dodged nor guarded himself; instead, he chose to take the brunt of their dragon flames head-on!
Boom!
The two dozen dragon breaths impacted their target and exploded in a great blazing inferno of dark-attribute flames, completely swallowing the person within.
Even Peak-rank Greater Demons specialized in defense could not have survived such a powerful and united attack!
However, Leon was neither burned nor eroded by the dark-attributes flames of the dragon breaths.
His True Grandmist Body negated the effect with its high resistance against the elements.
At the same time, his powerful flesh resisted the force of the blast, and his inner organs absorbed the shock with their strengthened inner defense.
His inner defense had already reached 1.5-mil jin strength after he previously consolidated his viscera with a drop of True Dragon Origin Blood.
But what exactly is inner defense?
Body Cultivators' viscera can never be rock-hard like their tempered flesh and bones, but they can be equally powerful in enduring attacks.
The primary difference between outer and inner body defense is their ability to resist and absorb the impacting force.
Just like hitting a balloon, as long as the force isn't too great that it would directly pop, the balloon will stretch and evenly distribute the force, reducing it into nothing.
That is inner defense.
"Impossible…"
Lord Nidra's eyes narrowed upon discovering Leon's intact figure within their scorching-hot dragon breaths.
It did not disintegrate, not in the slightest bit.
Leon did not reveal the slightest sign of discomfort as he emerged from the raging dragon flames like he had just taken a casual bath in the hot springs or finished a sauna session.
However, it didn't end there.
In the next moment, Leon devoured the dragon flames and absorbed every last bit of them into his body like an afternoon treat.
"Thanks for the meal," Leon smacked his lips together and said, "Now, it's my turn."
Billowing clouds of darkness surged out of his body, causing the Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragons to feel a suffocating and suppressive pressure.
'A noble Demon!' Lord Nidra exclaimed.
"Wait!"
"No waiting."
Puchi!
Leon punctured the heart of a Low Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon with a sharp thrust before ripping it out of the dragon's body.
However, the Purple Coatl Dragon didn't die immediately.
As such, Leon followed up with another attack and directly destroyed its brain with a dark energy blade, snuffing out the last trace of its life and will.
Then, he grabbed its large body and tossed it into his Worldspace.
"How dare you!"
Seeing a member of his noble and great dragon clan getting killed and looted right in front of his eyes, Lord Nidra exploded furiously.
Then, he launched himself at Leon with a full-powered attack, throwing all caution to the wind, blinded by rage.
Chapter 829 - Blind Speculation
Without a surprise, the Purple Coatl Dragon Clan lived up to its name as a sub-race of dragons that possesses powerful strength and physiques.
Each Purple Coatl Dragon Clan member was fully capable of fighting other beings above their level.
The High-rank Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon had no problem competing with Peak-rank Greater Demon-level beings.
Alas, it met Leon.
He was someone who could put up a fight with Low-rank Arch Demons.
Leon hunted down the Purple Coatl Dragons one by one while preserving their bodies as best he could before tossing them in his Worldspace and infuriating Lord Nidra even further in the process.
Peng! Peng!
Their bodies clashed like the clangs of metals as Lord Nidra exchanged blows with Leon while pursuing him like a mad dog.
Before Lord Nidra realized it, he was already the last surviving dragon in his group.
"Remember, you asked for this," Leon calmly stated.
"We are the proud Purple Coatl Dragon Clan, one of the Nine Great Clans! We can be killed but not humiliated!" Lord Nidra roared madly.
"You're just a feather-winged serpent, much inferior to the Dark Wyrm Clan in terms of True Dragon ancestry. What the hell do you have to be proud of when even the Dark Wyrm Clan is willing to pledge their allegiance to me?"
Leon looked back at the High Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon with ridicule.
"I don't even realize the insurmountable gap between us. Did you think you are still alive because I can't kill you? I was merely testing the strength of my fleshly body. And now that I have tested it, I have no further use for you, alive, that is."
"Nonsense! Even if you are a Noble Demon, it's impossible for the powerful Dark Wyrm Clan to lower themselves to someone weak like you!"
Lord Nidra refused to the proud dragon race could do such a thing.
…
A short while later, the High-rank Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon died at the hands of Leon, stubborn and unconvinced of the truth until the end.
"I don't know whether all dragon races are prideful like this one, but these nine great demon clans sure have overinflated egos and pride," Leon muttered to himself.
He swept a glance over the demons in the Bone Sea but didn't see them planning any form of retaliation against him for wiping out the Purple Coatl Dragon Clan group.
He ignored them and headed back to the western region without further delay.
The Purple Coatl Dragon Blood is best absorbed when it is fresh.
…
After Leon disappeared from the Bone Sea region, the Lesser and Greater Demons all wiped their sweat, feeling like they could breathe again.
"What a scary person; the Purple Coatl Dragon Clan couldn't even put up a decent fight against that person," Lord Helshan softly muttered with lingering trepidation.
But after the trepidation faded, an important question popped up for every demon in the Bone Sea region.
"Why is there a Noble Demon here?" a Mid-rank Evil Eye Greater Demon frowned.
"I want to ask the same question," a Red-Horn Orc Greater Demon also voiced his doubts, "If we had a Noble Demon among us, we would have known about it beforehand."
"This Noble Demon popped out of nowhere, and he had to have a human appearance no less! There's something strange about this!" another Greater Demon added.
Demon-born humans exist, but not in their Starfall Dominion.
And the reason they don't keep the Eternal Night Secret Realm open indefinitely is to protect their monopoly of it.
They did not want it to attract the other more powerful dominions to it.
"This Noble Demon couldn't have come from the other dominion; we would have known. In that case, that only means one thing…"
The Mid-rank Evil Eye Greater Demon spoke gravely, attracting the other Greater Demons' undivided attention.
"Which is?" a Greater Demon asked with a frown, displeased by the suspense.
"Don't tell me you are thinking that a human obtained a powerful inheritance and became a Noble Demon, are you?"
"No, that's exactly what I'm thinking," the Mid-rank Evil Eye Greater Demon firmly replied.
"But that's impossible," a Mid-rank Black Jackal Greater Demon rejected the possibility.
"What kind of inheritance could turn a normal human of the Infertile Plains into a Noble Demon?"
"He would have to be a demon-born human at the very least! But even then, it would still mean that the human obtained an extraordinary inheritance!"
"There is one such inheritance, one that all the leaders and elders of the Nine Great Clans are trying to get their hands on…" the Mid-rank Evil Eye Greater Demon mentioned.
After a brief moment of silence, the Greater Demons all had a change in their expression.
"Don't tell me… that Noble Demon obtained the Eternal Night Demon Emperor's inheritance?!" the Red-Horn Orc Greater Demon shrieked.
"How is that possible?! No, it's not just impossible; it is unacceptable!"
The Greater Demons erupted with outrage.
How could they let an outsider take the Eternal Night Secret Realm's most desired and prized inheritance?
"This won't do! We have to alert the leader and elders of our discovery!"
"That's right! Even if we are mistaken, the possibility of the secret realm being infiltrated by a Noble Demon from another dominion isn't something we can ignore!"
"Dammit, I just resurfaced to take a breather, but I'm already forced to dive again," a Three-Headed Serpent Greater Demon complained.
Nevertheless, it splashed back into the Bone Sea without hesitation.
At the same time, the rest of the Greater Demons affiliated to the Nine Great Clans also followed suit and dived into the deep sea, rushing to inform their leaders and elders.
…
Meanwhile, Leon returned to the western shores, satisfied with his gain, while unaware of the incoming storm due to another one of the demons' blind speculations on the Eternal Night Demon Emperor's inheritance.
"My Lord, you're back!" Saresha and Nyfarella quickly welcomed Leon's return.
As more dark faes rushed over to welcome him, the new dark fae group craned their necks to look with curiosity before all their expressions froze with shock.
"H-he is the new lord that you all s-serve?!" one of the new dark faes exclaimed.
Chapter 830 - Aria's Sword Intent & Concept
Inside the earthen bunker, Aria meditated with Tier-7 Divine Sword rested on her lap and bathed in its divine aura, the only source of light within the dark space of the enclosed bunker.
In Aria White's life, she quickly ascended the ranks of Divine King and was also a sword user, but even she barely touched upon the realm of Sword Intent.
Even so, there was no doubt that Aria White was infinitely close to attaining the realm of Sword Intent.
Given Aria White's memories and the Tier-7 Divine Sword in her possession, If Aria wanted, she could have comprehended her Sword Intent much sooner.
However, the exceedingly sharp Sword Intent possessed by the Tier-7 Divine Sword made her ponder a question.
What is Sword Intent, exactly?
Was it just a special force that augments the sharpness of a sword and improves its cutting power? Or a manifestation of one's will to cut?
Swords are weapons; they are made to cut and to kill.
If swordsmen have good swords for cutting, why would they still need to rely on Sword Intent to augment their swords?
This goes against the belief of the first realm of swordsmanship, Sword Spirit, which is to become one with the sword and treat it like they do with their limbs.
If they cannot trust their limbs to do what they can and are supposed to do, then those limbs aren't really their limbs.
A sword that cannot cut is not a sword.
If others say it is, it is just a defective sword, a useless sword, or a broken sword, nothing more, nothing less.
Such a sword cannot be used.
So how can a swordsman who breaks their fundamental belief in the sword advance in the path of the sword?
There are two possible reasons for this.
Either the Sword Intent is not as simple as it was recorded for others to believe, or the fundamental understanding of Sword Spirit was flawed to begin with.
After pondering hard over this matter, Aria arrived at a conclusion; it is true for both reasons.
The realm of Sword Spirit is not to become one with the sword but to form the sword in one's mind.
Hence, it is called the Sword Spirit, the mind's sword.
And Sword Intent is the partial manifestation of that Sword Spirit; the stronger the Sword Spirit, the more powerful the Sword Intent.
'When a person comprehends Sword Intent, they can use any medium as their sword to exert the power of their Sword Spirit…' Aria mused.
'If I can manifest the Sword Intent without the assistance of any medium, that would also be the day that I step into the realm of Sword Force.'
The realm of Sword Force…
At this stage, one can borrow the power of heaven and earth, transforming them into sword force to manifest any number of their Sword Spirits.
'Alas, I am still far from that realm. I should comprehend my Sword Intent first,' Aria decided.
From what she had comprehended, Sword Intent is nothing more than the 'intent' of the Sword Spirit, the will of her mind's sword.
It was just a concept.
'A Sword Intent does not need to be sharp; the characteristic of my Sword Intent should depend on my will.'
'What I want it to be is what it will become.'
'If I want my Sword Intent to be sharp, it will be sharp. If I want it to be heavy, it will be heavy. If I want it to be fast, it will be fast.'
'My will dictates my Sword Intent's Concept.'
'The Tier-7 Divine Sword's Sword Intent already possesses the Concept of Sharpness, so I do not need to comprehend the Concept of Sharpness.'
'If I want to maximize the power of my sword, I need to comprehend a concept that aligns with my elemental affinity.'
'Only when I have more Sword Intent Concepts to fuse will I be able to exert the greatest degree of strength.'
Thanks to the quietness of the soundproof space, Aria could meditate with great clarity and zero distraction.
Not even the subtle sound of her breathing could disturb her; she had entered a state of emptiness and focused solely on comprehending her Sword Intent.
'My Sword Intent must be able to exert the full power of my ice-lightning abilities… Therefore, I need a Concept that highlights the properties of ice-lightning…'
Aria's brows knitted in deeper thoughts.
'A Concept that could highlight the properties of ice and lightning… Ice and lightning have multiple properties, but which ones should I focus on? Which pair of concepts will allow me to maximize my combat prowess?'
She pondered.
'Lightning is fast and contains the power of annihilation, while ice is cold and freezing…'
While brainstorming the properties of ice and lightning, she focused on two particular aspects: the swiftness of lightning and the slowness of frigid ice.
'Swiftness and slowness…'
Although Aria felt unconfident about fusing two concepts to become one, she recalled that she did manage to fuse ice and lightning.
Thus, there was hope for fusing the concept of these two elements.
'The Concept of Swiftness and Slowness… That shall be my Sword Intent's Concept,' Aria's eyes brightened.
After settling on her Sword Intent's Concept, she pieced together everything to form her Sword Intent.
Ice and lightning energy mixed with her Sword Spirit, which in essence, is a type of Sword Seed for her Sword Law.
'My Sword Intent has to be swift like lightning and slow like ice!' Aria's eyes suddenly flickered with a trace of frigid lightning.
In the next moment, Aria grabbed the hilt of her Tier-7 Divine Sword and blasted her way out of the earthen bunker, shooting into the sky and stunning the others in the process.
Nevertheless, Aria focused solely on her sword and didn't pay attention to anyone else.
Shing! Shing!
She infused her intent into the Tier-7 Divine Sword before throwing around a few practice swings at the empty air!
Bzzt!
Her sword hand blurred in a flurry of shadows, moving at lightning-quick speed while cold air pervaded the space, chilling everything!
The Concept of Swiftness and Slowness!
Each of her sword strikes is fast and chilling, striking at others with incredible swiftness while slowing them in the process!
That is her Sword Intent's Concept.
Chapter 831 - Mass Dragon Blood Refinement
After infusing her Sword Intent into the Tier-7 Divine Sword, each of her sword swings left afterimages of blueish-white sword rays and cascading particles like snowfall.
Despite the rapid movements brought by the Concept of her Sword Intent, Aria's sword strikes appeared graceful and elegant and attracted the dark faes' attention.
They watched her sword dance with awe and revered the beautiful scene.
"How beautiful…" a dark fae admired.
While other dark faes watched in awe, Nyfarella observed Aria's sword with a solemn and sharp look.
Others only saw its beauty but not its sheer power.
The number of concepts behind the Sword Intent within Aria's sword filled her with a deep feeling of trepidation and uneasiness.
She wasn't sure if anyone could withstand such an incredibly sharp and powerful sword with their bare body.
That sword would just cut down any Arch Demon-level beings like grass.
While the dark faes enjoyed the graceful movements and light show, all good things will eventually have to end.
Aria descended and lightly stepped on the ground.
"Congratulations. I don't know much about Sword Intent, but it seems you have successfully comprehended an especially powerful one," Leon congratulated her with a smile.
"Mm!" Aria nodded.
Shortly after storing the Tier-7 Divine Sword in her interspatial ring, she linked hands behind her back and hopped over to Leon's side with a joyful look.
"Do I deserve a reward?" she asked playfully.
"Oh?" Leon was amused by her playful behavior and returned her question with a sly smile, "What kind of reward do you want?"
"Hmm!" Aria pretended to think hard with a finger on her chin before replying, "I'll let you know when I think of a good one."
"But I haven't promised you anything yet. What if I don't agree to it?" Leon grinned sneakily.
"You—!"
Aria's expression froze at his words before she hammered his chest repeatedly with her soft hands while pouting, "Are you going to agree or not?"
"So forceful. How can I disagree, Your Majesty?" Leon replied with a soft chuckle.
"I thought so!" Aria nodded with a cute look as if she had known of his answer and pretended to be magnanimous while posing as an indifferent queen, "I'll spare you this time, but there will be no next time."
Nevertheless, she failed to keep in character and blushed with embarrassment the next instant before burrowing her face in his chest to hide her embarrassment.
A short while later, she calmed down and removed her face from his chest before she quickly noticed that the Dark Fae Clan's numbers changed again.
"The dark faes seemed to have grown in numbers again?" she voiced her doubt.
"Un," Leon admitted with a nod and explained, "The last group of dark faes arrived while you were comprehending your Sword Intent."
At that moment, all 250 members of the Dark Fae Clan had sword allegiance to him, and he had already rewarded the realm spirit 54 wisps of True Grandmist energy for the last group of dark faes.
"What about Sister Darlene?" Aria also noticed Darlene was missing.
But before Leon could answer, Darlene emerged from an earthen chamber and asked, "You called for me, Sister Aria? Ah, I ought to congratulate you on your breakthrough."
"It's just a small breakthrough, nothing worth congratulating about," Aria replied humbly with a smile.
Leon wanted to add something at that moment, but he refrained from saying it lest he gets hit for it.
Nevertheless, Aria was taken aback by Darlene's roughness and felt her physical strength and body had grown by leaps and bounds.
"I think I ought to congratulate you as well, no?" Aria said to her with a thoughtful look.
At that moment, Darlene had already achieved Rank 10 Body Tempering, but her actual fleshly defense sat at 200-thousand jin, a fifth of the way to Rank 1 Body Transformation.
Apart from the improvement in her fleshly body, her weight has also increased to 200 jin after absorbing so many wisps of True Grandmist Energy.
It wasn't a weight that anyone could tell simply by looking at her thin build.
In fact, Leon's weight was even more significant than Darlene's, for he was nearing 500 jin; it was the effect of tempering their bodies with True Grandmist Energy.
Leon feared that he would accidentally trip and fall on a person one day, crushing the said person to death with his sheer weight.
'Perhaps, this is why gods don't interact with mortals?' he thought to himself.
"Ah!" Darlene suddenly cried.
Leon's eyes immediately shot towards her with concern and asked, "What's wrong? Was there a problem with your training?"
"N-no, not that! I feel so gross right now!" Darlene exclaimed at the sweat, blood, and black impurities that covered her body.
Even in the Darkmoon Tribe, she had never been dirtied to such a degree.
Nevertheless, Leon immediately felt relief after realizing it wasn't something serious and shook his head wryly.
Shortly after, he used his various elemental abilities to make a warm bath inside the earth chamber for her to clean herself in private.
Darlene immediately darted inside without hesitation.
'You were so focused on the Godfiend Body Forging Method that you didn't realize the filth on your body until this late, huh?' Leon thought with amusement.
He could not help but smile at her reaction to cleanliness.
"I'm going to cultivate for a bit. Watch over them for me," Leon decisively said to Aria shortly after.
"Mm," Aria nodded and said compliantly, "Go and cultivate with peace of mind. It's my turn to watch over everyone."
With Aria's reassurance, Leon found a suitable spot and immediately took out his first Purple Coatl Dragon body and began refining their blood essences.
'Let's see if there will be any unexpected surprise and reward from these Purple Coatl Dragons,' he silently thought while extracting the dragon blood.
In a short moment, he completely drained the Purple Coatl Dragon body of its blood and formed an enormous blood pool above his head before he began the true blood refinement process, en masse.
Chapter 832 - Heading Westward
Waves after waves of dragon blood overlapped, revolved, and shrunk in volume like they were eating themselves.
As Leon refined the Purple Coatl Dragon blood, the drops of Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood quickly increased with time.
Tens become hundreds, hundreds become thousands, and thousands become tens of thousands.
The sheer volume of dragon blood in a Purple Coatl Dragon body was incomparable to human bodies, which should've been obvious by their enormous sizes.
A single Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon was already equivalent to roughly 300-500 humans.
After Leon refined the dark crimson dragon blood essences into origin blood, the drops of Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood took on a blood-violet color.
'I've underestimated how much origin blood I could obtain from a single Purple Coatl Dragon… With this many drops of origin blood, even I cannot tell how much I will advance my viscera-consolidation phase…' Leon mused.
'If my viscera-consolidation phase doesn't advance by leaps and bounds after this, I don't know else will.'
Leon took a few moments to prepare himself mentally before channeling the blood-violet pool of Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood into his body.
Shhh…!
The warm Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood quickly entered his body.
It spread throughout his viscera before a burning sensation filled his entire body, making him feel like his internal organs had been lit on fire.
However, it wasn't the actual burn of scorching fire but the pain from consolidating his inner organs.
On the other outside, Leon's skin glowed with redness as if his body temperature experienced a sharp rise, which is correct.
Pain wracked his entire body, making Leon wonder if the hellfire of purgatory was any worse than this.
He gritted his teeth and endured the torturous viscera-consolidating process.
Drops after drops of Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood blended with every inch of his viscera, consolidating it with dragon properties.
However, some parts of his veins and meridians couldn't take the drastic changes and nearly burst apart.
But before they could, Leon immediately channeled wisps of True Grandmist Energy over to assist the consolidation of his failing viscera.
With the help of True Grandmist Energy, the veins and meridians that nearly burst apart were reinforced, becoming more durable and sturdier than ever.
'The greater the pain, the greater the gain!'
Leon's eyes beamed at the significant changes taking place in his body despite the pain nearly knocking him out of his conscious state.
While his viscera were doused in Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood, his inner defense soared.
From 1.5-million jin, his inner defense soared to 3-million jin, 4-million jin, 5-million jin…
The momentum of his viscera's improvement showed no sign of slowing down as the viscera-consolidation process went on.
At that moment, he still had more than four-fifths of the Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood he refined.
If the process went on, there was no doubt he would achieve Rank 2 Body Transformation in the consolidating-viscera phase.
However, his reserve of True Grandmist Energy quickly depleted, forcing him to end his viscera-consolidation right there and then.
'Haiz, I'm forced to stop due to the lack of True Grandmist Energy again,' Leon sighed mentally.
'Still, I'm making good progress. The middle-stage of Rank 1 Body Transformation in the consolidating-viscera phase is not bad.'
'I better stock up on my reserve of True Grandmist Energy before I continue,' he mused.
He will need a much, much bigger reserve of True Grandmist Energy if he wants to absorb the origin blood from all two dozen Purple Coatl Dragon bodies.
After Leon built an ice cage to preserve the Purple Coatl Dragon bodies in his Worldspace, he constructed a large ice pool to contain the leftover origin blood he couldn't absorb all at once.
Then, he started planning their next course of action.
They had already stayed near the west shores for quite a while, and everyone had, more or less, made some good progress in their cultivation.
It was time to move on.
Leon's consciousness exited the Worldspace before he noticed Aria standing a short distance away with a clean wet cloth prepared for him to clean himself.
"Finished?" she asked.
"For now," Leon nodded with a smile and accepted her kind gesture, taking the wet cloth to clean himself.
At the same time, he glanced back at the blood-soaked ground from the waste residues of the Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood that his viscera could not absorb.
Shortly after, he shifted his gaze over to the dark faes and inspected their progress.
"Quite a few among the first group has reached Rank 5 Body Tempering while Saresha has even reached Rank 7 Body Tempering, huh?" he uttered.
Although their improvements could not compare to Darlene's, they were still much quicker than the average Body Cultivator in the Divine Realm.
Seeing that the medicine bath's effect was nearing depletion, Leon returned to the shoreline.
He used his power of Nihility to generate more wisps of True Grandmist Energy and dark energy from the seawater in the meantime.
Sometime later, the medicine bath's recovery effect was finally depleted, and the bottles of healing water had also been used up.
The newest group of dark faes only managed to reach Rank 2 Body Tempering before that happened and expressed their regret.
"There will be more chances to cultivate in the future," Leon stated before instructing the dark faes, "Pack your stuff. We're moving on from this area."
"Yes, my Lord!" the Dark Fae Clan complied.
Once everyone was ready, Leon led the group westward for a few miles before Aria suddenly furrowed her brows beside him after noticing something was off.
"This is strange…" she uttered.
"You also noticed too?"
"Mm."
Aria nodded after Leon asked her.
It wouldn't have been strange if they didn't find any humans near the Bone Sea.
But now that they were moving further away from it, logically, they should have encountered some humans already.
However, not a single human had been sighted thus far.
'What's going on, Tak-si? Is there not a single human in the western region?' Leon immediately turned to the realm spirit for answers.
Chapter 833 - Teleportation Array's Shocking Secret
"There are 420 humans in the western region, Master. It's just that the westernmost part of this region had attracted all of them over," Tak-si informed after materializing his spiritual form.
"Attracted to the westernmost part of this region?" Leon furrowed his brows and asked, "What's going on over there? Some peerless inheritance?"
"Nothing like that, Master," Tak-si shook his head.
"As Master can see, the western region is the most flourishing among the four regions in this secret realm. Not only is there lush green grass on the plains and trees in the forests, but there are also rivers running through this land."
"Wait, rivers? That means…" Leon immediately realized.
"That's right, Master," Tak-si nodded.
"The seawater in the Bone Sea comes from these rivers, which lead outside the Radiant Heaven Realmship. The sea monsters in the Bone Sea all entered the Radiant Heaven Realmship through these river channels."
"But even if there's an opening at the edge of the western region, why would it attract all the humans in the region towards it?" Aria frowned with doubts.
"They are fighting the sea monsters that are trying to come in from the Boundless Sea," Tak-si answered.
"Although I don't know much about a sea monster's taste, the humans seem to find their flesh to be a rare delicacy. Also, the sea monsters possess red monster cores, which contain a special type of energy that could be used for cultivation."
"Oh?" Leon was intrigued by the information.
Being cut off by the Extreme Misty Forest, the Crawford Empire had no access to the Boundless that exists beyond it.
As such, they always had little to no information on the sea monsters.
"Ah, right! I've almost forgotten, Master!" Tak-si suddenly exclaimed before mentioning, "Speaking of sea monsters, there's another factor that affects the demons' decision to close the secret realm."
"The sea monsters?" Leon guessed, thinking it was pretty apparent from the realm spirit, but the specifics remain unclear.
"Yes, Master," Tak-si admitted before saying, "Every year, a large sea monster tide would occur; countless sea monsters would enter Bone Sea."
"And this forces the demons to close the secret realm?" Darlene raised an eyebrow at that point.
"Yes, that's right," Tak-si affirmed.
"You don't understand how fearsome a sea monster tide can be, Miss. Even Arch Demons would have to flee in the face over such overwhelming numbers. Demons are nothing compared to the sea monsters of the Boundless Sea."
"But the danger of a sea monster tide is only related to any body of water, no? Can't the demons just get out of the Bone Sea? So why do they need to close the secret realm?"
Darlene furrowed her brows with confusion at these doubts she had.
"The best inheritances lie in the Bone Sea; the demons would not leave unless they are forced to at the last moment, and such moment is usually when the sea monsters reach the Bone Sea," Tak-si explained.
"But wouldn't it be too late for the demons to flee by then?" Aria wondered.
"Not at all," Tak-si shook his head.
"The high-tier Teleportation Array is capable of imprinting everyone's locations when they use it to enter the secret realm. Once it is activated again, everyone will be teleported out of the secret realm, no matter their locations."
When the dark faes heard such a thing from the great realm spirit, they immediately began searching their own bodies for whatever might appear to be the so-called imprint.
"Don't bother. You won't find such a thing on your physical bodies," Leon calmly stated before speculating, "It's more likely to be imprinted on your souls."
Nyfarella and the other dark faes gasped with surprise after hearing that.
"Do you understand how the Teleportation Array work, my Lord?" Saresha asked curiously.
"How can I understand the intricacy of a possible Tier-7 or above Teleportation Array? Not to mention it's one that I have yet to see," Leon replied while shaking his head.
While his runic understanding is gradually improving by the day, and without a doubt, improve even quicker with so many source materials to study from, he was still very far from understanding Tier-7 runes.
"But then… How can you be so sure that the imprint isn't on our physical bodies?" Nyfarella was taken aback by surprise.
"Through my inference, but of course, I can also be wrong," Leon replied.
"However, think about it; there are so many bones floating in the Bone Sea. There's no need to doubt that a portion of these bones came from demons and humans who have entered the previously secret realm openings."
"If the imprints were on their bodies, why weren't their remains teleported out of the secret realm during its closing? Well, you can argue that the imprint was on their flesh, but they were eaten by the sea monsters in the Bone Sea."
"If that was the case, why hasn't there been any records of raining sea monsters after the secret realm's closing? Furthermore, people could remove the imprints and stay in the secret realm indefinitely if it was so easy to locate and destroy."
"However, it's a completely different story if the imprint was on their soul. Once a person dies, their soul will naturally no longer remain in their corpse and leave, and so too will the imprint—"
As Leon explained his thought process, he suddenly paused and baffled everyone.
"Why did you stop, Leon?" Aria asked.
However, Leon didn't hear her, or he chose not to hear her; his mind was preoccupied with a sudden thought.
'If a person soul-imprinted by the Teleportation Array dies after entering the secret realm, the imprint wouldn't just disappear from the soul either…' Leon silently mused.
'Their bodies will be left behind, but their souls will still be anchored by the imprint and kicked out of the secret realm… Wouldn't that stop the soul from entering the cycle of reincarnation?'
'Even worse, the souls will be bound by the Teleportation Array… Is this how the Teleportation Array produces a Shaman King's Successor?! By infusing the countless souls of the deceased into a new person?!'
Leon was appalled by his speculation.
It would be strange if the Shaman King's Successors could live for long after such a forceful method of improving their soul!
Chapter 834 - Reaching The Underground Ruins
'If my guess is right, this kind of diabolical Teleportation Array should be destroyed!' Leon silently determined in his heart.
He had all the more reason not to let anyone close to him die in the secret realm.
"Sorry, I was thinking about something concerning related to the Teleportation Array. I'll explain on the way," Leon replied.
However, after they resumed moving for a short distance, Leon suddenly stopped again, baffling everyone.
"Why did you stop again?" Aria asked.
"We aren't heading for the western edge; we have a more important destination to reach," Leon answered her before asking the realm spirit for confirmation, "Is this the location, Tak-si?"
"Yes, Master. The underground ruins and core is located right under this land," the realm spirit replied.
"Understood," Leon acknowledged with a nod.
Not long after, he observed his surroundings and noticed it was quite an open space.
Everyone would see what was happening from a distance unless the area was walled off to obstruct their view, which was what he intended to do.
The surrounding ground began to shake alongside Leon's spread of earthen ability; he willed the earth and raised a rocky wall as high as 40 feet, not too tall nor too short, and completely sealed their surrounding.
"My Lord?" the dark faes were startled.
"I don't want prying eyes on what I'm about to do," Leon stated.
After hearing that, the dark faes immediately thought that even if he didn't want prying eyes, the rock wall's presence would eventually attract people over.
More importantly, what was the lord going to do? He's not going to kill them, is he?
Leon thought about the attraction the rocky wall would bring, but he didn't find it to be a problem.
Whether they are humans or demons, death would be their only outcome if they come looking for trouble in a place they are not welcomed.
Nevertheless, there was bound to be some noise.
"Guard the area, and immediately alert me if anyone comes."
"Yes, my Lord!"
Shortly after instructing the dark faes, Leon shared his thoughts on the Teleportation Array with Aria and Darlene while he dug into the earth with the power of Nihility.
While Aria listened, she watched him slowly sinking into the ground at a snail pace.
However, once Leon increased the range of his Nihility Law, he began sinking into the ground faster like quicksand.
The soil, the rocks, all pieces of the land underneath Leon's feet disintegrated into wisps of True Grandmist Energy like mist after coming into contact with Nihility.
Tak-si stared at the wisps of True Grandmist Energy with craving, but Leon didn't let a single wisp of True Grandmist Energy escape his grasp.
He devoured every wisp of it into his Black Vortex Space, and his low reserve of True Grandmist Energy increased noticeably.
From a few dozen wisps of True Grandmist Energy, it surged to several dozen wisps of True Grandmist Energy within a few short breaths.
Half an hour later, it increased to the hundreds.
At the same time, Leon descended more than 200 feet below ground, disappearing from Aria and Darlene's view.
All they could see was a 5-yard diameter large hole that stretched deeper and deeper into the earth until light could not reach its ever-growing depth.
"The Radiant Heaven Realmship's core is down there, huh?" Aria muttered with a thoughtful look.
She understood what Leon wanted to achieve by heading down there and could not help but feel rising anticipation for what's to become of the Radiant Heaven Realmship.
Once Leon binds the Radiant Heaven Realmship and repairs its spatial functions, they would have no need for the sinister Teleportation Array that collects and refines the souls of the deceased for the next Shaman King's Successor.
But while Aria understood Leon's intention, Darlene was completely clueless.
"What is Leon trying to achieve by digging down there, Sister Aria? Do you know?" she asked.
"I do. He is…" Aria suddenly smiled mysteriously before replying vaguely with a tease, "Well, you'll find out later."
Darlene pouted, but she chose not to press the topic.
"What should we do when humans or demons arrive? Leon didn't specify, but I doubt he would want to keep outsiders around to watch what we are doing here," she mentioned.
The primordial energy from the beginning of time was not something any major forces would ignore if news of it reached their ears.
However, she was even more curious about the power Leon used to produce the said energy.
"Of course, we'll shoo them all away, whether we do with words or with force," Aria firmly stated.
"You should know that what Leon has can easily incite the ugly greed of others who knows its value; even worse, they might even kill him if they understand the power he comprehended."
"Why would they try to kill him?" Darlene was puzzled by Aria's words.
She didn't understand why anyone would want to kill the goose if it could lay golden eggs, especially if they were powerful enough to do it.
"Because of the power he wields," Aria stated.
As if knowing what Darlene would ask next, she added, "But if you want to know the specifics of his power, you'll have to ask him yourself."
After hearing that, Darlene was even more curious.
…
Meanwhile, Leon continued to descend deeper and deeper into the earth, dropping more than five thousand feet and accumulating more than 3000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy in the past half hour.
If he wanted, he could descend even quicker—but it would come at the cost of True Grandmist Energy.
After all, increasing the intensity of the Nihility Law will destroy whatever True Grandmist Energy he could gain out of the earth.
Without trying to rush to the core, Leon kept the intensity of his Nihility Power at a consistent level.
Roughly more than two hours later, he descended past the 20,000 ft mark and broke into a vast underground space with more than 10,000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy.
Shortly after, he summoned a ball of fire to illuminate the dark space and reveal the underground ruins' appearance.