Chapter 849 - It's Our Business Now
"What!?"
The revelation on the 'black mountains' immediately shocked the entire upper echelon of the demon army.
"Oh, sh*t! Those mother f*cking black mountains are all dark wyrms?!"
"My god, that's got to be at least hundreds of them there!"
The Black Jackal and Red-horn Orc Arch Demons exclaimed.
"Heh, hundreds?" Yakshan snickered with slight ridicule before correcting the Red-horn Orc Arch Demon's blind guess, "More like that thousands!"
Gasp!
Numerous Arch Demons and Greater Demons immediately sucked in a deep breath after hearing the number of dark wyrms on the western shore was more significant than they imagined.
"But what are the dark wyrms doing here on the western side? Shouldn't they be in the Blacksand Desert in the south? They've never left that region before…"
"More importantly, do we proceed forward or go around them?" Yakshan sought the other clan leaders' opinions before adding, "Also, it seems that they have discovered our presence."
"They've discovered us, but they aren't attacking; perhaps they're not hostile towards us?" said Rakhama, the Red-horn Orc Arch Demon.
"The Dark Wyrm Clan has always been powerful among the dragon clans. If we can establish communication with them, it might be possible to have the Dark Wyrm Clan join our Starfall Dominion."
"That doesn't sound bad, but I'm afraid some dragons among us will be upset to see that happen," said Serpas, the Three-headed Serpent Arch Demon. "After all, it'll threaten their positions as the strongest dragon clan in the Starfall Dominion."
"Kekeke… Being the only dragon clan in the Starfall Dominion automatically makes them the strongest dragon clan. However, they can also similarly be the weakest strongest dragon clan," the Black Jackal Clan Leader chuckled derisively.
After the Purple Coatl Dragon Clan learned that the Noble Demon killed a small group of their clan members, they were already in a bad mood.
Now that the demons were viewing them as weaklings, their mood became even worse; anger boiled inside them.
"Shut up! The Purple Coatl Dragon Clan is not weak, nor are we afraid of the Dark Wyrm Clan! Hmph! My clan members were simply mismatched!" Durago, the Purple Coatl Dragon Clan Leader, snorted coldly.
"The Noble Demon only knew how to pick on my weaker clans member! If the Noble Demon had faced me, I would have sent him running with his tail between his legs!"
"Hah, whatever you say," the Arch Demons did not believe Durago's boisterous claim.
"In any case, your Purple Coatl Dragon Clan is still a clan of dragons. Perhaps you can communicate with the dark wyrms and see if we can reach an agreement," the Black Jackal Clan Leader suggested.
"That's a great idea," Yakshan supported the idea.
"If the Noble Demon truly did inherit the Eternal Night Demon Emperor's bloodline, we will need all the extra help we can get—especially if it's help from a powerful dragon clan."
"You bastards… You're trying to send my dragon clan to our deaths!" Durago gritted his sharp fangs.
"I thought you said you weren't afraid of the Dark Wyrm Clan? It's apparent to me that you are cowering right now," the Black Jackal Clan Leader said with amusement, clearing fanning the flames.
However, Evil Eye Yakshan interjected with a strong tone, "Enough, Lord Basimir! We will follow right behind the Purple Coatl Dragon Clan and assist them if the unexpected happens."
"Is that agreeable with you, Lord Durago?" Evil Eye Yakshan asked.
"Hmph!" Durago replied with a snort.
Shortly after, the Arch Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon took the lead with his clan members.
…
"They're coming towards us, Lord Shadowtail," Nightingale informed while gazing into the distance with sharp eyes.
"So it seems."
Shadowtail also glanced at the demon army at sea, but his gaze was more casual and calm; he did not view the demon army as a serious threat.
"We'll wait and see what they want," Shadowtail stated.
"Understood," the dark wyrms acknowledged the order.
A short while later, the Purple Coat Dragon Clan reached the shoreline and appeared in front of the Dark Wyrm Clan while the rest of the Nine Great Clans and the demon army followed not far behind.
"Hm?"
Yakshan deeply furrowed his brows upon noticing the shoreline seemed to have receded quite a far bit as if the Bone Sea lost an inexplicable amount of seawater.
"What is it, Lord Yakshan?" Serpas asked.
However, Evil Eye Yakshan shook his head, disinterested in continuing the topic while a more important matter was before them.
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it," Evil Eye Yakshan said.
…
"You've got a lot of courage to approach my great Dark Wyrm Clan, demons. I'll commend you for that. Speak! What do you want?" Shadowtail spoke with a deep and intimidating voice.
In that instance, several Arch Demons and Greater Demons' hearts shook with shock.
High-rank Arch Demon!
"In the past, the Dark Wyrm Clan was a devoted follower of the Eternal Night Demon Emperor…" Durago started to speak, "Your clan worked with other demons in the faction for the Eternal Night Demon Emperor's great cause…"
"Although our ancestors failed, I wonder if the Dark Wyrm Clan is interested enough to revive the old bonds our ancestors shared and walk alongside the demons once more—just like us of the Purple Coatl Dragon Clan?"
Durago inquired shortly after.
"How audacious!" Shadowtail thundered with a mighty voice, "Do you think the demons behind you can compare to the Eternal Night Demon Empress?!"
"You know nothing of the Eternal Night Demon Empress's origins, yet you dare utter her name so carelessly! The Dark Wyrm Clan is not interested in the business of ignorant buffoons! Get lost!"
"Y-yes! Right away, Lord Dark Wyrm!" Durago and the others complied with a paled face.
Since negotiations failed at the get-go, not a single Arch Demon dared to test the High-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm's patience.
"Halt!" Shadowtail suddenly said.
The demons immediately halted as ordered before Durago carefully asked, "Do you need something, my Lord?"
"Why are you all heading to the west?" Shadowtail interrogated with sharp eyes that seem capable of piercing through all their lies.
"This… We are pursuing a human who has become a Noble Demon, my Lord. As the sacred ground of the Eternal Night Demon Emper—Er… Empress, how can we let her inheritance fall into the hands of a mere human?"
"Oh? A human Noble Demon, you say?" Shadowtail's eyes glinted before he uttered, "How dare he, huh?"
"Right?" Durago's eyes brightened before he excitedly said, "How can a mere human be worthy of the Eternal Night Demon Empress's inheritance? We should kill this bastard together!"
"Dark Wyrm Clan, listen up! Kill all these damn demons; spare none alive for me!" Shadowtail erupted furiously.
"Yes, Lord Shadowtail!" the dark wyrms complied, shaking the entire area with their united and mighty voice.
All the demons were immediately stunned on the spot before they quickly became horrified by the sudden turn of the situation.
"Y-Your Excellency?! Why do you want to kill all of us?! I thought you said you weren't interested in our business?!"
"I couldn't give a rat ass what businesses you have in this sub-realm! But since you all want to kill the Lord and benefactor of my Dark Wyrm Clan, you just made it our business!"
"Kill them all!" Shadowtail roared.
Chapter 850 - The One Sided Slaughter
When the demons heard the High-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm's cold and merciless order, they all felt a chill in their hearts and immediately knew that they had all f*cked up.
The High-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm was completely serious.
"F*ck!"
Boom!
Durago, the Low-rank Arch Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon, made the slightest movement to escape before his entire body was swat flying into the sky in the next moment!
None of the Low-rank Arch Demons could even see the High-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm's movement.
There was an explosion of wind and sound in one moment, and Lord Durago disappeared from their sight in the next moment!
The sheer wind pressure even pushed all of them back, sweeping them far away with the seawater like one big tidal wave!
Swoosh…!
"Is... Is this the strength of a High-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm?! It's so terrifying…!"
Yakshan strained his eyes open as he was carried away by the blast of wind along with everyone who came with him.
The display of 70-million jin strength was horrendous to behold!
As the powerful wave swept the demons further away, Yakshan and the other Arch Demons gradually saw Durago's huge dragon body rising high in the sky and piercing the veil of dark clouds that loomed over them!
Ding!
Sometime later, they heard a distant yet resounding bang as if Durago's body struck the absolute ceiling of the secret realm before falling back down.
Splash!
The Low-rank Arch Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon eventually splashed heavily in the Bone Sea, sending an enormous column of seawater rising into the sky!
Yakshan and the other demons were swept far away from the region at that point.
But if they were still present, they would have found all of the bones and organs in Durago's body shattered beyond belief.
A Low-rank Arch Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon was killed just like that!
At the same time, the entire Dark Wyrm Clan was hot on the demons' pursuit, having dived into the Bone Sea and riding the huge waves with them!
They were far from being safe!
"Nooo—!"
A group of Greater Demons cried before they were devoured whole into the belly of a Mid-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm.
After being swept several miles off the west coast, huge explosions of water erupted chaotically throughout the area in the Bone Sea.
The hungry dark wyrms chewed their way through the demons' army as the Greater Demons and Arch Demons fought back desperately.
"I don't believe it! I refuse to believe the Dark Wyrm Clan alone can wipe us all out! We have more than 90 Low-rank Arch Demons and 320 Half-step Arch Demons!" another Arch Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon roared furiously.
"All members of the Purple Coatl Dragon Clan, listen up! Avenge our Clan Leader! Even if we have to die here, we'll take these mother f*cking dark wyrms down with us! Show them the pride of the Purple Coatl Dragons!"
ROAR!
All the present members of the Purple Coatl Dragon Clan gave a unified and deafening roar that shook the sea and skies, stunning even the souls of Greater Demon-level Dark Wyrms!
"We will join the Purple Coatl Dragon Clan!"
"All members of my Three-headed Serpent Clan, listen up! Follow the Purple Coatl Dragon Clan's lead and slay these mother f*cking dark wyrms who have thrown away their dragon pride to serve a mere human—!"
Boom…!
Shortly after the Three-headed Serpent Clan's leader, Serpas spoke, Nightingale swam swiftly in the Bone Sea, sending shock waves underwater as she accelerated and headbutted right into his main body with a force that wasn't inferior to Shadowtail!"
Without a doubt, Serpas's fate was sealed after being struck by the force of 70-million—no, 75-million jin!
The seawater parted as the Three-headed Serpent Arch Demon's mashed body flew out of the water.
Boom, boom, boom…!
Its mashed body generated rings of explosions as it broke the sound barrier in its ascend, eventually disappearing through the veil of dark clouds in the sky and never coming back down—or at the very least, not any time soon.
Serpas's mashed body had splattered on the secret realm's ceiling with a big bang!
"Another High-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm!" the surviving Arch Demons' expression turned even more horrid at the revelation.
There were only roughly 50 Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms among the 2300 other Greater Demon-level Dark Wyrms, but they were all at the Mid-rank to High-rank!
"S-such a power…! You're all from the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's tomb! Why are you all doing this?! Why do you serve a mere human with such power?!"
Lord Rakhama, the Red-horn Orc Arch Demon, roared with desperation.
The discovery of the Dark Wyrm Clan's true strength drove even the bravest of the demons into despair and broke their fighting spirits.
"We can't win this battle; it's impossible! Quickly flee! Get the news back to the Teleportation Array! Get the person in charge to send us all back to the Starfall Dominion!" Rakhama roared.
However, the dark wyrms drastically reduced the demon army's numbers and gave them little-to-no chance of escaping!
They were just sitting ducks in the water, waiting to be killed!
At the same time, the colossal commotion drew the attention of other demons and humans from all directions.
…
In the western region, Darlene and Aria flew straight on top of the rock walls and gazed into the eastern direction the very moment they felt the first commotion.
"Tak-si, are you there? You're there, right? What's going on over there?" Aria sought the realm spirit for answers.
She could see the enormous black mountain-like figures of the dark wyrms in the distance, but she wasn't sure who they were fighting.
In fact, it wasn't hard for her to guess it was the demons; she just wasn't exactly sure of their exact numbers and strength.
"Dark Wyrm Clan is slaughtering the main demon forces, Master's wife," Tak-si replied.
"Eh? Master's wife?" Aria blushed sweetly.
The realm spirit sure knows how to make her happy.
Nevertheless, she quickly shook her head and said, "Why did they fight? Send me over there to see. You can do that much for me, right?"
"Send me too," Darlene quickly added.
Chapter 851 - Extremely Sturdy Teleportation Array
Swish!
In the blink of an eye, Aria and Darlene both disappeared before reappearing next to Shadowtail on the west shore.
"What the f—"
Without a surprise, Shadowtail was startled by their sudden presence
"Ah, it's you two," Shadowtail quickly recognized them and sweated, having nearly swatted the both of them to death with its tail out of reflex.
"Where is Lord Leon, if I may ask, miladies?" Shadowtail inquired.
"I don't know; he had something to do," Aria shook her head before saying, "However, if you really need to reach him, Senior, you can seek the realm spirit's assistance to connect you to him."
"More importantly, what's going on here?" Aria asked shortly after.
Aria and Darlene both tried to narrow their eyes to observe the situation in the Bone Sea, but the distance made it difficult for them to see clearly.
"Ah, nothing to worry about, miladies. Just some imbeciles who had ill-intentions against Lord Leon, so I sent my clansmen to punish them all with death," Shadowtail answered.
"You don't hesitate to slaughter demons, huh?" Darlene casually commented.
Shortly after, her gaze fell on a Purple Coatl Dragon's corpse floating on the water surface amidst hundreds of other dead sea monsters who were unfortunate enough to be caught in the attack.
"And other dragon species too," she added.
"Lord Leon is our Dark Wyrm Clan's hope and future. Anyone who wishes to harm our Lord will have to pay the ultimate price for it," Shadowtail casually said with a firm look, "And we don't have any care for dragon clans that are not our own."
"Hoh? But you seem quite eager to serve; perhaps, a little too eager," Aria mentioned while looking at Shadowtail with a thoughtful look.
Under her knowing look, Shadowtail failed to keep a solemn expression and smiled awkwardly.
"Please stop looking at me like that, milady," Shadowtail requested wryly.
It wasn't strange for the entire Dark Wyrm Clan to eagerly serve Leon after what he had shown them—the great potential that dwells in their dragon blood.
"Everyone is trying to contribute in hopes that Lord Leon would reward us with more blood-refinement sessions," Shadowtail explained.
"I see," Aria smiled.
She wasn't surprised to hear that.
…
Meanwhile, the battle of unprecedented chaos and commotion in the Bone Sea spread like wildfire in every direction.
Whether the other humans and demons were busy fighting each other or challenging uncleared tombs, everyone felt the disturbance in the Bone Sea and had their curiosity drawn to it.
…
While many things were going on in the secret realm for everyone, Leon continued to accumulate energy in the depths of the Bone Sea while being fully aware of the situation on the surface.
'I didn't expect the Dark Wyrm Clan to try and exterminate the demons so thoroughly… I underestimate their desire to awaken their bloodline…" Leon mused with a wry smile.
He silently observed everything with the realm spirit's omniscience like a god before he noticed the remnant forces of the main demon army successfully fled from the Dark Wyrm Clan's encirclement.
Even though the demons in the upper echelons of the Nine Great Clans were all slaughtered, their last orders successfully transferred to the Greater Demons rushing towards the Bone Sea's central region.
"I'll be back in a bit," Leon suddenly said to the busy Duna in the distance.
"Where are you—"
Swish!
Before Duna could finish asking where he was going, he had already instructed Tak-si to teleport him and disappeared.
"Hmph! How dare you leave before I finish talking to you, Leon!" Duna shouted grudgingly with a grumpy mood.
She vented her frustration by hissing at a Low-rank Arch Demon-level sea monster, and surprisingly, it flinched before swimming away.
"Heh," Duna snickered with a victorious look.
"So after devouring more than 300 souls from these Low-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters, they finally know what fear is, huh? That's right! Flee, flee as far as you can! Big fish, small fish; you should all be afraid of me!"
Duna threw a little tantrum as she chased away the Low-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters with just her underwater voice.
However, after cooling her head, she frowned at her own stupidity.
"Why did I chase them all away? Now I have no one to play with until Leon gets back… I guess it's true that stupidity is contagious; you hang with stupid people too much, you become stupid like them," Duna blamed Leon for her thoughtless actions.
Shortly after, she glanced down at the deeper depths of the Bone Sea and decided to challenge the Mid-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters down below.
Low-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters were no longer a challenge for her.
At the same time, Leon saw and heard everything Duna said through the realm spirit's omniscience, even after he arrived in the Bone Sea's central region.
"Damn, why did you have to blame me when you've been killing beings of lesser intelligence than me?" Leon's lips twitched.
F*ck, why was he even comparing himself to Low-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters in terms of intelligence, anyway?
Goddammit.
"W-Who are you?! When did you get there?!" a sudden stern shout resounded in the area.
He shifted his gaze to the source and found a Peak-rank Greater Demon glaring at him while he was standing on top of their large Teleportation Array, which took on the appearance of a large circular stone gate.
After glancing around, he also noticed hundreds of other Greater Demons gathered in the area, all glaring at him warily.
Leon had appeared out of thin air like a ghost.
"Sup, mother f*ckers. It's ya boi, Leon, here to crash the party," Leon greeted the angry Greater Demons.
In the next moment, he raised his feet and stomped down hard on the circular-gate Teleportation Array in an attempt to shatter it in one go.
Boom!
A resounding bang shook the entire Teleportation Array, even causing some Greater Demons standing on its platform to lose their balance and fall into the water.
However, Teleportation Array remained perfectly fine while his feet, on the other hand, suffered numbness from his own attack.
"Ahem, this is much sturdier than it looks," Leon coughed.
"Kill this f*cking joker!"
Chapter 852 - Kicking Nearly Everyone Out
The demons didn't know where Leon came from, but they no longer cared—not when they realized what he was trying to do; destroy the Teleportation Array!
"Kill him! Stop him! Whatever you do, don't let him destroy the gate!" a Mid-rank Evil Eye Greater Demon barked.
Even without the Evil Eye Greater Demon's instruction, the other Greater Demons and Lesser Demons already rushed into action, charging at Leon from all directions.
They didn't know his capabilities, but they weren't going to risk the destruction of the gate!
"Die!"
A winged demon from one of the lower-ranking demon clans was the first to reach Leon as it attacked with its silver trident.
However, Leon immediately mobilized the dark energy of his Mid-stage Heaven Ascension Realm cultivation, suppressing all the demons at the Mid-rank Greater Demon level and below.
The winged demon's attack drastically slowed in that instance before Leon sidestepped the trident and gave a lethal kick to the winged demon's head!
Puchi!
The winged demon didn't have time to react before Leon's kick shattered its skull and crushed its brains, killing it one shot.
"N-noble Demon! He's the Noble Demon!" a High-rank Greater Demons shouted with alarm.
"What! How did the Noble Demon get here?!"
"Shouldn't the Noble Demon be in the western region?! Did he snuck past the Nine Great Clan's demon army?!"
The revelation immediately shocked the other High-rank and Peak-rank Greater Demons.
The Noble Demon's strength was suspected to be at least at the Arch Demon-level!
None of them was the Noble Demon's opponent!
Alas, Leon did not wait for the demons to recover from their shock; he immediately started slaughtering through their ranks and clearing the site!
All the suppressed Mid-rank Greater Demons and under died like chickens on the chopping board, defenseless and unable to resist!
Nevertheless, Leon focused his attention elsewhere while he slaughtered the demons with his Tier-7 White Spear.
His divine sense covered the entire area, but he could sense how the Teleportation Array collected the souls of the demons he killed.
This made him almost doubt his own suspicions on the Teleportation Array!
However, although he failed to sense how the Teleportation Array collected the souls, he could feel the Teleportation Array's changes with every kill.
It was growing—or rather, the grey crystal orb on it was growing; its aura became denser by the moment.
'This crystal orb must be the containment for the souls,' Leon quickly determined.
"Quick, activate the gate! The Dark Wyrm Clan is slaughtering us all—!" a distant cry was heard from the western direction.
"Activate the gate! Hurry! Everyone is dying!"
The demons in the central sea region heard the distant cry again before those on the outer edge of the crowd turned to see a group of disheveled demons swimming their way like they were fleeing for their lives.
"Hurry—!"
The fleeing group of Greater Demons urged desperately, but the demons in charge of the gate didn't heed their instruction immediately.
Unless they had confirmed the beginning of the sea monster tide or received orders from one of the Nine Great Clans' leaders, they wouldn't operate the gate.
And even if they wanted to, they couldn't—at least, not with the Noble Demon guarding it.
"Where are the elders and clan leaders?" a Two-headed Cyclops Lesser Demon inquired.
"Are you all deaf?! Activate the gate at once!" the desperate demons barked furiously, "The Nine Great Clans' leaders and elders are all dead, killed by the Dark Wyrm Clan! And if we don't leave, we'll all die shortly as well!"
Even with spit and phlegm flying in their faces, the demons in the central sea region didn't feel the same urgency.
However, that only lasted until they saw the giant dark wyrms slaughtering their way over in the distance.
"The dark wyrms are here!" the fleeing demons glanced at their rear with horrid looks of despair.
Very shortly, all the demons in the western part of the central region began swimming madly to the inner sea region.
…
Meanwhile, Leon reattempted to destroy the Teleportation Array, but his Tier-7 White Spear only managed to chip away Teleportation Array's earthen layer.
Underneath it was an incredibly sturdy metal layer that even his Tier-7 White Spear could barely put a scratch on.
"Heck, how hard is this thing?" Leon uttered with shock.
No doubt, the Teleportation Array's second layer was made of Tier-8 materials or even higher!
"Is this starcore iron?! Starcore iron, a grade-6 material, can be this tough after being enchanted with runic powers?!" Leon wondered.
However, he quickly abandoned that idea.
The hints of brown and red on the black metal layer revealed that it wasn't made of pure starcore iron but a composition of multiple alloys.
While pondering on a solution for the Teleportation Array's destruction, Leon slaughtered every demon that came close to the Teleportation Array.
Eventually, the demons stopped coming at him, completely afraid and intimidated after understanding it wasn't possible to defeat him.
'These demons are slowly being driven into a corner with the dark wyrms closing in on their rear… but there's no need to kill all these demons here… They might have other uses… I'll just pretend to send everyone back with the Teleportation Array before I destroy it,' Leon mused.
Shortly after, he put on a play in front of them before mentally instructing the realm spirit.
'Except for the Dark Fae Clan, Aria, Darlene, Duna, send back all the other demons and humans who have entered the secret realm together, Tak-si.'
'Yes, Master!' Tak-si quickly complied.
Swish!
All the demons around Leon disappeared from his sight in the next moment.
The realm spirit mass-teleported them back to the Starfall Dominion along with the other humans and demons scattered across the secret realm.
"I planned to let the humans explore the secret realm a bit longer, but they're just going to end up fighting each other when they return to the Infertile Plains and join the battle for hegemony…" Leon muttered to himself.
It was the perfect opportunity to boot everyone out with minimal suspicion.
Chapter 853 - The Terrifying Eternal Flame
The Teleportation Array was extremely sturdy, but Leon was not without any means.
After sending out the humans and demons, he immediately took out the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp and rubbed it, summoning the powerful White Luminosity Eternal Flame contained within.
Swish!
A small orb of brilliant white flames dripped from the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp before Leon quickly resealed the rest of the eternal flame back inside the lamp and lept away from the Teleportation array.
In that instance, the single small orb of White Luminosity Eternal Flame landed on the Teleportation Array's platform.
Then, it erupted with brilliance, quickly melting away the sturdy alloy layer like it was nothing when Leon could hardly damage it.
The White Luminosity Eternal Flame reduced the remnant earthen layer into ashes and melted the sturdy alloy into liquid, ruining the runic circuits inscribed on it.
It ate away at the Teleportation Array like a corrosive acid.
Gulp!
Leon watched everything unfold attentively without minding his burnt palm from holding the hot lamp.
He knew the White Luminosity Eternal Flame was terrifying, but seeing it in action was even more terrifying!
"So powerful!" he exclaimed.
Within several breaths, the Teleportation Array was no more.
The ashes scattered into the Bone Sea, and the melted alloy rapidly cooled in the seawater, becoming solid again, while the orb of souls slowly sunk.
Leon's eyes flickered before he dived into the Bone Sea to retrieve it.
At the same time, the White Luminosity Eternal Flame continued to burn on top of the sea surface, boiling the Bone Sea with scorching temperatures as countless black steam rose into the skies.
'Truly worthy of being called an eternal flame,' Leon thought.
After retrieving the orb of souls, which felt surprisingly heavy in his hand, Leon returned to the surface and watched the White Luminosity Eternal Flame burn.
It did not show any sign of diminishing in its strength.
The White Luminosity Eternal Flame did not grow in size, but the radius of the boiling water slowly spread without stopping.
Soon, even the weakest kinds of sea monsters, the corpse-eating fish, began to float to the sea surface, dead and cooked while its flesh exuded a pleasant aroma.
Leon decided to pick up one of the Corpse-eating fish and examined it.
The corpse-eating fish's flesh was super tender and succulent, oozing with juicy goodness with just a slight squeeze, while its pleasant aroma made it extremely appetizing.
Leon didn't find harmful properties in its flesh despite its mutation, but the small monster core inside practically made its organs inedible.
"These organs will have side effects due to the artificial spirit energy, but the flesh is free of it, making it completely safe for consumption," Leon determined.
Afterward, he tore off a piece of flesh and ate it before his eyes immediately sparkled with delight.
"This taste is… heavenly!" Leon exclaimed.
It did not cross his mind that fish could taste great without spirit cooking with special herbs and seasoning.
The corpse-eating fish would definitely be a heavenly delicacy that sells like hotcakes once he introduces it in the Crawford Empire.
Nevertheless, Leon did not focus too much on the corpse-eating fish.
The entire Bone Sea would probably reach a boiling point if he just left the White Luminosity Eternal Flame burning in it.
Leon eventually retrieved the orb of White Luminosity Eternal Flame with the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp while suffering burns again in the process.
The Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp was simply too hot with every use.
However, Leon did not even bother to treat his burns as his body's natural regeneration restored his hands to perfect states.
Not long after, Leon teleported back to Duna's side.
…
…
…
Meanwhile, in the heart of the Starfall Dominion, commonly referred to as the demon territory, humans and demons returned after getting booted by Leon.
Demons fell onto their heavenly stairway that floated above the abyss while the humans landed on the edges of it
None of them returned to their exact spot prior to the secret realm's opening, but they weren't far from it either.
"Good job, whoever closed the secret realm. You certainly saved my hide," a Mid-rank Greater Demon sighed with relief.
Just moments ago, he was literally half a breath away from being eaten by a dark wyrm.
"Thank god we finally made it out of that hell. What a terrible experience that was."
"Tell me about it… Our Nine Great Clans' leaders and elders all died to the dark wyrms…"
Most of the demons did not suspect anything despite their evident disappointment in the secret realm's closing.
However, the humans were completely upset by it.
"Ahh, goddammit! Why are we out here?! Did the secret realm close already ?!"
"F*ck! I was so close to becoming a Battle King! Why did it close so soon?!"
"Bloody hell! I was just in the middle of conquering an Arch Demon-level Tomb!"
Angry curses and comments spread throughout the crowd of humans, but it didn't take long before the demons' situation caught their attention.
Rumble…!
Cracks quickly spread across the heavenly stairway before ultimately crumbling altogether, causing the demons to lose their footing and plunge into the abyss with the broken heavenly stairway.
"Ahhh! Nooo!"
Numerous demons cried out of fear as they took their fall while the more quick-witted ones immediately grabbed onto the winged demons.
But alas, too many demons thought the same thing and dragged the winged demons into the abyss with them.
"Y-you f*cking idiots…! Let go of me—Ahhh!" the winged demons cried.
Boom…!
A series of heavy impacts sounded like thunderclaps after everything dropped to the bottom of the abyss.
Some demons died, but many did not.
"It's a bummer that the secret realm closed so soon, but there's an opportunity to wipe out the demons before us completely," a tribal chief uttered.
"Are you insane?" an Extremity-rank Battle Master retorted.
"This is the center of the demon's territory! We should quickly get out of here before they overwhelm us with their numbers and strength!"
"Hah, didn't you hear them talk earlier? I don't know what happened, but all their clan leaders and elders died! They should be extremely weak right now!" the tribal chief argued.
Chapter 854 - Danger In The Abyss
"This… is it true? What if it's the demon's ploy to lure us in?" another tribal chief doubted, but it was clear that he was having second thoughts after listening.
"Can anyone sense the demons' strength?" a Peak-rank Battle Master sought the others for answers, "What's the strongest demon among them? If they don't have any Arch Demons, we might stand a chance."
"Idiot. It's completely dark down there. What makes you think we can gauge the demons' strength if we can't even see them?" a Half-step Battle King ridiculed the Peak-rank Battle Master.
However, it was true that the main force of the demon's territory, the Nine Great Clans, had been severely weakened on their trip to the secret realm.
At that moment, they did not have a single Arch Demon or Half-step Arch Demon among them; only a few Peak-rank Greater Demons survived the Dark Wyrm Clan's onslaught.
…
"Young Master, what should we do?" a Half-step Battle King from the Battle God Palace awaited his young lord's decision.
Zion furrowed his brows and pondered.
"The demon's territory is a place we know little to nothing about; the same goes for its inhabitants' strengths," Zion slowly mentioned.
"If we want to conquer the demon's territory, it won't be easy as others assume."
"Even if it is true that the demons suffered disastrous losses in the secret realm, Young Master?" an Extremity-rank Battle Master servant asked.
However, Zion replied to his servant with another question, "If we got wiped out in the secret realm, do you think it would affect the Battle God Palace's strength much?"
"Erm… No, Young Master," the servant answered.
The Battle God Palace has many active Battle Kings within their ranks.
Whether they lose a small group of Battle Masters or not would not even diminish their overall power.
"Nevertheless, our human side has also suffered significant losses in the secret realm," Zion mentioned while glancing at the remaining warriors on their side.
They entered the secret realm with roughly 2000 warriors, yet barely two-thirds of them have returned.
When Zion failed to locate some people among the various tribes, he knitted brows but did not dwell on it for the time being.
"We'll see what the other tribes say and make our decision accordingly," Zion stated.
"Yes, Young Master!" the Battle God Palace servants answered.
…
"Has anyone seen Young Master Leonhardt?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman inquired through the crowd with Chief Baskara and the Crimsonfog Tribesmen.
However, they receive negative responses.
While searching through the crowd, they eventually bumped into the Darkmoon Tribe's people.
"Ah, Chief Valencia! I haven't seen you and your tribe members throughout the trip in the secret realm. Glad to see you are doing," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman greeted before asking, "Have you seen Young Master Leonhardt?"
"I haven't; neither inside the secret realm nor outside it seems," Chief Valencia shook her before she had a sudden thought, "Perhaps, Young Master Leonhardt has…"
"That's not possible!" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was quick to reject the idea that Young Master Leonhardt died in the secret realm.
"There's no way someone like Young Master Leonhardt could have fallen inside the secret realm. This Old Man had been with him and seen what he could do; trust me when I say that it did not seem like there was nothing he could not accomplish."
"But it remains true that Young Master Leonhardt is absent…" Chief Valencia mentioned with a worried frown.
Young Master Leonhardt's very existence carried too much importance for the Seven Tribes Alliance's future.
She couldn't imagine how they could compete with the other tribes without Young Master Leonhardt's means, especially since her Darkmoon Tribe barely made any fruitful gains in the secret realm.
"We'll have to start making plans without Young Master Leonhardt," Chief Valencia stated while rubbing her forehead with distress. "I believe we should head back to our tribes right away."
"Although I believe Young Master Leonhardt is alive, I'll have to agree with you, Chief Valencia," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded in agreement.
Given Young Master Leonhardt's capability, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman trusted Young Master Leonhardt would have no problem leaving the demon's territory on his own later.
Young Master Leonhardt must have found a secret method to prolong his stay inside the secret realm—that was what the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman believed.
"We've been away from our tribes for many days," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shortly said.
"There's no telling how far the four King-rank tribes have escalated the situation during our absence. Perhaps, they have already started the battle for hegemony."
"We'll gather our people and leave right away, Senior One-Eye," Chief Valencia stated.
There is no point joining the other tribes in conquering the demon's territory when there's a chance that their tribes are getting caught in the Infertile Plains' battle for hegemony.
As several tribes decided to leave the demon's territory, those who wanted to conquer the land clicked their tongues with disappointment.
"Tch, what a waste of an opportunity," a tribal chief from the western region uttered.
"Looks like we'll be leaving as well," Zion said to his servants.
"So it seems, Young Master," Uncle Jizo replied to his young lord before adding, "Not a bad choice in this humble servant's opinion."
"The demon's territory extends far beyond our reach. It's best not to stir the hornet's nest when the Infertile Plains still has its problems to sort out."
"Right," Zion nodded.
…
…
…
After the humans departed from the edge of the abyss, demon cries rang from within the depths of the abyss.
"O-oh, no! W-we've fallen into the abyss…!" the demons exclaimed with horrified expressions.
"W-we've trespassed on sacred grounds…! Please spare us, my Lord! This was an accident! We did not bring any offerings this time!"
"You know my rule…! Since you didn't bring any offerings on your visit, you shall become the offerings instead…!"
A deep and powerful voice resounded from underneath the land.
Shortly after, numerous fleshly tentacles quickly shot out from the rubbles and grabbed hold of the demons before dragging them into the depth of the abyss.
"Nooo—! I don't want to die!"
Chapter 855 - Crystallized Soul Core
"You can't do this, my Lord! W-we are your followers—!"
The demons tried to reason with the hidden being in the fallen outer space debris beneath the rubbles of earth, but the hidden being did not listen to any of them.
As more fleshly tentacles shot out from the ground and captured the demons one by one, they knew that the being they worshipped and entrusted to safeguard the Starfall Dominion from other territories was determined to eat them all.
"Run if you don't want to die! The Lord has gone mad!" a Mid-rank Greater Demon shouted.
The demons in the abyss didn't hesitate to flee; they scrambled and climbed their way out desperately as their life depended on it, literally.
However, the being's fleshly tentacles were fast and versatile like whips; once caught by them, their lives would be forfeited.
Only Arch Demons would have a chance of escaping from the being's terrifying tentacles.
Nevertheless, there were thousands of demons and only so many fleshly tentacles the being could produce at once; a portion of the demons will definitely escape successfully.
However, who lives and who dies all depends on luck.
…
…
…
Meanwhile, Leon returned to Duna's location, unaware of the changes in the outside world after he kicked the humans and demons out.
At that moment, Duna was busy challenging the Mid-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters without any disadvantage or advantages.
It was a stalemate.
The difference between Low-rank Arch Demon-level beings and Mid-rank Arch Demon-level beings was not small.
Nevertheless, she quickly noticed Leon's return after sensing the spatial fluctuations.
"Where did you go?" Duna questioned him with a grumpy tone.
Evidently, Duna was still unhappy about the previous matter of him leaving abruptly without waiting for her to finish speaking.
However, Leon did not answer her question in words.
Instead, he waited for good timing to toss the crystal orb in her direction, which she quickly noticed.
"Hm?"
Duna distanced herself from the Mid-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters and shooed them away with Banshee Scream before catching the grey crystal orb.
"What is…" Duna was about to ask when her eyes widened with astonishment, "Where did you get something like this?"
"From the other half of the Teleportation Array that brought us to this secret realm," Leon casually said before adding, "I'm quite certain it contains a lot of souls, but do you know what it is?"
Judging by her reaction, he could tell she understood more about the crystal orb than he did.
"You grabbed this thing and simply gave it to me without knowing what it is?" Duna glanced at Leon speechlessly.
At the same time, Leon immediately guessed the crystal orb was much more valuable than he gave it credit for.
However, he showed no concern even after understanding that much.
"Well, you needed souls, so I went and fetched you some souls," Leon shrugged nonchalantly before asking, "Is that a problem?"
"No problem," Duna smiled before saying, "But I wonder if you can remain nonchalant after I say this is the crystallized form of a soul core?"
"A crystallized soul core? No wonder it can contain souls…" Leon muttered with surprise.
It wasn't difficult to understand that a soul core contains soul energy.
"However, I've never heard or even seen a crystallized soul core like this before…" Leon mentioned his doubt.
Everyone can inspect their soul core with a bit of practice.
However, the soul core that exists inside everyone's sea of consciousness was incorporeal; it did not have any physical properties at all.
"Of course, you wouldn't," Duna stated as a matter of fact before adding, "Did you think this crystallized soul core is something common?"
"Judging by its sturdiness, it has to be the crystallized soul core of a Demon King-level being at the very least, and not just any Demon King-level being either," she added.
"A Demon King-level soul cultivator, I assume?" Leon guessed.
"Right," Duna nodded.
"Because the world doesn't have any true soul cultivation methods, any soul cultivation will build impurity over time until it crystalizes like this solid soul core."
"Soul cultivation is all about quantity since we can't increase quality without a pure soul cultivation method. So once a soul cultivator achieves crystallization, their path on soul cultivation is as good as coming to an end."
"Because the size of the soul core becomes fixed after crystallization, huh?" Leon comprehended.
"Exactly," Duna nodded before she stared at him like she was staring at a fool and asked with an impish smile, "So? Feeling regretful yet?"
"Why should I?" Leon responded nonchalantly.
Duna was immediately stunned by his lack of emotion; it was not the kind of reaction she was hoping to see from him.
"Don't you know what this means? This crystallized soul core is a priceless resource for soul cultivation! If you digest all the soul energy inside, your soul could reach the same heights as a Demon King!"
"Isn't that even better for you?" Leon replied.
"You… I don't know what to say… Are you even aware of what you are saying? You're willing to hand over such an opportunity to me?"
Duna looked at Leon speechlessly, failing to understand Leon could remain calm in front of such evident temptation.
"You know, if I presented this opportunity in front of other people, they would even kill their own families for the chance to obtain it. You know that, right?"
"I do, but you underestimate me too much," Leon shook his head and nonchalantly said, "It's just the Demon King Realm, nothing worth mentioning."
The Demon King Realm was only around the Divine Transformation Realm in divine cultivation, a realm below Divine King.
"It'll need to be True Divinity level at the very least to tempt me," Leon added slyly.
"Heh, you think it's easy to find cultivation resources that can take you to the True Divinity Realm in this age? You'll have a higher chance looking for phoenix feathers," Duna snickered.
Nevertheless, she engraved Leon's kindness in her memory.
Chapter 856 - Shocking The Dark Faes
"Anyway, are you sure this crystallized soul core still has plenty of soul energy?" Leon suddenly asked.
"Why do you ask?" Duna furrowed brows in response.
She did not understand why he needed to ask such a question.
"Because this crystallized soul core was imbedded in the Teleportation Array and acted as the catalyst for the collection of souls to fuel the secret realm's opening," Leon mentioned.
"So I'm guessing it doesn't have much soul energy anymore."
"And here I thought you were being generous, but it turns out you thought the soul energy had been exhausted," Duna smiled mockingly.
"If the soul energy in this crystallized soul core were exhausted, it would lose its ability to attract other soul energy and recharge itself; a certain level of soul energy is needed to maintain its ability."
"I see…" Leon uttered with understanding.
Given the sturdiness of the crystallized soul core's outer shell, he could not sense the tremendous amount of soul energy contained within, only some of it.
However, it was different for Duna, who was sensitive to souls as a spirit herself.
"I'm not giving this back to you even if you are having second thoughts now," Duna stated while holding the crystallized soul core close to her chest as if it was a precious thing, which it was.
Nevertheless, Leon smiled wryly.
"As I said before, this level of treasure doesn't interest me. Whether its soul energy is exhausted or not, I would still give it to you. Stop looking down on me."
"Hmph, I'll still look down on you whether you like it or not," Duna snorted and said, "What kind of fool gives away a Demon King-level cultivation resource to others?"
"The kind of fool you see in front of you," Leon replied wryly, making Duna smile.
Shortly after, he said, "Well, it seems the shortage of souls has been resolved, so you have no more reason to grind these Arch Demon-level seas monsters."
"Mm," Duna nodded.
"However, it won't be easy for me to absorb all the soul energy in this crystallized soul core. Once I start, I cannot stop until I absorb all its soul energy. Otherwise, I will waste the soul energy flowing out of it."
"I see. Let us relocate to a suitable place for you to absorb it then," Leon suggested before adding, "I have more or less accumulated quite a sum of True Grandmist Energy."
"Alright," Duna agreed.
Shortly after, Leon held Duna close to himself and instructed the realm spirit to send them back to the Dark Fae Clan's location.
"Welcome back, my Lord!" Nyfarella and the other dark faes quickly greeted Leon, astonishing Duna in the process.
"Lord? Duna raised an eyebrow at Leon and asked him, "Since when did you become a lord for this group of demons?"
"Since I decided to cultivate dark energy and grow my own demon forces."
Leon casually answered without thinking much about it, but Duna was even more astonished after hearing it.
Doubts filled her mind.
However, the moment Leon revealed his dark energy, Duna's doubts were quickly dispelled like dissipating mists.
The higher grades of the Darkness Law garner more respect and fear from the creatures of darkness.
"Still, you consider this a suitable place for me to cultivate? We are in the open…" Duna mentioned after a quick glance around.
However, Leon assured her, "You don't have to worry. Even if we are in the open, no one will disturb you here without my permission."
"Is that something you can control?" Duna asked with ridicule.
"Of course," Leon answered confidently before explaining, "I might have forgotten to mention this, but I am the realmship's new owner. Right now, there are only a select few that remain within this sub-realm."
"I have already booted everyone else out," he added.
After Duna heard that, surprise painted her face; it was just one surprise after another. She had no choice but to admit defeat.
Leon's gains in the secret realm were much more significant than hers.
"It seems that while everyone was scramblings for gold coins, you secretly went ahead and snatched the entire treasure chest," Duna said with a self-deprecating smile before asking, "Are you sure you should be telling me this?"
"Indeed, others would hunt me due to greed if words get out," Leon admitted with a nod before quickly adding, "However, you're not just anyone; I trust you with my life."
"Tch, sweet talker," Duna snorted coldly, but she was secretly happy to hear his words.
Shortly after, she requested 5000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy from him before creating a cultivation chamber for herself to absorb the crystallized soul core in peace.
"Don't disturb me unless it's something urgent," Duna left those words before sealing herself inside the cultivation chamber.
Nevertheless, such did not need to be said to him; he was well aware of the potential detriments when one's cultivation is interrupted.
After glancing at Duna's cultivation chamber for a few moments, he finally shifted his attention to Nyfarella.
"You can continue to work on your body cultivation," Leon instructed.
"Yes, my Lord," Nyfarella complied.
However, just as she was about to turn around and return to the medicine bath, Leon suddenly added, "Oh, right. Take these with you."
"Take…?" Nyfarella was confused by what Leon wanted her to take.
But shortly after Leon transmitted the message to the realm spirit and waved his hand, all the Greater Demons and Arch Demons' corpses suddenly disappeared from the Bone Sea and reappeared in front of her, piling up like a mountain.
Nyfarella and the other dark faes' jaws immediately dropped with astonishment.
"T-this… this is… so many Half-step Arch Demons and Arch Demons…! This is… the elders and clan leaders of the Nine Great Clans!"
Nyfarella and the others all widened their eyes before looking back at Leon with shock.
"My Lord… this is…"
"The Dark Wyrm Clan's doing," Leon casually explained before urging them, "Now take what you need from it and go cultivate."
"Thank you, my Lord!"
Nyfarella and the other dark faes felt exhilarated by Leon's generosity; following him was the best choice they ever made.
Chapter 857 - Rewarding The Dark Wyrms
Shortly after, Nyfarella quickly led her clan members to work through the mountain of demon corpses, collecting demon cores and salvaging whatever useful resources they could obtain.
While Leon briefly watched them busy themselves, he had to admit the dark faes were quite the natural beauties.
Although they only wore coarse and cheap black robes with tears and stains due to their poverty, it could not hide their perfect figures and smooth skin underneath.
After soaking themselves in medicine baths and tempering their bodies, whatever scars they once had, it all disappeared under the effects of the healing water.
Leon was curious why there were no men in the Dark Fae Clan, but it was just a passing thought, not enough interest for him to inquire about it.
'Aria and Darlene should be returning soon now,' Leon mused while shifting his gaze to the east.
…
After Leon kicked out all the humans and demons, the Dark Wyrm Clan gradually returned to Shadowtail's side to report the surviving demons' disappearance.
Shadowtail and the dark wyrms were baffled by the situation, but their doubts were answered by the realm spirit shortly after.
…
Leon only waited a few short minutes before Aria and Darlene returned to the rock wall with the Dark Wyrm Clan.
"We're back," Aria stated before adding, "You were… waiting for us?"
"Un, welcome back," Leon nodded.
"You should have already understood the current situation after talking to Tak-si, but I'll inform you again. Right now, there are no longer any other humans and demons in the secret realm beside us."
"In other words, we have this entire sub-realm to ourselves?" Aria asked with surprise.
"That's right," Leon admitted with a nod.
"However, since I've sent back the humans, the battle for hegemony in the Infertile Plains will soon enter its full swing. Given my present strength, I won't be able to stir significant waves unless I rely on the Dark Wyrm Clan—which isn't my style."
"Thus, I intend to enter a period of secluded cultivation to raise my strength as much as possible quickly until we leave," Leon stated before seeking Aria and Darlene's choices, "What do you two want to do during this time?"
"I will enter deep meditation and continue to comprehend the Spatial Law. I want to achieve the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent at the very least before we leave," Darlene decided.
"Ah, but you don't have to worry about me," she suddenly added before reassuring everyone, "I have no intention of accepting the fragment of Empyrean Infinite Void."
"I see..." Leon uttered with understanding before commenting, "Given the speed you've shown, you'll definitely achieve it."
"But… do you not wish to further your progress in body cultivation?" Leon asked shortly after.
"No," Darlene shook her head.
"I'm not that invested in body cultivation; I just needed a body strong enough to withstand the recoil of my spatial ability, and I've already achieved that for now. If I want to become stronger, it's best not to divert my focus too much."
"That makes sense," Leon nodded before saying with a smile, "It seems you are very clear on the direction you want to take. That's great."
Shortly after, he turned to Aria for her answer.
'If I want to keep up with Leon in the future, I can't just stick to him all the time. I need to experience self-tempering and cultivate my independence,' Aria pondered.
"I will explore the secret realm and look for opponents to perfect my Sword Intent while I'm at it," Aria shortly answered before adding, "I'll also practice the Godfiend Body Forging Method when I can."
"I see… If that is your choice, I won't stop you," Leon replied solemnly.
It might be dangerous for Aria to explore the secret realm on her own, but he couldn't shelter her from danger every time.
She also needed to experience the danger to grow.
Furthermore, he had control of the Radiant Heaven Realmship and could have Tak-si keep an eye on her and intervene when necessary.
If Leon didn't have these reassurances, he would not have agreed with Aria's choice so readily.
After pondering for a moment, Leon lifted Aria's hand and deposited 5000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy into her Interspatial Ring.
"I've stored the energy you need for body cultivation into your storage ring; remember to use it when you practice the Godfiend Body Forging Method," Leon reminded.
"You can also find a lot of opponents in the underground space at the bottom of that hole I dug over there. There are also plenty of treasures lying around down there for you to find too."
"Oh? I got it," Aria nodded with a smile and said, "I will check it out first."
"The undead beings down there can be pretty powerful, though, so be careful," Leon warned her.
"I will," Aria promised with a sweet smile.
After giving him a peck on the cheek, she jumped into the deep hole and descended into darkness without hesitation.
'Keep an eye on her, Tak-si. Only intervene if her life's in danger,' Leon instructed.
'Yes, Master,' the realm spirit complied.
After settling Aria and Darlene's matters, Leon finally gave his attention to the Dark Wyrm Clan; they had been waiting patiently for him all this while.
"Your clan made quite the mess out of the demons, huh? Perhaps, a little too eager even," Leon commented.
Shadowtail glanced at the mountain of demon corpses on the side before he smiled wryly, knowing that the Lord had seen through his clan's intention.
"The demons all deserve death for targeting my Lord," Shadowtail said.
"I know what you all want, but I don't have time to refine everyone's blood for the time being," Leon calmly stated.
"Furthermore, you just had your blood refined not long ago. You need to give your blood essence time to adapt to the True Dragon Origin Blood and reproduce it."
"I understand, my Lord," Shadowtail replied with his head slightly lowered in disappointment.
"Don't be disappointed too soon, though. I have another reward in mind that you'll like just as much as the blood refinement," Leon reassured it.
In the next moment, Leon transmitted the Dragon God Bone Forging Method into Shadowtail's mind before it could even guess what the reward was.
Chapter 858 - Start Of Secluded Cultivation
"D-dragon God Bone Forging Method?!" Shadowtail exclaimed with shock.
At the same time, Nightingale and the other dark wyrms overheard Shadowtail's outburst and glanced at him with startled looks.
Awakening the True Dragon Bloodline would only guarantee the dark wyrm's ascension to Divine Beasts.
If they want to advance further, they will need to rely on more than just their bloodline.
"Is this really the Dragon God Bone Forging Method, my Lord?" Shadowtail asked with disbelief written all over his face.
Even with the knowledge imprinted into his memory, Shadowtail found it hard to believe.
The Lord didn't just have a method to awaken his Dark Wyrm Clan's True Dragon Bloodline but also possessed one of the five sacred methods of the Dragon God.
Even if the Lord doesn't claim to be the Dragon God's incarnate, Shadowtail cannot help but revere him as one!
Nevertheless, Leon didn't bother to answer Shadowtail's question.
"Teach it to your clan members and practice on your own," Leon casually replied with a smile before adding, "I'm going to enter secluded cultivation for a period of time."
"Y-yes, my Lord!" Shadowtail complied with sparkling eyes.
Whether the Dragon God Bone Forging Method is authentic or not, he will know once he practices it with his clan members.
Shortly after, Leon left to construct a cultivation chamber beside Duna's cultivation chamber.
At the same time, Nightingale and the other dark wyrms immediately clustered around Shadowtail outside the rock wall with strong curiosity.
"Did I hear right, Lord Shadowtail? Did Lord Leon really teach you the legendary Dragon God Bone Forging Method?" Nightingale inquired excitedly.
"Lord Leon has no reason to trick us," Shadowtail stated.
"It has to be real—no, it must be real. Either way, we find out once we start practicing this Dragon God Bone Forging Method. Come, gather around. Lord Leon has already permitted me to teach you all."
"Yes, Shadowtail!" the dark wyrms eagerly obliged.
After Shadowtail saw that he had his clan members' full attention, he began to orally teach them the Dragon God Bone Forging Method.
He was not adept in spirit arts like Lord Leon, but his voice was loud and clear, allowing more dark wyrms to learn about the Dragon God Bone Forging Method at once.
How much they learn from Shadowtail's sermon was up to their own comprehensive ability.
Half an hour later, Shadowtail finished repeating the first volume of the Dragon God Bone Forging Method a dozen times and answered all their inquiries until they memorized the technique off by heart.
"Is there any more question? No? Good! Find your own space and begin," Shadowtail instructed his clan members with a hint of impatience.
Shadowtail could not wait to practice the Dragon God Bone Forging Method and validate its effectiveness, but neither could the rest of the dark wyrms wait either.
"Yes, Lord Shadowtail!" the dark wyrms answered in unison.
"Shh! Pipe down, will you?" Shadowtail suddenly scolded them for being too loud and said, "Don't disturb Lord Leon's cultivation."
"Yes, Lord Shadowtail…" the dark wyrms replied awkwardly.
Sometime later, silence filled the region.
Without True Grandmist Energy, the creatures of darkness utilized the next best option available to them, dark energy, to reinforce their dragon bones.
As they drew in dark energy from the atmosphere, the density of dark energy in the area increased.
Within half an hour of practicing the Dragon God Bone Forging Method, the dark wyrms' dragon bones blackened under the effects of dark energy, but they noticed a slight increase in their physical might.
Although the improvement was minuscule, the Arch Demon-level dark wyrms' eyes brightened with joy.
Any improvement at their level proved the effectiveness of the Dragon God Bone Forging Method.
"It's real!" a dark wyrm exclaimed excitedly.
After validating the effect of the Dragon God Bone Forging Method, the Dark Wyrm Clan became devoted and diligent in their practice.
Little did Dark Wyrm Clan know, the Dragon God Bone Forging Method was not the only dragon technique in Leon's possession.
Whether it was tempering flesh, consolidating viscera, marrow cleansing, or blood refining, Leon had them all.
The dragon techniques he obtained from the piles of primordial scriptures and scrolls he recorded were especially prominent among all other techniques.
Among the Dragon God's five sacred methods, the Dragon God Blood Refining Method could help dragons awaken their ancestral dragon bloodline.
However, Leon knew better than to put all his eggs into one basket.
It was too early for him to reward the Dark Wyrm Clan with the Dragon God Blood Refining Method, even if it could increase their True Dragon Origin Blood more quickly.
…
Inside Leon's cultivation chamber, Leon completely shut off his perception of the outside world and focused solely on his task at hand, blood extraction of the Purple Coatl Dragons, which was not part of the mountain of corpses outside.
He had collected them all into his Worldspace.
One by one, Leon drained the blood essence from each Purple Coatl Dragon inside his Worldspace and poured them all into a huge empty crater he created, which he further coated with a layer of ice.
By the time he was done with the Purple Coatl Dragons, the empty crater transformed into a blood lake.
Whether it was the blood essences of Greater Demon-level or Arch Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragons, they were mixed in the blood lake.
'Preparations are all done. Now, I can finally start the blood refinement,' Leon's eyes flickered with anticipation.
Given the vast amount of resources he procured, it will be strange if he doesn't complete his Body Transformation's viscera consolidation phase.
'If I can complete the Body Transformation's viscera consolidation phase with just the Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood, I can save the Dark Wyrm Clan's True Dragon Origin Blood for the opening of the Eight Hidden Gates.'
Without further ado, Leon exited the Worldspace and commenced his extended cultivation session.
He spent the next several hours refining the blood essence lake into an origin blood lake before proceeding with the consolidation of his viscera using the Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method.
Shhh…!
The moment Leon directly transferred the Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood from the Worldspace in his body, his inner organs sizzled from the contact.
Chapter 859 - Emptying The Blood Lake
Despite achieving 5-million jin inner defense in his previous viscera consolidation, the Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood burned his inner organs during the infusion, nonetheless.
Even so, the pain was certainly a few notches lower than the initial point, which was akin to suffering in the fires of purgatory.
Anything less than that was like a form of pleasure for Leon.
And because of that, he wondered if he was becoming a masochist.
Nevertheless, the pain gradually increased beyond his comfort zone as his inner organs sustained damage from the dragon origin blood infusion.
Reaching that point, Leon finally channeled strands of True Grandmist Energy in to repair and remold his viscera, slowly changing them to that of dragon viscera.
Although the viscera of a Purple Coatl Dragon was not what Leon desired, it was still one step closer to achieving the viscera of the Dragon God.
Any step that brings him closer to that goal is necessary.
Furthermore, the viscera of Purple Coatl Dragon might be inferior among all the dragon races, but it was still far better than the viscera of a human.
That being said, his inner organs weren't taking the true form of the Purple Coatl Dragons' viscera, only their properties.
Time ticked slowly during the grueling process of consolidating the viscera, but Leon's gains were equally rewarding as much as he suffered from it.
Five hundred wisps of True Grandmist Energy were expended, absorbed by his viscera alongside the Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood infusion before his inner defense rose to a staggering 10-million jin in strength.
Leon reached the peak of Rank 1 Body Transformation in the viscera consolidation phase, but he did not stop there.
No, he was just getting started.
The origin blood lake was barely touched, and the hundred thousand wisps of True Grandmist Energy he accumulated in Leon's Black Vortex Space was far from depletion.
He had a long way to go.
As Leon became engrossed in his viscera consolidation, he lost track of time; the blood level in the origin blood lake lowered, and his True Grandmist energy reserve also decreased.
Pain became insignificant, and time moved faster—or rather, his perception of it did.
All that mattered was his ever-growing strength.
Prior to his secluded cultivation, Leon only used 1000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy to reach 10-million jin inner defense in his viscera.
However, 1200 wisps of True Grandmist Energy was expended to reach 20-million jin, 1500 wisps of True Grandmist Energy for 30-million jin, 2000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy for 40-million jin, and so on.
The demand for Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood and True Grandmist Energy increased exponentially as he progressed further and further in his viscera consolidation.
By the time Leon reached the peak of Rank 9 Body Transformation in the viscera consolidation phase, the demand for True Grandmist Energy per 10-million jin progress had increased by a dozen fold.
In total, he expended 40,500 wisps of True Grandmist Energy and all his Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood to reach Peak Rank 9 Body Transformation in the viscera consolidation phase.
The expenditure was way beyond his expectation.
He figured he had enough True Grandmist Energy to practice all five phases of Body Transformation, but he nearly expended half of his reserve to reach Peak Rank 9 Body Transformation.
'And here I thought the Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood was enough for me to reach the very peak of Rank 10 Body Transformation in one go… A lot of time must have passed, which lead to a decrease in the Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood's quality along with its efficiency.'
Leon silently thought with a sigh as he was forced to end his viscera consolidation.
'Seems like I will need to rely on the Dark Wyrm Clan's True Dragon Origin Blood to complete the viscera consolidation phase after all…'
'But before that, I'll refine the Black Turtle God Beast's blood essence and flesh my flesh,' Leon decided.
Fortunately, the Black Turtle God Beast's blood essence was brimming with vitality and did not degrade in quality despite the flow of time.
Even so, it still took Leon several hours to completely refine the sample into origin blood and use it to temper his flesh in the Black Turtle Heavenly Guard.
Another 1000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy was depleted, but Leon successfully raised his fleshly defense to 10-million jin, the peak of Rank 1 Body Transformation in the flesh tempering phase.
"I guess you really can't fight quality with quantity, huh?" Leon muttered.
"A few drops of origin blood from a Half-step God Beast is all it takes to advance in the same breath as a few ten thousand drops of origin blood from Purple Coatl Dragon below the level of Divine Beast. I can't imagine what the effects would be like with the blood of a genuine God Beast…"
Nevertheless, Leon did not doubt that the effect would be incredible.
"My viscera has reached 90-million jin, and my flesh has reached 10-million jin. Safe to say, my body's defense has advanced by leaps and bound and entered the realms of Paragons, except for my physical strength…"
"In other words, my body cultivation has become extremely unbalanced… My inner defense is extreme, but my strength is severely lacking in comparison… I need to find resources to help with my bone forging phase next."
Leon analyzed the pros and cons of his present state before deciding what he needed to focus on for his body cultivation.
Suddenly, his nose twitched a few times due to the foul smell within the darkness of the cultivation chamber.
Evidently, the impurities he shed and bad body odor were the cause of it.
"It seems I need a good bath," Leon muttered wryly.
He had been in secluded cultivation long enough.
It was time to go out.
After leaving his earthen mound for a cultivation chamber, Leon noticed there weren't many dark faes and dark wyrms present.
But the ones are were immediately excited to see him.
"My Lord! You have finally exited your retreat!"
Saresha's joyous cry almost moved the dark faes and dark wyrms to tears as they quickly lined up to greet him with heartfelt emotions.
"We welcome you back, my Lord!"
"How long did I spend in secluded cultivation?"
Leon asked with a frown of uneasiness as their reactions gave him a bad feeling.
Chapter 860 - Impending Sea Monster Tide
"Three weeks, my Lord! You've been in seclusion for three weeks!" Saresha stated.
The moment Leon heard her answer, his eyes widened with shock.
"Three weeks?!"
"Yes, my Lord!"
Leon knew he lost track of time while he was engrossed in his cultivation, but he thought it would only be several days to a week at most.
However, the truth was beyond his imagination.
"Ugh… Three weeks, huh? What a shock…" Leon muttered to himself while rubbing his forehead with distress.
"Even if I rush back to the Infertile Plains now, I'm afraid I'll still be too late. If there weren't any surprising miracles during my three weeks of absence, the Seven Tribes Alliance is mostly like conquered by now…" he pondered.
However, he suddenly recalled the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman.
"…Or perhaps not," Leon changed his assumption.
The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman had become a Battle King, and the old man even has a Quasi Tier-7 Greatsword, which boosts his combat power by a fair deal.
Even if the One-Eyed Venerable Shamand hadn't grown stronger during the three weeks, he could still compete with Mid-rank Battle Kings at the very least.
"Senior One-Eye should be able to buy a lot of time for the Seven Tribes Alliance… As an active Battle King, Senior One-Eye's presence will exert a lot of pressure on the battlefield…" Leon thought.
After all, active Battle Kings are not the same as the slumbering Battle Kings; they don't have a limited lifespan, nor are they at risk of getting bedeviled—or Demonic Possession, as the locals like to call it.
"The Seven Tribes Alliance should be able to hold on unless the other tribes send Battle Kings to subjugate the Seven Tribes Alliance… However, the slumbering Battle Kings are a tribe's trump card…" Leon thought.
No tribe would readily awaken their slumbering Battle Kings unless they have to as a last resort; something like this only happens if the tribe is threatened with annihilation.
After dwelling over the matter for a while, Leon concluded that the Seven Tribes Alliance was still in the game.
They haven't been subjugated yet—but he did not know for how much longer that would remain the case.
Nevertheless, he put the Seven Tribes Alliance's matter aside for the time being.
After rubbing his forehead for a brief moment, Leon shifted his attention back to Saresha and ordered, "Update me on everything that has happened during these three weeks. Where are the others?"
"After exhausting our cultivation resources, the other clan members went to train elsewhere, my Lord. Nothing big has happened during these three weeks—Ah, but if I have to mention something, the number of sea monsters in the Bone Sea seemed to have increased," Saresha mentioned.
"An increase in the number of sea monsters? Is it the sea monster tide?" Leon asked.
"Sea monster tide, my Lord?" Saresha repeated with doubt before saying, "I'm not sure if it's a sea monster tide or not, but most of the Dark Wyrm Clan went hunting along with Miss Aria and Darlene."
After hearing that, Leon connected his consciousness with the realm spirit's omniscience and spied on the situation in the Bone Sea.
He immediately confirmed that the number of sea monsters in the Bone Sea increased, but no one was there—at least, they were nowhere near the central sea region.
They were spread along the coastal regions and western region's rivers, hunting the sea monsters in large numbers before cooking them up and eating them with great relish.
However, the dark wyrms weren't simply eating the sea monsters' tender flesh for the sake of the taste.
No, the sea monsters' flesh was rich in nutrients and very good from nourishing their blood.
Leon could tell that the dark wyrms had grown stronger.
Their True Dragon Origin Blood had become richer, and the number of Arch Demon-level members within their clan had also doubled in these last three weeks.
"According to Tak-si, the sea monster tide has overwhelming numbers… The sea monsters had certainly increased, but this isn't it. Nevertheless, it might be a sign that a sea monster tide is coming soon…" Leon muttered.
'Isn't that right, Tak-si?'
'Yes, Master,' the realm spirit affirmed.
'According to the patterns from the past instances, the number of sea monsters always steadily increases before the big sea monster tide arrives. However, other people wouldn't notice this unless they pay particular attention to the western rivers.'
'I see…' Leon nodded before asking, 'Will the sea monster tide pose a problem?'
'The present Dark Wyrm Clan has no problem dealing with them. And generally, the sea monsters rarely come to shore, so the sea monster tide only poses a problem for those trapped at sea during the tide.'
'Then, there's no problem,' Leon replied.
Shortly after, he shifted his attention to the ladies and the dark faes by the rivers.
By the looks of it, Darlene had broken through to Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent and even reached the peak of it, just a step short from the Paragon stage.
Her rate of improvement was truly impressive—or as he should have expected it from the possessor of an Empyrean God-level soul fragment.
Meanwhile, all the dark faes had at least achieved the early stage of Rank 1 Body Transformation in body cultivation and possess the physical strength of Greater Demons.
On the other hand, Aria didn't show any clear sign of advancement in her awakening cultivation, but her Sword Intent seemed very firm, powerful, and intimidating.
Very few among the Early-rank Arch Demons would be her opponent.
When Leon checked the underground space, he noticed all the undead beings down there had been utterly decimated.
'Did Aria do all this on her own?' he wondered.
'While I was making great progress, the ladies weren't lagging too far behind either, huh? I'm afraid that if I don't keep working hard, I'll be the one to fall behind instead.'
Leon silently thought with a wry smile.
At that moment, Aria, Darlene, and dark faes were catching sea monsters by the rivers.
Then, they gutted the sea monsters they caught, collected their monster cores, kept their flesh for cooking, but threw away their waste organs.
'Doesn't seem like they are collecting the monster cores for cultivation… It looks like they are aware that artificial spirit energy is harmful. That's a relief… Did you teach them about it, Tak-si?'
'Yes, Master.'
Chapter 861 - The Realms Above Arch Demon
After hearing the realm spirit's confirmation, Leon continued to watch Aria and Darlene through the realm spirit's omniscience.
A few moments later, he furrowed his brows and wondered, 'Why are they still collecting the monster cores despite having no use for it?'
'There's actually a use for the monster cores, Master,' Tak-si stated.
'Despite the artificial spirit energy possessing extreme side effects after prolonged exposure to it, all the demons that ever came to this sub-realm had always collected the monster cores for cultivation without exception.'
'However, it's not just demons; many people are willing to ignore the defects for the power they can obtain from the monster cores. Thus, the monster cores can be used as a form of currency, Master,' Tak-si explained.
'I see…' Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Although he became rich after obtaining a lot of starcore iron, he could only use this form of currency in the Celestial Alliance, where capable artificers could refine the starcore iron.
He couldn't use starcore iron as currency on Gaia.
The monster cores might just come in handy when he explores the demon's territory, and of course, the Geyser Kingdom.
As the only kingdom in the Human Domain with access to the Boundless Sea, he did not doubt that the Geyser Kingdom was possibly using the monster cores as a form of currency as well.
'Hm?' Leon suddenly thought of something serious.
If the Geyser Kingdom relied on the monster cores procured from the sea monsters in the Boundless Sea for cultivation, they would have amassed quite a considerable number of Transcendents—Transcendents that only enjoy half the lifespans.
However, that wasn't the critical point.
The Cataclysm's solar wave had swept the world and brought Wrathful Demonic Energy to every corner of it.
If the Geyser Kingdom did not set up any means of shielding itself from Wrathful Demon Energy like the billowing dark clouds that covered the Dark Abyss Continent, their Awakeners would have rapidly mutated and caused chaos.
'Considering there wasn't any big news from the Geyser Kingdom's borders after the Cataclysm arrived, I'll just assume the Geyser Kingdom had some countermeasures in place…' Leon mused.
It was one big headache he didn't want to think too much about.
It was very likely that the Geyser Kingdom had deeper knowledge and heritage on the Nova civilization, so they should have known what they were getting themselves into.
As long as their problem doesn't spread to the Crawford Empire, he wouldn't care too much about them for the time being.
'Hm? I thought I was the last one to finish my secluded cultivation, but it seems like Duna hasn't exited her retreat yet…'
Leon thought after he shifted his attention to Duna's cultivation chamber.
He recalled Duna mentioning that she wouldn't stop until she completely absorbed the soul energy in the crystallized soul core once she started, but he didn't expect she would take this long.
'…She wouldn't become a Demon King-level existence after absorbing all the soul energy in the crystallized soul core, would she?'
Leon wondered with a startled look.
If Duna could reach the level of Demon King with just the Demon King-level crystallized soul core, it made perfect sense why she treated him like a fool for gifting such a priceless treasure to her.
But given the same choices again, he still wouldn't change his mind.
Nevertheless, was it really possible for Duna to raise her Transcendent-level soul to the Demon King level like that, even if it's a Demon King-level crystallized soul core?
'Come to think of it; I don't really know much about the classification of strength for demons beyond Arch Demon…'
'Tak-si, what is the demon's cultivation ranks after Arch Demon?' Leon inquired shortly after.
'Above Arch Demon is the Celestial Realm for demons, Master. From the lowest to the highest rank, it is Demon Lord, Great Demon Lord, Demon King, Demon Emperor, and finally Demon Overlord.'
Tak-si informed him.
'Great Demon Lord? There was such a level exists between Demon Lord and Demon King? Why haven't I heard about any Great Demon Lord-level tomb in this sub-realm?'
Leon furrowed his brows with doubt.
'That is because the demons regard Demon Lord and Great Demon Lord as one large realm since they don't have any bottlenecks in between. However, the Celestials divided it into two realms to match the Celestial Realm's cultivation ranks,' Tak-si explained.
'I see… That means some of the Demon Lord-level tombs in this sub-realm are actually Great Demon Lord-level tombs…'
Leon thought before he suddenly paused.
The Shadow Tempest Demon Lord had 50 Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms guarding its tomb.
Leon felt that the trial difficulty posed by Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's tomb was even higher than the Abyssal Wood Demon King's tomb—at least, he felt that was the case for other people that try to challenge them.
'What level was the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord?' Leon asked curiously.
'The Shadow Tempest Demon Lord was a Peak-rank Great Demon Lord, just a step short from being a Demon King, Master,' Tak-si answered.
'I see…' Leon nodded.
It was just as he suspected; the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord's tomb seemed too difficult compared to other Demon Lord-level tombs.
It was actually the tomb of a Peak-rank Great Demon Lord.
'Well, enough of that. What is a Demon Overlord? How is that compared to a Celestial Conqueror? I thought Demon Emperor was the highest realm before True Divinity for the demons?'
Leon raised further doubts.
'Demon Emperor is indeed the highest realm before True Divinity for demons, but the same can be said about Celestial Emperor for Celestials.'
'Hm? What about Celestial Conqueror?' Leon raised an eyebrow.
'Celestial Conqueror is not a realm, but more of a title, given to Celestial Emperors after they successfully bind with the quintessence of star realms or star clusters. They possess the strongest power available to Celestial Emperors, Master.'
'We can also say that they are the Celestial Emperor among Celestial Emperors,' Tak-si explained.
'I see…' Leon rubbed his chin with understanding before saying, 'Then Demon Overlord is just a title given to the strongest Demon Emperor, right?'
'That's correct, Master,' Tak-si affirmed.
Chapter 862 - Healing Water's Quality
'However, I must remind Master that a Demon Overlord is not the same as a Celestial Conqueror; there can be as many Celestial Conquerors as the Starfields in existence, but only one can be the Demon Overlord.'
'Doesn't that mean demons are at a severe disadvantage?'
'Not at all, Master. After all, one demon becoming the Demon Overlord doesn't mean other demons can't come close to it in strength or have no chance of surpassing it. We call those demons Demon Overlord Candidates.'
'And those demons along with the Celestial Conquerors are all considered Half-step True Divinities, existences that have surpassed the Celestial level but not quite at the True Divinity level.'
"I see…" Leon uttered while staring at Duna's cultivation chamber.
"Well, that's that," he said after a brief moment before turning to Saresha, "You can call your clan members back. I'll set up a new medicine bath for the Dark Fae Clan."
"Yes, my Lord!" Saresha's eyes lit up with anticipation.
After reaching Rank 1 Body Transformation and gaining 1-million jin physical strength that only Greater Demons possess, Saresha knew just how impressive the Godfiend Body Forging Method was.
She would have made greater progress if the medicine bath's healing effect weren't depleted in the first two days of the Lord's three-week secluded cultivation.
Leon watched Saresha disappear over the rock wall before he took out the Tier-7 Golden Grail with great anticipation.
'Since three weeks have passed, the quality of the healing water shouldn't be too bad, right?' he mused with a hopeful look.
After he checked the water quality inside the Tier-7 Golden Grail, his eyes immediately sparkled.
"Tier-5 healing water!" Leon exclaimed pleasantly.
Although he expected it, seeing the actual result hit differently.
"As I expected, the Tier-7 Golden Grail does improve the healing water's quality with time. This isn't just tier-5 healing water; it's almost tier-6!" Leon concluded after inspecting the healing water.
The gap between tier-5 and tier-6 was not small; it was the difference between the spiritual and the divine.
As such, tier-6 healing water should be called tier-6 divine healing water instead.
'Given another week or so, I dare say this Tier-7 Golden Grail could have produced tier-6 divine healing water. However, I wonder if tier-6 divine healing water is its limit?' Leon wondered.
Nevertheless, he decided not to use the tier-5 healing water inside the Tier-7 Golden Grail for the dark faes' medicine bath.
Once the tier-5 healing water becomes tier-6 divine healing water, it wouldn't just be capable of recovering wounds; it can also cure all sorts of common diseases.
That's what makes it divine.
Mortals in the lower kingdoms would often regard tier-6 divine healing water as the miracle elixir back in the Divine Realm.
"Hmm… what to do…" Leon pondered.
He didn't intend to use the tier-5 spirit herbs he obtained from the bottom of the Bone Sea; it would be too extravagant of a waste to use them on the dark faes' body cultivation.
However, it would be even more of a waste to use something that is about to become tier-6 divine healing water.
'Guess I'll use the tier-3 spirit herbs growing in the Sacred Garden…' Leon decided.
However, after he checked on the spirit herbs inside the Worldspace, he quickly realized most of the tier-3 spirit herbs had also upgraded to tier-4 spirit herbs.
"Well, I guess this works out," Leon thought.
Tier-3 healing medicine would not be as effective on the dark faes as before now that they have reached the level of Greater Demons.
While Leon was setting up the medicine bath, news of him finishing his secluded cultivation spread among the Dark Fae Clan and Dark Wyrm Clan.
It didn't take long before the news also reached Aria and Darlene's ears, and several minutes later, they came rushing back with excitement to see him.
Swish!
The two ladies dived straight into his arms.
They had returned even before Saresha could bring the news to them. Evidently, they must have instructed the realm spirit to inform them beforehand.
Nevertheless, after enjoying each others' warmth in silence for a moment, they finally parted.
"You've finally out," Aria uttered in a soft tone, filled with relief and complaint.
"I guess I did spend a lot more time in my secluded cultivation than I initially intended," Leon smiled wryly before saying, "But I'm back now."
Even so, he felt a bit of guilt when he looked at Aria.
There wasn't any suitable environment in the Radiant Heaven Realmship for Aria to cultivate her Ice-Lightning law.
As such, her awakening cultivation stagnated for three weeks.
Nevertheless, Aria sensed his thoughts before she said with a smile, "You don't need to feel guilty about anything."
"It is true that my awakening cultivation hasn't improved much in these past three weeks, but my sword cultivation made up for it. Also, I used up all the True Grandmist Energy you provided."
"Can you guess how much progress I made?" Aria quizzed him shortly after.
However, Leon quickly furrowed his brows when he tried to gauge Aria's accomplishment in body cultivation.
Even if Aria's energy to strength conversion rate was similar to Darlene's, she should have reached Mid Rank 1 Body Transformation at the very least with the 5000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy given to her.
However, it didn't seem like she could exert more than 1.5-million jin worth of strength.
"You… reached the Early Rank 1 Body Transformation in the flesh refining and bone forging phase? No, the blood refining phase as well? No, that's not right either… You also consolidated your viscera…"
Leon muttered with doubt while studying the state of her body.
"To be precise, I achieved Rank 1 Body Transformation in all five phases," Aria replied with a smile before inserting her opinion, "I figured a balanced physique would do me better than an unbalanced one."
"I see…" Leon uttered.
He immediately felt relieved after finding out where Aria distributed all the True Grandmist Energy in her body.
Her body's energy-to-strength conversation rate was, more or less, the same as Darlene's.
It wasn't as bad as he thought.