Chapter 877 - Subjugation Order
"I didn't even say anything about that," Leon said to Aria with a wry smile.
However, Aria gave him the cold shoulder as she threw her cute tantrum. She probably knew that even if he rejected Nyfarella's advances, he still gave it some thought.
"Ahem, anyway," Leon coughed before changing the topic, "We'll head to the Dark Fae Clan first and then visit the ruin after."
If he wanted to subjugate the Dark Fae Clan, he would naturally not settle for only 250 of their strongest members; it had to be the entire clan.
"Yes, my Lord!" Nyfarella answered with excitement.
At the same time, the eyes of Saresha and the other dark faes all lit up after learning about their destination.
They could finally see the day of the Dark Fae Clan's liberation.
Given the strength of all the present dark faes, a mid-rank demon clan like the Red Ghoul Clan was no longer their opponents.
If the Lord permits it, they would even want to destroy the Red Ghoul Clan and end the days of oppression with their own hands.
After leaving the abyss, the group quickly made their way to the Dark Fae Clan under Nyfarella's guide.
"Hey, don't you think Duna has been a bit too indifferent after exiting her seclusion? She's almost like a completely different person to the past," Aria mentioned the matter to Leon in a whispering voice.
It had been bothering her for some time.
Nevertheless, it was also something that Leon had been well aware of, considering he shared a much deeper relationship with Duna than Aria did.
After all, those two were ice and fire.
"I am aware of her indifference. It should have something to do with her significant leap in soul cultivation. Maybe her devil soul awakened substantially," Leon replied quietly back to Aria.
"That being said, I'm not quite sure of her exact situation until she opens up about it. Still, I pray that she'll gradually revert back to the way she was prior to entering her secluded cultivation… Let us give her time."
"Mm," Aria nodded.
Strangely, she was not used to indifferent Duna; she preferred the version of Duna that picks fights and bickers with her.
Although Leon and Aria were very quietly with their voices, Duna overheard everything. She was only several paces behind them.
She remained indifferent to everything on the surface, but their words had her thinking about her changes.
Nevertheless, it didn't take long before she stopped thinking about it.
Sometime later, the group crossed sixty-five miles of barren land filled with cracked and dry soils before they entered the even more rough and rocky mountain region.
At the top of one particular steep rocky mountain was where the Dark Fae Clan was situated.
"Our Dark Fae Clan is just at the top of this rocky mountain, my Lord," Nyfarella informed Leon as they arrived at the foot of the steep rocky mountain.
Even without Nyfarella's introduction, everyone could see something was different about the steep rocky mountain before them compared to the other rocky mountains in the region.
The rocky wall was filled with the scars of battle and extremely harsh weather.
Still, they did not hide all the traces of chiseling on the rocky wall, which made the entire steep rocky mountain look like one enormous sculpture.
More importantly, everyone could see the spiral staircase leading all the way up to the top of it with a single glance.
Anyone with half a brain would at least know that there was something on the top of the rocky mountain.
No one would be bored enough to sculpt an entire staircase on a rocky mountain for nothing; it was definitely done with a clear purpose—to grant easy access to the top.
"The dark faes are all born with a pair of beautiful black feathered wings to fly, so this staircase shouldn't have been made for the dark faes to use, right?" Leon inquired.
"Yes, my Lord," Nyfarella nodded.
"The Red Ghoul Clan, Blue Ogre Clan, and Green Goblin Clan demanded all the males in the clan to sculpt this staircase for them. Reluctant as we were, we had no choice but to comply at the time because they threatened to destroy us otherwise."
"So it wasn't just one but three mid-rank demon clans that oppressed the Dark Fae Clan, huh?" Leon muttered.
Shortly after glancing at the foot of the staircase, Leon turned to face Shadowtail.
"It seems like your Black Dragon Clan won't be able to follow us up the mountain, given your big sizes. Nevertheless, I didn't bring all of you out of the secret realm just to leave you idling down here either."
"No, I have a task for all of you," Leon stated.
"Understood," Shadowtail nodded before expressing his willingness to accept any task given, "Please give us your order, my Lord."
Nevertheless, Leon didn't give his order immediately.
"I'm sure you are all excited to explore the world, so let's start with the Starfall Dominion. Given the current strength of the Black Dragon Clan, you shouldn't have any opponent in this region," Leon mentioned.
"As such, for your first task, I want you to grab a handful of dark faes to take with you as your guides and go subjugate all the demon clans in this rocky mountain region."
After Leon issued his order, Shadowtail's eyes flickered.
"Understood, my Lord! I hear and obey!" Shadowtail accepted the task with honor.
Shortly after, the Shadowtail shifted its gaze to the dark faes.
"You should have all overheard the Lord's words, so I will only ask of you once. Who is willing to follow our Black Dragon Clan to subjugate the other demon clans in this region?" Shadowtail asked.
After Nyfarella heard that, she immediately bit her lips.
Every dark fae present was eager to join the Black Dragon Clan in their subjugation quest. But, unfortunately, she could not join them.
She had to escort the Lord up the mountain and introduce him to their clan.
"I'll leave this matter in your hands. Take everyone with you and destroy the other demon clans in my stead," Nyfarella said to Saresha.
"Understood, Clan Leader," Saresha complied solemnly.
Chapter 878 - Reaching The Ruins Entrance
Shortly after receiving Nyfarella's entrustment, Saresha turned to face her fellow clan members.
"If anyone doesn't want to partake in this subjugation quest, now is the time to speak up. Although I believe everyone is interested, I don't want to force anyone by mistake," Saresha stated.
However, not a single dark fae spoke up even after waiting for some time. On the contrary, everyone was eager to participate in the subjugation.
"Very well, I take it that you are all willing," Saresha nodded.
"Lord Shadowtail, excluding our clan leader, the rest of us are willing to follow your Black Dragon Clan's lead to subjugate the demon clans in the Great Blackrock Mountains."
"Good! Then, let us set out immediately," Shadowtail nodded.
However, just as Shadowtail was about to lead the Black Dragon Clan and the dark faes away, he suddenly turned back to Leon.
"Oh right, my Lord. What should be done if the demon clans stubbornly resist submission?" Shadowtail asked.
"Deal with them as you see fit," Leon calmly stated.
"Understood," Shadowtail grinned after he was given free rein over the matter.
The Black Dragon Clan and the dark faes all departed not long after, leaving only Leon, Darlene, Aria, Duna, and Nyfarella left in the area.
"Let us head up," Leon stated.
Shortly after, the small group began taking their time to make their way up the staircase rather than flying up the mountain directly.
Along the way, Leon had Nyfarella inform him about the Dark Fae Clan's way of life and regional points of interest.
Nevertheless, everyone gradually reached the top before their eyes slightly widened with surprise when their gazes fell on the Dark Fae Clan before them.
"So this is what the Dark Fae Clan looks like up here… The entire region appears so desolate and bleak that it makes one wonder how anyone could live in this barren land without access to food and water… But the situation up here is completely different from what I imagined," Leon commented.
The scene before him certainly colored him with surprise.
He spotted stone huts and buildings of various sizes throughout the mountain top and on different levels.
However, none of these buildings were built on the mountain top but rather chiseled out of the mountain top itself.
As such, it isn't farfetched to say that the Dark Fae Clan wasn't built on the mountain top, but the mountain top itself is the Dark Fae Clan.
The building designs were all simple, but there was a rare beauty when they were put together as a whole.
"I didn't expect to find such a beautiful city up here when I saw the various mountain peaks in this region," Aria commented with amazement.
She glanced at the scene before her with awe while Duna, on the other hand, remained nonchalant.
The rough rocky ground in the Dark Fae Clan was covered up by a layer of soft soil and lush purple grass that was evidently imported from elsewhere.
However, what caught Leon's attention were the water channels supplying water throughout the clan.
"It's like a stone forest up here, but where are you getting all this water?" Leon inquired curiously with suspicion in his heart.
"We draw it from the underground water vein, my Lord," Nyfarella answered.
"I see," Leon uttered with a nod.
As he suspected, it was an underground water vein.
However, whether it was connected to the Infertile Plains' Celestial Water Spark or another Celestial Water Spark in the Starfall Dominion has yet to be determined.
"C-clan Leader, you're back!" a dark fae carrying a basket of herbs suddenly cried in joy upon spotting them.
Her voice quickly echoed through the clan and created a big stir before long.
"Did you say the Clan Leader was back?! Are the others finally back from the secret realm?!" a group of female dark faes came rushing over with excitement.
None of them were at the Lesser Demon level or above; they were no different from human mortals without any cultivation.
"Welcome back, Clan Leader!" the dark faes welcome back their clan leader.
However, it wasn't long before they paid attention to Leon, Aria, and Duna and didn't notice any other dark faes with Nyfarella.
"C-clan Leader? Who are these people? Where are the others?" a dark fae quickly asked hesitantly, her heart gripped by concern.
Given the strength of the dark faes at the time of the secret realm's opening, it wouldn't be surprising if all of them died on the expedition.
The dark faes immediately paled.
They were hopeful, but seeing the clan leader returning alone, they immediately assumed the worse.
Nevertheless, it wasn't long before Nyfarella cleared their doubts and concerns.
"You don't have to worry about the others. Although we lost roughly fifty sisters in the secret realm, the rest of us survived," Nyfarella assured them.
"Not only did we survive, but we have also become far stronger than ever—strong enough to free ourselves from the other demon clans' oppression! And this is all thanks to our Great Lord, Leon."
Nyfarella introduced him shortly after.
Many gazes immediately fell on Leon, some with curiosity, some with doubts, and some with concerns.
Nevertheless, Nyfarella wasn't finished speaking.
She recounted the events in the secret realm, highlighting Leon's capabilities and generosity while withholding some more confidential information about him from the dark faes.
Even so, it was enough for the dark faes to look at Leon in a different light.
They began to revere him for raising 250 Mid-rank Greater Demons-level dark faes for the Dark Fae Clan.
"It's unfortunate that I, myself, don't get to participate, but you don't have to worry about the others. They have left with the Black Dragon Clan to subjugate the other clans in the Great Blackrock Mountains," Nyfarella stated.
"If you're quick, you can still catch up and join them after settling matters here," Leon said to her.
Nyfarella's eyes lit up after hearing that.
"Thank you, my Lord!"
She quickly had the dark faes present swear their allegiance to Leon before instructing them to spread the words to the others in the clan.
Two hours later, the entire clan fell under Leon's control without any opposition.
In fact, the dark faes happily submit to Leon after hearing his tales in the secret realm; they finally have a powerful lord to serve.
Becoming a servant was much better than being a slave that anyone could order.
"Shall I give you a tour through the clan, my Lord?" Nyfarella suggested.
Leon glanced at her before he casually asked, "Didn't you want to join the Black Dragon Clan in subjugating the other demon clans in the Great Blackrock Mountains?"
"Nyfarella did, but the Red Ghoul Clan, Blue Orge Clan, and Green Goblin Clan are all roughly two-hour trips from here. So even if Nyfarella leaves now, the battle will be over by the time Nyfarella arrives," Nyfarella stated.
"I see…" Leon uttered.
"Well, I don't intend to tour the clan. Instead, we'll be heading over to the ruin," Leon shortly said before adding, "The ruin is supervised by the Red Ghoul Clan, no? You might have missed the big battle, but you can get some action there."
Nyfarella quickly recalled a Red Ghoul Clan outpost was situated near the ruin.
"All of you, go back to what you were doing and make way. I'll be leaving with the Lord and heading to the ruin," Nyfarella said to the dark faes gathered around them.
She quickly dispersed the crowd before turning back to face Leon.
"Let's not waste time, my Lord. Shall we head over to the ruin right now?" Nyfarella expressed her eagerness to visit the ruin.
"Lead the way," Leon directly said with a gesture.
"Yes, my Lord!" Nyfarella answered.
Shortly after, they immediately took off and flew over to the neighboring mountain peak five miles away from the Dark Fae Clan's mountain peak.
The dark faes in the clan quickly wished them safe travels on their trip to the ruin as they left.
"The ruin is located just at the foot of this mountain peak, my Lord. You should be able to see the ruin entrance down over there."
Nyfarella directed Leon's line of size to a large crack in the side of the mountain peak before they began making their descent into the area.
"About two yards south of there is the Red Ghoul Clan's outpost," Nyfarella shortly pointed to the next point of interest.
"There shouldn't be many red ghouls in the outpost, usually no more than fifty. But they are all Lesser Demons, while five are even Low-rank Greater Demons."
"Only five Low-rank Greater Demons, huh?" Leon muttered.
"Their strength is not high, but compared to the Dark Fae Clan's strength in the past, we were indeed no match for them," Nyfarella spoke wryly.
"But you, alone, should be able to deal with them now, no?"
"Yes, my Lord," Nyfarella nodded solemnly.
She was now a Mid-rank Greater Demon with a tier-6 artifact as her weapon; it wouldn't take much effort on her end to wipe out the Red Ghoul Clan's outpost.
"Then get right to it," Leon urged, not paying any interest to the outpost.
His attention was entirely on the ruin's entrance.
He could see why the women in the Dark Fae Clan never see the men despite the ruin being situated so close to their clan.
The ruin was not actually in the open; it was hidden in the subterranean space below the mountain peak.
Although none of the male dark faes could be seen at the entrance, the crates of black ores revealed what they were exactly excavating inside.
"A dark crystal mine, huh?" Leon muttered.
Chapter 879 - Attacking Green Goblin Peak
"The ruin under this mountain contains a dark crystal deposit?" Aria asked while glancing at the crack in the mountain wall up ahead.
"Looking at those crates of dark crystals and minecarts lying around outside the entrance, it does point towards that. Nevertheless, I guess we'll only know for sure once we head inside," Leon replied.
"Mm," Aria nodded.
Shortly after, Leon, Darlene, Aria, and Duna openly approached the ruin entrance in the mountain and entered it.
The lack of security spoke volumes of the Red Ghoul Clan's list of priorities. Rather, they had no sense of alertness whatsoever.
They've grown complacent during the reign in the region and never expected trouble to come knocking one day, which is today.
…
Shortly after Leon, Darlene, Aria, and Duna disappeared in the mountain crack, Nyfarella shifted her attention to the Red Ghoul Clan's outpost.
"The ruin should have more guards supervising the dark faes' labor. I should quickly finish my job here and rejoin the Lord," Nyfarella muttered.
She gripped her tier-6 sword and strolled right into the outpost.
With no sentries keeping watch on the wall, the red ghouls in the outpost failed to notice Nyfarella until she passed the open gate and stepped into the outer courtyard.
"Hm? What's a dark fae doing here?" a red ghoul wondered.
More red ghouls began to take notice of Nyfarella's presence, but even then, they did not sense the slightest hint of danger or alarm.
What could one dark fae do?
Puchi!
Without warning, Nyfarella closed the gap on the nearest red ghoul and beheaded with a clean slash of her tier-6 sword.
Blood sprayed from the red ghoul's neck before its body dropped to the ground with a thud.
In that instance, the red ghouls within the outpost froze and failed to process what exactly had just happened right in front of them.
One of their clan members died to a dark fae?
How is that possible?
Puchi!
Nyfarella followed up on her attack and beheaded another red ghoul that stood not far from the first one, sending its head flying.
The red ghouls were finally enraged after witnessing the death of their second clan member.
"Kill her!" a Greater Demon-level Red Ghoul roared.
The commotion quickly attracted all forty-eight remaining red ghouls in the outpost before they all rushed at Nyfarella like an angry mob.
But without adequate defense, they were all cut down like weeds.
Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!
Nyfarella swung her tier-6 sword and overpowered the red ghouls with brute strength, cutting them, weapon and body, in half and reaping their lives.
She swung and swung until she noticed the red ghouls were no more.
Only their dismembered bodies and blood were left, scattered around her in the outpost's outer courtyard.
She glanced around with an empty feeling.
"Red ghouls have fast growth but little potential and intelligence. As such, their clan could never rise to high rank and always stayed as a mid-rank demon clan… To think that such a clan would give my Dark Fae Clan so much trouble in the past…" Nyfarella muttered.
Despite decimating fifty red ghouls, she did not feel the satisfaction of defeating her clan's oppressor.
No, it was far from enough.
She needed to kill more.
Nevertheless, Nyfarella did not depart from the outpost immediately; she entered the inner courtyard and searched the area.
It didn't take long before she discovered many crates of dark crystals stored in the storage room before she collected them all into her interspatial ring.
Only after she made sure there was nothing left of value in the outpost did she finally leave to catch up with her Lord.
…
…
…
Roughly fifty-five miles west of the Dark Fae Clan, a group of dark wyrms and dark faes arrived at the foot of a mountain peak.
"Lord Nightingale, this Green Goblin Peak, the home of the Green Goblin Clan," a dark fae informed.
Green Goblin Peak had many cave openings, both big and small ones, running along its foot, and many more caves existed deeper under the mountain.
At the same time, numerous passageways connected the caves interchangeably, forming a complex network and maze under the mountain peak.
"Although I have never been inside the Green Goblin Clan, I heard it is easy to get lost if one is not familiar with the terrain within," the dark fae added.
"That is under the premise that we can even enter it," Nightingale nonchalantly said.
The cave openings were too small.
"Nevertheless, since we've arrived at the Green Goblin Clan, let us not waste any time. We have the entire Great Blackrock Mountains to conquer," Nightingale mentioned.
"Surely, no one here wants to lag behind the other groups that headed for the other demon clans, but let me tell you what; I will not settle for subpar performance. No, we will outdo the other groups and be the one to conquer the most clans in the Great Blackrock Mountains!"
"Begin the attack!" Nightingale ordered shortly after.
Nightingale's words had the dark wyrms and the dark faes' blood pumping, but her order was unclear; they did not know what they were supposed to attack.
"What are we attacking, Lord Nightingale?" an Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm asked.
"The mountain peak, of course! Since we can't enter, we just have to shake their nest and lure them!" Nightingale stated.
The dark wyrms quickly understood.
Within a few short breaths, they quickly began their attack on the Green Gobling Peak, causing it to shake with tremors and tears to form on its surface.
Some caves within the mountain peak even collapsed from the dark wyrms' onslaught.
Before long, an army of angry green goblins poured out from the cave openings en masse and rushed into action to defend their home from collapsing.
However, the power difference became apparent in the first clash!
Several dark wyrms directly flattened hundreds of green goblins with their enormous bodies while others swallowed dozens with their gaping jaws.
Fear quickly replaced the green goblins' rage like a splash of cold water, causing tens of thousands to cower several steps back towards their caves.
"Stop!" the goblin chief shouted.
Chapter 880 - Sweeping Great Blackrock Mountains
After the green goblins halted their retaliation and made way for their goblin chief, the dark wyrms also pulled back their attacks and created distance.
"My Lords, why have you come to attack our clan? What grievance have we incurred?" the goblin chief sought for an answer from the crowd of dark wyrms ahead of it.
However, the goblin chief quickly spotted the dark faes on top of the dark wyrms before its eyes widened with shock.
'The dark faes?! What dealings have the dark faes made with dark wyrms for the dark wyrms to allow them to sit on their heads?!'
It wasn't just the goblin chief who had that thought; the entire green goblin army did, and it shocked them to the core.
"My Lords, what did the Dark Fae Clan promise you? They are the weakest clan in the Great Blackrock Mountains! Whatever they promised you, my Green Goblin Clan can definitely offer more!" the goblin chief shouted desperately.
There was no way the Green Goblin Clan could win against such an overwhelming force.
Even the Nine Great Clans would find themselves hard-pressed to face such a terrifying group of dark wyrms.
The only way for the Green Goblin Clan to survive is to win the dark wyrms over to their side.
Alas, the dark wyrms scoffed at the goblin chief's ignorant offer.
Nightingale made her way forward before she gazed down on the goblin chief with her towering figure.
The goblin chief immediately felt tremendous pressure from Nightingale's gaze and aura.
'A Half-step Demon Lord-level Earth Dragon! No, a true Demon Lord-level Earth Dragon!' the goblin chief's mind immediately screamed with shock.
"My Lord has decreed the subjugation of the Great Blackrock Mountains. As such, I will only give the Green Goblin Clan two choices; submit or die!" Nightingale stated.
"Lord Nightingale…" the dark fae on Nightingale softly uttered.
"I know," Nightingale nodded before telling the goblin chief, "Your clan can choose to submit, but it won't come that easy."
"You will have your strongest warriors fight to the death with the weakest members in our group before you are allowed to submit. Now, make your choice!"
After hearing that, the goblin chief's eyes flickered.
In other words, all of the Green Goblin Clan's leaders have to die before the Demon Lord-level Earth Dragon accepts the Green Goblin Clan's submission.
No matter what choice the goblin chief makes, it will still die. But if it chooses to submit, Green Goblin Clan will continue to exist at the very least.
"Are the dark faes included in your list of weakest members, my Lord?" the goblin chief asked carefully.
"That was what implied," Nightingale coolly stated before she asked with narrowed eyes, "Or do you believe the members of my Black Dragon Clan can be weak?"
"N-not at all! My clan will choose to submit to you, my Lord!" the goblin chief said.
"Not to me, to my Lord, Lord Leon, the one who rules over my Black Dragon Clan and the Dark Fae Clan!" Nightingale corrected the goblin chief's mistaken assumption.
"Thank you for giving us this opportunity, Lord Nightingale," the dark fae on her head said.
Nevertheless, Nightingale did not intend to stay and watch the Dark Fae Clan's battle.
After leaving a few Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms behind to supervise the area, Nightingale grabbed another dark fae and headed to the next demon clan to subjugate.
"If they go back on their words, feel free to wipe them all out," Nightingale had left those words for the Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms just before she departed.
…
…
…
While Nightingale's group rushed to subjugate the next demon clan, the other three groups led by earth dragons also headed to their next demon clan.
They had the same thoughts about subjugating the most clans in the Great Blackrock Mountains.
After Shadowtail's group decimated two-tenths of the Blue Ogre Clan and received their submission, they moved to their next target, the Undead Lich Clan.
The last two groups also decimated roughly two-tenths of their targets before moving on to the next target.
One by one, the demons clans in Great Blackrock Mountains submitted to the Black Dragon Clan and the Lord, who they had not seen yet.
The Black Dragon Clan quickly established its dominance in the Great Blackrock Mountains with its overwhelming strength.
None of the demon clans in the Great Blackrock Mountains were prepared for Black Dragon Clan's arrival, but news of their submissions traveled fast after their overwhelming defeats.
It created a huge stir throughout the Great Blackrock Mountains like ripples.
The news eventually reached one of the Nine Great Clans, the Purple Coatl Dragon Clan, in the far west of the Great Blackrock Mountains and alarmed them.
…
The Purple Coatl Dragon Clan was the ruler of the Great Blackrock Mountains.
Unlike other demon clans who only occupy one mountain in the Great Blackrock Mountains, the Purple Coatl Dragon Clan's home spanned across a dozen mountain peaks.
On the Purple Sunset Peak, the Purple Coatl Dragon Clan's main peak, the upper echelons of the clan gathered.
There were only four Purple Coatl Dragons, but they were all at the High-rank Great Demon-level, the few remaining elders that stayed behind to manage the clan.
"Has no one heard anything from the clan leader and elders?" a Purple Coatl Dragon Elder inquired.
"I've already sent a clan member to scout the abyss for news. However, it'll take some time before we hear anything about the secret realm," another Purple Coatl Dragon Elder replied.
"How long, exactly?"
"Excluding the possibilities of delays and breaks, the scout will take at least half a day for a round trip back to us."
"…"
The Purple Coatl Dragon Elders quickly fell silent.
"The Mid-rank and High-rank demon clans in the Great Blackrock Mountains are falling by the hour. We don't have half a day to wait," a Purple Coatl Dragon Elder stated with a worried look.
"This doesn't make any sense… Where did these dark wyrms suddenly pop out from? The Starfall Dominion certainly doesn't have any dark wyrms…"
Chapter 881 - Pleasant Surprise
"I've only heard about them from the secret realm and the other dominions…"
"But if the other dominions are invading us, why haven't we received any news from the southern regions? They would have been struck first!"
"Considering the speed of this Black Dragon Clan's subjugation, perhaps the southern regions fell too quickly before they could send the news out…"
"Nevertheless, that is not our concern right now. We should be figuring out how to deal with this so-called Black Dragon Clan!"
While the Purple Coatl Dragon Elders debated over the solution, Shadowtail and the others continued to lead their group and sweep the demon clans across the Great Blackrock Mountains.
…
…
…
After entering the mountain ruin, Leon, Darlene, Aria, and Duna ventured deeper down the wide, sloped passageway.
Relics of the past scattered along the side of the walls, some even partially unearthed.
Wherever they looked, runes filled the relics, some still functioning while others were damaged and broken.
Even so, these relics were all left on the side like discarded trash.
"We've only just stepped into the ruin, but we've already found so many relics of the distant past lying around like garbage…" Leon commented with a wry smile.
He stopped by one side of the passageway and picked up a dirty box-shaped relic before he patted the dirt off to inspect the item.
It was just a small chest, nothing worth mentioning.
However, shortly after Leon opened the small chest, he found well-preserved primordial scriptures inside.
He couldn't understand the specifics of the primordial scriptures at a glance.
Despite that, he was well aware that all techniques from the primordial era were far from ordinary in the present era.
"I guess dark crystals are more important to the demons," Aria added to Leon's comment amusedly.
"Most warriors in the Darkmoon Tribe would also choose the dark crystals over these old relics and scriptures. Only a select few would collect relics from the ruins for study," Darlene stated.
Something that could be used was better off than something they could not.
"I suppose this is a perfect example of; one man's garbage is another man's treasure. Too bad for them, but lucky for us," Leon stated.
Once Aria and Darlene saw Leon pocketing every relic they saw, they also began to help him collect the relics.
On the other hand, Duna rubbed some dirt off the wall to gaze at the runic language engraved on it.
Nevertheless, she didn't fall too far off from the others.
When Leon and the others quickly cleared out the relics and made their way deeper into the ruins, Duna would move onto another mural closer to them.
It didn't take long before Nyfarella caught up and rejoined their group.
"I've finished my business at the outpost, my Lord," Nyfarella reported before taking out crates of dark crystals, "These items were all collected from there."
Leon swept a glance at the dark crystal crates but didn't show any particular interest in them.
"Since you found them, it's yours; keep it," Leon casually said.
"Thank you, my Lord!" Nyfarella answered excitedly.
There were at least a few hundred thousand dark crystals, yet the Lord was willing to give it all to her without much concern.
She was both impressed and astounded by his indifference to such wealth.
The group eventually reached a split in the passageway; one path revealed more relics while the distant clings and clangs of mining came from the other.
It was clear where each path would lead them.
"There are two paths to take here. I'll be taking the left path and heading deeper into the ruins, but you want to free your clan members, don't you?" Leon turned to Nyfarella.
"Yes, my Lord!" Nyfarella nodded firmly.
"Nyfarella won't intrude on your free time, my Lord. With my present strength, I should be capable of taking care of the red ghouls in the dark crystal mine by myself."
"Go on then."
"Yes!"
Shortly after Nyfarella took the right path and ventured into the dark crystal mine on her own, Leon and the others headed deeper into the ruins on the left path.
They eventually arrived in a large cave filled with partially unearthed relics and half-buried broken buildings.
An unfathomable aura of ancientness exuded from them.
It was clear these objects weren't just old; they were very old—old as the gods and devils from the primordial era.
Leon glanced around and admired the mural on the broken buildings and relics full of runic engravings.
There is a lot of research value in these ruins.
"The Great War supposedly destroyed the gods and devils' physical forms, but it seems some structures and relics of the past manage to survive the destruction and made it to this age…"
"You should use Nihility on them," Duna suddenly spoke.
Leon and the other two ladies immediately glanced back at Duna with astonishment, not expecting her to speak suddenly.
"Why?" Leon asked, nonetheless.
"These ancient buildings are all made from the purest form of True Grandmist Energy that appeared at the beginning of time. The amount of True Grandmist Energy that you can extract from them cannot compare with what you had until now," Duna calmly explained.
Leon's eyes flickered.
After listening to Duna's explanation, he became curious at once.
He glanced at a broken wall and wondered just how many wisps of True Grandmist Energy he could extract from it.
'Are you seriously planning on destroying a historical object with this much runic knowledge on it?'
Maya's criticizing voice suddenly resounded in Leon's mind, causing his eyes to slowly widen with a pleasant surprise.
'Maya? You've awakened? When? How?' Leon asked with astonishment.
'Are you seriously asking me when you should know better than me? Who else can it be beside you to supply spirit energy for my recovery? Didn't you gather these few thousand stalks of tier-5 spirit herb for that purpose?'
Maya replied confusedly.
Nevertheless, once Maya mentioned the tier-5 spirit herbs, Leon immediately realized how the artifact spirit recovered.
Chapter 882 - Maya's Heart
All wood-attribute plants and other forms of vegetation are capable of producing spirit energy in varying amounts depending on their quality.
Because the world lacked high-quality plants, spirit energy had always been scarce.
But of course, there were exceptions like the bottom of the Bone Sea.
The rich lifeforce in the Black Turtle God Beast's blood essence enabled spirit herbs to prosper and create a spirit energy-rich environment down there.
'There were a lot of things going on; I must have overlooked the slight detail. That being said, it's great to have you back, Maya. It's been rough without you," Leon said with heartfelt relief.
Given the sheer number of untranslated scriptures lying around, the timing of her awakening couldn't be more perfect.
'Hmph, ungrateful bastard. I've just recovered my consciousness, but you already want to give me translation work,' Maya snorted.
'Hahaha, don't say that. It's true that I missed you,' Leon chuckled dryly.
"This ruin contains a lot of research value; any destruction to it will be put on hold for the time being. So let us take everything of interest and value first," Leon said to the others.
"Alright," Aria and Darlene nodded.
Shortly after, they wandered off into different parts of the ruin to collect relics and scriptures.
"There's nothing good about the primordial era; the gods and devils were destroyed for a reason. So it's better to destroy everything and extract the True Grandmist Energy out of them instead of following in their footsteps," Duna spoke.
"That's not true," Leon smiled slightly and argued.
"The Great War indeed destroyed the gods and devils, but there's much to learn from the primordial era. You might say that I am following in their footsteps, but I say I am learning about them to avoid the same mistake."
"Whatever," Duna uttered nonchalantly.
She couldn't be bothered to enter a debate with Leon and ended their discussion right there and then and became silent once more.
Leon shook his head helplessly.
Shortly after, he pushed aside Duna's matter and focused on collecting the scriptures, scrolls, and manual lying around in the ruin.
'Maya, can you scan all the runes engraved on these walls and start translating the primordial heritage in the Archive,' Leon requested.
However, Maya rolled her eyes in the Worldspace.
'Do you even have any consideration for me? I've only recovered my consciousness; it's not like I have a lot of spiritual strength to do these menial tasks yet. So at least let me recover a bit more first,' Maya stated.
Leon paused for a moment before he sincerely acknowledged his mistake, 'You're right; that was inconsiderate of me. I'm sorry.'
'Apology accepted,' Maya replied.
After a brief moment of consideration and contemplation, Leon made a suggestion, 'If you're lacking spiritual strength, then… shall we try dual cultivation for faster recovery?'
'Hm? Have you finally lost your mind?' Maya couldn't believe what she had just heard.
'I don't know what possessed you to make such an outrageous suggestion, but let us not forget that I am a spiritual lifeform without a physical body. And not just any spiritual lifeform either, but an artifact spirit; I don't have the same receptors as you humans.'
In other words, she was built differently; dual cultivation would not have the same intended effect on her.
'Furthermore, dual cultivation does not replenish spiritual strength. If anything, it'll expend it instead. For you to make such a suggestion… you've finally fallen under the charms of my beauty, huh?'
The more Maya thought about it, the more she felt that was the case.
'Ahem, that's not it,' Leon replied awkwardly.
'You might have forgotten, but I've developed a spiritual dual cultivation technique. It was a bit rough at first, but I've made improvements to it. W can transfer spiritual strength to each other by copulating in the spiritual world with our spiritual forms.'
'Furthermore, the amount of spiritual strength transferred can be controlled. The ultimate goal of spiritual dual cultivation is to benefit both parties. However, since you require spiritual strength, I will transfer all of mine to you through spiritual dual cultivation.'
'How about it? Would you like to give it a go?' Leon inquired.
Maya was skeptical of the whole notion of dual cultivating with an artifact spirit like her. However, Leon's explanation of spiritual dual cultivation quickly attracted her interest.
An artifact spirit's recovery of spiritual strength cannot compare to other beings with physical bodies; it was much slower.
At the same time, artifact spirits require spirit energy to replenish their spiritual strength.
On the other hand, other beings with physical forms like humans can simply recover spiritual strength with time like they have an infinite power source.
'You have my attention. How do we begin?' Maya replied.
'One of us need to enter the other's spiritual world, but you shouldn't have the ability to do this, so it is up to me to enter your spiritual world,' Leon said.
'Heh, well, isn't that a problem,' Maya snickered at once.
'Artifact spirits don't have dreams, so it's questionable whether a spiritual world even exists for artifact spirits. Not to mention, we don't have the soul cores as you humans do.'
'You don't, but you all have a heart, which is the essence of your being. It might be different from a human's soul core in appearance, but I think it can be considered as your soul core,' Leon stated.
'You think, huh?' Maya uttered.
'So basically, there's no guarantee that you can enter my spiritual world, let alone perform this so-called spiritual dual cultivation with me…'
'Nothing ventured, nothing gained; we'll know once we try,' Leon replied with a smile.
'Go on then.'
'Alright.'
Shortly after Leon informed the others of his short meditation, he found a spot to sit before diving into the Worldspace with his condensed spiritual avatar.
'My heart is hidden below ground, but it shouldn't be a problem for you to reach it in your spiritual form,' Maya informed him.
Leon nodded.
It didn't take long for him to locate Maya's heart in the Worldspace's subterranean space with her guidance.
However, the crystalized divine energy was rather dim compared to the realm spirit's divine crystal heart.
Chapter 883 - First Time With Maya (1)
Although Maya's divine crystal heart was dim, Leon did not find it too surprising.
He was well aware that the Divine Book of Life he inherited was far from its peak state. Heck, it was most likely already damaged when his late father obtained it.
Not many relics from the primordial era survive to the present age in perfect conditions; they are usually damaged and incomplete one way or another.
'Here goes nothing,' Leon thought.
Soul Dive!
Leon quickly dived straight into Maya's divine crystal heart with his spiritual avatar.
However, the experience felt nothing like phasing through transparent glasses, as anyone would have assumed based on appearances.
Instead, Maya's divine crystal heart was like a portal.
The moment his spiritual came in contact with Maya's divine crystal heart, it quickly pulled his consciousness into another world, Maya's spiritual world.
However, Maya's spiritual world was unlike any he had seen before.
There were no grassy plains, fresh running rivers, lush green forests, or snowy mountains. Nor were there any white clouds and a bright sun hanging in the sky—or rather, there was simply no land nor sky.
It was just an endless stretch of the void filled with darkness, loneliness, and emptiness.
Maya's spiritual avatar appeared in her supposed spiritual world and gazed at the dark void beside Leon a few moments later.
"So this is how my spiritual world looks? This is rather surprising… But then again, not so much if I give it more thought…" Maya casually commented.
Nevertheless, the scene made Leon frown.
"A person's spiritual world is supposed to be a manifestation of their dreams, ambitions, memories, and even emotions," Leon mentioned with furrowed brows.
"You can even say that everything that makes a person who they are can be found inside of their spiritual world… Well, at the very least, that is what the Archive recorded on the spiritual world… Maya, you…"
Leon glanced at Maya with surprise.
To have an empty spiritual world was no different from having no aspirations and emotions; only a person without a reason to live might have an empty spiritual world like this.
"Don't be so surprised," Maya casually said.
"When you live as long as I have, you'll start to realize the things you hold dear will not be as important as you think. Life will hold no meaning, and the things that can interest you are very few and far between."
"Eternal life isn't a blessing, but a curse. Even mortals live their lives more brilliantly than the True Divinities."
"And yet, they still strive for everlasting life," Leon argued with a smile.
"I may not have lived your lifetime, and I may even sound arrogant to say this, but it's not that life has no meaning; it is us who gives it meaning. So if you find yourself without any meaning in life, it just implies you haven't found it yet. That, or you have lost your purpose in life."
"In that case, you just have to find a new one to keep you going. Everyone needs a purpose to keep moving forward because idleness is terrifying; it gives birth to regret. Everyone wants to live, and no one wants to die."
"However, the reality is cruel. Not everyone gets that chance to live forever. But at the very least, when they depart the world, they would leave with peace of mind, knowing that they have done their best to live a fulfilling life."
"I can see where you are coming from, but I'm not interested in debating on this topic with you. Somethings can't be comprehended unless you experience the vicissitude of time," Maya stated.
"We didn't come here to debate either, did we?" Maya mentioned coolly before urging him, "So let us begin; this spiritual dual cultivation you mentioned."
"Alright," Leon nodded before suddenly adding, "But before that, I strongly request that you change into your adult form."
"Why? Is there a problem with my present form?" Maya asked in her child form.
"Various problems, actually, but primarily due to moral complications that I insist you change out of this form," Leon replied with a forced smile.
"I don't want to develop a guilty conscience because of this."
"Seriously, you are overcomplicating things," Maya furrowed her brows before asking, "Do you realize how old I am? What moral complications can there be?"
"That's not really the point here…"
"Fine, fine. I'll do as you wish."
Maya agreed without much fight, and before long, her spiritual avatar changed into an adult beauty.
Nevertheless, she was very nonchalant.
It was as if the act of performing dual cultivation with Leon was a trivial thing, and it wouldn't affect nor concern her in the slightest.
However, the moment Leon grabbed her wrist and pulled her body closer to himself, her long eyelashes fluttered.
She immediately glanced down at her grabbed wrist with a strange feeling.
The sensation of their contact was foreign and new to her.
"Is something wrong?" Leon asked.
"No, it's nothing," Maya shook her head and said indifferently, "Continue."
"Alright," Leon acknowledged.
He proceeded to undress Maya's white robe and trace his fingers along her fair skin.
While he was at it, he pressed a few acupoints' locations as if they existed, completely treating Maya's body like he would do with another human's body.
"Ahh…" a soft moan involuntarily escaped Maya's mouth.
The waves after waves of foreign sensations assaulted her, making her body quiver with weakness and delight.
It was conflicting, but she didn't hate it.
'This is so strange… What is this feeling? I'm experiencing it for the first time, but this shouldn't be possible. I'm an artifact spirit. My spiritual avatar shouldn't possess any receptors to experience these feelings...'
Maya was confused and lost, even nervous, strangely, but she didn't want Leon to stop.
Leon eventually took the next step and loosened his clothes, which dissipated like mist after separating from his spiritual avatar.
At the same time, some distance away from Leon and Maya, a blue planet slowly manifested and grew with time in the dark void as they became more intimate in the act.
Chapter 884 - First Time With Maya (2)
Nevertheless, neither Leon nor Maya paid attention to the changes in the depths of the dark void.
Shortly after Leon undressed, he saddled Maya on top of his lap and played with her supple white peaks with his tongue.
His hands snaked their way down her belly, feeling the smoothness of her skin before reaching her honey pot, which was already overflowing with love nectar.
Her body squirmed with delight at his touches, and the pleasure overwhelmed her beyond her wildest imagination.
Maya was almost drunk on the feeling.
She was in a state that anyone or anything that touched her body would bring her joy and pleasure. Leon did not require much effort to please her at all.
But because Leon was rather adept in the field, Maya experienced euphoria continuously even before he served the main course.
Nevertheless, she was ready for it.
In that instant, Leon lifted Maya slightly before driving his little brother right into her wonder hole, filling up completely.
"Ahhh~! What is this feeling? How can such a wonderful sensation exist?" Maya cried with delight, her gaze blurred, immersed in sheer bliss.
It was as if the gates of heaven opened before her.
"Oh my goodness~! This is incredible, Leon! Please don't stop this feeling~! Keep it going~!" Maya continued to cry with delight.
Nevertheless, Leon didn't intend to give Maya a break in the first place. He began pumping her flowery garden with increasing tempo.
Although Leon didn't feel the same level of pleasure, he also didn't enjoy the dual cultivation any less than Maya did.
However, all good things won't last forever; he still had to transfer his spiritual strength to her.
Despite the purpose of their dual cultivation in the first place, Leon didn't want Maya's first experience in spiritual dual cultivation to end unsatisfyingly and short.
As such, after going at it for six hours straight, Leon finally broke the delicate balance he maintained in their dual cultivation.
When that happened, Maya siphoned the spiritual strength from him naturally.
After another half hour of intimate exercise in the spiritual world, Maya finally siphoned most—if not all the spiritual strength from Leon.
He became too weak to continue, but neither was Maya dissatisfied with the end of their dual cultivation.
No, she was rather satisfied with it.
Unknowingly, the dark void was filled with stars and planets during their intimate session.
They, themselves, laid on the grassy plains of one such planet right at that moment. With Leon on the ground and Maya on top of his chest, they felt each others' warmth and beating hearts.
"I understand now," Maya suddenly exclaimed with bright eyes.
After cooling herself down and finally having the chance to ponder about things, she finally figured out the source of her confusion.
"What do you understand?" Leon asked with a feeble voice.
"I figured why I can experience such sensational feelings of pleasure, which is usually not possible for any artifact spirit like me to experience. It's because I am bound to your soul," Maya concluded.
"My spiritual world was affected by you through the soul-binding connection we share. It is because of this connection that I can experience the emotions and feelings of a normal human woman."
"I see… And what do you think of it? Do you hate it?" Leon asked weakly.
Maya shook her and replied, "Not at all. On the contrary, I think it's very lovely. I can get addicted to this feeling—No, I am already addicted."
She could never understand why men lust over beautiful women and women lust over handsome men in the past.
Or rather, she could understand the reason with her wealth of knowledge. But she could never truly understand it from the bottom of her heart.
But at this moment, she was finally enlightened after the unforgettable experience.
"Then we should do it some more after I recover my spiritual strength," Leon suggested with a hint of anticipation in his eyes.
"You dare make such a suggestion despite being in such a state? Control your lust, Leon," Maya coolly stated as she separated herself from Leon's chest.
Seeing how Maya recovered his usual self, Leon almost felt like someone that just got abandoned after a one-night stand.
Nevertheless, Maya cleansed the sweat from her body with a single thought. And with another thought, she was dressed in a fresh white robe.
"Interesting…" Maya uttered intriguingly.
"So you can do this in the spiritual world… Being able to create anything I can think of, I am basically a God of Creation in this spiritual world of mine…"
"A spiritual world is not much different from a dreamscape, so you're not wrong in saying that you are one in your spiritual world," Leon commented while lying on the grass.
She raised mountains, erected cities, and even created people before she became more confident of her omnipotence.
However, there was a slight issue with the people she created.
They were autonomous and capable of independent movements without her control, but they lacked emotion and purpose.
In essence, these humans she created were more like dolls.
"I suppose there are some limits that we can't overcome in this spiritual world," Maya said with a thoughtful look.
Shortly after, she played around further with her absolute power.
"How interesting…" Maya uttered.
"You don't need to understand anything about what you create. As long as you have the image and will, the spiritual world will generate the creation for you… but I wonder if studying the process will have any value in comprehending the Creation Law…"
Although Maya only commented casually, Leon's eyes flickered with interest.
It is worth testing.
But alas, he won't be able to test anything for the time being; he will be mentally exhausted for a quite while.
"Although time flows differently in the spiritual world, I still ought to get back to the real world," Leon said to Maya.
"Alright, you can leave first, Leon," Maya nodded without any intention to follow him.
She still wanted to play around for a bit longer in her spiritual world.
Chapter 885 - Perusing The Primordial Techniques
After returning to the real world, Leon took out a Spiritual Replenishment Pill and ingested it. Then, he recovered his meditative position and thoroughly absorbed the pill's efficacy.
A few minutes later, Leon felt a bit better but still exhausted, nonetheless.
'I haven't seen Maya show such expressions before… It's almost as if the expressions I've seen from our past interactions were all fake…' Leon silently mused.
Rather than fake, it's just that Maya's expressions in the spiritual world seemed more genuine.
Leon rested for a bit longer before he glanced around at the ruin, which had become much tidier.
It appeared that while he was busy with Maya in the spiritual world, Aria and Darlene had nearly collected all the relics in the ruin by themselves.
A full incense worth of time must have passed in the real world.
Although Leon felt bad leaving all the work to Aria and Darlene, he also felt relief, knowing he could rely on them at times.
After a few moments, Leon closed his eyes and focused on recovering his spiritual strength in peace.
…
…
…
Meanwhile, Nyfarella barged into the dark crystal mine without a plan and freed her male clan members.
Nevertheless, the dark male faes didn't have chains binding them or anything, making it easier for Nyfarella to pull them away from their workstations.
"Go, leave the mountain. More will follow you," Nyfarella ordered in a firm tone.
The male dark faes didn't know what possessed Nyfarella to utter such words, but they were very apprehensive and hesitant in complying.
They were afraid of the consequences of defying the Red Ghoul Clan.
"But the Red Ghoul Clan…"
"You don't have to worry about the Red Ghoul Clan, for there won't be any more red ghouls in this dark crystal mine after I am done with them."
"But…"
"Just go!"
The moment Nyfarella raised her voice at her male clan members, they immediately dropped their mining tools and fled the mine like frightened rabbits.
Nyfarella glanced at their backs and sighed.
The Red Ghoul Clan's years of oppression have made her clan members weak and timid—to the point that anyone could boss them around.
They didn't even recognize her as the Dark Fae Clan's current clan leader.
"The men's condition in the mine is worse than I imagined. The Red Ghoul Clan's rule ends today!" Nyfarella clenched her fist with determination.
The male dark faes only wore thin, ragged clothes, and many scars could be found on their bodies.
However, this was only the surface problem.
Looking at her clan member's sickly appearances, Nyfarella didn't doubt that her clan members also suffered from multiple illnesses.
"Oi, you there! What are you doing here? Where did the dark faes—" the short commotion attracted a red ghoul over to check.
But before it could finish interrogating Nyfarella, she beheaded it with a clean swing of her tier-6 sword.
Shortly after, Nyfarella ventured deeper into the mine, freeing every dark fae she came across.
It didn't take long before the patrolling red ghouls discovered dark faes missing from their designated areas.
They even found decapitated bodies of their clan members.
"Sound the alarm! The dark faes are rebelling—" a red ghoul cried.
Swish!
Nyfarella shot out from a corner of the mine and decapitated the red ghoul before it could take further action.
"Kill—!" the other red ghouls were alerted.
But Nyfarella made quick work of them and allowed their headless bodies to join the others scattered on the ground.
"Weak, too weak! These red ghouls can't resist a single blow! I won't be satisfied no matter how many I cut down in the same manner!" Nyfarella frowned.
"The red ghouls aren't weak, clan leader. Rather, it's you who have become too strong instead," a male dark fae corrected.
However, Nyfarella immediately scoffed at his comment.
She can't be considered truly strong until she reaches the same level of strength as Lord Shadowtail and Lord Nightingale from the Black Dragon Clan.
"Go, leave the mine, and join the others outside the mountain."
"Yes, clan leader!"
The male dark faes quickly complied and left—not out of respect, but out of fear.
Now that many dark faes were missing from the mine and several red ghouls were killed, they would only be risking their lives by staying.
Nevertheless, the dark crystal mine was much more extensive than Nyfarella anticipated.
"Seems like it will take me a while to get everyone out of here…" Nyfarella uttered with a frown while gazing at the multiple tunnels, each leading to a different section in the mine.
It was easy to get lost in such a maze-like mine.
…
…
…
After Leon recuperated for some time, he suddenly heard from Maya.
'I've finished translating the primordial heritage recorded in the Archive, so feel free to take a look at them whenever,' Maya casually said.
"Oh?" Leon exclaimed with a pleasant surprise.
'All of them?'
'All of them.'
After Leon received Maya's confirmation, he immediately sent his consciousness into the Archive to peruse the translated versions.
'Tch, not even a thank you,' Maya snorted.
A large bookshelf containing hundreds of newly translated techniques quickly appeared after Leon used a single thought to search for them.
However, Leon found the techniques on the bookshelf to be unorganized.
He immediately willed the Archive with another thought before the bookshelf divided into multiple bookshelves, each containing a specific category of primordial techniques.
Whether they were cultivation arts, battle skills, or miscellaneous techniques, they were all separated neatly into their respective bookshelf.
Leon ignored the battle skills and miscellaneous techniques and headed straight for the bookshelf with cultivation arts.
'Soul, body, and energy cultivation… I need to find a suitable body forging method for Aria and Darlene, but what kind of body forging methods would be considered suitable for them?'
Leon silently pondered.
'Aria specializes in the Ice and Lightning Law… so a body forging method that can strengthen her ice and lightning abilities will be ideal…' Leon mused.
Chapter 886 - Infinite Incarnations
'A body forging method that complements elemental abilities… something like special physiques and divine bodies would be even better…' Leon thought.
Having remolded his own body into the True Grandmist Physique, he was aware that gaining special physiques was possible besides one's birth.
…
…
While skimming through the list of body forging methods, Leon suddenly paused on the Empyrean Void Body Law.
'Empyrean Void Body Law?' Leon's eyes flickered with a thoughtful look.
'Only the Empyrean Gods are worthy of using the term 'Empyrean' in the primordial era… So then, this Empyrean Void Body Law must be from Empyrean Infinite Void…' Leon speculated.
However, he quickly furrowed his brows with confusion shortly after.
'Wasn't Empyrean Infinite Void the most elusive Empyrean God during the primordial era? No one could enter Empyrean Infinite Void's self-created realm, let alone even gaze upon it. So how did one of her techniques end up here?'
Leon wondered with a baffled look.
Nevertheless, he realized that he didn't know much about the Great War or how it ended the primordial era of gods and devils.
'Do you know much about Empyrean Infinite Void, Maya?' Leon sought his artifact spirit's knowledge on the matter.
Although the Divine Book of Life's damage impaired Maya's memories and abilities, she was still an artifact on a higher level than the Radiant Heaven Realmship.
She might know something.
'Hm? Why are you suddenly interested in Empyrean Infinite Void?' Maya replied to Leon's question with a question of her own, intrigued by the sudden topic.
Nevertheless, Leon didn't mind.
'Because one of my women possesses a soul fragment of Empyrean Infinite Void, and there's a technique called Empyrean Void Body Art in the Archive,' Leon replied.
'Considering Empyrean Infinite Void was very elusive, don't you also find it strange for one of her techniques to be mixed with the other primordial heritage?'
Leon asked shortly after.
'Did you just say one of your women possess a soul fragment of Empyrean Infinite Void?' Maya answered his question with another question again.
Leon furrowed his brows.
'That's right. Is that a problem?' Leon asked with growing concern.
'Problem? Well, that depends on the situation. How important is this woman to you? Has she integrated with her soul fragment of Empyrean Infinite Void?' Maya casually questioned him.
'Do you even need to ask about how her importance? If my women aren't important to me, who is?'
'I don't know, your parents, perhaps?' Maya replied nonchalantly.
'Ahem, well, the point is my family and loved ones are all important to me,' Leon replied with an awkward cough.
'According to Darlene, she hasn't integrated with her soul fragment yet. She has misgivings about it, and I also agree with her. An Empyrean God's soul fragment isn't something we can treat carelessly.'
'Are there other risks associated with integrating an Empyrean God's soul fragment, aside from personality disorder?' Leon asked shortly after.
Despite his repeated questioning, Maya seems to have a habit of not answering any of them directly.
'You're both right to have misgivings about integrating an Empyrean God's soul fragment,' Maya stated.
'As you know, True Divinities are eternal and imperishable existences. You can destroy their bodies and shatter their souls, but their deified souls will never disappear from the world. Not only that, but their soul fragments will also cling to new lives.'
'It's like True Divinities' instincts and attempts at reviving themselves. Of course, you can't consider this as being 'alive,' but at least they still exist.'
'However, if you ask me who among the True Divinities are the closest to being alive, it is, without a doubt, the Empyrean Gods. And among the Empyrean Gods, Empyrean Infinite Void is the closest to being alive—or rather, Empyrean Infinite Void is alive.'
'What do you mean by that, Maya?' Leon asked with a startled look.
'What I'm trying to say is that the soul fragments of Empyrean Infinite Void aren't just egos that contain a sliver of Empyrean Infinite Void's will,' Maya stated.
'No, you can see each sentient soul fragment of Empyrean Infinite Void as another incarnation of Empyrean Infinite Void herself. As a being who comprehended Infinity, Empyrean Infinite Void lives an infinite number of lifetimes through her various incarnations.'
'This might be one of the reasons for the reclusiveness of her true body,' Maya added shortly after.
'How is that even possible?' Leon was shocked by the revelation.
He couldn't comprehend how strong Empyrean Infinite Void's soul has to be in order to control so many incarnations at once.
Given his present soul strength, his limit would be one if he could create incarnations of himself.
Nevertheless, Leon quickly understood the real danger of integrating Empyrean Infinite Void's soul fragment.
It won't be as simple as Darlene inheriting Empyrean Infinite Void's memories and confusing her identity with Empyrean Infinite Void's.
'If Darlene accepts Empyrean Infinite Void's soul fragment, Empyrean Infinite Void will swallow her and complete her incarnation…' Leon uttered.
'That's right. So you understand that much,' Maya nodded before adding, 'However, that should be the least of your concern.'
'Don't tell me there's an even bigger problem than that?' Leon asked.
'Of course, there is!' Maya stressed.
'As long as your woman doesn't stupidly integrate herself with Empyrean Infinite Void's soul fragment, Empyrean Infinite Void can't take over her body and soul. But since Empyrean Infinite Void's soul fragment had awakened in her, her existence has become known to Empyrean Infinite Void.'
'Suppose Empyrean Infinite Void wants to send her other incarnations over to retrieve her soul fragment. In that case, I doubt there will be anything we can do to stop it from happening,' Maya stated.
After all, they would be challenging an Empyrean God. Who knows how powerful her other incarnations would be?
Leon understood Maya's implication and could not help but feel tremendous pressure on his shoulders.
'An Empyrean God, huh?' Leon smiled bitterly.
No matter how much he raised his strength, reality would always show him how small and insignificant his existence was in the whole of Primal Chaos.
Chapter 887 - Hyperion Galaxy
'Hold on. The situation might not be as hopeless as it seems,' Leon suddenly thought.
Although he felt tremendous pressure, it also let him think with greater clarity.
According to what he knew—or rather what he had been told, there hasn't been a single True Divinity since the primordial era.
Despite all the primordial heritage in the world, Half-step True Divinity appears to be the limit for everyone.
'What's stopping beings like the Eternal Night Demon Empress from taking the last half-step to become a True Divinity? Or is it simply too big of a dream that mortals could become gods themselves?'
Leon pondered.
'Just as the True Divinities could not transcend beyond godhood and become something greater, mortals also cannot transcend beyond mortality? Is this the natural order of things? That we cannot ascend beyond the bracket of existence we are born into?'
Leon found it strange.
Despite the high-level laws that awakeners can obtain from awakening their True Divinity's soul fragment, not a single person had yet actually achieved True Divinity.
Evidently, the issue of achieving True Divinity didn't lie in the laws but something else—something the True Divinities have from the primordial era that the current world doesn't have.
'True Grandmist Energy?' Leon guessed.
It seemed like True Grandmist Energy was the only plausible explanation. But how does True Grandmist Energy determine one's ascension to True Divinity?
Even if Leon wanted to know, it wasn't something he could find an answer to at his level.
'True Grandmist Energy might be related, but I don't think it's the exact answer either,' Leon thought with furrowed brows.
If True Grandmist Energy truly is the answer to True Divinity, the first wielder of the Nihility Law shouldn't have been stuck at the Half-step True Divinity level like the others.
Nevertheless, that was just his assumption.
No one knows if the first wield of Nihility Law could have achieved True Divinity or not if he was given time.
It could just be one big disappointment in the end.
But that was just a hypothetical situation; it doesn't change the reality that the person is already dead.
'You don't need to feel too pressured by the Empyrean Infinite Void's existence,' Maya suddenly assured him.
'If we think about it, there weren't any powerful cultivators back in the Divine Realm that specialized in the Spatial Law. Thus, we can assume that Empyrean Infinite Void doesn't have any incarnation in the Hyperion Galaxy.'
'The Hyperion Galaxy?' Leon asked.
'Oh?' Maya uttered surprise and asked, 'You didn't know?'
'Basically, the Four Divine Regions of the Divine Realm and the collection of Desolate Regions outside of it are part of the Hyperion Galaxy. Every star that hasn't been separated by the boundless void beyond is all included.'
'I see…' Leon uttered.
Having lived a short 30 years in the Divine Realm and spending most of his time learning alchemy and medicine at that, it was clear that he didn't know much about anything else.
'So no incarnations in the Hyperion Galaxy, huh? We don't know that for sure,' Leon suddenly shook his head.
'The Desolate Regions are much larger than the Divine Realm; it would be exceedingly difficult to cultivate if any of Empyrean Infinite Void's incarnations landed in those regions. Her incarnations can't become powerful even if she wants them to in that place.'
The Desolate Regions weren't so harsh that they were uninhabitable. In fact, mortals are more than capable of living fulfilling lives there—but only for mortals.
For cultivators, the Desolate Regions were a nightmare. The absence of spirit energy, let alone divine energy makes it impossible to cultivate.
'I don't know if you are aware, but the Desolate Regions are called the Desolate Regions for a reason; they're nothing like anywhere else in the Divine Realm. You can find plants growing in that place, but they won't produce a speck of spirit energy,' Leon stated.
It was an enigma that baffled everyone.
Not even the greatest minds in the Divine Realm could figure out why the plants cannot produce spirit energy in the Desolate Regions.
'Nevertheless, last I checked, we aren't in the Divine Realm anymore… I mean, we are kind of, but not really. This field of stars is completely cut off from the rest of the Divine Realm,' Leon continued.
'Here, everyone seems to have a dormant soul fragment of True Divinity sleeping inside them. And last I checked again; we don't know all the experts in this starfield. So we can't say for certain that Empyrean Infinite Void doesn't have any other incarnations here.'
Leon recalled the six other maids with Void Soul Constitutions in the Darkmoon Tribe. He suspected that they also had soul fragments of Empyrean Infinite Void sleeping inside them.
'I was just trying to cheer up, not start a debate with you,' Maya nonchalantly said.
'But since we are on this topic, I will just go ahead and say this; even if you are aware of the possibility, there's nothing you can do. You can only cultivate hard and hope that Empyrean Infinite Void has no ill intentions towards your woman.'
'Right,' Leon nodded.
He was aware of that.
After Leon ended his discussion with Maya, he immediately perused the Empyrean Void Body Law to understand its nature.
Even if it was Empyrean Infinite Void's technique, it might not be the most suitable body forging method for Darlene.
Alas, after Leon read through content recorded in the Empyrean Void Body Law, he immediately changed his mind.
It was indeed the most suitable method for Darlene.
Even if he had yet to search through all of the body forging methods on the bookshelf, he didn't have the slightest doubt that the Empyrean Void Body Law was the best choice.
"If Darlene trains in this technique, she will acquire the Empyrean Void Physique… But, honestly, I'm still in disbelief that such a technique exists," Leon muttered with lingering shock after reading through the Empyrean Void Body Law.
Practicing the Empyrean Void Body Law and acquiring the Empyrean Void Physique allows the person to manipulate space with just their body movements.
Nevertheless, that was just one of the several advantages listed, but it was also the most shocking.
Chapter 888 - Empyrean Thunder Body Law
"Looks like I've settled Darlene's body forging method, but I still need to find one for Aria…" Leon mused.
And while he was at it, he also wanted to find suitable techniques for everyone else dear to him as well.
After Leon absorbed the Empyrean Void Body Law's knowledge into his memory, he resumed browsing through the list of body forging methods.
…
…
Leon suddenly paused.
'Indestructible Vajra Body Law? Whoever practiced this Indestructible Vajra Body Law probably wasn't as indestructible as they thought they were…' Leon smiled amusedly.
After shaking his head, he went back to browsing the list of body forging methods again.
…
…
'Empyrean Thunder Body Law? This technique belongs to another Empyrean God?!' Leon's eyes slowly widened with surprise.
No doubt, any methods from the Empyrean Gods are bound to be extraordinary, more so than any other True Divinities from the primordial era.
'But this is the second volume… If I don't read the introduction in the first volume, I won't be able to find out what this Empyrean Thunder Body Law can do…'
Leon furrowed his brows.
After transmitting a thought to the Archive, his search for the first volume of the Empyrean Thunder Body Law failed.
However, the third and fourth volumes appeared.
'Hm, it seems like I can only put this technique on hold for the time being. Hopefully, Darlene or Aria managed to pick up the first volume in the ruin,' Leon thought.
He could only pin his hopes on the following batch of primordial heritage his women were collecting in the ruin.
'Hey, Maya,' Leon suddenly reached out to his artifact spirit before he asked, 'Do you know any Empyrean God that specialized in the thunder or lightning laws?'
'An Empyrean God specializing in thunder or lightning laws, huh? You must be talking about…huh?' Maya was about to give Leon an answer when she abruptly stopped.
'About…?' Leon pressed.
'That's strange,' Maya frowned and said, 'I'm pretty certain that I know all the Empyrean Gods… Yet I can't seem to recall the Empyrean God that specializes in the thunder and lightning laws…'
'The knowledge is probably locked behind the other memory regions I've lost access to,' Maya assumed shortly after.
'I see…' Leon uttered disappointedly before he asked, 'How can I help you recover your impaired memories?'
'You should have seen how dim my heart was. A tremendous amount of divine energy is required to restore its former brilliance. Think of it as a dried river; the lack of water doesn't let it flow,' Maya replied.
'I see…' Leon's eyes flickered with understanding.
'It seems like this isn't a problem we can solve in one day. Unfortunately, this world doesn't have the amount of divine energy required for your recovery—unless we dismantle the hearts of other primordial artifacts,' Leon stated.
The Radiant Heaven Realmship had quite a lot of divine energy due to its sheer size.
However, the Radiant Heaven Realmship was crucial to interstellar traveling and leaving Planet Gaia. Thus, he had no intention of destroying it.
'Yeah, don't worry about it. It's not too late to restore my divine crystal heart's energy once you return to the Divine Realm,' Maya stated.
'Right,' Leon nodded.
Suddenly, Leon sensed a disturbance from the real world before he withdrew his consciousness from the Archive to check.
There, he found Aria and Darlene waiting for him.
"You collected everything?" Leon inquired.
"Mm," Aria nodded.
She quickly handed over two interspatial rings to Leon and said, "This is everything we could find in this ruin."
Shortly after Leon checked the inventory and scanned a copy of them for his Archive, he softly exclaimed, "Oh, this is quite a lot. Hopefully, we can find a few useful techniques among them."
"Mm, but it'll take time to translate all of these scriptures," Aria said dejectedly for not being able to help Leon with this matter.
"You don't have to worry about this matter," Leon stretched out his hand and rubbed Aria's head before saying, "It's not a big issue."
After all, he leaves all the translation work to Maya.
Shortly after returning their interspatial rings, Leon called to Darlene, "Come over here for a sec, Darlene."
After Darlene was called, she walked a few steps closer to Leon with a puzzled look, unsure of what he wanted.
But when Leon transmitted the Empyrean Void Body Law to her with a poke on the forehead, she was quickly rooted on the spot, stunned by the knowledge she received.
"This… This is Empyrean Infinite Void's Empyrean Void Body Law, right? When did you find this technique?" Darlene asked with a pleasant surprise.
"Just a short while ago," Leon answered with a smile.
Darlene blinked a few times as if she had just understood something.
"Is that why you look so tired? Did you exhaust all your mental strength to translate this technique for me?" Darlene asked with a slightly trembling voice, overwhelmed by her emotions.
"Ah…"
Leon was about to deny it, but then he quickly changed his mind.
He couldn't exactly tell them that his spiritual strength exhaustion was due to his dual cultivation with Maya.
"Yes… Yes, I did," Leon nodded.
The less he spoke about the matter; the happier everyone will be, probably. At the very least, he avoided opening the gates of hell.
While Darlene was embracing Leon, Maya transmitted her grumpy thoughts to him, 'You know I was the one that translated it, right?'
'Consider all the spiritual strength I've given you as payment for taking your credit, okay?' Leon replied wryly while trying to appease his artifact spirit.
After expending some efforts by making a few promises, he succeeded in appeasing her.
'Hmph,' Maya snorted, nonetheless.
She didn't care about the credit at all.
Her true goal was Leon's promises—not that he fulfilled his last one, which was to find her new stories to read.
'So when are you going to find me more novels to read?'
'Uh.. When I get back to the Human Domain…'
Leon replied awkwardly.
Chapter 889 - You Are Not Alone
After settling aside Maya's matters, Leon focused his attention on Darlene, who was embracing him tightly.
He paused for a few breaths before finally peeling Darlene off him to face her.
"I have something very important to tell you," Leon said seriously.
Although Darlene was confused at first, her expression quickly turned solemn after hearing his words.
She nodded and gave him her full attention.
At the same time, Aria and Duna became interested; they perked their ears to listen in after witnessing the sudden mood change.
"We were right to be wary of the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment in you; Empyrean Infinite Void is still alive," Leon stated.
It was just a short statement, but it quickly shocked everyone as much as it confused them.
"Empyrean Infinite Void is alive? What do you mean by that, Leon?" Darlene asked with a startled look.
"Exactly as it sounds, the literal meaning; Empyrean Infinite Void is still alive. The soul fragment that spoke to you isn't an ego born from Empyrean Infinite Void's will. No, the one talking was Empyrean Infinite Void herself," Leon explained.
His words shocked both Darlene and Aria even further.
"How is that even possible? I thought the end of the primordial era also ended the gods and devils…" Aria mentioned.
"Heh," Duna suddenly snickered.
Aria and Leon immediately glanced at Duna with surprise, thinking it was rare nowadays for her to take the initiative to say something.
Nevertheless, Duna didn't care about what they thought about her.
"The reign of True Divinities ended, but their existences cannot, shall not, and will not end, not now, not ever," Duna coolly stated.
"A True Divinity's soul is like your consciousness; if you keep dividing it, it'll cripple your ability to think or function at all. However, if you put them together again, you'll revive a True Divinity. You don't even need to gather them all, just the bare minimum."
"Does that mean someone has gathered enough soul fragments for Empyrean Infinite Void to regain her ability to think? But how can we even find out about this?" Darlene asked with surprise.
She, herself, was one possessor of Empyrean Infinite Void's many soul fragments. Still, she cannot determine it from her soul fragment's words alone.
After all, she cannot trust it.
"Well, as it stands, Leon has another basis for claiming Empyrean Infinite Void is alive. And by alive, I mean capable of conscious thought because True Divinities can't die," Duna stated coolly.
"Perhaps, Empyrean Infinite Void has means of retaining consciousness despite the shattering of her soul into countless pieces. No, that should be the only possibility. There's no other way to know Empyrean Infinite Void is conscious unless she has been conscious from the start."
"After all, Primal Chaos is infinitely vast. And we have yet to even explore beyond this galaxy, which is already home to more than 100 billion star realms, not to mention the trillions of galaxies out there."
As if Duna had spoken enough, she suddenly ended her words there and became silent again. She was disinterested in speaking further.
Nevertheless, thanks to her informative knowledge, Darlene and Aria gained a greater understanding of True Divinities.
Shortly after, Darlene returned her attention to Leon.
"If Empyrean Infinite Void is alive, then what will happen to me?" Darlene asked with uncertainty.
"That's the problem. Even if you don't integrate with Empyrean Infinite Void's soul fragment, she is aware of your existence and whereabouts. But if you do integrate with her soul fragment, she can swallow your soul and use your body as her incarnation," Leon replied.
Darlene felt lost after hearing that.
What was she supposed to do? Was she fated to be Empyrean Infinite Void's puppet and fade from existence?
The thought of disappearing alone terrified her.
Aria suddenly patted Darlene on the shoulder, snapping her out of her negative thoughts before turning to Leon.
"But it's just a possibility that Empyrean Infinite Void will send her incarnations after Darlene or swallow her if she integrates with the soul fragment, right?" Aria asked.
"Right," Leon nodded.
"It's impossible to guess what someone at an Empyrean God level of existence is thinking, but we can assume that there's a high possibility of it happening. After all, who wouldn't want to live again if given a chance?"
"But isn't Empyrean Infinite Void living many lifetimes through her incarnations?" Aria argued before adding, "Whatever the case may be, there is nothing we can do. We can only cultivate and hope for the best."
"Right," Leon nodded.
Aria said the same thing Maya said to him, but her words weren't for him to hear but for Darlene, who was at the heart of the problem.
She was undoubtedly feeling the most pressure from Empyrean Infinite Void's existence.
"Don't feel like you are alone, Darlene. Whatever happens, we are in this together. I won't abandon you," Leon assured her.
"Mm," Darlene bit her lips and nodded with her head lowered.
"Then shall we head back now that we are done here?" Aria suggested.
"Ah, not quite yet. Let me take a quick look around the ruin one last time before we go," Leon stated before getting up and leaving his spot.
However, Aria and Darlene didn't let him wander off alone.
Instead, they both took a side and supported Leon while he was still mildly affected by spiritual exhaustion.
Leon wanted to scan a copy of all the runes engraved on the murals and broken walls in the ruin, and it did not take him too long to do so.
He was done within the hour.
"Alright, I'm done with this place. Let us head back to the Dark Fae Clan," Leon stated after recording a copy of the last runic engraving into the Archive.
"Mm," Aria and Darlene nodded.
They continued to support him out of the mountain while Duna casually followed several paces behind them.
…
"Woah, there's quite a crowd out here," Aria exclaimed.
Upon exiting the crack in the mountain, Aria did not expect to see such a large group of dark faes waiting outside.
But no one else expected them either.
"These dark faes must be the ones sent to slave away in the dark crystal mines," Leon concluded.
"Mm," Aria nodded.
She could guess that much.
"But why are they just waiting around here?" Aria wondered.
Chapter 890 - Mad Dwarf Clan
While Aria and the others were wondering about the male dark faes' purpose for waiting outside the mountain instead of returning to their clan, the male dark faes also spotted them.
Some of them even trembled with fear and retreated a few steps, pushing the rest of the crowd into backing away as well.
Leon's group's presence alarmed them.
Even so, none of them left dared to leave—or rather, none of them dared to leave beyond the vicinity of the Red Ghoul Clan's outpost nor get close to it.
"Seems like the male dark faes' mental states are worse than I could imagine; it isn't farfetched to say that the Red Ghoul Clan broke their spirits," Leon commented with a frown.
This wasn't a group he could use.
Given the weak and broken wills they have now, even if he tried to train them, they will not have high accomplishments in their cultivation.
"What should we do with them?" Aria asked curiously.
She was simply wondering how the male dark faes should be handled.
But when the male dark faes heard her question, they shivered with fear, thinking she wanted to dispose of them.
"We'll let Nyfarella deal with them," Leon said.
But after glancing around, he failed to spot Nyfarella anywhere in the vicinity.
"By the looks of it, Nyfarella hasn't finished her business in the dark crystal mine yet," Leon added.
Nevertheless, he spoke too soon.
Nyfarella exited the mountain crack within three breaths of his last word with the last group of male dark faes in the mines.
"I've settled my business in the dark crystal mine, my Lord," Nyfarella reported, albeit with a bit of surprise.
She did not expect the Lord to be waiting outside the mountain for her. Alas, that was just her misunderstanding—but not one that Leon needed to correct nor be aware of.
"You mean this is all the men left in your clan?" Leon inquired before sweeping another glance at the male dark faes.
There were no more than five thousand men, a small fraction of their former number before working in the dark crystal mine.
"There were a lot of bones in the mine. Nyfarella believes most of my clan members died or the red ghouls ate them," Nyfarella reported her findings with a sigh.
"That's unfortunate. At the very least, five thousand men survived; given time, your clan's male population will increase again," Leon spoke.
"Yes, my Lord."
Whether the female dark faes were willing to copulate with such weak and broken-willed male dark faes was another story.
Nevertheless, many of them should have families waiting for them.
"Let us head back to the clan. These men have experienced much hardship and require medical care. I will resolve their health issues, but their spiritual recovery will be up to your clan."
"Yes, my Lord!" Nyfarella answered gratefully.
The male dark faes' conditions were truly terrible to look at.
Some had grey, black, and purple patches of skin, a clear sign of necrosis, infection, or rotting; others had missing pieces of flesh.
There was no need to guess what happened there; the red ghouls had taken bites out of them.
'So this is what the demon's territory is like, huh?' Aria silently studied some of the male dark faes' condition and felt nauseous.
Darlene didn't fare much better, but Duna was simply indifferent to them all.
"Why didn't you return to the clan on your own? Why did you all wait out here?" Nyfarella questioned the crowd after making her way through to lead.
"W-we were afraid of the garrisons in the outpost… If they see us escaping, they will kill us…" a male dark fae replied timidly.
After hearing that, Nyfarella sighed helplessly and said, "There's no one left in the outpost. I already killed them all."
"Eh?" the male dark faes were surprised.
"Never mind. Let us head back."
…
Sometime later, Nyfarella led her clan members back to the clan.
At the same time, the female dark faes in the clan quickly rushed over to welcome them with joy and excitement after hearing the news.
However, it didn't take long before the mood became mixed.
While some rejoiced at the return of their beloved, others mourned for the ones that didn't make it back.
"Give them time to settle their grief and reunion," Leon stated.
"Yes, my Lord," Nyfarella nodded. Shortly after, she inquired, "Shall I arrange your accommodations in the palace, my Lord?"
"No," Leo shook his head and said, "Where is the original version of the Dark Fae God Canon? Take me there."
Nyfarella's eyes lit up after understanding his intention.
"Yes, my Lord!" Nyfarella complied with excitement.
She quickly led Leon up the mountain, away from the heavy atmosphere at the entrance. They passed numerous stone hunts, buildings, and towers.
Before long, they reached the highest peak of the mountain, the stone palace.
Without highly advanced planning and architectural skills, carving an entire city out of the mountain peak wouldn't have been possible.
The Dark Fae Clan's strength was not worth mentioning, but their craftsmanship was on a whole different level—or so Leon and Aria thought.
"How did the dark faes build this entire city? It must have taken an incredible amount of planning to know which part of the mountain to carve out precisely," Aria wondered with awe.
She was already impressed after looking at the city from a distance, but it was even more impressive up close.
This is how the peak of primitive craftsmanship would look.
There was a certain beauty in the simple things.
Nevertheless, Nyfarella's following reply to her comment was not quite what Leon and Aria were expecting.
"Eh? The entire clan indeed participated in the Darkstone Peak's construction, but this feat does not belong to us alone. Rather, most of the work was done by the Mad Dwarf Clan," Nyfarella explained.
"In fact, most Mid-rank clans in the Great Blackrock Mountains entrust the task of building their homes on the mountain peaks to the Mad Dwarf Clan."
"The Mad Dwarf Clan?" Leon raised an eyebrow.