Chapter 7 - Cultivation Begins!
...
At night time.
Leon opened his eyes, as he surveyed his surroundings. His mother was still busy preparing the pill and could not sleep along with him.
He decided not to let it bring him down. As he stood up and moved towards the window of his room, Leon felt his body to be able to move somewhat. It really was a big relief for him that he at least regained some mobility.
After inspecting the window, he found that it led toward the back of the estate. That was where the forest area thickened and no one lived there, except for wild beasts and monsters.
Leon narrowed his eyes as he solidified his resolve and forced the window open, as he slipped out of the estate.
Once outside, he became very alert to his surroundings. It must be remembered that he had the basic skills of being a thief in a dangerous cultivation world and although he lost his cultivation, he didn't lose his abilities yet.
It would take some time for those skills to be absorbed by his body completely, but he was not as helpless as a lamb among wolves.
He focused on his ears to detect the noises around him since under the cover of the night, detection based on eyesight alone couldn't completely be trusted.
Leon decided to remain in the outer area of the forest and not to venture deep inside. His aim was to find a place to cultivate quietly. Although there was no Qi in this world, Leon could use the essence crystals to begin his journey. he just didn't want to alert his family members lest they became suspicious of his identity.
Although they had lost their Leon for real, Leon didn't want to lose his new family at any cost.
After searching for around 30 minutes, Leon thought that he had come far away from his home and found a relatively quieter and cleaner place to cultivate.
It was a forest clearing that was surrounded by flower plants all around. He assumed it to be some noble's love garden. Alas, that had nothing to do with him as he scouted the area for any hidden traps and danger. After making sure that there was no more trouble, Leon sat down in the grass-covered area and tried to enter a state of meditation. The events that transpired that day still went through his mind again.
...
Earlier that day.
Upon hearing the voice, everyone's attention was turned toward the opened door.
Leon's eyes widened in surprise and appreciation of the beauty that entered through the door.
Her long white dress entirely covered her smooth and long legs. Her shiny black hair was on her shoulders as they covered her beautiful neck. Her slim and tender figure looked so devastating as her waist area was where Leon's eyes kept roaming.
She was as tall as Paula while her face was the definition of a beauty none like any other. It was as if the gods had spent years crafting and perfecting her face. Her thin eyebrows enchanted her beautiful red eyes, giving off an expression of a Queen.
Her facial expression, however, killed all such thoughts as she looked as if she would murder someone the next second. Her face was so cold and stiff that anyone that dared to approach her would be sent miles away from her indifference.
There were some adventurous men though, that wanted to conquer and tame such a wild woman, but her arrogance and cold nature deterred most of those pursuers. She was beyond just a beautiful woman. Her appearance was as if she was crafted in the image of some goddess instead.
And anyone that dared to be impudent to her... Satan awaits them patiently.
"Hey, Sis Mali? What happened? You seem extremely frustrated today.." Belen timidly spoke from behind Leon. Even she was scared of her cold aura and couldn't help but shiver a bit.
"Nothing much. Some men wanted to have a good time." Malisa's face softened a bit as she replied to Belen.
"OH~ Some people still dare to do it? What happened? Tell me the details!" Aunt Paula spoke excitedly as she giggled in amusement.
"I didn't kill them... yet. Those disgusting maggots were squashed like they should have been." Malisa's face became a bit frostier, as she felt her rage being reignited. Her loathing for such vile men who salivated over outer beauty disgusted her so much that she only held back for the sake of her family's safety.
"My My, don't worry so much about them. You will find people like them everywhere you go in this world. Hey, how about this.. kill them off secretly. Nobody would know~" Aunt Paula spoke with a smirk on her beautifully enchanting face.
"That's right! If need be, make them a eunuch instead. That would remind them to keep it in their pants from then on. Many females would be thankful to us for that, I believe." His mother Elvira spoke with a frown on her face.
She treated Malisa like her own daughter and it made her very uncomfortable to have her daughter treated like this. Her hate towards such vile men was never-ending.
Leon had cold sweat drenching his entire back. He wondered what he should do about the amorous feelings he was having toward them.
'W-Will I really end up like that too?.. L-let's hope not!' Leon wondered in his mind.
"Eh? Well.. I would suggest trapping them naked with some extremely nasty bugs. They would have the time of their lives for sure!" Belen spoke with a happy face.
"Ah, right. That would let them know what it feels like to be ravaged against one's will. I will try it the next time then." Malisa thought about it and nodded as she readily agreed to the proposition.
Leon's Chrysanthemum started to ache suddenly as he fearfully distanced himself away from Belen. He had never imagined in his wildest dreams that a girl so cute would harbor such wicked thoughts for anyone.
"Eh? Big Brother? Why is your face so sweaty? D-Did you caught a fever again?!" Ginata worriedly spoke as she saw Leon's face and probed him about it.
"N-NO! I-I mean... hahaha! I am completely fine! Never felt so good before!" Leon looked at the ladies around him in horror as he tried to divert their attention.
'Thank Heavens that Ginata is a bit normal..the other ladies are too terrifying!!' Leon spoke in his mind.
"It really is too hot today. I feel like taking a bath already~" Aunt Paula spoke as she fanned herself with her hands. Although she could remedy the problem with some Magic, she was more concerned about her nephew.
"Don't worry. I will take care of it." Malisa spoke as she started to recite a spell and soon, the temperature in the room started to fall down slowly. Leon felt the coolness on his cold sweat and shivered a little.
"That was awesome! Sister Malisa!" Belen spoke happily as she sprung out of the bed and hugged Malisa's waist.
"Ok Ok, enough playing around already. Malisa.. about those herbs, d-did you find them?" Elvira spoke with a worried expression.
"I did find them, though I am not sure of their quality yet," Malisa spoke as she took out a small bag and handed it to Elvira. Aunt Paula too handed a similar bag to his mother.
These bags were actually called storage bags and were camouflaged to prevent anyone from being able to tell them apart from any other ordinary bags. His family had an even rarer artifact called 'Storage Ring', but the method of inscription of space magic on such a small item was lost ages ago and now one could only find them in old tombs by luck.
Leon noticed that he had such a ring on his right hand's finger too, but it didn't have a lustrous shine like normal rings but had a worn-out and scrap-like appearance. The operation of the Ring required a certain amount of Mana, but Leon couldn't operate Mana very well and had to use Mana crystals to power them instead. Such an extinct treasure was being wasted by him this way. If news got out about the Ring, only the heavens knew what the greedy criminals might end up doing.
The space for storage in Storage Rings was about 100 times more than the Storage Bags. The Storage Bags could hold a Carriage inside easily, so the number of things that could be stored by Leon inside was a tremendous amount. The Storage Bags were often sold at high prices in various auctions. They had beautiful and dazzling appearances often meant to get the rich ladies to spend a considerable amount on them. Some women even became collectors and displayed their collections to visitors.
Elvira opened the bags and probed a bit inside with her Mana. When she became sure of the ingredient's identity, she looked at Paula with a relieved expression and spoke,
"We finally got all of them... there are some that need to be substituted but I will take care of them. I will soon prepare the Death Revival Pill for sure!" Elvira announced happily as she stood up with the bags and caressed Leon's face.
"Leon, I will be busy for a while as I prepare the pill. If this works then, soon you will be completely healthy again!" Elvira spoke to Leon gently as she departed the room towards her workshop.
The other ladies could only stare at her departing figure, all of them hoping for some good news.
...
Back to the present.
Leon found a lot of difficulty in sustaining his inner balance. The Qi around him was nonexistent and the Mana that was present refused to interact with his body.
He sighed in frustration as he knew that he would have to depend upon the System's Rewards.
'Hey System, I want to use all the rewards that I received right now. As for the crystals, just give me one of those.'
[User Request Acknowledged. Installing the requested rewards..]
[Installation successful. The user's body is now prepared to cultivate. Just be aware of the evil energy around you. Also, the Eternal Flame is subject to summoning. When the User needs it, just summon it and fry someone's ass.]
'I didn't need the last detail though.. anyways, what about the essence crystal?'
[It's now within your pocket. Good Luck with cultivating User.]
'W-Wait! What if I need more of these?'
[I don't think you should worry about that right now.]
Leon was now left with just one crystal in his possession, as the System had just given him one and secured the rest into the inventory.
'Hah.. I do have the cultivation manual now. I can recite it in my memory completely. Let's try using it for once.'
Leon decided to give the 'Devil King's Cultivation Manual' a try to get an idea of how to practice it in reality.
To his surprise, he found out that he could easily decipher the contents and was ready to begin. As he tried to give it a go, the darkness radiated by the beings around him started to gather inside him. As the darkness interacted with the Cultivation Manual, the Cultivation Manual became operational and the darkness started to get converted into the purest of Qi.
The pure Qi spread throughout his body and got absorbed within his newly formed Dantian.
A happy smile crept upon Leon's face. He recognized this feeling. He became a cultivator once more!
...
A/N: Thanks for being here everyone. Now, shower me with all your love!! ;p