After that little interaction with that Amazonian woman, I spent the remainder of the day killing beasts to soothe my annoyance, something Elaine would've been able to easily do, but despite constantly walking in the direction where my earring was pointing in, it was highly unlikely we'd meet each other within only a weeks time. Given our lowered cultivation base, we moved considerably slower than usual, so I didn't bank on the chances of us meeting until the trial was over.
Unsheathing Hokori and killing yet another beast, I flicked the blood off my blade before reaching down, grabbing my two-hundredth crystal, and storing it within my dimension ring.
'Hmm, should I continue through the night?' Thought Elif curiously as he looked up at the night sky while sheathing his sword, only to shrug his shoulders.
"Eh, I suppose, why not? It makes no difference, really; without my divine sense, I'll almost never spot a beast before they spot me." Muttered Elif lightly as he continued deeper into the forest while occasionally drinking from a jar with Elaine's name on it.
'It's only been two days, yet I've already gone through two jars.' Mused Elif with a wry expression as he drank the rest of the juices before glancing at the empty jar, causing him to sigh as he stored it in his dimension ring.
Unfortunately, I couldn't just drink as much of Elaine's love as I wanted; if I did so, Elaine's suspicion would only grow, seeing as how it only took me one week to drink seven bottles, yet previously within three months, I would have the same progress. So, to alleviate myself, I consumed lightning cherries, something I hadn't done in quite some time since I would either have Elaine, Sarah, or Illumia to quench my thirst, and to be honest, after having such tasteful drinks, lightning cherries were rather lackluster now.
"They're still tasty, yet they just can't compare to the taste of my Concubines, let alone Elaine." Muttered Elif lightly as he walked through the forest while tossing lightning cherries into his mouth.
While peacefully walking through the forest, with seemingly no predator in sight, all of a sudden, a giant snake hidden in the bushes lunged towards me from behind; of course, I had no idea until the beast had neared me, yet by then it was far too late for me to do anything given the sheer difference in cultivation. However, just as the snake was about to bite down on me, his head was suddenly forced to the ground, and only when I heard the thud did I finally turn around.
"Ho, that could've been bad." Mused Elif calmly as he ate a lightning cherry while glancing at the snake, which was being suppressed by his Immortal Will.
I kept my Immortal Will around my body, sort of like a bubble, preventing any beasts, or anyone for that matter, from possibly sneak attacking me; with the snake being pressured by my Immortal Will, I unsheathed Hokori off my back, coated it in sword aura and stabbed it into snakes head, causing his restless body to go limp mere moments later while his corpse vanished into a plethora of ethereal lights that condensed into a singular crystal.
Picking up the crystal, I stored it in my dimension ring before turning around and continuing in the direction I had been going; of course, I ate my lightning cherries.
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Today was the seventh and final day, and within a matter of hours, we should be teleported back to the shore of the Island or maybe somewhere else, I don't know. As for my crystals, I've acquired roughly sixteen hundred, which may sound like a lot, but if I could fly and had my divine sense, I'm confident I could've easily reached ten thousand. However, even if I did reach ten thousand while being an early Saint, in the end, I still wouldn't have anywhere near as many points as how I am currently.
Currently, I was sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree while snacking on lightning cherries that had been soaked with a jar of Elaine's love; I had told myself I wouldn't drink another jar, and I didn't; instead, I poured it into the barrel filled with lightning cherries, and let just say, it's possibly one of the smartest things I've ever done.
"The only problem is that one jar isn't close to enough." Muttered Elif with furrowed brows as he gazed at the barrel sitting on his lap, only to sigh.
During my little travel, I happened to meet several other cultivators, though surprisingly, they all happened to be women; thankfully, none were foolish enough to try and force themselves onto me like that one Amazonian, though they ended up following me for nearly a whole day. The only reason they didn't continue to follow me was because I was heading into the center of the forest, where the more powerful beasts reside; if it weren't because they risked dying, they would've been standing right in front of me and staring at me.
Speaking of powerful beasts, this spot I was staying was the territory of such a beast, though it currently wasn't present and must've been out looking for prey to feast on, so I was patiently waiting for them to return.
'Hopefully, the beast returns within the next few hours.' Mused Elif lightly as he peacefully closed his eyes while snacking on lightning cherries, awaiting the beast's return.
While I patiently waited, I began to hear roaring in the distance, and at first, I thought nothing of it, yet as the seconds passed, I quickly noticed it continued to draw closer to my location, causing me to open my eyes as I glanced in the direction of the noise, and after some time passed, with the roaring getting even louder, three people suddenly exited from the forest, entering the small clearing I was in. However, the trio wasn't given a moment of respite since a large stone bear furiously eyed them from behind the many trees. Yet the beast didn't move any closer; it stood just on the perimeter of the clearing, not daring to move even a single step, something the trio quickly noticed.
"A-Are we safe?" "I-I think so." "G-Good, 'cause I'm all out of Qi; my artifact sucked it all up." Stated the trio, respectively, as they all sighed in relief while the tallest of them stored a small metallic sled in his dimension ring.
'Hmm, what a weird group, a Demon, a Human, and a Golem.' Thought Elif with a raised eyebrow as he observed the trio, who had yet to notice him.
Since the stone bear in the distance was practically just offering himself to me, I surged my Immortal Will towards the bear, causing its eyes to slightly widen before collapsing to the ground while it bled from its orifices, shocking the trio as they all backed away; however, I paid them very little heed and approached the bear.
"W-What the!?" "Who's that!?" "Wait! I-Ist that Prince Elif?" "Yeah, you're right." "Hmph, of course, you'd know." Remarked the trio as they looked at the stone bear before finally noticing Elif, with the woman instantly recognizing, prompting the Human and Golem to roll their eyes.
Even with sword aura, it was still rather difficult to cut through the beast's body, though that's to be expected from a stone bear; they are known for their extremely thick and durable hide, not to mention it had the cultivation base of an early Celestial; it was already impressive I could cut through such a powerful beast, let alone one known for their defense.
Grabbing the crystal, I stored it in my dimension ring and returned to my spot against the tree; while doing so, I did hear those trio constantly mention my name, but I wasn't concerned with them, so I ignored them. Well, I at least attempted to ignore them, but it became somewhat difficult to do when one of them began approaching me.
Glancing at the vampire, she walked towards me, and it was rather obvious she was trying to seduce, or at least something of the sort, given the excessive swaying of her hips; however, when she arrived before me, she silently looked at me for several seconds before turning around and running back to her group.
"I-I can't! It's impossible for a woman to seduce him!" Stated the vampire with deeply blushed cheeks as she glanced between the Human and the Golem, causing them both to click their tongues in annoyance.
"So then, how do we get his crystals? He's arrived at the forest's center, so he definitely has many crystals." Asked the human with a slight frown as he glanced at Elif, who suddenly pulled out a jar full of clear liquid before looking between the Vampire and the Golem.
While the trio stood in the distance, the caw of a bird suddenly resounded throughout the forest, causing me to glance upwards at the night sky, only to see an eagle flying through the air while holding what looked like a boar within its talons, seeing it head straight for my location, I waited for it to land, before taking any action.
"O-Oh shit!" "M-Middle Celestial!?" "W-We're fucking dead!" Yelled the trio in utter fear as they quickly tried running away, but a single caw from the eagle suppressed them to the ground, unable to move even a single finger.
Just as the eagle landed on the ground after dropping its prey, I blasted it with my Immortal, causing it to release a mighty screech before collapsing onto the ground while I couldn't help but rub my head.
'Suppressing a Celestial is much easier than destroying their ego and dao heart.' Mused Elif lightly as he stood up and approached the eagle, while the vampire and golem from before both smacked the human.