Resting against a tree while Sarah was leaning into my embrace, we patiently waited for Illumia to arrive, having already been here for nearly half an hour; though during this time, she wasn't able to keep their hands to themselves as she kept stroking my shaft within my pants, constantly teasing me if anything.
"Are you doing this on purpose?" Asked Elif in slight annoyance as he blankly glanced at Sarah, who raised an eyebrow before shaking her head.
"Of course not, Elif. We're just out in the open, and I don't wish to make my current actions so obvious if someone stumbles across us." Replied Sarah softly as she gave Elif a kiss on the cheek while continuously stroking his manhood within his pants, causing him to click his tongue.
Although her actions tempted me, she was correct; I highly doubted anyone would come here, but it was possible someone with a significantly higher cultivation base would spot Sarah and I through their divine sense. I may be able to force Celestials to their knees, but that's only thanks to my Immortal Will, not because of my cultivation base. So, for the remaining time, I closed my eyes and rested, enjoying Sarah's dainty hand on my manhood while we waited for Illumia, who didn't show up for another hour.
Feeling the ground subtly shake, I opened my eyes and glanced at the sky, though as the moments passed, the shaking got stronger until it suddenly stopped while a familiar-looking face stood before Sarah and I.
"Oh, you've finally arrived, it's about time, Illumia." Said Elif softly with a faint smirk as he glanced at Illumia, who didn't utter a single word and simply stared at him.
"S-She doesn't look happy, Elif." Muttered Sarah softly with a wry expression as she glanced at Illumia, who glanced at her, causing her to hide behind Elif.
Chuckling at Sarah, I stepped forward and passionately kissed Illumia, engaging in a deep and long-lasting kiss; I had obviously expected Illumia would be less than amused when she arrived, so I also prepared to alleviate her annoyance.
'Also, with Illumia present, few beings can sneak up on her, so I don't need to behave so reserved.' Mused Elif with an internal smirk as he reached down and grasped Illumia's plump thighs through her dress, only to lift her onto his hips while she wrapped her legs around his waist.
With Illumia tightly holding onto my body while kissing, we stayed in this position for several minutes before we finally separated our lips.
"So, do you feel better now?" Asked Elif with a smirk as he glanced at Illumia while lightly squeezing her plump butt, causing her to snort before softly nodding.
"A little." Replied Illumia lightly as she calmly glanced at Elif, who chuckled in amusement.
After a bit more kissing, Illumia finally let go of me and stood beside me like a proper maid while Sarah gave me a pouting expression, which I returned by gently flicking her head.
"No, you were stroking my shaft the entire time; don't act like that." Said Elif with a slight frown as he glanced at Sarah, who was holding her head with a pitiful expression while looking at him
"Anyway, now that Illumia has finally arrived after taking her sweet time let us enter the forest." Added Elif with a slight smile as he shifted his focus to the forest directly in front of him while Illumia's face twitched in annoyance.
As per my words, the three of us began walking deeper into the forest while Sarah told Illumia the information she got when we visited the city. Several minutes passed, and although we hadn't entered that deeply yet, there was nothing out of the ordinary except for the lack of beasts; matter of fact, there weren't even any insects, and other than trees, there was no life.
Although, in the grand scheme of things, the lack of creatures wasn't all that surprising, even somewhat expected, though it did alert us as we took this somewhat seriously.
"Any clues, Illumia?" Asked Sarah softly as she glanced at Illumia, who promptly shook her head.
"No; the center of the forest is blocking my divine sense." Replied Illumia lightly while Elif nodded in agreement, seemingly having the same problem as well.
The fact even Illumia's divine sense was being blocked was slightly alarming, as she had a cultivation base of a True God King; however, all of the contracts in the Realm Sect go through a screening and have to be verified by the Sect itself, so although alarming, whatever is at the center of the forest shouldn't be something I couldn't handle; otherwise it never would've been in that building.
"Since it's just the center of the forest, we might as well head there quickly." Said Elif lightly as he tapped his foot on the ground, causing his figure to remain stagnant before his afterimage slowly dissipated several seconds later.
Using the Elven Body Flicker, I was able to speedily move through the forest while dodging every tree with ease; same for Illumia, who followed me, though she simply brute-forced her way through by abusing her vastly superior cultivation to keep up with me, as for Sarah, well…
"Tsk, stupid tree." Muttered Sarah in annoyance as she flew through the forest, brushing leaves out of her hair while swatting the trees out of her way.
Inwardly chuckling, we darted through the forest and arrived in the center after several minutes as it was on the smaller scale for a forest; once we arrived, we stopped just outside where our divine sense couldn't penetrate and used our eyes instead.
"Hmm, everything looks normal." Muttered Elif with a slight frown as he narrowed his eyes and gazed deeper into the forest.
"Is that good or bad?" Asked Sarah curiously as she glanced between Elif and Illumia.
"Well, I'd say bad simply because while we know something is happening in the forest's center, we have no clue what it is." Replied Elif lightly as he summoned a golden hairpin from his dimension ring before tying his lustrous silver hair into a loose bun, causing Illumia and Sarah to gulp.
"Well, no point in delaying the inevitable. Come, let us go." Added Elif calmly as he continued walking, stepping into the area where his divine sense couldn't penetrate, only for his figure to vanish.
"Elif!" Yelled Illumia and Sarah anxiously as they swiftly followed behind, their figures also vanishing.
"Calm down, you two; I'm perfectly fine. I just entered what seems to be a hidden abode." Said Elif calmly as he glanced behind him at Illumia and Sarah before gazing at the peaceful scenery before them.
The scenery was quite beautiful, and the tranquility you could feel radiating off it was splendid, though what I paid more attention to was the man floating in the air; no, better yet, rather than a man, he was merely a vestige, a small piece of his soul, his true self most likely long dead.
However, even though he was merely the vestige, his mere presence eclipsed Illumia, making her look like a mere child before him, which just goes to show how powerful he truly was if his vestige was this strong.
The man wore a black and blue robe with golden linings; the ends of the robe were engraved with jade, while specific runic patterns covered his robe. Although he was probably ancient, he didn't look old whatsoever and had a clean, black beard that connected to his mustache; his turquoise skin matched his pupils, while his three black horns with white tips pointed to the sky.
While we calmly stared at him, he did so to us, though I noticed his eyes narrow when he glanced at the symbol on my forehead.
"A Royal Elf with Immortal Will." Muttered the vestige lightly, his voice echoing throughout the entire dimension, causing Illumia to furrow her brows.
"Scholarly Demon. That must be you, no?" Asked Elif curiously as he gazed at the vestige, who raised an eyebrow before nodding.
"I suppose the fact I know about Immortal Will gave it away." Replied Scholarly Demon softly as he glanced at Elif, who nodded, causing Illumia's eyes to widen while Sarah tilted her head in confusion.
"Well, I wouldn't say that's the sole reason, but that is what sealed the deal." Said Elif lightly as he looked at Scholarly Demon, only for Sarah to gently tap his shoulder.
"Um, who is the Scholarly Demon?" Asked Sarah softly as she glanced at Elif, only for Illumia to respond in his stead.
"The Scholarly Demon was one of the strongest independent cultivators of his time; however, what he was most known for wasn't his strength, it was his seemingly infinite knowledge. In the Royal Library, even Progenitor Lourdes praises his immense knowledge, stating that she, herself, paled in comparison." Declared Illumia solemnly as she stared at the Scholarly Demon, who faintly smirked at her words while Sarah simply nodded, not fully understanding the weight of her words.
"She was simply being humble; there were only a few things I knew that she didn't." Remarked Scholarly Demon lightly with a slight smile, one that caused Elif to raise an eyebrow.
"However, many generations ago, it's stated he went into closed-door cultivation in order to ascend to a higher cultivation base, and ever since then… He disappeared. The rumors must've been true then; you didn't manage to succeed in the Heavenly Tribulation." Said Illumia lightly as she gazed at the Scholarly Demon in pity while he softly nodded.