Eddie really wanted to ask the mysterious beauty her name and why she was following him. Why did she save him and insist on helping him fight the Purple Gold Marquis, even at the risk of her own life? Who was she?
She was too enigmatic, igniting an itching curiosity in him, almost compelling him to uncover her mysteries.
This mysterious beauty was different from Inan.
Although Inan's identity was somewhat mysterious, Eddie could still guess a bit about her. But this mysterious beauty was a complete enigma.
Why would she help someone like him, who, except for causing chaos in Yew Family Castle, hadn't done anything remarkable since arriving in this world?
She even seemed to know his every word and action intimately.
"Goodbye then. You can go find your brother Inan for comfort," said the mysterious beauty, even aware of Inan, which made Eddie sweat.
"Inan is a guy; he can't comfort me!" Eddie certainly wouldn't admit he was a womanizer.
"You're lying!" The mysterious beauty gave Eddie an adorably exasperated roll of her eyes, her playful rebuke causing his heart to flutter.
In a split second, he realized he might be developing a fondness for this veiled beauty, a feeling not less intense than his affection for Inan.
Eddie longed to unveil her mask, to embrace and passionately kiss her, to conquer her heart.
Eddie wanted to howl at the sky and sweep her off her feet right there.
Of course, that was just wishful thinking.
Apart from whether the mysterious beauty would resist, they were at Granny Chi's doorstep. If Eddie tried anything, Granny Chi might just pass by and watch the spectacle with great interest.
"I'm really leaving now..." said the mysterious beauty, yet her feet didn't move.
"I'll walk you out!" offered Eddie, eager to help.
"Walk me out? Your sweet talk won't work on me!" The mysterious beauty suddenly smiled. Her smile was unique. If the Lord of Falling Blossoms City laughed boldly and freely, and Inan chuckled cutely and shyly, the mysterious beauty's smile was in her eyes, a unique charm that seemed to come from deep within her heart, delighting those who saw it.
As she was about to use her teleportation scroll, Eddie felt an impulse to shout, "Stay! I'll treat you well for the rest of my life!"
The mysterious beauty gently swayed her jade hand holding the book, signaling a farewell.
Eddie watched her leave with a sense of reluctance.
He wanted to rush up and hold her tightly, preventing her from leaving. Yet, he knew that to win her heart, he couldn't appear too eager or aggressive, as it might scare her off.
Wooing a woman required patience and a slow, thoughtful approach.
He believed that as long as she continued to follow him, there would be more opportunities in the future, and he felt confident she had developed a good impression of him.
Eddie transformed his impulse to grab her into a casual wave, bidding her a nonchalant goodbye.
The mysterious beauty glanced back at Eddie with her exceptionally clear and bright eyes before stepping through the teleportation portal and disappearing.
That look electrified Eddie. "My goodness, beauties really are electrifying creatures!"
He felt a tingling sensation throughout his body, a mix of sadness and comfort, stirring an indescribable restlessness within him, almost making him want to howl.
Observing the still-struggling Blood Sickle Demon, which neither escaped nor was devoured by the Thorn Flower Witch, Eddie considered using a different approach, like the Sleepy Flower.
Indeed, after pouring a whole bottle of Sleepy Flower dew over the Blood Sickle Demon's head, the already exhausted creature showed signs of losing control as sleepiness overcame it.
Despite its desperate resistance, the Sleepy Flower's effect took hold.
As the demon's resistance weakened, numerous Thorn Flowers seized the opportunity to consume its energy.
The two Thorn Flower Demons enveloped the entire creature, slowly absorbing it in its slumber. The Golden Level Seven Blood Sickle Demon, a formidable monster, finally met its end.
The Thorn Flower Witch, however, had awakened at some point and watched Eddie curiously, seemingly fascinated by her master.
Eddie didn't pay much attention to her. He retrieved the Blood Sickle Demon's corpse from the lakebed and scoured the entire battlefield, reflecting on his combat experience.
He even tried to mimic the Purple Gold Marquis's spatial teleportation technique, enviously observing it with his Level Three Wisdom Eyes during the battle.
Eddie longed to learn this shameless teleportation skill as a future tactic for surprise attacks.
Eddie, ever since grasping the "Heart of Nature," had developed an inexplicable understanding of nature and space.
His intuition sharpened when using teleportation scrolls, and his desire to unravel the secrets of space grew, especially after being tricked into a test space created by the old fox at the academy.
His recent visit to Granny Chi's underwater space further convinced him that mastering space was possible with the right approach.
So, he combined his full sensory perception and insight with the spatial teleportation techniques he observed from the Purple Gold Marquis, attempting to control space and teleport on his own.
The process was even more delicate and intricate than controlling the Yin-Yang Twin Fish Slash. He tried to create a circle in space using his Innate True Qi, transforming space into a tangible vortex and forming a passage.
Suppressing his excitement, Eddie experienced failure after failure, each time refining his approach. Each failure brought new insights and perceptions about space.
After countless attempts, just before running out of spiritual energy, Eddie finally created a small spatial vortex. Although it was smaller and faster than the one created by the Purple Gold Marquis, and lasted only briefly, he had succeeded.
Eager to test it, he dived in, only to realize upon emerging that he was upside down, mere inches above the water surface... The teleportation was off by several meters, landing him right in the lake.
Splash!
Eddie plunged into the water, soaking wet.
"Huh?" As he swam ashore, somewhat embarrassingly, the Thorn Flower Witch watched his actions with interest but looked puzzled, not understanding why her master would intentionally fall into the lake.
"Mastering spatial teleportation is really not easy!" Eddie sighed.
His remark would have made the Purple Gold Marquis spit blood if he heard it. The Purple Gold Marquis, a self-proclaimed unparalleled genius with a natural talent for space control, had spent years learning to teleport and five decades perfecting the technique. Yet, Eddie, after just one fight, had managed to learn it. Fortunately, the Purple Gold Marquis was unaware of this, or he would have been furious enough to die from rage.
While Eddie practiced teleportation, the Thorn Flower Witch watched with great enthusiasm, snacking all the while.
The Silver Level Six grotesque creature was devoured by her like a snack, with one of her bucket-thick offshoots engulfing it, even swallowing the enormous scythe.
"What are you looking at, kiddo? Little children should sleep early," Eddie said, noticing the bare-bottomed Thorn Flower Witch staring intently at him. Embarrassed by her witnessing his mishaps, he asserted his authority as her master. The Thorn Flower Witch, seemingly afraid of his anger, quickly wrapped herself up with her flower platform and comfortably fell asleep.
By the time she awoke, she would probably have digested the Golden Level Seven Blood Sickle Demon and might evolve into a Golden Level One Thorn Flower Witch. Eddie even imagined she might grow a bit more and become a big loli... Could the future Thorn Flower Queen be a mature lady?
Eddie's mind wandered with possibilities.
Aside from the Hard-Shelled Fire Dragon Fruit harvested by the mercenaries, the remaining two were not yet ripe and useless to pick. Eddie decided to set a teleportation point with a scroll and return to the gathering camp to meet up with Sophia. With plans to return later for the fruits and having acquired the Medicinal Tome, he resolved to learn alchemy and study spatial teleportation with the old fox at the academy.
With a renewed focus on his studies, Eddie found new motivation and direction. Confident and joyful after his victory, he returned to the gathering camp. But as soon as he steadied himself, he was ambushed with a knife slashing down and an axe swinging from behind. Startled, Eddie deflected the weapons with his Moon Blade, spinning and kicking the assailants away.
As he was about to demand an explanation, he realized the camp had turned into a bloody slaughterhouse. Corpses and severed limbs of mercenaries were scattered everywhere, weapons stained with blood. The main camp was ablaze, and the mercenaries were rampaging like wild beasts, attacking anyone in sight.
Eddie sensed something terrible. Had the mercenaries carrying the Golden Ant eggs incited a robbery and murder spree? Now, it seemed the entire camp was involved in the madness, with no restraint. In such chaos, not killing meant being killed – no one was spared.
Worried about Sophia near the ant hole, Eddie roared and dashed towards her location like lightning. He couldn't let anything happen to her – she was his most obedient and kind-hearted sister.
"Anyone in my way will die!" With this thought, Eddie became even more frantic. Wielding the Moon Blade in his left hand and the Ashen Blade in his right, his body surrounded by a purple flame storm, he eliminated any mercenary who attacked or obstructed him on his way to the ant hole...