545-559

Chapter 545 - Lumi's Past (3)

"We actually had a chance to save Madam Karma's life. However, it would have meant killing her daughter. Madam Karma knew this. That's why even when she was in so much pain, she still wanted to let her daughter see the world!"

"You're lying!" Yahir Gallagher paled.

"...Yet after all the pain she suffered, the sacrifice she made, you, the father of the child, did not protect her but detested her, hated her, abused her, and even wanted to kill her!" The middle-aged female servant spoke emotionally.

"Why are you only telling me this now?" Yahir Gallagher staggered slightly, feeling lethargic and pale as sheets.

"Everyone knew how much you loved Madam Karma. When we saw you deeply detested Miss Lumi for being born, we knew that you needed the anger to cope with your grief. Otherwise, you would not have been able to bear with the loss..."

"...However, it's been many years already! Even if Miss Lumi was born a demon, she was born a good demon! If you kill your only daughter, you will have no one left! Do you think your wife would have been happy to see you treat her daughter like this?! It's time to stop, master!"

Once the middle-aged female servant finished speaking, Yahir Gallagher froze like a wooden block with a lost expression.

Seeing that her words have finally gotten through to the master, the middle-aged female servant bowed before silently taking her leave, giving her master some time alone.

The day quickly grew dark, with grey clouds gathering in the skies before the rain fell.

Even so, Yahir Gallagher remained unmoving from his spot. His body was slowly soaked while raindrops fell on his face.

"What have I been doing...?" Yahir Gallagher finally uttered after some time. With his head raised, the raindrops battered against his face in quiet contemplation.

No one could see his tears hidden in the rain.

After some time, Yahir Gallagher softly muttered, "I have done my daughter so much wrong... I have to make it up to her."

However, that chance never came.

That same night, Lumi, who had never left the confines of Gallagher's Hidden Market, was seen, bullied, humiliated, and ultimately killed by the scions of noble families living nearby.

Leon's fist clenched tightly.

He did not watch how Lumi's final moments played out. He already knew what would happen and could not bear to watch it.

Although Lumi had been filled with bruises and scars from much physical abuse, it could not hide her beauty.

When everyone found out about Lumi's gruesome death at the center of Gallagher's Hidden Market, Yahir Gallagher cried tears of blood that day.

Before he could correct his mistake and shower his daughter in the love that she had missed all those years, the world took her away from him.

Leon found it strange that Yahir Gallagher did not take revenge for his daughter but sold his properties to the enemy before quietly disappearing off the face of the earth.

Many points in Lumi's past were not revealed after her death and before she reawakened as a vengeful spirit.

Leon could only make guesses.

Even so, Yahir Gallagher's actions and disappearance were none of his concern. What grabbed his attention was Lumi's deathly aura at birth.

"This sort of deathly aura is not normal. Even unique physiques and soul constitutions required time to awaken…" Leon muttered with a frown.

As such, Lumi possessing such a deathly aura powerful enough to kill her mother and twin sister during childbirth should not have been possible.

Furthermore, he was even more puzzled by Duna's identity.

In the end, did Duna's character come from the soul of the twin sister that died in the womb during childbirth, or was she just a personality created by Lumi to cope with the torment she endured?

Thinking about the matter, the former seemed more likely to be the case. Even so, it seemed like there was more to it.

The deathly aura appearing on a baby during childbirth was just too abnormal.

After a hard ponder on the matter, Leon could only come up with one possible explanation. Although it seemed unlikely, it also appeared to be the most plausible.

"A Devil's Incarnate, huh?" Leon muttered.

Her existence, her malevolent aura, her dark powers, and her overwhelming high laws; all of them made sense if he pinned everything about Duna under the term 'Devil's Incarnate.'

"I didn't expect you to figure out this much from watching the past," A familiar voice sighed in the background.

Leon was surprised.

Immediately turning towards the direction of the source, Leon spotted Duna phasing out from a building before he asked, "How long have you been there?"

"Right from the start," Duna answered calmly.

"Right from the start, huh...? And what about Lumi? Is she also hiding somewhere nearby?" Leon queried while scrutinizing the surrounding buildings.

However, Duna shook her head with another calm response, "No, she is not here. But she is hidden somewhere in this world."

"So, even you don't know where Lumi's consciousness is hidden in this memory world, huh?" Leon muttered softly before asking, "If you don't mind, can you tell who you are? Are you really a Devil's incarnate? Or are you Lumi's twin sister?"

"You can say I am a Devil's Incarnate, and you can say I am also Lumi's twin sister, or you can simply say I am neither of them at the same time," Duna answered vaguely.

However, Leon understood her words.

Simply put, Duna was just like him; someone who is both Leon Crawford and Leon Escladus, but at the same time, neither of them because they fused together.

Leon did guess that Lumi and Duna both had a fragment of a Devil's Soul sleeping deep within them, but he never expected for one of them to actually be the Devil's Incarnate herself.

"I see… The deathly aura belonged to you." Leon nodded before he asked with a furrowed bros, "However, if you are Lumi's twin sister, how did you ended up becoming one with Lumi instead?"

Although Leon could make a vague guess, he would rather hear the exact answer from the person herself.

Chapter 546 - Duna's Touches

"You don't seem amazed or concerned after learning I am a Devil's Incarnate," Duna mentioned with furrowed brows.

Leon smiled lightly before he corrected, "Oh, don't get me wrong. I am surprised. It's just that compared to what I've experienced and discovered in the past few days, I wouldn't be surprised as much as I would be. But never mind that. Tell me more about your situation."

Once Leon inquired about Duna's situation for a second time, a rare trace of sadness appeared in her eyes before she gave a soft sigh, "Fine."

"I won't go into details on how I was awoken and incarnated as I don't recall much myself. After all, I was only a baby ready to be born with only a fragment of my former self. My memory was fuzzy and unclear..." Duna spoke.

Leon furrowed his brows thoughtfully before he inserted, "Because you were just an infant with a fragment of your Devil Soul, you were unable to control your laws. Thus, the uncontrolled deathly aura destroyed your fleshly body and those around you, right? How did Lumi survive this?"

"Yes, that is correct. Lumi was gifted with a divine body that made her body adaptable and immune to deathly energy. But as you can guess, the heavens was not fair and did not bestow me the same talents..."

"...Perhaps, the Devil Soul Fragment part of me was meant to incarnate in Lumi's body, but it incarnated into me and slowly eroded my body to death instead. I was prepared to die at that point, but Lumi took me in and saved my life."

Duna wore a forlorn expression as she recalled the past.

"Lumi shouldn't have the mental capacity to accept your soul into her body consciously. It should have been her divine body absorbing your Devil Soul Fragment due to their compatibility instead, no?" Leon spoke after some thought.

Duna nodded before she said sadly, "Be that as it may, it does not change the fact I still exist thanks to Lumi and that it was also because of me that she had to suffer... I owe her a lot."

"That explains why you are the defensive elder sister, while Lumi has developed such a deep-rooted fear and reaction to pain." Leon nodded in understanding before he sighed.

Being physically abused by her father while growing up, it was no surprise for Lumi to develop a trauma.

It was amazing that Lumi did not bear any resentment towards her father, Yahir Gallagher, after all the abuse she went through.

Perhaps, if she did not have the support of the servants, then her character would have taken a different turn.

'No, wait. It doesn't add up. Lumi was too pure and innocent. There was no way she can remain like this even if she had such mental support from the servants!' Leon thought before he glanced at Duna.

As if knowing what Leon was thinking, Duna admitted with a nod, "All her negative emotions are swallowed by me."

That was right.

Even if Duna and Lumi were twin sisters originally, their souls have become one now.

However, Leon suddenly paused his train of thought. That was not right.

If their souls have fully fused, only one of them would exist.

It was not possible for both Duna and Lumi to exist, given they were two different people fundamentally. As such, it was not a perfect fusion but a partial one.

Duna was aware of Lumi's existence because she possessed the Devil Soul Fragment, making her more dominant.

But considering they were fused, even partially, Lumi should have gained the same benefits from the Devil Soul Fragment.

Was Lumi truly unaware of Duna's existence, or was she simply avoiding Duna to prevent something from happening?

Leon scratched his head while he was thinking about the profoundly intricated situation that Duna and Lumi shared.

Nevertheless, he suddenly realized that he had been too bent on finding Lumi. Since Duna was also half the body owner, he should be able to wake them up with Duna's help.

"Do you know the current state of your body right now? We should quickly wake you up so you can begin repairing your—"

Leon was suddenly silenced by a single pressed on the lips of his spiritual avatar.

"I'm aware of our current state, but there's no rush. Since you have come here, I am more interested in learning how you entered. I've been answering your questions for a while now. It's time you answer mine," Duna stated with a strange flicker in her eyes upon contact between them.

Leon smiled wryly before he asked, "Can't that wait until you recovered first? Aren't you getting your priorities mixed?"

"Anyway, I used a special technique to reach this place." Leon answered anyway before urging with a question, "Now, can we go?"

"No, it's been a long time since I felt the fleshly touch of another person's existence besides my own. It's good that you have come here. I didn't expect that I could feel alive again in this spiritual world just by having another person's company." Duna said before she began to touch Leon in various places with a studying expression.

Although it was just his spiritual avatar connected with his consciousness, Duna's touch felt no different from another human's touch in the real world.

"Are you done yet? Delaying your recovery will only increase the chances of unexpected variables coming into play." Leon spoke while feeling strange from Duna's intimate touches like his heart was being tickled.

Nevertheless, Duna did not stop touching and poking him in random spots.

"There's no rush. Time flows differently inside the spiritual world compared to outside—what is this?" Duna suddenly paused on a rising tent before she snickered after, "Are you kidding me? Just a few touches are enough to excite you?"

"Being felt up by a beautiful woman, what else would you expect? This is a normal human reaction." Leon justified himself while covering his rising tent.

"Do you think it'll make me happy if you call me beautiful? Hmph, idiot." Duna gave a satirical look before she ridiculed, "You already have human and elvish lovers, yet you can still get excited over spirits.. You really are an irredeemable animal."

Chapter 547 - Spiritual Pleasure

"You must be kidding me." Leon smiled stiffly like his little brother before he said, "How can this be considered the same? In this space, your touch isn't any different from another living human."

"Hmph, all I hear are excuses. Even if that is the case, you cannot deny the fact that the one touching you is still me, a spirit, and that your junk is standing right at this moment." Duna snickered coldly before she reached into his pants and grabbed his little brother.

Leon was immediately shocked by Duna's boldness, "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I am doing?" As Duna said this, she started stroking Leon's tool.

The cool sensation from Duna's hand was transferred through Leon's body, causing him to tremble with a pleasurable feeling he had never felt before.

Nevertheless, he had not lost his ability to think straight due to pleasure and was able to ask, "What's the point of you doing this for me? It's not like you like me or anything. I can relieve it myself."

Although he said this, he did not try to stop Duna from pleasuring him with her hand. It felt too good of an opportunity to waste.

The experience was fresh for him. In fact, it was a fresh experience for both of them. It was pleasure of the highest degree, spiritual pleasure!

"Do I need to like you to do something like this? Idiot. You make it seem like such a big deal. But I will tell you what, this is nothing." Duna said with a contemptuous look.

Even so, Duna did not stop stroking.

Leon felt weird inside his heart when he saw the proud Duna lowering herself to play with his rod like this when she was mostly cold to him.

"Is that so? Why don't you try using your mouth?" Leon suggested.

"Hm?" Duna paused before shooting Leon a cold glare, "Don't push your luck."

Leon scratched his cheeks wryly, thinking Duna still had her limits in the end.

It was already a tremendous surprise that Duna was willing to do this sort of thing with him.

He figured that she would have been repulsed by the idea instead, considering how Lumi and Duna died in the past.

Perhaps, her willingness was related to the Devil Soul Fragment within her?

Leon was suddenly struck with a sense of immense curiosity towards what kind of Devil the Devil Soul Fragment belonged to.

'It wasn't some succubus demon, was it?" Leon silently thought.

In a short while, he was already nearing his limit. As he reached this point, he was still wondering if something would even come out. After all, he was only a spiritual avatar.

However, it did not take long before he found his answer.

Without any warning, Duna's face was suddenly sprinkled with lustrous white sticky substances.

Leon immediately felt weakened. But at the same time, he seemed to have reached a higher state of pleasure and felt satisfied.

"Sorry."

Leon quickly apologized after noticing Duna's dark and silent look as she was wiping the sticky white substance off her face.

However, Duna suddenly paused with a doubtful look before she actually placed the finger full of sticky white substances in her mouth.

Gulp!

Duna swallowed it.

Shortly after, her eyes flickered with wonder before she shot Leon a peculiar look.

"What is it?" Leon asked with a taken aback expression, uncertain of what Duna was thinking.

At the same time, he was uncertain if his senses were playing tricks on him, but he thought Duna's body glowed for a brief moment.

Nevertheless, Duna quickly gobbled up the rest of the white substance before she suddenly pounced on top of Leon, pushing him down to the ground.

Before Leon could even begin to question her actions, Duna saddled on top of his lap and slipped his hard rod straight into her cave of wonders under her black dress.

Both their bodies immediately trembled from the overwhelming wave of euphoria.

Duna bit her lip and suppressed the urge to moan before she continued to ride Leon's little brother silently with a flushing face.

Their breathing became haggard with quickened heartbeats, and lust began to fill Leon's eyes as waves after waves of pleasure assaulted his lower body.

At this point, he no longer cared if there were any special feelings shared between them. He just wanted to taste Duna to the fullest and enjoy the passionate moment.

Thinking to this point, Leon reached under Duna's black dress with both hands and made his way up to her pair of round white rabbits.

Pak!

Leon's hands were immediately slapped away by Duna before she glared at him coldly, "No touching!"

Despite the cold attitude, Duna's flushed face made her appear incredibly charming and seductive, tickling Leon's heart greatly.

Since he could not use his hands, he will just use his lower body.

As Duna was riding Leon's little brother with increasing tempo, he suddenly gave her a strong thrust and reached deep inside her.

"Ahhn~!"

An uncontrollable and erotic moan full of euphoria escaped Duna's mouth even though she had been trying to suppress her voice.

Both their bodies trembled greatly from the climax before Duna collapsed on Leon's chest.

However, it only lasted a brief moment before Duna picked herself back up and glared at Leon angrily.

Pak!

A red palm print appeared on Leon's left cheek under Duna's slap.

Duna immediately shook slightly with regret at her impulse. However, she quickly steeled herself before she coldly said, "No moving or touching!"

Leon could only chuckle bitterly to himself for not being allowed to enjoy himself while Duna did as she pleased with his spiritual avatar body.

Meanwhile, his spiritual essence was poured inside Duna's body as she felt her being getting transformed in some way like a butterfly shedding its cocoon.

Shortly after experiencing the wonders of Leon's magical essence, Duna continued to have her way with Leon's spiritual avatar for a few more rounds while he laid there like a wooden block.

Sometime later, the two separated before Duna could be seen fixing her black dress like nothing had happened.

However, her body emitted a soft white glow.

"I think I have fully recovered." Duna suddenly said in a good mood. But she recalled what happened and uttered with hesitation, "Um, I—no, never mind. It's nothing."

She wanted to apologize but ultimately chose not to.

Chapter 548 - Congee Serving

"Did you say you have fully recovered?" Leon repeated with surprise, "How is that possible?"

Duna's last slap was not taken to heart at all. On the contrary, her proclaimed recovery came as a shock to him.

"I can't confirm for sure since we are still inside Lumi's spiritual world. However, I do have a strong feeling that my wounds have all healed."

As Duna said this, she gave Leon a peculiar look, "I didn't expect for your body to be this unique."

"I did not expect this either. Who knew that your body can be recovered this way," Leon said with a wry smile.

After practicing the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] technique, not only did his body constitution change but also his soul constitution.

Did he manage to transfer some of his Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy through his spiritual avatar?

After shaking his head, Leon urged, "Come, let us continue. Maybe there are still more things for us to discover together."

As Leon took a step closer, Duna could be seen retreating a step before giving him a disdainful look.

"You really are an irredeemable animal. Don't get ahead of yourself. Just because we did it a few times, it doesn't mean anything changed between us. Don't think that you are someone special. If there had been other candidates that are also able to enter this spiritual world, I would have done that same to them," She stated coldly.

Leon immediately raised an eyebrow and shot her a fierce glare, "You dare?!"

"Hmph!" Duna turned her head away from Leon with a snort and averted her gaze. She was not being serious.

"Ahem." Leon coughed before changing the topic, "Since you believe you have recovered, are you able to wake up on your own? Or do you need my help for this?"

"And how will you help me exactly? I am warning you; you better not have done anything weird to our body. What happened is only between us. My sister is off-limits!" Duna said defensively with a guarded expression.

Leon felt awkward being viewed like some sex fiend.

Nevertheless, he raised an eyebrow before he said, "Why are you speaking like I would take advantage of your unconscious state? Do you think your body was in any state for me to do anything? Don't forget that you were also the one who pushed me down and rode my dragon. You were a bigger animal than I was!"

Although this was what he said, he did not deny the possibility that he would not have done anything if Duna and Lumi's body was in a good state otherwise.

Boom.

The surrounding temperature around Duna seemed to have dropped while her head was lowered, and her expression could not be seen before a malevolent aura surged out from her body.

"Ahem, I was just joking… just joking. I didn't mean it. If you can wake up on your own, then I will be leaving first." Leon stated before preparing to escape.

"Wait."

Duna immediately grabbed his hand and stopped him, causing Leon to turn his gaze back before he asked, "What is it?"

"…Help me." Duna spat with her head lowered and her facial expression hidden under her long black hair. She did not know how to get out.

"Alright."

Leon smiled.

At the same time, his thumb rubbed against Duna's soft hand as he wondered if her hands would have also been this supple and delicate if she was still alive with a living body.

Duna furrowed slightly at his sneaky action, but she chose to remain silent this time.

Leon was a little surprised that Duna did not resist despite taking small advantage of her and began to feel a little excited. Shortly after, he began to suggest, "Before that, how about we…"

"No." Duna immediately shot him down before he even got to finish speaking.

"Okay…"

...

Western Frontier, Great Wall.

During the first night of the Cataclysm, the air was cooled, and torches were lit throughout Military City, illuminating the area.

Soldiers transported heavy loads of supplies from nearby cities and moved heavy rubbles from broken buildings while civilians swept the streets, assisting where they can.

On the Elder Tree's side, elves have begun constructing new homes out of vines around the foot of the big tree while another group was tasked with plotting lands and cultivating crops in the nearby fields.

Meanwhile, Faelyn participated in the large-scale cooking with other fellow tribesmen and made huge congee portions with herbal spices and vegetable toppings before they were distributed to both elves and humans in the region.

Although the congee looked simple, it was definitely not your average everyday congee—at least, the soldiers and civilians in the Western Frontier thought so.

The rich, mellow taste, the fragrant smell that whets their appetite, the soothing warmth as it flows down their throats, and the invigorating feeling as it settled in their stomach.

"This is some good stuff. Who knew elvish delicacies could reach such impressive heights? I'm a meat person, but this is something else."

"Right? If you told me just a bit of grain, vegetables, and spices could produce something like this in the past, I would not have believed it. But now? I certainly do!"

The soldiers chatted merrily over their breaks in the midst of the Cataclysm.

As Faelyn continued to stir the big pot of congee, a sudden commotion broke out in the distance before she raised her head to look.

Princess Thessalia was seen covered in dirt and soil as she made her way through the crowd and picked up an empty bowl from the big bowl stack.

Everyone made way for her with looks of concern while some offered their services to prepare fresh clothes and baths for her.

Nevertheless, Princess Thessalia ignored them and reached the congee pot before she held out her empty bowl with both hands and said, "I'm hungry."

"S-Sister? Why are you so dirty?! What have you been doing?" Faelyn asked with a near-shrieking tone in surprise.

Only after Faelyn brought up the matter did Thessalia glanced down and inspected herself. She gave a slow nod before she said, "Oh, I was digging graves for my fallen guards."

Faelyn immediately dropped the ladle in the congee pot before she grabbed her third eldest sister's hand and dragged her away, "Come with me! This is no way for a lady to look!"

Chapter 549 - Elizabeth's Arrival

Princess Thessalia was helplessly pulled away from her congee pot by Faelyn after coming so close to it. She watched the congee pot getting further away before she said, "But I am hungr—"

"No buts!" Faelyn said stubbornly.

Her third eldest sister was covered in dirt from top to bottom. It was not just her closes that were dirtied. Even her hands, her face, and her messy blonde hair were covered in dirt.

What was the point of eating like this?

She would just get dirt in the congee bowl and possibly get an upset stomach later.

Although such a thing was normal for people, Faelyn still wanted her sister to avoid situations if possible. After all, it is not exactly pleasant.

Shortly after, Faelyn brought her third eldest sister to the newly constructed bathhouse and helped Thessalia wash up.

Once they were done, Faelyn continued to help Thessalia dry her hair in front of a mirror.

The both of them could be seen wrapped in white towels. Even so, it did not hide Thessalia's battle-hardened body and well-toned muscles without any excessive mass and weight.

The only difference was her old scars have all disappeared, giving her fair skin a refreshing look like a newborn baby after the bath.

Faelyn was surprised before said, "Sister, you have such nice skin! You need to take care of your image more. Although you don't really care about these trivial things, but you are, after all, a lady and a princess nonetheless. If you dress up a bit and apply a touch of make-up, men would fawn all over you!"

"Do you also think really think so? Am I really too plain and tomboyish?" Thessalia asked after she quietly glanced at herself in the mirror and recalled Leon's words.

"Uhh... I wouldn't say tomboyish. That's a bit of an understatement. How should I put it?" Faelyn began finding her words before she explained, "You're not feminine at all, sister. No, you're more manly than the average man."

Faelyn never really minded how her third eldest sister was in the past. But after she established her relationship with Leon, she also began looking into her own third eldest sister's happiness.

Thessalia fell silent.

She appeared to be contemplating some things for a moment before she requested, "Then… can you also teach me how to be more lady-like and beautiful too?"

"I would love to, sister!" Faelyn smiled with bright eyes, seeing that her third eldest sister seemed to have taken an interest in these things.

…

Meanwhile, General Marquis Hendrick organized a reception to welcome the Queen's arrival.

Tables and seats were neatly arranged on an open hill before lavish food and drinks were placed on top by the general's personal servants.

As General Marquis Hendrick observed the setup and nodded with satisfaction, a particular change in the wind compelled him to turn and look towards his eastern direction on the right.

Elizabeth softly landed on the hill with a shivering girl in her arms before they separated.

Darlene thought she was going to die during her hubby's mother's high-speed flight. She would much prefer to fly in Leon's arms.

"Your Majesty, you must not have eaten during your trip yet. I have prepared dinner to welcome you." General Marquis Hendrick quickly greeted before his eyes fell on Darlene. "And this is...?"

"Her name is Darlene, and she is one of my daughters-in-law," Elizabeth stated casually before she frowned at the luxurious food.

"You did not need to prepare such extravagance to welcome us. We are in the middle of a crisis that concerns the fate of everyone in the Human Domain. You should learn to be stringent when possible."

"Understood, Your Majesty." General Marquis Hendrick bowed while smiling wryly in his heart.

If he did not know the Queen was arriving, would he prepare such lavishness? He was not an extravagant person either.

But if he did not cut at least an arm to welcome the Queen properly, it would be considered disrespectful.

"You can offer it to your servants. They had certainly earned. I am not hungry. More importantly, where is my son? And what is the current situation?" Elizabeth searched the surrounding with her gaze but failed to locate Leon within the crowd anywhere.

"I understand, Your Majesty." General Marquis Hendrick nodded before turning to his servants, "What are you waiting for? Show your gratitude to the Queen."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The servants quickly expressed their gratitude before dining into the lavish food on the table with mouth-watering expressions.

They did not expect that they would get an opportunity to enjoy such lavishness only fit for nobles and royalties.

At the same time, General Marquis Hendrick shortly answered Queen Elizabeth's inquiries, "His Highness is cultivating in the sky, Your Majesty. The elves have settled by the trees, and the soldiers are cleaning up the mess in Military City. As for the Wildlands, it is currently not affecting, but you should be able to tell how chaotic it is."

Listening to the distant rumbles coming from the far west that can be heard and felt from time to time, Elizabeth knew that the General Marquis was speaking the truth.

She could hardly fathom how strong someone had to be to generate force that can be felt from so far away.

Nevertheless, Elizabeth did not dwell on the matter.

"Where is my son cultivating in the sky? I don't see him." Elizabeth furrowed her brows while searching the dark skies.

Although the darkness lowered her vision, her vision should have been good enough to see anything below the sky suppression zone.

"You won't be able to find him, Your Majesty." General Marquis Hendrick smiled wryly.

"The prince has flown deep into the sky suppression, and possibility reached beyond the clouds. I could hardly believe it at first, but the prince had really done it—whether it was by his ability alone or with the help of some specialized tool."

"Is that so?" Although Elizabeth was surprised, it was not entirely outside her expectations as she recalled the foreign Transcendents that attacked her husband had also dropped from beyond the suppression zone.

"Never mind then. Let us move onto business then."

Once Elizabeth said this, General Marquis Hendrick nodded with a solemn expression, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Chapter 550 - Not What It Looks Like

"What direction does His Majesty plan to take, Your Majesty?" General Marquis Hendrick inquired respectfully with a solemn look.

"You should have heard about the New Capital Plan. Now that the Cataclysm has erupted, my husband will be pushing forward with this plan, concentrating the empire's population and power towards a single point."

General Marquis Hendrick was surprised by Elizabeth's words before he asked, "What about the rest of the empire? And here in the west, Your Majesty? With the new capital so far away, would it not be a problem if the Western Frontier cannot receive timely reinforcements?"

"The Great Wall is the foundation that safeguards humanity. You will continue to defend the Western Frontier as your duty requires you to, while we will take away every civilian, every elf, and gather towards to the World Tree. In return, we will send every troop and every expert your way." Elizabeth

General Marquis Hendrick quickly furrowed his brows and queried, "His Majesty intends to take the families away from the soldiers guarding the Great Wall?"

"With the current threats of the Cataclysm and Wildlands, the civilians as they are now will only get in the way here. However, the condition surrounding the World Tree will help them improve their strengths swiftly. Once they are ready, we will send them back. But for now, their manpower is needed for the megacity's construction," Elizabeth explained.

"Understood, Your Majesty." General Marquis Hendrick nodded before he suddenly thought of something and asked, "What will happen to the current capital?"

"The current capital turned into the empire's central mining city and governed by Duchess Amelia. Only blacksmiths, miners, and personnel in administrative positions will remain behind in the city. The rest will head to the Grassland Region to contribute to the megacity's construction along with the surrounding cities' populations."

Once the General Marquis heard this, he was immediately taken aback. However, it only lasted a moment before he felt his body tremble with anticipation.

"This is probably the largest-scale movement in the history of the Crawford Empire since the founding of the Great Wall…" General Marquis Hendrick said with an emotional sigh. "Something like this would not even be possible if not for…"

"The elves." Elizabeth nodded.

Without the elve's wood ability, they would not be able to cultivate enough crops to keep up with the people's food consumption required on the trip and endeavor.

In fact, the plan would not even be considered if they did not have the elves on their side.

"Just thinking about the future of the Crawford Empire gets my blood boiling." General Marquis Hendrick clenched his fist before lamented about himself, "However, I'm not sure if my strength is adequate to continue leading the Great Wall's defense against the Wildlands' threats."

He was feeling the pressure from everyone else's improvement except for his own. He felt like he was falling behind and eventually be left in the dust.

Nevertheless, Elizabeth did not appear concerned when General Marquis Hendrick brought up the matter.

"6-Star Ranked Awakener, huh? This does seem a little low for the hero of the west, who has been defending the Western Frontier for decades, to have…" Elizabeth softly muttered after she inspected General Marquis Hendrick's cultivation.

After General Marquis Hendrick overheard the Queen's words, he lowered his head in shame, "I am embarrassed for my inadequacies, Your Majesty."

"Don't be." Elizabeth shook her head before she took out a luxurious jade box from her Interspatial Ring, "I intended to gift you this later, but it doesn't matter for it to happen sooner."

"This is...!?" General Marquis Hendrick accepted the gift from the Queen before he opened the jade box and trembled with shock, "These are Heavenly Crystals?!"

"Yes. Well, to be not exact, we call them Transcendent Crystals now--Transcendent Wind Crystals, that is. We were fortunate enough to discover five in the mines."

"You intend to give them all to me, Your Majesty? How can I accept all of them? Just one or two is good enough for me," General Marquis Hendrick spoke humbly.

After all, each Transcendent Crystal represents a chance to reach Transcendence--and the Queen gave out five just like that?

Nevertheless, Elizabeth shook her head and said, "No, it is my husband's wish--as well as mine, that you have them. Your service in defending the west and loyalty towards the empire all these years cannot go unrewarded. Take it. You deserve it."

"Yes, thank you, Your Majesty! I will not let your gift go to waste! I will quickly reach Transcendence to better safeguard the empire!" General Marquis Hendrick vowed on one knee.

"En, I believe you can do it." Elizabeth nodded.

Shortly after, she asked, "Who leads the elven tribe? Take me to see that person. I will need to discuss with the person about what I mentioned earlier."

"Yes, Your Majesty! The one currently leading the elven tribe is their Supreme Elder, Marquis Haldir. However, there are also the 12 Elders of the High Council, and the two princesses of the royal elf family; Third Princess Thessalia and Fifth Princess Faelyn." General Marquis Hendrick proceeded to explain before offering, "I will lead you to them at once."

"Alright." Elizabeth nodded before following the General Marquis and headed towards the Elder Tree shortly after.

...

Meanwhile, Leon reopened his eyes back inside the Worldspace before they flickered, "Did it work?"

He shifted his glance to Duna and Lumi's body and quickly discovered their perfect state without a trace of damage.

Shortly after, Leon reached out his hands and began inspecting their cold but delicate arms without a trace of warmth.

When vengeful spirits and ghosts reach the Corporeal Realm and rebuild their bodies, they only create a physical vessel to nurture their souls.

It was not like they were coming back to life, although their physical vessels are most often closely resembling their former selves.

As such, Duna and Lumi's supple arms still felt nice and cool to the touch.

But while Leon enjoyed his 'inspection,' his eyes suddenly locked onto Duna's cold gaze staring right back at him.

He froze immediately.

"Ahem, this is not what it looks like.." Leon coughed and tried to explain himself.

Chapter 551 - Envious Talents

"I was just checking to see if your body has fully recovered or not..."

"Why do you need to check? Can't I check myself? If I didn't wake up in time, would you have peeked under my skirts for your so-called 'inspection' too? Animal." Duna coldly snickered.

Leon's eyes and lips twitched like he had just taken critical damage.

It was not the first time he was called an animal by Duna, but why were her words so jarring that it shot straight through his heart this time around?

"Of course not! You are falsely accusing me!" Leon defended his honor, "I would never do such a thing, not without receiving consent!"

"Hmph!" Duna did not plan on listening to his nonsense and coldly asked, "How long are you planning to hold onto my arm."

Once Duna spoke these words, Leon immediately released his hands with an embarrassed and awkward expression.

"Ahem, I forgot."

"Sure!" Duna rolled her eyes before getting up into a seated position. After shooting Leon a fierce glare, she spat, "Don't bother me."

Shortly after, Duna closed her eyes and entered a state of meditative focus, performing introspection.

Leon smiled wryly and scratched his cheeks before standing up. However, he suddenly felt lightheaded and staggered.

"It seems spiritual intimacy with Duna wasn't exactly beneficial for me..." Leon furrowed his brows before we went to find a spot on the grassy fields outside of the herbal garden and sat down in meditation.

Shortly after he began self-introspection, he entered his sea of consciousness and sailed directly towards the Black Vortex Space with his condensed spiritual avatar.

Nothing seemed to have changed inside the Black Vortex Space—nothing except his Soul core looking a little fainter than usual.

"My Soul Energy has been drained..." Leon was momentarily silent at this realization before he broke into cold sweats, "No wonder my divine sense felt weaker. If we had continued going at it for a few more rounds, I might have been put into eternal sleep..."

"Now I know how Duna was able to recover their body. My body and soul were reforged into the Five-Element Body and Soul from practicing the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] technique..." Leon muttered.

As such, pseudo-Grandmist Energy traces were incorporated into every part of his being, and they are further enhanced after pseudo-Grandmist Energy tempering through Primordial Body Cultivation.

"I didn't expect Duna was able to absorb the Soul Energy and pseudo-Grandmist Energy integrated into my spiritual avatar... Did Duna know about this--that's why she stop?" Leon thought.

However, after a moment, he felt like an idiot for thinking that and shelved the thought, "Nah... probably not..."

Nevertheless, Leon could not help but frown.

He thought Duna's recovery was attributed to the benefits of dual cultivation, but it seems dual cultivation benefits did not apply to spiritual pleasure. But then again, Leon felt like that made even less sense, considering the nature of the benefits.

So then, where was the problem?

Leon's frown deepened, thinking that perhaps, Duna's Devil Soul Fragment really did belong to a powerful succubus demon in the distant past.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Leon notice traces of soft white lights flowing out from his spiritual avatar before they were directly devoured by the Black Vortex.

Shortly after, streams of Law Fragments were spat out after completing their refinement.

Among the Law Fragments, there was Darkness Profound Laws, Temporal Laws, Destruction Laws, and Death Laws.

Leon was surprised at first before he became ecstatic.

"Looks like there were benefits after all!"

Leon quickly sent the Law Fragments into his soul core for absorption before a stream of law comprehension was relayed back to his consciousness inside the spiritual avatar.

Shortly after, Leon returned his consciousness before his eyes snap open with a bright flicker.

If he continued to gain more Law Fragments from Duna and study them, it was only a matter of time before he comprehended the Profound Law of Death.

And with the [Divine Book of Life] in his possession, the Profound Law of Life was also guaranteed.

Once he has both, he can practice the third stage of [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] to refine Profound pseudo-Grandmist Energy, bringing him one step closer to refining True Grandmist Energy!

It was not farfetched to say that Duna's laws helped him save a great deal of time. If she had not told him to not bother her, he would have run over and hugged her, giving her many pecks on the cheeks in joy.

Of course, he would also get slapped if that does end up happening.

As if sensing Leon's peculiar gaze, Duna briefly opened her eyes before furrowed her brows and coldly spat a single word, "Disgusting!"

Shortly after, she closed her eyes and resumed self-introspection.

On the other side, Leon froze like a wooden block for some time before he smiled wryly while rubbing his forehead with distress.

"Haiz..." Leon issued a prolonged sigh before he, too, closed his eyes and focused on comprehending the Profound Law of Death.

Just like that, the two entered a serene silence as they cultivated within the Worldspace.

...

Time quickly passed in the outside world. The thunderclouds never stopped crackling with lightning in the night sky.

While Elizabeth was discussing important matters with Supreme Elder Haldir within the Elder Tree's crown, the increasing rumbles of the heavens caused her to turn her head for a look.

"This thundercloud isn't normal." Elizabeth frowned while gazing into the night skies as it flashed with lights of blue and white.

Supreme Elder Haldir chuckled lightly before he nodded, "Of course, it's not normal. Miss Aria is cultivating up there."

"Oh?" Supreme Elder Haldir's words caught Elizabeth by surprise before she resumed watching the thunderclouds in the sky with amazement, "So, that's where that girl was. She's quite the diligent one."

"Un. She sure i—" Supreme Elder Haldir nodded with a light smile before his expression stiffened.

Sensing the surging power of lightning and frost gathering towards a focal point in the thunderclouds, Supreme Elder Haldir suddenly asked, "Do you know how old Miss Aria, Your Majesty?"

"She should be turning 18 this year. Why?" Elizabeth responded with doubt, uncertain of the Supreme Elder's discovery.

Supreme Elder Haldir's expression quickly turned to wry helplessness as he muttered, "A Seeking Insight Transcendent below 18 years old.... such shocking talents."

Chapter 552 - Beautiful Twins

Once Supreme Elder Haldir finished speaking, Elizabeth's eyes widened in surprise before she glanced back at the thunderclouds with focus.

It appeared that a Preliminary Accession-stage Transcendent's breakthrough to the Seeking Insight-stage was different from how she imagined it.

Although she was not an Ice-lightning Transcendent, observing Aria's breakthrough could give her insight into her own path towards the Seeking Insight Stage.

Nevertheless, Elizabeth could not help but smile wryly, "In the blink of an eye, Aria had already surpassed me... to think she had only just reached Transcendence less than three days ago..."

Elizabeth's soft mutter was overhead by Supreme Elder Haldir, causing his expression to immediately stiffen.

"Did you just say Miss Aria only reached Transcendence less than three days ago, Your Majesty?" The Supreme Elder asked in shock.

"That's right!" Elizabeth nodded, "You heard correctly, Marquis Haldir."

"But that's impossible!" The Supreme Elder was quick to deny the possibility.

Elizabeth's immediately crumpled with displeasure, "I was there when Aria made her advancement to the Transcendent Realm. What do you mean by impossible? Are you saying I am lying? Explain yourself, Marquis Haldir."

"My apologies, Your Majesty. I did not mean it like this..." Supreme Elder Haldir responded with a wry smile, "I just find it hard to believe that the Seeking Insight Stage can be reached so easily..."

"The heaven isn't fair. Some people are just born different. Comparing yourself to such people will only make you frustrated," Elizabeth spoke with furrowed brows, "Still, I did not expect a heaven's favorite child could be this heaven-defying."

"Haiz... This is beyond heaven-defying... At this rate, I would no longer be surprised if Miss Aria can breakthrough to Acknowledged Paragon Stage in a month, and the fabled Celestial Realm in a year." The Supreme Elder sighed.

"Celestial Realm, huh...? I've heard a bit about this legendary realm but are there any Celestials in this world? Is such a fabled realm possible to reach in this present era?" Elizabeth asked the Supreme Elder, who appeared to be more knowledgeable in this matter.

However, the Supreme Elder shook his head, "Perhaps, only the Paragons and Demigods, who are the closest to Celestials, are able to learn of their existence. That knowledge is far out of reach for people at our level."

"I see… So, even Marquis Haldir does not know about this…" Elizabeth smiled slightly with a hint of helplessness as she felt how insignificant their existences were in front of such mighty beings.

The Human Domain would not hold a candle to such beings if they decided to pay the Human Domain and wipe them out of existence—or so Elizabeth believes.

"I'm afraid not, Your Majesty." Supreme Elder Haldir shook his head again.

Rumble!

The thunderclouds crackled with lightning.

However, at that moment, a change began to occur in the skies as it suddenly entered a brief moment of silence.

Shortly after, the wind picked up, and the clouds began to twisting and gather towards the center of the thunderclouds, where Aria quietly hovered on her ice-lightning sword with her eyes closed.

"The clouds are condensing," Elizabeth stated with narrowed eyes as she engraved every detail into her memory for future reference.

"Un," Supreme Elder Haldir nodded before he began to explain, "When Transcendents advance to the Seeking Insight Stage, the quantity of our power doesn't increase, but rather, its quality changes on a fundamental level that grants us even greater power."

"I see…" Elizabeth uttered.

Nevertheless, Supreme Elder Haldir could not help but still think back on their conversation.

Was the Seeking Insight Stage really possible to attain purely based on heavenly-gifted talents alone? Were there no other factors at play here?

"Supreme Elder."

A soft and gentle voice suddenly interrupted the Supreme Elder's train of thoughts before he glanced over and saw a pair of peerless elvish sisters approaching.

Faelyn was in her usual elven dress of leafy green and leather brown while looking a bit fresh after a bath.

However, her third eldest sister, Princess Thessalia, on the other hand, had undergone a huge transformation.

Contrary to the usual battle dress Princess Thessalia usually wears, at that moment, she was wearing a regular green dress.

Her golden blonde hair was silky smooth and well-braided, her fair skin glowed with a polished shine, and her face was innocent and pure like an angel—or rather, it was like she had suddenly become ten years younger.

With the two princesses standing next to each other, the two could be hardly differentiated and could be mistaken for a pair of beautiful twins.

Nevertheless, Supreme Elder Haldir could immediately tell the two apart. He shifted his gaze to Faelyn before asking, "What is it? What mischief are you two lass up to?"

"Supreme Elder, It wasn't me who called you just now, but my sister." Faelyn immediately chuckled softly before turning to her third eldest sister, "See? I told you that the Supreme Elder and others would be fooled if you spoke like this."

"Not only the voice but even your appearances had me fooled," Elizabeth interjected before she inspected the two princesses with lit eyes.

Thessalia felt slightly uncomfortable under the Queen's gaze before she smiled lightly, "I hope we aren't interrupting anything. It's just that we heard from the General Marquis that Your Majesty intends to take the people and tribesmen away from here?"

"En, I just discussing this with Marquis Haldir a moment ago, and he had agreed. However, I won't be forcing anyone to leave if they are unwilling to part with the Elder Tree. Still, I do hope that you will all be able to persuade them into leaving." Elizabeth admitted.

It would be a problem to carry forward with the plan if most of the elves decided to remain behind with the Elder Tree.

"That's great." Princess Thessalia nodded with relief before she performed a curtsied to the Queen, "We will do our best to persuade our tribesmen, Your Majesty."

She, herself, was quite eager to see the World Tree first-hand.

Right at that moment, the thunderclouds that had just been in the skies a moment ago completely vanished before a powerful pressure was emitted from Aria's glowing body!

She had successfully reached the Seeking Insight Stage!

Chapter 553 - Appearance Of Divine Beasts

Rumble!

The skies continued to rumble with thunder, but not a speck of thunderclouds nor the flashing sight of lightning could be seen.

The only thing that could be seen in the night sky was Aria's brightly glowing body of bluish-white light.

The thunderclouds were utterly devoured by Aria and now existed inside of her sea of consciousness.

It gathered tightly around the Transcendent Ice-Lightning Crystal like a nebula and would sparkle with icy-cold electrical discharge from time to time. Some discharges even reached the soul core, which was considered lethal to most people.

However, Aria was perfectly fine with her soul intact.

On the contrary, the icy-cold electrical discharged swam along the surface of Aria's soul core intimately without trying to destroy it.

A Transcendent shared great affinity with their element and can never be destroyed by their own power—not unless they lose the connection they share with their element.

"So this is the Seeking Insight Stage…" Aria studied her newfound strength after opening her eyes in the sky, "This much strength should be around the same level as a Heaven Ascension Realm Divine Practitioner…"

Even so, Aria was also surprised to have reached the Seeking Insight Stage so quickly.

According to her estimation, it should have taken her at least three months, which was still considered extremely fast by the world's standards.

However, it was like someone was urging her to become stronger and assisted her in comprehending the Laws of Ice and Lightning, which ultimately led to her breakthrough.

"Someone helped me… but whoever it was, it wasn't Aria White for sure…" Aria muttered with furrowed her brows.

Contrary to feeling the joy of reaching the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm, Aria was riddled with concerns that there might be someone or something hidden in her own soul that she had no knowledge of.

"This is concerning… I should talk to Leon about this later…" Aria decided before closing her eyes to stabilized her cultivation.

However, it was not long before her eyes snapped open after sensing a humongous presence descending towards her from the distance ahead.

"Something is coming!"

It was not just Aria that sensed the presence. The sentries on the Great Wall were quickly alarmed after they heard the loud whisking wind and felt the increasing pressure of being pressed down by the wind.

Supreme Elder Haldir and Queen Elizabeth immediately shot to their feet and gazed towards the west with solemn expressions.

"Something big is coming."

"Un, I can feel it too!"

The two uttered.

ROAR!

KREE!

The mighty roars and cries of two different creatures of epic proportions were quickly heard, despite their figures not being seen in the night sky!

It was an instinctive guess determined by the volume of their voices.

However, it was not long before the illuminating figures of a flaming golden crow and a misty blue bird popped out from the high clouds!

The two enormous flying beasts battled and tore at each other with their claws as they continued to plunge from the night skies!

"Is that the legendary Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan?!"

"I thought these Divine Beasts were just a myth, but oh my god, they are huge!"

No matter who was watching, whether they were on the Great Wall or by the big Elder Tree, everyone was shocked by the two creatures' sheer size.

"I thought the Transcendent-level silver wolf was big, but this is something else! They must be at least 1000 feet tall!" A sentry spoke with wide eyes, unable to extricate his gaze from sight.

Everyone felt infinitesimally small in front of such colossal beings!

Nevertheless, another soldier immediately nudged the soldier, "Don't you have other things to worry about?! Quickly run!"

"Oh my god, you right! Run, everyone! They're coming our way!" The sentry was startled awake before he quickly alarmed the others, who were still stunned by the two divine beast's appearances.

As everyone quickly evacuated from the Great Wall, Aria also stood up on her ice-lightning sword before swiftly retreating from the area.

Boom!

The ground outside of the Great Wall immediately tore apart under the immense impact of the two colossal birds' crash!

The earth collapsed all the way down to the subterranean world's second floor while the surrounding ground shook wildly along with the Great Wall!

Even the ground underneath the Great Wall collapsed along with a portion of Military City as they connected with the vast crater!

If Great Wall had not been incredibly long and made of sturdy metal, it would have also collapsed along with them!

"Ahh!"

Many soldiers immediately lost their footing under the earthquake, while some directly flew off the Great Wall before they plunged into the dark abyss of the subterranean world underneath!

"Retreat! Everyone, quickly retreat!" A commanding soldier inside Military City cried as he escaped from the collapsing ground.

"Ahhh, nooo! Save me!" People cried as they could not outrun the collapsing ground before they were swallowed into the subterranean world.

It was unknown whether they had survived the fall.

Nevertheless, the collapsing ground eventually stopped upon reaching a certain point.

Even so, a fifth of Military City was swallowed by the crater, and empty space was formed between the remaining parts of Military City and the Great Wall.

Shortly after, people were directed further away from the enormous crater, evacuating outside of Military City, where it was deemed safe.

At the same time, Supreme Elder Haldir and Elizabeth glanced at each other before they took off from the Elder Tree's crown and flew into the skies, joining up with Aria as the three made their way over to investigate the newly founded crater.

"Did those two creatures die from—"

Elizabeth did not complete her question before the subterranean world resumed shaking from the battle between the Three-Legged Golden Crow and the Blue Luan.

"They're not dead! Quickly retreat!" Supreme Elder Haldir immediately cried, "This place is not safe! These creatures must be Paragon-level existences!"

After hearing the Supreme Elder's warning, Elizabeth and Aria immediately retreated back.

Once they reached the Great Wall, Elizabeth frowned, "Those creatures are Paragon-level existences? Why would they bring their fight to this place?"

"In a battle between life and death, anywhere can be their battlefield, Your Majesty. It's not up for us to decide where they fight.. However, the more important question is why are they fighting?" Supreme Elder Haldir sighed with concerns.

Chapter 554 - Golden Crows Vs Blue Luans

While the Western Frontier's region was getting devastated by the battle of two incredibly powerful beasts that was believed to be the legendary Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan, Leon continued to comprehend the Law Fragments inside the Worldspace.

After a period of quiet meditation, he ended his session of comprehending the Profound Law of Death.

When he reopened his eyes, his gaze quickly fell on a pair of deep black pupils staring directly back at him from up close before he was taken aback, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." Duna pulled her head back before casually asking, "How are you feeling?"

"Hmm.."

Leon studied himself for a moment and noticed his Soul Energy had strangely recovered, whilst his Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy had slightly depleted.

Nevertheless, he responded with a smile, "Never better. Thanks for your concern, Duna."

"It was not like I was concerned about you or anything, idiot." Duna averted her gaze before storming back to her ice bed.

Leon could not help but smile wryly.

Shortly after, he turned his attention back on the Law Fragments and quietly mused, "If I could meditate in an environment filled with Death Energy, my speed of comprehending the Profound Law of Death would increase by twofold, probably…"

As he thought of this point, he recalled the black region littered with death-decayed black carcasses where he found Duna in her unconscious state.

"That place is quite suitable… but it's quite some distance from the Western Frontier…" Leon frowned.

Although he was told to focus on his cultivation and leave the empire's matters to those in charge, he could not help but still concern himself with the empire's issues.

"I should at least check that everything is on track before I leave… but before that, I should also pay a visit to the forge… There are a few things I need to make before I leave." Leon contemplated.

After planning out his next course of actions, Leon shot to his feet before making his way to Duna.

Feeling a shadow was cast over her, Duna peeked with one eye open before she nonchalantly asked, "What do you want?"

"I'm leaving this Worldspace. Are you coming or staying?" Leon asked casually. He did not mind whichever choice Duna chooses. He just thought he should at least ask.

After hearing Leon's question, Duna immediately shot to her feet, "I'm coming!"

"Alright." Leon nodded before he frowned at a sudden thought, "It's been a while since I've last seen Lumi. How is she?"

"Why? Are you tired of seeing me?" Duna responded back coldly.

Leon was taken aback before he shook his head helplessly, "Why are you so ready to fight me or something? I'm merely asking out of concern for her."

Duna studied Leon's expression for a moment before her brows furrowed, "Lumi is still sleeping. I know because I can sense it. She will wake up when she wants to wake up."

"I see…" Leon frowned slightly.

Duna did not explain to him clearly, but he decided not to pry deeper if she was unwilling to tell him the details.

"Let's leave," Leon stated.

Duna nodded before closing the gap between them to hug one of his arms, causing him to be slightly surprised before giving her a quick glance in wonder.

However, Duna shortly spat, "Don't think too much. It's not like I'm doing this to make it more convenient for you or anything. I just don't want to be thrown outside randomly."

Leon smiled ruefully.

Shortly after, he willed for the spatial portal to open before the two of them quickly returned to the outside world.

In that instance, Leon's surroundings were completely different from when he entered the Worldspace, causing him to be shocked, "What the hell is happening?"

"Just what kind of mess did you bring us to?" Duna quickly frowned at the huge battle taking place in the high skies of the mesosphere layer.

Caw! Caw!

Kree! Kree!

Thousands of large Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans fought furiously, tearing at each other's throats and wings!

Despite his shock, Leon still wrapped his hand around Duna's waist and quickly retreated from the battlefield in the airspace. Duna furrowed slightly, but she did not resist.

"How would I know? These big birds weren't here when I entered the Worldspace," Leon quickly explained while evading the claws and talons of Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans.

The attacks were not aimed at him directly. He was simply in their way.

"If they weren't here before, then why are they here now? Why are they fighting, and with such intensity? These creatures all Transcendent-level beasts at the very least!" Duna observed the surrounding battle while be carried by Leon.

Leon's eyes immediately flickered at Duna's words.

'Rather than asking why they are fighting, it should be asked what they are fighting over? Were these giant birds attracted to the Divine Book of Life's subtle aura?' Leon silently mused with shock.

If that was the case, these birds are incredibly perceptive!

Suddenly, Leon noticed the Three-Legged Golden Crows' eyes were fiery red like berserk beasts under Wrathful Demonic Energy's influence, while the Blue Luans' eyes were a typical blue hue.

'Maybe it was just a coincidence?' Leon began to doubt his speculation.

"In any case, this place is too dangerous for us to stay!" Leon stated objectively while weaving his way through the army of Transcendent-level flying beasts battling each other to the death.

Even with 500-thousands jin worth of fleshly defense, he could still fill the threat coming from their sharp claws.

Un, get to it then!" Duna urged, but her expression remained casual and unconcerned with the dangerous situation they were in.

"What do you think I am currently trying to do?" Leon responded with a bit of speechlessness while evading another incoming claw, followed by a forward flip onto the huge back of a Blue Luan before leaping off.

Duna's lips slightly rose before she spat with repressed excitement, "Well, try harder!"

She was thoroughly enjoying the thrill of the ride.

Chapter 555 - Rescue And Evacuation

Rumble!

Back on the surface, The Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan continued to battle in the dark depths of the subterranean world.

Roar!

Kree!

Bursts of golden flames and frosty blue mist clashed furiously, illuminating the enormous crater as the earth shook and the skies trembled.

It was a clash between titans!

The humans and elves at the Western Frontier had never seen such a battle of epic proportions that could instantly change the environment around them!

Rather than a clash between titans, the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan were like gods to people like them.

And when gods fight, the mortals suffer!

"Everyone, leave quickly! Evacuate to the Elder Tree! Drop your stuff and just go! Your possessions might be important, but is it more important than your life?!" General Marquis Hendrick barked while commanding the soldiers to help the civilians flee the area.

The arrival of the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan had come too abruptly. God knows how many people had been swallowed by the subterranean world!

Even if those people managed to survive the fall, the scorching golden flames and freezing blue mist would guarantee the end of their existence!

Their survival chance was basically non-existent!

A soldier quickly stopped by to inquire, "General Marquis, what about the people that fell into the abyss?"

"Leave them. Those people are as good as dead! Focus on saving who we still have!" General Marquis Hendrick did not even bother sending a rescue team to search for those fallen people.

Such a dangerous operation would only cost him more men than people he could save!

"Yes, General Marquis!" The soldier nodded with a heavy expression.

Shortly after the soldier left to rejoin the other groups, General Marquis sighed. He did not even get a chance to cultivate with the Transcendent Wind Crystals gifted by the Queen before disaster struck.

'Haiz, did His Highness also felt like this? One problem solved, and two more will rise. Two problems solved, and four more will rise! This really is a godforsaken world to live in!' The General Marquis thought.

"Master, the Young Master has been safely evacuated." A servant reported shortly after arriving by the General Marquis' side.

General Marquis Hendrick nodded, "Well done, but there's no need to report to me. Quickly return back to my son's side and protect him well."

"Understood, Master!" The servant in 1-Star Ranked Awakener Realm quickly bowed before leaving.

Meanwhile, in the skies above the Great Wall, Elizabeth frowned at the situation below, "The soldiers are all stranded on the Great Wall. We need to help them escape."

At that moment, the Great Wall continued to shake in tandem with the earthquakes caused by the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan's battle, throwing thousands of trapped soldiers off their bearing.

"Ahhh!" Getting tossed left and right continuously, several soldiers were eventually thrown off the Great Wall that dangled on empty space.

Elizabeth, Aria, and Supreme Elder Haldir immediately shot down and caught as many soldiers as possible.

Even so, not everyone was saved.

"Ahhh!"

The few unfortunate soldiers continued their plunge into the dark abyss before a sudden burst of golden flames from the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow swallowed them whole.

Everyone's faces were grave as they felt the surge of heat against their faces from a distance. There was no coming back from that one.

Aria attempted to construct a long bridge of ice between the Great Wall and Military City remains. However, the ice bridge quickly collapsed under the intense rumbles caused by the Paragon-level beasts battling.

"It's no use. Building a bridge will not work. Leave this to my tribesmen," Supreme Elder Haldir stated before issuing a loud whistle with his thumb and index finger in summoning.

Shortly after, thousands of elven warriors flew over before they grabbed a soldier each and took them back to safe grounds under the Supreme Elder's instruction.

Once all the stranded soldiers on the Great Wall were evacuated to safety, the trio returned their focus on the battle between Paragon-level beasts.

"What should we do about these two mighty Paragon-level beasts, Your Majesty?" Supreme Elder Haldir sought Elizabeth's opinion for a solution.

While gazing down at the enormous crater divided in half by frozen walls and molten earth, Elizabeth said with a frown, "The better question is what can be done? These Paragon-level creatures aren't something people of our level can interfere with. We can only bring out our people away."

"I suppose we can only do that." Supreme Elder Haldir nodded in agreement. They were helpless against such mighty beings.

Roar!

Kree!

The Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan's cry became more distant as they sunk deeper into the earth, possibly reaching the third underground floor a few thousand feet deep.

Meanwhile, Princess Thessalia and Faelyn were quick to direct their tribesmen and the arriving human civilians to retreat to the eastern side of the Elder Tree and beyond.

Despite such a big battle between Paragon occurring in the region, the Elder Tree remained stably rooted in its original spot with no intention of moving.

It did not seem intimidated by the Paragons.

But while the Elder Tree was not intimidated, the elves and humans taking shelter behind it were shaking in their boots!

"Everyone, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth intends to move everyone towards the Grassland Region where the World Tree is located. However, no one will be forced to leave if they do not want to. That being said, who is willing to follow us?" Princess Thessalia spoke to the crowd.

Faced with the present threat of the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan, nearly everyone agreed almost immediately.

"When are we leaving, Your Highness?" Many tribesmen queried. Their intent to leave was clear.

Thessalia glanced at her sister Faelyn briefly before she spoke, "Once we confirm with Queen Elizabeth, we will leave immediately!"

"Great!"

Everyone exclaimed with eagerness.

'I didn't expect so little effort was needed to convince the tribesmen into leaving once disaster strikes…' Faelyn thought wryly in silence.

Chapter 556 - Mixed Breeds

"Your Majesty, when do you plan to take away the people towards the World Tree? Most of the tribesmen are ready to leave anytime," Faelyn asked upon Elizabeth's arrival.

Elizabeth scanned the crowd behind Faelyn before she nodded, "We can leave immediately once everyone is gathered."

Shortly after, Elizabeth furrowed her brows before she spotted General Marquis Hendrick in the distance and made her way over.

"General Marquis Hendrick, have you seen Duke Ignis?" Elizabeth queried.

"Duke Ignis, you ask?"

So much was happening, General Marquis Hendrick could not pay attention to everyone. But now that the question was raised, he realized Duke Ignis was nowhere to be found.

"Duke Ignis... he was last seen hanging in the forges," General Marquis Hendrick responded with knitted brows after some thought.

"And where are the forges?" Elizabeth continued.

"The forges are..." General Marquis Hendrick fell silent. The forges were swallowed into the rift.

Elizabeth only needed to read the General Marquis's expression before she understood. With a heavy face, she sighed, "I understand. Continue with the evacuation. The further away from this place the people are, the better."

"Understood, Your Majesty," General Marquis Hendrick saluted in compliance with a somber look.

As the retreat arrangements were being made, the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan continue to fight ferociously.

The distant earthquakes quickly grew more intense before their humongous bodies were seen flying back out of the enormous rift.

Boom!

The two colossal birds crashed on the field of piled-up rat carcasses further away from the Great Wall, kicking up dirt and ashes as they tumbled together down a slight slope.

Roar!

Kree!

The two competed in a contest of both strength and frenzied cries, seeing who was stronger, fiercer, and more domineering of the two!

Wounds covered their bodies from top to bottom with fresh blood gushing out like fountains while they tore at each other's necks with sharp beaks and mighty claws.

Shh~!

Fresh golden blood splashed onto the ground and sizzled with steam from the high heat while dim crimson blood froze the area.

Even so, the vitality of the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan remained strong like mighty dragons; unyielding, and seemingly unending!

The two were caught in a deadlock with near-equal strengths as they continued to clash before their widespread wings flapped furiously and took them back into the skies.

Just when people thought the two creatures were gone, smaller versions of Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans fell out of the skies and crashed into the ground with booms like heavy meteor showers.

Back in the mesosphere layer, Leon weaved through the air with Duna in his arms as they continued to evade the numerous Rank 1 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans.

"There's so many of them here. Forget about a thousand; there's got to be at least a few thousand of them!" Leon furrowed his brows in question, "Just where did they come from?"

"There's a lot of things about the Wildlands that we still don't know about. The Human Domain only occupies a small corner of the Desolate Continent after all. Still, I wasn't expecting visits from two types of legendary Divine Beasts," Duna spoke with interest in the topic.

"It's true that we only occupy a small corner of the continent..." Leon nodded while stepping in the head of a Three-Legged Golden Crow before taking off, "However, these creatures aren't Divine Beasts."

"They aren't? But their appearance closely matches what is described in the stories of Mythical Divine Beasts," Duna said with a crumpled expression.

"Closely resembling doesn't mean that they are," Leon smiled lightly before swiping a few drops of golden blood off his face to study, "There's no doubt that these two creatures have Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan ancestry, but their bloodline has been diluted over the years. They're nothing compared to real Divine Beasts."

After all, how can Divine Beasts be considered Divine Beasts if their strengths measure up to Divine Practitioners in the Divine Origin Realm at the very least?—which was the equivalent of Early-stage Celestials.

"If you look carefully, these Three-Legged Golden Crows don't all look the same. Traces of eagles, hawks, and features of other birds can be seen on their bodies. These Three-Legged Golden Crows' only distinctive traits are their three legs and golden flames," Leon added.

His words quickly made Duna frowned with confusion, "Isn't that enough to call them Three-Legged Golden Crows? Why are you saying that they are not?"

"When did I say that they aren't Three-Legged Golden Crows? They can be considered a mixed breed of Three-Legged Golden Crows. I only said they are not Divine Beasts—at least not yet. Same for the Blue Luans." Leon grinned.

"Huh? Of course, I knew that. I was just seeing whether you knew the difference," Duna said with a frown, not wanting to admit her lack of knowledge.

Leon smiled wryly at her dishonesty.

However, after falling silent for a moment, Duna could not help but ask, "So, what's the difference between these mixed breeds of Three-Legged Golden Crows and a real Three-Legged Golden Crow Divine Beast?"

"Real Three-Legged Golden Crow Divine Beasts should at least have strengths that rival Celestials, if not greater. That being said, these mixed breeds do have a chance at becoming Divine Beasts, no matter how slim their chances are," Leon explained wryly as Duna found herself engrossed in his knowledge.

Whoosh~!

Leon and Duna were suddenly blown away by the wind current of a nearby Blue Luan's mighty wing flap as it shot past them before Leon twisted and flipped onto the cold back of another Blue Luan.

"Whoops, that was a close call," Leon softly exclaimed.

Duna remained unconcerned that they nearly crashed into a Blue Luan as she asked, "What are the exact conditions for them to Divine Beasts?"

"I thought you already know about these things?" Leon asked slyly with wry amusement.

Duna's eager look quickly changed to a frown before she spat stubbornly, "Just shut up and answer the question!"

"So, do I shut up, or do I answer the question? Which one is i—Ahem, okay, fine.. Just don't snap, okay?" Leon quickly gave up on teasing Duna after sensing the surrounding air around her became dangerously cold.

Chapter 557 - Spirit Wall Boundary

"There are two ways for mixed breeds to become Divine Beasts. The first method is to awaken their ancestor's bloodline, following their ancestor's footsteps to become a Divine Beast. If the Three-Legged Golden Crow fully awakens the Golden Crow Bloodline, their flames would contain the scorching heat of the sun," Leon explained.

Duna listened with rapt attention before she suddenly frowned from the way Leon held her like he would hold onto logs under his armpits.

"What are you…" Leon uttered after Duna suddenly twisted her body and slipped out of Leon's grasp.

While they were still on the cold back of a Blue Luan, Duan quickly leaped onto Leon's back and hugged his neck from behind before she stated, "Continue."

"Alright." Leon smiled wryly after a moment before he resumed, "The other method is to plunder heavenly resources between heaven and earth to create their own unique bloodline, starting a new family tree for their future descendants."

"Oh? Is there any difference between these two methods?" Duna queried with interest while the giant talons of a Three-Legged Golden Crow descended upon them.

Duna did not make an effort to warn Leon as he quickly lept off the Blue Luan with Duna on his back before they dropped into the clouds, on their way back down to the surface.

However, even the clouds were not free of Transcendent-level birds with mixed bloodlines as they shortly landed on the back of another Blue Luan.

"It's going to be troublesome for us to get out of this mess," Leon frowned.

Being right in the middle of a war between two mighty tribes, there was not a moment when a giant bird did not come their way.

"Continue." Duna urged by shaking Leon's shoulders.

Leon felt a bit helpless at Duna's sense of priorities. Nevertheless, while the situation seemed dangerous, the Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans did not give him any pressure.

However, it would become a totally different story if they began the main targets of the Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans' attacks.

"There's a big difference between the two methods, of course," Leon said while leaping down from Blue Luan to another like they were hopping down the stairs. "The first method is easier to accomplish. However, there are limitations to this method. Even if they successfully become a Divine Beast, they will only reach the same height their ancestor had achieved."

"And the other method?" Duna pressed.

"The other is more difficult, of course. However, if the beasts can successfully forge their own unique bloodline, their potential would be limitless. But while this also sounds grand, there's no guarantee that they could surpass their ancestor's bloodline."

"I see…" Duna's eyes brightened slightly with understanding before she casually remarked, "You seem to know a great deal about Divine Beasts."

"Well… if I said that, I used to come in contact with all sorts of Divine Beasts and even treated them. Would you believe me?" Leon responded, deciding to open up slightly.

"How is that possible?" Duna immediately raised an eyebrow before she inquired with surprise, "Are you also a Devil's Incarnate? Or are you a God's Incarnate?"

"Why do you assume that I can only be either of these two options?" Leon scratched his cheek wryly before shaking his head, "No, I am neither the incarnate of a God nor a Devil. Just an outsider who managed to slip into this realm and be reborn."

"You're lying. That's not possible." Duna was quick to deny Leon's claims, causing him to be taken aback with surprise.

Shortly after, Leon's eyes flickered with a sudden thought before he asked, "How can you be so sure?"

"Because no one can leave or enter this realm so long as the Spirit Wall exists at the boundary," Duna stated confidently, spilling vital information regarding the world's structure.

"I see, so there's a Spirit Wall that exists at the boundary." Leon nodded while reviewing the star map engraved in his mind.

He always wondered how the starfield was not crushed by the Divine Realm's Black Hole if it existed inside of it.

But if there was an incredibly more powerful barrier protecting the realm from the crushing force of the Black Hole's gravity, it all made sense.

"Are you fishing for information from me?" Duna was angered by Leon's remark. She did not like being used.

However, Leon was quick to shake his head and deny her accusation, "Why do you make it sound so bad? I would call it an exchange of information. Since we are so close, it's normal for us to share our secrets… Don't be angry, okay?"

Shortly after he said this, Leon snuck a quick peck on Duna's cheeks while unprepared.

Duna was stunned by Leon's sneaky action for a moment before her expression quickly turned cold, "Do you want to die? I told you that we are not—Watch out!"

"Hm?!"

Leon's expression quickly changed with alarm right after Duna's warning.

The Blue Luan they standing on was suddenly swept to the side along with the clouds in the area as two incredibly larger Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan shot through the sky!

Swoosh~!

Leon and Duna were swept away by the powerful wind current of these two giant creatures passing through. Even so, Leon held onto Duna firmly while she had her legs wrapped around him during that moment.

"Don't let go, no matter what!" Leon shouted as he did his best to dispel the force and regain their bearing.

Duna nodded her head vigorously while tightening her arms around Leon's neck.

Nevertheless, they were able to stabilize their bearing after a short moment of struggle when the mighty wind current weakened and eventually dispelled.

"What the heck? That Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan are at least three times bigger than the rest of them!" Duna widened her eyes.

Roar!

Kree!

The two grievously wounded birds continued to be locked in a deadly battle while the surrounding Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans shortly flocked over to assist their monarchs.

"These two must be at the Paragon-level!" Leon quickly determined with a glint.

Chapter 558 - Troublemaker

Roar! Roar!

Kree! Kree!

Blue Luans flocked over to take the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow while the Transcendent-level Three-Legged Golden Crows followed after and attacked them from behind.

It could be seen that a steady chain of command existed within the ranks of the Blue Luans while the Three-Legged Golden Crow just followed their instincts.

Even so, it still allowed them to help their Paragon-level monarch indirectly.

Swoosh~! Swoosh~!

Blood splashed and rained while bursts of solid winds hammered against Leon's body, pushing him and Duna further and further away from the epicenter of the Paragon-level battle.

The war between two bird races was fierce, but the intensity was dropping. Given time, one side will fall while the other stands victorious—that, or the two Paragons both fall in battle!

Either way, Leon was not interested in sticking around to find out!

They were like stalks of grass flapping in the wind, not knowing when a single instance could cost them their lives.

After spotting an opening, his eyes immediately brightened, "This is our chance to leave!"

With that said, he immediately darted through the gap that existed on the Blue Luan's side and flew away from the big battlefield in the sky!

"Hey, hey! Aren't you interested in watching such an exciting battle of this magnitude?" Duna quickly asked with a disappointed expression as they flew further and further away.

A wry smile appeared on Leon's face before he helplessly said, "You might be tired of living, but I'm not."

"But I'm a ghost! How can I still be considered living?" Duna argued.

"Your body is dead, but isn't your soul still alive?" Leon's lips twitched slightly before adding, "You can still die a second time if your soul is destroyed, no?"

"You're no fun at all." Duna spat with a crumpled expression while looking back.

At the same time, Leon furrowed his brows slightly in thought.

The souls of Divine Origin Realm Practitioners and beyond were strong enough for them to exist without their mortal flesh for a period of time, giving them time to find a new vessel to possess and revive themselves.

By this train of reasoning, would Duna and Lumi be able to grant themselves a second chance at life if they were also able to find a suitable living vessel to possess?

Nevertheless, it was only a short passing thought before Leon shook his head of the idea.

Duna and Lumi were fundamentally different from Divine Practitioners, who had their divine bodies destroyed.

It could be said that Duna and Lumi's souls were of the Yin alignment, while the Divine Practitioners' souls were of the Yang alignment.

As such, it should not be possible for Duna and Lumi to revive themselves completely.

That being said, there was still much to learn about the soul and the universe as a whole. Nothing was impossible unless proven otherwise.

…

Shortly after, Leon and Duna broke out from the clouds of the troposphere layer before the surface region was revealed to them.

"Is this still the Western Frontier?" Leon muttered in shock.

An enormous rift replaced the blackened ground outside of the Great Wall while a roughly 10-thousand ft stretch of the metal wall hung over empty space.

The burden of the Great Wall's weight could be seen as it formed a slightly downward curved after losing the support of its foundation.

At the same time, Duna glanced down at the devastation in the region before she whistled, "Wow, those mighty birds sure did some damage in this place. It's almost unrecognizable."

"I hope everyone is safe." Leon smiled bitterly at Duna's nonchalant attitude before they descended towards the Great Wall.

Within the enormous chasm of the formed rift, radiant heat of molten earth and frigid mist of frozen soil continued to clash at the center.

"The power of golden flames and frigid snow is quite strong in these two Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luans. It seems they have awakened a fair bit of the latent power within their ancient bloodline. Is this due to their own efforts or the change brought by the Cataclysm?" Leon mulled.

"Leon!" A familiar voice called in the distance before Leon noticed Aria's figure shooting over on her ice-lightning sword.

However, after Aria discovered Leon's back was occupied by a beautiful lady of pale skin, her excitement dampened before she came to a screeching stop in front of him instead of diving into his arms.

"Aria." Leon smiled affectionately before his eyes brightened at once, "You broke through to Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent?"

"Mmn…" Aria nodded and wanted to share her experience with Leon, but she restrained herself as they were not alone.

Her gaze slowly shifted to Duna with a slight frown.

"Hm?"

Duna seemed to have noticed something from Aria'a gaze and gave her a provocative and teasing smile after a quick smooch on Leon's cheeks and wrapping her arms around his neck more firmly.

Aria's expression immediately froze.

Shortly after, she shifted her gaze back to Leon with a questioning look before he sweated. He could feel the gunpowder in the air.

Aria was usually quite accommodating, but at that moment, there were subtle hints of displeasure in her eyes.

After Leon quickly realized Duna was provoking her, he punished her with a tight squeeze on her rear.

Unfortunately for Leon, not only did his action failed to stop Duna's provocation, it even encouraged her as she let out a seductive cry, "Ahn~! You're so naughty, Leon."

He immediately cursed in his mind before throwing Duna off his back.

Duna drew an arc in the air before landing gracefully on her feet some distance away like her body was weightless.

However, this was not truly the case after she began building her corporeal body with Leon's pseudo-Grandmist Energy.

"Sheesh, so angry. It was just a joke… But alas, some people are just too sensitive," Duna shrugged nonchalantly before she stopped paying attention to the both of them, hopping on the Great Wall's edge to observe the chasm below.

Leon found himself quite dismayed by Duna, this troublemaker.

After rubbing his forehead with distress for a moment, he returned his attention to Aria and asked, "How's the situation? Is everyone alright?"

Chapter 559 - Duna's Potty Mouth

Seeing Leon was from Duna's clutches, Aria finally dived into his chest before giving the female spirit a narrowed look over his shoulders.

However, Duna did not even glance back.

She continued to sit on the edge of the Great Wall with dangling feet and continued to observe the enormous rift below while listening to the wall's creaking sound.

"The Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan's battle came abruptly. We were unable to save everyone..." Aria shook her head and began answering Leon's question, "Quite a few people have lost their lives, but we did what we could to save everyone that could be saved."

"Un. Some casualties are expected when disasters strike so suddenly. As long as you know you did your best, there's no need to feel burdened by the inevitable," Leon rubbed Aria's head, thinking she needed comfort.

"Mm." Aria enjoyed Leon's caress for a moment before she hesitated, "It's just that…"

"It's just that…?"

"Duke Ignis went missing."

"What?" Leon shortly pulled away from Aria before gazing into her eyes directly with shock, "Duke Ignis went missing?"

Aria nodded.

"Duke Ignis was believed to be working inside the nearby forges when the ground collapsed and swallowed by the rift."

After hearing this, Leon fell silent.

However, it was not long before Duna suddenly uttered, "Hey, there seem to be some people still alive down there."

Leon quickly made his way to Duna's side and glanced down into the rift with narrowed eyes. He followed Duna's pointed finger towards the molten side before he noticed a few figures moving ever slightly.

"Duke Ignis might still be alive." Leon exclaimed with surprise before he directed, "Stay here. I will go down and check by myself. You two might get hurt by the golden flames."

"Have fun," Duna said casually.

Aria gave her glare before nodding to Leon, "Be careful."

"Rest assure, Aria. If a few blacksmiths can survive the golden flames and scorching heat down there, I should be fine," Leon smiled.

He found it quite fortunate that the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow's awakened bloodline was not very high.

It had terrifying brute strength, but its golden flames were far from being on the same level.

Shortly after Leon descended down towards the molten side, the scorching temperatures quickly rose the closer he approached.

Blacksmiths were lucky to still be alive due to their cultivation at the 3-Star Ranked Awakener Realm, but their bodies were scorched badly.

As for everyone else below this level, it seemed that they did not make it.

Leon channeled Wood Energy in his hands and grabbed the few badly-scorched blacksmiths out of the molten soil and brought them back to safety.

After popping Tier 2 All-Purpose Healing Pills into their mouths, Leon resumed his search for Duke Ignis at the bottom.

However, Duke Ignis was nowhere to be seen.

Back on the Great Wall, Aria shifted her attention back on Duna after being left alone together.

"What's your relationship with Leon?" Aria inquired carefully.

"Hm?" Duna turned her head towards Aria before nonchalantly responded, "What does that have to do with you?"

"I'm his wife!" Aria spouted with a subtle blush.

"Wife, huh? I don't see your wedding ring anywhere." Duna stated with amusement while studying Aria's expression.

However, Aria quickly lifted up her hand and showed Duna her black Interspatial Ring, "This is my wedding ring!"

The red shade on Aria's cheek grew deeper at her own lies.

Although Aria and Leon had acknowledged each other as husband and wife, they had yet to undergo the official rites of the wedding ceremony.

"That's a wedding ring?" Duna's lips twitched slightly after gazing at the black ring. If her soulmate gave her such an ugly and cheap-looking wedding ring, she would butcher the person.

"Well, whatever works, I suppose." Duna shrugged nonchalantly before deciding to answer Aria's previous question, "We are…"

After a brief pause, her lips curved slightly before she decided to spout, "We are f*ck buddies, I suppose."

"W-W-What did you just say?" Aria was immediately dumbfounded by what came out of Duna's mouth. It was not that she did not hear it, but that she could not believe it.

How can a lady that looks so innocent and pure like Duna in her white snowy dress and fair skin say such a thing?

"You heard it correctly. We are f*ck buddies!" Duna grinned wicked.

"Stop saying that!" Aria's face was flushed more deeply than when she was spouting lies about her own marriage. "How can a lady say such a thing?"

"What's the big deal? It's not like you are chaste anymore. Why the need to act innocent? Why don't you tell me about your experiences, and I'll share mine with you too?" Duna suggested with a casual look.

"This isn't even about being chaste or not! It's about the conservativeness of a proper lady!" Aria felt her face burning with embarrassment when faced with Duna's straightforwardness. "Don't you feel any shame?"

"You want to preach to me about being a proper lady? Me? A spirit? Really? What is shame? Can it be eaten? There are really only three you should remember about me; I say whatever I want, do whatever, and f*ck whoever I want." Duna spoke with three fingers raised before she added after a brief pause, "But then again, I'm not all that interested in this matter, and we are only f*ck buddies in spirit."

"What does that even mean?" Aria's raised her brow in confusion. To begin with, how can a human and spirit do 'that' together?

Duna grinned before she said, "The literal meaning. If you want to hear more about it, I don't mind telling you about our pleasurable experience together. Come closer. I'll tell you all about it~!"

"I'm not interested in listening!" Aria spat with a red face before she hopped onto her ice-lightning sword and fled towards the Elder Tree's direction like a frightened rabbit.

Duna looked at Aria' retreating back and smirked smugly and proudly in triumph, 'Want to compete with me? You're too green, little girl!'