560-574

Chapter 560 - A Lucky Chance

While searching the molten ground inside the vast rift, Leon furrowed his brows before spreading his divine sense.

However, all he found were a few broken parts of scorched corpses belonging to weaker blacksmiths like how charcoal would crack apart like chalk.

Duke Ignis was nowhere to be seen.

"With Duke Ignis's strength, his body shouldn't be among one of these scorched corpses," Leon muttered with a frown.

He was not aware of what level his future father-in-law had reached in his cultivation, but he was confident that Duke Ignis was the strongest Fire Awakener within the group of blacksmiths.

It did not make sense for such a person to fall while 3-Star Ranked Awakeners survived, albeit with a single breath of life left in them.

"Hm? The molten lava is flowing into the tiny passageways, leading deeper into the subterranean world. Could Duke Ignis have been swept inside one of these passages?" Leon's frown deepened in thought.

At the same time, more Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans began falling out of the skies over time, crashing into the ground with heavy thuds.

Their robust bodies formed craters from the impact while their blood splattered out from their pre-existing wounds accumulated in battle.

Even in death, their slightly awakened bloodline did not stop affecting their surroundings as their blood either burned the already corroded battlefield or slowly froze the blackened soil in the region.

Back on the Great Wall, the blacksmiths quickly showed signs of recovering under the medicinal effect of Tier 2 All-Purpose Healings Pills.

Even so, the healing pills were limited in their degree of healing due to the range of damage inflicted on the blacksmiths' bodies.

They were pulled out from the jaws of death, but their fleshly bodies were scabbed all over, making them painfully sore and unable to move.

"This beautiful lady, will you be so kind as to escort us back to the Elder Tree so we can receive some treatment from the elves?" A blacksmith requested after he managed to open his eyes and spotted Duna seated on the edge of the wall.

Duna casually glanced back at the blacksmiths lying on the floor with blackened skin while pus oozed out from some cracks in between as new skin was formed underneath.

"Not interested." Duna spat.

"You…" The blacksmith was triggered by Duna's heartless response. However, he quickly restrained his anger before formally said, "I am a Baron of this empire. If you take me to seek the elves' treatment, I will reward you handsomely. Otherwise…"

"Otherwise, what?" Duna immediately narrowed her eyes coldly with a dangerous glint. Her malevolent aura surged outwards before she questioned the blacksmith, "Are you going to threaten me?"

"You… you're not human!" The blacksmith's face was quickly drained of blood under Duna's intimidation.

At the same time, the other wounded blacksmiths were also alarmed. However, they kept their silence for fear of getting implicated.

"That's right. I'm a ghost, and a devil. If you want to ask a favor from a devil, you have to pay the price!" Duna stated menacingly.

The blacksmith shivered slightly before asking, "May I ask what sort of price that is?"

"Hmm… how about you offer your souls to me?" Duna licked her lips.

The blacksmiths were immediately shocked.

Such a small favor required their souls as payment? Isn't that the same as asking for their life? This lady really is a devil!

"Hold on, aren't you a friend of His Highness? You're just scaring us, right? We are in so much pain. Can't you just help us out a little?" A blacksmith suddenly mentioned.

"Ah? Is that so? I was wondering there was a ghost here…" Another blacksmith uttered before saying, "Please help us out, Miss Ghost. This pain is unbearable."

"Quit cryin' like little bitches over a little bit of pain and wait patiently. Help will come to you soon enough!" Duna spat after her fun was ruined before she added with indifference, "And the name's Duna, not some Miss Ghost."

The blacksmiths were immediately silenced with bitter looks.

They were scorched from top to bottom. Even though new flesh was formed underneath, causing their charred skin to become scabs, the mixture of pain and itchiness was killing them.

Nevertheless, Duna did not lie.

After some time passed, a group of elven warriors really did come to pick them up. Evidently, they only arrived after Aria departed earlier to inform the elves.

Meanwhile, somewhere deeper inside the subterranean world filled with flowing magma, Duke Ignis's scorched body was carried with the current.

After passing through a long underground passageway, his body was spat back into the open space before plunging into a pool of boiling hot water at the center and bottommost parts of the vast rift.

The remnant element power of the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan was strong in this area.

Although the Blue Luan's icicle powers were melted into boiling water with rising steam by the Three-Legged Golden Crow's golden flames at the bottom, it was not entirely evaporated by the heat.

Gallons of blood could be seen at the very bottom of the boiling pool as their elemental powers of fire and ice continued to clash.

After Duke Ignis's scorched body appeared and fell into this pool, Leon was quick to discover.

However, Leon only flew for a short moment before he suddenly paused in the air and silently gazed down at the boiling pool with a raised eyebrow.

"Duke Ignis's scorched body is already beginning to absorb the Fiery Energy inside the Three-Legged Golden Crow's blood. This could be his lucky chance to achieve a breakthrough in the revised [Fiery God Manual]…" Leon's eyes flickered in observation.

He could see that while Duke Ignis's body was scorched from top to bottom without a single hair left on his head, he was in a fair better situation compared to the other blacksmiths, who only had a single breath of life left in them when he found them.

Duke Ignis's disaster was actually a blessing in disguise.

"Perhaps, only Fire Awakeners can follow the authentic practice of the true [Divine Fiery God Manual] that father and I were unable to back in the Divine Realm…"

Chapter 561 - Assimilating Bloodline

[Divine Fiery God Manual]

Without tempering the body in fire and undergo the baptism of a thousand flames, how can one ever hope to achieve significant progress in this technique?

A True Fire God fears no fire.

The Divine Medicine King had practiced this technique to the Divine King Realm, but that was the height of his achievement.

The tempering of true fire cannot be the same as the tempering of fire-attribute Spirit Energy.

Even so, the tempering of true fire was not something a Divine Practitioner could accomplish with their weak bodies.

Only Fire Awakeners can withstand true fire tempering with their Fire Laws and higher resistance to flames.

While Leon was astonished by this discovery, he did not express any interest in practicing the [Divine Fiery God Manual] again.

"This is the Lancaster family's heritage and destiny now. I have my own path to follow." Leon muttered softly.

As Leon observed Duke Ignis subconsciously absorbing Fiery Energy inside the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow's blood inside the pool, he suddenly frowned.

"As father-in-law absorbs more Fiery Energy from the Three-Legged Golden Crow's blood, the temperature in the pool drops due to the Blue Luan's blood…" Leon's frown deepened in observation, "At this rate, he will freeze before he can achieve anything out of the Three-Legged Golden Crow's blood."

Once he came to this conclusion, Leon immediately flew out of the vast rift before gazing at his surroundings.

After spotting the bodies of Transcendent-level Three-Legged Golden Crows in the distance, he immediately shot over and picked up two of them with his vice-like grips and brute strength.

Even with 500-thousand jin of raw physical strength, two Transcendent-level Three-Legged Golden Crows was his limit due to their sheer size and weight of 300 feet and 200-thousand jin, respectively.

The Wrathful Demonic Energy hidden inside the two Transcendent-level Three-Legged Golden Crow's carcasses were immediately absorbed into Leon's body before he proceeded to drain their slightly awakened blood into the pool.

"The power of these Three-Legged Golden Crows' golden flames are pretty weak in comparison to the Paragon-level one. However, I can only make do with them for now…"

Leon furrowed his brows slightly.

"It'll be a bit risky going back for the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow's blood, not to mention the distance and time it will take…"

Shortly after the golden blood was completely drained into the pool below, Leon tossed the 300-foot big carcasses over to the vast rift's frozen side with brute strength.

Boom!

The large carcasses landed with a heavy thud before the frigid energy in the area quickly crawled onto the Three-Legged Golden Crows' bodies and preserved them in a layer of ice.

Leon was a little bit curious about how the Three-Legged Golden Crow's meat would taste. As such, it was a good idea for him to preserve them just in case they become spoiled.

Shortly after he was done with the two carcasses, Leon went to fetch more Transcendent-level Three-Legged Golden Crow's carcasses he could find in the area.

"Good stuff should be shared with everyone. It would be a waste if we just leave all this potential food lying around out here to rot…" Leon quietly mulled while carrying out his task.

At the same time, he could sense Duke Ignis's absorption rate of Fiery Energy growing faster by the minute.

He definitely did not have time to fly back to watch the Paragons battle.

Meanwhile, the elven warriors were utterly shocked by Leon's display of brute strength. One of them even dropped the blacksmith they were carrying back onto the Great Wall.

Thud!

"Ahh, f*ck! Be careful, please!" The blacksmith cried after hitting the hard metallic floor.

The elven warrior was immediately embarrassed before he apologized, "Sorry about that, Sir Blacksmith. The Savior's physical strength was simply so astonishing, it left me dumbfounded."

Several nearby elven warriors also expressed similar thoughts.

The other blacksmiths were intrigued after listening. However, the elven warrior shortly took them away to get treated by the Elder Tree after they insisted.

They simply could not stand the mixture of pain and itchiness.

After they were gone, only Duna remained behind on the Great Wall as she continued to sit on the edge and quietly observed Leon.

"Interesting… his strength has grown by leaps and bounds within such a short time since we last met…" Duna narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, "It definitely has something to do with his pseudo-Grandmist Energy. How is he procuring them?"

Although they were not True Grandmist Energy, the source of Divinities, pseudo-Grandmist Energy, was still far more effective than any other available energy source in building her corporeal body.

"I need to get stronger… for mine and Lumi's sake." Duna lifted her head and shifted her gaze to the sun with narrowed eyes, "The world is running out of time."

…

Meanwhile, Leon drained the blood from his tenth Three-Legged Golden Crow before adding the carcass to his collection on the vast rift's frozen side.

At that moment, the water pool had already become a viscious pool of golden blood, and Duke Ignis's consciousness was recovered.

After realizing Leon's efforts and receiving the original version of the [Divine Fiery God Manual] via transmission, Duke Ignis nodded gratefully before focusing wholeheartedly on practicing the technique.

Fiery Energy gathered into his body with quickened pace, searing his insides with their high heat.

However, the pain was nothing compared to the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow's flames that scorched his body black.

He endured the painful tempering and allowed the Fiery Energy to refine, reforged, and transformed his body while traces of the Three-Legged Golden Crow's bloodline was also absorbed into his body.

"Hm?" Leon noticed the small detail.

"Father-in-law managed to absorb the Golden Crow's bloodline for himself? Would this affect the practice of the [Divine Fiery God Manual] in any way?" Leon quietly mused before he sensed Duke Ignis's surging vitality.

Shortly after, the surface of Duke Ignis's blackened skin cracked apart.

His body shed off its scorched flesh and revealed a layer of new skin underneath that glowed with a crimson tint due to the exuberant boiling blood within Duke Ignis's body.

"Haaaa!"

With a sudden howl, Duke Ignis made a breakthrough in his technique as his body surged with golden flames!

Chapter 562 - Not Going To Lie, I May Have F*cked Up

"Bahahaha!" Duke Ignis's laughed raucously after his howl.

His mighty voice traveled in all directions as he felt his bare body's surging with strength—strength that an average human would not possess.

"So this is what it feels like to have a powerful body? I feel I could break mountains with my bare hands!" Duke Ignis exclaimed as he clenched his fist and felt the vigorous blood coursing through his body.

The scalding hot pool of blood became no different from a dip in lukewarm waters.

Shortly after, the golden flames were retracted into Duke Ignis's bare body before he shot out of the blood pool.

"Hahaha, my precious son-in-law! This is all thanks to you!" Duke Ignis flew towards Leon with a burst of hearty laughter.

At that moment, he felt like he could go toe to toe with a Transcendent, even if his own Awakening Cultivation had yet to reach Transcendence.

While Leon understood Duke Ignis's joy, he did not share the same sentiments.

Seeing a naked grown man rushing straight towards him for a bear hug, his face quickly lost its color before he barked, "Hold it right there! Don't come any closer!"

"Ugh." Duke Ignis froze in midair as bursts of golden flames from the soles of his feet kept him levitating before he asked, "Why?"

'Why, you say?!'

Leon immediately rolled his eyes at Duke Ignis's question before he splashed the person with some bathwater found inside his Worldspace, cleansing Duke Ignis's dripping body in bird blood.

Shortly after, a set of clothes were tossed over to Duke Ignis.

"Thanks,"

Duke Ignis accepted Leon's spare set of clothes and expressed his gratitude blindly before Leon inquired, "How are you feeling?"

However, shortly after asking, Leon's expression immediately froze.

A patch of white stain could be seen on Duke Ignis's shiny bald head.

"Great! In fact, I never felt better!" Duke Ignis answered enthusiastically before his nose suddenly twitched.

After wiping his head, he found some white gooey substance in his hand before he asked, "Is this…?!"

"Not going to lie, I may or may not have splashed you with my used bathwater…" Leon covered his mouth with an aghasted expression that seemed to say he definitely f*cked up.

Listening to Leon's words, Duke Ignis's face immediately spasmed before he broke into outrage, "Some used bathwater, you say?! This is more than just some used bathwater!—Arghh!"

With an anguished roar, Duke Ignis erupted into golden flames and incinerated all the filth that might have gotten on his body.

Even bathing in bird blood would have been more pleasant than this!

"My mother might be looking for you. Father-in-law should go see what she needs from you…" Leon's voice trickled into Duke Ignis from a distance as he was quick to flee the area.

"Hmph!" Duke Ignis growled with discontent before he spat, "I will deal with you later!"

Duke Ignis flew out from the vast rift and went to find Elizabeth in the direction of the Elder Tree.

"Looks like I'm saved for now…" Leon heaved a sigh of relief after seeing that Duke Ignis did not actively pursue the matter.

Duna gracefully flew over to Leon's side from the Great Wall before she curiously asked while glancing back at Duke Ignis's departing figure, "Didn't you just helped him breakthrough? Why was he so angry?"

"This… Alright, I will tell you—but don't tell anymore else."

"Alright, I promise you."

Shortly after, Leon began to whisper the details into Duna's ears before…

Pfft!

Duna immediately broke into loud peals of laughter, "Bahahaha! You, what?! You splashed your future father-in-law in the same bathwater you used to have fun with Aria in?!"

"Shhh—!" Leon's expression immediately darkened with a hushed tone, "Didn't you promise not to tell anyone?!"

"Who am I telling? I just talking to myself—Hahaha! You're killing me! This is too funny!" Duna continued to laugh while hugging her stomach before she suddenly thought, "Oh, but I am already dead. Ahaha, just a little ghost joke."

In the distance, Duke Ignis heard Duna's voice and almost puked blood from excessive before he roared, "Better prepare yourself next time we meet, Leon!"

Meanwhile, Leon's expression became beyond terrible to behold.

Seeing him like this, Duna's laughter shortly died down before she felt a tiny hint of guilt, "Ahem, you cannot blame me for this. You should know better than to trust a Devil's words."

"Hmph!" Leon snorted before shooting back down into the vast rift to collect his frozen meat.

However, his ears suddenly twitched before he glanced up into the skies.

Shhhh—!

The massive bodies of the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan could be seen plunging out of the skies.

Even Paragons were not infallible!

Boom!

The two Paragons crashed heavily with great impact, forming two new craters just outside the vast rift.

"The Paragons have fallen!" Leon's immediately brightened before he thought, "Their bodies are considered heavenly treasures in and of themselves."

Leon quickly shot back out of the vast rift after storing the ten frozen Transcendent-level Three-Legged Golden Crows into his Worldspace.

However, before he could get close to the Paragons' carcasses, his expression abruptly changed before he began retreating instead.

Caw! Caw!

Kree! Kree!

The two flocks of Transcendent-level Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans descended from the skies like intertwining vines.

As they were locked into battle, they continued to approach their fallen monarchs, whose bodies were riddled with wounds of various sizes.

In a short instance, the area was swarmed with giant birds as they fought on both ground and air within the vicinity of their fallen monarchs.

"Are they trying to protect the fallen Paragons? No, that can't be it. These Three-Legged Golden Crows have all gone berserk. They would not consider such a thing…"

After landing on the Great Wall, Leon carefully observed before his eyes suddenly widened in discovery, "No, they want to…!!"

Three-Legged Golden Crows bit into the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow's flesh, while Blue Luans bit into the Paragon-level Blue Luan's flesh!

All of this happened while the two sides still tried to kill off each other!

Chapter 563 - This Isn't Over!

Looking at the scene of two flocks of Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans trying to devour their own their fallen Paragons, Duna was astonished.

"Why are they eating their own kind? I can understand if it's just the berserk Three-Legged Golden Crows, but why are the Blue Luans committing cannibalism as well?" Duna asked with surprise.

"It's because they want to absorb the Paragon's awakened bloodline and enrich their own bloodline!" Leon explained without shifting his gaze away from the scene.

Shortly after, Duna glanced back with interest, "So for a chance to become stronger, they would not hesitate to eat their own kind. How primitive."

"This is just how the world works according to the laws of the jungle; survival of the fittest." Leon shook his head and spoke, "Absorbing their Paragon's bloodline won't just give them a chance to become stronger—but also become the new Alpha of the pack."

"Hmm, I see…" Duna hummed before she noticed Leon's summoned spear, "What are you doing?"

"Me? I'm going to join the fray," Leon stated with a decisive glint.

Duna immediately furrowed her brows and said, "You might have grown stronger, but your strength is only comparable to the middle-stages of Rank 1 Transcendents. You're going to get yourself killed!"

"If I die, then I'll become a ghost like you and keep you company," Leon flirted with a soft chuckle, catching Duna unprepared as she was stunned.

However, Duna quickly recovered after a brief moment before she coldly said, "This is not the time for jokes!"

"Are you that worried about me?" Leon asked.

"I-Idiot, where did you go and get that idea from? It's not you that I'm worried about! I'm just worried about losing my only energy supplier!"

"Don't worry. Even if I die, I'll make sure to supply you with plenty of 'energy' before that happens," Leon chuckled.

Duna's expression immediately turned frosty before she coldly spat, "Do you want to die?!"

"It's a joke… hahaha…" Leon's laugh became more forced under her surging malevolent aura. It seemed that she understood the hidden insinuation in his words.

Shortly after Leon stopped teasing Duna, his expression turned serious.

"The berserk Three-Legged Golden Crow's numbers need to be reduced. If the Blue Luan's side loses the battle, the berserk Three-Legged Golden Crows will eventually turn their attention on the people behind me." He explained.

Duna immediately wrinkled her expression.

However, before Duna could say anything, Leon shook his head and quickly added, "You seem to be looking down on me. My strength has indeed grown by leaps and bounds, but I am not overestimating myself here."

"If we were still deep inside the sky suppression zone, I would not have dared to join the fight at all. But since we are on the ground, I am at least confident in keeping my life. Besides, this is a chance to befriend the Blue Luan tribe." Leon explained.

After listening, Duna silently nodded and gave up persuading Leon otherwise. She understood his reasons and knew that it was no use.

"Oh? Are you joining me?" Leon asked after seeing Duna standing up from her seated position.

"Hmph, you're still weak! If I don't tag along, who knows if you will really lose your life or not?!" Duna said snappishly.

The corners of Leon's lips quickly rose before he said with a smile, "So you are concerned about me after all."

"I—" Duna froze for a moment before she coldly spat, "Nonsense! I am just bored and wanted to exercise my corporeal body a little! Hmph, even if you are not going, I will still go without you!"

"Hmm… Is that so?" Leon's smile grew bigger, turning into a grin as he watched Duna changed her reason for tagging along while averting her eyes.

Duna snuck a few glances back at Leon, but she was suddenly caught as their eyes met, causing her to feel deeply embarrassed inside.

However, his cheeky grin quickly pissed her off.

"What are you looking at?! Hurry up and f*ck off already! Go kill some birds or something before I kill you myself!" Duna coldly snapped.

Leon immediately burst into laughter before shooting off.

He did not take her threats seriously and even wanted to add something. But he was afraid that if he said it, she might really attack him.

"Hmph!" Duna snorted after Leon left.

After a short moment, she also took flight from the Great Wall and followed behind, heading straight towards the Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan's enormous battlefield on the other end of the vast rift.

…

On the eastern side of the Elder Tree, Duke Ignis saw the gathering of humans and elves preparing to depart from the region.

After spotting Queen Elizabeth directing people at the helm of the crowd, he descended towards her location before quickly asking, "Your Majesty, I heard you were looking for me?"

"Ignis? You're alive! That's great!" Elizabeth exclaimed with joy. She could not imagine how devastated Amelia will be if she learned of his death.

Shortly after, Elizabeth quickly added, "I had some vague hopes when I saw the elven warriors carried back a few blacksmiths. Still, no one could even get close when the Paragons were still fighting down there. How on earth did you even survive?"

"Hm?" Duke Ignis frowned after noticing some discrepancy in his information.

How could Elizabeth be looking for him if she did not even know he was alive? Would she be looking for his corpse instead?

Duke Ignis quickly realized that he had been fooled into leaving by Leon before he silently cussed, 'That brat! This isn't over! Hmph!'

Shortly after, Duke Ignis began to recount his vague memories to Elizabeth.

Meanwhile, on the southern side of the Elder Tree, a new thundercloud could be seen rapidly growing in the sky.

However, no one was alarmed by its appearance. Everyone saw when it first expanded from within Aria's body.

After it fully formed in the sky, the weather quickly dropped before hail descended for only a short period as humans and elves began collecting the ice blocks, stocking up on their water supply for the long trip.

Chapter 564 - Prideful Blue Luans

In the busy crowd of the joint human-elf camp, a group of soldiers rushed with quickened steps.

"General Marquis Hendrick!" The soldiers immediately saluted upon their arrival.

The General Marquis quickly frowned before he barked, "What is it? Report!"

"Yes, general! His Highness is fighting the Three-Legged Golden Crows!"

"What did you say?" General Marquis Hendrick's eyes widened for a moment before he nodded, "I understand. You may leave."

"Yes, general!"

Shortly after, General Marquis Hendrick went to seek out Queen Elizabeth with a serious look.

At the same time, news of Prince Leon joining the big battle between Three-Legged Golden Crowd and Blue Luans was spread throughout the camp.

When the news reached Aria, she quickly dropped whatever she was doing and rushed towards the west to join.

The looming thunderclouds followed her shortly after.

"You're not going to save your son, Your Majesty?" General Marquis Hendrick inquired while glancing at Elizabeth's clenched fist at the corner of his eyes.

"No." Elizabeth sighed before she said with a sharp glint, "My son isn't someone that needs saving. He wouldn't do something so dangerous without some level of guarantee. Besides, someone already went before me."

Elizabeth glanced at Aria's figure flying on her ice-lightning sword in the distance before getting back to business, "How's the preparation?"

"With the current rate of progress, everything should be packed and ready within the next four hours, Your Majesty." General Marquis Hendrick answered after recovering from his surprise.

"Hmm...".Elizabeth frowned for a moment before she shook her head, "Four hours is too long. Make it two. I wanted these people moved to the Grassland Region as soon as possible. Can you do it?"

"I will make it happen, Your Majesty." General Marquis Hendrick patted his chest with resolution.

"Good! I'm counting on you, general." Elizabeth nodded.

...

"You look like you join them." Princess Thessalia glanced at her baby sister in question.

Faelyn's hand shook slightly while gazing into the distant west before she sighed, "My strength is not high, and my battle experience is even worse. I will get only get in the way if I join the battle."

"I'm relieved that you are aware of that. Here I thought that I would have to persuade you otherwise." Princess Thessalia patted her chest with a soft sigh.

Shortly after, she shook her head and comforted Faelyn, "You can't join now, doesn't mean you won't be able to join forever. Once we are done settling down our people, I can teach you how to fight if you want."

"Un, thank you, sister."

"However, I don't really encourage it. You're not really suited for battle. But there are alternative ways in which you could of help to Prince Leon." Thessalia added before she was lost in her own thoughts.

"Some other ways I can be of help, huh…?" Faelyn muttered softly before she pondered with furrowed brows in silence.

Leon seemed to be good at everything. What could she possibly be of help with?

...

Boom!

On the enormous battlefield of land and sky, Leon shot straight into the back of a Three-Legged Golden Crow with lightning-quick speed.

Caw! Caw!

The Three-Legged Golden Crow immediately flapped its wings furiously after getting drilled by Leon's Tier 4 Bone Spear.

It tried to shake him off but to no avail.

With his sturdy hands gripped tightly on his bone spear, he stuck to the Three-Legged Golden Crow's back like glue.

"Go away, puny human! This fight doesn't concern you!" A Blue Luan spoke in the human tongue after noticing erratic behaviors in its opponent.

Leon was slightly surprised by the Blue Luan's talk, but he quickly shook his head, "I'm afraid it does! If your side cannot win, these Three-Legged Golden Crows will cause trouble for my side!"

Despite getting engulfed in the Three-Legged Golden Crow's Golden Flames, Leon showed slight changes in his expression.

The weak flames were not able to harm him.

"Are you looking down on us, puny human?!" The Blue Luan cried with anger. It felt the pride of its race getting challenged by a mere human.

"I wouldn't dare. However, it is clear that you need help!"

After saying this, Leon quickly increased his grip on the bone spear and dragged it along the Three-Legged Golden Crow's back!

A long but shallow wound was drawn on the Three-Legged Golden Crow's back, running all the way toward its head!

Caw! Caw!

The Three-Legged Golden Crow cried furiously.

After a quick frown, Leon immediately leaped up from Three-Legged Golden Crow's back. His arms bulged with raw power and muscles before he slammed back down on its head with his spear!

Boom!

The bone spear directly shot through the Three-Legged Golden Crow's head!

It easily tore through the hard skull before wreaking havoc in the Three-Legged Golden Crow's brain under Leon's Divine Will. Brain juice and matter spurted out from the Three-Legged Golden Crow's orifices before its eyes quickly lost their colors.

Shortly after, the Three-Legged Golden Crow's large body fell out of the sky and crashed on the ground with a heavy thud.

After the Three-Legged Golden Crow died, Leon glanced back at the Blue Luan without fear as it loomed over his head with an oppressive aura.

"Even if your side wins, how many of your kind will be left in the end? I only wish to help and befriend your race." Leon changed his stance.

The Blue Luans were descendants of the Ice Phoenix. Even if they did not inherit all of their ancestor's divine bloodline, they certainly inherited all of its pride.

They are an excessively proud race like the dragons!

The Blue Luan glanced down at Leon dangerously in silence for a moment before it finally decided to speak to Leon.

"What said is not without reason, and it appears that I have also looked down on your strength. You have certainly proved yourself. However, know this; we did not request your help! It is you wanted to help—"

Boom!

The Blue Luan was interrupted by the strike of another Three-Legged Golden Crow before it cried furiously!

Kree!

"Fight first, talk later!" Leon nodded before quickly shooting off in the direction of another Three-Legged Golden Crow to hunt.

Nevertheless, the Blue Luan made its words clear.

With their pride, they would not lower themselves to request Leon's help.. But if Leon helped them on his own accord, they have nothing to complain about.

Chapter 565 - Each Person's Methods

Within a flock of Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans duking it out in the skies above the Paragons' carcasses, a ghostly figure flew silently from one Three-Legged Golden Crow's head to the next.

Each visit would result in only one ending for the Three-Legged Golden Crow, death.

After landing gracefully on the head of another Three-Legged Golden Crow, Duna could be seen patting the berserk Three-Legged Golden Crow's head gently.

However, her gentle pats were akin to the kiss of death.

If one observed carefully, the power of the Profound Law of Death gathered into the tips of her palms before invading the Three-Legged Golden Crow's head and eroded its brain with Death Energy.

The Three-Legged Golden Crow's crimson eyes changed to grey, then ultimately black, before it closed its eyes and lapsed into eternal sleep.

Duna's method of killing was effortless like a Reaper of Death, harvesting lives as she pleased.

But at the same time, her method spared the berserk Three-Legged Golden Crows from a torturous and painful death.

It was graceful like an art.

By the time Leon slew his second Three-Legged Golden Crow, Duna was already done with her fifth.

It was not long before the rest of the Blue Luans realized that they had little helpers fighting the Three-Legged Golden Crows alongside them.

However, they carried on with their own battles, silently accepting the help without a word.

Shortly after, Duna shifted her gaze back to check on Leon's side before realizing Leon did not have any difficulties with his own battles.

Her brows furrowed slightly before flying over with a question, "Why aren't these Three-Legged Golden Crows attacking you?"

"Unless I directly after them or fall into their direct line of sight, the Blue Luans are a bigger problem as far as the Three-Legged Golden Crows are concerned in their berserk state," Leon explained.

"Did you know this beforehand?" Duna raised an eyebrow.

However, Leon smiled lightly without answering.

Sometime later, Aria arrived on her ice-lightning sword and immediately shot into battle with lightning speed!

Bzzt!

Ten ice-lightning swords were conjured in an instance before flying off to find their own targets!

However, the ice-lightning swords quickly bounced off when Aria manipulated them to penetrate the Three-Legged Golden Crows' heads.

After a quick frowned, Aria immediately changed her tactic and targeted their weakness.

Very quickly, ice-lightning swords found their way into the eyes of the Three-Legged Golden Crows, wreaking havoc in their heads before exiting out the remaining eyes.

Caw! Caw!

The Three-Legged Golden Crows cried and squirmed painfully on the ground before their torturous deaths without surprise.

"Why did you come?"

"Why you go, I will follow."

Leon smiled wryly. But shortly after, he noticed the hems of Aria's dress were burned, reduced to ashes.

His expression turned solemn before he warned, "Be careful of their Golden Flames. Their attention is locked onto the Blue Luans, but we shouldn't underestimate their strengths."

"Mn, I will be more careful." Aria nodded sweetly.

Shortly after the thundercloud was brought over with its crackling lightning, Aria began to exert the true strength of an Ice-Lightning Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent.

"Don't hurt the Blue Luans. We are helping them to help ourselves." Leon spoke with a hint of nervousness, seeing the lightning dance wildly.

If the Blue Luans were also attacked by them, they would have to prepare themselves for the Blue Luan's wrath.

Leon could not see their chances of winning in that scenario.

"Un, I got it." Aria pouted slightly.

With their current relationship, she could easily guess Leon's intention from just a few clues and actions made by him. There was no need to warn her.

Even so, Leon felt that important things must be mentioned at least once.

"Bahahaha! Why didn't you also invite this old man to join you, young prince?" The Supreme Elder's voice trickled over from a distance.

Swoosh~!

A strong gush of wind blew past as the Supreme Elder came to an abrupt stopped nearby with the strong flap of his vine wings before shooting a strengthened vine spear in hand like a javelin toss.

Caw!

A Three-Legged Golden Crow cried in the distance shortly after.

The vine speared had pierced straight into its eyes before it proliferated inside its head, wrappings its vines around the target's brain before tightening.

Caw! Caw!

The Three-Legged Golden Crow cried even more terribly in agony before its brains were turned to mush. Blood spurted out from its orifices before it dropped out of the sky with a heavy thud, motionless—like its life had been literally squeezed out of it.

Soldiers stationed inside the remains of Military City could have heard the Three-Legged Golden Crow's horrific cries over the long distance.

Few soldiers immediately paled with uneasiness like they could have imagined the insufferable agony the Three-Legged Golden Crow experienced before its gruesome death.

"Are you really a nature-loving elf?" Leon questioned the Supreme Elder with his lips twitching. The Three-Legged Golden Crow's cry was very jarring.

"Ahem, I am an elf without a doubt, but I don't know about nature-loving." Supreme Elder Haldir coughed embarrassedly before he said, "Perhaps, my method was a little too gruesome…"

"Oh, you don't say?" Leon responded wryly before shooting back into battle, where the Three-Legged Golden Crows could be seen gathered around the Paragons.

He did not want to give the Paragon's precious blood to any of these Three-Legged Golden Crow! Such precious treasures should be saved for the people around him!

The Supreme Elder was about to join the fray when a Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan's towering figure appeared before him—looking down on him with a repulsive look even.

"Your methods disgust me, elf." The Blue Luan spat.

"The Three-Legged Golden Crows might be our enemy, but they were once a proud race of birds like us! Even if they have lost their minds, this is not how they should be treated!"

Swoosh~!

The proud Blue Luan flapped its wings at the Supreme Elder with a domineering flair in warning before flying back off into battle.

"Don't let me see such an unsightly thing again!" Its voice trickled into the Supreme Elder's ears from a distance shortly after.

'These birds are more cocky and proud than the peacocks themselves!' The Supreme Elder frowned slightly at the Blue Luan's arrogant display.

Chapter 566 - Hidden Enemies

"Miss Lilith, we will be making a quick stop at Redsand Region to restock supplies. Is there anything you need from the city?" A soldier inquired.

"No, I'm good. Thank you for asking." Lilith shook her head before gazing into the west, "It'll be great if we can reach the Western Frontier as soon as possible."

"Yes, Miss Lilith. We are already moving at our best pace. Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do about our..." The soldier smiled ruefully as they listening to the rattling of metal grinding on the rocky road.

"The tires, huh?" Lilith sighed with a slight headache.

The wobbling of melted rubber and sharp metal clings were annoying to constantly listening to.

Nevertheless, nothing can be done about this unless they want to halt their journey.

"I wonder how my tribe is doing..." Lilith softly muttered with concern.

...

In the Lower Districts of the Capital, a few screams would be heard occasionally, followed by the rattling armors of a group of city guards quickly rushing towards the sources.

"Help! Get him off me! He wants to eat me! Ahh--noo!" A lady screamed on the ground while resisting a man on top of her.

A city guard immediately grabbed the frenzied male and toss him to the group of city guards behind him, "Quickly detain this person and take him to the cells!"

"Yes, captain!" The city guards answered after pinning down the frenzied male's limbs.

"Hello, young miss. Are you alright? Have you been bitten or scratched anywhere?" The city guard captain inquired politely.

The young lady shivered before hiding her sleeve, "No..."

"Haiz..." The city guard captain sighed before he ordered, "Take this lady to the quarantine area to be placed under a 24-hour watch."

"Yes, captain!" Answered another city guard.

"Noo! I am fine! I haven't been bitten or scratched!" The young lady struggled but to no avail.

She was no match for the city guard and was shortly taken away, "Don't worry, miss. You don't need to be alarmed. We are trying to help you..."

"You're lying! All the people who have been taken to the quarantine area were never seen or heard from again!" The young lady cried.

Nevertheless, the two soon disappeared from sight.

"That makes it the 12th person tonight." The remaining city guard sighed, "It would have been less troublesome if these people just report their sunburns like they are told."

"Not much we can do about it. Someone has been spreading false rumors about the quarantine area and the holding cells to sow chaos." The city guard captain frowned.

"Yeah..." The city guard nodded, "We can only wait for the good news from the shadow guards."

"Un."

...

Royal Palace.

"Have you found the one sowing chaos in the Capital yet?" Heinrich questioned while gazing out the study room's balcony with a calm look.

"Not yet, but we will be sure to find them soon, Your Majesty. We have already caught their traces and received few reports from the civilians. The culprits do not seem to be locals," A shadow guard kneeled before the king.

Heinrich furrowed his brows before tapping his feet thoughtfully, "The Capital has been in lockdown for some time. Unless the sentries are failing the duties, only messengers and military personnel had been entering and leaving the Capital... How's the situation of the underground district?"

"There was a small commotion near the second-floor entrance during the first outbreak. But after it had been resolved promptly, no one is able to approach the gate anymore." The shadow guard reported.

Heinrich recalled the event before uttering, "Because of the cold coming from deeper inside the subterranean world?"

"It's more than just cold, Your Majesty. The temperature there is freezing. Even the red mist that gave us some trouble had been frozen solid."

"I see..." Heinrich muttered with surprise. Clearly, he had not been informed about this.

"Alright, continue to track down the culprits sowing chaos in the Capital. Report back to me once they are caught. I want to know exactly who our hidden enemies are."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After Heinrich commanded, the shadow guard quickly accepted and disappeared from the balcony.

Silence returned to the king's study room for some time before Heinrich called, "Lily, go call in your mother. There's something I need to talk to her about."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Lily calmly answered with a bow at the door.

...

Outside of the hanging Great Wall, the ferocious battle between Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans continued.

Caw! Caw!

Kree! Kree!

Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans fought intensely by the two Paragon-level carcasses, ripping their fleshes out with pointy beaks and gouging eyes with sharp claws.

Seeing a Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow feasting on the Paragon's golden blood, Leon dived straight into the heart of this intense battlefield.

Bam!

The bone spear slotted straight into the Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow's head!

However, the attack was too shallow and failed to fully penetrated the skull's tough defense!

Caw! Caw!

The Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow cried while shaking its head furiously in pain.

Leon held onto his spear tightly without being swept away by force!

But after a short moment, he suddenly released his grip and shot into the sky! An ancient fat bone appeared in his hands before his body plunged with quickened speed!

Bam!

The Tier 4 Bone Spear was hammered straight into the Three-Legged Golden Crow's head to wreak havoc in its brain!

The impact rang far and wide before Leon tossed the ancient bone back into his Worldspace.

Caw!

After a short cry, the Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow slumped on top of the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow's carcass with a few twitches before it was stilled.

A Rank 2 Transcendent was successfully slain by Leon, but he had no plans to celebrate. After retrieving his Tier 4 Bone Spear, he immediately chose another target surrounding the Paragon.

"Puny human, what is your relationship with the Barbarian Tribe of Warring Races?" Another Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan questioned him with surprise.

"Hm?" Leon paused slightly before he answered casually, "No relationship."

"Impossible.. A small and puny human like you can't possibly possess such raw physical strength unless you are from the Warring Race!" The Blue Luan denied his answer.

Chapter 567 - Changing Tide

"The Warring Race of the Barbarian Tribe might be powerful, but this does not mean other humans can't be as powerful as them. After all, the Warring Race is also of human origins," Leon spoke.

He has once heard about the Barbarian Tribe from Lilith.

If there's a chance, he would also like to meet the Warring Race, which was said to be a group of humans who have pushed the boundaries of their bodies to the extreme.

How could they achieve it without relying on the body forging heritage from the primordial era of gods and devils?

Perhaps they did have such heritage, or maybe they do not. Leon could only found out after visiting the Barbarian Tribe one day.

"Are you trying to say I am ignorant, puny human?" The Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan queried with a cold, intimidating gaze.

"I wouldn't dare." Leon shook his head before he questioned the proudful Blue Luan, "However, can you say for certain that you know everything there is to know in the world?"

"Hmph, of course not. Claiming to know something that I clearly do not is a shameful act unbefitting of our kind. The Blue Luan Race is proud without such arrogance." The Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan flapped its wings with grandeur.

"Then don't act like you do…" is what Leon wanted to say, but he was sure to offend the Blue Luan if he did.

"I see." He simply uttered.

Leon was unwilling to continue talking to the Blue Luan.

The Blue Luan's pride as high as the empyrean heavens made it difficult for Leon to get along with them. Although they look majestic and beautiful, they were not fun to talk to at all.

If he ever found a Blue Luan egg and decided to raise a Blue Luan, he would definitely break its pride and brainwash it into thinking it is a dumb chicken or something.

"You're thinking about something very disrespectful just now, aren't you?" The Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan interrogated with a dangerous gaze.

While fighting Three-Legged Golden Crows left and right, the Blue Luan had paid a great deal of attention to Leon.

"Not at all. You just imagine things." Leon quickly denied with a straight face before shooting off to hunt another Three-Legged Golden Crow, "Stop bothering me and go kill some Golden Crows so that more of your kin may survive or something."

"Are you ordering me, human?" The Blue Luan narrowed its eyes.

Leon frowned slightly before he corrected the Blue Luan with a smile, "No, I am merely giving you a suggestion."

"Hmph." The Blue Luan snorted before finally minding its own business.

Leon sighed with relief before pulling his Tier 4 Bone Spear out from the head of a Rank 1 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow.

'The Blue Luan's intelligence is relatively high, but it is still possible to trick them with words.' Leon pondered slightly before focusing wholeheartedly on the battle.

The battle near the Paragons was the most intense. But at the same time, the Three-Legged Golden Crows feasting on its flesh and blood were also the most vulnerable.

While Leon was picking off kills in this area, the others were also busy killing Three-Legged Golden Crows in their own region of space.

The Three-Legged Golden Crow's death rate began to climb before they were slowly overwhelmed by the Blue Luan's numbers.

As the battle dragged on, the Three-Legged Golden Crow's numbers eventually plunged into the hundreds while the Blue Luans remained in the thousands.

"Are this rate, the Three-Legged Golden Crows will surely be wiped out by the Blue Luans. I think we have helped more than enough for them to win the battle on their own now," Aria's voice trickled into Leon's ears from a distance.

Leon glanced over with a bit of surprise after slaying another Rank 1 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow before flying over to her side.

Shortly after, another Three-Legged Golden Crow shot past them and dived straight into the newly vacant spot around the Paragon's carcass, kicking the other bodies out of the way.

Humans were truly small in comparison to these 300-feet big behemoths.

"If we are going to help them, we should help them all the way. Besides, nothing is certain until the battle is truly over," Leon spoke before holding onto Aria's soft hands with a slight smile, "Why have you come over here?"

Amidst the booming noises and cries of the battlefield, a quiet snort was mixed within.

Aria glancing back at Leon with a sweet smile, "I just wanted to see how you were—"

Rumble…

She did not get to finish speaking before both their face's abruptly changed as the earth suddenly started shaking due to a surge of powerful aura.

"Be careful!" Leon immediately warned while pulling Aria into his chest and shield her with his body.

Boom!

One of the Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow erupted with huge golden flames, slamming against Leon's back before the two were swept away!

The surrounding Blue Luans and Three-Legged Golden Crows were also pushed away by the eruption of golden flames before the Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow raised its head towards the heavens.

Kreeee!

The Golden Crow issued a long and mighty cry before the golden flames surged with greater intensity, burning everything around it!

"Leon! Are you alright?!" Aria cried in Leon's arms as they were blown away by the sudden eruption of power.

Swoosh~!

In a short instance, Duna and the Supreme Elder quickly flew over and gathered by their side.

"Are you alright, young prince?" Supreme Elder Haldir asked out of concern while Duna silently inspected his burnt back.

"Ahem, I'm fine," Leon coughed slightly with a frown while feeling the searing pain on his back that exceeded the scope of his body's fire resistance, "This much damage is nothing to me. More importantly, we have a bigger problem on our hands now!"

Kree! Kree!

The Blue Luans cried out to each other, "Gather, everyone! The Golden Crows have taken a step ahead of us, but the Blue Luans do not and will not cower!"

"Stop it! Don't let that Golden Crow complete its awakening!"

Kree! Kree!

All the Blue Luans quickly concentrated their attacks on the Golden Crow to interrupt its awakening, diving straight into the surging golden flames!

Chapter 568 - Demonic Array

"Did these proud birds suddenly go stupid?" Leon immediately frowned while the Supreme Elder healed his back with Transcendent Wood Energy.

Kree! Kree!

The Blue Luan's cried shortly after diving into the surging walls of golden flames!

Their frigid mist could not resist the intense heat!

"Isn't this actually pretty bad? The Three-Legged Golden Crow's rise to the Paragon level after its awakening..." Aria frowned at the rising aura and pressure.

"Kek…" Duna let out a soft snicker.

"Did I say something wrong?" Aria's brows creased at Duna's response, "Paragons are not to be taken lightly."

"It might be bad for these pompous snow birds if they continue to suicide like this, but not for us—At least, nothing will go wrong with me around. At worse, I will just wipe it out with my power," Duna casually added.

Leon furrowed his brows at Duna's words.

With Duna's Supreme Law of Destruction, he did not doubt for a moment that she would not be able to slay a Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow.

However, her corporeal would crumble from the side effects of using the Destruction Law every time. The greater the power, the more severity of the damage.

Duna is casual about these matters due to her excellent tolerance and fortitude, but he knew that such damages would cause an average person immense pain and suffering.

Leon did not want to put Duna through this.

"No, you don't need to intervene in this matter," Leon spoke to Duna before he added, "I will handle this."

"And what can you do? You might be strong, but are you stronger than those Peak Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luans over there? Just a bit of contact with the golden flames, and you nearly lost your life…" Duna slowly stopped speaking upon seeing Leon's warm smile.

Leon waited patiently before he said, "There are multiple solutions for this problem, actually. Three-Legged Golden Crow is awakening its bloodline and becoming strong as we speak, but even if it achieves the Paragon-level, I can still do something about it…"

"The first method is to give the Three-Legged Golden Crow an equally strong opponent to deal with. With my medical and alchemic knowledge, there's a high chance I can help the Blue Luans awaken their bloodline." Leon stated.

"However, the Blue Luans are neither our friend nor our allies. We are simply working together to take out a common enemy. There's no need for me to boost their strength if it cannot be used by us…" Leon continued.

"That's not a bad choice to make." Duna nodded before inputting her opinion, "Even Paragons can go berserk due to the Wrathful Demonic Energy in the atmosphere. With these cocky birds' attitude, they wouldn't stick around to be human pets to express their gratefulness. There's no point exhausting your energy and resources on them."

"Right, and if they turn berserk and come back to bite us, it'll be troublesome instead, huh?" The Supreme Elder mused before turning to Leon, "So what does the young prince intend to do?"

"I will smite it with the power of the Heavenly Tribulation," Leon glanced up at the sky filled with hidden Wrathful Demonic Energy.

"Oh?" Supreme Elder Haldir was slightly surprised before he queried, "But young prince already has a little miss Heavenly Tribulation right here. Are you sure the power of Heavenly Tribulation will be enough to smite the Three-Legged Golden Crow?"

Aria turned to Leon in question, "What Heavenly Tribulation are you two talking about? If the Heavenly Tribulation is endured, wouldn't the Three-Legged Golden Crow be propelled into the Celestial Realm instead?"

"We are not talking about True Divine Damnation undergone by Void Realm Divine Practitioners breaking through to Divine Origin Realm. You'll see what I mean soon," Leon rubbed Aria's head with a soft smile before he turning back to the Supreme Elder, "Have you forgotten how the Ant King was fried?"

"Young prince, not matter, the Ant King was extremely mighty, but it was still a Rank 2 Transcendent. Here, we are talking about a potential Rank 3 Transcendent now. It should not be viewed the same, no?"

"That's true," Leon nodded before saying, "I guess we will just have to see how effective it turns out, won't we?"

After a slight smile, Leon took off into the skies and flew straight into the clouds above the surging pillar of golden flames that fluctuated like a pulse.

"Last time the Tier 3 Spiritual Array Heaven's Wrath was used, it was not charged to its maximum strength. But this time will be much different," Leon mused.

The last time he smited the Ant King, he burrowed Spirit Energy from the World Tree to produce the Tier 3 Spiritual Array.

"This time, I will be using the destructive power of Demonic Energy. I wonder what sort of effect it will produce?" Leon wondered.

Wrathful Demonic Energy quickly gathered under Leon's Divine Will before they began to form runic lines. Lines after lines of glowing red light soon connected, forming runic circles of big and small size.

Demonic Energy poured out from Leon's Black Vortex Space to further fuel the formation of his Tier 3 Spiritual Array—No, Demonic Array.

In a short instance, the three-layered Demonic Array was completed.

Upon its completion, the surrounding weather immediately changed. The wind grew stronger, and the clouds were pulled over, becoming darker and more ominous.

Bzzt!

The first flash of lightning was quickly seen within the thunderclouds where the Tier 3 Demonic Array floated from Leon's grasp.

However, it was neither blue, purple, nor white. Instead, it was a bright crimson color with hints of darkness.

A Blue Luan quickly flew over and interrogated, "What demonic art is this? Human, what exactly are you planning to do?!"

The three-layered Demonic Array drew in the surrounding Wrathful Demonic Energies and continuously expanded, transforming into a vast three-layered magic circle that hung overhead in the sky.

"Charging up a powerful attack that will slay the Three-Legged Golden Crow obviously! You should bring your kin away from this area and protect me from the other Three-Legged Golden Crows while I charge this Demonic Array!" Leon spoke.

Chapter 569 - Demonic Heaven's Wrath

The Blue Luan narrowed its eyes dangerously at Leon's commanding words.

However, after a short glance at the dreadful array hanging in the sky, the Blue Luan simply snorted and flew off to inform the others.

Not long after, the Three-Legged Golden Crows in the region seemed to have taken notice of the looming danger in the sky.

Caw!

The Awakening Three-Legged Golden Crow issued a mighty and commanding cry at once.

Swoosh~!

All the Three-Legged Golden Crow turned and flocked towards Leon's direction like they had just received an imperial edict.

"Tch!" Leon clicked his tongue.

The Three-Legged Golden Crow was already beginning to influence the other Three-Legged Golden Crows, even in their berserk states.

"Seems like it is getting quite close to the Paragon-level…" Leon narrowed his eyes in observation as he controlled the Demonic Array, "Paragons are like kings and emperors. Their words hold power over their own races…"

"Still, perhaps there's a chance to recover the Three-Legged Golden Crow's sanity from its berserk state?" Leon thought for a moment before quickly shelving the idea.

Even if the Three-Legged Golden Crow recovered its sanity, it would still be an enemy. He had already killed so many of its brethren.

It was impossible for them to reconcile this hatred.

As Leon watched the Three-Legged Golden Crows approached him, the Blue Luan did not remain silent.

Kree! Kree!

"Protect that human! Don't let the Golden Crows get to him!" One of the Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan spoke.

Many Blue Luans immediately flocked over to impede the Three-Legged Golden Crows' path while some protested, "Why do we need to protect a mere human? And a human of the wicked path, no less!"

"Because this human is helping us! Even if we did not ask for it, he is still helping us! Our pride as descendants of the Ice Phoenix will not allow us to just standby and watch this human harmed by our enemies!" The Blue Luan spoke.

Once these words were spoken, the voices of dissent within the Blue Luan Tribe immediately died down.

They raised their heads and flapped their wings furiously to defend their honor, taking off to join the rest of the Blue Luans and attack the Three-Legged Golden Crows.

Duna, Aria, and the Supreme Elder watched the battle from a distance.

Seeing Duna had no intention of joining to protect Leon, Aria wanted to throw a jab at her to get back at her.

However, she remembered that the lightning element was of the yang alignment, whether it was spiritually or demonically produced.

As such, Duna should not get close to the thundercloud looming above the giant Demonic Array.

Aria decided to leave her spot quietly.

However, Aria was quickly stopped by Duna before she turned her head back with a frown, "What is it? Even if you cannot help, it doesn't mean I can't either."

"No, even worse, you will just ruin his efforts," Duna stated indifferently without giving Aria any face, "You have high affinity with lightning. Your presence will disturb the Demonic Array from functioning properly."

"You seem awfully familiar with how Demonic Energy works," Aria furrowed her brows, but she did not continue to leave and assist Leon. "How do you know?"

"I am a devil," Duna stated with a calm look.

Supreme Elder Haldir was surprised, but he chose to remain silent.

Sensing the vague gunpowder in the air between these two ladies, he decided to retreat a few steps and not get involved.

At the same time, Aria glanced back at Duna with doubt, "Aren't you suppose to be a 400-year-ago vengeful spirit? Why are you suddenly a devil? Where are your horns and wings?"

"How ignorant must you be to ask that? Do you think all devils have to have horns and wings? Even a human like you can be a devil as long as you meet the right requirements to become one," Duna spoke coolly, "I am a spirit with a devil's soul."

"Oh, why not add old hag to your description too?"

"What did you just say?" Duna immediately narrowed her eyes with a dangerous glint as the surrounding temperature quickly dropped.

Having found a way to get back at Duna, Aria's lips curled into a smirk without backing down, "You heard me correctly, Old Hag."

The two glared at each other with sparks flying between their eyes.

Aria exerted her own pressure without losing out, causing Duna to widen her eyes with mild surprise.

She quickly discovered that Aria must have also inherited a powerful soul that boosted her own soul in order to exert such soul pressure.

'Is it a devil's soul or god's soul? Considering this world belongs to the demons, it should be a devil's soul, right?' Duna silently thought.

Unfortunately, it was neither of those guesses.

It was hardly the time for the two ladies to be fighting. As such, Supreme Elder Haldir opened his mouth on multiple occasions.

However, he ended up closing his mouth without speaking a word in the end.

Nevertheless, he made a mental note to pay more attention to Duna, the vengeful spirit. Devils and demons were supposedly the harbingers of death and enemy of all living things.

As such, he could not ignore Duna after she made such a claim.

'This person is dangerous,' Supreme Elder Haldir silently thought.

Meanwhile, Duna quickly realized Aria's intention and smiled coolly, "I'm too lazy to bicker with a little girl like you."

"Whatever, Old Hag." Aria shrugged.

Although Duna realized Aria's intention to annoy her, being called an old hag was not a pleasant thing to hear. As such, her eyes twitched slightly.

Rumble!

Power continued to gather in the thunderclouds as it flicked with bright flashes of crimson light.

The Demonic Array barely reached its limit, but it already began to shake due to the unstable nature of Demonic Energy.

Knowing the Demonic Array would collapse if he waited any longer, Leon immediately shouted at the Blue Luans, "Everyone, get out of the way!"

Kree!

The Blue Luans acknowledged his words with a cry.

Shortly after the Blue Luan flew out of the area with Three-Legged Golden Crows hot on their tails, a clear path was opened between Demonic Array and the Awakening Three-Legged Golden Crow.

Caw!

Three-Legged Golden Crow cried as its instincts screamed with intense danger, causing it to forcefully stop its awakening at a critical juncture to flee.

However, he did not allow it.

"Smite it into oblivion, Demonic Heaven's Wrath," Leon dropped his raised hand.

Boom!

A thick streak of red lightning quickly descended on the Three-Legged Golden Crow's huge body in an instance!

Chapter 570 - Bluewinter

Tiny sparks of red lightning scattered into the surroundings like skipping snakes while the Three-Legged Golden Crow was struck with the full brunt of the Demonic Array's attack!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The red lightning snakes vaporized patches of soil in an instance, forming numerous small craters—to say nothing in the least for the Three-Legged Golden Crow!

However…

Caw!—Roar!!

The Three-Legged Golden Crow gave a hoarse cry like some mighty divine lion as its body was disintegrated by the demonic lightning!

Its flesh melted from the intense heat before it dried up and cracked. Ultimately, falling apart like broken charcoal!

CAW!

The Three-Legged Golden Crow gave a mighty cry in anger with its head raised against the sky!

A huge hole was revealed on its enormous body, penetrated straight through to the ground! Blood gushed out from its open wound, but its heart was still beating and lively!

"The Demonic Array actually failed to deliver a fatal hit?" Leon frowned.

Using Divine Will, Leon changed the Demonic Array's angle slightly to shift the lightning beam to shave right through the Three-Legged Golden Crow's beating heart and finish it once and for all.

However!

Crack!

The unstable Demonic Array could not withstand the prolonged burden of its own attack comprised of Wrathful Demonic Energies and collapsed under pressure!

Boom!

The Tier 3 Demonic Array exploded with an outburst of demonic discharge shooting outwards from the epicenter!

The thunderclouds were blown away in an instant before the surroundings were affected by a brief gust of strong winds!

Aria and Supreme Elder Haldir were forced to shift their heads away from the wind for a moment while Duna simply narrowed her eyes.

Shortly after, the grievously wounded Three-Legged Golden Crows locked its gaze on Leon.

Although it failed to ascend to Rank 3 Transcendent at the most critical moment, it was still at the peak of Rank 2 Transcendent with strength nearing 9-million jin!

Its cold gaze immediately sent a chill down Leon's spine.

"Dammit, I have not only failed to deliver a killing blow but also drew its attention onto me. This isn't an opponent I can take on!" Leon muttered with a heavy expression.

At the same time, the Blue Luans cried at each other, "The Three-Legged Golden Crow lives! However, it is seriously wounded! Come, my brothers and sisters! Don't let it recover!"

"In the words of humans, strike when the iron is hot! This is our chance to finish it off! Attack!"

The Blue Luans shot straight at the severely wounded Three-Legged Golden Crow in a united effort under the leadership of several High Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luans.

CAW!

With a single powerful cry, the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow reignited with surging golden flames and swept the Blue Luans away!

At the same time, the other Three-Legged Golden Crows flew into action, attacking the Blue Luans while they were off guard, even when there was a significant disparity in their numbers!

Swoosh~!

The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow flapped its large feathered wings and took off from the ground.

Leon's expression turned grave in an instance.

"I mustn't endanger the others. No one can compete with this thing," Leon made the decision to retreat away from the others while the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow was hot on his tails.

Swoosh!

Leon shot into the skies immediately with rapid speed.

At the same time, Duna narrowed her eyes. But after a short moment, they immediately widened in realization, "This idiot!"

Duna quickly closed the distance as much as she could, but she was too far to catch up to them.

Even so, the power of the Destruction LAw gathered to the tips of her hand in large quantities before she quickly fired it at the rising Three-Legged Golden Crow!

Caw!

The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow immediately cried from having its tail, and one of its legs disintegrated by the power of destruction.

However, it did not change its target and continued to pursue Leon furiously!

Compared to the massive hole running through its body, the loss of a tail and leg was nothing!

"Tch!" Duna clicked her tongue.

If she had not already started forging her corporeal body, she could have continued to follow.

But because she did, she was forced to stop. The suppressive force of the sky weighed down on her, preventing her from flying too high.

Golden flames surged from the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow's body and enveloped its entire body.

It used the golden flames to burn its own wound, stopping the bleeding. At the same time, its speed increased before chasing after Leon with greater momentum.

At the same time, Aria had also flown over when she realized Leon was in danger.

In an instant, she quickly shot past Duna and continued on her upward path with her quickly conjured ice-lightning sword, breaking through the clouds.

"Stay back!"

Leon's figure could not be seen along with the huge, but his voice trickled into Aria's ears, causing her to tremble slightly.

"No! I can't let you face this danger alone!" Aria shouted back defiantly.

She continued cutting through the clouds, but the shadows of Leon and the Peak 2 Rank Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow was still nowhere to be seen.

"How can they be so fast?!"

"Believe in me!" Leon's voice trickled down again before Aria's body shook once more. He was forcing her to stop!

Aria immediately bit her lips.

Swoosh~!

The large bodies of a few Mid Rank 2 and High Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luans swooped past before one of them spoke in passing, "Leave the human to us. We will make sure to bring him back to you in one piece."

"Alright..." Aria nodded heavily with knitted brows.

Energy was drained from her body as she slowly returned to the surface. She did not want to betray Leon's trust in the end.

Since he said to believe in him, she had to believe in him.

"We can't rely on humans to win our battles. In the end, we can only rely on ourselves. Bluewinter, take this chance to absorb the monarch's bloodline and awaken. You are the strongest of us all and have the highest chance of succeeding!" A Blue Luan spoke to another on the surface.

"Alright," A soft cool response was heard from a High Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan.

It was the same bird that convinced the other Blue Luans to protect Leon previously.

Chapter 571 - Weightless Like The Void

"Why have you come back? Where's Leon?" Duna quickly asked after seeing Aria returned alone.

"Leon is still being chased by the Three-Legged Golden Crow," Aria spoke with a sigh, "He told me to believe in him…"

"So, you just leave him? I am honestly disappointed in you," Duna said to Aria before she demanded with an extended hand, "Give it to me."

Aria bit her lips.

Duna's words stabbed right into her heart.

At the same time, she knew precisely what Duna wanted and passed the pendant device that allowed her to ignore the suppressive force and fly freely in the high skies.

"Your hand…" Aria suddenly noticed one of Duna's hands was missing.

However, Duna was nonchalant about it, "It's nothing. Just a result of using a power too strong for me to control freely at my present level.

"As I thought, only I can help him. You should have given this to me straight from the start!" Duna spat after wearing the pendant device.

Swish~!

She took off into the sky immediately.

After Aria watched Duna's figure disappear into the clouds, Supreme Elder Haldir tapped her on the shoulder, "There's no need to feel bad. No matter what choice you made, they were both respectable in their own way.

"I don't think she will be able to catch up. I can only believe in Leon—believe that he still has some trump cards up his sleeve to deal with the Three-Legged Golden Crow." Aria sighed.

Of course, there was also the Blue Luans that followed after.

However, Aria did not have high hopes for these proud birds. The strongest amongst them only possessed 7 million jins worth of strength.

It still fell short by 2 million compared to the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow.

Even worse, the Blue Luans were suppressed by the Three-Legged Golden Crow's golden flames—such is the relationship between two mutually opposing elements.

Only one side needed to be slightly stronger in order to suppress the other side.

"Yes, we can only believe in the young prince," Supreme Elder Haldir nodded before he said, "However, there is still something for us to do instead of waiting idly."

His gaze felt the remaining couple of hundred Three-Legged Golden Crows getting swarmed by the few thousand Blue Luans.

"You're right," Aria nodded with a sharp glint and rising battle spirit. All her unhappy feelings were transferred to the Three-Legged Golden Crows.

Shing—!

Twenty ice-lightning swords were conjured in a split second before Aria shot off on one of them like a white flash of lightning.

Supreme Elder Haldir shook his head slightly before joining the closing battle.

…

Meanwhile, Leon continued to fly upwards, fleeing from the pursuing Three-Legged Golden Crow hot on his tails.

In a short while, Leon re-entered the expansive mesosphere layer that loomed above the highest of clouds.

However, the Three-Legged Golden Crow showed no sign of deterrence and continued to chase with increasing speed.

The gap between Leon and the Three-Legged Golden Crow was reduced by the moments.

"Tch! As expected, the mesosphere layer is its domain," Leon narrowed his eyes with a decisive glint, "But let me see how long you can continue to chase me in such cold weathers!"

The mesosphere was known for having the lowest temperature—reaching almost negative 100 degrees Celsius!

Swoosh~!

Leon pushed his speed to the limit and shot through the mesosphere layer with increased momentum, reducing the rate at which the distance between him and the Three-Legged Golden Crow closes.

Caw!

The Three-Legged Golden Crow cried.

"You are starting to feel the cold pain, are ya?" Leon smirked for a moment before his expression abruptly reverted to a solemn one.

The Three-Legged Golden Crow stubbornly persisted in its chase, not resting until it catches Leon and tear him apart with its own claws.

However, Leon had a bigger problem on his hands.

The suppressive force in the mesosphere layer continued to rise rapidly with every increase in altitude, causing the pendant device to reach the limits of its effectiveness.

It shook vigorously on the verge of breaking before he tried to reinforce it with Divine Will and prevent it from collapsing with his sheer will.

The pendant device was quickly calmed.

"It won't be possible to produce another Demonic Array in this situation even though the Wrathful Demonic Energies in the air is denser. The rapid movement will quickly cause its collapse." Leon analyzed for a solution.

"Furthermore, there are no clouds. It won't be possible to form thunderclouds for Tier 3 Heaven's Wrath," Leon mused before questioning himself, "What can I do?"

It did not take long before Leon pulled out an ancient bone and tossed it down at the Three-Legged Golden Crow.

Bang!

The ancient bone struck the Three-Legged Golden Crow with impressive momentum and force like some extremely powerful ballistic missile!

Caw!

The Three-Legged Golden Crow cried in anguish.

Some distance was created between them before Leon pulled out another ancient bone and tossed it with great power!

Bang!

The Three-Legged Golden Crow was struck again!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Leon continued firing ancient bones at the Three-Legged Golden Crow one after the other. He never thought that he would be using the ancient bones like this, but it is what it is.

Caw!

The Three-Legged Golden Crow surged with golden flames, but it failed to reach Leon at all.

The sheer difference in the high mesosphere layer's suppressive force and the Three-Legged Golden Crow's rising speed immediately caused its golden flames to be snuffed out in an instance.

Before Leon could feel any rejoice, he suddenly felt like he hit a wall in the sky.

Ka-cha!

In that instance, the pendant device shattered beyond the state of repair, and an enormous gravitational pressure poured down on him.

Bam!

The Three-Legged Golden Crow slammed straight into Leon's body shortly after!

The impact nearly obliterated his consciousness as all his bones shattered, and blood spurted from all his orifice!

The strength of a Peak Rank 2 Transcendent was not something he could withstand!

At the same time, the Three-Legged Golden Crow gave him that final push to break through the invisible barrier, propelling him beyond the mesosphere layer.

But none of that seemed to matter when death seemed to be around the corner.

Even so, what awaited Leon in the ionosphere was not an even more terrifying suppressive force but nothing.

Nothing at all.

His body floated weightlessly in the ionosphere like he was drifting through the void.

Chapter 572 - Precipice Of Death

The Three-Legged Golden Crow was repelled after ramming Leon through the invisible barrier.

Caw! Caw! Caw!

The Three-Legged Golden Crow quickly mustered in strength and rammed into the invisible barrier, intent on breaking through to reach the Leon motionlessly floating in the distance.

However, the last traces of the anti-suppression force dissipated into thin air along with the fragmentation of the pendant device.

Bam! Bam!

The Three-Legged Golden Crow rammed in the barrier but failed to breakthrough.

Without the effects of the pendant device, the heavily concentrated gravitational force formed an impenetrable barrier.

Everything inside was kept inside, and everything outside is kept outside.

Caw!

The Three-Legged Golden Crow gathered golden flames in its mouth before shooting its fiery breath at the invisible barrier!

Swoosh~!

However, the golden flames were quickly snuffed out upon contact with the barrier.

Shortly after, the group of Blue Luans following in pursuit finally caught up before they saw the scene ahead.

"That human broke into the neutral zone! How did he do it?" The Blue Luans glanced at each other in shock.

"No aerial beasts could break into the neutral zone—not even our monarchs. Perhaps, humans have unique constitutions or tools that allowed them to bypass the barrier?" Another Blue Luan wondered.

"No matter the case, the human is a goner! We were too late! The Three-Legged Golden Crow got to him first!" Said a male Blue Luan.

They could see blood sprayed everywhere.

However, the blood floated in the air just like the human was floating, motionless and without aim or direction.

It was a zero-gravity zone with an atmosphere.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Three-Legged Golden Crow continued to strike the barrier for some time, but no direct contact was made before the Three-Legged Golden Crow was repelled by the powerful barrier.

Only explosions of air were heard.

Shortly after, he finally gave up on the human. He determined that the human was unreachable before shifting its gaze on the Blue Luans some distance away.

"It's coming! Prepare for battle!" One of the High Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan warned.

"Yeah!"

…

Inside the neutral zone, Leon barely held on to the last traces of consciousness as his body floated aimlessly.

He knew that if he closed his eyes, he might not ever wake up again.

However, keeping his consciousness from fading was the most he could do. His body was crushed by the Three-Legged Golden Crow's attack and would not respond.

He had lost all bodily feelings and felt detached.

A strong sense of fatigue urged Leon to close his eyes, but he firmly refused with everyone ounce of strength he had left.

'I don't even have the strength to connect to the Worldspace… What can I do?' Leon thought bitterly. He had overestimated himself.

He felt the looming shadows of death crawling over.

However, strangely, he did not feel any regret and only acceptance.

He did not want to die. There was much to do, and but if death was inevitable. He would have no other choice but to accept it. He had already done his best to survive in this world.

As such, there were no regrets. Only unwillingness.

Was it the shadows of death that made him think like this? He was not sure. He no longer had the energy to think.

He just wanted to think nothing, feel nothing, and be nothing and free from worldly problems.

Leon's vision was blurry, and he began to fade in and out of consciousness.

Death was just around the corner—in fact, he was so close to death, he immediately broke through the last step and comprehended death.

'I understand now,' Leon's listless eyes brightened for a moment before it faded again.

The Profound Law of Death gathered the deathly energy exuding from Leon's body before forming a Death Seed and merged with his soul core.

The absence of death returned so life to Leon, buying him more time.

However, it was only temporary.

With his severe injuries, death began to gather around Leon's body once more, wanting to encompass his body and ferry his soul to the world beyond the world of the living.

It was not long before Leon's droopy eyes wanted to close once more.

However, once again, life returned to Leon's body, pushing death away. Except for this time, it was not due to the Death Law.

Powerful Life Energy gushed out from within himself, wanting to repair his wounds and revive his body.

'Maya...?' Leon thought.

…

Inside the Worldspace, Maya's connection to Leon was cut off due to Leon's weakened mental state.

Even so, Maya roared as if Leon could hear her, "You better not die on me, Leon, you bastard! Do you think you can just suddenly die off after making me suffer these days?!"

"To think I'll be forced to expend my Spiritual Energy like this!" Maya complained while sending all of Leon's collection of Wrathful Deemonic Energy into the Universal Life Conversion Array with her own will.

The Worldspace shook with tremors, but not just because of the Universal Life Conversion Array but also due to Leon's condition.

After Life Energy was produced, Maya waved her hand and sent them outside the Worldspace while the other hand held onto her rear.

A large portion of her spiritual strength was immediately depleted from acting on her own, causing Maya's manifested body to become faint.

"Seems like I will be falling back into slumber after this..." Maya muttered with an exhausted tone before her figure dispersed into light particles and disappeared.

...

Life Energy flowed through Leon's body autonomously without guidance, infusing Leon with more lifeforce and repairing his wounds, albeit slightly.

Nevertheless, it was enough for him to cling onto dear life as a trace of clarity returned to his mind under Life Energy's curative and soothing effects like the warm kiss of mother nature.

"Maya?" Leon called, but he did not receive any response in return.

He repeated a few times, but the result was still the same. No answer.

His body remained irresponsive, but with a single thought, he could enter the Worldspace.

However, he did not do this.

The place does not place if he could not do the simplest motion of swallowing some healing pills.

As such, he began looking into alternative solutions.

Chapter 573 - Profound Law Of Life

'If I can't even lift my hand, I will not be able to even swallow pills for recovery... Once the Life Energy sent by Maya is depleted, death will eventually claim me...' Leon mentally sighed.

'If I had not consolidated my viscera, I would not have even lasted this long... The Three-Legged Golden Crow's blow would have been instant death...'

'I don't seem to have any possible options to survive this predicament--no, if there's a will, there's a way.' Leon pondered while Life Energy flowed through his body, keeping him alive.

'Hold on a minute. Life Energy?' Leon paused for a moment before his eyes glimmered with light, 'It's a small chance, but if I can pull it off, I will definitely survive.'

'Time is ticking. I should commence immediately before all the Life Energy in my body disappears,' Leon silently decided.

His only choice was to comprehend the Profound Law of Life in the shortest time possible.

'There's no way around it. This is the only way.' Leon settled his decision and focused all his attention on the source of Life Energy inside his body.

It was a make or break.

Whether he lives or dies will be up to his comprehensive talent.

The Neutral Zone was void of gravity. Without movements, it was also void of sound--free of distractions.

It was the perfect environment to meditate on the Great Way.

...

While Leon's body quietly floated in the Neutral Zone of zero gravity, the small elite group of Blue Luans fought with the Three-Legged Golden Crow several thousand feet below.

Boom! Boom!

The huge 900-feet Three-Legged Golden Crow slammed into the Blue Luans and tore at their wings with its remaining claw!

Kree!

The Blue Luans cried with blood spurting from their mouth as they began to plummet from the sky without control.

"This Three-Legged Golden Crow is too strong. Even if it failed to reach the monarch level, we can't beat it!" A female Blue Luan cried.

"Even if we can't beat it, we have to stall it! Once Bluewinter awakens her bloodline, victory will be ours!" A male Blue Luan spoke.

The Three-Legged Golden Crow watched the Blue Luans commute with each other. Suddenly, its red eyes flickered with traces of intelligence.

"The likes of you weaklings want to stall?" The Three-Legged Golden Crow smirked with surging golden flames before shooting straight past the Blue Luans, "You can keep dreaming!"

Kree!

"Oh no, the Three-Legged Golden Crow can speak! It has regained its sanity and knows of our plan! Stop it! We can't let it get to Bluewinter!" The female Blue Luan cried with shock and alarm.

At the same time, The High Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan in the group cried, "Wait! Since you regained your sanity, there's no need for us to stop fighting!"

"Oh? Then stop following me then!" The Three-Legged Golden Crow snickered with a ridiculing smile before shooting down to the surface with greater velocity.

The gravitational force increased its speed by many folds over, causing its golden flames to grow more significant with tints of redness.

"Sh*t! It is hell-bent on fighting our tribe to the end! Get him!" The High Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan cried with urgency.

"Did you fools think enmity between our tribe will be written off just because my sanity has been recovered?" The Three-Legged Golden Crow smiled coldly in the distance.

The annihilation of its tribe must be avenged, regardless of who was right or wrong!

Not to mention, it cannot forgive the one that destroyed its tail and one of its legs. However, that person wields a strange power.

The Three-Legged Golden Crow was wary of Duna's Destruction Law.

"It's not too late to take my avenge of that b*tch once I complete my awakening and ascend to Paragon level," The Three-Legged Golden Crow narrowed its eyes in thought.

However, its expression suddenly froze.

Its entire 900-feet large body came to a sudden halt in the bottommost parts of the mesosphere layer as it spotted a ghostly figure just ahead.

Particles of black and red light started gathering towards the palm of Duna's remaining hand the moment she spotted the Three-Legged Golden Crow.

Without a word, Duna shot forward with the accumulated power of destruction in the palms of her hand.

The Three-Legged Golden Crow's expression changed abruptly at the sight of the ominous and dreadful power in Duna's hand before it actually turned and fled.

Duna's hand was quickly filled with cracks, but she did not show any concern.

She immediately shot out her Destruction Law before the Three-Legged Golden Crow could increase their distance.

Caw!

One of the Three-Legged Golden Crow's wings struck, obliterated into nothing along with half of Duna's remaining arm!

The Three-Legged Golden Crow could not keep flight with just one wing and quickly cut through the air, plummeting towards the surface!

"Arghh! I give up! Don't kill me!" The Three-Legged Golden Crow cried after seeing the distance between its and Duna was quickly closing.

The power of destruction gathering on the tips of Duna's feet was stopped before she coldly interrogated, "What happened to the human you were chasing?"

"He…" Three-Legged Golden Crow realized it had no way of avoiding's Duna wrath before it surged with a quick burst of golden flames in laughter, "Hehehe, he is dead!"

Swoosh~!

The Three-Legged Golden Crow shot past Duna with a victorious gaze as Duna was forced to retreat from its golden flames.

But before the Three-Legged Golden Crow could celebrate, it heard Duna coldly snorted, "Cheap tricks."

Bzzt!

A small but quick beam of destruction shot through the Three-Legged Golden Crow's head as the deathly winds blew against its frozen face.

Life quickly faded from the Three-Legged Golden Crow's eyes as its enormous body continued to plunge without control.

Kree!

The group of pursuing Blue Luans flapped their wings and halted abruptly with strong gusts of winds in the distance.

After watching the Three-Legged Golden Crow continued its fall to the surface lifelessly, they shifted their gaze back onto Duna with shock.

'Did this person just slay the mighty Three-Legged Golden Crow just like that?' The Blue Luans silently thought with disbelief.

Chapter 574 - Glimpse Of The Past (1)

Swoosh~!

The blizzard-cold winds blew, and the world was suffused in soft snow, as far as the eye could see without change and all year round.

"Where is this?"

Leon suddenly found himself surrounded by mountains and snow after opening his eyes.

"Did I fail?" He thought.

He quickly realized his body had recovered without a single trace of any wound, and he could move freely without any limitations or impediments.

"My body shouldn't have recovered this perfectly if I had succeeded in comprehending the Profound Law of Life," Leon frowned before observing the snow world in his surroundings, "Is this afterlife?"

No one truly knew what lies on the other side of living after death. It was not like those that died could pass on the knowledge of what they experienced after death.

Leon knew reincarnation and transmigration were possible, but not everyone was fortunate to receive such lucky chances.

If they were not so fortunate, where do they go? What do they see? Was it like this snow world Leon sees in front of him?—full of cold and solitude?

"This place seems vaguely familiar…" Leon had a sudden realization and began to feel doubtful regarding the snow world.

He trekked through the snow for sometime before he spotted life in the snow world apart from himself.

In the distance, two people were also trekking through the snow in thick winter clothing—one adult and one child, to be exact.

When Leon saw their faces, Leon froze on the spot before he became emotional, "So that place is where I am…"

…

"Father, where are we going? It's cold around here," The boy complained while holding onto his father's hands. His teeth chattered, and frigid breath escaped as he was breathing.

Heinrich Escladus smiled warmly and said, "Endure it. If you can't stand it, channel your energy to resist the cold. Your cultivation is still low, but the refined fires of the [Divine Fiery God Manual] should help. There's something we need to find here, my son."

"I'm already channeling my energy, but it's not enough. I'm still cold," The boy continued to complain.

Heinrich Escladus glanced at his son acting spoiled before he sighed helplessly, "What am I going to do with you?"

Nevertheless, Heinrich Escladus picked up his son and carried him on his shoulders.

His son possesses a unique Yang constitution and practices a fire-attribute cultivation method. Anyone in the world can feel cold, except his son.

"Hehe, what are we looking for, father?" The boy asked.

"There are records of an ancient buddha sect that once existed somewhere in this snow region," Heinrich Escladus spoke while gazing at the snow, "We are looking for its entrance."

"And what will we do after we find it, father?" The boy asked curiously.

"The ancient buddha sect were masters of meditation and entering the tranquil state, keeping calm and making collected decisions. It is said that this is all due to the [Heart of Saint Mantra] they recite and practice."

"The [Heart of Saint Mantra]? But Father is already a saintly doctor and a Divine King. What do you need this technique for?"

"It's not for me," Heinrich Escladus pinched his son's tiny nose and said, "It's for you."

"For me?" The boy responded with surprise.

"Un," Heinrich nodded, "You're too easily distracted and playful, never able to stay focus for long. However, the [Heart of Saint Mantra] might be able to help..."

Suddenly, Heinrich Escladus paused his steps before the boy glanced ahead with confusion.

"Snow Tigers!" The boy exclaimed.

A group of small Snow Tigers could be seen following behind a bigger adult-size Snow Tiger just ahead of the father-son duo.

The adult Snow Tiger was quick to notice the duo before it also paused its steps. It gazed back at the father-son duo with a guarded and wary expression while protecting its young.

"Grrr," The adult Snow Tiger growled softly with a warning.

The boy frowned before Heinrich Escladus comforted, "Easy, son. That Rank 2 Snow Tiger is a mother that is just trying to protect her children. It shouldn't attack us if we don't get any closer. It's fine. We can just take a detour around them."

Heinrich Escladus was not concerned for his son's safety with him around.

Furthermore, his son was young, but he is already in the Revolving Core Realm due to the ingestion of high-quality cultivation pills.

"Alright," The boy nodded.

However, he continued to stare at the Rank 2 Snow Tiger as they were leaving. At the same time, the Rank 2 also stared back with soft growls.

The repeated growls made the boy's frown deepen with annoyance before his eyes slowly glowed with a crimson sheen.

Roar!

The Rank 2 Snow Tiger felt threatened before it roared at the boy.

Swoosh~!

The boy immediately reacted as if triggered by the Rank 2 Snow Tiger's roar, leaping over from his father's shoulders with intense blood lust in his eyes.

With the boy's cultivation in the middle stage of the Revolving Core Realm, the Rank 2 Snow Tiger was no match for the boy.

In a few exchanges, the boy sliced up the Rank 2 Snow Tiger with his short sword like a frenzied beast, splattering the Rank 2 Snow Tiger's flesh and blood all over the white snow.

The baby Snow Tigers nudged the Rank 2 Snow Tiger's motionless body before they issue weak roars like a cat's meow.

The boy raised his short sword in preparation for killing them all too, but he was stopped by Heinrich Escladus.

"That's enough, Leon. You did not need to kill them," He admonished with a sigh.

The crimson sheen of blood lust faded before the boy apologized, "Sorry, father. My body reacted on its own again."

"I know. You need to learn to control your Devil's Impulse better," Heinrich Escladus lectured.

"The saying goes as; the impulse is the devil, father," The boy corrected.

"Right, right. Impulse is the devil," Heinrich Escladus nodded wryly.

Shortly after, the boy spotted something in the distance before he softly exclaimed with a pointed finger, "There's a small village up ahead, father."