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Chapter 728 - Return With Evil Intentions

"It's unfortunate, but we have waited a day, and the person has not come out. Chances are, the person is dead. The Revered Wind Tribe cannot afford to waste any more time. Thus, we will be leaving. What about the Crimsonfog Tribe?"

Chief Darkwind sought Chief Baskara's opinion after giving his statement to leave.

The secret realm was a rare opportunity to ascend to the top of the world and rule over the various tribes on the Infertile Plains.

If the Crimsonfog Tribe is wise, they will also leave to look for opportunities elsewhere instead of wasting time on a dead person.

Although Chief Darkwind's message was clear, Chief Baskara did not answer immediately.

Instead, he glanced over to Aria and Darlene's side. Evidently, they did not seem to have any intention of leaving without Young Master Leonhardt.

"What do you think, Venerable Shaman?" Chief Baskara turned to the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman.

After contemplating for a moment, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said, "Although I trust Young Master Leonhardt, it is also true that our time in the secret realm is limited."

"With that said, I have decided to stay behind and wait for Young Master Leonhardt with Miss Aria and Darlene. You, however, should leave and look for other opportunities to improve the tribe's strength with the rest of the tribesmen."

"I see. It seems this is the best choice, given this situation." Chief Baskara nodded with approval of the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman's arrangement. "I will lead the tribesmen to look for other opportunities."

"Be careful of the demons," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman reminded after they decided on a meeting point to regroup within two days' time.

Shortly after, the Revered Wind Tribe bid farewell and departed the forest with Chief Baskara's group.

"Without any Battle Kings, our strengths are likely insufficient to compete with the demon gathering in the east. Thus, we will head north to look for opportunities and join with others along the way. What will Chief Baskara do?"

Chief Darkwind shortly inquired after the two groups exited the forest together.

"To avoid conflict of interests in the divide of the spoils and inheritances, I will lead my tribe further northeast to look for lucky chances," Chief Baskara stated.

Although this choice would bring them closer to the demon's gathering location, it would also allow them to scout the demon's activities.

After all, it was better to trust their own pair of eyes than trust the words of another tribe, who could turn on them at any point.

"Very well. I suppose that is for the best," Chief Darkwind nodded before cupping his fist. "I bid you good luck on your journey. May we meet again."

"May we meet again," Chief Baskara returned the gesture.

Not long after Chief Baskara's group left ahead, a Revered Wind Tribesman muttered grudgingly, "After lending them a hand and even losing a couple of good warriors, they still don't trust us."

"Right? How ungrateful of them. This is why we don't get along with those southerners," another tribesman added before turning to their chief. "Are we really going to leave like this, Chief?"

"It's a pity if we just leave like this without even trying…" Chief Darkwind muttered with a contemplative look.

"It was said that the Battle God rose to power after gaining the inheritance from a Demon Lord-level Tomb. If we can acquire the inheritance of the Demon King-level Tomb, wouldn't we become the new overlord of the plains?"

It was worth the risk, everyone thought.

"Even if we are not successful, we can grab those girls to comfort us. Hehehe, I don't know why they were brought here, but they'll need a new man to protect them," a Revered Wind Tribesman spoke lewdly with lustful intentions.

Several tribe members began to share the same thought.

Whether it was the woman with tanned skin or the one with uncommon fair skin, they were both considered top-quality beauties.

However, not everyone was depraved like them.

"They might not be warriors, but they wield strange powers like shamans. Especially that woman with fair skin. Even I feel threatened by her strange power," the strongest person in the group stated.

"Even someone like you, Venerable Shaman?"

Chief Darkwind and the other tribesmen were shocked to hear such words from an Extremity-rank Battle Master.

However, a Mid-rank Battle Master's eyes quickly brightened at a sudden thought, "No matter what, she is still a heartbroken girl. If one of us can win her heart, it'll be equivalent to gaining a beauty and an expert."

"…"

The Venerable Shaman was speechless.

No matter how accomplished this group of tribesmen were back in the tribe, they were still men who could not overcome their primal instincts.

"Let us head back and check on the situation first," the Venerable Shaman sighed.

"You all better hide your nefarious thoughts when we get there," Chief Darkwind gave everyone a warning look and reminded them, "Those ladies still had an Extremity-rank Battle Master with them."

"Yes, Chief!"

…

…

…

Back in the forest, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman noticed Aria's frown before he inquired, "Is there something troubling you, Miss Aria?"

"I cannot help but feel like the Revered Wind Tribe will come back with ill intentions. It shouldn't have been this easy to send them away when there was a Demon King-level Tomb in front of them," Aria explained.

Furthermore, women were quite sensitive to people's gazes.

Whether it was her or Darlene, if they weren't too fixated on Leon's return from the tomb, they would have sensed the lustful gazes directed at them.

Except, those gazes didn't just come from the Revered Wind Tribe alone.

"Now that Miss Aria mentioned it, this old man believes that the Revered Wind Tribe did not wait a whole day with us out of goodwill. No, they must have been waiting for Young Master Leonhardt to return with the Demon King's inheritance so they can snatch it for themselves."

The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman's expression turned solemn when he arrived at this conclusion.

"We better be prepared in case they come back," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman seriously stated.

The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman found it strange that Miss Aria did not mention her doubts sooner… But when he gave it more thought, he realized Miss Aria intended to die if Young Master Leonhardt died in the tomb.

Chapter 729 - Three-Way Battle

Inside the Abyssal Wood Demon King's tomb, Leon, the Arch Demon-level Mother Hellbiter, and the endless army of wood creatures entered a three-way battle.

Boom!

The Arch Demon-level Mother Hellbiter slammed into a sea of wood creatures with tremendous force, causing the entire tomb to shake as the ceiling began to crumble with falling debris.

The Mother Hellbiter crushed hundreds of wood creatures with its immense body as it went for Leon, who evaded quickly with spatial displacement.

He continued to bear the brunt of the Mother Hellbiter's killing intent while making his escape with a solemn look.

It was not an opponent he could take lightly.

'I have to go all out!' Leon determined.

Shinggg—!

Leon swung the tier-7 sword and sent out a sharp wave of sword intent, cleaving apart a long row of wood creatures and clearing a path for him to move.

The divine weapon was his life-saving grace.

Each swing bought him two seconds' worth of movement in the space-limited and collapsing tomb, brimming with wood creatures.

Blood splattered, and Leon quickly absorbed the blood essence, restoring his stamina.

Screee!

Seeing Leon getting further away, the Mother Hellbiter cried with fury before chasing after him.

However, the wood creatures didn't just target Leon but also the Mother Hellbiter, who they viewed as an enemy.

The Mother Hellbiter's large frame was quickly drowned in the sea of wood creatures as they tried to overwhelm it with numbers.

However, the Mother Hellbiter's natural defense was far too high for their attacks to deal any damage, even if they had numbers.

The fruitless hindrance only fueled the Mother Hellbiter's fury.

Screee!

With another screeching cry, the Mother Hellbiter flung half the wood creatures off its body with sheer strength before ramming the other half into the wall.

Boom!

The wood creatures died instantly under the Mother Hellbiter's immense force and weight, and the entire tomb shook wildly.

Larger debris dropped from the ceiling and crushed several to dozens of wood creatures at a time and sent the wood creature army in disarray.

Leon saw the wood creatures attack the fallen debris and discovered the wood creatures' defect, their low intelligence.

Nevertheless, it was the least of his concern.

For every two sword swings he used to clear the path, Leon swung one wave of sword intent at the Mother Hellbiter to whittle it down.

Cling—!

The sword intent clashed against the Mother Hellbiter's hard shell, and the entire space reverberated with a metallic ring.

Hundreds of wood creatures were caught in the sword intent's path, but at the end of it, only a white mark was made on the Mother Hellbiter.

The divine weapon was, by no means, weak. In fact, it is very strong. But, unfortunately, the user is too weak to exhibit its full potential.

'It seems like the sword intent's strength was diminished by the wood creatures caught in between,' Leon furrowed his brows in thought.

If he wanted to deal more significant damage to the Mother Hellbiter, he would either have to clear out the wood creatures first or cut the Arch Demon-level spider directly with the divine weapon.

'It's not possible to clear the wood creatures when the second trial ground continues to produce them. However, I can't cut the Mother Hellbiter directly either.'

Leon frowned.

He was stuck with an impasse.

If he was even slightly careless, a single hit from the Mother Hellbiter was all it was going to take to shatter all his bones and organs and paralyze him—if it doesn't kill him outright.

'The Mother Hellbiter is too fast. It's too difficult to evade its blows up close. But it's also true that the only way to hurt it is to cut with the divine sword directly.'

Leon's brain churned for a solution as he continued his hit-and-run tactic.

In a short instance, he came up with two solutions.

The first choice was to wait for the tomb to collapse before locating the power source that supplies the wood creature's production and cutting it off.

However, doing so was also the same as cutting off his infinite supply of stamina.

There was no telling how long it would take to kill Mother Hellbiter purely with sword intent alone, not to mention it was inefficient.

It was like having an ultimate weapon but only using its sheath to attack.

The tier-7 divine sword's greatest attack power can only be demonstrated when he attacks with both the blade and sword intent simultaneously.

In the end, the first solution was no good.

'I guess I can only go with the second solution. Since the Mother Hellbiter is fast for me to enter close combat, I just have to slow it down!'

Leon's eyes flickered with a determined glint.

"Fusion law; gravity!"

The power of gravity was exerted on the Mother Hellbiter, increasing its weight by twofold… threefold… fivefold!

The Mother Hellbiter's large body immediately slumped down, and the ground beneath cracked underneath the immense pressure.

All the wood creatures caught in the gravity field were also pinned into the ground.

Swoosh—!

Leon flashed to the side of the Mother Hellbiter before he made a clean cut at one of its huge legs with the divine sword coated in sword intent.

Shinggg!

The tier-7 divine sword directly sliced through Mother Hellbiter's leg without resistance. It was truly a divine weapon for a reason.

The sharpness of its blade was extraordinary.

Boom!

The chopped leg dropped to the ground with a loud thud, akin to a large boulder landing after being hurled by a giant.

The Mother Hellbiter screeched in pain and retaliated with its other legs immediately, wanting to stomp him to death, but unfortunately, it was too slow to catch Leon.

With a quick step, he dashed out of its way.

Gravity field affected everything inside its range, himself included, but it was also easily nullified by wrapping himself in a protective layer of Nihility.

BOOM!

An unbelievable amount of force struck the ground where Leon was, and the entire floor underneath shattered from its destructiveness.

Leon's eyes almost popped out of their sockets due to his shock.

The gravity field may have reduced the Mother Hellbiter's speed, but it also amplified its attack power!

A single hit, and he'll be on his way to heaven.

Chapter 730 - Danger At The End

The battered tomb could no longer support itself after the ground shattered under Mother Hellbiter's immense weight and strength.

But rather than getting buried by the collapsing tomb, Leon and the Mother Hellbiter fell into an even larger open space hidden beneath the tomb.

The entire space was filled with a murky green light, and countless cords of runic linings ran across the ground, walls, and ceiling.

As Leon twisted his body, controlling his center of gravity to regain his balance, his eyes immediately locked onto the brightest concentration of light at the center of the open space, where a glowing black-green pearl could be seen.

'The Abyssal Wood Demon King's Demon Core!' Leon determined.

It only took a single glance.

The unfathomable concentration of demonic and wood energy and natural gathering of law centered around the black-green pearl.

He could not be wrong.

Leon's expression abruptly changed before he kicked off from a large piece of falling debris and evaded the Mother Hellbiter's attack as it came crashing down on his original position.

Boom!

The Mother Hellbiter crashed into the ground before debris from collapsed tomb fell on top, burying the Mother Hellbiter and the Abyssal Wood Demon King's Demon Core under it.

However, light did not shine inside from the surface.

Evidently, the surface did not collapse along with the tomb—most likely due to the strong roots of the trees in the forest holding what's left of the surface ground together.

Leon frowned at the big mountain of debris.

But after a short moment, his brows relaxed after quickly discovering the wood creatures' production did not stop.

The Abyssal Wood Demon King's Demon Core continued to fuel the life creation process, and countless wood creatures began pouring down from the second trial ground above.

Screech!

A few moments later, the mountain of debris exploded as the Mother Hellbiter suddenly burst out of the earth with a furious high-pitch shriek.

Hundreds of wood creatures were punctured and crushed by the flying debris that flew like rock bullets before the rest of the army locked onto the Mother Hellbiter.

Leon silently observed them fight from a distance, but it wasn't long before he gripped the divine sword tightly and joined the fray.

The wood creatures were simply too weak.

Shinggg!

Leon sliced off another piece of the Mother Hellbiter's leg with a brilliant silver flash of his divine sword, causing the Mother Hellbiter to cry with pain and anguish before it immediately retaliated.

5x Gravity Field!

The Mother Hellbiter's attack was quickly slowly before Leon leaped back with spatial displacement, increasing the gap between them by 50 yards in the blink of an eye.

His battle tactic had not changed much. It was still a hit-and-run tactic.

The only difference was his switch from range attack to direct attack to deal greater damage.

'Although it was only slightly, the Mother Hellbiter's attack was definitely slower than the last one,' Leon narrowed his eyes.

Losing its legs affected its speed and movement.

'I can win this!' Leon's eyes glinted.

With the wood creature's blood essence as Leon's unlimited supply of stamina, he continued to fight in peak physical shape while the Mother Hellbiter's speed dwindled every leg it lost in their exchanges.

It was long before the Mother Hellbiter's strength was also affected.

After cutting all the legs, the Mother Hellbiter's movement was limited to the extreme but not exactly non-existent.

Nevertheless, it was more than enough for Leon to start going after the Mother Hellbiter's main body, raining countless dozens of slashes on it, even sweeping away the wood creatures that got in his way.

However, the Mother Hellbiter's life was tenacious.

Even after suffering multiple dozen life-threatening wounds and having many parts of its body missing, it was unwilling to go down.

Leon began to notice a strange change in the Mother Hellbiter's behavior.

Although it had become defensive after losing its ability to attack aggressively, it wasn't defending itself but rather something else.

'It's protecting the Demon Core!' Leon furrowed his brows with doubt.

If the Mother Hellbiter swallowed the Abyssal Wood Demon King's Demon Core and absorbed its power, it would become terrifyingly powerful.

However, it did not do that.

'How strange.'

Although Leon had his doubts, he did delay the important matters and finally slew the Mother Hellbiter after six hours of intense battle.

Shortly after Leon removed the Abyssal Wood Demon King's Demon Core from the eye of the formation, he spent a few more hours cleaning up the remnant wood creatures.

"Haiz, it's finally over." Leon sighed and muttered, "It took me much longer than expected to kill the Mother Hellbiter and much quicker to clean up wood creatures…"

"Never mind. What's important is that it's over. Time to check on the spoils," Leon's eyes flickered.

He took out the demon core and thoroughly inspected it without the slightest interest in absorbing its power.

Drawing out some of its power was fine, but refining the whole thing was suicide, not to mention it was giving him an ominous feeling.

"I don't get it," Leon furrowed his brows deeply in thought, "Why did the Mother Hellbiter try so hard to defend this demon core with its life. What possible reasons could have compelled it to—"

Suddenly, the Abyssal Wood Demon King's Demon Core lit up and glued to his hands, sapping out all his strength and energy.

"What!"

Leon was shocked.

He immediately tried to get rid of the demon core, but it wouldn't budge from his hand even with his best effort.

"It's trying to swallow me…!"

Leon strongly resisted the demon core's powerful suction as it tried to wrench his soul out of his body.

No, more precisely, the demon core was trying to rob his consciousness!

"A puny human like you dares to intrude upon this King's sanctuary and disturb his slumber? Give up your soul and offer your body to me, vermin! It's futile to resist me!"

The voice was transmitted into Leon's mind directly.

"Goddammit!" Leon gritted his teeth.

He finally knew what that ominous feeling was!

All this time, the Abyssal Wood Demon King's soul was still alive, hidden inside its demon core.

It had been looking for a way to revive itself!

Chapter 731 - Mother Hellbiter's Origin Blood

Leon thought he was careful, but even greed had eluded his eyes.

Celestials, Divine experts, and Demon Lords were all existences that have taken the first big step closer to the everlasting.

Even if their bodies died of natural age, their souls would still be alive, nigh imperishable under the right conditions.

And a Demon King was even stronger than a Demon Lord!

He should have known.

Realization quickly dawned on Leon at the precipice of life and death.

The secret realm had been around for a long time, yet there were no rumors of any kind about Demon Lord-level existences or above in the demon's territory.

There was only a Battle God, whose power was unclear, in the Infertile Plains.

'If I'm not wrong, all the tomb owners of the Demon Lord-level Tombs and above are still alive! Only Arch Demons and below are all dead,' Leon's pupil shrank.

If he had to guess, the Arch Demons all lost their qualification to ascend as Demon Lords. Thus, their inheritance was left behind for more capable successors.

"Foolish human, there's no point in struggling! Hand over your body obediently spare us both the needless effort! It's impossible for you to overcome my will!"

The Abyssal Wood Demon King laughed maniacally as he continued to exert his will on Leon's consciousness and wrestle it away from his body.

"You, whose cultivation is so low that this King would deign to even glance twice, actually have a rather special physique! I have waited far too long enough for a suitable vessel like yours! Hahaha, the heavens must be helping me by sending you to me!"

"Hah, more like the heavens is trying to destroy you! Do you think I would be afraid of you?!" Leon suddenly laughed after recovering from his initial fright.

The Demon King was someone to be feared, not so much for a wandering soul.

"This isn't right!" The Abyssal Wood Demon King started to frown as he sensed something amiss about the situation. "With your cultivation level, you shouldn't be able to hold out this long!"

"I really can't hold on much longer. Thus, I will be ending this," Leon stated cooly before adding, "If it were anyone else, you would have most likely succeeded in snatching their body. But, unfortunately, you met me!"

"Begone, demon!"

Leon exerted the power of Nihility to the extreme as it exploded outward, forcing the Abyssal Wood Demon King's soul out of his mind and retreat into its demon core like a frightened rabbit.

It was as if the Abyssal Wood Demon King had seen something terrifying.

"T-t-this is… impossible! How could you have that power! No one should be able to comprehend that power! Are you the second coming of Shiva?!"

The Abyssal Wood Demon King's soul appeared to have lost his mind, but he did not dare come out from the demon core again.

Even the powerful suction force abruptly ended.

"Shiva…"

Leon frowned.

He seemed to have heard that word somewhere before, but he thought it was just some gibberish uttered by the underground mutants.

Now that he heard it again, and from a Demon King no less, he didn't doubt that it had a significant meaning behind it.

"Who is Shiva?" Leon interrogated.

"Shiva is…"

The Demon King's words slowly grew weak.

And before long, the demon core fell silent. After a few more moments, not even the Demon King's soul could be felt.

Leon clicked his tongue.

After being hit by the strongest power of Nihility he could muster, the Abyssal Wood Demon King's soul broke and departed the world, leaving his question unanswered.

He could only figure it out another time when he found more clues.

"Haiz, it would have been nice if the Abyssal Wood Demon King survived a little longer to answer my questions," Leon sighed.

Nevertheless, he would have killed the Demon King either way.

The Abyssal Wood Demon King was too dangerous to be left alive. He was safe thanks to the Nihility Law, but not so much for the others around him.

"There shouldn't be any more danger with this demon core," Leon glanced at the demon core and concluded before stowing away in the Worldspace.

Shortly after, Leon glanced at the Mother Hellbiter's carcass.

"I've already wasted so much time dealing with the remnants of the wood creatures and wasted even further time dealing with the Abyssal Wood Demon King. I better make use of its blood before it goes to waste too."

Leon decided.

It shouldn't take him too long.

Since he already absorbed an Arch Demon's blood essence before, it shouldn't take him too long to absorb the Mother Hellbiter's blood, given the experience.

However, that was his mistake.

An Arch Demon-level monster's blood essence was nothing like an Arch Demon's blood essence.

It was much more potent, unrefined, uncontaminated—nothing like the Arch Demon's impure blood essence, which contained a mixture of multiple different types of blood essences.

The moment Leon finished refining the first drop of origin blood and absorbed it into his bloodstream, his body was immediately assaulted by excruciating pain.

"Arghhh!" Leon howled uncontrollably.

He tried to steel himself and grit his teeth through the painful process, but it only made him howl even more painfully.

"Ahhhhhh!!!"

It was like trying to overcome the Divine Damnation all over again, except its annihilation lightning was much more powerful and inflicted pain to every fiber of his being.

His nerves were assaulted directly.

There was nothing he could use to defend himself against it. He could rely on his force of will and hope not to lose his consciousness.

Passing out during a dangerous cultivation process was the first step to everything else going wrong.

It could even lead to death.

The nerve-wracking pain tortured Leon's mind and body for an unknown period, and his painful cries were the only thing heard inside the tomb.

Leon had lost track of time.

By the time he regained his clarity of the situation, blood, sweat, and impurity soaked his clothes, and a layer of skin had been shed.

Leon clenched his fist and felt something different about his body.

He felt healthier and livelier.

It was strange for an already healthy person to have this kind of thing, but he felt like he could consume poison and still be okay.

'I should test it.'

Chapter 732 - Encounter In The Tomb

Inside the Abyssal Wood Demon King's forest, Chief Darkwind and his Revered Wind Tribesmen returned to the central tree.

"Chief, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and those two pretty women are not here," a Revered Wind Tribesmen informed after searching the area.

Chief Darkwind frowned before saying, "Seems like they weren't stupid… That's fine. It's better this way; we can avoid becoming the Crimsonfog Tribe's enemy."

"Should we look for them, Chief? They could be hiding in the area," another Revered Wind Tribesmen asked.

"No need."

Chief Darkwind shook his head and said, "What's important is the Demon King's inheritance. Since they moved away from the tomb entrance, there's no need to pursue them."

The two women might be beautiful, but they are only a bonus to entertain the men if they got in their way of getting the Demon King's inheritance.

"No need to make unnecessary enemies where it's not needed. They still have an Extremity-rank Battle Master with them," Chief Darkwind added.

Several Revered Wind Tribesmen grumbled, but they had no choice but to follow the tribal chief's words.

Ultimately, the Demon King's inheritance was more important.

"Alright, start digging."

Shortly after Chief Darkwind gave the order, the Revered Wind Tribe's Battle Masters entered the tomb entrance and began clearing out the earth blocking the path ahead with their soul weapons.

…

…

…

Meanwhile, Aria and Darlene hid in the treetop with the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman under a thin layer of ice that camouflaged their location.

Although they appear invisible from the outside, they could see from the inside.

"As we suspected, the Revered Wind Tribe really did come back for the Abyssal Wood Demon King's inheritance."

The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman narrowed his eye with scrutiny before snorting, "Hmph! In the end, they cannot control their greed. They can't blame us for walking into their deaths."

However, he quickly noticed Aria's saddened gaze before adding, "Of course, we don't know that for sure."

"If they run into the Mother Hellbiter, they are most likely to perish, and that will also confirm Young Master Leonhardt's situation. However, if they don't run into the Mother Hellbiter, then that also means Young Master Leonhardt made it."

"Either way, we will eventually find out the truth of the matter by using the Revered Wind Tribe to explore the tomb's situation for us," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said.

That was the price they had to pay for their greed.

"Mm." Aria nodded.

Shortly after, she resumed her silent observation while Darlene was seated in meditation, seeming unconcerned with the situation, but in truth, she was trying to improve her strength quickly.

That way, she could at least avenge Leon if he died in the tomb.

The tier-6 bone dagger rested on her lap while her eyes closed, and her senses fully expanded to perceive the boundless and profound Law of Space.

Her mind was like a boat drifting aimlessly in the vast sea of the void, looking for something that may not be anything or anywhere.

She was looking for a chance to ascend to the Transcendent Realm, but she did not know what she was lacking or what she needed in order to succeed.

Even so, she was silently trying her best to find that glimmer of opportunity in the vastness of her soul to break through the bottleneck.

…

…

…

The Revered Wind Tribe continued to dig under the central tree, clearing out the obstructed passageway and dumping mounds of dirt and rocks on the surface.

With their unorthodox method of digging with powerful soul weapons, in addition to their warriors' great strength, the Revered Wind Tribe's Battle Masters made substantial progress in a short time.

Within half an hour of digging, they reached the first trial ground.

However, the path ahead was also blocked.

The entire first trial ground had been submerged under countless tons of earth and flattened the maze that was once there, along with all the Hellbiters hidden within.

As the Revered Wind Tribe worked their way through the buried trial ground, the noxious smell of Hellbiter blood and guts grew more pungent, making the warriors feel sick.

"Dammit, this stench is terrible!"

"Tell me about it! It's making my guts churn!"

The Revered Wind Tribesmen complained before they did not stop digging as they continued to persevere through the unpleasant environment.

"Endure it, everyone! It'll all be worth it in the end when we get our hands on the Demon King's inheritance! Riches and glory awaits us!"

Chief Darkwind attempted to raise the morale of the tribesmen with his speech.

Roughly six hours later, the Revered Wind Tribe made it through to the second trial ground before they found the huge hole up ahead.

"This must be it! The Demon King's inheritance must be here!" Chief Darkwind's eyes lit up.

However, he did not wholly lose his reason due to greed as he quickly warned the tribesmen, "On your guards, everyone! Supposedly a strong monster is guarding this place."

'As long as we beat it, the Demon King's inheritance is ours for the taking, huh?' the Venerable Shaman quietly thought.

His eyes glimmered with a greedy light.

Treasured artifacts can be shared, but only one person can have the Demon King's demon core.

'There's no need to hand over something so precious to the chief. If I can possess the Demon King's power for myself, I will have unparalleled strength and long-lasting life. Even if there were dissonance in the tribe, who can stop me when I unite the Infertile Plains?'

While the Revered Wind Tribe's Venerable Shaman had his dark thoughts, the tribesmen also had their own thoughts on the matter of inheritance.

But when they descended the giant hole, only the shredded remains of the enormous Mother Hellbiter were seen.

"This monster was the tomb's guardian…? But if it's dead, then that means…" Chief Darkwind uttered with surprise.

The Revered Wind Tribesmen quickly shot their looks around before Leon drew their gazes over to a dark corner with his voice.

"Who are you people, and what happened to the other group waiting outside?"

Leon stared at them with a dangerous gaze while casually twirling a cup of Hellbiter venom, some of which still dripped from his lips.

Chapter 733 - Unstoppable Sharpness

"Young Master Leonhardt… so you were still alive, huh? Did you do this?" Chief Darkwind pointed at the remains of the Mother Hellbiter.

However, Leon did not answer and gulped the cup of Hellbiter Venom in one go.

It had an acidic taste, quite similar to a mixed lemon drink with a bit of sourness and sweetness; overall, it did not taste bad.

Of course, only Leon could enjoy something like this.

"Although I don't know you, you know me, huh? I suppose this is the difference between celebrities and nobodies," Leon casually tossed aside the empty cup before he said commandingly, "I won't ask again. What happened to the Crimsonfog Tribe's group?"

"Watch your tone, young man." Chief Darkwind's expression darkened before he spoke in a low tone, "I'll be the one asking the questions here. Did you kill this big thing or not?"

"It seems like talking won't get us anywhere," Leon calmly said before standing up, followed by the tier-7 divine sword appearing in his hands.

He already understood their intent and greed for the Demon King's inheritance.

At the same time, the Revered Wind Tribe's Battle Masters stared at the tier-7 divine sword in Leon's hand before their eyes lit up.

They could tell it was extraordinary at a glance.

"There's no need to try reasoning with him, Chief. We should just suppress him with force and ask the questions later," a Mid-rank Battle Master suggested as he took a single step forward.

Creak…

The unstable ground compelled the Battle Master to look down along with other tribesmen.

In that instance, they realized that in addition to the scattered remains of the Mother Hellbiter, they were standing on the countless corpses of wood creatures that piled like mountains.

Shortly after, they all formed their own picture of the situation in their mind.

"I think I understand the situation now…" a High-rank Battle Master stated before continuing to speak, "Chief, we don't need to worry about this person."

"The person must have waited for the big monster to be worn out by these wood-looking creatures before he killed it. He doesn't actually possess the strength to kill it directly otherwise."

"Yeah, that must be the case."

The Battle Masters had similar viewpoints, and all agreed with the person's guess.

At the very least, they agreed that Leon did not use a normal method to kill the giant spider, which may have been a very powerful Arch Demon-level monster.

"That sword in his hand must be very good. I've never seen a weapon possess such a divine glow before…"

The Venerable Shaman and Battle Masters all cast their covetous gazes on the tier-7 divine sword without trying to hide their greed.

"We can worry about splitting the inheritance later. But first…" Chief Darkwind pointed his weapon at Leon before questioning him, "The Demon King's inheritance must be with you, right?"

"Less nonsense. Just make your move," Leon coldly urged.

Killing intent flickered in Leon's eyes as the desire to slaughter the Revered Wind Tribe's people manifested in his heart.

Regardless of whether the Revered Wind Tribe had done anything to Aria and the others, he had given them the death sentence for lusting after other people's treasures.

"Ha, we have more people. To avoid bullying you too much, we'll generously let you have the first move," Chief Darkwind spoke generously, but his heart hid a hint of weariness.

It never hurts to be too careful.

"A bunch of pretentious people," Leon snickered with disdain and said, "Don't try to be upright when you are robbing fellow humans. Either way, it doesn't matter who makes the first move. People like you are all going to die anyway."

Shortly after, Leon tightened his grip on the tier-7 divine sword.

The divine glow on the sword immediately intensified with a sharp ring before Leon suddenly slashed out with a horizontal sword wave with sword intent.

Swoosh!

The sword wave crossed the distance very quickly, causing the Venerable Shaman and the others to be alarmed.

"Block it!" Chief Darkwind cried.

The Revered Wind Tribesmen quickly raised their weapons to block the sword wave, but few succeeded in blocking the attack without being pushed back by a few steps.

Several Low-rank Battle Master lost their balance and tumbled down the mountain of wood-creature corpses.

"Is that all you got—"

Chief Darkwind prepared to ridicule Leon's sneak attack when he suddenly saw the big chip on his tier-5 soul weapon.

"What!"

His eyes widened with shock instantly.

At the same time, the tribesmen also noticed the bigger chips on their tier-4 soul weapons, one of which nearly broke in half.

"What is this terrifying sharpness?! And that only came from a f*cking sword wave?!" a High-rank Battle Master exclaimed with shock, shaken beyond belief.

"He's coming!" Chief Darkwind roared.

Leon closed the distance with a quick dash, giving his enemies no time to recover from their shock, forcing them to receive his attack with their damaged soul weapons.

Puchi!

The tier-7 divine sword directly sliced through a High-rank Battle Master's damaged soul weapon before proceeding to slice off the person's head and send it flying in an arc.

However, Leon did not stop there.

He immediately shot after the next target in his line of sight without suffering any consequences from clashing blows with a person of higher physical strength than him.

The tyrannical sharpness of the tier-7 divine sword had directly sliced apart any force barring its path before they could reach him.

Unless they had the same level of defense as the Mother Hellbiter or higher, Leon would not suffer from any shock from clashing blows with them.

The tier-7 divine sword will cut through everything!

Puchi! Puchi!

In a short instance, Leon beheaded another two Mid-rank Battle Masters and directly cleaved a Low-rank Battle Master in half, soul weapon and all in a domineering manner.

He was simply unstoppable.

They couldn't make use of their superior strength, and speed has always been Leon's strong point, rendering their numbers useless.

"F*ck, f*ck, f*ck!"

Chief Darkwind continuously retreated with a nasty expression while using his fellow tribesmen as shields—only for them to be cut down with little resistance.

"Venerable Shaman, help me!" Chief Darkwind requested.

However, the strongest person in their group had long turned tail and fled the moment he realized defeat was inevitable.

"F*ck!!!!!" Chief Darkwind cursed after finding out.

Chapter 734 - Secret Realm's True Purpose?

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Outside the tomb, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and Aria relocated and hid near the tomb's entrance for a closer watch while Darlene remained in the treetop.

When the Revered Wind Tribe's Venerable Shaman shot out from the tomb alone with a flustered look, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman instinctively jumped out to intercept the person's escape.

"Where are you heading in such a hurry, hm? Where are the rest of your tribesmen?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman questioned.

However, the Revered Wind Tribe's Venerable Shaman did not answer.

His eyes coldly glinted before he lashed out at the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman with his bone sword in a sudden attack.

Nevertheless, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman anticipated such a situation.

Clang!

The two Extremity-rank Battle Masters exchanged blows, causing the force of their collision to ripple out through the air like a ring-shaped gust of wind.

The leaves rustled, and the two Venerable Shamans retreated several steps from the rebounding force.

"Get out of my way!"

The Revered Wind Tribe's Venerable Shaman immediately shot forward with a follow-up attack in a desperate attempt to quickly flee the area.

However, their evenly matched strength made it impossible to determine a winner swiftly.

"Hoho," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman chuckled before speculating, "Judging by your desperate look, things didn't go so well in the tomb."

"But I wonder if the rest of your tribesmen have been done in by the Mother Hellbiter or by Young Master Leonhardt?"

As the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman spoke, Aria secured the perimeters by enclosing the area in an ice wall, cutting off all possible escape.

The Revered Wind Tribe's Venerable Shaman's eyes immediately flickered with madness like a cornered animal.

"Why ask questions when you already know?! Your group must have planned this from the start! Intentionally leaving the Demon King-level Tomb open to arouse our greed so we could come back and dig out the tomb for your Young Master Leonhardt!"

The Revered Wind Tribe's Venerable Shaman accused.

Although his words surprised the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and Aria, their eyes quickly shone from the information they derived.

Knowing that Leon was alive, Aria was thrilled with joy and relief.

"What a funny thing to say," Aria snickered and said, "We didn't plot anything. Your tribe's undoing was a result of your own greed and selfishness."

"How ridiculous it is for a thief to push the blame onto others," Aria coldly added.

It was like a prostitute pointing her finger at a virgin and calling the person a slut; truly an unsightly behavior.

"You should accept the consequence of your own choice," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated.

"Hmph, don't you dare lecture me!" the Revered Wind Tribe's Venerable Shaman snorted and said, "I came to this secret realm with the intent to advance to Battle King, so I don't intend to die h—"

The Revered Wind Tribe's Venerable Shaman's expression abruptly changed before he twisted his body to dodge Leon's sudden attack from the tomb entrance.

Puchi!

Alas, the Venerable Shaman failed to completely evade the sneak attack as Leon's sword wave sliced off his left arm!

"Argh—!"

The person grunted in pain.

However, not even a split second after, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman lodged his soul weapon straight into the back of the person's head and ended the person's life.

There was no hesitation when Leon presented the opening to him.

The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was aware they held the overwhelming advantage with Leon's appearance.

Even so, he didn't want to take any chances with an Extremity-rank Battle Master.

Shortly after, Aria dived straight into Leon's arms and sunk her face into his chest, undisturbed by the uncleanliness of his body.

"You must have been worried sick about me," Leon placed a hand on Aria's head with a warm look before he apologized, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine as long as you're alive," Aria shook her head and said.

"It's great that you're alive, Young Master Leonhardt, but what about the rest of the Revered Wind Tribesmen that entered the tomb…?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman asked shortly after.

"All dead. I killed them," Leon calmly answered.

Of course, he didn't leave without looting his spoils on their bodies.

After noticing it was only One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and Aria, Leon inquired, "What happened during my absence? Where are the others?"

"You don't have to worry about that, Young Master Leonhardt. They are all fine. Miss Darlene is cultivating in the trees while my tribesmen have left to seek lucky chances elsewhere."

After explaining the situation to Leon, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman's gaze could not help much fall on the divine sword in Leon's hand.

"That is…"

"A tier-7 divine weapon," Leon openly admitted before saying with a solemn look, "You won't mind if I gift this sword to Aria, will you, senior?"

"Of course not!"

The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman immediately waved his hand, expressing a clear disinterest in the inheritance lest Leon develops the wrong idea about him.

"Since Young Master Leonhardt worked hard for the inheritance, this old man has no right to interfere with Young Master Leonhardt's decision to gift it to whoever Young Master Leonhardt wishes," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman added.

The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman wasn't sure how powerful a tier-7 divine sword was, but he determined it wasn't worth falling out with Leon, someone who could translate the ancient heritage for them.

"Senior is too serious," Leon smiled with a wry look.

He had no intention of monopolizing the inheritance, not to mention there was plenty of good stuff in the Abyssal Wood Demon King's storage ring.

"Actually, there is something important I need to discuss with senior," Leon stated seriously, causing the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman to show an equally serious expression.

"Let's talk in the treetop."

"Un."

The three quickly returned to Darlene's location in the treetop after reaching an agreement.

The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman gave Leon some time to catch up with Aria and Darlene before he finally broke his silence.

"What important matter does Young Master Leonhardt wish to speak with this old man about?"

"About that…" Leon quickly assumed a solemn look before he said, "I believe everyone has a grave misconception on the purpose of the secret realm."

"The true purpose of the secret realm is not to leave behind an inheritance for the future generations but possibly something much darker."

Chapter 735 - Leon's Decision

"The purpose is not to leave behind an inheritance for future generations? What do you mean, Young Master Leonhardt?"

The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was baffled by Leon's claim, and even Aria perked her ears to listen attentively while sticking herself to Leon like a cat.

After Leon recounted his experience with the Abyssal Wood Demon King's demon core, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman wore a heavy expression, and Aria tightened her grasp on Leon's arm.

"To think such a being like the Abyssal Wood Demon King survived to this age and had been hiding inside the demon core for a chance to revive all this time…" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman muttered.

"It was anyone else, I'm sure the Abyssal Wood Demon King was have succeeded in their hostile possession."

"I also think so," Leon casually nodded.

Without his Nihility Law, there really isn't much fighting chance for mortals to go against Celestial-level beings, even if it was just their souls.

"Come to think of it; there haven't been any records of humans succeeding in conquering Demon Lord-level Tombs, let alone refine Demon Lord-level demon cores," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman recalled.

Leon raised an eyebrow before he asked, "The events behind the Battle God's ascension wasn't recorded?"

"It wasn't," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shook his head and said, "Thus, no one knows if the Battle God attained his strength through a Demon Lord-level demon core or some other means."

Leon's doubts strengthened after hearing the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman's words.

Nevertheless, if the Battle God had turned out to have conquered a Demon Lord-level Tomb and got possessed by the Demon Lord, it would be extremely terrible news for the Infertile Plains' people.

"I still don't understand what makes Young Master Leonhardt think there may be some conspiracy to the secret realm. The secret realm has opened multiple times, and people have indeed received multiple inheritances from it."

"Though they were all only Arch Demon-level inheritances and below, they are still inheritances nonetheless," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman added.

Having listened for a while, Aria suddenly interjects, "Actually, it's not difficult to guess the reason for this; it just means that the Arch Demons were only cannon fodders."

"Cannon fodders?"

"Yes, think about it. If Arch Demons don't have the potentials to become Demon Lords, then they will leave their inheritances behind for those who can. Though the demons probably never expected that their inheritances would also fall into human hands."

"That's true…"

The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded thoughtfully before he suddenly frowned.

"If the Arch Demons were only cannon fodders and all the Demon Lord-level beings and above are all waiting for a chance to revive, then…"

"What could this mean?"

"Something on the catastrophic scale."

Aria suddenly frowned before saying, "I've heard that the secret realm has opened multiple times. Therefore, if these Demon Lords and higher beings wanted to revive, they would have done so."

"But the fact that they haven't could also imply that they either couldn't or…"

"It's not the right time."

The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman's gaze became solemn.

Although he lacked critical information to infer the true purpose of the secret realm, he could at least understand the severity of the issue.

For Leon, who was aware that they resided within a sealed world, this was especially true.

"Although I don't know how exactly strong the Battle God is, I can say for certain that humans lack the strength to go against these high-level demons—should they revive. A single Demon Lord is all it takes to dominate the world."

"But what could they be waiting for? When is the right time?"

When the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman raised the important questions, Leon fell silent for a moment before he said, "They are most likely waiting for the day the seal breaks."

"Seal? What seal are you talking about, Young Master Leonhardt?"

"The world we've known as Gaia is a demon graveyard that has been sealed a Celestial Conqueror's Spatial Law; it stops us from leaving this world but also stops others from coming in."

The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was astonished to hear some terms he had never heard before.

Leon was not surprised to see the baffled look on the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman's face.

"To be honest, even I don't fully grasp how powerful the Celestial Conqueror is, but supposedly this being is the closest to achieving True Divinity, or Godhood if you prefer to call it," Leon added.

He shortly noticed Aria's pondering look before asking, "What's on your mind?"

"I just think that if the entire planet is a demon graveyard, then it's strange how the higher-level demons are all gathered in this secret realm," Aria voiced her doubts.

However, Leon didn't find it strange at all.

"I don't think the higher-level demons gathered in this secret realm are all of them," Leon shook his head and asserted his own opinion, "They are probably only a fraction of the demons sealed on Gaia."

The world was so big, yet they've explored so little; it would be too arrogant to assume they've seen and know it all.

"Nevertheless, for these demons to be gathered in one secret realm, they are most likely part of the same faction," Leon added.

Although the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was curious how Leon knew so much, he didn't think the person was making things up.

"What do you think we should do from now on, Young Master Leonhardt?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman asked.

The original purpose was to conquer tombs and collect the inheritances.

But now that the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman realized more important things were at stake, he was aware that they couldn't continue to fulfill their original purpose.

"The demons must be stopped. It's all over if they succeed in reviving a Demon Lord or even a Demon King," Leon firmly stated.

At the same time, Leon made a resolute decision in his heart.

He had been hesitant about choosing a new energy cultivation method all this time.

However, the world's overflowing Demonic Energy and Darkness Profound Energy had been pointing him towards one answer; cultivating demonic cultivation will be faster than divine cultivation.

And if he was to embark on demonic cultivation, one particular energy cultivation method stood out from the rest in the [Archive].

The Devil Emperor's Tome of Eternal Darkness.

Chapter 736 - Arrangements Before Cultivating

"We don't have the strength to stop the demons, so how will we do it? I suppose Young Master Leonhardt has a brilliant plan in mind?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman guessed.

However, Leon shook his head with a wry smile.

"Nothing of that sort. We simply need to get stronger, and right now, we have the means to make that possible in a short time," Leon stated.

He took out the Abyssal Wood Demon King's demon core and said, "Senior should be able to grow quickly with this, right?"

"No, I've already shattered my core and lost the ability to temper my body," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shook his head.

"Unless I create a new core or refine another one to take its place, I won't be able to put this demon core to good use even if you gift it to me. And if you expect me to refine this demon core as my new core, then I must say that it won't work."

"The power in this demon core is too much for anyone's body to handle. Drawing power from it like a Celestial Spark is fine, but trying to refine the entire object will result in self-destruction," Leon stated.

He naturally understood the risks.

"So Young Master Leonhardt is also aware of the danger," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded with approval before saying, "We can't eat more than we can chew. With my current physique, an Arch Demon-level demon core is my limit."

"An Arch Demon-level demon core, huh?" Leon muttered thoughtfully.

After a moment, he took out Paragon Blackfrost's ice coffin before removing the demon core from the Arch Demon's body.

"It just so happens that I also have an Arch Demon-level demon core."

"So much has happened in this Ashenwood Forest that I've forgotten Young Master Leonhardt had already cleared an Arch Demon-level Tomb."

The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman smiled wryly before glancing at the Arch Demon-level demon core for a moment.

"Does Young Master Leonhardt really intend to gift this demon core to this old man? Young Master Leonhardt must know that there's a high chance that this demon core could go to waste."

"What do you mean, senior?"

"There's no doubt that refining this demon core will allow me to embark on the path of body forging again, but only if I can refine the demon core successfully. The shattered remains of my old core will most likely cause problems unless I can remove them all out of my system."

"I can help with that," Leon smiled confidently before saying, "However, I will require Senior's full cooperation. Are you up for the task?"

"If Young Master Leonhardt is this confident, then I see why not. What does this old man have except for his life?"

After getting the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman's confirmation, Leon asked for the senior's complete stillness before commencing with the operation.

With divine sense as his eyes, Leon locked onto the scattered shards within the senior's head before proceeding to crush them with divine will and filter them all out of the senior's body, draining much of his mental energy at the same time.

Although Leon could have invested less effort by utilizing the Nihility Law to erase the shards, it was too risky for him to carry out with it.

The slightest mistake on his part, and he could easily snuff out the elder's life.

"It's done. Senior can move now," Leon informed as Aria wiped the sweat on his forehead with a clean cloth from her storage ring.

The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman quickly performed introspection before his eyes snapped open with surprise.

"Young Master Leonhardt's skills are too impressive. Every piece of the old core's shards has been thoroughly removed. To think that this old man still has a chance to become a Battle King in this lifetime…"

The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman felt emotionally moved.

"Senior is too humble. With the new Arch Demon-level demon core as your foundation, you can definitely become a Battle King. But why stop there? Since we are here in the secret realm, perhaps they will even be chances for Senior to become a Battle God."

"And all this will be thanks to you, Alliance Leader. Just give the word, and this old man will carry out your will."

Alliance Leader…

It was just two words, but it showed the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman's complete support in Leon leading the tribes.

"Haha, I'm not the Alliance Leader yet, but I will accept the goodwill."

Shortly after Leon handed both cores to the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman, he shifted his focus onto Aria and Darlene.

At that moment, Darlene was still diligently trying to achieve Transcendence.

Leon wasn't sure how long it would take him to cultivate the Devil Emperor's Tome of Eternal Darkness, but he couldn't neglect Darlene and Aria's progress.

After a moment, his eyes flickered with an idea.

"This tier-7 divine sword is capable of generating sword intent. So if you study it well, you might be able to comprehend your own sword intent quickly."

"Mm."

"Don't start right studying it yet, though. I have something else to give you, but give me a moment to refine it.

Shortly after saying that, Leon took out his spirit herbs and pill cauldron to refine the Soul Enhancement Pills.

A few minutes later, Leon successfully refined a batch of Tier-3 Soul Enhancement Pills with High-rank quality.

"Hm? Leon!"

Darlene quickly cried out his name with joy and jumped into his arms after Leon disrupted her deep meditation.

"Alright, alright… Hold on for a minute."

After Leon peeled Darlene from his body, he kept five of the Tier-3 Soul Enhancement Pills and divided the remaining for in two for both of them.

"These Soul Enhancement Pills will improve your souls and help you comprehend things easier. However, you should only take one once in a long while to avoid causing irreversible damages to your souls," Leon explained.

To be honest, he should have given one around him sooner, but it completely slipped his mind with everything that's been going on.

Nevertheless, Aria and Darlene accepted the pills with pleasant surprises before giving him a smooch on each cheek.

Leon enjoyed their affection, but he forced himself to end their moments to focus on more important matters.

Chapter 737 - Seeking Insight-level Transcendent

Given Darlene's profound Void Soul Constitution, Leon figured that she might be able to comprehend something from it once her improved soul increases her perception.

Thus, Darlene had her Void Soul Constitution, and Aria had the Sword Intent in the tier-7 divine sword.

The two girls were settled on their cultivation focus.

It didn't take long before the group of four found their own space on the treetop and commenced their silent cultivation.

Leon watched the three people for a moment before taking his leave from the veiled location and finding a more secluded spot for his cultivation.

Consider the Devil Emperor's Tome of Eternal Darkness cultivation art has 'Devil Emperor' in its name; it shouldn't be too shabby.

There was bound to be a disturbance once he trains.

After finding a nice spot some distance away from the others, Leon entered a seated meditation with his eyes closed and sent his mind into the [Archive] to peruse the first volume of the Devil Emperor's Tome of Eternal Darkness.

'Before the beginning of time, before the birth of light, and the swing of the world pendulum that marks the start of everything, there was only darkness; perpetual and eternal darkness.'

'Then, the world was divided into black and white, darkness and light, forming an inflexible balance and relationship.'

'However, there can be darkness without light, but no light without darkness.'

'Eternal darkness will always reign supreme.'

'Therefore, thy who controls the Law of Eternal Darkness, shall lord over the world of darkness and all its creations.'

The recorded texts of the Devil Emperor's Tome of Eternal Darkness's first volume spoke to Leon like the gospels of universal truth, almost brainwashing him into such belief.

However, Leon comprehended the Nihility Law and knew only it deserved to be called supreme.

Even so, the greater devils and gods were all supreme existences during the primordial era; thus, there should be some truth to the Devil Emperor's Tome of Eternal Darkness's opening verses.

Or, at the very least, there should be some secret behind it that made the Devil Emperor a supreme existence during that era.

Leon furrowed his brows and placed the Devil Emperor's Tome of Eternal Darkness study on pause before picking out the first volume of another cultivation art.

After reading through its opening verses, Leon's frown deepened as he picked several more cultivation arts of peerless gods and devils and read their opening verses.

He immediately noticed the consistency.

Every cultivation art didn't delve straight into the training instruction; it started with opening verses emphasizing a single idea or belief.

Furthermore, none of their ideas and beliefs overlaps.

Each great god and devil took the element of their cultivation art to be the supreme element in the firmament.

'Even a primary elemental law like Fire Law is proclaimed to be the strongest power in the Brahma Fire God's Eternal Flame Scripture…'

Leon pondered.

Of course, Fire Law is still Fire Law. But to the Brahma Fire God, it became the Eternal Flame Law.

Suddenly, Leon felt a flash of insight.

Although it was impossible for him to learn every primordial technique recorded in the [Archive], there was much to learn from simply reading over them.

The primordial era of gods and devils' history, he could not learn.

However, their cultivation arts contained the cumulation of their experience and insights. Even if they might not be mentioned directly in the texts, Leon could vaguely pick them up.

'I see… It doesn't matter whether the gospel written in the Devil Emperor's Tome of Eternal Darkness is true or not. What's important is the belief behind it,' Leon understood.

Just like the difference between a man simply wielding a sword and an actual swordsman with Sword Intent, it was all about the will.

They might be two people with swords, but their strengths are completely different based on their belief in the sword.

'The Devil Emperor's Tome of Eternal Darkness' first volume's opening verse is used to form the belief that eternal darkness is supreme and build on it.'

By ardently believing in an idea and pursuing it all the way, that is how experts reach the top.

However, Leon didn't feel like he could replicate such feats.

He has too many powers to abandon them all in the pursuit of reaching the apex in one. But even if he didn't, he understood that strong will gives birth to strong power.

Even if his other laws can't reach the same height as Nihility Law, they will still become stronger due to his profound understanding of the truth.

Suddenly, Leon had another thought.

'I have been practicing the Hegemon of Primal Chaos for so long. What if I was brainwashed into believing that Nihility is the ultimate law in primal chaos? Why can't any law become supreme?'

Questions were formed in Leon's mind.

Even if he has the Nihility Law, which he believes to be the supreme law, Leon still can't beat Celestials and Demon Lords with his current cultivation level.

Thus, he understood another truth.

There was no supreme law, only supreme beings; whatever the supreme beings use will become the supreme law.

'Only my will is eternal.'

Leon suddenly put aside learning the Devil Emperor's Tome of Eternal Darkness and exited the [Archive] to meditate on the Nihility Law.

He formed the belief that Nihility Law was the strongest power due to the Hegemon of Primal Chaos but never actively and firmly believed that it was while trying to comprehend it.

But once he did…

Rumble…!

Leon vaguely felt the formation of a phenomenon, but nothing was actually forming in the sky above him.

There is no gathering of clouds, no colorful beams from the stars, nor aurora forming; just nothing at all.

It was the same when he became a Nihility Transcendent.

But when Leon opened his eyes and gathered the power of Nihility to see how much stronger it became, he immediately knew he was already a Seeking Insight-level Transcendent.

"Is this the power of beliefs? No, this is the strength of my will."

By using his will to exert a firm belief in the Nihility Law, he gained a stronger connection to it, reaching the Seeking Insight stage without needing the necessary comprehension level.

Nevertheless, his will isn't infinite.

Unless he could continue improving his soul, he will have to keep comprehending the laws normally to attain higher levels.

Chapter 738 - Truth Manifestation Realm

After reaching Seeking Insight-level Transcendent, Leon spent some time familiarizing himself with his Nihility power.

He slightly exerted Nihility on a tree branch before it disinterested into a speck of True Grandmist Energy.

With a stronger exertion of Nihility, another tree branch disappeared completely without a speck of salvageable energy.

'If I exert any more power than this, I will tear a rift to the chaotic sea of nothingness and speed up the process of world destruction,' Leon mused.

Nevertheless, he feels like his Nihility Law was finally powerful enough to slay Paragons with ease.

'I should refrain from using something like this unless it's a last resort,' Leon silently decided.

He did not forget his seniors' warning.

If powerhouses in the Celestial Realm noticed his ability to open rifts to the chaotic sea of nothingness, they would hunt him down.

'Since I've reached the Seeking Insight-level Transcendent, I should upgrade my other abilities to the Primary Accession-level at least,' Leon thought.

However, shortly after closing his eyes to push his Metal Law to the Transcendent level, he felt a wave of dizziness strike him.

'Haiz, never mind. Unfortunately, it seems that using this method to achieve higher levels doesn't come without prices to pay.'

Leon shook his head with a sigh.

It was like breaking down an iron gate with brute force instead of using a key to open it with minimum effort.

Of course, there would be a price to pay.

'And even after I forcefully raise my level to the Seeking Insight-level Transcendent, I doubt I will be able to progress further until my Nihility comprehension level catches up…'

Leon suddenly frowned.

The gods and devils most likely didn't have such a problem, or their wills weren't strictly used the same way he did.

He might have missed something.

What happens when the gods and devils fully comprehend the heavenly laws?

For example, how could a god who mastered the law of fire compete with a god who mastered the law of space?

Their strong beliefs in the path take the heavenly laws to a level beyond their limits, or in other words, their beliefs evolve the heavenly laws.

Leon suddenly thought back on the cultivations art he perused.

The Darkness Law wasn't just called the Darkness Law, and the Fire Law wasn't just called the Fire Law.

Whether it was the Eternal Darkness Law or the Eternal Flame Law, the elements of the cultivation arts all had the word 'eternal' in their name.

'A law that exceeds that limit of primal chaos becomes eternal?' Leon pondered.

After a short moment, he shook his head in resignation.

There was no point in pondering these things that are clearly far beyond his level of understanding and cultivation.

He shouldn't bite more than he can chew.

With such thought in mind, Leon no longer concerned himself with the heavenly law and resumed focus on the Devil Emperor's Tome of Eternal Darkness.

After learning the energy cultivation instruction, Leon proceeded with his practice.

The early level of energy cultivation was primarily similar to the standard energy cultivation practice of the Divine Realm.

Whether it was Energy Condensation, Revolving Core, or Heaven Ascension, the Devil Emperor's Tome of Eternal Darkness followed the practice of gathering energy, building the foundation, and forming the core.

However, the latter stages differ entirely with the purpose of comprehending the Darkness Profound Law, and ultimately, the Eternal Darkness Law.

It didn't shatter the energy core to enter the Void Realm.

Instead, the instructions told Leon that once he reached the peak of Heaven Ascension Realm, the next step forward was to sprout the energy core.

Upon success, it would grow a vitality tree, greatly enhancing his lifespan and marking his step in the Truth Manifestation Realm.

When the vitality tree is fully grown, he would have reached the peak of the Truth Manifestation Realm.

Truth Manifestation Realm is also the turning point to comprehending the heavenly laws.

The more heavenly laws he comprehends, the more fruits, which contains the cumulation of his law comprehension, the vitality tree will bear.

When Leon understood up to this step, he began to wonder if the standard practice of the Divine Realm was wrong from the start.

Not only was the path of Truth Manifestation Realm much safer with a lower death rate for failure, but it also allowed cultivators to comprehend the laws early.

After stepping into the peak of the Truth Manifestation Realm, the vitality tree would have fully grown at that point.

Leon's goal was to reach the Truth Manifestation Realm.

With the abundant Darkness Energy in the Eternal Night Secret Realm and the cumulation of Demonic Energy in his Black Vortex, there shouldn't be a problem reaching that realm—given enough time.

The path of demonic cultivation never cared for the purity of its energy.

He could use all types of energy to cultivate.

That being said, mixing too many types of energy wasn't good.

Demonic Energy and Darkness Energy will always be ideal for practicing the Devil Emperor's Tome of Eternal Darkness.

Leon began absorbing the Darkness Energy from his surroundings and refining them at an incredible speed before filling his long-deserted energy center.

Within a short instance, the energy center was already brimming with Darkness Energy and started condensing.

…

Half an hour later, Leon stepped into Energy Condensation Realm.

…

Three hours later, he reached the Revolving Core Realm.

…

Nine hours later, he refined all the Demonic Energy in his Black Vortex and reached the Heaven Ascension Realm.

…

Ignoring Leon's various factors to allow such an unbelievable cultivation speed, he would have set unprecedented records back in the Divine Realm with such an achievement.

Nevertheless, his cultivation speed drastically slowed down after reaching Early-stage Heaven Ascension Realm.

The Darkness Energy was almost non-existent within a 100-yard radius of him.

'The Darkness Energy in the surrounding has grown extremely thin. I will need to change location if I want to keep up my high-speed cultivation,' Leon mused after putting a pause to his cultivation.

Swish!

Suddenly, Leon's gaze turned sharp after picking up the rustling of leaves in the distance.

'Seems like my cultivation speed attracted people; no surprises there. I can't let them disturb the others from cultivating, though.'

'I shall see who they are.'

Chapter 739 - Dark Fae Clan

After making his decision, Leon began hopping through the tree branches as he made his way west of the central tree in the Ashenwood Forest.

The rustling movements of leaves came from the western direction.

It didn't take long before Leon paused his steps and entered stealth mode in the treetop, having detected the incoming group not far away on the ground.

It was a group of mixed demon races.

There were seven horned demons, five feathered-wing demons, and four scaly-tailed demons for a total of sixteen demons in the group.

'Seems like there are no Greater Demons among them,' Leon silent determined the demon group's strength.

Shortly after, he spread out his divine sense to scan the area.

'No other demon group detected within a 100-yard radius of this area. Therefore, I shall deal a swift blow to this group of Lesser Demons.'

Leon's eyes flickered with a cold glint.

Swish~!

"Who—!"

Before a Three-Horned Lesser Demon could finish barking in alarm, Leon swooped down like a black flash and slammed the Three-Horned Lesser Demon's thick head into the ground with his bare hand.

Crack!

Leon crushed the Three-Horned Lesser Demon's head with brute strength, killing the Three-Horned Lesser Demon on the spot.

"E-enemy attack!"

"Kill him!"

The alarmed group of Lesser Demons quickly shouted and surrounded Leon.

However, Leon quickly transformed his hands into black saber-like aura blades of darkness before hacking out at the Lesser Demons in quick succession, briefly forming dozens of black lines around him.

Puchi!

The Lesser Demons spurted blood out from various parts of their bodies before fourteen of them dropped to the ground, diced into many pieces, all killed in a short instance.

"W-what!"

The last feathered-wing Lesser Demon froze in shock at the instant death of all her comrades before realizing she was no match for Leon.

Leon briefly spared the last Lesser Demon to secure and preserve the quality of demon blood from his kills, storing them in empty pill bottles with tightly sealed caps before pocketing their weapons.

The feathered-wing Lesser Demon saw that as her chance to leave.

However, the feathered-wing Lesser Demon did not even take five steps before a heavy pressure suddenly locked her down, making it difficult to move.

Gravity!

Leon had used his earth-metal fusion ability.

Leon grabbed the feathered-wing Lesser Demon by the neck a few moments later and dragged it into the treetop for interrogation.

Click!

With a snap of his fingers, Leon erected an extremely weak Nihility Barrier around them.

Although the barrier was too weak to destroy anything, it was still enough to rob the world's colors and block all sound from getting out.

"W-what kind of power is this?"

The female feathered-wing Lesser Demon glanced around at the monochrome area with a look of shock before she quickly shook her head.

That wasn't important.

"P-please spare me!"

The feathered-wing Lesser Demon quickly pleaded for her life.

Leon slightly knitted his brows while staring at the feathered-wing Lesser Demon, who had lost all her thoughts of aggression and retaliation against him and desperately clung to her life.

"If you answer my questions honestly, it might not be impossible for me to spare you."

"P-please ask away, Your Excellency! I will tell you everything I know!"

The feathered-wing demon sat in a kneeling position with complete attention and compliance and without any intention to escape.

It was impossible even if she wanted to.

Leon glanced at the feathered-wing demon's attitude before he nodded with approval.

The feathered-wing demon's willingness to comply will allow his interrogation to proceed smoothly—but only if she spills the truth.

"Do you have a name?"

"Yes, my name is Saresha, Your Excellency, Sir!"

"What clan do you belong to?"

"I belong to the Low-rank Clan of Dark Fae, Your Excellency, Sir!"

"You can drop the honorifics when you answer…"

"Yes, Your Excellency—"

Leon shoots the dark fae a glance before she corrects herself.

"I-I mean, yessir!"

"Good enough."

Leon shrugged.

The dark fae was confused by Leon's simple questions, but little did she know that he was simply testing her honestly.

Shortly after, Leon began to ask more serious questions.

"It's been quite some time since demons came to this forest. So why did your group choose now of all time to come?"

"T-that is because Lord Suron noticed a change in the sky above the forest, so Lord Suron tasked our group to investigate it, sir."

Saresha answered honestly without daring to look up.

"Who is Lord Suron?" Leon questioned before further adding, "He doesn't sound like anyone important if he only sends Lesser Demons for the investigation."

"Lord Suron is just a Lesser Demon like us, sir. However, he is a member of the Evil Eye Clan, one of the Nine Great Clans in the dark land, while we are only from Low-rank Clans. The disparity in status allows Lord Suron to order us as he pleases."

"I see…"

As Leon continues his round of questioning, he gradually learns of the strict hierarchy within the demon race ruled by nine great demon clans.

The Dark Fae Clan, one of the weakest demon clans in the dark land, has no choice but to accept the demands of higher-ranking clans, let alone the Evil Eye Clan, one of the nine great demon clans.

Because Dark Fae Clan was so weak that it could be bullied left and right by other demon clans, Leon no longer finds it surprising that the Dark Fae Saresha was so submissive and cooperative.

After learning of the Evil Eye Clan's ocular specialty, Leon understood how the Lesser Demon Suron noticed the Darkness Energy movement in the Ashenwood Forest.

Nevertheless, Leon furrowed his brows with some doubts.

He spread out his divine sense for another scan of the area but detected no other demon within his range.

"If your Lord Suron noticed the change in the forest, then other members of the same clan would have also noticed the change in the forest. So why is it just your group that came?"

"T-that is because…"

The Dark Fae Saresha began panicking under Leon's doubtful and inquisitive gaze, feeling nervous even though she had been honest and cooperative with his questions.

Chapter 740 - The Perilous Bone Sea

Leon's sharp placed the timid dark fae under heavy pressure, making it difficult for her to answer his question without stuttering with nervousness.

Nevertheless, the longer Leon interacted with the dark fae, the stronger he felt that Dark Fae Saresha was not so much different from humans—whether it was her intelligence or emotions.

He didn't sense any of the bloodthirst and malice that all demons were described to have.

Of course, he couldn't speak for all of the Dark Fae Clan, and Dark Fae Saresha could even be feigning weakness to let his guard down and backstab him later.

All in all, it was too early to come to a conclusion with regards to demons and required longer observation to sate his curiosity.

"Not all demons are evil, nor are they impure existences, so never regard them as such and discriminate them simply based on their origins."

"Don't just listen with your ears, see with your eyes, and don't just see with your eyes, but listen with your ears. Don't be misled by others to see what they want you to see, hear what they want you to hear, and believe what they want you to believe."

"You must remember to use all of your being to understand another being for what they truly are and determine for yourself whether they deserve salvation or eternal damnation."

Leon vaguely recalled the words of his father, the Divine Medicine King, from a distant memory of his childhood in his previous life.

"Y-your Excellency?"

Saresha's questioning tone snapped Leon out of his reverie as she continued to remain seated in a kneeling position obediently without the inclination to escape.

Leon recollected his thoughts before speaking calmly, "Sorry, my mind had wandered elsewhere. So, what was your answer to my previous question?"

"O-our group was the closest to the Abyssal Wood Forest, but also the furthest from the Bone Sea of Eternal Night, where the majority of demons have gathered. Lesser Demons like us have no hopes of competing with the stronger demons for lucky chances."

"Lord Suron, himself was unwilling to leave the Bone Sea. That is why he sent us to investigate the situation in the Abyssal Wood Forest. If we don't report back within the hour, death would have eventually awaited us either way, sir."

If a Lesser Demon like Lord Suron was unwilling to leave the Bone Sea, then it was more likely for the stronger members of the Evil Eye Clan to leave the Bone Sea to investigate the Ashenwood Forest.

Nevertheless, Leon learned that the demons called it the Abyssal Wood Forest instead.

"Lesser Demons of Low-ranking Clans have it pretty rough, huh?" Leon casually uttered.

The trip from the Bone Sea to and from the Abyssal Wood Forest would have taken up most of the hour, leaving little investigation time to find anything.

If the Lesser Demons report back late, they will die. And if they report nothing meaningful, they will most likely also die.

"Still, it's surprising yet strange to see the Dark Fae Clan in such terrible position when they are one of the ruling demon clans in Northern Devil Region of the Divine Realm…" Leon muttered to himself.

Saresha overheard his words, and her soft eyelashes fluttered with surprise and confusion.

Nevertheless, she didn't have time to think further as Leon asked her another question, "Why are the demons gathered at the Bone Sea? What exactly is it, and what is over there?"

"The Bone Sea is the largest and most perilous region out of all the regions in the Eternal Night Secret Realm. It is said that most of the higher-level inheritances are left there, but the Eternal Night Demon Emperor's inheritance is also hidden in there."

"The Bone Sea wasn't always called the Bone Sea, but it eventually got its name after countless beings challenged it and failed, leaving their remains behind to float on the sea surface instead of sinking to the seafloor as one normally expects to happen."

"If I have to guess, the Nine Great Clans are challenging the Bone Sea to locate the Eternal Night Demon Emperor's tomb of inheritance while the other clans vie for the tomb of inheritances found in the Bone Sea."

Saresha answered.

Of course, bottom feeders like her Dark Fae Clan are either treated as cannon fodders for others or scrambling for leftover benefits in the outer rim.

"I see… How interesting…"

Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment.

"What will you do? It must have been over an hour since you left. Even if I let you go back now, you will most likely die to that Lord Suron of yours."

"That is…"

The Dark Fae Saresha hesitated to answer with an unresigned look, finding that outcome to be unacceptable.

"If I am willing to become your servant, will you allow me to follow you, Your Excellency?" Saresha carefully inquired.

"You?" Leon glanced at her with an intrigued look and asked, "You're willing to become the servant of a human?"

"Eh?"

Leon's question seemed to have come as a great shock to the Dark Fae Saresha as her expression suddenly froze.

"You're a human, Your Excellency?" Saresha carefully inquired for confirmation.

"Now that's an interesting thing to ask," Leon smiled intriguingly and said, "Where on earth did you get the impression that I am not human with this kind of appearance?"

"A human doesn't necessarily mean one can't be a demon, Your Excellency. For example, in the deeper southern region, there's a group of humans that are natural-born demons. I thought that Your Excellency was one such being, given Your Excellency's fine control of darkness."

Saresha carefully spoke.

If her black feathered wings were ripped off, she would also appear no different from humans, and a beautiful one at that.

Leon immediately understood why the Dark Fae Saresha mistook him for a demon, but the fact that humans could also be born as demons was an astonishing discovery.

"In your general understanding, what is a demon?"

"Any being born from darkness is a demon—or at the very least, that is how the world sees it, Your Excellency."

"Hm, I see…"

Saresha's words left Leon pondering in deep thoughts.

In other words, anyone born with a darkness-attribute body that doesn't get harmed by Darkness Energy is regarded as a demon.

"Well, this is unexpected…"

Chapter 741 - Oath Of Allegiance

Given the abilities of the True Grandmist Body and Devil Emperor's Tome of Eternal Darkness, it wasn't strange for Leon to gain great control over Darkness Energy and not be corroded by it.

However, he wasn't born with this ability.

As such, he couldn't be called a demon in the truest sense, but others could still mistake him for one without prior knowledge of his circumstances.

Nevertheless, there was a proper term for cultivators who willingly embrace the power of the darkness; they are called demonic cultivators.

In the Divine Realm, demonic cultivators were hunted down like any other demons.

It just shows how the deep-rooted fear, hatred, and discrimination the denizens of the Divine Realm have against the creatures of darkness.

'The mastermind who drove my father and me to our deaths are all Peak-stage Divine Kings that stand at the top of the Divine Realm and rule over it.'

Leon recalled.

Since they were all his enemies, it didn't matter if he embraced the power of darkness.

Even so, two great obstacles remained in the way of his revenge; the strength to slay Peak-stage Divine Kings and to get back to the Divine Realm.

His eyes unknowingly flickered with traces of fury and malice when he recalled his father's shattering soul.

The Dark Fae Saresha could not help but tremble with her head lowered, uncertain if she had misspoken about something and offended the one person currently holding her life in the palm of his hands.

Nevertheless, she didn't dare utter a single sound and disturb Leon's thoughts.

Sometime later, Leon shook his head with resignation.

His strength increased at an unprecedented rate, but it was still far too weak to contend with the Peak-stage Divine Kings.

Perhaps he was too impatient.

The practice of cultivation had always emphasized the virtue of patience has always been, and that haste makes waste.

Dwelling on the matter would only sour his mood.

A few moments later, Leon shot the dark fae a glance before asking, "How can I guarantee that you will stay loyal and won't betray me?"

"This…"

Saresha was at a loss for words.

She had been compliant with complete obedience, but when asked to prove her loyalty, she did not know what to do.

What else could she do?

"I killed some of your clansmen. Don't you hate me?" Leon asked with a sharp look.

When he brought up this matter, the Dark Fae Saresha did not display a shred of hatred, only a sad look.

Does the Dark Faes even have the right to hate?

"It's unfortunate, but there's nothing I can do to change the fact that they are dead; death is common in my clan," Saresha replied.

The weak can only be abused and exploited by the strong.

Leon knitted his brows before demanding, "Tell me more about your Dark Fae Clan. Why is it so weak in comparison to other demon clans?"

"We don't have any strong clansmen in our ranks, nor does our Dark Fae Clan have the resource to nurture one, Your Excellency. Furthermore, our clan leader, the strongest fae in our clan, is a Peak-rank 1 Transcendent," Saresha answered truthfully.

In other words, the Dark Fae Clan did not have a single Greater Demon.

"What about the nine great demon clans? What makes them the nine great demon clans?"

"The Nine Great Clans have many Arch Demons in their ranks. Although the high-ranking demon clans also have Arch Demons, the Nine Great Clans have Quasi-Demon Lord ancestors."

After interrogating the Dark Fae Saresha for some time, Leon better understood the demon clans' strengths.

Like the various human tribes living on the Infertile Plains, the demons weren't unified; they were divided in a power struggle between demon clans.

Each of the nine great demon clans is vying for supremacy.

'How can I take advantage of this?' Leon pondered.

According to what he learned, it would be difficult for humans to enter the Bone Sea without getting overwhelmed and slaughtered by the demons.

It only took a split second for Leon's mind to brighten with an idea.

'I just need to gather the surrounding Darkness Energy while cultivating to cause a disturbance and attract more groups of demons over. That's like killing two birds with one stone,' Leon mused.

'However, this isn't a long-term solution. Even if I can smoothly whittle away the demon's forces, they will only be weak demons. I won't be able to lure out the stronger demons who are only interested in the Bone Sea.'

Leon pondered for a moment before his gaze fell on the Dark Fae Saresha, who was still kneeling to the point that her legs had become numb.

At the same time, Saresha sensed his gaze and immediately straightened her back.

"If I want the allegiance of our entire Dark Fae Clan, do you think your clansmen can swear their loyalty to me and follow my leadership?" Leon asked.

Saresha's long eyelashes fluttered with surprise.

Shortly after, she took in a deep breath before replying with a serious look, "Your Excellency already has the strength to rule over our clan, whether we wish for it or not."

"If Your Excellency wants their loyalty as well, it's actually not that complicated to accomplish; Your Excellency just has to treat them well."

"What about you? What do I need to earn your loyalty?" Leon asked with a meaningful look.

"I… I don't expect much from my lord…" Saresha stated before adding, "As long as my lord leaves Saresha a way of living, it doesn't matter who Saresha's lord is."

"Then I shall give you a chance to follow me. Swear your allegiance to me, and I will not mistreat you; there may even be a bright future ahead of you," Leon cooly stated before warning the dark fae, "But remember, you only get one chance. I don't show mercy to traitors."

"Y-yes, Your Excellency! I, Saresha, offer my loyalty and service to you, my Lord. Should I go back on my word, may the Demon God condemn Saresha's soul to eternal damnation."

The Dark Fae Saresha swore her oath with her head lowered.

"Good."

Leon nodded.

Although it was just mere words without any binding power from the heavenly laws, it was good enough.