by KSY
Tondenth’s Cultivation Level had been steadily advancing towards the Celestial Realm since the day he’d entered the Closed-door Cultivation session in Starlight Forest. This made his strength far greater than that of any other Late Immortal Saint Realm being on Grandura. The fact that he possessed Original-grade bloodline purity was also a reason. Draconic Suppression is an Innate Ability whose strength relies on a few factors like the species of dragon using it, as well as its bloodline purity. Dragons belonging to the higher species of the Dragon race with High-grade or Original-grade bloodline purity are able to exert more power when using Draconic Suppression.
The Star Crane’s demise was also felt by all the Immortal Realm beings of Starlight Forest. They couldn’t help but feel dread when they looked in the direction of the Star Crane’s territory which now had a new ruler. The followers of the Star Crane quickly exited the part of Starlight Forest that had previously been ruled by the Star Crane, as their King had died and it had become the territory of some other being. They feared that the new ruler of the territory might finish them off if they stayed there too long.
Ryan and Caius had no idea that Tondenth had finished off one of the rulers of Starlight Forest just because it had been looking at them with bad intentions.
It didn’t take them long to enter the mountainous region that was shrouded in Tondenth’s Baleful aura and soon they reached the valley where Tondenth had been cultivating all this while. A smile appeared on the faces of Ryan and Caius when they saw Tondenth looking at them in a jolly mood.
“Sorry for showing up without informing you,” Ryan said as a smile appeared under his mask as he landed right in front of Tondenth’s gigantic body. Caius, on the other hand, had already taken off from Ryan’s shoulder and was sitting on the top of Tondenth’s head with an delirious expression. Before meeting Ryan, Caius had never imagined that he could get so close to a being as powerful as Tondenth, so his excitement when he got to sit on one, can be understood. Tondenth could to some extent guess these thoughts but he had no intention of ruining Caius’s excitement.
Tondenth lowered his head to Ryan’s level as he gently nudged him with his snout and told him that he didn’t mind – on the contrary he was very happy about him coming over to his place. The Death Elemental Energy provided by Ryan was a boon for him. When he ascended to the Divine Universe along with Ryan in the future, he wouldn’t have to start from the bottom of that society, so he would have an edge over other beings that had ascended from a lower world.
“I just came to meet you. You can continue with your Cultivation while I will train in Starlight Forest,” Ryan said as he gently patted Tondenth’s snout.
Tondenth nodded his head in return and then sent a Mental-message transmission asking Ryan to train within the one hundred square kilometers area around the mountainous region as this was the range within which he could instantaneously help Ryan if he encountered any kind of trouble.
“Don’t worry about me. I have Caius as well as a powerful Undead legion by my side. You just concentrate on your Cultivation,” Ryan said as he rubbed Tondenth’s snout with a big smile on his face. He could understand what was going on in Tondenth’s mind which made warmth surge in his heart.
Tondenth nodded his head as he looked towards Caius, who’d puffed his chest and had a no-nonsense expression on his face. His antics lifted Tondenth’s worries to some extent, as he knew how dangerous this little thing actually was for beings that were still in the Immortal Realm, unlike him.
Tondenth then asked Ryan to stay within a thousand kilometers of the area around the mountainous region as that was his territory, so he would still be able to come and help them within the span of a few minutes – but he didn’t tell that Ryan that this had been the territory of the Star Crane until just a few minutes ago.
Currently, Tondenth’s newly-won territory only had Mortal Realm creatures in it, because of the Star Crane’s death. All Immortal creatures are highly territorial and don’t allow Immortal beings of other species to enter their territory unless they are their followers, but they don’t mind Mortal Realm beings entering their territory as they pose no threat to them. The Star Crane was highly territorial and hadn’t allowed any Immortal being other than its followers into its territory and after its death all of those Immortal Realm followers had already fled due to which the territory formerly ruled by the Star Crane only had Mortal Realm beings in it at present. Tondenth already knew that, and that was the reason he suggested Ryan train in his newly-won territory. There was nothing there that could endanger Ryan’s life while he was there. This also made it a perfect place for Ryan to use Devil’s Enlightenment to raise his Cultivation Level quickly.
“OK,” Ryan readily agreed.
Ryan and Tondenth talked for some more before Ryan and Caius exited the mountainous region, as they had no intentions of disturbing Tondenth anymore. Caius had entered Ryan’s hair again, as he had no intention of hindering Ryan’s training. Most creatures would flee upon seeing Caius, which would make it difficult for Ryan to hunt any creatures in Starlight Forest.
Ryan also contacted Emilia informing her about him and Caius reaching Tondenth’s place safely. He also told her that Tondenth had carved himself a territory in Starlight Forest and he would be training within that. This immediately brought relief to Emilia, as she knew this would ensure that Ryan wouldn’t encounter any life-threatening situations there. Ryan and Emilia talked for some time and then Ryan started to search for a being to hunt.
A devious smile appeared on Ryan’s face as he flew high up in the sky and activated his Asura eyes. He scanned the forest below and started searching for a target. It didn’t take long for him to pinpoint one following which he zoomed down at high speed towards its location. The devious smile on his face became even more pronounced as he approached it. One thing was clear: in the coming few weeks this part of Starlight Forest would be dyed red by Ryan.
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A Grand Elder of the Silver Oak Sect named Shyam had a horrified expression when he received the news about the complete annihilation of the Main branch of the Calamity Sect at the hands of Archdevil Shera. He quickly left for the residence of the Sect Head of the Silver Oak Sect, Anubis.
Shyam soon arrived at Anubis’s residence, situated on the top of a huge mountain that was tens of kilometers high. Anyone could tell with a single glance that this mountain was not as simple as it looked, because of the overbearing pressure being emitted by it. It was actually an artifact that had been refined by Anubis. It was called Heaven Crushing Mountain and it actually belonged to Anubis. It was used during high-stake wars with other SSS Grade factions and had the ability to seal extremely large swathes of space and even a High-grade Divine World in its entirety with extreme ease.
Shyam sent a Mental-message transmission to Anubis seeking an audience with him. He quickly entered the residence after getting Anubis’s permission and headed straight towards his Cultivation chamber.
“What’s happened?” Anubis asked the moment Shyam entered. He could tell that something big must have happened for the cool and composed Shyam to lose his bearing.
“Calamity Sect was annihilated just a few minutes ago,” Shyam said with grave expression.
“What?!” Anubis looked at Shyam with disbelief.
“Why didn’t anyone go and save them? I asked all the Grand Elders to make sure of their safety?!” Anubis roared at the top of his voice, which made the entire Heaven Crushing Mountain shake violently.
“The entire Calamity Divine World was gone before we could even react,” Shyam said as he lowered his head in guilt.
“Who did it?” Anubis asked with a murderous expression. He knew that this would have far reaching consequences, as it derailed all his plans to retrieve the Asura Bone sword.
“Archdevil Shera. He declared that he’d come to avenge one of his subordinates who’d been killed by Anvil,” Shyam said as he clenched his fist. Anv
il was the Head and Founder of the Calamity Sect.
Anubis was stunned for a few seconds after hearing this from Shyam before he regained his composure.
“Declare a reward on the head of Archdevil Shera. I want him to be skinned alive,” Anubis said with venom.
“Yes, Sect Head,” Shyam said quickly, as he had no intention of getting killed.
“Also contact Leo. Tell him about the circumstances concerning his faction’s Main branch at the earliest. Tell him that we will help him to rebuild his faction’s Main branch in the Divine Universe once again, so long as he assists the youngsters sent by us in every possible manner while they are on Grandura,” Anubis said urgently.
“And also declare support for the Grandura branch of Calamity Sect in the entire Divine Universe,” Anubis added with a sigh. Leo was the Grand Elder of the Main branch of Calamity Sect. He’d been sent to Grandura to make sure of the safety of the youngsters sent by the Silver Oak Sect during their stay on Grandura.
Shyam nodded his head as he left the Cultivation chamber to execute Anubis’s commands quickly.
“Vega come here!!” Anubis roared at the top of his voice and it was transmitted to each and every corner of the Divine World.
“Yes Master,” Vega appeared in front of Anubis within seconds. He was the Grand Elder in charge of collecting information and other dark things for the Silver Oak Sect.
“Did you find anything about the one backing those puny family clans?” Anubis asked with bloodshot eyes. Every time he thought about the Heaven Sundering Family Clan and the Eternity Family Clan he almost lost his cool.
“Nothing, but I am certain of one thing: the one backing both those family clans is not an SSS Grade faction. It is most likely a Paragon God with no affiliations. There is a very high chance that the members of the Heaven Sundering and Eternity Family Clans are its descendants,” Vega said in a severe tone.
“I’d also come to the same conclusion. If there had been an SSS Grade faction behind those two puny family clans, then the Asura Bone sword would have been handed over to that SSS Grade faction, as that would have allowed them to gain a lot of merit. However, the sword was still on their Divine World when the Nebula Sect attacked them,” Anubis said as he clenched his fist and Vega just nodded his head in agreement.
“Were you able to trace those bastards?” Anubis asked after a moment’s silence.
“No Master. It’s as if they vanished into thin air,” Vega said with a helpless expression.
“Continue your search and inform me at the earliest, if you find anything about them,” Anubis said. Vega nodded his head and left Anubis’s chamber.
“I should go and meet that Shera to clear my uneasiness,” Anubis said to himself as a vicious expression appeared on his face. He turned into a blur and disappeared from his Cultivation chamber. He appeared outside his palatial home and opened a Teleportation portal to Hell. He then turned into a white light beam and shot into the Teleportation portal. One thing was clear: if Shera was caught by Anubis, he would definitely not have an easy death given Anubis’s anger at this moment. The Asura Bone sword held a lot of importance to him.
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Archdevil Shera had just returned to the Inner region of the Hell after destroying Calamity Divine World and suddenly had a very bad feeling. His instincts were telling him that danger was heading in his direction and he was certain that the source of that danger was most likely Anubis.
“I should just go and live in Ancient Purgatory for the next few thousand years,” Archdevil Shera thought to himself, as he flew towards Ancient Purgatory.
Ancient Purgatory is one of the forbidden locations of hell but Archdevil Shera wasn’t bothered by its dangers as he was a devil. Ancient Purgatory was being ruled by an extremely ancient Archdevil, who was considered to be one of the strongest beings in the Divine Universe and hated humans to the core. This was the only place in Hell that Anubis wouldn’t dare to enter, as that would be tantamount to throwing away his life.
Ch.6
The next morning Blasius arrived at the main building of the Administrative Department of the Heaven Sundering Family Clan. Currently he was waiting in the Reception area with a worried expression – and not just him. Quite a few middle-aged men and women were there too. They also had worried expressions on their faces just like Blasius, as their sons and daughters along with Blasius’s five sons were part of the same spy team. Spy teams are tasked to gather information from enemy territories, so their work is but naturally extremely dangerous and life threatening. Blasius and the rest were all feeling terrible at that moment while they patiently waited for the person that was going to come and tell them the reason they’d been called.
It didn’t take long for a middle-aged man from the Administrative Department to walk into the Reception area. He had a haggard and ominous expression on his face, which made the heart beats of Blasius and other parents increase exponentially. This person was the Grand Elder of the Administrative Department and named Lukas.
Blasius and the rest got up from their seats and gave Lukas a gentle bow as the latter’s status was extremely high within the Heaven Sundering Family Clan. Lukas just gave a gentle nod in return and took a seat.
“Everyone, please sit down,” Lukas said in a gentle tone. Blasius and other parents nodded their heads and again took their seats.
“I have bad news for you people,” Lukas said in a troubled manner.
“Are our children safe?” one of the women in the room asked, as her body shivered in fear of hearing the answer to her question. The other parents were no different.
“No. They were on a secret mission under the guise of Free merchants to gather information about the recent activities of Devil King Abaddon, but we have lost all contact with them for about five days,” Lukas said in a low voice, but his words still sounded very loud and harsh in the ears of Blasius and the other parents. Their faces turned pale with fright.
“Free merchant” is the term given to human merchants that are not part of any faction or working on behalf of any faction. Such merchants are easily able to enter the territory of non-human races and trade with them. The Devil race detests humankind, but they still allow human Free merchants to enter their territories, because Free merchants bring a lot of rare and priceless things for trade like Heavenly Treasures, Plant Spirits, pills and so on.
The Devil race never mistreats Free merchants as this would make other Free merchants wary of coming to trade with them in the future. They have no choice but to treat Free merchants fairly and they always pay higher than the actual price, as this ensures that the Free merchants will come again to trade with them and with better stuff.
The Devil race just like the Demon race controls an entire continent on Grandura, Raksha Continent. Currently this continent is split between eleven Devil Kings, one of whom is Devil King Abaddon.
“Everything was going well, and the mission was due to end soon, but suddenly we lost all contact with them. We’ve sent a powerful team to covertly investigate their sudden disappearance at Unholy City, where they’d set up their shops. We’ll inform you guys the moment we find out anything about them,” Lukas said with a solemn expression as he tried to give some hope to Blasius and company.
Tears started to trickle down the faces of Blasius and the other parents soon afterwards. They knew about the barbaric nature of the Devil race. Their children had most likely been tortured to death the moment their cover had been blown.
“Please don’t lose hope. There is also a chance that they were taken hostage by Devil King Abaddon’s men who might contact us soon for a ransom,” Lukas said as he tried to pacify Blasius and the other parents though he knew that the chances of something like that happening were extremely slim, because Devil King Abaddon was well-known for his hatred towards human factions. He would most likely have personally executed them the moment he’d come to know about their identities.
“We
want you people to keep quiet about this matter for a few more days – even from your partners and other family members until the covert team we sent returns to a safe zone. Otherwise, they might also end up getting caught and a very problematic situation might arise. If by chance your kids are still alive, then their lives might also be endangered,” Lukas said grimly.
“This news must not leave this room,” Lukas repeated for emphasis. Blasius and the rest couldn’t help but nod their heads. They knew that if this news was to leak out of that room, it would have wide ranging consequences.
Lukas had only called one parent of each team member and he’d called the one that he felt was more emotionally stable for handling this situation. It was a policy of both the Heaven Sundering and Eternity family clans to inform the parents, if something happened to their members while they were carrying out a family clan mission. Since this matter involved quite high stakes, it had been decided by Lukas to inform only one parent of each team member to keep this matter under wraps as much as possible.
“We will keep quiet but please try your best to find their whereabouts,” one of the parents said as he got up to leave. Blasius and the rest followed his example, as there was nothing else left to say. All of them had downcast expressions on their faces.
“Thank you for your cooperation,” Lukas said solemnly.
Blasius and the rest gave gentle bows to Lukas as they left the Reception area one by one. They made sure to maintain poker-faces as they left the Reception area, as they didn’t want anyone to become aware of the current upheaval within their hearts and minds.
Blasius and other parents raised each other’s hopes about the safe return of their children and directly flew towards their respective homes after bidding each other goodbye. They just wanted their sons and daughters to return home safe and sound.