Chapter 1722 - WMW 96

'When did it disappear? Why didn't I notice at all?' Leylin's pupils shrank as he watched the now-empty fountain of blood.

Crackling sounded as the fountain disassembled itself at a faster rate. The bricks, rocks, soil, flowers, and grass all came apart into tiny beads that banded together to form a twisted humanoid figure.

This twisted figure constantly drew in parts of the garden and became increasingly solid, until at last it turned into a woman who had a black beach umbrella with her.

"I heard from Owl that you're looking for me?" The woman had her back to Leylin, dressed in black clothing and using the large area of the umbrella to cover her upper body. Leylin could only see her black dress and crystal shoes, and hear a pleasant rich voice that could subconsciously intoxicate a person.

"Looking for you? Could you be Madam Minaz? Yes, I'd like to know if there are any ways to freely leave Dreamscape!" A layer of black Kemoyin scales emerged on Leylin's skin, and his pupils even turned amber and vertical. After all, the way she had appeared was rather mysterious. She looked to be a personification of the garden.

After turning into Madam Minaz, the garden had now turned into an empty land, and even the surface of the ground had disappeared.

'Dreamscape is far too mysterious. If I have no confidence at all, I should definitely not set my foot here…' Leylin was slightly jittery, loathing the fact that he was in a world with such factors that could not be controlled.

Perhaps it could be said that no Magi really liked Dreamscape. It's lack of adherence to rules led to most of their methods becoming ineffective. Of course, some would say that this was because the absolute laws governing Dreamscape hadn't been discovered yet.

One could simplify the analysis of Dreamscape once that law was found, and the Magus who managed to do so would likely get immense benefits.

"Yes. That owl! It's the best at causing trouble for others!" The woman holding the black umbrella turned.

Leylin took several steps back. The front view of this Madam Minaz was quite surprising. She had a distorted face with no eyes, and a nose and mouth at different locations. Her visage looked like an abstract work of art. Her upper body had numerous lifeless eyes on it that were staring at Leylin.

"Thousand-Eyed Woman! It's rumoured that a gaze could cause a Magus to fall permanently!" Leylin exclaimed, and a tremendous Kemoyin Emperor phantom appeared behind him.

"You're afraid? Why?" At this moment, her voice had undergone a huge change. It lost its previous tenderness, becoming robotic and icy, even hiding a hint of contempt. The eyes on her upper body suddenly released a multitude of rays of light.

Light spread into the skies and blanketed the region, making the so-called death rays of Beholders look like child's play. The powerful radiance seared Leylin's eyes, forcing him to cover them.

The moment he opened them again, Leylin was stunned. Around him was a dark forest, and the one-eyed Ent from before had long since disappeared. The earth lizard was still moving up and down underneath him.

Belinda's voice was heard from the other side, "Do whatever you like! Since I've already given it to you, it's yours!"

'This scene… It's when I just entered the Dreamscape Forest and commanded the A.I. Chip to analyse this…' Leylin's pupils shrank, and he looked at the records of the A.I. Chip.

However, it left Leylin disappointed, even in shock. The Chip's records were all blank since the moment he'd ordered it to analyse the methods the Alabaster Devilsnakes used to traverse Dreamscape.

'Why did this happen?'

[Beep! Unpreventable interference encountered. Records are abnormal.] The A.I. Chip's robotic voice caused Leylin's expression to go dark.

Immediately after, he saw the newest records. [Beep! Analysis of ability of Alabaster Devilsnake to traverse Dreamscape has been completed. Dreamscape can be entered at will by consuming a bloodline imprint. Host lacks enough blood at the moment and cannot refine a bloodline imprint.]

;That's impossible. Didn't it say that a large amount of time was needed?;

Leylin's eyes showed how deeply in thought he was, 'So everything that happened was real! The ability to enter and exit Dreamscape was not analysed by the A.I. Chip, but given by the Thousand-Eyed Woman, Madam Minaz…'

'Time…' Leylin sighed. Even the concept of time had been warped by Dreamscape. Encountering such a scene, he was still terrified even after it ended.

All the dangers he'd encountered previously with dreamforce paled in comparison to the warping of spacetime that occurred.

It probably wasn't just him. Perhaps even a rank 7 could do nothing against these illogical events in Dreamscape.

'Dreamforce, the ability to warp time and space… that's a realm I can't even make contact with as I am now…' Leylin sighed.

"What's wrong? After going through Dreamscape Forest, we'll reach Whiteriver Valley. Once we pass that we'll be at the Serpent Plains. That's a month away from the holy city." Belinda slowed down and arrived beside Leylin, her eyes full of concern.

"It's nothing, I was just lost in thought," Leylin smiled a little and shook his head.

"Though the Dreamscape zone isn't as mysterious as Dreamscape, the ample dreamforce here is enough for Magi to unknowingly be dragged into illusions, with even more terrifying wretched Dreamscape Creatures here… Of course, for mixed blood Alabaster Devilsnakes like us, this isn't a large issue… After all, we've already made a contract and have the protection of our bloodlines…" Belinda explained.

'But that wasn't what happened!' Leylin cursed inside, but did not speak. After all, things that dealt with warping time and space were too frightening.

Unlike last time, this trip went very smoothly. There was no clown or Ent coming up and stirring trouble, and the Nightmare Creatures seemed to abide by the contract and did not harass them.

The dark red fog slowly dissipated, and the dark forest became more sparse. Occasionally, bits of clear moonlight shone down from above.

*Whoosh!* An unceasing sound of flowing water could be heard, and the earth lizards grew exceptionally excited, darting forward at a greater speed. Not long after, a vast river appeared in front of Leylin. The earth lizards cheered and lay down at the river, their thick barbed tongues extending into the water as they lapped it up.

"The white river, we've arrived!" Belinda's voice showed her admiration, a glint showing in her eyes.

Leylin turned back. The black forest and dark red fog had long since disappeared without a trace. It seemed that without the summoning of Belinda or other descendants of the Alabaster Devilsnake, it would not appear again.

Unlike the previous barren lands, there was now a river valley nearby. Even the temperature and concentration of elemental particles had undergone a drastic change, allowing Leylin to know that the short period of time where they had run at night had allowed them to traverse a huge distance.

'Using the indeterminacy of Dreamscape's space and hurrying along a world crack to leave through a node… This is something like teleportation! The person who thought it up was a genius… Either that or a lunatic!' Fear still lingered in the depths of Leylin's heart.

From the port at the edges of Hail Continent, they had travelled about halfway through the continent. Were they to have used a teleportation spell formation, even one from ancient times would have consumed a huge amount of resources.

Here, besides the preparations for the summoning Belinda had not done much. Just from how prompt it was, it was several levels ahead of these teleportation spell formations, if one could disregard its limitations and dangers of course.

As the Dreamscape Forest belonged to Dreamscape, only Alabaster Devilsnakes or bloodline creatures that could make contact with Dreamscape could discover or summon it. This in itself was a huge limitation, and what was more troublesome was the dangers near the end of the journey.

Dreamscape was the riskiest of all the worlds Leylin had seen. What he'd witnessed this day probably wasn't even the strangest thing about it. In the Dreamscape zone, he couldn't even disregard any attacks from Dreamscape Creatures despite a prior agreement.

Furthermore, in the eyes of the powerful devils, perhaps their attacks were not intentional attacks and were instead like a show of curiosity or intimacy with other beings.

It was a pity that a rank 5 being could do nothing against that 'curiosity'.

"After the white river we'll come to the whiteriver shore valley, another settlement for Alabaster Devilsnakes." Belinda sounded muffled, and looked towards Leylin, "That's also where my family is."

"Oh! Are we going there to visit them?" Leylin nodded.

"There's no need to. We'll recuperate nearby. Meanwhile, I'm preparing to go there and take care of some matters, so don't interfere!" A resolute look appeared on her face. This was a realisation through several life and death experiences, giving Leylin a premonition that this would involve blood. Of course, he wasn't against it.

'Looks like Belinda and her family have a very unique story.' Leylin watched Belinda's back and stroked his chin.

"This is good timing. The A.I. Chip has already analysed the bloodline imprint to traverse Dreamscape. It's not bad to gather some materials…"

-x-X-x-

It was obvious how determined Belinda was, and how adamantly she was against Leylin's interference. After settling Leylin at the Whiteriver Valley, Belinda regularly headed out early and returned late, seemingly in a hurry as she prepared for something.

Seven days later, she brought a girl who was about fifteen or sixteen, pulling her in front of Leylin. "This is my sister, Sophia. How is she? Do you like her?"

"Lord Nick, good- Good morning!" The girl called Sophia pulled at her skirt and bowed towards Leylin.

"Sister Sophia!" Leylin laughed as he sized her up. She looked similar to Belinda, with long silver hair and eyes that were like rubies. However, there was a hurry and uneasiness on her face.

"You… What's this about?" Leylin glanced towards her, not knowing if he should laugh or cry in this situation.

"It's nothing much. There's stuff I need to do, so I'm hoping you can take care of her for a while…" Belinda ruffled her hair lovingly, "When she was young Sophia was seriously affected by a leakage in an experiment. Her appearance, and even her intelligence have been frozen at age fifteen. I secretly brought her out of the family…

"Sophia, when your sister is not around, you have to listen to Brother Nick obediently, alright?' Belinda pulled at Sophia's hand and carefully reminded her.

"Alright, sister, and Nick… Brother Nick!" Sophia ducked her head, and her cheeks flushed. Leylin was left at a loss for words.

...

The Purgatory World only had four hours of daylight everyday. The sunlight wasn't burning hot either, instead exuding an extremely rare warmth.

The bright light shone down on the plains. All of Sophia's fears from coming to a foreign environment had dissipated, and she was cheerfully watching a few butterflies that emitted light. A childlike beam plastered her face.

A distance away, Belinda and Leylin stood side by side.

"I can rest at ease now that I've handed her to you!" Belinda spoke as if she had been relieved from a burden.

"I hope you can treat her well. With her bloodline, your descendants will definitely be pure and of the Alabaster Devilsnake nobility…" Belinda spoke calmly, while Leylin merely rolled his eyes.

"It's like you're entrusting an orphan to me. Are you prepared to die?" Leylin asked without reservations.

"Die? No, just tying up some loose ends!" Hatred was evident on her face, "With all the years I've been making preparations, it should be enough to…"

Seeming to realise what she had said, Belinda hastily stopped, "Of course, I'm only requesting that you take care of her for a period of time. Once everything here is settled, I'll meet with you. Let's meet at the holy city."

"Seems like that was your plan from the start," Leylin was unhurried, "And your preparations are the petals of the Serpent Intoxicating Flower, as well as the stealth magic equipment you have? Please forgive me for being so direct, but while Serpent Intoxicating Flowers are remarkably effective against high-energy snakes, they're still lacking if you want to deal with pure-blooded rank 5 Alabaster Devilsnakes. Your magic equipment might have the function of hiding your tracks, but I don't think your plan will go well. That's a community belonging to a rank 5…"

"How did you know?" Her expression changed as she subconsciously took several steps back.

"I'm rather well-versed in potions, and I smelled the Serpent Intoxicating Flower on you…" Leylin laughed and rubbed his nose. "Even if you have insiders there, your preparations shouldn't be enough…"

"No, it's enough! You don't need to know what's going to happen. Anyway, as long as I'm still alive, I'll definitely meet you at the holy city!" Belinda shook her head resolutely, as if she had returned to her previous state as an unfeeling leader. It seemed like she had made more preparations in that area.

"In that case, I'll go with you…" Leylin spoke deliberately. He was going to harvest the bloodlines of Alabaster Devilsnakes sooner or later, he could just do it now.

"No! You just need to take care of my sister. Don't mind any other things. If anything happens to Sophia, I won't let you off…" Belinda glared at Leylin and disappeared into the shadows, not even bidding Sophia farewell.

"What a staunch resolve!" Leylin's eyes seemed to smile as he headed towards the sunlight and back to Sophia.

"Brother Nick!" Sophia exclaimed sweetly.

"Mm! Sophia, darling, can you tell brother where your home is?" Leylin now had a smile that was as bright as the sun.

"I… Sophia doesn't know… there are a lot of strange uncles in there who all look scary… When Sister brought me out here, I couldn't recognise the way…" She gnawed on her finger, looking dazed.

'This… is this a natural intellectual disability or a seal that was placed later?' Blue light flashed in Leylin's eyes as he stroked his chin. Soul force rippled through the place, and he found that Belinda really had left without bidding farewell.

'Such a stubborn lass… it's a pity…' Leylin's lips quirked up in a smile. With his strength, it was far too easy to find Belinda even if she was trying to conceal herself. Some stardust bugs or a soul mark would do the trick.

After all, he was using methods of the Magus World, while Belinda would be on her guard against probes and local abilities of the Purgatory World. The huge differences between the two was enough for her previous preparations to come to naught.

"Well then, Sophia! What do you think of Brother bringing you home?" Leylin felt like he was grinning like a big bad wolf.

"I– I don't want to!" Sophia, however, suddenly paled and grasped his hands tightly, as if recalling something horrifying. Even her body began to quiver.

"But your sister, Belinda, is there. How about we bring her back? How does that sound?" Leylin used a bit more strength in his hands, as if giving her strength and consoling her.

"Sister Belinda!" She looked around and, after noticing Belinda was nowhere to be found, she was now feeling anxious.

"Sister! Sister!" She jogged around and began to call out, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Sister can't go back, or else Father won't spare her!" Two rows of tears fell from her eyes, and she looked immensely frightened.

"Is that so? Let's go and get her!" Leylin didn't really want to bother with rivalries amongst families. All he knew was that he needed the bloodlines of Alabaster Devilsnakes, and there were purebloods amongst Belinda's family at Whiteriver Valley. That was enough for him.

"Alright, let's get sister!" Sophia bit her lips, evidently having made her decision.

"Mm, let's go!" Leylin had to resist the urge to pinch her exquisite cheeks. A black energy storm formed with a twirl of his fingers, enveloping the two of them within.

...

After the Whiteriver Valley was a huge plain. There were only a few scattered tribes and towns in the vast region, and it was no small feat to find a specific family. However, Leylin had already placed some stardust bugs on Belinda's body, so this task was easy for him.

In order for this to go smoothly, Leylin specifically came slightly later and gave Belinda enough time. He followed slowly with Sophia in tow, and even secretly took the time to do some other things.

'I never thought there's another race making use of a town as a cover near the valley…' Using the stardust bugs, after Belinda had made her move Leylin brought Sophia to enter a little town with an obviously foreign style.

The buildings here were made with black rocks and coated with nice colours. The sharp roofs were like upside down awls, and even the pavements were very orderly and even.

Sophia grabbed Leylin's hands after reaching this place, evidently having thought of something. It was still the wee hours of the morning and the town was quiet, only the occasional sounds of wind resounded in the empty streets.

*Creak!* A wooden door opened, and a resident looking dazed walked out with a basin used to store water in her hands. This resident looked very similar to a human, with numerous triangular scales that formed strange flower petals on her.

Her eyes flashed with some astonishment upon seeing Leylin. But when she saw Sophia beside him, especially her silver hair and scarlet pupil's, she dropped her basin causing a dull thud.

"Ala– Alabaster Devill! The Alabaster Devil has come…" The woman collapsed to the ground, her sharp voice piercing through the skies.

"What?" "What's going on?"

A clamour sounded as a peasant holding a metal pitchfork darted outside of the house. However, upon seeing Leylin and Sophia he fell to the ground. "Revered noble Alabaster Devil! Our, our blood taxes this year have been paid…"

'Blood taxes? So they forcefully demand blood sacrifices or something…' Leylin shook his head, quickly regaining the calm on his face. Doors and windows creaked open or closed, and an aura of panic gathered in the town.

-x-X-x-

Accompanied by cries of "The Alabaster Devil" "The Alabaster Devil's here!", panic spread like a plague and enveloped the whole town. The people of the town were now not as boisterous as before, and some even quivered in fear in their own homes.

'Seems like Belinda's family doesn't have a good reputation here.' Leylin entered the town that had descended into a state of panic and shook his head while speechless. On second thought, though, he wasn't all that surprised.

These people were only slightly stronger than regular humans, while Belinda's family had rank 5 Alabaster Devilsnakes in their numbers. The huge disparity in strength led to an imbalance of power, and in this situation Leylin would actually be more astonished if the residents were treated well.

"Tell me, where is the Whiteriver Valley?" The crimson in Leylin's eyes flashed as he watched the pair who were trembling in fear.

"Re- Revered master, there aren't any valleys at all nearby!" The peasant finally answered while shivering.

'Oh? That is true. How would they know about that place…' Leylin somewhat understood. The base of the Alabaster Devilsnakes might be nearby, but concealing it from regular humans was a very simple task.

'Based on the location, my target should be here. However, there's some sort of interference and I can't determine the location.' Leylin stroked his chin. There had to be many reinforced spell formations in the base of such a powerful family, isolating and blocking them off from scouting.

Even just the radiation they let out unconsciously could amass to result in mysterious changes in the terrain. It was only that, for some reason, these beings that looked like humans with scaled foreheads had a resistance to high-energy radiation that was greater even than low-ranked Magi, allowing them to survive and reproduce. Perhaps the Alabaster Devil family had moved them here to exploit and pressurize them.

'Since it's nearby, I'll definitely be able to find it!' Under the peasant's reverent gaze, Leylin's body began to float. In the blink of an eye, he appeared above the town, truesoul at Half Moon sweeping out.

Every resident, every change in the terrain, even the bugs and microbes in the cracks of the town were revealed in front of him. His soul force expanded out, and the range of his sense was expanding further.

'The feeling of the pinnacle of power, of having control over anything… This can make anyone feel intoxicated!' Leylin felt like a god as he looked down on the town. He now knew the area like the back of his palm, and he would be able to take all the lives in the place with but a thought. He felt drunk on such power.

'Only with this amount of power can I strive for eternity!' Only limitless torture and suffering awaited those lacking in strength. Only by fully grasping his freedom and immortality would Leylin achieve his life's goal.

"Mm, found it!" Leylin descended with a flash of light watching Sophia who was clearly uneasy, "Sophia, we're going to get your sister. If we meet with any danger, find somewhere and hide yourself. Don't mind me. Understood?"

"Mm, I'll listen to brother!" She nodded obediently.

Just as Leylin and Sophia headed off, a black figure appeared from the shadows of the town and turned into Leylin's previous appearance. He turned and donned a large black cloak, disappearing amongst the morning light.

Because he had to perform some unspeakable acts, Leylin used a method he'd employed before, using the A.I. Chip to control a shadow clone to bring Sophia away. He was prepared to make his move on the sly.

Dragging Sophia along would probably not arouse Belinda's suspicions, and especially… Leylin's eyes glinted with intelligence.

...

After he passed through the dreamforce fog, as little white valley appeared in front of Leylin. 'Mm. There are so few people here… I'd thought that Belinda's family would be huge, but there are only tens of people here. And about half of them are half-bloods or have bloodlines that are yet to mature…'

Surrounding it were multiple snaking pathways, with a constant surge of dreamforce being radiated out. Deeper in was a set of buildings that were close together. It was obvious that this was where Belinda's family was located.

Though there were few people, the valley was bustling with life. The hissing and snarls of large snakes sounded from time to time.

'Seems like I've come at a good time!' With a sweep of his soul force, most of what was in the valley appeared in front of him. A few Alabaster Devilsnakes that were like little hills were spread in all directions, their life auras now at their weakest.

A huge battle had turned the royal mansion in the depths of the valley to rubble. In mid-air, Belinda was laughing maniacally with bloodstains all over her body, holding onto an ancient mirror. There were even a few obvious claw marks on her arms. She had evidently paid a huge price for this.

In front of her, a middle-aged man with short silver hair and crimson pupils looked ready to gobble her whole, his eyes filled with malice. Terrifying undulations at rank 5 flowed out of his body, causing even the surrounding space to shudder. Still, even that seemed like an attempt to refrain from provoking her and causing more harm.

'Can high-ranked descendants of the Snake Dowager take human form?' Leylin wasn't very surprised by this. Though the ancient Giant Kemoyin Serpent lacked this ability, that didn't mean it would be the same for the rank 5 Alabaster Devilsnake. Besides, the Snake Dowager and snake girls were all humanoid. Hence, even descendents of the large ruler of all snakes would have no problem taking human form if they had sufficient bloodline force or intelligence.

Some tasks were more convenient with a human body rather than that of a giant serpent, and the energy consumption was obviously much lower. That was how half-bloods mixed with humans were formed. If not, with the body of these giant snakes, even mixed-blood descendants would turn into monsters with bodies as large as mountains.

"Belinda, you dare return and even covet our family's greatest treasure?!" The middle-aged man with silver short hair exclaimed, the fury in his eyes almost able to reduce Belinda to ashes.

"On the day Sophia was kidnapped, I'd already reinforced the defences, but I didn't expect you to have bribed even Lisa and secretly obtained the keys into the secret room… You even got so many Serpent Intoxicating Flowers!"

Belinda, on the other hand, laughed carelessly. "I didn't bribe her. She betrayed you of her own accord, poor, silly father.

"Your disgusting methods to carry on the inheritance of bloodlines in order to gain the favour of the Snake Dowager have long since given rise to fury amongst the family… I only sparked the fire!" Belinda watched the ancient mirror in her hands, hatred in her eyes, "I could have done this long before I left home. However, the Trial's Eye taught me to prize order, and not wilfully engage in vengeance. But now, everything has changed. There is nothing holding me back…"

"Give me the ancient bloodline mirror, and I can pretend none of this happened. If you don't, it's not just you. Your sister Sophia will also suffer the worst of punishments… just like your mother did!"

A large Alabaster Devilsnake phantom abruptly appeared while he was speaking, and an enraged howl caused even the surrounding red fog to grow more concentrated. There were even signs of a link to Dreamscape.

"Haha… mother?" Belinda's crazed laughter eventually turned cold, "You don't qualify to speak of her!" It was like she had been triggered. Crimson light exploded in her hands, and the ancient mirror creaked, unable to bear the pressure.

"Don't!" The middle-aged man's expression immediately changed and he made his move. A terrifying red hand appeared and grabbed at Belinda, even as a large number of dark red tendrils appeared and extended towards the mirror from beside her.

"Keke… Such a pity, it's too late!" Black light burst forth from her body, forming a layer of black armour that blocked the tendrils.

*Clang! Clang!* Black cracks now appeared on the ancient mirror in her hands, spreading out before it exploded.

*Boom!* At this moment, Belinda was thrown backwards by the large red hand, and the black armour on her body was smashed to pieces. She coughed out mouthfuls of blood but still looked at ease as she laughed.

"NOOOO!" Crazed snarls sounded, and the ancient bloodline mirror turned into a large black hole as the cries of a woman sounded out from the middle.

Spirit after spirit appeared, all turning into multicolour figures that dispersed unceasingly. All that was left in the end was the sound of a distant lament, and the ancient bloodline mirror completely disappeared.

"Do you know what you've done?!" The man's facial muscles contorted. "With just another century… With just another century, I'd be able to refine our family's bloodline further such that it enters the ranks of the pure-blood nobles! It's all your fault!"

Formless power was sent out, and Belinda was dragged to the front of the man. Without the ancient bloodline mirror, he now had no reservations against acting. In front of his powerful rank 5 strength, even a full strength Belinda couldn't resist at all.

Not even taking into consideration the exhaustion from stealing the mirror, the discovery and pursuit had caused a great loss in her strength.

A formless giant beast in the sky widened its mouth and bit down.

*Ka-cha!* A large portion of Belinda's flesh and bones disappeared, causing her to let out a low grunt.

-x-X-x-

"I swear that your death will be incomparably miserable…" The middle-aged man's face was contorted. The plans that he had meticulously thought up had been completely destroyed, causing him to sink into exasperation and fury.

Thin scales appeared on his hands in an instant and shot out like a giant cannon, striking Belinda's abdomen. Pure-blooded rank 5 Alabaster Devilsnake strength caused Belinda to fly backwards like she had been hit by a train, and the sounds of fracturing bones rang out.

Some of her internal organs were even ripped apart, mixing with blood as they spurted out of her mouth.

"Did you think you would die? No, no no. Let me heal you, and we'll repeat this process unendingly!" A large white snake figure emerged from the smoke, with a furious middle-aged figure at the bottom.

He came before Belinda, eyes sparkling a bloody red. Belinda's body floated in the air, and as if she was being crushed by tens of thousands of tons, her bones were crushed inch by inch, but for some reason, she remained clear headed. Her expression was that of one suffering incomparable pain.

"Now, tell me. What kind of pain would you like to feel?"

The man approached Belinda, a palm with a few tiny white snakes writhing their bodies appearing and flicking their tongues at her.

*Bzzt!*

At this moment, light flashed on her body, and a beast spirit tattoo flickered.

A translucent beast spirit figure appeared, obstructing him.

This was a humanoid beast spirit that had characteristics of a snake woman. It had rank 4 undulations, and some rationality still remained in its eyes.

For beast spirits, this was practically unthinkable.

When Belinda was in the face of danger, the beast spirit had automatically appeared and protected her, and even retained some memories of when it had been alive.

"It's you!" The man now had a demonic charming grin as he watched Belinda, "So you're still protecting that trash? How about I annihilate you first? I believe our precious Belinda will be very agitated…"

"Don't… you… dare…"

An intermittent an unclear voice sounded from Belinda's lips.

"No wonder she hadn't been using her beast spirit. So this was the reason…" Leylin nodded in understanding. As a rank 4 beast spirit master, Belinda had not summoned a beast spirit with Morning Star strength, and Leylin had long since found it strange.

At this point, Leylin found that the beast spirit and Belinda had very similar faces.

"With this show of automatically protecting her, it seems that this rank 4 beast spirit on Belinda's body should be her mother, and seeing what's happening, this should be the work of her father…"

When it came to matters like this, it was no wonder that Belinda's nature had changed and she'd prepared for a bloodbath to take revenge.

This had first been repressed by the teachings of Trial's Eye, but she now had no reservations.

"You dare…" Belinda almost broke her teeth from how hard she was gritting them, eyes wide as she glared at her father.

"Keke… And what would I not dare do? This low-life woman was only a mixed-blood maid. I gave her glory and a good life, and in return, this is what she should do… don't you think so?"

The man stared at the beast spirit like a sick pervert. It was a pity that after being refined into a beast spirit, the woman had now lost most of her memories and emotions, and only protected Belinda subconsciously and answered the gaze of the man emotionlessly.

"Sigh… This work isn't that perfect."

He shook his head with regret and suddenly snapped his fingers, "Belinda! How about I seal your sister? What do you think? The process must be just as beautiful?"

Watching Belinda begin to struggle violently, he smiled, now having the upper hand, "And now… let me…"

Large amounts of dark red fog turned into a cage, binding the snake woman beast spirit within.

"Hss…" The snake woman's eyes were wary as she hissed, but she, who only possessed rank 4 strength, could not really resist.

"Pfft! And that's the end of this drama. Is it time for me to make my move?"

A terrifying black chain appeared in the air and was like a sharp sword, appearing and splitting up the man and Belinda.

"Who is it?"

The man abruptly raised his head, looking fearful.

He was a rank 5 after all, and yet someone had stealthily entered without anyone noticing. Just this ability alone had him in fear.

Following which, he found a figure in a black cloak standing, a pair of eyes full of malice watching him.

"No, not malice, but apathy! It's like a regular person stomping and killing an ant. That's how he feels about killing me!"

In that instant, the man, who had understood the meaning of the indifference in Leylin's eyes, became violent.

"Who is it? Who dares belittle I, Kenta! Mighty Alabaster Devil nobility, descendants of the Mistress…"

A large Alabaster Devilsnake figure abruptly emerged and snarled at Leylin, dark red dreamforce floating in its surroundings.

"This is…" Belinda's vision went red, the figure in black seeming familiar.

"Right! He's… it's the same person who took Lord Bayclark away… or perhaps it's just his temperament that's similar. But why did he appear here?"

"Keke…" At this moment, the black-cloaked man in the sky laughed coldly, the malice causing everyone around to tremble in fear.

"If a rank 5 Alabaster Devilsnake is turned into a beast spirit, I imagine it'd be very powerful even amongst rank 5 beast spirit masters, right?"

"Beast spirit? You dare have such thoughts and dare use the descendants of the mighty Mistress as a beast spirit?"

The man's eyes widened like saucers, evidently astonished by Leylin's gutsy behaviour. In the Hail Continent, the descendants of the Snake Dowager were naturally the mainstream, and because of their statuses as large beasts, they were repulsed by practices of capturing snakes and refining them into beast spirits.

This was especially so for descendants of the Snake Dowager. That was a huge taboo, and all beast spirit masters who were found making use of the descendants would be chased till their deaths regardless of how they were obtained.

Hence, on the Hail Continent, beast spirit masters never dared use the descendants as beast spirits, and that extended to snake species disappearing as beast spirits.

Even on the other continents, in order to avoid being viewed as hostile by the great Hail Continent, the beast spirit masters who controlled snake beast spirits were few and far between, and even had to live their lives secretively.

In these circumstances, Leylin's words were offensive and shocking.

"You're dead meat! You're dead meat! The Mistress and all of her descendants on the continent will be your enemies…"

The man roared, "For you, who dare offend our revered bloodlines, I, Kenta, will give you the appropriate punishment!"

"Hmph, what nonsense!"

Leylin snickered, and a demonic pressure released from his body, giving him a feeling of being in the presence of an emperor.

"Dreamforce is useless to me! Don't bother!"

Leylin waved his arms, and the great amounts of dark red fog congealed in his hands, forming a black bundle of light.

"Rank 4 dream spell— Chains of Dreams!"

Dark red chains shot out and, like a spiderweb, sealed off the whole space and left behind what was similar to a poisonous snake, biting towards Kenta.

"He makes use of dreamscape and can even do this?"

Kenta's expression immediately changed, "Who exactly are you? Are you from the Devil Scorpion Race or the Dreamscape Elves?" This person's abilities at manipulating dreamforce was clearly above his, and Kenta could already feel that the two of them were now wrestling over authority over the dreamforce, and the winner could appear at any moment.

These two races were the most capable at manipulating dreamforce of all that he knew. Amongst the descendants of the Snake Dowager, besides the Alabaster Devilsnake, there were no others that had contact with dreamforce.

"You don't need to know this. Just die obediently and let your soul be extracted!"

Dark red chains of dreamforce formed a spider web that wrapped him inside.

"Is that so? We, who have inherited the bloodline of the Mistress, could never lose to someone like you who only knows to act slyly in the shadows!"

*Crackle!* Kenta's body exploded, and a large white shadow appeared in the air, squeezing and breaking the dreamforce chains.

"Hss…" The white figure soared into the skies and, with a terrifying pressure, presented itself as a terrifying giant snake that was tens of thousands of metres long.

The large snake had white, jade-like scales filled with the luster of dreamforce. Scarlet pupils were filled with madness and ruthlessness, staring straight at Leylin.

In comparison, Leylin's body was as tiny as an ant.

"This isn't a Morning Star Arcane Art but a natural transformation of the body!" Leylin muttered to himself, eyes shooting out blue rays, "This sort of boost to the body is terrifying! As expected, the power from one's original form will be able to show the best strength!"

Meanwhile, Leylin was in more awe towards these ancient Magi.

To be able to create combinations and make up the Morning Star Arcane Art to somehow simulate their true bodies and even gain a boost, they must have sacrificed much time and effort!

A rank 5 Alabaster Devilsnake had a terrifying pressure that caused the onlooking members of the family to bow down.

"Too weak! Too weak! This Alabaster Devilsnake family is too weak!"

Leylin surveyed the area.

Though his truesoul had probed and found that there were tens of life undulations, many had clearly lost their ability to battle. It was obvious that Belinda's Intoxicated Serpent Flowers were the cause.

Even without this, Leylin did not pay mind to the rank 4s who were weak, dying, or youths.

"But that's good. This Alabaster Devilsnake somewhat meets my requirements!

Leylin stared at the giant white snake in front of him and grinned.

-x-X-x-

The large snake figure that was even taller than a mountain stood before him, with large energy undulations of rank 5 emitting from it.

This aura caused many of the family members with the blood of the Alabaster Devil to fall, yet Leylin was not the least bit affected.

His expression did not even change, still assessing this huge beast in front of him as if picking and choosing goods.

Evidently, this attitude had led to Kenta's great wrath.

"Hss!" The Alabaster Devilsnake hissed and pounced forward.

*Rumble!* The surface of the ground shook unceasingly, and the area at the middle caved in, forming a terrifying large pit.

The tremendous snarls and the figure of the white snake streaked across from the pit.

Terrifying explosions sounded continuously. A tremendous white snake figure was sent flying at the end, large droplets of blood sprinkling across the sky.

"Impossible!"

The large snake rolled in the sky and then regained Kenta's human figure, though there were now numerous tiny wounds all around his body. His clothes had long since become tattered, and his expression showed his disbelief.

"How's that possible? How can there be someone more powerful than me? I am favoured by the Mistress, a rank 5 of the noble Alabaster Devils!"

*Boom!* Immediately after, a streak of black flashed, and Kenta coughed up blood as he frantically retreated.

"There's nothing that's impossible! While a giant rank 5 serpent is powerful, there's still a huge disparity when compared with the primordial Thousand-Eyed Giant, Golden Titan and the like."

Leylin's black figure slowly emerged, a mysterious Multi-Limb Race appearing at his back. The figure was now shimmering with gold and seemed to have solidified, turning into a golden deity statue.

Though it looked very delicate, there seemed to be a primordial giant beast concealed under Leylin's black cloak. The strength hidden within caused even the Alabaster Devilsnake to look fearful.

"Hand over your blood and soul obediently, and I might even let you die more comfortably."

As Leylin closed in step by step, Kenta let out a strange shriek and transformed into a streak of white, preparing to abandon his family and escape.

*Pak!* Many dark red chains appeared once more, sealing the whole White River Valley.

"Your strength and speed are all lacking! Even your manipulation of dreamforce can't measure up to me."

Leylin stated the truth calmly while ambling over.

"No!" Kenta kept falling back, almost pressing his body on the chain walls.

Such a ridiculous pose filled Belinda with pleasure and eased her desire for revenge, but she then found this pitiful.

"Mighty Mistress, I am willing to give up everything that I am. Please release a clone and protect your descendant!"

At his wit's end, Kenta's expression suddenly flashed with ruthlessness and began an offering spell formation.

Silver rays of light flashed, and immediately after, blood and flesh splattered everywhere. An arm that was still dripping blood fell onto the spell formation.

"The offering shall be the flesh and blood of your child!"

*Rumble!* Crimson flames flashed, and the attention of a conscient in the void descended on the area.

Under the red flames, Kenta's arm was melted till it turned into a blood-red mask, the tremendous conscient making use of this item and descending.

"Oh Mistress, please protect your descendant!" Watching the mask take shape, Kenta might look pale and had an arm on the shoulder with a gaping wound, but his eyes were filled with elation.

"Begin the experiment!"

In front of him, Leylin merely muttered something.

"Chirp chirp…* Grey rays of light flew from his chest. Within which was a grey feather that was like an illusion, bringing with it the power of chaos.

The grey luster spread in the surroundings, forming an overcast sky.

"While the Feather of Chaos might be able to conceal and have the power of misleading others, how effective would it be after the Snake Dowager's clone is summoned and descends? That's worth investigating!"

Leylin's eyes glinted with intelligence. While the Nefarious Filthbird had already told him this, Leylin preferred to determine this for himself.

If he found there was an issue here, he wouldn't need to head to his death in the holy city.

"A.I. Chip! Record the following scene carefully. Remember to collect data!" Leylin commanded inside.

[Beep! Mission established. Beginning scanning of surroundings, recording data!] The A.I. Chip loyally intoned.

The crimson mask opened its eyes, revealing a pair of bewitching pupils. Just meeting the gaze caused the bloodline force in Leylin's body to begin rebelling.

"The clone of the Snake Dowager!" Leylin muttered to himself.

"Mighty Mistress, it is he who futilely tried to kill your descendant and even tried to refine us into beast spirits. Such evil behaviour must be punished!"

Kenta roared, while the conscient in the crimson mask stared at Leylin silently.

"We finally meet, Snake Dowager!" Through his truesoul, Leylin's voice was transmitted to the mask in the offering spell formation.

"Emperor of the Kemoyins, you dare appear before me?"

The eyes in the mask showed doubt followed by ire, a great voice sounding in Leylin's mind, "The power of chaos! You've sided with the Nefarious Filthbird and sealed off this region?"

Eyes swivelling, they rested on the gray feather in the air.

"Let's just say this is a temporary cooperation." Leylin's expression showed his sincerity as he bowed towards the clone of the Snake Dowager and greeted her carefully, "Well then, mighty Mistress, is there a possibility of us settling this?"

"If you take the initiative and abandon your Kemoyin Serpent bloodline and let me seal you myself!"

The clone went silent for a while and then answered coldly, as if this was the furthest she was willing to go, while Leylin's pupils showed his hostility in answer.

Sealing his emperor bloodline meant there was no chance of advancing forever, and his Warlock rank would fall to 4.

That was not something he could bear to let happen.

"Then… This discussion will come to naught? As expected," Leylin sighed and manipulated the feather of chaos in his hands.

A crystal with the power of chaos from before appeared in his hands, burning up fiercely.

Great amounts of the power of chaos, mixed with Leylin's own strength, swallowing up the offering spell formation like a tsunami.

*Whistles* Crimson rays emanated from the mask and quickly showed signs of being unable to endure the pressure, and was then drowned out by large amounts of gray power of chaos.

"How- How's that possible? Kenta watched the scene, stunned, feeling like all the faith he had had crumbled.

Leylin and the Snake Dowager's clone had chosen to communicate through the soul, which was why these outsiders could not understand what had just happened.

All they saw was that the black-cloaked being, Leylin, and the Snake Dowager's clone in the mask had gazed at each for an instant and, immediately after, the clone had been swallowed by the grey strength.

The Snake Dowager was a mighty dignitary for them, and was everything to all bloodlines. How could it be extinguished so easily?

The shock rendered them speechless, and Kenta lost all will to resist.

[Beep! Recorded all data. Confirmed that no information has been leaked.] The A.I. Chip's robotic voice sounded, allowing Leylin to heave a sigh of relief.

He had used the power of chaos to seal off the area, so that the clone had no way of returning, and even all information would not be transmitted back.

If not, even if he were to dispose of the clone, he would immediately be found by the Snake Dowager herself.

Thankfully, with the help of the Nefarious Filthbird and its strength being proficiency in misleading, it had even temporarily cut off all connections between the clone and the Snake Dowager.

"The reason the clone had lost was not that it had lost to the Nefarious Filthbird, but because it was caught by surprise, as well as a boost from me…"

Leylin clearly understood the situation and would not be proud that he had been able to destroy an energy clone.

The loss of a clone was, to the Snake Dowager, like a human losing a strand of hair. It was not worth even mentioning.

However, this was a good start. At the very least, Leylin was certain that with help from the Feather of Chaos, he could conceal himself completely and sneak into the holy city without trouble.

"By concealing myself with the law of chaos and help from the A.I. Chip. I'll be able to hide myself unless I meet with the main body."

Leylin completely sighed in relief, gaining more confidence in his plans.

"How can the Mistress of all snakes, a dignitary, be defeated and die so easily? How can that be?"

He headed over to Kenta. This guy was now not in his right mind. For bloodline holders, the Snake Dowager was everything to them, and they could not accept this fact.

"Once he regains his wits, he might begin to harbour doubt towards her. I've planted the seed, allowing them to understand that she's merely a powerful existence. That seed will then sprout and grow till he begins to seek to surpass his limits and obtain more power… With that tiny possibility of one in a million, that could awaken the emperor bloodline of the Alabaster Devilsnakes and allow him to become a rank 6… Next, he'll be like me and try to break away from the restraints of the Snake Dowager, or be sealed with the Curse Mark of Ten Thousand Snakes and have his bloodline absorbed till his death!"

The A.I. Chip analysed, and a large number of possibilities in the future appeared.

This was not the power of destiny, but precise estimations based on a massive amount of analysis and behaviours of individuals.

Though its rate of having inaccuracies was quite high, Leylin was confident that someday, the A.I. Chip could be like a god of the future, simulating everything that had happened and could happen in a world.

"If it reaches that point, I would probably have reached rank 9 by then…"

Leylin sighed, "It's a pity, but you won't get that opportunity!"

Dark red blades of light slashed, and Kenta's head fell to the ground.

-x-X-x-

After death, Kenta's corpse swelled and regained its form of a giant snake that was tens of thousands of metres long.

A flicker of a truesoul abruptly emerged, as if about to accept guidance into the cosmic world and turn into a floating island for all eternity.

"Trying to leave?"

Leylin sneered, terrifying power sealing the surroundings. Dark red chains trapped the truesoul and was emptied into the black crystal ball in Leylin's hands.

"The soul of a rank 5 is the main ingredient for a rank 5 beast spirit!" Leylin muttered to himself, keeping the crystal ball properly.

"The materials for the dream imprint have been gathered!"

Leylin came before the gigantic carcass of the Alabaster Devil. After having much of its blood extracted, the body looked like it had shrunken, but was still tremendous.

"Return!" With a flash of spatial undulations, the large snake carcass disappeared without a trace. This was the body of a rank 5 giant snake, and even without blood, it still had a very high value.

"Next is all of you!"

Leylin surveyed his surroundings. The nobility of the Alabaster Devils who saw that Leylin had killed their family leader without any trouble and they themselves affected by the Intoxicated Serpent Flowers, they were now completely in despair.

"Their bloodline force is too varied. What a disappointment."

Leylin grabbed forward, and crimson blades of light appeared, decapitating the giant Alabaster Snakes that had been lying on the ground. Leylin gathered the materials and only left behind Belinda and the rest of the mixed bloods.

Leylin set up a humongous, grey offering spell formation where he placed the rest of the materials that he did not need.

*Chirp chirp!*

The figure of a giant grey bird appeared, large amounts of grey flames absorbing these offerings.

"You did well! Not only did you kill one of the clones of the Snake Dowager, you even sacrificed the descendants of the Snake Dowager. I am very satisfied!"

Large amounts of the power of chaos descended. If Leylin was willing, he could raise his offerer ranking up to rank 5, but Leylin did not want to do so.

After rank 4, he would need to place the dignitary's markings on his own body, which was completely unacceptable for Leylin.

Hence, he chose to gather all this power and turn them into crystals to be stored.

Leylin then charged into the mansion, gathering all the treasures and documents before leaving in satisfaction.

...

"It's over? So that powerful person is a follower of the Nefarious Filthbird! The offerer rank should be at or above rank 5…"

A long while after Leylin left, Belinda struggled to get up and gazed at the White River Valley that had turned into a pile of ruins.

Only a few mixed bloods survived. Due to her traps and the Intoxicated Serpent Flowers, many had lost most of their strength and could be killed easily.

Noticing Belinda looking over, these people immediately gazed at her imploringly.

"Hehe… family!"

Belinda shook her head. While she had already completed her revenge, it still felt like something was missing.

Elated, she was just about to leave when, at the entrance to the valley, she saw two people that left her in shock.

"Why did you come here? Are you trying to create trouble?"

"Sister!" Sophia yelled and threw herself into Belinda's arms.

"Brother Nick and I were so worried for you! Sister… boohoo…" Sophia's eyes went red, and while Belinda consoled Sophia, she glared at Leylin venomously.

"Hehe…" Seeing the sisters embracing each other, Leylin merely laughed and rubbed his nose.

He had already retrieved the shadow clone secretly. With his strength, he wouldn't find any trouble hiding from a bunch of rank 4 or 5s, much less a little lass.

"So? Is everything settled?"

"Everything's settled!" Belinda turned and gazed at the White River Valley that was now in a very sorry state, patting Sophia's head, "Let's go and never return…"

"Mm, alright!" Sophia answered, looking excited. It seemed that she did not have many happy memories here.

...

On the plains that were moving up and down occasionally, gigantic snake paths could be seen, as well as moulted skin and scales.

The round moon in the sky emanated a purple luster and looked especially evil.

An orange-yellow bonfire flickered on the plains with a warm luster, with several simple tents nearby.

"There are descendants of the Mistress on the Serpentes Plains, as well as many mixed bloods. We need to be careful and try our best to be as far as we can from these snake paths…"

Belinda gazed at Leylin meaningfully, "Also, try your best not to attack. These large snakes have parentages that can be traced back to various large families…"

Amongst the descendants of the Snake Dowager, even in the family of the Alabaster Devilsnakes, there were many branches. The top were of course the tens of pure-blood families, where practically every member was a pure blood.

Belinda's family was a mere distant branch with a bloodline that was not very pure. In the whole family, only her father was a pure blood, and his lifelong wish was to refine the family's bloodline till it was pure. He did not mind committing sins for this reason, which had resulted in much suffering during Belinda's childhood years.

Of course, all of this was already over. Belinda was now just warning them.

"Alright!" Leylin smiled tenderly, passing over the grilled meat with sizzling oil that was emitting steam.

"Thank you…" Belinda extended her arm and took it, and then passed the food to Sophia. He watched her tear it into pieces carefully, smiling so much that his eyes were like crescents and traces of gentleness could be seen on his expression.

"Did you notice anything?"

Leylin had a varying opinion, "Yes! Even if I get Sophia to be an alibi, the timing at which I appeared both times is too coincidental. Anyone would suspect that. Of course, that's merely a suspicion…"

Belinda was no fool. At most, she had guessed that Leylin had hidden his true strength as he was a follower of the Filthbird, but would definitely not connect him with the fugitive Magus.

"Besides, the few times I acted were all for her sake. Even if she discovers anything, she won't leak news of it…"

Leylin was confident in this. He could tell Belinda's nature, and her reliance on those of her own race was so much so that it was almost abnormal.

This time, especially, she had passed her sister to him. That already indicated that she regarded her as someone close to her.

In this situation, the possibility of her betraying Leylin was low. Furthermore, she didn't know Leylin's true identity.

"But I still need to guard myself against this situation!" Leylin rubbed his chin. He had yet to retrieve the stardust bugs he had left on her.

Whether it was on the Serpentes Plains or the holy city, he needed a guide. Take for instance the traversing. Without her providing the Dream Forest, Leylin would probably still be hastening along along the coast, and it would take about half a year to even reach the Serpentes Plains.

For Leylin, who was tight on time, this was very useful.

"You guys can eat first. I'll go get some rest!" Gobbling up his food, Leylin elegantly bade the sisters farewell and entered his tent.

On the surface, he merely lay on the soft mat and closed his eyes to rest. Inside, however, he was conversing with the A.I. Chip.

"A.I. Chip, have you reorganised all the materials gathered yet?"

Leylin asked. These were naturally items gathered from Belinda's family. After killing the leader, Leylin had charged into their mansion and plundered it, taking not just treasures and resources, but also all sorts of books.

This information was then passed on to the A.I. Chip to tidy up.

If Belinda were to find out that the thief who had robbed from her family was now flipping through her family's collection unabashedly, he wondered what her expression would be like.

She had made some guesses in the past before, and was even subconsciously denying this thought.

[Beep! Reorganisation complete. Calculated to be 34 printed resources, 13 with beast skin, 142 with content stored with spiritual force. Conversion to stats completed.]

The A.I. Chip loyally intoned.

[Others have been categorized. Related to strength systems: 16. Related to geography: 24. Related to materials: 9. Others have been deemed to be general or miscallaneous information.]

With the A.I. Chip's abilities, it could quickly scan and categorise the information and form a complete library for Leylin to browse through.

"Mm! Show me information regarding rank 5 beast spirit masters, especially the part about the spell formation to seal beast spirits!"

Leylin commanded.

[Preparation of related information has been completed. Transmitting to Host's memories.]

Along with the A.I. Chip's voice, Leylin felt there was another portion of content in his memory that was related to the training of higher-ranked beast spirit masters. It felt very familiar to him, as if he had recorded everything painstakingly himself.

"When it comes to training, rank 5 beast spirit masters need to have a good truesoul as a base. One must completely destroy the remaining conscience that remains in the rank 5 beast spirit and use a rank 5 soul sealing spell formation. The boosts and support from using beast spirits will also be on a higher level."

Leylin carefully pondered over the differences between a rank 5 beast spirit master and one weaker. Power at rank 5 and above was academic knowledge that was tightly sealed. In the Elias port, Leylin had only gathered information up to a rank 4 beast spirit master. Anything above that was strictly against the rules.

However, Belinda's family was Alabaster Devil family and had a long history and even a rank 5. The content on this was therefore very detailed and thorough.

"I have the theory and knowledge, and the beast spirit is also in my possession. What's left is to do it…"

-x-X-x-

"The most important part of a beast spirit master is the training of his soul power. Any Magus will not face any issues in this aspect. After sealing the rank 5 beast spirit, and adding the other tricks that I prepared beforehand, it should be possible to push the truesoul to advance to the peak of rank 5 at Full Moon…"

Leylin stroked his chin, his eyes emitting large amounts of light.

"A.I. Chip! Based on my previous calculations, what is the rate of success of this method?"

[Beep! Task established. Inputting data, constructing main model, in the midst of simulation experiment… Beep! Success rate is 78.99%!] The A.I. Chip immediately intoned faithfully.

"A rather decent probability. If it's the peak of a rank 5, there will be an additional guarantee to the feasibility of my final plan…" Leylin muttered to himself.

His fundamental purpose of coming to the Purgatory World was to break the bloodline shackles, the eternal curse that perplexed all Warlocks!

Due to the restrictions of the bloodline shackles, even if the Warlocks could have advanced by leaps and bounds in the earlier stages, so much that they could be stronger than Magi of the same rank, these chains still held them back. A mere look at the current central continent would reveal that there were many rank 6 Breaking Dawn Thrones among those Magi, yet not a single Warlock was of that status. If not for the support from the Morning Star fort and a few rank 5 Warlocks, the entire Warlock heritage would be broken off, and one would be able to imagine what would happen next!

According to Leylin's own understanding of the bloodlines, and the guidance previously given by the Wisdom Tree in the Scarlet Ruins, Leylin had a obtained a greater knowledge of such bloodline shackles.

"Bloodline shackles! The root cause is still the bottleneck in bloodline strength, which has infiltrated every single cell, and even the genes, of Warlocks. It was much like the 'gene locks' hypothesis proposed in his previous world, but of course, even scarier, forming a shackle that restricts the soul…"because it had transformed one's soul and turned into a spiritual chain…"

"And to break through the confinements of the bloodline strength, it requires an advanced force that is at least of a higher grade than bloodline strength! Also… the blood of the origin!" Leylin's pupils twinkled with a fervent glow, which even contained a hidden trace of… fear!

Leylin previously did not know about a force that was of a higher grade than bloodline strength. But upon entering the rank 5 realm, his horizons had been broadened, and he had already found two types during his experiences in a great many other worlds. The first was Dreamscape energy at its peak value, not the kind at its lowest point. The second was the power of laws, and it had to be complete, or above 90% at the very least; not the kind of semi-finished goods like the Flame Monarch's, which didn't even have half of the comprehension of laws.

No matter which type, they were not easy to obtain.

Firstly, the Dreamscape energy. Although the Dreamscape energy that Leylin usually brought with him seemed incomparably tough, it was far from its peak value.

After all, at its peak value, it was possible for Dreamscape energy to bear demonic spirits!

Based on Leylin's train of thought, perhaps… Only the real Dreamscape demonic spirits would be able to summon the Dreamscape energy at peak value! The deceptive uncertainty of the Dreamscape energy made implementing this plan especially inconvenient.

As for the power of laws, it was needless to say much. As of now, Leylin hadn't even fully comprehended even one percent of the fire laws. To truly come into contact with the energy of the rules, one had to be at least a rank 6 Magus, and to completely gain control of it was something that only a rank 7 Magus could do.

This formed a paradox: in order to break through the bloodline shackles, one had to grasp either the Dreamscape energy of the energy of laws, or they would be unable to advance to realms that were above rank 6. Yet, these two types of energy required one to be at least a rank 6 before they could attempt to master them. But without breaking through the bloodline shackles, it was absolutely impossible for Leylin to promote to rank 6!

This mere vicious cycle was enough to dash the hopes of all Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlocks who wished to break through their bloodline shackles, much less satisfy the other conditions after that.

Fortunately, the gift from the Wisdom Tree previously, as well as the information obtained in the Purgatory World allowed Leylin a method around this knowledge gap.

The second condition was the blood of the origin, which would be the blood that was the source of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline.

This origin was something that Leylin felt a trace of dread towards.

The origin of his bloodline was a rank 8 being, the Exemplary of the Hale Continent, master of all snake species: the Snake Dowager! Stabbing a rank 8 being? Heh… It was probably easier to think of how to die...

But no matter how challenging, Leylin would not give up. This was a stumbling block in his journey to become a rank 9 Warlock at his peak, and his pursuit of an eternal path.

Without removing it, it was simply impossible for Leylin to advance to a higher realm.

However, the difficulty of having to stab a rank 8 being was something that Leylin could only laugh bitterly about.

Anyway, in order to stab the Snake Dowager, the problem of whether he'd be able to defeat her aside, he would have to find her at the very least, no matter what.

Therefore, Leylin had no other choice but to head towards the holy city of the Hale Continent. Besides, this was the sacred place of the descendants of the Snake Dowager, and also a place rumoured to be favoured by the Snake Dowager herself.

According to the intelligence reports and the analysis of a few resource materials that Leylin had gathered, the possibility of the Snake Dowager being there was high.

After all, every once in while on the 'Snake Dowager's birthday', the Dignitary Snake Dowager would appear, giving rise to the holy city's rumour of it being her favoured place.

Other than waiting idly outside the holy city and leaving it to chance, Leylin didn't have a better plan.

Of course, if she didn't appear in the end, Leylin would have to take the initiative to show himself instead. He believed that she would definitely rush over by hook or crook upon discovering his tracks. But in doing so, Leylin would lose his chance to make the first move, and he thus dared dared not take action.

What he hoped for was to secretly stay low in the holy city, then find a suitable opportunity and strategy so that he could firmly seize the upper-hand and give himself the advantage of making the first move.

"Although I already have a defined draft and contingency plan in mind, why do I feel like I'm indulging in a wild fantasy?"

Leylin gave a bitter laugh. Taking into account his strength as a rank 5 Warlock, wanting to challenge the Snake Dowager and even seize control of the Dreamscape or energy of laws was a wild thought no matter how he thought about it.

However, he didn't regret choosing the Warlock path then. After all, at that time, Leylin was an acolyte who did not even hope to obtain other high-ranking meditation techniques.

Moreover, with his average natural endowments, if he didn't pick the bloodline path, perhaps he might still be a rank 2 or 3 Magus fooling around in the south coast.

Without the supplemented bloodline energy, even if he had other methods, he would be far from having the graceful bearing of someone practically without a rival of the same rank, which had allowed him to acquire more resources.

In both the Magus and Warlock paths, the greater one's strength was, the more one gained. The weak would only be slowly tossed to the sidelines, and eventually lose all hope. Even if they lived longer than ordinary people, and grasped formidable strength, it would still be hard to escape the evil palm of death.

"When in pursuit of the path to eternity, naturally the faster one walks, the more one is at an advantage!"

Leylin reminded himself and ingrained it in him. As he had chosen the bloodline path, he was now a rank 5 Radiant Moon Magus, and would be considered a decent contender in ancient times.

Additionally, due to the amplification of the bloodline energy, his multiple advancements were strangely quick. As compared to his life, which would be thousands of years long, he was still in his infancy years. This was under the circumstances in which spells that contributed to his life expectancy were not considered.

Even if those rank 5 Magi possessed all sorts of spells that would increase their vitality, they would have spent a great amount of time climbing to the rank 5 realm, and it would be amazing if they could live for another millennium.

In comparison, Leylin virtually held a huge advantage.

Of course, everything evened out. Since Leylin had obtained extraordinary strength and a longer life span, he naturally had to carry the burden of the corresponding restriction: the bloodline shackles!

Once this restriction was broken through, it would be time for Leylin to shoot for the sky!

"Even if it's a gamble, so what? If I can't obtain eternity in this life, what's the point of me travelling here? For my body to decay in another world, for my truesoul to be annihilated, and to turn into filthy soil?"

Large amounts of radiance glowed in Leylin's pupils.

"On the other hand, even if I fall on my journey in pursuit of eternity, I would have accomplished my dream and achieved a marvelous life experience, second to none!"

"Now that I've laid my cards on the table, this would naturally increase the probability of success. Although a Half Moon and Full Moon would appear like ants to a rank 8 being, the main difference being their size, but at a critical moment which would determine life and death, an increase of the success rate by even a millionth would be useful!"

Leylin communicated with the A.I. Chip, "How's the progress on the analysis of the rank 5 spirit seal spell formation?"

[Beep! 100% of the spell formation has been analyzed, ready for optimization.] The A.I. Chip projected a simple and unadorned spirit seal spell formation in front of Leylin. The runes on it reeked of the distinct style of the Purgatory World.

[Optimization will lower the beast spirit's willpower to resist, raising the degree of a harmonious relationship by 15%.]

"This probability is slightly lower than the rank 4 spirit seal spell formation from before. But it's understandable considering how the quality of the spirit seal spell formation gathered by Belinda's family was already very high…"

A gloomy radiance unknowingly came into view all of a sudden, forming a barrier that isolated the inside of the tent from the rest of the outside world.

Shortly after, a crystal ball appeared with a flip of Leylin's palm. Within the crystal ball was a small white snake, its pupils a deep red. Its forked tongue showed from time to time, as though trying to probe the seal on the crystal ball.

The aura of a rank 5 Alabaster Devilsnake kept radiating out. If not for the barrier that Leylin deployed, it would have definitely been sensed by Belinda, who was outside.

"A rank 5 Alabaster Devilsnake… Even though its a beast spirit, it's very formidable, and a rare find amongst rank 5 creatures. Of course, unless I wish to become a fugitive wanted by everyone, I can't use it often here because this is the Hale Continent. It's even better if I silence those who come face to face with it…"

"We meet again, Chief Kenta!"

Leylin smiled weakly. A soul force of Half Moon rank probed into the crystal ball, and it immediately sensed the tremendous and brutal spiritual force engulfing it, complete with hostility.

Since he wanted to train it into a beast spirit, its memories had naturally been destroyed long ago. However, its enmity towards Leylin was instinctively left behind, and was still considered an inconvenience.

-x-X-x-

The beast spirit had to be attacked personally, resulting in a blood feud between the two. Its hostility, along with its instinctive resistance against being enslaved, simply made subduing this beast spirit a fantasy for any average beast spirit master.

"Resistance is futile!" Leylin shook his head. Magi and Warlocks definitely cultivated their truesouls to a greater degree compared to the aboriginals of the Purgatory World.

With his tricks and refined manipulation techniques, it was possible to even extract the hatred from the beast spirit directly, as though it was a highly precise surgery. This would greatly reduce the difficulty of subduing the beast spirit.

However, in comparison to making use of one's truesoul to defeat it, the difficulty of such a surgery would be much higher, and the time required would be much longer.

Thus, Leylin chose to subdue it forcefully, instead of taking an approach that would make the beast spirit's hatred simmer down.

"If I get rid of the beast spirit's will to resist entirely, as well as its hostility, I'm afraid that perhaps even a rank 4 beast spirit master would be able to make this rank 5 beast spirit submit to him, especially Belinda. With the effect her bloodline energy has, the probability of success is much higher… Of course, it's of no use to me all…"

Leylin was aware that he might have unintentionally unearthed an even more terrifying way of utilizing the Purgatory World's beast spirit spells. It was a pity that he didn't belong to this world, and that he didn't major in beast spirit spells. Hence, he could only toss this idea to a side.

*Hiss…*

Following the invasion of Leylin's soul force, the alabaster phantom within the crystal ball started to appear abnormally irritable. The scarlet tongue kept flashing continuously.

"It's just like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!" Leylin snorted coldly. The horrifying soul force that followed after immediately made the little snake shrink to a corner, as though it had been struck by lightning. Even the radiance in its pupils became dull.

"If we maintain this pace, it would be possible to thoroughly tame it within roughly half a month's time. Before arriving at the holy city, this beast spirit can be sealed…"

Leylin nodded as he assessed his progress.

For an average beast spirit master, the amount of time spent on subduing this beast spirit would often need to be measured in years. Leylin's method of removing the fragments of resentment from the beast spirit would also take as long. Only the most simple and cruel method of subduing it would require the shortest amount of time.

"It would take about a month to traverse the Serpentes Plains and arrive at the holy city. In that case, I should be able to advance the truesoul to Full Moon rank before we reach the holy city…"

Leylin stroked his chin.

Judging by the strength of rank 5 beast spirits in repaying their owners, advancing the truesoul to Full Moon was initially a feasible task. But now, with the presence of the Curse Mark of Ten Thousand Snakes, Leylin probably needed to prepare a few more things.

"Taming a beast spirit is not something that can be done in a day. It will need some time to prevent it from crumbling straightaway."

When his work was done for the day, Leylin kept his crystal ball. There was a hint of rumination in his eyes.

"Since we've arrived at the Serpentes Plains, 'it' should have started…" A glaring chill was dispelled from Leylin's pupils. It reeked of extreme evil, and it even made the temperature of the surroundings fall greatly.

Fortunately, he had deployed a barrier. Otherwise, Belinda and her sister would have detected that something was off.

By then, after seeing what Brother 'Nick' had turned into, it would be questionable whether Sophia would still continue to stick to Leylin like before.

…..

*Swish! Swish!*

The yellowish-green underbrushes swayed continuously. Shortly after, the stout shadow of an animal ran across in a flash, making Sophia scream in excitement.

Maybe it was because she wasn't very intelligent, or perhaps it was the result of being constrained within the family for a long time, but everything that the young girl had witnessed on her journey amazed her incessantly. It even made for a few jokes.

"Sophia!" Belinda yelled. She was unhappy, but didn't reprimand the child directly.

With both her and Leylin around, they could naturally confirm that the little chap that just ran past was the most harmless creature around that would cause no harm to Sophia.

After all, Sophia was the hybrid borne of a rank 5 Alabaster Devilsnake. It wouldn't be a problem to achieve the standard of a rank 2 or 3 Magus merely through the strength from her bloodline.

She might not even need to cultivate her energy, and may even rise to higher realms solely through ageing. It could be said that she was enjoying a natural advantage, just that her childish mentality might not allow her to put them to good use.

"A dusty pink rabbit!" Contrarily, Leylin recognised the name of that creature.

With the A.I. Chip's amazing learning abilities, Leylin was no longer the clueless fool that he was when he had first stepped into the Purgatory World.

[Dusty pink rabbit. Strength: 1.3, Agility: 2.5, Vitality: 1.9, Spirit: 0.7. A creature special to the Hale Continent of omnivorous nature with an extremely extensive diet. Innate skill: breeding. As long as it obtains a sufficient amount of food, the dusty pink rabbit's ability to propagate knows no limits. Its breeding season occurs all year round, throughout the four seasons. (Note: The mapping of the above-mentioned creature's genome has shown anomalies. Discovered that the part about reproduction contains traces of artificial optimization!)]

Although such a rabbit would definitely be considered a demonic animal among the normal humans in the Magus World, it was as weak as an ant in Leylin's eyes. What caught him by surprise was the modification made by the A.I. Chip in the annotation.

"It's not just a dusty pink rabbit!"

*Hiss…* At this instant, a giant snake as thick as a person's arm slithered by the roadside. A giant grey rat hung from its mouth. Through the A.I. Chip's analysis, although the grey rat's data was endlessly similar to the dusty pink rabbit's in all aspects, it was clear that their reformed reproductive abilities were exactly the same. This made their already formidable innate skill even more terrifying.

"Wow…" Sophia was slightly startled by the gray snake, but she still went forth without fear, seeming as though she wanted to touch its head.

*Hiss…* The giant grey snake let Sophia do as she pleased without resisting at all. This made Sophia giggle with laughter, and at the end, the giant grey snake even placed the food that it had caught in front of Sophia as a show of its subservience. It was only until Sophia explicitly declined, did it then continue to hold the rat in its mouth as it slithered through the bushes.

The bloodline of a rank 5 Alabaster Devil had the ability to restrain most of the common snake types across the Serpentes Plains. This was why Belinda was so at ease.

Leylin, on the other hand, gazed at the trail left behind by the grey snake, seemingly in deep thought.

"I'm afraid that the Snake Dowager was the one who tampered with the animals at the bottom layer of the food chain. It's rumoured that there are all kinds of giant snake types in the Serpentes Plains that are incapable of transforming. These include the Giant Kemoyin Serpent, the Double Loop Snake, the Three-Headed Python, the Purgatory Fire Python and so on, as well as a great many mixed-bloods and other subspecies. Even though the Serpentes Plains is incomparably plentiful, it might not be able to withstand such a tremendous consumption of energy. But if it's just the bottom layer of the food chain, perhaps there wouldn't be enough…"

Leylin grabbed a weed at random. There was fresh soil on the stem, and the pale yellow roots felt moist.

"Sure enough, even the dusty pink rabbit's food had been taken into consideration. There must be more changes in the environment to come, and even things such as them getting fatter at fixed times…"

"Seems like the entire Serpentes Plains is basically a cultivating ground for giant snake types…"

The corners of Leylin's lips revealed a slight smile. Just by observing the Snake Dowager's method of doing things, he knew that its academic attainments regarding bloodline experiments were definitely not few.

"Individuals manufactured in the laboratory are bound to have defects. The best method is still to seek for coincidentally mutated animals born in nature! The Snake Dowager's plan is actually identical to the hypothesis that the A.I. Chip raised previously, just that…"

A hint of suspicion slowly appeared on Leylin's forehead.

"What is the Snake Dowager trying to achieve from this? By creating an even stronger individual, isn't it afraid that something more powerful would emerge?"

"No! Perhaps it wouldn't allow a powerful being from the various tribes to arise, but maybe a first-rate mutated individual would be permitted… Or maybe she's trying to cultivate an emperor bloodline that can fully take control…"

"It's also possible that she's performing these experiments purely out of curiosity. Or perhaps she wants to break through a bottleneck herself, and attain the rank 9 eternal realm or something… There are way too many possibilities…"

All sorts of possibilities flashed across in Leylin's mind, making him frown slightly.

"Anyway, no matter what, the environment here is much better than I expected. There will absolutely be no problem in carrying out the plan…"

"Nick! What are you thinking about?"

Belinda walked over unhurriedly. Ever since she had gotten her revenge, she seemed to have unloaded a heavy burden worth thousands of kilograms. Even her usual grim expression had melted more or less—of course, this was only true in front of Leylin and Sophia.

"Oh! Nothing much, I'm just wondering if the Serpentes Plains will be dangerous…"

Leylin smiled.

"This place is indeed a treacherous for other foreign tribes. After all, among the snake clans that cannot transform, there are dreadful giant snakes that are rank 5 or 6… Even strong rank 6 contenders would be besieged by these humongous pythons, and I'm afraid that they would only end up falling…"

"But we're different. The descendants of the Snake Dowager will never be attacked on the Serpentes Plains! Of course, this refers to those rational giant snakes. If we bump into those that are as stubborn as a rock and are influenced by their instinctive appetite, then we have no other way out even if it's us. But fortunately, such snake types that are affected by their instincts are usually only rank 3 or below…" Belinda seemed rather proud.

She clearly understood the Serpentes Plains very well. She even had connections in the holy city. This was why Leylin was insistent on bringing her along.

"Hm!" Leylin nodded, then looked at Belinda, "You are a wanted for a trial. About that contact in the holy city…"

"Rest assured! That's my close friend. Besides, this is the Hale Continent after all!"

Belinda was obviously highly confident. "Nick, you haven't entered the holy city before, have you? Then you'll have to register your identity. It will be more troublesome for such a frequent traveller like you, but no matter, this friend of mine will come in handy…"

Leylin identified himself to Belinda as a mixed-blood Alabaster Devilsnake who had always been on the go, and he hadn't even been to the holy city. Although such situations were rare, the Hale Continent was so vast that anything could happen. Besides, Leylin's Alabaster Devilsnake bloodline could not be falsified, and thus Belinda was convinced.