Chapter 1723 - WMW 97

The journey through the Serpentes Plains was extremely smooth as the Giant Serpentes avoided Leylin whom had carried the Devilish Alabaster bloodline on him,

As for those snakes without intelligence that tried to harass Leylin or treat him as a prey, they were swiftly slain by Belinda, which gave Leylin the cold shudders.

Perhaps, amongst the snakes, only those with intelligence could be considered as the same family. Those without any ability to think or those that only acted on instincts were not considered as part of them.

Furthermore, between the different races under the Snake Dowager, cannibalism and wars were often executed.

These races were mostly hovering between ranks 1 and 2, even Sophia could deal with them easily without Belinda's help.

Over time, Leylin's party gradually entered the deeper regions of the plains.

Under the purple moonlight, the plains were extremely tranquil. Time to time, flickering red light from burning coals surfaced, bringing heat to the surroundings.

Suddenly, Leylin's figure appeared above a tent with burning charcoal beside it, before flickering into concealment again.

"The distance is just right, it'll be here!"

Leylin looked up at the moonlight high up in the sky as he muttered and left the camping grounds.

He left behind a puppet equipped with basic A.I. Chip capabilities, which would be enough to deal with most situations.

Not long later, a marsh appeared in front of Leylin, where puddles seemed to be strung together on the plains, like starry shining pearls in the sky.

In this vicinity, Leylin felt large amount of energy waves which were concealed, time to time hearing the hissing and roars of giant snakes nearby.

Oftentimes, battles between creatures would surface to vye for the water source.

Leylin had passed through this region with Belinda a few days ago. However, to avoid unnecessary battles, they avoided this area. However, Leylin had etched this place into his memory back then.

"Sssiii….."

A giant snake with the circumference of a vat emerged from the marshes and opened its bloody jaws, wanting to swallow Leylin in just one bite.

"Scram!" Leylin's brows furrowed. The snake roared and escaped right after it was flicked away.

"These useless things that don't know their place are so troublesome!"

Not every low ranked snake would be subjugated to Leylin's bloodline. Back then, the grey snake that Sophia had encountered had only been subjugated due to it being extremely weak.

However, the moment rank 2 and 3 giant snakes without intelligence appeared, Leylin would only be akin to a tasty prey to them.

"Because they share the bloodline from the snake dowager, a higher ranked snake would not strike fear in them?"

Leylin suddenly grinned, "This is the right specimen that I want!"

*Boom!* A gigantic white snake phantom the size of tens of thousands of meters surfaced from behind Leylin's back, as two scarlet vertical pupils the size of stars let off a ferocious roar.

At the same time, the regal aura emanated from the huge snake.

Right now, those giant snakes without any intelligence had also slithered away quickly and left the vicinity.

Leylin was not a Warlock with mixed bloodline, hence just with the tiny trace of regalness emanated would stop the giant snakes with insatiable greed to devour him. Instead, these giant snakes with no intelligence were now extremely frightened.

"Slick…." Beds of snakes continuously left the marsh, forming a tide of giant snakes. Mixed bloodlined snakes and even those that Leylin could not identify were escaping.

"Huh! As expected, they're all weak. There aren't any traces of rank 4 species here, but it is also logical, since no matter how low their intelligence was before, they would undergo a transformation after they enter rank 4.

Leylin's gaze swept through the horde of snakes, before his eyes brightened, "It's you!"

A giant black snake was writhing and crying as it struggled in the grasp of Leylin.

This snake had black scales and its vertical pupils were filled with horror and plea. As for its strength, there were rank 3 energy waves emanating from it.

"Black Horrall Snake! The subspecies of Kemoyin! We meet again!"

A trace of remembrance shuttered past Leylin's thoughts as he watched the snake in front of him, keeping its silence.

Back then, his Kemoyin bloodline was extracted and purified from the Black Horrall Snake. Thinking of it now, even though the great Magus Serholm left his inheritance behind, it was not as powerful as it seemed to be, as he did not have any intentions of passing down the Kemoyin bloodline.

Perhaps, in Serholm's eyes, a rank 3 Warlock was strong enough to conquer the south coast and he did not want his inheritor to be swept up in the perilous dangers of the central continent.

However, it was all for naught. Even the great Magus Serholm did not expect that his inheritor would be this heaven-defying, purifying the Black Horrall Snake's bloodline into the Giant Kemoyin Serpent, turning into a powerful presence.

"I have already done this much, now I will need your strength!"

A dark red test tube appeared in Leylin's palms, where the contents within continuously frothed, filled with an ominous aura.

"The quintessence from the clone of the Monarch of Gluttony — Beelzebub! Leylin muttered. This was the huge risk he took to summon Beelzebub through the constraining spell formation before he entered the Purgatory World.

Although it had been purified many times, the quintessence still contained large amounts of Beelzebub's branding. Once used, the target will definitely be affected by the sin of gluttony. The target's intellect will disintegrate, turning into Beelzebub's puppet or the preparatory body of a clone.

"Purgatory World is too quiet, I have to introduce chaos to this place!"

Leylin chuckled as he poured half of the contents of the test tube into the Black Horrall Snake's jaws.

"Sssii!....Grrrroarrr." The Black Horrall Snake struggled continuously within Leylin's grasp as dark coloured runes appeared on its body, so much that the scales seemed to be breaking apart, as if a devil within its body was trying to break free.

"Go!" Leylin tossed the Black Horrall Snake back into the horde of snakes.

Immediately, the Black Horrall Snake attacked the other giant snakes beside it. Its pupils were filled with a type of overzealous rage, as the aura on its body exponentially increased.

*Ka-cha!* A giant boa had it's head bitten off by the Black Horrall Snake, before it was devoured completely by it.

*Sssii!*! A crackline appeared on the head of the Black Horrall Snake and expanded continuously until it exploded.

Large amounts of skin were molted. Now, a larger, stronger Black Horrall Snake appeared, its strength nearing that of a rank 4 Magus.

The Black Horrall Snake with it increased strength continued to devour the other snake species. Eventually, another head appeared from its neck, accompanied by fiendish flames spewed from its mouth.

"The fiendish transformation is even more apparent now!" Looking at the scales on the Black Horrall Snake that looked even more malevolent now, Leylin shook his head.

"Sssii…" The double headed Black Horrall Snake in this Purgatory World had advanced into rank 4, yet it did not dare to provoke Leylin.

After looking at Leylin with fear in its eyes, the black coloured purgatory snake dashed into the distance, leaving behind a trail of corpses.

"Not so stupid huh. Although you won't live happily ever after, claiming yourself as the king amongst all snakes on the plains for a short while should be a blazing glory as you were originally only rank 3 huh?

Leylin muttered, as he tossed the other half of the test-tube into the marsh behind him.

*Gulp! Gulp!* Dark red colour contents that were frothed expanded quickly in the marsh, leaving behind a peculiar smell lingering in the air.

Under the enticement of this scent, very soon a huge grey rat conquered its fear of snakes and scurried over, before lapping the water.

With each mouth, this rat only grew larger in size. Very soon, its eyes turned red, as if in an enraged mode.

Very soon, more grey rats scurried over. There were even white rabbits, accompanied by more snakes.

After these organisms had finished quenching their thirst, they began to attack other animals ferociously, at the same time transforming into unrecognisable creatures.

Looking at this scene, the corners of Leylin's lips curled up maliciously.

"Heyo Beelzebub! Are you satisfied with this Purgatory World that I found?"

By just thinking about it, Leylin knew that Beelzebub hungered for this world. It was a huge world with abundant resources. Even with the chaotic World's Will, it did not reject these new life forms on the world.

To Beelzebub, such a world held an incomparably huge enticement.

Even if Beelzebub knew what Leylin was scheming out in the open, he would still be attracted by the benefits and take a gamble. It was an irresistible trend.

"Of course, the power of gluttony is still weak in the beginning and has to be protected!"

Leylin smiled, as a pair of chaotic grey wings appeared, with the power of chaos, enveloping the marsh and its nearby region with a grey barrier.

"With this disguise, high ranked organisms would not be able to notice it until it's too late!"

Leylin laughed blandly.

Although the Snake Dowager was considered a dignitary, she would not be able to understand the continent like the back of her palms, much less monitoring the happenings across the Hale Continent.

Furthermore, with Leylin using the power of chaos intentionally for disguise and concealment, nothing can be changed when the Snake Dowager has realised it.

Moreover, this was the marshes. Any organisms which were attracted were just expendables. Leylin would not feel the pinch in his heart even if all of these creatures were completed dead.

"Man-made environments are often the weakest type of ecosystems. After this has blown out of proportions, I'm sure it will cause the Snake Dowager and the Holy City enough headaches for a few years…"

-x-X-x-

Manmade environments were often the weakest and the most susceptible to external influences.

Through the Snake Dowager's power that boosted reproduction rates, coupled with the defilement of gluttony running rampant through the plains, the combined results of both of these would not just be a simple addition, but a powerful immeasurable change in the rate itself. Even Leylin himself highly anticipated the changes that were bound to happen.

The most important thing was that those effects were all due to the power of laws. Leylin had barely done anything at all to make that happen, which fully removed him from the situation.

Even the Snake Dowager herself would only suspect that it was the Monarch of Gluttony invading from another world, and thus her attention would be diverted away from Leylin.

With these two law wielding existences vying to control this world, what sparks would it bring about?

Just thinking of it amused Leylin.

Finally, Leylin gave one last lingering look at this marsh that was riddled with chaos and gluttony, before leaving and not giving one more glance at it.

Now that the seed has been planted, how it would develop and grow would no longer be under his control.

The next morning, Leylin brought Belinda and Sophia away from this area.

"What's wrong? Nick? Did you sense any danger?"

Belinda felt that Leylin's actions were somewhat suspicious.

"I have a premonition that something hugely unfavourable to us is happening behind our backs!" Leylin put on a solemn face, his eyes filled with worry.

"Mm, Sofia also felt it, that evil sensation, full of chaos and gluttony…" Belinda was still half-suspicious, but what surprised Leylin was Sofia, who stood to the side and nodded in agreement, her eyes filled with fear.

"That frightening evil feeling has become a vortex just behind our backs, and its range is still expanding, sister! Let's leave this place right now, please!"

Sofia's eyes widened and her shoulders began to tremble slightly.

"Alright, we'll leave at once," Belinda put her arm around Sofia's shoulders and began to gently console her, no longer having any thoughts on Leylin's proposal to leave. However, Leylin looked at Sofia and took measure of her with great interest.

"I really couldn't tell, although her bloodline power isn't particularly concentrated, she has this innately sharp perception... Does it originate from the sensitivity of her soul?

Although Sofia had sharp perceptive powers, it was a pity that she was facing Leylin, who was an old hand at this and was already in the middle of his long life. He was long able to bury his own emotions at the bottom of his heart, and put an end to anyone sensing or peeping on his feelings.

Consequently, Sofia thought that brother Nick smiled gently and had a comforting expression, and never discovered even the slightest trace of his investigations, hidden deep within.

"This sort of innate soul sensitivity, although there is still room for it to develop, for now it is far too weak," Seeing this, Leylin could only shake his head and urge on the giant earth lizard once again to continue its journey.

...

With Leylin's secret calculations, and with his true body faintly emitting a powerful aura, the beasts afflicted with the desire for gluttony didn't dare to come and offend him as he gradually left the area behind. Sofia had also slowly calmed down, and had recovered to her original childish appearance.

Leylin had left a wake of terrifying desire for gluttony behind, and its influence continued to spread. Afflicted rank 4 and rank 5 continuously emerged and began to fight those intelligent Morning Star serpent clans.

By the time the Snake Dowager took it seriously, it was already too late.

The abundant resources of the Allsnake Plains, as well as the superior snake species living in it were nurtured by the Snake Dowager with utmost care. However, it had become a paradise for gluttony to grow.

Naturally, as this area was too vast, gluttony was limited to wreaking havoc in the tiniest part of it. With Leylin's arrangement and interference from chaotic power, even though it spread quickly, it did not attract much attention.

Only with the passing of time did this situation become more and more complex, and became even more frightening.

As the originator of this disaster, Leylin didn't particularly manage the matter further. After ten days had passed, after they passed through yet another long journey, the Holy City of all snake descendents and the heart of the Hale Continent had appeared before their very eyes.

"At our current speed, we will arrive at the Holy City tomorrow at noon, at the very latest!"

Belinda looked at the map in her hand and spoke confidently.

Leylin only lightly nodded. In reality, he had already seen some changes on their journey today.

A few small snake hybrids began to appear, and there were even established ranches and botanical gardens. Everything he had seen told him he had entered an area of superior intelligent species.

"My friend, Aegnis, holds the post of the highest ranked guard in the Holy City, I believe she will definitely help us!"

Belinda looked rather excited, and Leylin knew what she was thinking about.

As a wanted criminal of the Trial's Eye, Belinda definitely felt that it was a horrible situation to be in. If she could not resolve this affair, perhaps she would have to go into hiding with Sofia for the rest of their lives.

However, this place was the Hale Continent, and Belinda hadn't really betrayed the Trial's Eye, but had only rebelled against one of its forces, even if she had gone a little overboard.

If she gained the protection of a powerful person in the Holy City, although it couldn't undo the Trial's Eye influence and repeal the arrest warrant, it would be possible to keep the affair under wraps. Belinda certainly would be able to live with Sofia freely in the sunlight.

"To do this, one would need to be rather powerful. Belinda's previous status wouldn't let her do it, unless her friend is a direct descendent from a major clan…"

Leylin stroked his chin and had already guessed everything.

"That Aegnis, is she from a great clan in the Holy City or an influential direct descendant?" He directly asked.

"You really guessed it," Belinda froze, apparently surprised at Leylin's perceptive abilities, but she did not deny it. "Yes, Aegnis is from the Steward family, one of the top 10 most influential families in the Holy City. They possess the Matriarch's most noble bloodline as direct descendants, and for generations they have served as the Holy City's fundamental defenders."

"As long as I rely on the Steward Family, the earlier 'Eye of Sacrifice' organisation I was in wouldn't dare to offend them. So after some time, there is some hope for me to renegotiate with them about the arrest warrant!"

Belinda had evidently planned everything out, "And so, with her help, we will definitely be able to secure a settlement certificate. Nick, are you…"

Belinda was clearly rather worried that Leylin wouldn't be able to save face in this situation, but this was something she was needlessly worrying about.

"Don't worry, I have no issues with this," Leylin smiled.

What was the point of saving face? Leylin didn't care about it at all. Additionally, he had helped Belinda from the very beginning, and had even secretly taken her feelings into account, wasn't it all for this purpose?

Leylin had previously heard of the stringent rules of the Holy City. If one didn't have a powerful guarantor vouching for them, then with his status as an unidentified foreigner, it would be incredibly difficult for him to settle there, to the point where it would be easier for him to fly than to become a citizen.

Especially after he had secretly set things into motion, one could gather that the Holy City would become more and more lively. Without any real basis for entering, perhaps he would suffer a lot of harassment.

Compared to that, saving face in this situation was definitely not an issue.

Leylin had always focused solely on benefits, and with his current identity as a mixed-blood Alabaster Devilsnake and as Nick the wanderer, no matter how humiliating it was, how could it bother him?

It had to be said that in some respects, Leylin's moral integrity was rather heinous.

"That's good," Belinda's eyes grew warmer, with a satisfied look.

In reality, she was confident about settling down herself in the Holy City, but if Leylin didn't agree to bow his head and give in, then his unknown origin would definitely pose a huge problem.

Seeing that he had now agreed to yield made her immediately feel more relieved.

"I still have some savings, and with our strength we can accept missions in the Holy City. The pay will be sufficient for us to live on! As for Sofia, I must hire a governess or a nanny to prepare her for marriage in the future…"

Belinda seemed to be immersed in her plans for the future, until the last part where she secretly stole a glance at Leylin. She secretly blushed, but then immediately forced that expression away.

"I-It's already getting late, we should rest…"

Belinda seemed to become unconsciously shy, and pulled Sofia, who was still playing, into her tent. Sofia's dissatisfied cries of "No, no!" could be heard.

Leylin looked in the direction where Belinda had left and stroked his chin, with a strange smile appearing on his face.

...

"Then… Goodnight, girls!"

Leylin came to their tent and softly spoke to them.

"Goodnight, Nick," Belinda's voice was rather shaky, and finally he heard Sofia's voice, "Brother Nick, I want to tell you…"

"Ah!" Sofia's voice was interrupted, and immediately Belinda's humiliated and angry scolding could be heard.

Seeing the noisy and unstable tent, Leylin only smiled a little and returned to his own tent.

If it wasn't for the Allsnake Curse on his body, and how close he was to the Holy City and the Snake Dowager, he wouldn't have minded playing more games with Belinda.

However, Leylin wasn't in the mood due to the huge pressure of the curse.

In fact, if his willpower and acting skills weren't so good, perhaps Belinda would have seen through him already.

After his everyday routine had been arranged, Leylin's expression became solemn and imposing.

"Tomorrow, we'll arrive at the Holy City, the headquarters of the Snake Dowager."

There was a dark expression in Leylin's eyes, "Everything I have, as well as my hopes of breaking the bloodline shackles- whether I fail or succeed all depends on my next move!"

-x-X-x-

"But before that, I should finish doing everything else." A crystal ball emerged in Leylin's hands, with a red-eyed little snake, with scales as pure white as jade, wriggling around within.

Bound within the ball was Belinda's father, a rank 5 pure-blooded Alabaster Devil. This was the beast spirit of Kenta! If Belinda were to find out, things might get troublesome, but Leylin didn't really care about her anymore.

Besides, Leylin was very confident in his concealing techniques.

Now, the hatred and obstinate look in the beast spirit's eyes had disappeared, and all that was left was bewilderment.

Leylin was very satisfied upon seeing this.

[Beep! Scan of target completed. All hostility in its subconscious has been removed.] At this moment, the A.I. Chip prompted in a robotic tone.

"Good! My hard work for almost a whole month hasn't been in vain! I've finally tamed him."

Leylin pressed his fingers against the crystal, allowing the little white snake to break free of its bindings. It flit between his fingers, and even seemed to have a sense of dependence on him. A month ago, that would have been unthinkable.

"No matter how poor my spirit sealing spell formation is, it seems that there's a chance of success over 50%!"

Leylin's lips quirked in a smile, "Just as well. I'll seal him completely tonight!"

Leylin was very attracted to the Purgatory World's strength systems. In this period of time, he had almost completely figured out and understood the strength systems here.

In Purgatory World, besides the innate abilities of the various races, these two strength systems were the most widespread: The path of offerings and the path of beast spirits!

The path of offerings entirely depended on the dignitary. If you gained the dignitary's favour, you would attain more power and reach a higher Sacrificer rank even if you weren't as devout, or even if the offerings were lacking. However, the price was having your body completely branded by the power of the dignitary, or even breaking off all possibilities of entering rank 7, the realm of laws. Of course, for devout followers, this method of 'existing together with one's god' might perhaps satisfy their thirst and desire even more.

The path of beast spirits was more primal. This path depended on hunting large beasts and refining them into beast spirits, and then sealing them to be ordered around in combat.

Though it sounded simple, every time they sealed a beast spirit there was a huge challenge to a beast spirit master's own soul, in terms of its cultivation and strength. If the seal failed, there were far too many instances in Purgatory World of the beast spirit devouring the master instead.

The higher-ranked the beast spirit, the more terrifying their resistance was. Hatred that retained from the soul were extremely dangerous for all beast spirit masters.

Of course, once a beast spirit of a certain rank had been successfully sealed, the beast spirit master would naturally rise to that rank.

After sealing, the beast spirit master could not only order the beast spirit to fight, one could also enjoy the many benefits to the soul from the beast spirit.

For this reason, there were so many beast spirit masters who did not fear death and pursued high-ranked beast spirits and did their best to seal them, though failure was very common.

While Leylin had a deep understanding of the path of beast spirits, beast spirits were very difficult to obtain. He only had a Gudrick beast spirit that was rank 3 and yet to mature. Hence, his beast spirit master ranking was only 3!

That was fine though. At the White River Valley, Leylin had massacred Belinda's family and extracted the soul of her father, refining him into a beast spirit.

A rank 5 Alabaster Devilsnake beast spirit was very rare even in the whole Purgatory World.

Even on the Serpentes Plains, there weren't many rank 5 giant snakes. Leylin hadn't seen any, and most of them travelled around in groups. If it were to move, the whole race would move along with it.

In Leylin's eyes, these giant snakes were less outstanding compared to the Alabaster Devilsnakes.

"Whether as a bloodline imprint or as a cover, this beast spirit will be the most helpful to me!"

Leylin observed the little snake in his hands. The snake even flicked its scarlet tongue, constantly licking at his fingertips.

He had gathered much of the bloodline of the Alabaster Devilsnake and even attempted at creating bloodline imprints, giving him the key to entering the Dreamscape at will.

If he had the beast spirit of the Alabaster Devilsnake as well, whether a bloodline imprint was made, used, or if he were to explore Dreamscape, he would have great advantages. Leylin had always liked preparing things well, and if his plan were to fail, then dreamforce would be his trump card. Hence, Leylin's research had been focused on exploring Dreamscape.

Besides this, for Leylin who had snuck into holy city, having an Alabaster Devilsnake beast spirit was another insurance for him.

While he had the bloodline traces on the Mask of the Dreamless, as well as the cover from the Nefarious Filthbird's power of chaos, Leylin didn't mind adding another layer of security.

"What comprises of a life form is both the bloodline and the soul.'

Leylin mumbled, "With replenishment from her family, the consumption to the Mask of the Dreamless' bloodline has been made up for. With this beast spirit, I can use it in place of my soul at crucial moments. Even if the Snake Dowager were to scan over a large area, I'm sure I can hide from her…"

Using the aura of a beast spirit as a substitute for his own might be just a dream to the inhabitants of Purgatory World, but this was no issue for Leylin. What was more important was that the main material for the beast spirit was a soul. Hence, there was nothing that would not merge. With the A.I. Chip, Leylin was very confident.

"Hence, the beast spirit of the Alabaster Devilsnake is my best choice!"

Leylin's eyes shone with determination, "Furthermore, after becoming a rank 5 beast spirit master, my truesoul will probably reach full-moon."

The increase of strength in any amount was a chance hard to come by.

[Beep! Beginning seal of beast spirit. Setting up rank 5 soul sealing spell formation.] The A.I. Chip's voice sounded. Meanwhile, an intricate soul spell formation diagram was shown.

Leylin was only a rank 3 beast spirit master now, and if inhabitants of Purgatory World were to hear that he wanted to seal a rank 5 beast spirit, they would say he was merely dreaming.

Even rank 4 beast spirit masters did not dare do this even after obtaining a rank 5 beast spirit. At the very least, they would have the confidence to attempt this after sealing more rank 4 beast spirits and nourishing their soul for centuries.

A rank 3 beast spirit master? The body would probably not be able to bear the powerful undulations of a rank 5 beast spirit and just crumble, with there being a chance of exploding into bloody mist!

But Leylin was no ordinary person. His truesoul was at half-moon, and his body, which had been strengthened by bloodline force and various techniques overtime gave him this confidence.

"Compared to rank 5 beast spirit masters of Purgatory World, rank 5 Magi souls have already condensed their truesoul. The density and quality is incomparable. The power of their soul, what the soul can withstand and precision in controlling it exceeds that of a rank 5 beast spirit master by several levels! Besides, my body and vitality has already gone through bloodline force and Multilimb Strength and received boosts from body tempering spell formations. A mere rank 5 beast spirit…"

Beast spirit masters of Purgatory World could seal beast spirits as long as they were lucky enough. Their bodies would then be nourished by the beast spirit, which meant just lying around would allow them to increase their strength. Once they hit the limits of the beast spirit, they could just seal a new spirit. This turned into a cycle.

Compared to Magi who had to be cautious at all times, study continuously and advance, their method might seem comfortable and easy, but it lacked the most important experience and knowledge!

At the soul level, Magi of the Magus World could definitely look down on these beast spirit masters. If they obtained suitable beast spirits, the speed at which Magi would adapt to and seal the beast spirit would be faster than beast spirit masters.

"The reason the path of beast spirits did not prosper in the Magus World is related to the different laws of the world, and might have something to do with the extinction of species in the central continent. After all, which world has as many beast spirit resources as in Purgatory World?"

Making sense of his thoughts, Leylin looked solemn.

The path of beast spirits was worthy of Magi looking into. At the very least, the soul sealing spell formation, the beast spirit turning on the owner, coordination between the soul and the flesh were all huge inspirations for Leylin to conduct experiments.

While he focused on the path of bloodline Warlocks, Leylin would not look down on other strength systems. No matter how insignificant it might seem, anything that was passed down was definitely worthy of looking into.

Only by constantly studying would the path of Magi be filled with fervour and life.

[Starting atomic microscope. Helping with carving of rank 5 soul sealing spell formation.] Along with the A.I. Chip's voice, an intricate spell formation began to appear at the back of Leylin's hand.

At the heart of the profound spell formation was a twisted pentagon diagram and many soul runes filled with mystery and savagery. These were key to subduing beast spirits, and even led to beast spirits turning on the beast spirit master.

Even the A.I. Chip was unable to analyse some of the runes and could only use them as much as possible.

The rays emitted from the spell formation enveloped the Alabaster Devilsnake beast spirit, and the little snake began to float.

"Hss…" While already tamed, the little white snake showed signs of resistance.

However, the familiar soul force from Leylin's eyes felt very familiar to the little white snake, and it now had an internal conflict.

Gradually, the bundle of light around the little white snake came closer to the spell formation on the back of Leylin's hand.

"Now's the time. Seal!"

Along with Leylin's cry, the soul sealing spell formation suddenly emitted rays of light that absorbed that bundle of light.

"Next up… is a contest between souls!"

-x-X-x-

Leylin closed his eyes.

Now, in his gloomy soul space, his half-moon truesoul showed itself. Opposite it was the little white snake from before.

"Hss…"

This contest had already happened many times in the past month. Hence, after sensing the familiar soul aura that belonged to Leylin's truesoul, the Alabaster Devilsnake beast spirit immediately became fearful.

"Obey or die!"

Leylin did not give the beast spirit much time and immediately warned, boundless half-moon truesoul strength descending and pressing the little white snake to the ground.

"Hss…" The snake flicked its tongue and chose to obey. A flash of cold, clear moonlight entered through its eyes, controlling it completely.

Gradually, the eyes became dazed, and a half moon appeared...

[Beep! Host has successfully sealed rank 5 Alabaster Devilsnake beast spirit. Promoted to rank 5 beast spirit master!]

The A.I. Chip's voice sounded. Everything had gone extremely smoothly with how everything had been set up.

A beast spirit above rank 4 usually had some malicious intent or memory fragments from the body. For a soul like this that had lost all its will and was defiant, beast spirit masters found this very troublesome.

Even if the beast spirit was successfully tamed eventually, a part of the beast spirit's soul source would be consumed from battle and cause it to weaken.

However, Leylin had long since tamed it, which allowed the sealing process to go smoothly.

The soul sealing spell formation had already been optimised by the A.I. Chip, which raised the compatibility between the beast spirit master and the beast spirit to the highest. Hence, not only had Leylin successfully become a rank 5 beast spirit master, but he also could display the full strength of the original Alabaster Devilsnake beast spirit!

"But the process of sealing a beast spirit has already been deduced by the A.I. Chip to have a success rate of 90%. The process of the boost is the most important…"

At this thought, Leylin looked more grim than before, and placed his focus deep in his sea of consciousness amongst the point mass nebulae.

[Beep! Boost of rank 5 beast spirit beginning.]

Along with the A.I. Chip's voice, a fantastic change happened in his sea of consciousness.

On the back of Leylin's hand, a vivid tattoo of a little white snake appeared and roved around. A stream of pure soul force spiralled as it was absorbed and devoured into the point mass vortex in his sea of consciousness. The refining process was repeated and then abruptly poured into the point mass.

The point mass of a Radiant Moon Magus had already formed, the two innate runes on it were extremely dazzling.

Within the point mass, Leylin's half-moon truesoul was cheering excitedly. The point mass, that was like a full moon that was already half filled with light, suddenly expanded, charging towards filling the other half.

After entering the realm of a rank 5 Radiant Moon, a Magus' truesoul was like a full moon, signifying fullness.

The strength of soul force would show on the surface of the round moon. From the crescent to the half-moon, and then to the most powerful full moon; these would show the various phases of rank 5 Magi as they trained.

Leylin's truesoul had only been at half moon, but with the help of the Alabaster Devilsnake beast spirit, he began to make a burst for the full moon!

[Beep! Rank 5 beast spirit boost has begun. Host's soul force is being enhanced. All stats are changing…]

The A.I. Chip's voice sounded at this moment.

[Beep! Detected that Host's soul force has reached threshold. Beginning upgrade. Now at 210.]

[Beep! Host has absorbed a large amount of purified soul origin. Soul force upgrading. Now at 220.]

The A.I. Chip's prompts kept refreshing, and accompanied by its robotic intones, Leylin's half-moon truesoul within his point mass filled up, beginning to transform into a full moon rank.

230! 240! 250! With the boost from the rank 5 beast spirit, the rate of progress of his truesoul could be said to be terrifying.

His truesoul that was already full began to expand in size, the luster from a full moon practically filling the whole truesoul.

At this very moment, something strange happened!

"Hss!" At Leylin's forehead, a black snake rune that was bound by thorny chains appeared, with a seal from the concentrated power of chaos circling it.

[Beep! Detected disorder from the Curse Mark of Ten Thousand Snakes. Determined to be triggered by sudden increase of soul force. Now flaring up.]

With the A.I. Chip's voice, Leylin felt that there seemed to be a terrifying black hole in his body that began to absorb much of his bloodline and soul force.

"No!" Leylin's eyes were filled with wisps of blood immediately.

Though he'd already known that with the seal of the curse, it would be difficult to increase his strength, Leylin did not expect it to be this serious.

Based on his plans, after raising his truesoul to full moon, he would then reach peak rank 5. Even with the suppression of the curse mark, he could still regain his strength and even surpass it.

After all, if Leylin's previous strength was 10 and the seal decreased it by 2, the strength he had left would only be 8.

But once Leylin reached peak rank 5, the limits of his strength would rise to 15, and even with the weakening of the seal by 2, he would still have 13 which far exceeded what he currently had.

However, the terror of the curse mark and the Snake Dowager's adeptness at curses exceeded his expectations.

"Power of chaos!" A grey illusory feather appeared in Leylin's hand. Large amounts of crystallisation of chaos combusted, beginning to support the seal on his forehead.

"The curse mark even has the function of automatically increasing strength along with the increase of strength in the host body!"

Leylin looked terrible at this point, and his expression turned into one of determination. He'd already had a contingency plan for this, but it wasn't a crucial time yet and he didn't want to waste this.

"Fine! Don't you want to absorb me? I'll give you everything!"

With his eyes red, Leylin ordered. A fiery-red jade-like crystal suddenly appeared from his spatial item, with flaming red luster and the indistinct phoenix cry!

The Soul Unique Item— The essence of the fragments of the phoenix egg, also the gem of Lava World! It could enhance soul force as long as the host's vitality could withstand it.

Though Leylin had already reached the limits before, after sealing a beast spirit, his own vitality had been enhanced. On top of what he had been amassing all this time, it was enough for him to use this essence again.

*Chirp Chirp!*

A black demonic fire phoenix suddenly emerged from Leylin's back, devouring the phoenix egg.

*Rumble!* Golden, brilliant flames burnt around him, and turned a demonic black.

Terrifying soul force that brought with it boiling fiery rays appeared around Leylin's body, and filled the black hole of the curse mark.

*Chirp chirp!* Compared to bloodline force, the soul force that had the burning powers of the ancient phoenix caused the black hole to ripple, fiery-red rays flashing from deep within the black hole.

"Get lost!"

With Leylin's roar, the curse mark on his forehead abruptly pulled back and even had a red scratch on it. Great amounts of the power of chaos formed a seal around the mark, suppressing it.

[Beep! Host has absorbed essence of phoenix egg. Obtained much soul origin. Soul force numbers increasing.]

With its voice, Leylin's soul force numbers shot forward like a rocket, and in almost that instant, broke through the 250 bottleneck. After a few jumps, it broke through the critical point of 300!

[Beep! Host body's soul force has broken through 300, reached full moon. Host's stats have all changed. Recalculating.]

The A.I. Chip's voice was still transmitting, but Leylin had no energy to investigate. His attention was now on the truesoul in the point mass.

The truesoul that was like a full moon had not only swollen up to the extreme, its whole body was filled with clear luster that gave off a feeling of perfectness.

"This is… the truesoul of peak rank 5 at full moon?"

Leylin mumbled as he gazed upon the gigantic full moon truesoul, looking drunk. The full moon not only had a clear luster, there was also a golden line that shimmered in and out of existence at the heart of it. However, it was covered by the brightness surrounding it. Unless he stared at it, he wouldn't notice it.

"This is… when soul force has a qualitative change…"

Leylin's eyes momentarily showed confusion, but was then filled with elation.

"I know, this is rank 6 truesoul force! Once Radiant Moon Magi reach full moon, their truesouls have already reached the limit. The next thing to do is to change the soul force from negative to positive energy, turning into the truesoul like a scorching sun of rank 6 Breaking Dawn Magi!"

"This golden line signifies my truesoul has already reached the limits of rank 5 and is beginning to transform into rank 6!"

Leylin sighed. For regular rank 5 Magi, getting their truesoul to full moon was already exceptionally difficult. They would have to work unceasingly to get their truesoul to fill completely and then automatically upgrade. That would take centuries, but Leylin had reached full moon in an instant.

"With negative soul force, I need to produce positive energy from this dark negative energy in order to gain solidified positive force. It's not something a rank 5 beast spirit can achieve. The only explanation would be the essence of the phoenix egg!"

Leylin's pupils brightened, "The phoenix egg contains not just a large amount of soul origin force that can strengthen a Magus' soul, but also possesses anode soul force, and its the guide for full moon Magi to promote. That's saved me hundreds of years of hard work!"

In that moment, Leylin thought of the reason.

-x-X-x-

The method to refine negative soul force into positive and obtain the essence of positive soul force was the key for a rank 5 Radiant Moon Magus becoming a rank 6 Breaking Dawn Monarch.

The phoenix egg was the treasure of the Lava World after all, and the positive power it possessed could save most Radiant Moon Magi centuries worth of hard work.

If this was seen by those Breaking Dawn Monarchs who had broken through with hard work or peak rank 5 Radiant Moon who were still training desperately, they might be so jealous of Leylin that they might go crazy with envy.

"But that means the phoenix egg has been completely used up…" Leylin found this result quite a pity. With the boost from the rank 5 beast spirit, that was enough to push him to full moon. The phoenix egg left behind could be used in training at rank 6.

With the abundance of positive soul force in the egg, which could even help a Breaking Dawn Monarch advance at lightning speed, using it recklessly now as a rank 5 made him feelextremely wasteful.

Due to the limitations of his bloodline, Leylin's truesoul already had signs of transforming into an substantialised positive soul, and he would never be able to succeed unless he completely rid himself of his bloodline curse.

"It's too early to talk about rank 6. I'll need to focus on the benefits that I now have!" While he found it a pity, Leylin was optimistic about the use of the phoenix egg. Due to the interference of the Allsnake Curse, he would not have been able to reach full moon if not for the power of the phoenix egg.

If the same thing were to happen again, Leylin was sure that he would make the same choice.

Ridding himself of other thoughts, Leylin gazed at the A.I. Chip's stats column. As he had forcefully broken through to full moon, much of his stats had undergone huge changes.

[Leylin Farlier. Rank 5 Warlock. Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent (Complete form). Strength: 70 (85), Agility: 53 (66), Vitality: 175 (200.7), Spiritual force: 2315 (3001.2), Magic power: 2315 (Magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force). Soul force: 232 (300) State: Boost from full moon truesoul and status as rank 4 Sacrificer. Rank 5 beast spirit seal: Alabaster Devilsnake. Estimation of Allsnake Curse's next flare-up : 19 years.]

"As expected, after advancing, all the limits have increased. Even with restrictions of the curse marks, I've basically returned to my most powerful state before, with some increases even!" Leylin's eyes shone as he felt the power in all parts of his body and couldn't help but clench his fists, "Only this power would be enough for my plans in the holy city!"

"But…" Leylin, who had regained his calm, watched the insides of the tents that now looked messy and could not help but laugh wryly, "Thankfully, I set up a seal. Otherwise, Belinda and Sophia would have been alarmed."

"The flare up of the Allsnake Curse happened with the Snake Dowager so close…"

Leylin looked incomparably serious, "A.I. Chip, activate strongest preventative measures!"

[Beep! Mission established. Initiation underway.]

Numerous white scaly patterns formed the most intricate patterns on Leylin's face. Meanwhile, the Alabaster Devilsnake beast spirit tattoo on Leylin's body began to wander around, emitting a unique soul undulation.

After making all the preparations, a tremendous conscient was like a tsunami, spreading from the holy city.

"What is it, Mighty Mistress? Who dares go against you and caused you such ire?"

Such a terrifying conscient shocked many in that instant. Belinda and Sophia had walked out of their tents and knelt in the direction of the holy city, bodies trembling in the moonlight.

"She's naturally looking for me!"

Leylin snickered inside, though on the surface, he looked to be kneeling in reverence and trepidation, praying that the Mistress would calm her anger. Of course, Leylin knew that before he was captured, this would be impossible.

Sensing this conscient roaring above him and passing him by, yet not doubting him at all, his lips quirked in a smile.

"As expected, the double cover of my soul and bloodline, as well as support of the feather of chaos, makes it impossible for the Snake Dowager to find me with this kind of scan with her conscient unless she sees me personally."

This was definitely good news to Leylin.

Though the Nefarious Filthbird had guaranteed this, Leylin did not dare place too much hope on it.

When it came to life and death situations, he would not mind using all methods possible to increase his rate of success.

"Hss!" Realising that doing that would not help her find Leylin, the temporary wave of soul undulations passed and instead, a bright bundle of light rose like the sun from holy city.

Within the sun was a gigantic snake ball figure that was like a sun, and there were even sounds of sacrificial chanting from there.

These sounds were very ancient and had some strange pitches that caused one to be intoxicated in it.

"This…" Just after hearing a little, Leylin's expression immediately changed.

[Warning! Warning! Host's curse mark is acting up.] The A.I. Chip's voice sounded in time, before a rune began to flicker on Leylin's forehead.

Thankfully, Belinda and Sophia now had their heads down as they closed their eyes to pray, or else they'd definitely notice the change in Leylin.

"Feather of Chaos, ignite the crystals and get back!"

The blood vessels on Leylin's face writhed, and immediately after, two forces began a dangerous confrontation inside.

*Chirp chirp!* At this moment, the flame imprints that were already on the curse mark began to flash with red lights, and Leylin seemed to hear the cry of a primordial fire phoenix.

With the joint work of the two, the flare up of the curse mark was suppressed.

Only after the illusion from the holy city disappeared did Leylin sigh deeply, and hastily reinforced his appearance-changing methods to hide any external changes, which was how Belinda did not notice anything different.

Even so, it was impossible to hide everything that had happened.

No matter what repercussions there were from the Snake Dowager's sudden anger, Leylin and the others had to carry on their journey.

"Nick! I…" Belinda glanced at Leylin, who was the same as before, and seemed to have something to say.

"What's wrong?" Leylin turned, a tender look and smile on his face as if nothing had happened.

"Oh, no, it's nothing!" Belinda looked dazed, and also a little confused, "It just feels like something about you has changed, but I don't know what it is for sure."

"It's the smell!" Sophia, who was ahead, turned back, eyes full of happiness as she sniffed at Leylin.

"The smell on Brother Nick's body is even more aromatic, and Sophia feels more close to him!"

"Stop it!" Belinda grabbed at Sophia's little face, causing her to frown.

Meanwhile, Leylin was stunned at her keen senses.

"I was discovered so quickly! Such a pure and sensitive soul is rather rare."

Leylin naturally knew the reason why Belinda felt something was off, since a peak full moon truesoul was worlds apart from what things had been the previous day. Even if Leylin did all he could to conceal this, there would still be a subtle difference.

Besides, the rank 5 beast spirit that Leylin had chosen to seal was Belinda and her sister's father! The bloodline aura from someone of the same kind and family had caused Sophia to realise what was off.

"However, from her experiences, I doubt she's discovered this. If she found out the feeling of feeling closer to me came from her father, she might be fearful. After all, Kenta didn't give the siblings a good impression…"

Pondering over this for a while, Leylin continued the journey with the sisters.

Though nothing had changed from the previous day, and Leylin was still chatting and joking with them cheerfully on the way, he was actually reading the contents of the prompt on the A.I. Chip, and his heart could not calm.

[Beep! Affected by Snake Dowager's undulations. Variation to Curse Mark of Ten Thousand Snakes, increasing corroding ability.]

[Curse of Corrosion– High grade variation of the curse mark. After entering region of Snake Dowager's influence, Host's life force will constantly be absorbed till death. The process is irreversible.]

"After realising she can't find me, she's used this method to force me to show myself?"

Feeling the life force in his body unceasingly being seized from his body, and his body heading towards death gradually, Leylin's lips quirked in a smile instead, "But… for you, who can only do this much, does it mean you have no other ways of limiting me?"

"It's not just my bloodline and soul force, but even my life force is being absorbed by the curse, subduing my strength.]

Leylin raised his arm, his pale skin and firm muscles full of life. However, he could feel a sense of losing something.

"Under the effects of the corrosion, my body's life energy is quickly dissipating. Though there aren't obvious changes on the outside, in just a few years time, my appearance will become that of an old person… Even with appearance changing techniques, it wouldn't be able to conceal these changes…"

"Just from the bloodline curse, I have about 19 years left, but with the curse that corrodes my life force…"

He smiled wryly.

He had a feeling that this sort of complex curse would have even worse effects the closer he got to the Snake Dowager.

This would go on till the day the curse mark completely flared up and ruined his soul, causing him to die, or until he would be discovered by the Snake Dowager.

"So many restrictions and so much pressure! How… enjoyable! This is too enjoyable!"

Leylin brushed the back of his hand against his lips slowly, "Such power restrictions is so enjoyable! The greater the pressure, the worse the backlash! I can't wait to see the day I destroy these restraints and soar!"

-x-X-x-

"The Hail Continent's holy city!" Leylin muttered as he sized up this city that seemed to have been built by giants.

The entire city was filled with brilliant lights, and what was the most unforgettable was the giant sculpture at the very heart of the city.

It was a very bewitching female with long hair with separated out and transformed into exotic snakes of all kinds. There were the iant Kemoyin Serpents, the Alabaster Devilsnakes, Three-headed Pythons, and many other species could be found within the hair of this snake chieftess.

"The sculpture must have been made with the Snake Dowager as the model. I can see it so clearly even outside the city, and if I were to determine the scale, it must be over tens of thousands of metres tall…"

Leylin's eyes were full of admiration. If not for the spell formations and other assistance from other worlds, a statue of this scale could never have been accomplished.

The secret undulations hidden in various parts of the holy city made Leylin's expression change slightly. While he was unable to detect rank 7 existences, the radiation from rank 6 Breaking Moons could no longer resist the A.I. Chip's scans.

Hence, Leylin was certain that there were at least ten rank 6s in the holy city, and they were all descendants of the Snake Dowager!

'From the intel and what I saw yesterday, the Snake Dowager is here, but I don't know where she is.'

"Keke..." Leylin suddenly began to cough.

"What's wrong, Nick?" Belinda and Sophia looked over, their eyes full of concern.

"It- It's nothing!" Leylin laughed forcefully, hiding his palm that now had traces of blood.

"In the holy city, where the Snake Dowager's aura is even more concentrated, the rate at which my life force depletes is even faster. With this rate, I might not be able to hold on for a few years, but thankfully, these few years should be enough!"

"I was just a little emotional after seeing such a huge city. Let's get in! Have you notified your friend yet?"

"I've already notified Aegnis. She'll be here soon!" Belinda laughed.

The three of them now stood outside the huge holy city. There were three huge triumphal arches, and a bridge that was tens of metres long. Below it was a surging moat, though the waters were black and gave an ominous feeling.

The gates of the city opened, and many half-snake people and even pure-bloods passed by in an orderly manner.

"That's…" Upon seeing this, Leylin's eyes narrowed.

The queue that wound around like a long snake suddenly had a small disturbance near the gates, and immediately after, a half-snake person with black scales on its face wailed as he was separated out, and was pushed into the black moat.

"Ah…" Its mournful cries vanished in an instant, and Leylin immediately saw only white bones, and even then, they melted quickly.

"Just now…" Leylin's eyes shifted to the stone sculpture of snakes on the city gate. The vertical pupils of the sculptures were now flickering with green light.

"Seems like when that snake being passed by, the eyes of the sculptures turned bright red! Is that some sort of bloodline identification system?" Leylin was slightly afraid, because he had not found anything strange about that snake person earlier.

"That is the Snake Sculpture found everywhere in the holy city. As long as there are residents whose souls or bloodlines aren't pure, or have not gotten permission, all will be detected and thrown into the Howling Abyss!"

There was a grim look on her face, "Based on the system of the holy city, whether it's bloodline beings with unknown origins or wanted criminals, none can stay in the holy city!"

"Oh! In other words, if you and I were to enter, the sculpture's eyes would turn red, and many soldiers would be attracted?"

Leylin stroked his chin, "What benefits are there, for so many of them to scramble there?"

"Benefits?" Belinda smiled wryly, "There are obviously a lot! First of all, all those who get permission to stay in holy city will have their safety guaranteed. In the Hail Continent, there are few organisations who dare treat residents of the holy city roughly!"

"Absolute protection?" Leylin nodded. In this era of living from hand to mouth, absolute protection was a dream come true for the weak.

"Also, the holy city is the core of the Hail Continent. You'll be able to get anything at all here, even the most highly-ranked strength systems, the best offerings and beast spirits… but most importantly…" At the mention of the holy city, she evidently became excited.

"What's most important is that the entire holy city has gained the favour of the Mistress, and all of those who live here will have the purity of their blood not fall in rank and even continuously increase based on the length of time they stay here." Another voice sounded from the side, and along with a streak of black light, there were two more figures appearing.

"Aegnis!" Upon seeing who had arrived, Belinda grinned brilliantly.

"Belinda, my sister! We haven't seen each other in around 132 years!" Someone headed over and gave Belinda an enthusiastic hug. This must be the good friend that Belinda had constantly mentioned, Aegnis.

Leylin could not help but size up this being. She had short brown hair, a tall stature, fair and glowing skin, and she wore tight-fitting armour that seemed to be made of crystal. Her fine nose was raised, and she had a heroic air to her. While a female, she had a gender-neutral beauty to her.

What surprised Leylin was the bloodline aura of her body. This even caused him some fear. This was definitely the bloodline of a rank 6 giant serpent, and Aegnis herself had already reached rank 5.

'She evidently has the formidability of pure blood nobility! She's only half-mature, and already has rank 5 strength. Once her bloodline completely matures, reaching rank 6 isn't an issue! I can't tell her Sacrificer and beast spirit master ranks though…' Leylin silently began to judge her strength.

Compared to a mixed-blood like Belinda, she had a pure bloodline from a giant serpent. In other words, her main body was a python, and her human form was just for convenience.

"It must have been a miraculous coincidence that these two could have become good friends from the beginning!"

"Don't worry! I won't let off those people of the Trial's Eye organisation for treating you that way! I told you before not to go to that sect made out of lunatic eyes. Only the might Mistress is worthy of our faith!" Aegnis warmly held Belinda's hand, completely ignoring Leylin's existence.

She held Sophia, eyes sparkling, "This must be your sister, Sophia, right? How adorable! I'd only seen her in portraits before. Don't worry! I'll take care of you and your sister's identities. You'll definitely be able to get the residence permit and gain the right to stay in the holy city permanently!"

Seeing how she was itching to hug Sophia close and her facial muscles twitching, Leylin suddenly thought of another word from his previous world.

"Alright, alright. Aegnis! I have a friend who I've yet to introduce to you!"

Her friend's invasive gaze full of fervour was a little too much for Belinda, and she huffed as she struggled out of the devilish grasp of Aegnis, before pointing at Leylin.

"This is the person I talked to you about, and a good friend who's rendered me a lot of help: Nick!" Belinda placed emphasis on the two words, 'good friend'.

"Good friend? Him?" It was only at this point that she noticed Leylin and glared at Leylin challengingly.

"He doesn't seem all that strong? He's only a rank 5 mixed blood Alabaster Devilsnake! Oh, sorry, my beloved Belinda, I wasn't talking about you. Whether it's the blood from your father or mother's side, they have combined magnificently on you, whether it's your ruby-red eyes, or long silver hair full of luster… they are so intoxicating…"

"Aegnis, Nick is my friend just as you are!" Belinda smiled wryly and had to repeat herself.

"Alright, alright. Friend!" Aegnis flicked at the hair at her forehead, "Since it's your friend, I'll do it too!"

"Wait, sister, how can you let people with unknown origins just enter the holy city? Did you forget our work?" At this moment, the person behind Aegnis suddenly spoke.

"Hm?" Leylin noticed the person at this moment. He had short brown hair like Aegnis, and there was a faint resemblance. It seemed that they had blood relations.

"Oh, Belinda! So this is the useless brother I've mentioned before, Thomas! Thomas! Come here and say hello!"

"Good morning, beautiful ladies!" Thomas bowed respectfully, he looked enchanted and intoxicated as he gazed at Sophia, who was like a little girl,

"Aegnis!" Noticing the siblings ignoring Nick, obviously trying to infuriate him, Belinda was slightly annoyed.

"If you still keep that attitude, I'll leave with Nick! Anyway, besides the holy city, there are tons of places we can go."

Based on what she had mentioned, after obtaining permanent residency in the holy city, they could receive preferential treatment everywhere in the Hail Continent. It was the best method to counteract the fact that they were on the wanted list. Now for Leylin's sake, she was unexpectedly discarding this opportunity, it could be said that this was very unusual.

'But come on, don't you know that the closer you seem to me, the more trouble you'll bring to me?' Leylin was speechless. He could already sense two pairs of eyes that were willing to burn him to ashes.

-x-X-x-

"Hehe… we were only joking earlier, don't mind us! Of course, I'll take care of Nick's situation as well!" Aegnis smiled along, and Belinda immediately looked at ease. After all, she had asked a favour of Aegnis.

"Alright, I'll bring everyone in to go through the formalities," Aegnis rested her arm around Belinda's shoulders, and with her other hand pulling Sophia along, she did not forget to yell at Thomas, "Kid, why haven't you apologised to Sire Nick yet?"

Seeing what she was doing, Belinda smiled once more, no longer resistant to her actions.

"My apologies, Sire Nick!" Watching the backs of the three females walking ahead, Thomas shouted loudly.

However, his lips mouthed something else, "You weakling who only knows to rely on women!"

Leylin merely shrugged in answer to his provocation and insult and continued to follow behind Belinda, which left Thomas flabbergasted; it was the first time he had seen someone so shameless.

Leaving the stunned Thomas far behind, Leylin followed behind the three ladies expressionlessly with an air of resignation. In reality, however, he was snickering in his mind. What glory or reputation did he care for when he was dying? Was that important?

The Curse Mark of Ten Thousand Snakes was now eating his life force away, and he did not have not have many years left. In this situation, would he abandon such a simple method of entering the city and look for something else?

Whether he would succeed or not eventually, wasting time on reputation would be treating his life too lightly. When comparing his life to being taken as a fellow who could only rely on women, what loss was there for him?

"You…" Thomas puffed his cheeks out and followed behind them, but could do nothing against Leylin's shamelessness. Aegnis, in front, seemed to have noticed this, and her eyes glinted.

"Go away, you peasants! Don't block the path of us noble Stuards!"

As if trying to vent all the anger he'd gained from Leylin, Thomas flicked a nine-segmented whip of a snake leader, unceasingly creating crisps ounds and threatening the group of half-blooded snake beings in front of them.

*Pila!* Seeing the half-blooded snake beings fearfully separating to two sides and giving way, Leylin couldn't help but stroke his chin. It seemed that the siblings who were in the Stuard family had a rather terrifying reputation in the holy city.

"Are you guards blind? Why aren't you here to welcome us?"

Immediately after, the guards who had been like fiends and slaughtering people as they wished instantly came over to help out with Thomas' call, bringing Belinda and the rest to the main gate.

Thomas had his nose in the air as he peeked at Leylin, eyes full of arrogance.

Leylin merely rolled his eyes in answer.

In the Magus World, this sort of person would have died several times over already, but this was the Hail Continent! This was where the descendants of the Snake Dowager had high statuses, and there were few bloody contests for power over them. Such a state had continued for tens of thousands of years, and had even become an iron rule.

Hence, it was entirely understandable that Thomas who had grown up in a sheltered environment was acting this way. This was one who had been spoilt by superior living conditions.

Leylin obviously would not stoop to the level of weaklings like him. His focus was now on the sculpture at the main gate.

"Mm, bloodline appraisal! A test of the soul! Though I'm confident I can pass through with no problems, the identification proof is a problem. After all, I can't invade the holy city's core database and create a fake history. What I said before had too many loopholes…"

Leylin looked slightly gloomy, which Thomas took to be a accomplishment on his part.

"You're very lucky! You should know that very few half bloods like you can stay in the holy city for a full year!"

Thomas jeered at him disdainfully, "Of course, you might not even be able to handle the living expenses here… But even if you stay here for a short period of time, it's enough for you to shine in the Hail Continent, or… You can write this in your diary, and some low-ranked bloodlines might be attracted…"

"Thomas, that's enough!" Evidently, even Aegnis could not watch on any longer.

Of course, Leylin had strong suspicions that Aegnis only felt that Thomas was bringing shame to the Stuard family with his words, which was why she got him to stop.

"Come, Belinda, and adorable little Sophia! This is the residence permit that I especially requested for you. As long as you bind it to your bloodline and soul, you will be recognised as free citizens of the holy city!"

Aegnis smiled slightly, producing two jade-green crystal cards. From the envious gazes from the half- or even pure-blooded snake beings, they should be amazing items.

"Thank you so much, Aegnis!" Belinda took the crystal card. With this identification, she could join organisations under the Snake Dowager's command. Trial's Eye would not be so brazen and might even automatically withdraw the order of her arrest.

"Then… how about Brother Nick?" Sophia bit at her fingers, finding that something was off.

"Sire Nick? When Belinda contacted me, she didn't mention it, so I didn't prepare it…"

Aegnis rubbed at her feelings as if embarrassed, "Permanent residence permits are hard to take care of in the holy city, so…"

Seeing that Belinda seemed to be on the verge of flaring up, Aegnis shook her hands, "ThoughI didn't get a permanent residence permit, I still have a temporary certification! It's for ten years, which should be enough for Sire Nick. In these ten years, I'm sure he can handle the procedures for his identification!"

"This… Nick…" Belinda peeked at Leylin slightly embarrassed. She had obviously noticed that Aegnis was purposely making things difficult for him.

"Sire Nick, a ten year certification is already very rare! For half-blooded snake beings who provide services for us residents of holy residents, their certification needs to be changed daily in order to prevent any tarnish to our noble holy city!"

Thomas, who was at the side, snorted.

"That's enough! Thank you very much, Lady Aegnis!" Leylin smiled slightly, taking another residence permit from her.

Ten years was enough time.

In the holy city, where the Snake Dowager's radiations were the most concentrated, with the the Curse Mark of Ten Thousand Snakes increasing in intensity, Leylin would probably be reduced to pile of bones if he could not solve the bloodline shackles within ten years.

Compared to Belinda and Sophis who had permanent residence permits, his own was duller, though there were intricate runes and concealing techniques on it.

"This pattern… Even with a sample, it's not easy for the A.I. Chip to make another one. On top of that… what's more troublesome is the soul and bloodline binding!"

Leylin's eyes flashed.

"Alright! Since you three now have the pass, please bind it to you. If the permits are lost, things will get very troublesome, so please keep it well and love them as you love your eyes!"

Aegnis spoke with an accent.

"The binding ceremony is very simple. Drip a droplet of blood and then use your spiritual force to scan the detection runes!"

With Aegnis' guidance, Belinda was the first and dripped her blood onto the crystal card. Once the dark red liquid touched the card, it was like water reaching sponge and was absorbed.

In the next instant, the whole green crystal card shone brilliantly and with flowing luster, Belinda's image emerged.

"Boo hoo… Sister, Sophia's afraid of pain!" Hearing that she had to bleed, Sophia's eyes were full of fear.

Such a pitiful stance immediately had Aegnis on the verge of turning into a big bad wolf.

"Keke… don't be afraid, little sister. Let your big sister help you!"

Aegnis, who was watching, only seemed to shock Sophia and bit at her finger to complete the binding process. Aegnis watched on with regret.

When Leylin was done with the procedure too, with Aegnis in the lead, they passed through a round arched door. Of course, there were sculptures ahead.

*Hss hss!*

The miniature sculptures were even more intricate. They were made of some crystals similar to rocks, and especially the faces were carved very vividly, their eyes seeming to be connected to some enigmatic soul

Belinda and Sophia passed by, and the sculpture produced green and tender rays.

[Currently concealing with bloodline of Alabaster Devilsnake. Beast spirit undulations covering. Preparation to activate Feather of Chaos at anytime.]

Along with the A.I. Chip's voice, Leylin took a deep breath and passed through the formless boundary.

"Hss hss!" The eyes of the sculpture immediately produced green, tender rays, and caused Leylin to sigh in relief.

Immediately after, he was dazzled by lights.

Once Leylin got used to it, he began to size up the holy city of all descendants of the Snake Dowager.

On the ground, walls and even in the sky, a thin layer of light lined the area, causing everything to seem glorious.

The giant sculpture at the heart was filled with milky-white rays like a shining human being, giving off the feeling of holiness.

[Beep! Detected large amounts of radiation undulations. Curse Mark is being strengthened.]

The A.I. Chip intoned, while Belinda and Sophia beside him had a flush on their faces, looking intoxicated. Even their undulations were reinforced, and they obviously had obtained some benefits.

-x-X-x-

'Rumours say the Snake Dowager favours the holy city, granting huge benefits to all her descendants…' Leylin thought, watching the siblings who were drunk on the feeling. 'Truth be told, the holy city is just affected by the presence of her main body. The radiation from it refines their bloodlines.'

Of course, there was a limit to this process. However, the guarantee that their bloodlines wouldn't deteriorate was enough for all of them to scramble here without delay.

'Pity. This sort of high energy radiation is basically poison to me now.' Sensing the curse mark continuously absorbing radiation and gaining strength, Leylin could only smile wryly. The Allsnake Curse had been sealed, but the closer he was to the Snake Dowager the more obvious the flare ups would become.

Hiding any signs of abnormality and taking the initiative to get closer to the Snake Dowager day by day, he was dancing on the edge of a knife.

'But at least it's confirmed that the Snake Dowager's main body is close to the holy city.' Leylin's eyes lit up. Just for that, he had to stay here in spite of the threat to his life.

"The Matriarch's sculpture is the core of the city, with the circles extending outwards from it. In the business district are Night of the Beast Spirits and Imagia's Cabin, which are pretty good. Once you've settled down, I can accompany you on a stroll." Aegnis was evidently extremely excited as she brought them to a region with majestic mansions around.

"This region belongs to us Stewarts. I've arranged for Belinda to stay in a villa near me. We can—"

*Trring! Trring! Trring!* Before Aegnis could finish speaking, she was interrupted by a series of rings from her vambrace. She opened a notification on her arm, her voice showing her discontentment. "What is it? Didn't I specifically mention that you are not to bother me no matter what happens tonight?"

"My sincerest apologies, Lord Aegnis, but this incident is so strange that it requires your personal attention."

"What is it?" Aegnis grew serious. For a subordinate who knew her personality to still trouble her, it would be something difficult to deal with.

"It has to do with a mutant contamination. It's at least grade 4 in danger."

"Fuck!" Aegnis cursed, evidently surprised. Immediately after, she closed off the communications and apologised to Belinda, "I'm so sorry Belinda, Sophia! There's something I need to handle, but I've already booked a room at the Spiral Serpent Restaurant. Please do go!"

"Alright Aegnis, hurry on with your work!" Belinda nodded in understanding, pressing her cheeks onto Aegnis' causing the woman to smile cheerfully.

"Thomas, I'll leave the rest to you. If Belinda and little Sophia are the slightest bit unhappy, you know what will happen!" Aegnis left hastily after assigning this task. Leylin's lips quirked up in a mysterious smile as he watched her leave.

"Alright then! My ladies, and this Mister Nick, please come with me!" Thomas said with a clap. He evidently wanted to act like a gentleman in front of the sisters.

Belinda and Sophia held no distaste for him and cheerfully chatted and joked around with hm until they reached a gorgeous villa. The entire villa lit up there with a snap of his fingers, warm light flooding every corner with a beep sounding.

Motes of multicolour light flew out into the little garden like fireflies, like little stars as they appeared before Sophia's hands.

"The lights are voice controlled, and dust removal spells activate at specific timings everyday. There's another spell formation here that can set the temperature. And every piece of furniture here was prepared specially by my elder sister. Since she didn't know your preferences, she's prepared for it and allowed you to choose things like your servants…" Thomas smiled warmly.

In the meanwhile, Belinda and Sophia were very satisfied with this villa.

"Most importantly, sister's place is nearby. It's easy to contact her." Thomas smiled as he handed the keys over to Belinda.

"Thank you both, for everything you've done for us. What about Nick's place?" Belinda glanced at Leylin.

"Mister Nick? I'm sorry, but this is area is restricted to female guests," Thomas waved his arms helplessly. He made an alternative suggestion, "How about you two ladies get some rest while I bring Mister Nick to his room?"

Though Belinda and Sophia were slightly discontent with this, Leylin appeared to very enthusiastically agree, and let the two sisters stay behind.

...

Thomas waited until he and Leylin left the villa to show his true colours.

"Listen to me, kid. I don't care who you are or what happened with those siblings on the way here. Just remember this. This is the holy city, and they aren't people you should expect anything from. Understand?" he asked, levelling a threatening gaze at Leylin. He already had a plan; if Leylin tried to resist or look for the sisters, he would get the guards and throw this guy into the moat.

In any case, the Stewart family was strong and had powerful defences. It was simple to get rid of a lone traveler with nobody to rely on.

As for those sisters? After wailing over Leylin for a while, they could only end up accepting it.

'Such is life!' Thomas laughed wickedly. He loved that phrase.

However, contrary to Thomas' expectations, 'Nick' actually seemed to be terrified and even hada flattering grin on his face, saying, "Alright, Mister Thomas. I have no expectations towards those sisters, and I'll break off all relations with them from hereon. This humble servant here only wishes to have a stable life in the holy city, and I am already extremely satisfied. Why would I expect other things?"

Leylin looked completely sincere as he continued, "Only Lord Thomas is worthy of Miss Sophia!"

"Mm, you're absolutely right!" This huge change in attitude dazed Thomas momentarily. He quickly recalled Leylin's indifference to his provocation, and passed it off as a show of cowardice and weakness in retrospect.

'Such a weak personality. He's probably someone the sisters made friends with on the way here,' Thomas wondered to himself, and suddenly found Leylin less of an eyesore.

A dark thought reared its head in the depths of his heart, 'In the future, if I bring the sisters over here, Nick's amazed expression will be very amusing…'

Leylin's position had lowered in his mind, from a love rival to a mere tool to be used. His malicious intent abated.

'If those sisters won't agree, wouldn't it be fun to have Nick knock them unconscious and then send them to my bed?' Thomas stroked his chin, daydreaming of this beautiful scene in the future. His lips arched.

"Well then. Lord Thomas, may I know where my lodging is? The prices in the holy city, they're really… Without anyone vouching for me, I can't rent a good place," Leylin seemed to hesitate before making his request.

However, Thomas, who now found Leylin less of an eye-sore, did not hesitate to agree. How could he make life difficult for Leylin if he did not have anything over him? In addition, placing the man right under his nose was better than having him going out by himself, where he could even try to hit on the sisters.

"Come with me!" Having thought this through, Thomas brought Leylin to another region. Compared to the luxurious villas before, this packed place seemed to be cheap. It was the difference between heaven and earth.

Thomas brought Leylin to another district, "This is the place! This estate belongs to our family, just that I don't know which idiot bought the rights to it then…"

Before him was an attic room. There were swirls on the wood of the walls and floor, and the place seemed dark and wet. It looked to be on the verge of collapse. It was also extremely small. There was a huge disparity between this and Belinda's luxurious villa.

Of course, this wasn't half bad considering the neighbouring residences.

"What do you think? This one isn't too bad compared to the surroundings. At the least, you wouldn't be able to pay a year of rent here even if you used up all your money…" Thomas laughed meanly without a care, "But I'm kind. You can live here as long as you want, no need to pay rent. I'll tell the guards."

"Thank you so much, my Lord!" Leylin bowed down nearly ninety degrees with a humble smile as he took the runic keys from Thomas. After multiple agreements not to look for the sisters, he finally managed to send a content Thomas away before activating them and sizing up his residence.

The wooden door let out sad creaks, as if unable to handle the stress. Leylin began to suspect that if this wasn't supported by the strength of spells, the whole building would immediately turn into a pile of rubble.

-x-X-x-

'However, it's still not bad!' After scanning the room, Leylin nodded lightly.

The place was a little small, lacked furniture, and was covered in a thick layer of dust, it would still fetch a sky-high rent in the holy city, where an inch of land was worth as much in gold. Since he could live here for free, why would he be dissatisfied?

What made Leylin feel even more satisfied was that this place was the Stewart family's property, and Thomas had even specially registered it for him. With Thomas vouching for him, even if the entire city was thoroughly searched in the future, this place would be as steady as a rock.

Leylin had his own reasons for his actions today. They were only performed after careful deliberation. The holy city would be entering troubled times, and without a strong patron a simple search would be very troublesome. Why else would he live here? He had no lack of valuable materials to sell.

For one, he didn't want to offend Thomas. Another reason was that he was borrowing the Stewart family's tiger skin [1 Putting on a false facade to intimidate others] to shield himself. Of course, once his plan was exposed it would implicate the Stewart family, especially Thomas. That would be an incredibly sad matter for them, but it was all within Leylin's considerations.

In reality, the idea had flashed after he saw Aegnis and her brother's infatuation with the sisters. Once they got him into the holy city, Belinda and her sister had almost exhausted their potentials, and they would just spell trouble in the future. In this dog eat dog world, beauty without strength was the most troublesome.

His options were clear. On one hand he could maintain his relationship with Belinda and her sister, but in the process offend Aegnis and her brother. By extension, he would offend the Stewart family who backed them. On the other, he could renounce his relations with Belinda and gain the family's understanding and protection. From Leylin's perspective, the answer was obvious.

Some people chose to head down a path of ruin, refusing to live quietly and even blatantly standing out despite being weak. Only an author sticking out their Golden Thumb[2. Deus Ex Machina] would be able to save such cases.

Although Leylin couldn't be considered weak, in the Purgatory World, and especially this holy city, he was as frail as someone who would die to light being shone on them!

Indeed, he could reveal his strength and ruthlessly strike Thomas down. That would be followed Aegnis, then the Stewart family's position in the top ranks. He could move the entire holy city! All for a single moment, it would be an incomparably glorious scene.

That is, until his origins aroused suspicion. Then, with one glance the Snake Dowager would know immediately that he was the one she was looking for, and he would've delivered himself to her on a plate. Then Leylin truly would have lost everything.

And looking back at the root of the problem, it would be for what? Two women? Were they really worth all that?

Leylin had no feelings for Sophia and Belinda, they were simply companions he had met on the road. Belinda had a vaguely good impression of him, and would at most casually joke around from time to time. For Leylin to have to fight for her and ultimately lose everything- wouldn't that be outrageous?

With the Allsnake Curse on his body, and at a time where he was slowly inching towards death, worrying about trivial matters like affection was just foolish.

'What I need now is to spare no effort in hiding myself, and conflict with the Stewarts, a tyrannical snake family, is clearly very unwise… And especially over two women…' Leylin shook his head. Compared to directly clashing with Thomas and finally triggering that situation of completely exposing himself, Leylin simply chose to implement a plan which would minimise his influence and give him the greatest benefits.

'However, Thomas couldn't tell that his greatest enemy in getting Belinda and Sophia isn't me, but his sister Aegnis!' Leylin stroked his chin thoughtfully, with a trace of an sneer on his face.

With Aegnis at the sisters' side glaring covetously like a tiger watching its prey, Thomas' plan could be declared a successful failure before it even began. And of course, once he broke through his bloodline shackles Leylin could naturally make Thomas pay the price for today's insults.

With this thought, he'd handed Sophia and Belinda over to Aegnis for a while, letting her safeguard them while he received a rare guarantee of safe entry into the city. It wasn't a difficult thing for him to accept, and in fact he had more important matters to attend to than this.

Without greeting the envious neighbours around him, Leylin immediately shut the door. This two storey apartment building with a little courtyard outside it met his expectations.

After seeing a small flowerbed in the enclosure, Leylin's face blossomed into a smile.

'Not bad. It really is decent! All that's left wanting is for nobody to come and bother me. Unfortunately, that is impossible…' Leylin sighed, looking at the palm of his hand.

Blue-green veins were revealed under the light, and he could still faintly feel his life force ebbing. His body even looked a little weak.

'This situation…' Leylin laughed bitterly, 'A.I. Chip!'

[Beep! Calculating data on host's life force... Analysis completed! The Allsnake Curse's corrosive ability has been amplified in the holy city. New estimated time: Three years and two months!]

"Even if I seal off my bloodline and soul, this life drain is still unavoidable… It really is too difficult to break through the shackles of a rank 8 existence…" There was a trace of a sigh in Leylin's expression. No matter how carefully he prepared, how far-reaching his plans were, the effect of a single seal from the Snake Dowager could instantly put him back in square one.

This was the result of an absolute gap in strength. Leylin himself always liked to bully the weak, and what he hated most was a situation where he was forced to challenge those who were much stronger than him.

Those thrillseekers who liked giving themselves heart attacks instead of safely profiting from a situation were all lunatics!

'Fortunately, I have my experience. Along with my Full Moon truesoul and all the preparations I've made, I still have a chance… Ha!' Leylin coughed, and entered the apartment building.

After spending half a day, Leylin had inspected almost every corner of this shabby apartment building, and had even secretly replaced all the defences with his own.

Leylin couldn't trust this kind of property that belonged to a family, there could be monitoring and probing equipment inside. With the A.I. Chip's atomic-level scanning and Leylin's own sight as a Grandmaster of spell formations, the few devices that had been set up couldn't escape him.

Naturally, Leylin did not choose to dismantle them immediately, which would cause him to completely fall out with the Stewart family. Instead, he prepared a layer of seals apart from the monitoring devices, to make the family feel that this place was still in their grasp. In reality, not a single trace of Leylin's actions would be leaked out to them. Once night fell, the fence surrounding the courtyard was covered with a layer of grey runes which slowly vanished from sight.

"Although it's just a temporary construction, it should be enough to deal with my neighbours!" Leylin muttered to himself, arriving at a completely sealed room with no windows.

The rotten floorboards emitted an unpleasant odour, and there was even a lot of dust on the floor. As it did not have any windows, the entire room looked extremely gloomy.

He immediately prepared a sacrificial spell formation, with a rune depicting a giant bird in the middle. Traces of grey power flowed above it continuously, making the rune of the giant bird seem as if it had spread its wings to fly.

"Almighty Ruler of Chaos! The Wings of the Storm! Free will from another dimension! Your majesty, the Nefarious Filthbird! Your Sacrificer requests that you give me your attention!"

A wave of intent burst forth from Leylin's body, containing the power of a Full Moon truesoul. It instantly linked up with someone through the spell formation.

"Kemoyin Emperor! You have actually already entered the holy city! Good! Very good! Excellent!" Excitement could be felt from the Nefarious Filthbird, although it didn't have a body to descend to. After all, they were in the Snake Dowager's back garden, and they were under strict surveillance.

In reality, were Leylin discovered to be making a Sacrifice to the Nefarious Filthbird, leave alone himself even Thomas would be hunted down and killed immediately.

This was the Hail Continent's holy city! Only one dignitary could ever rule it, and that was the Snake Dowager. Even an ally like the Trial's Eye couldn't spread its influence here, let alone the Nefarious Filthbird.

Consequently, seeing that Leylin had unexpectedly infiltrated the enemy's frontlines without a hitch, the Nefarious Filthbird's excited mood was understandable.

"Almighty dignitary, I appeal for you to bestow your chaos power, and conceal all the affairs in this apartment building so that I can escape from the gaze of the Snake Dowager!" Leylin sincerely prayed, but he did not offer any sacrifices.

"Of course! It will be your reward for bringing the power of chaos into the Holy City! If you are willing to sincerely offer sacrifices to me, in the future you will definitely become my helping hand, a rank 6 Sacrificer!"

A gentle chirp could be heard, and shortly after a grey circle began to rise up from the floors and walls, rapidly covering the entire apartment building. Everything was done in the dark and in secret, without emitting any strange undulations or radiance.

Watching the spell formation's radiance dim, a strange expression flickered within Leylin's eyes. Although he had not offered any sacrifices this time, the Nefarious Filthbird still magnanimously assisted him in concealing himself, and had even bestowed a great amount of power. This was obviously not just out of kindness.

The Nefarious Filthbird seemed to not have given up on the plan of using his chaos power to thoroughly contaminate him, and for him to finally become its underling. However, they were both currently reluctantly united due to their common enemy, the Snake Dowager. If a difference in opinion occurred in the future, they would very possibly become enemies instead.

"It looks like my success in infiltration excited the Nefarious Filthbird!" Leylin laughed coldly, "Unfortunately the bird has nothing to do with my future plans, and I will never find it again! The Nefarious Filthbird's plans are destined to be all for naught!"