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A decrepit, shabby manor ten thousand miles Northeast of Kato’s shop.
Leylin arrived in this place.
As soon as he arrived, the stone gate of the manor silently opened. The yard inside had some withered ancient trees. The ambiance here was tranquil and heavy. There were no energy fluctuations. Some stone buildings were built in the deep place inside the garden.
Leylin just walked forward without any reaction.
After he got into the garden, the stone gate closed automatically. The sole stone door of a stone house in the manor opened inaudibly.
The stone house didn’t have a window. After the he walked through the door, it closed. Leylin found himself emerged in complete darkness. It was so dark that one couldn’t see their own fingers.
A gloomy light appeared little by little by the stone wall. A black figure was sitting neatly on a platform. She lifted her black veiled hat, exposing her savage scarred face.
At first glance, anyone looking at her would fell their legs shivering.
This was the most ruthless woman in the Dark Firmament Divine Nation, the regimental commander of the Bloody Legion who topped the five great feudal vassals in the Raging Flame Star Area.
Leylin smiled. “Greetings, Madame Leona.”
Leona sat on the high platform. Her dark green eyes were gloomy, reflecting no mood. She just looked at him and said nothing.
Although she didn’t say anything, an invisible pressure had pressed down him but Leylin doesn’t seem to be affected.
After a long moment, Leona spoke slowly, “You took the star map from the Purgatory Star?”
“Yeah, I brought it out.”
“. . . It was God’s will,” mumbled Leona. She kept silent for a while as though she had immersed in her memory. “Did you know anything about the death of Land of God Punishment’s Russell and Nine Star Chamber of Commerce’s Mainard Simons?”
“I do,” Leylin nodded.
“Did you killed them?” asked Leona.
“Certainly.”
“I see… I won’t tell you what you should do and what you shouldn’t but Mainard Simons was the brother of the Head of Nine Star Chamber of Commerce, who is a Third Sky of Original God Realm expert. Although the chance of your exposure is close to nil but you should be wary to cover your tracks.”
“Well I didn’t leave any clues but Madame Leona was able to figure it out anyways.”
“No I didn’t, I just speculated and to be honest if not for your letter and your remarkable prowess that I witnessed firsthand I wouldn’t have figure it out.”
“I am surprised how fast the news of Star Map travelled.”
“There is no need to be surprised, the whole Raging Flame Stat Area has been looking for it for centuries. Even if it’s just a rumor it can easily tempt innumerable experts to emerge, it’s no surprise that the news leaked especially considering how pirates are involved.”
“I see. Madama Leona, are you perhaps here to inquire about the map or to talk about the blood mark?”
“You’re smart. Your fortune is good too. You’ve even found her not long after you’ve arrived in the Heaven Punishment City. Your fate is good. That is why you got the inheritance.” Leona nodded.
“By her, do you mean Granny Fiona?”
“Yes.”
“I see, she is one of us as well.”
“Yes, I guess it isn’t a surprise you found her as well. To be honest, I was really taken aback when I received your letter with that drawn blood mark.” Leona’s eye squinted looking at Leylin.
Back then before Leylin entered the Extreme Purgatory Field, he left a blood clone to send a letter to Leona.
The letter didn’t have anything written in it, except for a drawing of five clusters of blood-red clouds which is the symbol of Bloodthirsty’s cortege of eight.
“Tell me, how did you know who I am?”
“I’ve seen your Dark power Upanishad,” explained Leylin.
Leona’s eyes brightened, but she didn’t say anything, waiting for his explanation.
“I have War Devil, which is the dark clone of Leonidas Larrington. Someone who also cultivated Dark power Upanishad.”
“Leonidas Larrington?” Leona shook her head. It seemed like she didn’t know this person. “I’ve never heard about him before.”
“Well probably he was just one of many inheritors of Dark Power Upanishad and you guys are completely unrelated. I do have the War Devil here if you want to observe, it can be useful to you.”
Then, his mind flickered, releasing the War Devil from the Blood Vein Ring.
It’s been a long time since his last use of the black puppet. The War Devil’s power was limited. Even if it used all of the power, it could use the energy of the Peak of Spirit Realm.
Leona’s eyes sparkled. Her dark power moved. She landed by the War Devil, her face excited. “The Heart of Darkness. Oh my, this puppet has the Heart of Darkness! I know it. I know the reason!”
While talking, her soul altar spun, releasing a magical suction force.
The Heart of Darkness inlaid on War Devil’s chest turned into a dark light cluster, flying towards Leona. In just a blink, it disappeared into Leona’s body as though it had become a part of her.
A gust of dark and wicked aura shot out from Leona. She didn’t say anything while she sat down, closing her eyes. She seemed to try to fuse the Heart of Darkness, her visage stern.
After the Heart of Darkness detached from the iron puppet, it collapsed grumblingly, turning into fragments on the floor. There was no beam of energy remained.
The War Devil was totally broken.
Leona was excited. She closed her eyes to feel, smiling as she was stirred up.
‘You are going to enter cultivation just like that!? This is gonna create a commotion throughout the Heavenly Punishment City. This carefree personality!? Does this means she has complete confidence that Fiona would shield her and also she has enough ability to block everyone else?’
At this moment, Leona was fusing the Heart of Darkness into her body and making it part of her.
Leylin was surprised for a moment but he quickly concluded that the relationship of Leona and Fiona must be very good, so much so that Leona can be this carefree in an enemy territory.
Leylin calmly looked at Leona, waiting for her to complete her fusion with the Heart of Darkness.
Gradually, a dim mark enlarged and became clearer on Leona’s glabella.
Five blood clouds.
_____
Another hidden manor in the Heaven Punishment City.
Carthew who has received the news about Star Map from his insiders in pirate organization has appeared here.
Along with him was Zahira who was investing about her missing brother nearby.
When she came to knew about Leylin’s reappearance, she came to Heaven Punishment City.
Those two were talking discreetly but suddenly, Carthew arched his brows, jolted up and walked to the garden of the manor.
Alavid appeared there, speaking to a man. His face was bright.
“Sir Alavid!” Zahira greeted the man as she was shaken seeing him.
“Your Highness, you’re still stunningly gorgeous.” Alavid, one of the five feudal vassals, laughed cheerily.
“You’ve come just on time. Those pirates seem to have some strange commotions. They want to leave the city quickly,” said Carthew. “Once they leave the Heaven Punishment City, it would be hard to find them in the forbidden lands. They are more familiar with the topography there than we are. If we want to attack them, the next two days are the best chances.”
“Attack them?” Alavid shook his head, his face grimaced. “I don’t want to die unaccountably.”
Hearing him, Carthew, Zahira were startled.
“It’s been confirmed that both Mainard and Russell are dead. We have no idea who is the killer. The head of Nine Star Chamber of Commerce was livid to know his brother died without rhyme and reason and sent various teams. Since Land of God Punishment is the nearest hub for experts around the crime scene, a few troublemaker came here as well but they all have met the same fate. Even Gale Varet from Nine Star Chamber of Commerce is confirmed to have lost his life here.”
“We can confirm that a terrifying hermetic expert is dwelling in the Heaven Punishment City,” said Alavid with a solemn countenance.
“Gale Varet died just like that?” Carthew was frightened, his face changed slightly.
Gale was the member of Varet family of the Nine Star Chamber of Commerce. Varets were the previous leaders before the Simons family took over. Gale himself was also at the First Sky of Original God Realm like Carthew but now someone like him is dead without any commotion.
It’s rumoured in the whole Raging Flame Stat Area that the fall of Varet family is closely related to a so-called hermit from the Heavenly Punishment City.
Pirates and Nine Star Chamber of Commerce have always been at each other’s throat for hundreds of years. As businessman, the threat of pirates and unruly robbing manics were most looming to them. Throughout history, the Nine Star Chamber of Commerce have tried multiple times to eradicate the pirates but have always failed.
Miserably enough, the previous leaders of Nine Star Chamber of Commerce the Varets have lost a remarkable amount of warriors mysteriously. There losses was so high that they had to concede their hegemony to Simons and haven’t been able to mount a comeback since then.
This bizzare turn of events was mysterious as well as creepy. It was easy for other warriors to understand that the Heavenly punishment city is under the protection of a frightful existence, although most of those tales are considered myth but there is still some truth to it.
There must be a reason why pirates have been running wild in the Raging Star Flame Area without being completely uprooted by the other three powerhouses.
Alavid nodded and continued, “We’re now sure that the Heaven Punishment City does have an intimidating existence. That person is watching over the order of the city. Anybody who dares to fight will be punished strictly. I don’t dare to let such a powerful expert lay his eyes on me. If we want to plot the star map, we have to wait until Weerlig has left the Land of God Punishment.”
Carthew and Zahira darkened their face.
“Where’s Leona? If I count correctly, she should have been here before my arrival. Didn’t she contact you guys?” asked Alavid curiously.
Carthew and Zahira shook their head, indicating that they hadn’t met the Commander of the Bloody Legion yet.
“I’m sure she’s in the city already,” Alavid darkened his face. “Let me see where she is now.”
Alavid released his Soul Consciousness. The sky of the Heaven Punishment City now seemed to have his eyes looking for Leona’s aura.
But long after he had released his Soul Consciousness, and he hadn’t search carefully enough, he found a tremendous energy fluctuation emitting from a corner of the Heaven Punishment City.
A dark halo expanded from that area. Wherever that halo passed by, darkness fell, shrouding everything.
Energy fluctuations or any other movements became unclear inside that dark light curtain. The Soul Consciousness couldn’t sense anything, either.
Alavid was shaken. He gathered himself immediately.
“It’s Leona!” Carthew cried in fear.
That wave of energy was too powerful. Not only Alavid but also Carthew could feel it. “She’s in the Heaven Punishment City, indeed!”
“Go get her! Damn it! Such tremendous dark energy fluctuations will alert all Original God Realm warriors! Big trouble!” Alavid grimaced, getting infuriated. “Once she’s exposed, they will know we’re here. We can’t sneak in anymore.”
At the same time.
Some Original God Realm experts in the Heaven Punishment City were scattered in different areas. All felt that the dark power had engulfed them. Having a little hesitation, they then dashed toward that area.
Everybody was alerted, accelerating towards her location.
Leona was shrouded in the darkness that was more like black ink. A flow of terrifying dark energy was released, sweeping everywhere.
Leylin also couldn’t see Leona’s figure, he was also shrouded in the absolute darkness.
However, he could feel that Leona’s location very clearly. She was like a massive dark sun appearing in their Sea of Consciousness, which was emitting earth-shaking energy fluctuations.
Darkness expanded, reaching every direction. After a couple minute, the entire Heaven Punishment City, an area of tens of thousands of square miles, was covered by the dark!
The entire Heaven Punishment City was sunk into absolute darkness, darkness so black that people couldn’t see their own fingers!
The warriors couldn’t see each other. They could only use their souls to sense.
No matter what crystal or energy source was used, once a beam of light sparkled, the darkness would swallow it immediately. It seemed that dark power didn’t want to let any beam of light appear.
“As expected, experts are coming!”
