Watching the thousands of commoners and nobles dash through the tear in space as they arrive inside the treasure realm before shortly disappearing into the forest in search of heavenly plants, though even if they find some, they not only have to worry about possible beasts but their fellow cultivators.
"So then, what are your guy's guess? I only suspect fifteen hundred will manage to survive the full forty days." Said Elif lightly while fanning himself as he turned and glanced at the five.
"You're quite optimistic, your Highness; last time the Treasure realm was opened, there were also roughly six thousand participants, yet only about nine hundred survived." Remarked Illumia as she eyed Elif in slight surprise at his high number since she knew he knew that information.
"Eh? That low? That isn't even one-sixth of the total participants; maybe I shouldn't enter the Treasure realm." Said Sarah in astonishment as she began rethinking her decision since, among every participant, she has the lowest cultivation base by far, with her only being a peak Saint Lord.
"You don't need to worry, Sarah; just stay by my side, and I'll protect you; not even a bug will get close to you." Stated Marley with a dignified smile as she summoned her spear, expressing her seriousness on the matter, causing Sarah to smile lightly.
"Are you all going to enter the Treasure realm? Don't forget the realm will only be opened for one hour, and it's already been one minute; you've just wasted nearly a full day." Declared Marcus with a raised eyebrow while eyeing the group, though he was mainly speaking to Idonea, Marley, and Sarah since Elif and Elaine always have access to such treasures.
"Yes, we're about to enter, Father; we were just making a little bet." Said Elaine lightly, though her words slightly sparked Marcus's interest as he floated toward them.
"Ho, a bet? What kind of bet?" Asked Marcus lightly as he glanced at Elaine while Elif smirked in amusement.
'Heh, Illumia was right; Father does indeed enjoy gambling.' Mused Elif as he glanced at Marcus while Elaine explained the bet details to him.
"I see, a rather simple bet, but what makes it interesting is that you all can directly manipulate it by either saving participants or killing them; ho, count me in; I'm betting only seven-hundred-fifty will survive, half of Elif's." Said Marcus with a slightly eager smirk as he rubbed his chin in interest.
"Well, since Father is betting half of Brother, it only makes sense for me to bet between the two of them, eleven-hundred-twenty-five, directly in the middle of their bets." Stated Elaine with a smile while Elif and Marcus gave her blank looks.
"Given how this year's generation seems to be, on average, more talented than the previous generation, I shall bet exactly eleven hundred." Said Illumia with a nod; now it was Elaine's turn to dryly look at Illumia while her face slightly twitched in annoyance.
"Ho, that's quite bold to say, considering both Mother and Father are part of the previous generation; are you saying they aren't talented, Illumia?" Remarked Elif with a mischievous grin, earning him an expressionless stare from Illumia.
"I'm just stating a fact, your Highness, just like how the previous generation isn't nearly as annoying as the current generation." Replied Illumia with a smirk, causing Marcus to chuckle, Elif to click his tongue, and Elaine to give her an angry stare.
"Tch, what's that supposed to mean, Illumia? Are you implying that I'm annoying?" Remarked Elif with an annoyed expression while eyeing the amused Illumia, who remained silent.
"Anyways, moving things back on track, I assume about eight hundred participants will survive since with more strength comes more arrogance, ultimately leading to more deaths." Said Maxim lightly with a smile as his words brought everyone's attention back to the topic at hand, though Elif promptly ignored him.
"I'm betting one thousand, though I'd prefer if more people survive." Said Sarah with a beautiful smile.
"I'll say six hundred!" Stated Marley, her answer slightly startling everyone present from how low it was, but nevertheless, it was wholly possible for her to win.
"Thirteen hundred will survive even if I have to ensure it happens." Said Idonea calmly, her response bringing an end to the suggestions.
"Alright then, since we've all stated our bet, let's enter the Treasure realm; given how long we took, a few days have already passed, and the longer we wait, the less time we'll have to manipulate the bet." Declared Elif calmly as he, Elaine, Idonea, Marley, and Sarah floated towards the large space gap.
"Don't do anything foolish, Elif and Elaine; you two are both powerful, but there are still a few beasts in there that should be able to give you a difficult time." Said Marcus lightly as he returned to his original position beside the tear in space.
"No promises!" Said Elif and Elaine simultaneously as they entered the tear in space, causing Marcus to shake his head while the three others followed right after them.
Exiting through the other side, Elaine and I emerged inside the same forest we could see from the other side; a short moment later, I sensed Idonea, Marley, and Sarah enter the Treasure realm, appearing just beside us. Turning around, I curiously looked through the large tear-in-space, and unsurprisingly, I could see a little bit of the palace along with the royal courtyard, though everything was moving very slowly, such as the leave swaying in the wind and the occasional critters running about in the courtyard's forest.
"So, now that we're in the Treasure realm, where shall we go from here, your Highness?" Asked Sarah as she gazed upon the forest before looking at Elif, who merely smirked in response.
"I think you mean, where shall you go from here? We shall be splitting up. You two may be my followers, but if you both were to stay by my side, you'd acquire many treasures that you didn't properly earn, and you, Sarah, you need to face a worthy adversary; when was the last time you fought someone, actually, have you ever fought anyone?" Stated Elif lightly with a raised eyebrow while looking at them, causing Sarah to reel back and awkwardly look away.
"I don't mind splitting up; it'll allow us to engage more with enemies and possible beasts." Said Idonea calmly while Marley nodded in agreement, causing Sarah to sigh in defeat.
"Stop acting so dramatic, Sarah; I know I'm breathtakingly marvelous, but you'll still have Marley and Idonea, even if they aren't as fantastic as I." Remarked Elif with a narcissistic smirk as he flipped his hair behind his head, causing Marley and Idonea to give him blank looks while Elaine nodded in her head in agreeance.
"Currently, we're at the east side of the Treasure realm, which is the area filled with the weakest of beasts, so this is a good place to allow Sarah to engage in a couple of fights; however, I'd recommend slowly heading west as it progressively gets more dangerous since those areas are filled with more beasts of a higher caliber." Added Elif lightly, while the three took his words to heart with a nod.
"Thanks for the information, your Highness, until we meet again." Said Marley with a smirk while Sarah waved goodbye before they all took to the skies in search of treasures and beasts.
Shaking my head at Marley's antics, I looked over at Elaine and smirked as we both took to the sky, though while the others were heading northeast, we were heading directly west.
"Let's have some fun, Elaine." Said Elif with a slight smile while Elaine smirked in response.
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While Elif and Elaine were heading west in search of some fun to pass the next thirty-seven days, far, far away in the south was a group of seemingly ordinary Elves standing in a circle in the middle of a clearing; however, if one looked closely, they'd notice their Qi resembles that of a Demon. Standing at the center of the clearing was a rather large bluish Demon with leathery wings, three horns pointing to the sky, sharp claws on both his hands and feet, and a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth capable of shredding through flesh.
"It's been a few days since the opening; has everyone arrived?" Asked the demon with a gruff voice while looking at three different Elves as they walked forward before kneeling.
"Yes, all three groups have arrived and are ready to enact the plan on your order." Said one of the Elves with pale skin as he looked up at the bluish Demon.
"Heh, good; since you all know what to do, began phase one." Ordered the bluish Demon as he waved his hands, causing the numerous Elves, standing in a circle, to unsheath a dagger from their waist and stretch out their arms before slicing their wrist.
As they began bleeding from their wrist, they started walking clockwise while constantly making slight movements, such as going either left or right, causing the blood that soaked into the ground to seemingly take on a formation. Once the Elves had walked in a full circle, returning to their original spots, each was pale and breathing heavily from the loss of blood; not even a few moments later, as the last bits of blood spewed from their wrist, one by one they began lifelessly dropping on the ground.
However, the blood-soaked ground started to glow while burning the dirt away, revealing an intricate circle formation with a black portal as it began devouring the fallen Elves' corpses.
"Began phase two." Said the bluish Demon, causing the three kneeling Elves to stand up and approach the formation.
When they neared the formation, they stretched their arm just above it and began summoning an uncountable number of spirit stones of God rank from their dimension ring that the formation greedily devoured; this continued for the next hour until the dimensions rings were empty. When that happened, the three Elves, without hesitation, leaped into the formation, to which it absorbed them into its seemingly bottomless dark pit.
"Phase three." Muttered the bluish Demon with a hardened gaze as he summoned several different pills before consuming them.
A few short moments after consuming numerous pills, the Demon's cultivation base, which used to be just an early Divine, started to skyrocket, skipping ranks such as Divine Lord, Divine King, Divine Emperor, and even Half-step Celestial, as he became a Celestial, causing dark clouds to converge toward his location swiftly. Once his cultivation base comfortably settled at that of a Celestial, the Demon approached the formation, and just like the three Elves before him, he leaped into the pitch-black formation while mouthing a few words.
"May the Immortal Demon Sect reign supreme!" Muttered the bluish demon as the formation completely devoured him, yet even so, the heavenly tribulation up above didn't disperse.
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Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, [https://discord.gg/TGc9yymDJP]
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Elven Legacy (Chapter 251: Grandparents Arrive) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 133: 2 Vs 1 & 3 Vs 1) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 230: Akainu's Overwhelming Might!)|| Marvel's Black Steel (Chapter 204: Victory!) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]