Glancing at the five women, just as I was about to respond to them, I noticed Elaine suddenly furrow her brows before snapping her head toward the south with an intense gaze; seeing Elaine's sudden reaction, I did the same and spread my divine sense while scrutinizing every inch of the forest, but even so, I couldn't discern anything out of the usual, which caused me to frown since the range of my divine sense is a few times larger than Elaine's, yet I still couldn't notice anything.
'For me to not notice anything, it's either really far away, or it has something to do with a sudden shift in the void; however, given our cultivation bases, it must be something to do with the void.' Thought Elif with a frown as he fanned himself while still intently looking toward the south, both him and Elaine completely ignoring the five confused women.
"Can you sense that, Brother?" Asked Elaine while intently observing the void, searching for any sudden unnatural movement.
"No, I, unfortunately, can't; however, I presume it has something to do with the void? Otherwise, I should be able to locate the cause for your concern." Replied Elif lightly as he summoned Hokori, and although he didn't sense any danger, he figured it would be better to be safe than sorry, especially since Elaine was with him.
"Yes, it's something to do with the void; just a few seconds ago, I noticed an anomaly occur within the void, though it was incredibly faint, meaning it was very far away, so it's not that surprising you can't sense anything, Brother." Stated Elaine with a slight frown as she began occasionally sensing a very light vibration traveling through the void; if it weren't because she was already alert, she would've missed them.
"An anomaly? Anomalies occur rather often within the void when you take into account its sheer size, though for you to be able to even notice something, it must've happened within the Treasure realm; am I correct?" Said Elif as he ignored whatever was occurring in the south and glanced at Elaine, who was sporting a troubled and confused expression.
"Yes, and while that alone wouldn't have been a cause for concern, the problem is that the anomaly gave me a feeling similar to when Mother and Father ripped a hole in space, creating a pathway between different realms." Replied Elaine, while Elif took on a more thoughtful expression as he began pondering about what caused the anomaly.
"Hmm, are you sure you're not mistaken, Elaine? The Treasure realm may be weaker, but still, even I wouldn't find it possible to puncture a hole through the ambient space; one would need to be at least a Celestial or have a Divine rank artifact to do that, yet such a thing isn't possible. Among all the six thousand cultivators, an early Divine Lord is the highest cultivation base; even then, they were rather weak for being an early Divine Lord, signifying they must've rushed their cultivation while ignoring their foundation. Besides you and I, no one is permitted to have a Divine rank artifact; if there were any, they would've been confiscated by Father." Declared Elif while fanning himself, his words only plunging Elaine deeper into confusion.
"I'm not entirely sure what I sensed was exactly that; the movement of the void was very faint and hardly noticeable, so It's possible I misinterpreted what I had sensed. However, what's more concerning is that I had just sensed the void trembling, and each time it happened, it progressively became more powerful; the void trembled nine times, the same as a Heavenly Tribulation." Stated Elaine; this time, it was Elif's turn to be confused since while he may not have the void physique, he knew Elaine's capabilities and limits very well, almost like the back of his hand.
"That... That doesn't make any sense, Elaine; a Heavenly Tribulation? Sure, there are a few hundred cultivators who haven't yet ascended to a Divine, but if any one of them were undergoing a Heavenly Tribulation, they either would've been close enough to where I was able to locate them with my Divine Sense, or you wouldn't have sensed them at all. A Heavenly Tribulation for a newly ascended Divine isn't capable of forming lightning Tribulations with enough power to affect the void of a Heavenly realm whatsoever, and I'm sure you know that better than anyone, even me." Remarked Elif with an intense frown while gazing at Elaine, though he didn't doubt her words.
"That's the problem, Brother; even if there are some heavenly plants within this realm that have enough Qi to advance someone to a Celestial forcefully, it wouldn't have been this quick. It would've at least taken a few more days, and that's at the very minimum!" Replied Elaine as she began thinking the worst, such as a beast or cultivator advancing to a Celestial.
"U-Umm, Prince Elif, Princess Elaine; I-I don't mean to rudely interrupt, but i-isn't it possible that a special p-plant is undergoing a Heavenly Tribulation?" Stated Hailey lightly in slight nervousness; she and her sisters had overheard their entire conversation since they were still kneeling before them.
To be honest, I had completely forgotten about their existence. I figured they would have left by now, but luckily, they didn't sense; they reminded me of a possibility I'd been neglecting this entire time.
'How did I ignore that possibility? Haa, it must be because of the killing intent I sensed earlier; it made me immediately think about a person while completely dismissing the possibility of it being a heavenly treasure.' Mused Elif as he lightly shook his head while calming down.
"Hmph, don't interrupt us, you peasant!" Said Elaine with an angry expression while intently staring at Hailey. She may have been preoccupied, but she didn't once forget that Hailey had fallen into Elif's embrace.
"A-Ah, m-my d-deepest a-apologies, P-Princess Elaine!" Replied Hailey fearfully as she quickly kowtowed with her head down.
"Calm down, Elaine; no need to get so angry; besides, what she said is correct, no? This entire time, we've been so focused on one idea that we didn't even bother to entertain the thought of it being the birth of a heavenly treasure." Remarked Elif lightly with a smile as he lightly rubbed Elaine's head, soothing her, though she was still intently staring at Hailey.
"Even so, Brother, that only justifies why I sensed nine vibrations within the void; it doesn't explain the anomaly I had sensed before that since I highly doubt a heavenly treasure had anything to do with that." Said Elaine as she ignored the kowtowing Hailey and glanced at Elif with a slight frown.
"True, and while the two different things you sensed most likely don't have anything to do with each other, they may do; what if the heavenly treasure has properties similar to, or the exact same as the Void?" Questioned Elif, though Elaine merely furrowed her brows.
"But how likely is that to happen, Brother? The birth of a Heavenly Treasure is already a very rare occurrence, yet it just so happens also to have properties of the void. I find that hard to believe." Replied Elaine, and while it's entirely possible for that to happen, Elif agreed with her.
"You're not wrong, but all these conjectures aren't going to get us anywhere; for now, let's forget about it; it's quite a distance away, so it would probably take a few days to get there, and I don't really feel like doing that right now. Besides, when this is over, we can inform Father and have him check it out; it'll be much faster if he does it." Declared Elif with a light smile while shaking his head, dismissing the entire topic.
"I suppose you're right, Brother; I'd also prefer not to go south. We've already flown for a few hours, and I don't want to do it for much longer." Said Elaine as she nodded with a slightly annoyed expression, to which Elif chuckled.
"Anyways, you five, I'd saved your life, so as I said before, don't do something stupid and throw your life away." Ordered Elif as the five women all quickly nodded their heads, and before they could respond, Elif and Elaine vanished from their sight.
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"Haa, that was utterly nerve-wracking." Muttered one of the women as she flopped onto the ground while releasing a sigh, feeling a colossal amount of anxiety lifting from her back.
"Tell me about it; I didn't think being in the presence of Royalty would be so frightening." Said another woman as she followed her sister's footsteps and sprawled onto the grass.
"Prince Elif's presence wasn't too bad, but Princess Elaine's presence felt beyond suffocating; I happened to look into her eyes, and I felt like I was looking into an abyss." Stated another woman as she leaned back and looked up at the sky.
"You all aren't wrong, but did you see how charming Prince Elif was? I know we've seen pictures of him before, but I had thought he couldn't possibly get even more attractive. Oh, boy, was I wrong." Remarked the last woman with a blush, her words causing four others to blush as well when they thought about Elif.
"Speaking of the charming Prince Elif, how'd his body feel, Hailey?" Asked a woman, her words causing everyone to look at the blushing Hailey with envy and jealousy.
"W-What kind of question is that, Sister!? B-Besides, I don't even know what you're talking about; I never felt his body." Replied Hailey in confusion while deeply blushing.
"Haa, that's right when Prince Elif caught you, you were unconscious; to think you were blessed with such a heavenly opportunity, yet you didn't even notice it. Why is life so unfair?" Stated a different woman with a frown as she shook her head while the three other sisters sighed as well.
"HUH!?" Exclaimed Hailey in disbelief at her sister's words.
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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 253: Opening Presents) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 135: Plummeting Between Floors!?) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 232: Chaos Among The Frenzy Pirates)|| Marvel's Black Steel (Chapter 204: Victory!) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]