Death... and me

Back in the valley, Rean's group continued to cultivate. Every now and then, they would have Burio's group take care of the kids. However, they brought Burio and the others exactly because they didn't want to spend too much time doing that. That being said, their group eventually grew used to managing all those kids at once, using the older kids to help with those tasks as well.

A few days later, Rean and the others felt a vibration come from outside, showing that something hit Rean's protection formation. Naturally, they immediately took flight and exited the valley to see who it was. Well, it wasn't like they didn't know who it would be.

"Gulan, you came here faster than I thought. Usually, it takes a lot longer to mine a deposit like that," Kentucky said as he looked at the enormous crystalline blue bird in front of them.

The Blue Luan nodded while he looked at the valley covered by mist. "I have those two lizards doing the underground work for me. Well, I'm happy you've kept your word since no one had appeared to bother me during that time. Now then, you said you wanted to see the Demon Beast Alliance, so I'm here to bring you there. However, whether they accept you or will do anything against you is not my problem, so you're on your own if things go south."

Kentucky didn't complain as he replied, "Very well." Following that, he looked at Roan and ordered, "Stay here and protect the valley during my absence. I better not see anything out of place once I'm back."

Roan bowed to Kentucky in response, politely saying, "Yes, master." Soon after, he descended into the valley once more. However, it was just a pretense. Instead, as soon as he passed through the Spiritual Sense barrier, he headed straight into the Dimensional Realm. Although the Blue Luan was here, it wasn't for a fight. That being said, the system didn't consider it a dangerous situation and allowed Roan to enter. In the end, they might not be able to enter the Dimensional Realm during dangerous times, but the system didn't say anything about leaving it. With Rean outside, Roan could appear by his side at any time if necessary.

The Blue Luan then turned around before zooming into the distance. Kentucky, of course, did the same thing and followed the Blue Luan. As for Rean, he stayed on Kentucky's back since he couldn't keep with their flying speeds.

Along the way, Gulan looked at Kentucky and asked, "By the way, how did you build that formation on that valley? Even my Spiritual Sense can't pass through it, which shows that it's at the Heaven-level." The Blue Luan was the master of the Koran Forest, so he knew what could be found in the valley. With that said, he wasn't curious about the valley itself, but what Kentucky was doing there that needed him to hide it.

Kentucky laughed in response, answering, "Of course, it's at the Heaven-level. After all, I paid for it." Kentucky continued, "As long as you have enough Spirit Stones, you can get one of the Zasfins to do the dirty work for you. During my journeys, I found a lot of idiots who thought they could do whatever they wanted with me. Well, they died, and their possessions had turned into mine. You could say that I'm quite wealthy myself. Of course, I can't compare to someone like you who rules an entire Demon Beast Forest."

Gulan nodded, saying, "Indeed. I've lived here for over 200 years, so I did obtain a few things of value as well. It's just that I never thought about asking a Zasfin to do anything for me. Aren't you afraid that this Zasfin would play some tricks with the formation?"

Kentucky shrugged his shoulders as he said, "Why should I? it's just a Spiritual Sense Barrier Formation and a Protection Formation. The cores of the formations are inside the valley, and my subordinates are also there. I can simply destroy them, and the formations will go down."

Gulan narrowed his eyes, finding it a little hard to believe. 'However, there's a chance that the Zasfin thought that Kentucky was part of the Demon Beast Alliance, so the guy didn't try anything. Also, a Zasfin that can build a Heaven-level formation is definitely at the Nascent Soul level at the very least. It isn't strange that he can come and go without the other demon beasts noticing. Especially after Kentucky made that place his territory,' The Blue Luan concluded as he thought. For him, it also didn't matter much since he was much stronger.

The travel took several days since it was outside the Koran Forest. In fact, it was also outside the Tribes' Zone, further to the south. At some point, the sea showed itself as the land stayed behind. Nevertheless, the Blue Luan didn't stop. Rean looked at the jade slips and saw that they were going in the direction of a continent called Gartrin. The only problem was that there wasn't much information about it in the Jade Slips.

In the end, it took Rean's group two weeks of nonstop flight and more than 100 thousand kilometers to arrive there. That showed just how big this planet was compared to what Rean remembered about Earth.

"This is the Gartrin Continent, but a few of the Soul Rulers also call it the Demon Beast Continent," Gulan explained. "Although they're very sparse in this continent, I wouldn't be so bold as to say that there are no Zasfin settlements here. In any case, most of them are very small. As for cities and others, there aren't more than four or five of them in the entire landmass."

Kentucky couldn't help but ask, "Why would the Zasfins even live in a place like this? Isn't it too dangerous for them?"

Gulan shook his head, responding, "Those Zasfins are here mostly for the sake of trading. After all, the demon beasts have materials that the Zasfins want. The opposite is also true. With that said, you'll see that the cities where the Zasfins live here are also filled with demon beasts everywhere. The Soul Rulers and the Demon Beast Alliance have agreed to not fight each other while inside the cities."

Gulan then smiled, continuing, "Of course, the story is completely different when you're outside. Whether you're a Zasfin or a demon beast..." Gulan then looked at Rean. "...or even a human, anyone can attack you, and you can do the same back. The Demon Beast Continent is one of the best places to train since Zasfins and demon beasts can engage in combat to hone themselves. Too bad the Soul Rulers try to keep this place's existence as unknown as possible."

"Why is that?" Naturally, Kentucky had to ask.

"Isn't that obvious?" The Blue Luan looked at Kentucky as if he was an idiot. "The Zasfins must keep the control over the Zasfins of the planet. That being said, they pose themselves as the strongest force here. It would be bad for business if the Zasfins knew that another force with a similar level of power existed."

Rean couldn't help but ask another question after that. Of course, he used Kentucky to do that since he had to keep up his pretense as a slave. "I don't understand. Why would the demon beasts let it stay like this? If they have a similar level of power, shouldn't they be able to oppose the Soul Rulers? Considering our demon beast instincts, I can't see why the demon beasts would accept such a thing."

The Blue Luan looked at Kentucky and nodded. "Indeed. Such a thing should have never happened. However...the Soul Rulers have the World Swallowing Cedar."

Rean and Kentucky felt their hearts skip a beat. "Wo-World Swallowing Cedar? What is that?" Of course, they totally knew what it was. However, no one knew that they had it.

Gulan then continued, "Well, since you're also a Divine Demon beast, you'll find about it sooner or later after joining the alliance. The World Swallowing Cedar can control the Spiritual Energy of the entire world. That being said, it could have deprived the Demon Beast Continent from having any Spiritual Energy at all."

"However, that would definitely enrage the Demon Beasts living here, which would cause a war between both sides. In the end, the Demon Beast Alliance and the Soul Rulers have formed an agreement. The World Swallowing Cedar wouldn't affect the Demon Beast Continent's Spiritual Energy. At the same time, the Demon Beast Alliance wouldn't contest the Soul Rulers' show of strongest power."

Gulan then looked at Kentucky with a serious expression as he added, "Very few know of this, so you better not go around opening your mouth, understood? This balance between the demon beasts and the Soul Rulers is quite fragile. With that, both sides might come after you to make sure no one would disturb it."

Rean's group couldn't help but feel a chill on their backs. Celis was now gone, so the Soul Rulers couldn't control the Spiritual Energy anymore. That being said...what would happen with this agreement between both sides? "Ahem...Gulan, you did notice that the Spiritual Energy on the planet has increased several times, right? It's happening literally everywhere."

Gulan sighed in response before saying, "Don't ask me. I also don't know what's happening. One of the reasons I agreed to bring you here was that I needed to investigate this situation. Otherwise, why would I make such a huge journey all the way here? Just to introduce yourself to the alliance? I'm not that free."

Although they didn't say it, Rean's group already imagined what might happen now. Roan then smiled as his eyes shone. 'Without Celis...the Soul Rulers' pretense of unrivaled power might be in jeopardy very soon. This might be a very good thing for the humans.'