Chapter 82: Demonic Fertilizer

"Muria, Lord Ansol has returned from the abyss. Are you ready to meet him now?"

Indeed, just as Muria returned from the arena and was meditating overnight, Cassio informed him of this news and asked for his decision.

"Let's go." Hearing Cassio's query, Muria responded without hesitation, for according to Hera Lois, his father was to take him to meet the epic Titans of the tribe—a moment Muria had long anticipated.

Brilliant magical energies appeared on the ground, slowly forming a teleportation array. Cassio looked at Muria and reminded him, "This teleportation array will take you directly inside Lord Ansol's residence. Be prepared."

"Because he's my father, I can teleport directly inside," Muria thought to himself. Normally, visiting other Titans' residences would mean teleporting to the outside and waiting, not directly inside.

...

As Muria's dizziness from teleportation subsided, he was hit by a pungent mix of sulfur and blood, so intense that he had to hold his breath. The air was dreadful.

He had arrived in a spacious courtyard within his father's residence, and what he saw was startling. Scattered across the courtyard were eight demonic corpses, oozing black demonic blood and exuding an evil aura and legendary presence. The smell was coming from them.

"Legendary demon corpses." Muria's face stiffened as he muttered to himself while looking at the massive carcasses carelessly thrown about. Among them was the corpse of an eight-armed snake demon, clearly not the one from the abyssal training ground.

The state of death was different; this snake demon's eight arms were all shattered as if obliterated by brute force, none intact, but her head was still attached, not severed.

Moreover, the expression of disbelief mixed with sheer terror on her face before death made Muria wonder what she had encountered to leave such an expression.

Besides the eight-armed snake demon, Muria also recognized the legendary upper demon, Baral the Flame Demon, though again as a carcass mangled by immense force.

"What kind of demon is this?" Muria turned his attention to another corpse resembling a giant beetle, with hard carapace and sharp limbs.

"Who knows, huh." At that moment, a voice full of cryptic meaning came from behind Muria. He turned to see a power dragon crouched nearby, also examining the demon corpses.

Seeing Muria's puzzled look, the power dragon explained, "Do you know how many beings fall into the abyss and become demons at every moment across all material planes?"

"How many?"

"Unknown, even the gods can't tell." The power dragon's translucent eyes fixed on Muria, a mocking smile on its lips, "Because the number of creatures that fall into the abyss and turn into demons is simply too many."

"Like this big bug." The power dragon pointed to the beetle-like demon corpse with its shattered carapace and severed limbs. "It might have started as a mere insect in the material realm, but for power or revenge or some such reason, it chose to fall into the abyss and become a demon."

"No matter the reason, once they become chaotic demons, they must be ready to be slain by the forces of order." As the power dragon educated Muria about the origins of the abyssal demons, a commanding and domineering voice rang out beside them.

Muria turned to see a burly figure that had appeared beside him—his father, the legendary Titan Ansol, with his black hair flowing and golden eyes gleaming with a formidable presence.

"Father!" Muria greeted him softly, seeing his father for only the third time since his birth.

He had learned from the power dragon about his father's journey to the abyss shortly after arriving in the tribal lands under Hera Lois's guidance.

Now, with Ansol returned from the abyss, the eight legendary demon corpses were undoubtedly the spoils of his battles there.

"Father, I've heard I'm not as skilled as other Titans of my age, so you arranged for Hera Lois to train me. How am I doing with my martial arts now?" Ansol, in heavy armor, asked his son directly about his training progress upon seeing him.

"I am confident I can defeat any Titan of my age, Father," Muria replied earnestly, his voice filled with conviction.

"Well done." Ansol nodded, then fell silent, showing he took his son's words at face value, which left little more to be said.

Muria felt a brief surge of happiness at his father's affirmation, but when he tried to speak further, he found himself at a loss for words under his father's overpowering aura.

So there they stood, father and son along with the radiant power dragon, all gazing at the eight demonic corpses beaten almost to pieces by Ansol, creating an awkward atmosphere.

Finally, unable to stand the silence any longer, the power dragon spoke up: "Ansol, let's call the elves to take these corpses away. They're stinking up the place."

"Indeed!" Ansol nodded, then called out to his spirit, "Black Armor, as usual, notify the elves of the Eternal Isle to come here."

"At your command, Master." Following Ansol's command, a figure in black armor, as tall as a Titan, appeared in the courtyard, causing Muria to stare in surprise.

This spirit materialized so vividly that, were it not for the lack of life essence, Muria would have mistaken him for a Titan clad in heavy armor.

As Black Armor quietly accepted the command, a vast teleportation array activated, bringing one after another small, elfin figure to the Titan courtyard.

"Elves!" Muria observed these beings, who carried a fresh, plant-like scent and matched the descriptions from his ancestral knowledge, with pointed ears, handsome features, and slender forms.

"Lord Ansol! Lord Power Dragon!" Led by two golden-haired elves, the group bowed respectfully to Ansol and the power dragon.

Even though the power dragon's status was somewhat ambiguous, it was still a legendary being of the dragon race, warranting the elves' respect.

"Are you Prince Muria?" After greeting the legends, the two leading sun elves naturally turned their gaze to Muria, who bore a resemblance to Ansol.

"It's me!" Muria nodded, then watched somewhat helplessly as the high elves greeted him again, though without the deep reverence shown to his father.

"Lord Ansol, if you don't mind, we will begin processing these corpses now," the high elves inquired after completing their greetings.

"Proceed."

With Ansol's approval, the sun elves, along with many wood elves wielding wooden staves, began drawing sigils and performing arcane procedures on the legendary demon corpses, which Muria couldn't comprehend.

"What are they doing?" Muria asked the power dragon, puzzled by the elves' actions.

"Ah, you should know, demons are profoundly foul and evil creatures, even in death," the power dragon explained honestly under Ansol's watchful gaze. "An ordinary demon corpse left in a forest unattended would soon spawn a slew of corrupted plants."

"And these legendary demon corpses are far worse. Anywhere they're disposed of, they can cause severe contamination, spawning countless corrupted creatures quickly."

"So why..." Muria gestured towards the elves working on the demon corpses.

"Although these legendary demon corpses are extremely foul,

 they make excellent fertilizer for the elves' Life Trees, Eternal Life Trees, and their World Trees."

"Using legendary demon corpses as fertilizer!" Muria was stunned. "Won't the Life Trees be corrupted?"

"What do you think a Life Tree is?" The power dragon glanced at Muria, eliciting a sharp thunderbolt from Ansol, which struck the dragon, causing it to smoke.

"No, Life Trees can purify these demon corpses," Ansol explained casually after launching the thunderbolt. "The power of legendary demons cannot corrupt them."

Hearing this, Muria nodded thoughtfully. He and other Titans also heavily relied on the sap of the Life Trees for their daily training, and the consumption was immense.

Such consumption, even spread among hundreds of Life Trees, would be unsustainable over time. Thus, the Titan tribe had to actively provide high-quality fertilizer for the elves' trees, ensuring they weren't overburdened. The corpses of legendary demons from the abyss served as an excellent choice.