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Soon, the concealed strength of the Nature Spirits became evident to all the Devas trespassing within the Essence Nurturing Forest. But worse, the knowledge that an irresistible force coveting all their lives lurked in the shadows kept them all on tiptoes. The Silent Blades left neither trace nor noise. One move, one death, and they went on. The corpses vanished alongside them, leaving the trembling Devas with nothing but speculations.

Of course, as Konrad ordered, the devis suffered a fairer fate: Kidnapping.

Before they could realize what went on, the Silent Blades neutralized and tossed them into Internal Void Spaces. Little did they know that this unexpected larceny would ensure them blissful immortal lives. A matter for another time.

Meanwhile, Selene faced an old acquaintance. Her second maternal uncle, and Surya's right-hand man: the Primal Sun Sect's Great Elder Mahava. When his golden eyes first lay on that buxom bombshell whose outrageous curves snatched all attention, Mahava's heart teemed with reckless greed. But in a flash, he steadied his mind and contained himself. His eyes rose to meet Selene's, but when they interlocked, consternation flashed within his golden hues.

As a God, the word "forget" didn't exist in Mahava's vocabulary. All the tiniest details of his life remained firmly imprinted within his mind. The age was different, the shape unrecognizable, but within those eyes of Selene's, a familiar glint flickered, reminiscing him of the time his elder brother Surya led experiments on their Nephilim niece.

But that girl was dead. Destroyed in body and soul. How could she possibly reappear? But if not her…

"No need to dwell on unnecessary thoughts. Uncle, long time no see. One million years and no improvement. No wonder you so desperately sought the secrets of my blood. A pity that with your skills that even donkeys look down on, you can never replicate it."

Selene began, causing Mahava's eyes to widen in fright. The words said it all, the dead stood before him in flawless conditions. Alarmed, and believing he'd fallen prey to the Essence Nurturing Forest's tricks, Mahava looked left and right, sweeping the area with his weakened God-Senses and Seer's Vision, but failed to spot an anomaly.

Selene's lips curled into a radiant smile; yet, her eyes blazed with soaring killent intent. A sharp contrast that snatched back Mahava's attention.

"You can't possibly be…I don't believe it!"

He snarled in a mixture of skepticism and fright, letting his cultivation base erupt to confront the "illusion." Before that sorrowful display, Selene shook her head in disapproval.

"Tss, tss, tss. As the saying goes, they will not shed tears before they see their coffins. Fine, this is an illusion. A dream…"

Selene paused and stepped forward, causing nine crimson suns to appear at her back and blind Mahava in a perfect eruption of mixing celestial and demonic forces! Ravmalakh and Archdemon energies overlapping in a brand-new, several times mightier force!

"...that I will now turn into a nightmare.

Ancestral Glory: Infernal Luminaries!"

The Nephilim's right index stretched toward Mahava, Devil Force unfurled, combining with the nine crimson suns of celestial and demonic powers to fill the area with crushing might.

Still, Mahava was undaunted.

"Bold creature! Regardless of where you hail from, of truth and falsehood, with your mid-stage High God level strength, you are not qualified to fill the gaps of my teeth!"

Mahava snapped, for though Selene's foundation and battle-power allowed her to cross several levels, with her mid-stage Boundless Sea Devil cultivation, to say nothing of Mahava, even low-level Ancestral Gods stood beyond her league…or so it should have been.

Before Mahava could make his move, nine mirrors appeared in the sky to reflect the light of the crimson suns. Those nine mirrors each rippled with formidable devil force and Truth Laws forces that all locked on Mahava, reducing his cultivation to Selene's level!

His eyes widened in fright!

"The Leveling Mirror Set. A Devil Artifact refined by my most adored devil for humiliation purposes. Now, now, same cultivation, let's see what you got."

Selene countered, and without further ado, releasing an explosion of crimson solar energies that barrelled into a dazed Mahava, sending him hurtling in the sky, a charred and unrecognizable mess!

...

And while her fellow devas suffered slaughter and the devis kidnapping, the unaware Rati walked beside the chief culprit of all those events with a disturbed gaze echoing her internal incredulity. Since they'd set out, Konrad successfully led her to three dozen Royal Blood Trees. All within a day. This was a shocking record that clearly indicated he knew precisely where they stood.

The Essence Nurturing Forest's restrictions posed him no challenge. Still, he insisted on taking his time, enjoying a stroll instead of directly teleporting toward the destination. He was playing her and she knew it. Still, she had to ask...and so she did.

"You obviously know their location. Why don't you just take them all?"

Rati inquired with her eyes narrowing in a frown. And before that inquiry, Konrad replied with a wolfish grin. The face spoke the words before they even left his lips, and by the time they echoed, Rati was already releasing a sigh.

"If I do, then I no longer have an excuse to dally with you."

Little did Rati know that this was only half the truth. Konrad delayed because he awaited a certain event that made those hundreds of Royal Blood Fruits he plucked inconsequential.

"You have no hope. In this world, no one can make me consciously betray Kama. If you succeed, then it shall be due to might, and not by submission of my heart."

Rati declared with an inflexible certitude that only made Konrad's smile brighter.

"Guilt and love vastly differ. If you were in love, perhaps your words would hold some tiny bit of weight. But since you merely feel guilty, you're doomed to surrender of your own volition."

Konrad retorted without halting his footsteps, and the words smacked Rati right in the face, stopping her dead in her tracks as her body trembled and her eyes widened in a stupor.