45 Live the Life that You Love
It was less than half a day since Ely left the Sacred Mountain. However, the local beasts and demons had already invaded the eastern great forest region in response to the particular tribe's declaration of war.
Rather than calling it a battle or a war, it was closer to a massacre.
The 7th Rank sea eagle took the command as the Commander and led three hundred experts. Their opponents were more than ten times their number. Yet, all the combatants on the enemy's side were utterly annihilated even before dusk.
Innocent residents were spared, and those who surrendered were held as prisoners of war.
"Why are you doing this. I do believe I have never offended you before..." The dying big bull muttered with difficulty.
"Blame yourself for declaring war on us, bodacious bull. The Sacred Mountain and its surrounding is the sacred shrine priestess' territory. We attacked before you could invade our holy land. You should have expected this outcome after your declaration." The herculean golden pig dragged the enemy's leader.
"Guh, wh-what!?" The bodacious bull was surprised but had no idea where the Sacred Mountain was.
"Just kill him, speak less, and do more useful things, wild pig." The sea eagle was dissatisfied.
"Well, the war is over. I will send you away, bodacious bull. We will have a good beef for winter." The herculean golden pig raised his barbarian spear.
"W-wait!" The bodacious bull tried to beg for mercy, but the herculean golden pig beheaded him before he could say more.
"Hehe, how about my performance, ladies?" The herculean golden pig rubbed his hand.
"Pretty decent, but don't be complacent with just that. You should handle the rest and clean up the mess. The war was over before it started, and now it's time for us to go." Uriel heaved a subtle sigh. She guessed the result, but these beasts and demons were more ferocious than expected.
"W-wait! When you see the shrine priestess, please say a good word for us? It's been a while since she held an open party with us." The sea eagle flew before the two Apostle ladies.
"We still need to hunt, but we'll try to put in a good word or two for you. You can expect some good news in nine days from now. However, you'd better prepare everything by the time we return." Uriel would grant the request as it was an easy thing to do.
"Save more meat, herbs, and spirit stones!" Remiel reminded the surrounding beasts.
"Yes, yes, we will." The sea eagle was satisfied with that.
After the two ladies left, he ordered his underling to clean up the mess and bring the meat for their winter supplies.
That day, a large tribe vanished, with less than twenty survivors left. They managed to save their lives because they fled in fear. The news about the Sacred Mountain's prowess soon spread, and no one dared to challenge the sovereignty of the central mountains, even if the place was not inhabited.
Uriel and Remiel visited the western mountains and forests for their treasure hunt. They hunted and investigated an unexplored secret realm and its ruins for several days before leaving to follow their master in the snowy mountains.
It was five days since the seasonal treasure hunt started. Ely was oblivious to what the docile beast and demon in Sacred Mountain did.
Jophiel, Yuuki, and Ely hunted some prey and searched for treasure together.
However, Ely's thoughts were distracted by something. She still needed clues about Jophiel's improvements in the last five days.
[Jophiel (FV: 2530) | 5th Rank Late Stage]
[Loyalty: 99%]
[Talent: 3 Stars | SR]
Jophiel's cultivation realm had risen since the last intense practice, but what intrigued Ely was Jophiel's FV. It went up by 550 in just five days, mysteriously! She didn't even know the real meaning behind FV. Yuuki even got 50 FV points up.
Even so, she was happy to see Jophiel's loyalty increase. The only setback was her sixth disciple clinging to her during leisure time.
"Master, we still haven't found any clues regarding the mysterious giant snow monster. Is that monster a legendary creature?" Jophiel tugged at the hem of her master's sleeve for attention.
She stole several glances at the nearby nine-tailed snow fox. It was still hard for her to get along with this newly appointed elder at her master's side. But this nine-tailed snow fox was her master's old friend who had been separated for a long time. Elder Yuuki was also powerful...
Elder Yuuki was also considerate and caring, albeit a bit cold. Even so, Jophiel had already accepted Yuuki since their first meeting.
Ely returned to her senses. She and Yuuki also accompanied Jophiel to investigate a mysterious snow monster that had destroyed the village where little Jophiel lived in the past.
Ely had erased most of Jophiel's memories of the past tragedy, but some memories remained before that dark event. The mentioned giant snow monster was one of the few memories Jophiel could remember.
Jophiel tried to find that monster because she wanted to pay back the terror.
"I don't think so. Legendary creatures can feel each other's presence within a radius of three thousand kilometers. Unless the other party deliberately conceals their aura with a secret technique..." Yuuki shook her head.
"The mysterious giant snow monster might be in a certain secret realm? He is four meters tall, has thick white fur, and resembles a human... We will definitely find that monster sooner or later." Ely drew a yeti and gave it to Jophiel. "Is the monster like this?"
"Mm, it should be similar to this. That monster was so savage, killing many villagers and kidnapping many children. I was so small back then. It was so scary." Jophiel showed her hate toward that snow monster.
"Are you one of the kidnapped?" Yuuki was curious.
"I'm not really sure, but I guess I got lucky. I can't remember that much in detail because it was over ten years ago." Jophiel scratched her head in confusion. She barely had any memories of herself beside a brief lonely life in a remote forest village.
She didn't even know how she became a demonic slime before being rescued by her master.
It was like all terrible memories vanished during purification. Right now, everything was replaced by warm and beautiful memories of her new life. It was a blessing, but she wanted to punish that mysterious giant snow monster.
She was weak back then and could only cower in fear inside a hidden wooden crate. However, she was strong now.
"..." Ely heaved a subtle sigh. It was the beginning of the real nightmare. The one that kidnapped little Jophiel was another monster, but that was already past.
"Jophi-chan, do you want to punish that monster for the villagers?" Ely stroked Jophiel's long lustrous pink hair.
"Yes, punishment for the evil! No revenge for them because there is no sentiment with those villagers." Jophiel nodded several times.
"Hmm~ Even though the best kind of revenge is to move on and live happily? You will live the life that you love. You can reach the higher realm and immortality by pursuing your dao. No one under heaven can bully you and those you want to protect." Ely tried to bring Jophiel to the right path, though she still had no idea what kind of dao Jophiel was focused on.
"O-oh-" Jophiel felt enlightened. Her pink crystal eyes twinkled like stars due to the revelation.
She cultivated the path of beauty and love, but she focused everything on her master. Since her master was the pinnacle, she could achieve immortality as long as she stayed next to her master and true to herself.
She wished to stay by her mama's side forever. Her brothers and sisters should also achieve immortality together. That way, no one would be left behind.
Their only obstacles were the Heavenly Demons, The Demonic Seeds, and the great evil lurking in the darkness. The ones the Guardian of Dream had to exterminate. It was their master's wish and the main reason they had to fight.
After thinking about that, Jophiel could see the broader horizon. The mysterious giant snow monster was insignificant in her path.
"Disciple understands. I won't be looking for that mysterious giant snow monster anymore, but I will kill him if he appears before me. Let's go to Sumore City, master. Fifth and tenth sister are probably already there." Jophiel clenched her fist in determination. She then pulled her master's hand.
"Please wear your veil, Jophi-chan. No trouble hasn't come our way in the past five days, but it should be easy for them to get news of our movements in the big forest city." Ely put a veil on her disciple. Author updates n0velfuIIbook.com. "Thank you, master. But, trouble? I'm not afraid of trouble, but why would they want to target us? Who are they, to begin with? Hum- humph!" Jophiel raised her fist as if ready to beat those troublemakers black and blue.
"They are some people from Tiangong Sacred Land and possibly Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace. They covet Yuuki's body and probably also desire me." Ely glanced at Yuuki and raised her eyebrows repeatedly.
"..." Yuuki facepalmed. That was right, but the others could easily misunderstand such phrases.
"Ah, how dare they go to find trouble with us? Hmm-mm~ They are courting death. If they dare to cross our bottom line, I reckon it will be a massacre."
"They are the two prominent holy lands in the Northern Realm. Are you not afraid?"
"With master by my side, there's nothing to be afraid of, even if the world ends tomorrow."
Jophiel and Ely walked side by side. They immediately changed the topic of conversation to something more pleasant.
Yuuki followed them from behind with a faint smile on her face. She felt everything would be fine, just like what Jophiel said. Ely's plan was also pretty sinister, worthy of being called a cunning fox.
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