429 Exposed

After Leon taught them the basics, he left them to comprehend and awaken at their own pace and headed to the rocky plateau with Darlene.

At the edges of the top of the rocky plateau, where the breeze was good, and the altitude was high, Leon chose the spot for Darlene to cultivate with him.

The higher they were, the more spatial elements were present. Spatial elements existed everywhere, but they were sparse on the ground level due to the abundance of other existing elements in the surrounding.

While Darlene cultivated her spatial ability, Leon practiced the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] to refine more Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy for his Body Cultivation.

Spatial Energy and Temporal Energy gathered towards them in steady streams as they cultivated in silence beside each other.

An unknown period of time passed before footsteps were heard nearby.

Leon slowly opened his eyes and ended his cultivation session right there, while Darlene remained deep in meditation, oblivious to her surroundings.

"Did I interrupt your cultivation session?" Chief Valencia asked wryly.

Leon shook his head and said, "It's fine. Let us talk somewhere else."

"Alright."

Leon and Chief Valencia moved some distance away for their discussion in case they disturb Darlene's cultivation.

"Do you need me for something, chief?"

"I'm about to head to depart for the Black Swamp. I wonder if Little Nephew Leonhardt will be interested in joining this expedition and chatting with Aunty Valencia along the way." Chief Valencia said.

"Aunty Valencia, huh? Sure." Leon said with a raised eyebrow.

Suddenly, he had become a generation younger than the chief. Considering the chief was around the same age as his parents, it would have been normal for the chief to address him as 'Little Nephew.'

However, he was used to the chief addressing him as 'Little Brother Leonhardt.'

Nevertheless, she changed to addressing him as 'Little Nephew Leonhardt' implies that she had understood the relationship he shares with Helen, his adoptive mother, and learned of his true identity.

"That's great. Little Nephew Leonhardt sure hid it well—or should I call you the Crown Prince Leon? Who knew that we were all family after all this time? You should have told me. I would have treated you more warmly."

"It's fine. They're all just names. You can call me whatever you want, chief. I had my misgivings. I hope that you understand." Leon said wryly.

What a joke.

Although it seemed Chief Valencia and his mother Helen had gotten close like sisters, he still felt like it was a superficial relationship even if they were now working towards a common goal.

He understood this after considering the difference in the chief's treatment of his mother and other regular servants.

The chief was good at using people.

Perhaps all leaders inherently possess this skill or developed it during their career when they step into a position of power over others.

"Then I will continue to call you Little Nephew Leonhardt." Chief Valencia nodded.

"You're not going to treat me differently after learning that I am someone from the Human Domain, right?" Leon asked.

Chief Valencia smiled wryly and said, "Of course not! The tribe still needs to rely on you. Besides, you are a part of the tribe now. We are family."

"I see, in that case, I should give you this."

Leon nodded and took out a stack of papers before passing it over to Chief Valencia. After she glanced at it, she asked, "This is…?"

"The Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method, the first volume translated in its entirety," Leon stated calmly and watched the chief's eyes slowly widened in shock and alarm.

Chief Valencia skimmed through the translated text before she stared at Leon dumbfoundedly. After a moment, she inquired, "You managed to translate the whole volume in such a short time?"

"Yes."

Leon shamelessly admitted.

"Impress. Haiz, Little Nephew Leonhardt never ceases to amaze. Your talent is envious." Chief Valencia praised with an emotional sigh.

Comparing one's own talents to someone like Leon would just make them depressed.

"Right, I've been away from the Human Domain for some time now. Thus, I plan to return to check on the situation halfway through the expedition if Aunt Valencia doesn't mind." Leon mentioned.

Chief Valencia was rather startled and asked, "How long will you be gone?"

"Perhaps for a few days if nothing unexpected happens. I plan to return to attend the summit at the very least." Leon answered.

After a moment, he suggests, "If we can bring back the Teleportation Array, it would not be a problem for the tribesmen to visit between the Dark Continent and Human Domain freely."

"A few days is alright."

Chief Valencia nodded before she noticed something and said, "So there's a Teleportation Array within the Black Swamp after all. It was strange that paled skin people made their appearance there one day, unexpectedly."

"Speaking pale skin… Little Nephew Leonhardt, your skin is…" Chief Valencia turned her attention on Leon's tanned complexion.

"Oh, this? Just some skin color changing cream I concocted and applied to blend in with the natives of this land." Leon explained with a light smile. "You won't blame me for deceiving everyone like this, right?"

"No, but I should blame you for starting the Bone Calamity, shouldn't I?" Chief Valencia narrowed her eyes, causing Leon to freeze.

Afterward, Chief Valencia slyly added, "However, if you are willing to teach my tribesmen the awakening cultivation methods, I can overlook this matter."

Leon mildly studied the chief's expression before he rubbed his forehead wryly. It seems the chief did not plan to pursue the matter despite him being the culprit that caused the deaths of many tribesmen during the Bone Calamity.

Everything paled in comparison to the benefits he could bring to Darkmoon Tribe.

Leon thought he knew his worth, but it seems like he still underestimated himself.

At least, Chief Valencia was someone who knew his worth and saw the bigger picture. She would not harm him and would go all out to protect him.

"I can agree to this," Leon said.

"That's great."

Leon took out some leftover spare paper and ink brush from the Worldspace and began writing down the methods.

After he was done, he passed it over to Chief Valencia to peruse. Offering up the awakening cultivation methods Leon knew was a small price to pay for his mistake.

"With this, the debt is cleared, right?" Leon asked.

Chief Valencia skimmed through the awakening cultivation method and nodded. It was similar to the Illusory Butterfly Technique, but there was also a significant difference between them.

"That's good," Leon said after receiving Chief Valencia's confirmation.

Nevertheless, he could no longer use the awakening cultivation methods as a bargaining chip to buy the runic mining technology from Chief Valencia.

He would have to use alternative bargaining chips to purchase it. Alas, he just so happens to know what exactly Chief Valencia would find equally attractive as the awakening cultivation method.

It was something the Infertile Plains lacked—Spirit herbs! It was definitely something he can provide, and even better after they are refined into high-quality healing medicine!

"Aunty Valencia, what do you think of this?" Leon suddenly asked, grabbing Chief Valencia's attention.

"Hm?"

In the next moment, Chief Valencia saw Leon summoning the Tier 4 Bone Spear and slicing his own hand with its incredibly sharp spearhead. With his 500-thousand jin fleshly defense, the Tier 3 Black Spear would not be able to reproduce the same result.

"What are you doing!" Chief Valencia immediately cried with surprise. "I'm not blaming you for the Bone Calamity. There's no need for you to punish yourself like this!"

Leonhardt's body was practically a treasure. How could she bear for any harm to come to him?! She needed his help if she ever contracts the Demon Possession disease.

"It's not like that." Leon shook his head and said, "Watch this."

Leon took out a bottle of Tier 3 Golden Ointment and began pouring some of its contents on his flesh wound. Shortly after, the bleeding stopped, and the wounded closed up at a naked rate.

Within dozens of breaths, the wound disappeared with a single trace of scarring left behind.

"What kind of medicine is this?!" Chief Valencia inquired with shock.

"This is called the Tier 3 Golden Ointment. What do you think about its healing effect? It should work on all Great Warriors. As for Battle Masters, the effect should be weaker."

After Leon explained, Chief Valencia's eye continued to be glued onto the pill bottle in his hand with glittering eyes like she had just found a treasure.

"Can I test its effectiveness?"

"Of course! Take it."

Leon handed the bottle of Tier 3 Golden Ointment over to Chief Valencia. She did not do anything crazy, like using her own Soul Weapon to cut her flesh.

Her flesh was not as tough as Leon, nor does she realize the toughness of Leon's fleshly defense. This was why she was considerably startled by his actions, which was crazy in her eyes.

Chief Valencia simply exerted a decent amount of force and sliced her flesh with her nails. The wound began to bleed immediately.

After she dabbed the Golden Ointment onto her wound, it began closing even quicker than Leon's cut. Either way, it was much more effective than Old Baba's medicine.