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"My search for a successor has come to an end. I bid you farewell my disciple," the middle-aged 'man' said looking at Ava with a smile.
Ava wanted to say something but the man raised his hand and she kept quiet.
He then turned to the Beast Men race, "I have repaid the favor of your ancestors and have given what I promised." He threw a sack at them and Takye caught it and held it tightly as he felt that it was filled with pills.
"Your elders should know what to do with it."
Takye bowed and thank the 'man' with heartfelt words and so did every one of his kin.
The 'man' waves them off, "It is time for you all to go," and without any warning, the beast men were teleported out of the secret realm before they could say anything more.
'He' looked at Arthur's group and did the same to them leaving only Ava and Arthur as the others were teleported out of the realm.
"I have a few last words for you my disciple, so listen carefully."
Ava nodded ignoring the curiosity she had in her heart as to why Arthur was here too and listened.
"The path of Alchemy is not an easy one as it is with any Dao. But with my inheritance and your 'special' talent, it will not be a problem to reach my level quickly and even surpass it."
Ava nodded as she knew that her 'Master' was referring to her special physique when he talked about her talent.
She didn't want anyone to know about her physique as it is a top secret and only her father and the Emperor of the Hartfield Empire knew about it.
Her master knew that too after their little discussion as she told him all she could about herself.
The 'man' spoke about a few matters that he wanted her to pay attention to and reminded her of his final instruction to her.
After that Ava expressed her thanks once more as she felt grateful for the fortune she had received and the man snapped his fingers and teleported her out of the secret realm, leaving Arthur behind.
The man looked at Arthur for a few seconds and his translucent figure disappeared and a woman appeared in his place.
"Were you satisfied?" The soft voice of the seductive lady asked Arthur.
Arthur smiled a bit, "It wasn't bad."
"But I don't understand why you made me seal those parts of her memories."
"I have my reasons. Now tell me, how will you follow me out of here?" Arthur asked.
The lady showed a struggling expression a bit as if she was reluctant and sighed, "Can you let me go?" She asked softly and bit her lip looking pitiful.
If Arthur's soul wasn't so strong and with his mental ability and 'will' strengthened by his powerful soul, he might have fallen for her charms by now.
"I thought you would have learned by now..." Arthur walked to her and held her chin.
"...your charms don't work on me unless I allow them to," Arthur smirked.
"Hmph!" The lady turned her head and said, "I have a treasure that allows me to dwell within."
"Hmm, a storage artifact that can store living creatures?" Arthur asked casually.
"You even know about this? What am I saying? Of course, you do," she sneered slightly.
She was a bit surprised that Arthur acted normal when she told him about her treasure.
After all, a person from a lower realm would not have seen or heard of such a treasure in their lives.
But then she recalled the mighty soul she saw and thought, 'Right, he is anything but simple.'
It was considered common knowledge in the Southern Continent that there only exist storage treasures to store inanimate objects.
Maybe there existed a treasure capable of storing living beings in the past but no one has seen something like that in ages.
The woman waved her hand and a scroll appeared floating before her.
She grabbed it and unfolded it to reveal a beautiful painting on the scroll that felt alive.
It was a painting of three mountain peaks with a mansion on one of them. Sometimes the clouds in the painting will move as though affected by the wind.
Arthur wondered who was the creator of such a treasure.
"The is the Serene Palace Painting. It contains a very small world within and a good amount of essence energy for cultivation."
A nostalgic expression appeared on her face as she caressed the painting gently, "My elder sister gifted it to me on one of our many adventures through the realms."
"I see. Now it belongs to me," Arthur said without caring for the pleading expression on her face.
With a bit of struggle, she handed it over to Arthur who tore his finger and let his blood drop on the scroll.
The scroll shined with light and settled down recognizing Arthur as its master.
Arthur could now feel a connection with the scroll and he can also sense the world within.
'The artifact accepted him as its master so easily!' The lady was surprised and shaken as she felt that her connection with the scroll has been severed entirely.
A hint of sadness appeared in her eyes, 'I am sorry sister...'
"Go in," Arthur commanded and she complied both due to the compelling force in her soul and the fact that she needed some time to think.
*Swoosh!*
She disappeared and Arthur sensed her presence appear within the small world in the painting.
He nodded in satisfaction.
With a thought of his, a ring flew out of the painting and Arthur placed the scroll inside the ring.
The ring was a part of the scroll and was specially made to store it as the scroll can not be stored within ordinary storage rings.
Arthur wore the ring on his left index finger.
"Send me out."
*Swoosh!*
Arthur felt the displacement of space once more and found himself at the top of a familiar mountain.
He pretended to be dizzy for a few seconds before 'recovering' from the sudden teleportation and traversal between space.
Ava looked at him suspiciously since she knew he did not feel dizzy at all but she kept quiet and said nothing about it.
After that Arthur was questioned about what happened as he was the last to leave and he only said he was advised by the Alchemist to not let his talent go to waste.
The Great Elder was happy to hear that one of their own was commended by the Alchemist as he had heard of the details from the other Heavenly Sword Sect disciples.
He knew that if Ava wasn't here, they would be the ones with the greatest harvest as she had personally received a stack of pills refined by the Alchemist himself.
Although she did not say so herself, who would believe her?
With the matter coming to an end, they mounted their spirit beasts and flew to their respective bases under the hidden protection of their Vice Leaders.
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