Chapter 157: An Empty World...

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It was only after the maid was completely gone from view that Chi Wu looked behind her and asked, "Where were we again?"

"You were talking about the insufficient energy of the Astral Plane and the details regarding me being from outside of this world... Something that I'm still not sure how you knew with absolute certainty..."

Azmodeus understood that he gave a few indications of him not being from around here, but there was no way she knew with such assurance based on what he's said so far.

So how did she know...?

However, his queries would soon be answered by the Crimson Witch, as she found herself walking ahead of him on a sleek flight of spiraling marble stairs.

"I knew you were from a land beyond the Astral Plane solely because there is a certain gleam in your eyes—one that doesn't belong to those of this empty world."

Chi Wu's voice became eerily ominous toward the end, as she seemed to know something that little to no one else knew of in the Astral Plane...

"Empty world...? What does that mean?" Azmodeus inquired.

"It's nothing... Forget I said anything. First off, let me explain to you why the Potion Master is a dying profession, a reason that also just so happens to be related to your existence as an Astral Trial Participant."

Chi Wu diverted the Crimson Devil Lord's attention away from the topic without a hitch, as she continued by saying, "There are not enough spiritual stones and Star Stones to supplement the lack of energy that we can utilize in this world. And the reason for this insufficient number of spiritual stones that we used to have in massive amounts is because of people like you..."

"Astral Leap Participants..." Azmodeus muttered while walking through a few windy hallways on the fifth floor of the castle.

"Precisely. It is due to a lack of Astral Leap participants with extreme amounts of wealth that all our spiritual stone reserves are in decline. And as you know already, the Potion Master Profession is one that uses Spiritual Stones and Star Stones as midway points. These 'midway' points allow us to utilize energy for potion making..."

Chi Wu's voice became a little despondent toward the end, as the subject of the Potion Master's decline was a touchy one. And she wasn't the only one sensitive toward that issue, as just about every single Potion Master was left in disarray after realizing that they would one day have to quit their practice.

"Okay..." Azmodeus responded after a moment's hesitation. After which, he downed the golden contents of the potion without any inhibitions.

"!!!" What the hell??

WAAAA!

An explosion of energy erupted from within his chiseled body as everything inside the room and even the castle itself started to violently shake!

However, before it could get too out of hand, he reeled it in, and when he did, the amount of power gained from drinking that potion could be felt in full.

"The Middle-Gold Rank..."

Azmodeus couldn't believe that such a simple potion had actually allowed him to breakthrough the bottleneck that prevented him from achieving the Middle-Gold Rank...!

In spite of that, the next words of Chi Wu quickly cleared up his confusion, as she said, "That potion was of the Diamond Rank, and do you want to know the cost of such a potion?"

"The cost..." Azmodeus suddenly got a bad feeling, and that feeling only became more prominent with what the Crimson Witch said next:

"That potion will go for 10 billion Azura's on the market, which is roughly the total net worth of a high-ranking Duke in the Capital."

"10 billion Azura's..." Azmodeus muttered with a voice laced with astonishment. "Why is it that you let me consume such a valuable potion and breakthrough...?"

What are her motives? Nothing is free in this world, and for one to give over something worth so much and expect nothing in return is impossible...

Is it poison? Not immediate poisoning... But some form of dormant poison that will show its effects at a later point in time...?

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