Chapter 588 - Bloody Vines
Soft Feather pouted slightly with her head facing the front after being lectured by Leon before she went silent, unwilling to talk further.
Perhaps, she would just make things worse if she continued to talk.
Leon threw a glance at the depressed Lilith for a moment before he inspected her cultivation level in Body Cultivation that did not seem to have grown by much in the time he had not seen her.
'Seems like she has been practicing Divine Cultivation like everyone else, huh?' Leon silently mused, noticing that Lilith had reached the Ninth Layer of Body Tempering Realm, a step short from the Energy Condensation Realm.
'Ninth Layer of Body Tempering Realm, huh?'
Leon was not surprised that Lilith had reached this level, even if she only casually practiced Divine Cultivation. After all, she had been staying by the World Tree, where the Spirit Energy was densest and growing in abundance.
"Lilith, come over here for a second," Leon suddenly called out to Lilith before she turned to face him with brows wrinkled in confusion and tears in the corners of her eyes.
"What is it?" She asked.
Leon held Lilith's hand before he took out one of his levitation rings and slotted it into her index finger, causing Lilith's heart to thump slightly with surprise, "What is this about?"
"You'll see in a moment."
With a casual look, Leon proceeded to take out one of his anti-suppression pendant devices as well before he put it on Lilith for her.
"You've been practicing Divine Cultivation, so you should know how to manipulate Spirit Energy by now. Try channeling some Spirit Energy into the pendant, then channel some Spirit Energy into the ring after," Leon instructed.
"Ahh!"
Lilith exclaimed with surprise when her body suddenly floated in midair after she followed Leon's instruction.
"I-I'm flying!" Lilith cried with pleasant surprise.
"Yes, but not quite." Leon floated close to Lilith and nodded before he explained, "You are only levitating, but you can control the altitude with the levitation ring. You still need an impetus to help you fly…"
"With only one wing, you have always had trouble with your balance and flight coordination. But with the assistance of the levitation ring, you should be able to fly on your own now…"
As Leon was explaining to Lilith, Aria has hopped on her ice-lightning sword and flew over.
Only Duna remained on Soft Feather's back, cultivating in a state of deep focus while Soft Feather continued to fly ahead with a sulking expression.
However, doubt suddenly sprouted in her heart, "Why did it suddenly get lighter?"
"Huh? Why is there only one left? Where did the others go?" Soft Feather exclaimed before she quickly glanced down towards the surface, thinking out loud, "Did I accidentally drop them?"
Eventually, Soft Feather heaved a sigh after spotting the three people in the sky some distance away before flying back to them.
"Awroof?" Silver came to a sudden stop after sensing Leon's scent growing fainter before it glanced back and waited.
Meanwhile, Aria shortly arrived beside Leon before she softly whispered into his ear with a slight pout, "Being too nice to girls is not a good thing, you know?
"Is that vinegar I smell?" Leon smiled slightly, sensing Aria's jealousy before he said wryly, "I am just trying to cheer her up a bit. She was too depressed."
"That little 'cheering' might just cause her to fall for you if you are not careful. What are you going to do if that happens? Will you accept her feelings or reject them? Knowing you, you will probably accept them!" Aria pouted.
You're just overthinking. That won't happen, Aria." Leon smiled lightly before pinching Aria's puffed cheeks, "Why would you think that of me?"
"Well, can you name at least one woman that you are close to but not your lover?"
"Of course, I ca—" Leon suddenly paused without any further words to retort her claim.
Aria threw him a dirty look before Leon chuckled ruefully while scratching his cheeks with an embarrassed look, "It seems there isn't any…"
"Hmph." Aria gave a soft snort.
…
While Leon and Aria were interacting with each other, Lilith took the chance to sprout her wing and began to test her flight.
"Uwaaa!" Lilith exclaimed with joy.
After regaining her lost feeling of freedom in the sky, she was in an exuberant mood as she flapped her black wing and shuffled through the air, adapting to her new form of flight.
"This is… amazing!"
Being born for the sky, Lilith's movement quickly began less awkward and more graceful and swift at a noticeable rate.
Lilith quickly mastered one-winged flight within a short time as her singular black grew larger to adjust to her mastery and increasing speed.
Sometime later, Lilith flew back to Leon's side.
"Leon! Mwah!" She quickly expressed her joy with a soft peck on Leon's cheeks before asking excitedly, "What's the function of this pendant?"
"Haven't you noticed that we are quite high in altitude?" Leon asked.
Perhaps because he was affected by Lilith's joyful mood or simply feeling happy for her, he began to explain with a warm smile, "That pendant helps remove the sky's suppressive force and allow you to fly much higher than ever before—But to a certain extent, of course."
"Really?!" Lilith's eyes widened in surprise and realization.
Swoosh~!
Without waiting for Leon's response, Lilith immediately shot higher into the skies, reaching the clouds shortly.
Leon's head was raised, following Lilith's trail with his gaze—even seeing her panty flash from below, before he felt Aria's gaze on him.
"Did you see what I mean?" Aria said with a slightly disgruntled look.
Knowing what she was talking about, Leon rubbed his cheeks before he explained with a wry smile, "She was just expressing her gratitude… Ahem, don't overthink it…"
"Yeah, right. Do you think anyone will just give you a smooch on the cheeks if there isn't any trace of love hidden within her heart?" Aria rolled eyes before she sighed, "Seems like I need to prepare to accept another sister."
"I don't know about that, but it seems like someone has been a little grouchy." Leon wrapped his arms around Aria's body from behind and nibbled on her ear, "Perhaps, I haven't been giving you enough of my affection?"
Feeling Leon's warm breath on her ears, Aria's face quickly flushed with embarrassment.
The open display of intimacy made her further embarrassed as she spoke shyly in a soft tone, "There are people around…"
"Hm?" Leon noticed the subtle implication in her message before he smiled mischievously and whispered softly, "Then we will continue when no one is around."
Aria's face flushed deeper before parting from Leon's hold, but she did not object and even tacitly agreed with a silent nod.
At the same time, Leon silently thought in his mind, 'I already missed the last opportunity. I can't miss this one too.'
Lust aside, Leon wondered how much Aria will benefit from their next intimate session now that his body has been remolded by True Grandmist Energy.
Swoosh~!
"Uwaa! Leon, I love it! These tools are amazing!" Lilith returned with a rarely seen joyful look that Leon had not seen since they met.
Mwah! Mwah!
Lilith gave Leon a few more pecks on each cheek before she parted from Leon and asked expectantly, "Can I keep these two items?"
"Of course. The anti-suppression pendant and levitation ring are my gifts to you. Keep it by all means. I still have a few more," Leon said casually.
If he had worked on his phrasing a bit, it would have been a nail in the coffin.
Nevertheless, Lilith's eyes brightened before she wanted to give Leon a few more pecks to share her joy.
"Ahem!" Aria faked a cough loudly.
Lilith's exuberant mood was cooled before she glanced over to Aria. She realized what she had done before her expression turned awkward.
"Oh, sorry. Something was caught in my throat. Was I interrupting something?" Aria said with a dumb look.
Leon was a little speechless.
Aria's jealousy could not be any more obvious, causing Leon to smile at this cute side of her. But before Leon could tease her, Silver's howl immediately alerted everyone.
"Awroo!"
Swoosh~!
Leon quickly shot over to the Transcendent-level silver wolf's side.
Aria and Lilith followed not too far behind while Soft Feather descended at the sound of trouble with Duna on her back.
"Silver, what wrong?" Leon asked before Silver whimpered with its legs caught in red vines, unable to break free.
"Awroo!" Silver struggled.
But the more the Transcendent-level silver wolf resisted inside the blood vines, the tighter it coiled around the silver wolf's limbs and tails, binding it to the ground.
Leon frowned.
The Tier 4 Bone Spear quickly flashed in his hand before he hacked at the blood vines—only for it to bounce back before the blood vine shifted its aggression to Leon, immediately coiling around him.
"Leon!" Aria cried.
She immediately conjured a few ice-lightning swords while Lilith revealed her claw-like sharp nails in preparation to free Leon.
However, Leon raised a hand against the bloody vine's constraints and stopped them, "Don't attack just yet. These bloody vines are pretty strange and fascinating. Let me investigate a bit."
The bloody vine's resilience drew his curiosity.
After instructing the silver wolf to stop resisting, Leon observed the surrounding bloody vines that seemed to have grown out from the blood-soaked soil littered with mutant rat carcasses.
Aria and Lilith pegged their noses from the putrid stench in the area while Leon muttered with interest, "How peculiar…"