Ryu walked with his senses primed, keeping a palm on Nemesis' body. He could feel the excitement of the big guy, so he had to make sure this mischievous horse didn't rush off on his own.
Ryu knew that Nemesis had a bloodline that came from the Nether Realm long ago. But, he never thought that Nemesis would be able to adapt to Nether Qi so quickly. After all, Nemesis' lineage was many generations removed.
But, if Ryu thought about it, Nemesis' Adept Body Sin Talent probably made it possible for him to easily adapt to any environment, let alone a world he had such close ties with to begin with.
The group got into several more battles along the way. It felt like there was a new enemy at every corner. In one instant, the forest would be eerily silent, matching well with its overall creepiness. But in the next, all sorts of vicious creatures would make their presences known.
Before an hour had passed, they had already run into several groups of Canis, Rotting Wolves, and even, the most horrible of them, the Falx.
The Falx were horrible excuses for Faeries. In terms of appearances, from afar, they looked a lot like the pixies of the Faerie race. But, upon closer inspection, much like everything else in this godforsaken place, it was cursed to an extreme.
The Falx had sickly grey and moist bodies that looked as though they had been dipped in mucus every day of their lives. They were as short as six inches and as tall as a foot. Not a single one of them wore a speck of clothing, but they also had no genitals to speak of. If it wasn't for the fact their females had lumps of flesh on their chest that might pass as breasts if one squinted, one wouldn't be able to differentiate their genders at all.
Each Falx has two pairs of wings that appeared beautiful from afar, but close up it looked like a mesh of sticky bodily fluid and mucus. It was as though someone took the most grotesque liquids of the human body and molded them into wings for flight.
If the Falx were just disgusting looking creatures, things would still be fine. But, how could Ryu possibly be so lucky?
The Falx were not only even faster and more agile that the Canis, but they also has scythes for hands. Not only were these scythes coated with a petrification poison, but they were sharp enough to tear an Earth Grade treasure into scrap metal.
Against such an enemy, Ryu didn't dare to casually use his Great Swordstaffs without coating them in protection and Sarriel was the same with her katana.
In their latest battle, the group was even forced to fight a combination of Rotting Wolves and a flock of Falx. Dealing with the speed of Falx and the strength of Rotting Wolves at the same time felt like a death sentence. If not for Nemesis' energy fueled rampage, the group of three might have been completely out of stamina by the end of the battle.
It truly felt like they were being targeted by some all seeing eye from above. The cultivation of Nether Creatures wasn't obvious, but they all seemed to be just strong enough to give them all a challenge. This was something that Ryu found hard to wrap his mind around completely.
The Tri Palace should have been geared toward geniuses of a world that couldn't produce any experts beyond the Dao Pedestal Realm. So, how exactly were they suddenly receiving a challenge capable of pushing Ryu and Sarriel to their limits?
Ryu couldn't help but look toward Sarriel's alluring back. In his fatigue, he felt that she was even more enticing now than she had been before. How being tired suddenly made his hormones flair up? Even he couldn't explain this very well.
Now that Ryu thought about it, with Sarriel's strength, she should already not have anything that could threaten her on the Moon World. Or, rather, that's what Ryu had thought before he saw the geniuses of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect.
This new perspective made him realize that the Sect that was one subordinate to his Ice Phoenix Clan had done a lot of growing in the past several million years.
That said… They still shouldn't be any challenge for Sarriel. Crushing them should be as easy as thinking it.
Yet, Sarriel still went out of her way to expose her Truth Pupils to Ryu in exchange for protection. Could it be that she knew something like this would happen? That was the only explanation Ryu could think of.
Seemingly sensing Ryu's gaze, Sarriel looked back. But, rather than looking away after having been caught, Ryu didn't retract his look at all. Instead, he continued to scan Sarriel's body wantonly, making her blush profusely. Her curves were truly too enticing. Even beneath her loose robes, the volume of her bottom was impossible to miss.
Her heart fluttered, her step slowing slightly to walk evenly with Ryu.
She pulled at the collar of her robes as though trying to cool herself down, but all she really did was give Ryu a view of the deep ravines she hid beneath.
Ryu's eyes narrowed. The mounds of flesh outlined by an intricately laced undergarment made his loins light on fire. Even without touching, he could almost feel the softness with a look alone.
The action ended almost as soon as it started. Sarriel blushed down to the tip of her long ears, something Ryu could easily see as her disguise was useless against him.
"… I can't do it, I can't do it…!" Sarriel covered her face with both hands.
She tried to give Ryu a better look at her body, trying to be the bold and confident woman he liked. But, she couldn't last very long before her embarrassment took over. She wanted nothing more than to find a hole to scurry into.
Niel looked back and gave the two a weird look before his face became somewhat depressed. Couldn't these two flirt somewhere else? This was a life and death trial, you know? They might not make it out of this!
It was at that moment that Ryu's eyes snapped up. "… We're here."
The group passed a clearing, finding what they all least expected to find.
It was a city, right in the middle of the Nether Realm.
The issue though, wasn't that it was a city. But, rather that there were hundreds of youths their age within it even though not even 40 individuals had entered with them…