Chapter 374

Luo De never had any interest in magical rituals.

Too troublesome, too time-consuming.

Since someone nearby was skilled at it, he took the lazy route and preferred to avoid them altogether.

He stood atop the small ritual array extending from the main one, feeling his spiritual essence being steadily drained, bored enough to yawn repeatedly.

The Windwall Forest was truly vast.

Even with her immense magical reserves, Kali Site alone couldn't sustain it, so Luo De acted as a power bank, supplying spiritual essence continuously through the ground ritual.

Tally refused to be separated from her master and insisted on squeezing in.

After pounding her shoulders twice, she declared she couldn't take it anymore.

This ritual isn't meant for ordinary people—just a short while here drained a chunk of her spiritual essence; only her master could handle it.

No girls around, and he couldn't even understand the ritual.

Luo De simply used 【Growth Spiritual Essence】 to upgrade his gear.

The first to get it, without question, was the Shiver Soul Blade.

After upgrading, he nearly blacked out.

Damn it.

Another pile of daily spells popped up!

【Resistance to Seasickness】【Launch Item】【Swim Acceleration】【Conceal Item】【Blindness Spell】.

Not only that, 【Invisible Weapon】 and 【Dim Vision】 each rolled twice.

The former nullified 【Shiver Soul Blade】's Fear Domain; the latter directly weakened 【Multioptic Fear】's focus.

Both triggered erroneous evolution—Luo De immediately deleted both skills, gaining a batch of 【Erroneous Spiritual Essence】.

He was mentally exhausted.

The Shiver Soul Blade didn't deserve his affection anyway.

Next was 【The Great Cultivator's Pruning Shears】.

This was the signature weapon of the Great Cultivator from the Plague Botanical Garden; Luo De had never upgraded it before, fearing the Cultivator might recall it.

But after so long with no reaction, he figured the guy was just a brute with no tricks, and relaxed.

One at a time, then.

The stronger the weapon, the more 【Growth Spiritual Essence】 it consumed.

He'd spent too much lately on the girls—his income couldn't keep up.

Not just the girls he'd been intimate with—Xiao Bangde and Selena got their share too, via blood ingestion plus Kali Site 's version of the Qingxingyaoshui.

In a flash, his remaining 162 points rolled over several times.

【162 → 62】

Luo De widened his eyes.

One hundred points?

You stealing my balance, bro?

If you don't roll me something good, I'll break you.

【The Great Cultivator's Pruning Shears】 gained skill: 【Frostbite Pearl】

What pearl?

【Details: The shears can generate a Frostbite Pearl. Hammering it into any object grants temporary Frost Enchantment, lasting thirty minutes.】

"Hmm, not bad—at least better than 【Swim Acceleration】 and 【Resistance to Seasickness】."

Luo De sighed.

He accepted it.

Pouring Growth Spiritual Essence into gear was worse than putting it into the girls.

Finally, he pulled out 【Sacrificial Body Sword】.

He examined the beautiful golden-hued longsword.

Admittedly, it looked stunning, flashy as hell—and its quality was genuinely mediocre.

He'd chosen it as his main weapon simply because it was pretty.

Luo De loved flashy weapons.

But now that he had the Pruning Shears—a complete upgrade—【Sacrificial Body Sword】 had become expendable.

He hesitated.

Should he toss it into the 【Myriad Furnace】 for a fresh start?

But he decided against it.

The shears were ugly, the Shiver Soul Blade was terrifying—he only had this sword to maintain his image.

The forest's ascension ritual was slow.

Luo De watched Kali Site 's raised buttocks—two hours had already passed.

Suddenly.

A faint ripple of spiritual essence stirred his thoughts.

【Spider Sense】 reacted.

"Hm?"

Luo De turned toward the empty air.

"High-level invisibility?"

He raised his hand and slashed out a wave.

The swift blue spiritual slash leapt through the air—then scattered like it had hit an invisible wall.

Yuna and Vivian noticed the disturbance and immediately prepared for combat; Tally had already slipped into shadow to act.

"Bernhard, since they've noticed, there's no need to hide."

As the words ended,

Ashli and Bernhard voluntarily dispelled their invisibility midair, gazing down at the group with cold arrogance.

She glanced at Kali Site, still focused on the ritual, her eyes turning icy.

"I never expected—the one hiding in the forest was actually Kali Site, the most promising young talent of the Emerald Court. What a pleasant surprise."

The Windwall Forest was, after all, under the protection of the famed Warden Luo De of the Twilight Hills; out of respect, they'd never dared to investigate.

Kali Site, mid-ritual, cast a sidelong glance at the intruders.

She frowned slightly, but since the ritual couldn't be interrupted, she ignored them.

Bernhard remained cold, showing no surprise at all.

He looked at Luo De—and felt genuine shock.

Seventh tier?

How could he have such solid spiritual accumulation?

Clearly, this man wasn't just a name without substance.

Besides him, were there two others at seventh tier?

The Tree Spirit—Ashli had mentioned—was seventh tier mid, nearing high.

And a spider-mutated Dark Elf? A follower of Spider Queen Luo Si? Why was he here?

Just now, a woman vanished into shadow—likely this warden's succubus. A seventh-tier succubus? Rare indeed.

And who was that beside Kali Site?

A ratman? Doesn't look like it.

Also seventh tier?!

Rumor had it that the Claw Valley highlands had borrowed seventh-tier Fungus Folk and seventh-tier Ghoul necromancers from the forest.

How could the Windwall Forest have so many seventh-tier beings?!

Fortunately, he had no intention of fighting.

After a moment's thought, Bernhard stated his purpose plainly:

"Warden Luo De, we come without malice—only to propose a trade."

Luo De rested the golden sword on his shoulder, expression skeptical.

The male elf's features were delicate and soft—more refined than the female elf beside him.

Add his shoulder-length hair, and he was almost androgynous.

"Fine, trade then. Why sneak around?"

"Apologies. Due to reasons we cannot disclose, our movements must remain as discreet as possible."

"I deeply apologize, but due to certain unmentionable reasons, our actions must be carried out as secretly as possible."

Why apologize?

Do Emerald Court elves need to apologize for their actions?

Just as she opened her mouth to rebuke Luo De, Bernhard raised a hand to signal her to calm down.

Ashli held higher rank in the Emerald Court than Bernhard, but as an elf mentor, he graded young elves' conduct during missions—those scores influenced the Elders' evaluations.

So, at least while on duty, she couldn't openly defy him.

Luo De, noting the effeminate elf's polite tone, replied casually:

Luo De saw that the effeminate male elf had a decent attitude and said casually:

"What kind of deal? Tell me."

"I am willing to trade all my possessions for the chance to affiliate with the Windwall Forest, just to escape the control of the Emerald Court Elders' Council."

Bernhard uttered a cold sentence.

"What"

Ashley thought she had misheard; she turned her head in shock, only to see a thin, pale hand already covering her face.

(End of Chapter)