"Yotan!"
Mingzhi rushed to them, instantly crossing thousands of meters within the blink of an eye. She bent and grabbed hold of Yotan, checking her soul sea. Within the confines of the soul sea, deep within, the soul essence floated.
Yotan's soul essence was white and bright, signifying purity above all.
But right now, a part of it contained a black-white trace, rotating in an eerie manner.
Mingzhi could tell that the accursed rune from the Heavenly Ghost Crow had embedded itself in her, and the chances that they could remove it were near to null.
'Only Davis and Myria can probably dispel it with their reincarnation energy…'
She instantly arrived at a conclusion.
After all, she figured the reason why she had been able to remove the accursed rune from herself was because her soul became invulnerable when the light of dusk and dawn appeared, mixing two states to make it so normalcy didn't exist temporarily. She itself became something more like an illusion at that time, completely phasing out of the real world.
She could also do the same in Yotan's soul, but the effects of it could dissipate Yotan's soul as well, causing her to evaporate.
Yotan didn't have the mutated Darkness Malevolent Physique she had that contained twilight attribute, so Mingzhi came to the conclusion that was what likely would happen.
She didn't have much control over twilight energy in the first place. It was very difficult to control.
"Hold on. We'll take you back to Davis…" Mingzhi uttered.
She turned to look towards the city.
"Heavenly Ghost Crows…"
Mingzhi uttered, her lips curling with pure hatred, "Good, good. This kingly crow displayed a brilliant intent to fight until death. From now on, the Heavenly Ghost Crows will receive no mercy from the Davis Family when there's an altercation between us."
"And you all Heaven's Warriors."
She turned and pointed towards the Heaven's Warriors, "The next time you think of taking advantage of our weakness, tread wisely.
She coldly glared at them.
Some of them circulated their energies, intending to attack, but ultimately, they didn't. Therefore, she also didn't make a move against them. However, she also felt it was because Stella kept a stern watch on them. Regardless, she wanted the war to end now or really go hysterical and slaughter every enemy.
Yotan's gaze regained focus after a few seconds. Her cultivation at Level Two Empyrean Stage reverberated strangely as though it was unstable. However, even that became stable once she regained consciousness.
"Yotan, how is it? Are you fine?" Mingzhi noticed and went to her.
Yotan heaved a breath and shook her head.
"It isn't too bad… the curse was unable to critically injure me since most of it was ripped apart by you. As for its effects of increasing the strength of the tribulation, it's just like you said. It is weak. We can only be grateful that we can face a powerful tribulation that poses some challenge."
"You stubborn woman…" Mingzhi dryly laughed, "Why can't you just take it easy for once?"
However, she inwardly became relaxed, knowing that Yotan was not injured badly. Fortunately, Yotan's prowess was seven levels higher, so she could definitely reach Level Nine Empyrean Stage at the minimum. It was the result of hundreds of light-attributed resources being fed into her, as well as Epsila's pill essence bestowal, that made her soul stronger.
"…" Yotan could only return a wry smile. Her lips moved.
"Thank you. If it was a battle, I would've been killed while I fainted…"
"Not necessarily. You didn't try hard to regain consciousness because we were there for you. Subconsciously, you knew you were in safe hands."
Mingzhi sighed ever so lightly. She couldn't feel fear from this woman. Instead, there was only peace and a sense of accomplishment for protecting Yilla. It was as though she couldn't be anymore happier.
Mingzhi couldn't help but feel she was the best commander they had gotten for their personal force. She could see why the big three would approve of her to be the twenty seventh wife and also convince the others during that harem council session.
"Yotan… why did you do this for me…?"
Yilla approached, her expression appearing complicated.
She couldn't remember anyone who would try to protect her in the Zyrus Family. Not even her father defended her. He was more like a walking corpse in her eyes, but still, he was still her father. Yet, this woman protected her by directly throwing herself in front of her.
She hadn't known anyone other than Davis who would do it for her.
"What a foolish question." Yotan grabbed Mingzhi's hand to stand up, "I exist to serve the Davis Family and, most importantly, the Legion Master."
"…"
Mingzhi inwardly rolled her eyes, 'There she goes- being stubborn and posing all over again.'
She wished that Yotan could just take it easy but also knew some women were beyond stubborn. They would die on the path they took without turning to look back, whether it be cultivation or depending on a man who would abuse them to death.
Yilla pursed her lips, "Was it not because we're sisters…?"
'Oooh… Yilla, way to go…'
Mingzhi nearly gave a thumbs-up. She looked at Yotan's eyes and noticed her composure fading. Her heart was also in disarray, swelling with complicated emotions of love and duty.
"Yes…" Yotan answered, her cheeks reddening, "It's also because we're sisters, but it's my duty foremost…"
"…"
Yilla couldn't help but smile. She thought Yotan was so bad at conveying her emotions. It was no wonder her relationship with Davis wasn't progressing. She wasn't being honest with herself.
'Well, I have Darkshade to help me…'
Yilla swallowed her thoughts. She felt Darkshade's powers could've been useful to defend against curses. Her Darkshade had entered the Empyrean Stage and was also fairly strong.
After all, Darkshade is called the Mystic Moonshadow Cloud Spirit. It was a Heaven-Tier Spirit of the Immortal Grade, ranked thirteen in the Darkness Elemental Charts. It was an evolution to the Evernight Dynastic Phantasm Spirit, something Nightveil would've become if it weren't for Mingzhi's mutated soul physique changing her path.
Nonetheless, the Mystic Moonshadow Cloud Spirit was an entity that had powerful concealment ability and offensive darkness abilities but was not limited to them since it also dabbled in the art of curses that break illusions, hence the title Mystic in its racial name.
Yilla felt that it should've been able to defend against the weakened accursed curse. However, Yotan stepped in before that.
However, chances are that Darkshade would've been grievously injured since it was just a Level One Empyrean Spirit with a prowess that's five levels higher. It wasn't yet into the Late Stage Empyrean Spirit level yet.
Yilla took a deep breath and bowed her head, "Thank you for saving me. I'll etch this favor into my heart and work towards strengthening the relationship we have."
"No… it's…" Yotan trembled, appearing overwhelmed, "It's my honor…"
She also bowed.
Yilla hid a smile and raised her head, "You're too polite~ I'll make sure to put in a word for you to Davis- if my word actually means anything to him."
"Ah, you're too kind. You definitely own a huge place in his heart, unlike me."
"That's true." Yilla nodded, "He probably got tired of waiting for you and lost a- perhaps not-so-significant amount of affection for you."
"…"
"After all, which man would continue wanting a disobedient woman?"
Yilla giggled lightly and, without saying another word, left the area to go make some small talk with others, leaving behind a frozen Yotan.
She looked like she had taken a hit far more than she had received from the curse.
Mingzhi appeared by Yilla's side and grabbed her wrist.
"You- Yilla. What are you doing? This could end very badly…"
Yilla's lips curled behind her purple veil, "Naturally, I'm pushing her back towards him. I already didn't like it when she thought she could make him wait. No one can make him wait. But in the end, she saved me. I got to repay her by making her realize what's truly important."
"I understand. Still, if Davis learns you manipulated her, he's going to be incensed. Even if it's for the good of others-"
Yilla raised her brows, "Oh, you could manipulate others, but I can't?"
"Shh~ I'm only saying for you to cover your tracks. Do not openly say things like this in front of everyone. Anyone could misunderstand even if your intentions are good. I'm already looked down upon by others because I interact with other men like Drake for just a few minutes."
"You deserve it." Yilla giggled.
"…"
Mingzhi inwardly cried. Even a wicked path woman was too conservative here. She felt it was unfair. It wasn't like she was disloyal. As a person born on modern earth, talking to the opposite gender was casual and common. It couldn't be connected to an affair immediately, but the line of thought was different here.
She understood that but still, Drake and the other men were very respectful when talking to her or the other sisters. They dared not offend Davis anyway, so she felt their concerns were too much. Only Davis understood her and was fine with her behavior because he knew it wasn't something like what they feared. To him, she was thankful.
Nonetheless, she let go of Yilla and heaved a breath.
"Stella, take Yotan back to Davis. We'll continue with taking over the Realm Core."
Stella solemnly nodded. She was pissed that she wasn't able to stop that damned crow. Her orders were to contain him. If the order was to kill him, then she imagined she would've been able to stop it. However, she knew thinking was useless and didn't want to make a mistake a second time.
"Wait…"
Yotan came out of her reverie.
From her life ring, she sent out Commander Starlily and her Third Division here. Commander Starlily was a Level Four Empyrean, and the others were at Level One or Level Two Empyrean Stage. Although they were weaker individually, they were a force to be reckoned with when they used a battle formation, which put their prowess at the level of a Level Eight or even a Nine Empyrean.
Yotan then obediently returned with Stella.
Her head was down, and it was unknown what she was thinking but Mingzhi felt it was a good sign that Yotan left her duties here to return and possibly see Davis. She felt Yilla's words clearly had an effect on her. Otherwise, she might've stubbornly stayed here.
Nonetheless, Mingzhi's vigilance was high.
This time, she knew she could not only escape from curses, but she already had an idea of how to trap curses. Therefore, no matter who came with curses or karmic attacks, she felt a bit prepared.
"Let's go!~"
She led the group, unbridled and unstoppable, as she flew through the Ghostly Crow Clan. They dared not stop her.
