Without time to think, Ezekiel Callahan quickly raised his hand to form a shield-like mark to block the attack.
The shield was as fragile as paper in the face of Sanaa’s onslaught, disintegrating instantly. Ezekiel Callahan was sent flying like a leaf, soaring three to four kilometers before crashing to the ground, creating a large crater and lying motionless within it, blood pouring from his mouth. His bones were shattered, meridians severed, and his aura faded away.
In one move, he was left on the brink of death.
“How… how is this possible…” Ezekiel Callahan managed to utter a few words before his legs twitched and he fell silent, his face frozen in disbelief. He had known Sanaa was stronger than him, which was why he had hesitated to confront her directly. But he had not expected the gap in their strength to be so vast. He had assumed that even if Sanaa’s combat power was higher, it would only be by one or two levels. However, the outcome showed that Sanaa’s true strength was at least at the late stage of the Prime Source Realm, if not higher.
As he drew his last breath, he regretted underestimating her power. Had he known Sanaa was this formidable, he would never have courted death.
After defeating Ezekiel Callahan in one move, Sanaa glanced at the other battle zones but did not intervene further. About fifteen minutes later, all the battles were over, and all ten members of the Nether Clan lay on the ground.
“Are you all okay?” Sanaa asked the four people as they landed.
“We’re fine!” they replied in unison.
“Collect their storage rings; there should be some Spirit Fruit and beast cores inside,” Sanaa said, pointing to the bodies of Ezekiel Callahan and his group. “Your combat power has improved significantly after tempering your physique and awakening your bloodline, but your cultivation level is still too low. Raise it as soon as possible.”
“Understood!” They nodded and turned to retrieve the storage rings from Ezekiel Callahan and his group.
“Miss Sanaa, is this Wilderness Entrance really the only way for a seventh-rank star domain to enter The Wilderness?” Harleen asked.
“Yes,” Sanaa nodded. “The Wilderness is part of a seventh-rank star domain but is one of its most peripheral areas. To reach The Wilderness from other places, you must pass through a star domain filled with cosmic storms and black holes. If you navigate correctly, you’ll reach The Wilderness Entrance shortly after passing through that star domain. If not, you’ll be swept into endless cosmic turbulence and vanish.”
“Understood!” Harleen and the others nodded.
They recalled passing through such a star domain when traveling from Radiant City to Silent Ruins, nearly getting sucked into a black hole.
“Miss Sanaa, why did you bring us here?” Amber asked.
“To wait for someone,” Sanaa replied.
“Wait for someone?” they asked in unison. “Who?”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Sanaa said. “Let’s go; we still have time to find a place to raise your cultivation level by one or two more ranks.”
With that, she led Rose forward through the air, with Harleen and the others following closely behind.
Seven or eight days passed in a flash. With the help of a high-purity Mixing Essence Pill, Billy, Casey, and Stout all broke through their levels without any surprises. They realized what it meant to have a pill with 99% purity when they began refining it. The pill’s energy spread through their bodies violently, almost causing them to explode.
Billy managed better due to his bloodline’s ability to suppress the energy, but Casey and Stout would have been in serious trouble without Jennifer’s help. They finally stabilized after sealing nearly half of the pill’s energy. The half-pill helped them each advance two minor levels: Billy reached the sixth-rank Supreme Ancestry Realm, while Casey and Stout reached the fifth-rank realm.
Billy initially planned for everyone to refine a Mixing Essence Pill each, but after experiencing it himself, he abandoned the idea. The pills were meant for Prime Source Realm warriors and were much purer than usual. Even Casey and Stout almost exploded; giving them to others like Azure Dragon would be disastrous.
“Let’s go visit the place where the Demonic Clan is sealed!” Jennifer announced one day as she entered.
“Alright!” Billy agreed.
They then took to the sky.
“Ma’ma, did refining that Mixing Essence Pill improve your cultivation?” Stout asked mid-air.
“If a 99% pure Mixing Essence Pill didn’t improve my level, I’d find a place to die,” Jennifer replied.
“Ma’ma, what’s your current cultivation level?” Judge asked.
“It’s stronger than yours!” Jennifer answered.
Everyone: “…”
“Oh, by the way, there’s news about your four women!” Jennifer turned to Billy.
“Really?” Azure Dragon and the others exclaimed simultaneously.
“Ma’ma, where are Harleen and the others?” Night Orchid asked.
“The Wilderness Entrance,” Jennifer replied.
“The Wilderness Entrance? Where is that?” Azure Dragon asked after a brief pause.
“It’s the only way from a seventh-rank star domain into The Wilderness,” Jennifer explained.
“What are Harleen and the others doing at The Wilderness Entrance?” Night Orchid continued.
“I don’t know,” Jennifer shook her head. “Sanaa took them there for reasons I’m not aware of. Also, I heard that a few days ago, the Nether Clan’s Vice Master led a group to find them.”
“The Nether Clan?” Night Orchid paused. “Were they trying to capture Harleen and Opal to use them against Boss?”
“That’s one of their objectives,” Jennifer replied. “Their main goal was to make Sanaa submit to them.”
“And what happened next?” Frostblade couldn’t help but ask.
“They all died,” Jennifer responded calmly. “They went looking for death and didn’t return disappointed.”
“Miss Sanaa and Harleen are okay?” Frostblade asked again.
“Of course,” Jennifer replied. “The Nether Clan’s delusion of making Sanaa submit was laughable.”
The place where the Demonic Clan was sealed was hundreds of thousands of kilometers from Desert City. To save time, Billy had Casey and the others enter the Nine Dragons Cauldron Space while he used Nether Wings to travel quickly with Jennifer.
By evening, Billy and Jennifer descended from mid-air. Billy saw an endless desert with only occasional low plants and surface vegetation amidst the vast yellow sand. He also noticed a small town about ten kilometers away with smoke rising from chimneys, indicating habitation.
Casey and the others emerged from the Nine Dragons Cauldron Space.
“Ma’ma, is this where the Demonic Clan is sealed?” Judge asked Jennifer.
“No,” Jennifer shook her head. “There’s a teleportation channel here that leads to that place.”
“A teleportation channel?” Judge was puzzled. “Where is it?”
“Up ahead,” Jennifer said as she led them toward the town.
“Boss, this town isn’t simple,” Casey said after walking for a while.
“Yes,” Billy nodded slightly. He had also sensed several strong auras within the town.
“The Nether Clan has likely found this place,” Jennifer remarked.
“The Nether Clan?” Casey asked.
“No one else would be here,” Jennifer confirmed.